How do I open a file saved with the latest version?

[WM_11132074]

Hi all

I am having problems with PTC Mathcad Prime versions.

I use the latest version, i.e. 10, but colleagues etc. use varying versions, for example 9, 8 and 7.

However, they do not have the option to upgrade to the latest version. When I send them the file saved with the latest version, they can't open it.

What is the solution? The best would be a solution where I can save the file so that it can be opened in any version, because I don't always know which version the other party is using.

[DJNewman]

Three solutions...

1. Have your organisation standardise on the lowest version that everyone has (Mathcad Prime 7; it should be Prime 7 because that's the lowest available option PTC hasn't end-of-saled and makes available from our software download page); that means you uninstall Prime 10 and then install Prime 7. (You can install Prime 10 later, but you have to install Prime versions in ascending order per the installation guide.)

2. Have everyone in your organisation standardise on the newest version (Mathcad Prime 1). You said they don't have the option to do so, though I don't know why they wouldn't.

3. Don't send your colleagues live Mathcad files but instead export to PDF or RTF formats and pass those around instead. This can work depending on what your colleagues need the files for. If it's for reviewing things and they're keeping the documents static then it's fine; if it's for making live math changes this won't work.

[BenLoosli · Accepted solution]

Opening a newer version file in an older version of MathCAD Prime has never been a supported option.

What is stopping the others from moving up to MathCAD Prime 10, so you are all on the latest version.

If you aren't using the full functionality of Prime 10, have everyone downgrade to Prime 7. You will need to remove Prime 8, 9 or 10 before installing 7. You can then reinstall the newer version, but remember that any work to be shared must be done in Prime 7.

[WM_11132074]

PDF files are not the solution. The reason why they don't update is because they don't have rights to update programs for work PC.

Is there a way for me to easily transfer the contents of mathcad files to Prime 7? Formulas etc.

[Werner_E]

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@WM_11132074 wrote:

PDF files are not the solution. The reason why they don't update is because they don't have rights to update programs for work PC.

Is there a way for me to easily transfer the contents of mathcad files to Prime 7? Formulas etc.

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No, unfortunately I can't see an easy way.

The extremely slow development of Prime in no way justifies the incompatibility of the file formats. It would be perfectly possible to design the software in such a way that at least every version would be able to save a file in a format that can be read by older versions, whereby the features that the older version does not support would be lost. The fact that Prime can't do this is simply down to marketing greed. They deliberately want to create the situation you find yourself in in order to force all your customers or employees to purchase the latest version.

The only option you have from my point of view is, as has already been suggested, to uninstall your Prime 10 version, then install Prime 7 and then Prime 10 again (you should of course back up the license file and then reinstall it).
Now you can start Prime 7 with a blank sheet first, then Prime 10 with the file you want to 'convert'. Now you can copy and paste individual regions from Prime 10 to Prime 7. Due to the idiotic way copy&paste is implemented in Prime, it is not possible to copy multiple regions at once. So this is quite tedious!

Alternatively, your colleagues could install the trial version of Prime 10 (but they possibly will not be allowed to do so). They would have access to the full program functionality for one month and after that period they still will be able to open and view your Prime 10 worksheet, but when they try to recalculate it it may fail if the sheet uses "premium features" like symbolics, programming, etc.. But if necessary, they could also copy individual regions from Prime 10 to Prime 7 as described above.

If there are only a few files that you want to share with your colleagues, you could also ask @LucMeekes. Maybe he is willing to convert them for you, as he has found a way to convert files by editing their XML structure. As far as I understand it, this is not an automated process, but requires manual work - hence my restriction to “a few files”.