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PIPE-FLO products will automatically read project files up to three versions old.
For version 2007, this includes the prior versions 2005, 2004, and 8. Files from versions older than this must be converted to one of the supported file formats before they can be opened by 2007 series software.
For version 2009 this includes the prior versions 2007, 2005 and 2004. Files from older version must be converted to one of the supported file formats before they can be opening by 2009 series software.
This article describes the conversion methods available.
PIPE-FLO products will automatically read project files up to three versions old, but cannot save files in older formats. Once a file has been opened in a newer version and saved again, it can no longer be read by previous PIPE-FLO versions
PIPE-FLO 2009 products will read project from program versions 2007, 2005 and 2004. Older file versions must be run through an intermediary step to get them to a version that can be read by the 2009 version. Generally this means opening and re-saving the old file in progressively newer versions of the software.
PIPE-FLO 2007 products will read project files from program versions 2005, 2004, and 8. Older file versions, must be run through an intermediary step to get them to a version that can be read by the current software. In general, this means opening and re-saving the old file in progressively newer versions of the software.
Remember that once a file has been saved by a newer software version, it can no longer be read by older software. If you have a piping system that needs to be used in multiple software versions, please be certain to make a copy of the file before updating it.
The table below describes the steps necessary for importing systems files of various versions into the current software.
| Importing from Version: | |
|---|---|
| 2005, 2004, or 8 | Simply open your file with PIPE-FLO 2007. It will be automatically converted. If you choose to save the file with PIPE-FLO 2007/2009, it will no longer be accessible from older software versions. For PIPE-FLO 2009 open your version 8 file with 2007 first then save it. Then you can open it the 2009 version. |
| 7 or 7.1 |
|
| 6 |
|
| 5 |
Version 5 of PIPE-FLO introduced the pipe drawing as an optional program feature. However, in later versions the drawing became an integral part of the software and was thus required. Only systems with a completed drawing may be imported into version 6. Unless a system is very large or has a drawing that is nearly completed, it may be faster to build a new system from scratch in the latest PIPE-FLO version than to create the drawing in version 5 and run through a series of incremental upgrades.
|
| 4 |
Other than for very large systems, it may be faster to recreate the system using the latest software version, rather than stepping through the incremental upgrade process. |
PIPE-FLO Upgrader
PIPE-FLO Professional
For convenience, we've created a special version of PIPE-FLO Professional 2005, called the PIPE-FLO Upgrader. This version does not require installation, so it can be run by users that do not have administrative priviledges on their machines. To make the download smaller, a number of the files normally included in PIPE-FLO have been removed from the Upgrader. This means that you must be sure to install PIPE-FLO 2007 and run it at least once before running the upgrader in order to ensure that all necessary files are present on your system.
Download the PIPE-FLO Upgrader for PIPE-FLO Professional PIPE-FLO_Upgrader.exe attached to this article.
Stock and Compressible Users
At this time, no special "upgrader" application is available for the PIPE-FLO Stock and Compressible applications. This means that in order to import file versions older than 8, you must install an intermediary PIPE-FLO version that can save the sytem file in a format version 2007 is able to read. If you are unsure of which software version to use, or do not know where to get a copy of the intermediary software version you need, please contact Engineered Software's technical support for assistance.
Running Multiple Versions of PIPE-FLO
Installation
By default, all versions of the same PIPE-FLO application install to the same directory, overwriting each other. This prevents mulitple unused software versions from cluttering your system. Users that wish to run multiple versions of the software, including those doing temporary software installation for file updating, should install each version to a different directory.
Licenses
In most cases, old PIPE-FLO versions will run using the hardware keys or network licenses from newer applications. This means that you do not need to maintain multiple version of licensing hardware/software. However, if you only have one license, you will not be able to run both an old version and the new version simultaneously. You'll need to close one and then open the other.
In some cases, old software may use radically different licensing mechanisms than new software. In such cases it may be necessary to have a license for each. If you are having trouble running older software, you may contact technical support for advice. However, support for software versions more than three revisions out of date is not guaranteed.