Mathcad 14 files access

[David_K]

I have been using MathCad since the late 1980s.  I am now retired and no longer have access to Mathcad 14 which I used with my old company. I want to access some old files.  MathCad Express will not let me convert them.  Is there another way to access the files?  I had a 1990 version of Mathcad but no longer have the ability to load it on my PC.  

[Werner_E]

I can only think of two legal ways:

1) Whenever a new version of Prime is released, you may download and install it and you should have a 30 days trial period where you also should be able to convert legacy sheets (down forget to check installation of the converter when you install Prime

2) Post the worksheets here in the forum and state the version of Prime you use and some people may be willing to do the conversion for you.

You should be aware that the converted files may not work correct in Prime Express after conversion because

a) Prime is still mediocre compared to real Mathcad and is missing lots of fetures

b) Prime Express is limited with locked features and will not evaluate programs, solve blocks, "premium" functions, etc. After all its free and so its OK that it is limited. There were  posted replacements for a lot of Premium functions here in the forum (mainly by Luc Meekes) but that sure can't cover all locked features and it can be quit challenging to replace programs with loops by a recursively used if-function.

So depending what kind of features your old MC14 sheets are using you might not have much fun with the converted sheets anyway ...

[David_K]

I will have to wait for the next version of Prime and try converting then.  The files are old, created around 2000.   I do not want to post the files as they are calculations done for a client.  

I agree with your comments on Prime but it is now the only game in town.  Since I am a retired engineer, I cannot access the MathCad 15 program that I used when I was working.  I have files on civil and structural engineering going back to 1986 that are now stranded.  

[Werner_E]

I hope that the Prime converter will be able to handle files that old.

Another idea wold be to use the free SMath Studio which has some sort of Mathcad import. I guess the level of compatibility is quite low but it may be worth a try.

[David_K]

I tried SMath.  I clicked on open and selected a mcd file.  Nothing happened.  The same thing occured when I tried a Prime Express file.  Is there a separate comment to import Mcad files?

[Werner_E]

I am not a SMath user so my knowledge about this program is limited. As far as I know there never was a Prime support. I just looked at the FAQ and saw "Yes, SMath Studio has a built-in limited support for XMCD files, but it was developed just to simplify migration process for Mathcad users a bit. XMCD plug-in for SMath Studio is an open-source project, so anyone can do some improvements if required."
So it looks like only xmcd files are supported which would mean no luck with older mcd files, sorry.

Being a plug-in may mean that its not available automatically in a standard installation (but I may be wrong about that), but fortunately adding plug-ins is quite easy and comfortable, as far as I can remember.

So it looks you ran out of legal options as you can't post the sheets here so someone with a fully licensed Prime version could convert to Prime format or using a working MC15 would convert it to xmcd so you could open it with Lucs tool or maybe even with SMath.

I guess you already had your Prime 8 free 30 days and so you would have to wait for Prime 9 in a month or two to do the conversion and hopefully your files don't use too many Premium features so you could use them in the limited Express version too.

Good luck!

[LucMeekes]

If it's just for viewing the sheets, then this may help: https://community.ptc.com/t5/Mathcad/Can-t-see-your-sheet-but/m-p/636482 , depending on if you would block the saving of calculation results, or not. It's fully legal to use it.

Success!
Luc

[David_K]

I tried it with the result "MCAD 309000000" and nothing else.  File was last accessed in 2001.  Thanks for the idea. 

[LucMeekes]

Your file is a Mathcad 2000 file, it opens in Mathcad 2000 and above (2001, 2001i, 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15).

You mentioned Mathcad 14. Had you opened, calculated and saved the as a Mathcad 14 (.xmcd) file, the viewer would have shown the contents. The viewer is not equipped to do that for .mcd files.

Using Prime (7 or 😎 it is possible to convert the file to Prime format and/or create a pdf of what it would look like.

Success!
Luc

[David_K]

Luc

Thanks for the information.  When I was working and had Mathcad 14 or 15, it would open the file and I could save it as a xmcd file.  I am now retired and no longer have that version.  

David

[VladimirN]

 David,

Here is a link to the old version of "Mathcad Explorer 8" - http://www.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~msn/book/mcexp802.exe . You can try to open old files with it:

[David_K]

I installed it.  It does not open files created after 2000.  I was able to open earlier files.   The files that I want to look at are all made after 2000.  

David

[David_K]

Update on Feb 10.  -  Issue is not solved to date.  I presume that one way would be to purchase Prime and hope that it converts them.  It is an expensive solution as I do not use Mathcad that much since I am now retired. 

David

[Werner_E]

---

@David_K wrote:

Update on Feb 10.  -  Issue is not solved to date.  I presume that one way would be to purchase Prime and hope that it converts them.  It is an expensive solution as I do not use Mathcad that much since I am now retired. 

David

---

At least you should at first use the free 30 days trial period which you get with every new version of Prime to see if Prime converts the sheets and if they are running OK in Prime and then decide if the results are worth the money for you.
You may also check how many of your sheets won't run after the trial period because they use Premium features which are only available in the full Prime version and not in the free limited Express version.
You may also look here in the forum for workarounds and replacements of Premium functions which can be used in Express, too.

Luc has posted an impressive collection of such workarounds. It sure would mean quite some work to adopt your converted sheets, but IMHO Prime sure is far too expensive for casual use. As far as I read here there is a cheaper version available for retirees and non-commercial use - but its still expensive and you still would have to pay your subscription every year or you loose access to your IP.