mathcad prime 6.0 file recovery

[maggen]

is there any way to recover a file in mathcad prime 6.0?

[Werner_E]

To the best of my knowledge there is no tool to do so.

mcdx files are just zip-files. You may try to rename the file to *.zip and extract its contents maintaining the folder structure. You will see that the archive mainly consists of a couple of xml file, which are editable text files.

If a file got corrupted, chances are that the error is in \mathcad\worksheet.xml. You may try to fix the error by editing this file.

Generally fixing a corrupted file of real Mathcad (xmcd or mcd) is much more promising (and much less often necessary because of Mathcads autosaving feature) as the file is just a single xml file and Mathcad would tell you the line number in the file which causes the error.

We don't have this comfort in Prime and furthermore ever so often people had posted a corrupted Prime file here in the forum and after a quick check it turned out that the file consisted of nothing but null bytes. So there was no information which could be retrieved.

Good luck!

[maggen]

im sorry i didnt quite tell what the problem was, the problem was that i turned of my computer while not havng the file saved so it just closed the program without saving the file.

when i close for example word it will have saved the documents i havent saved myself, does mathcad have a simillar autosave feature?

[Werner_E]

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@maggen wrote:

im sorry i didnt quite tell what the problem was, the problem was that i turned of my computer while not havng the file saved so it just closed the program without saving the file.

when i close for example word it will have saved the documents i havent saved myself, does mathcad have a simillar autosave feature?

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Real Mathcad (that is version 15 and below) has this autosave feature, but Prime unfortunately doesn't.

[LucMeekes]

So first check the size of the file.

If it is 0 (zero) bytes in size, than it is really lost.

If it is larger, but contains only values of 0, it is also lost.

In other cases you can do as Werner explains, or you can attach the file, and we can inspect, maybe help you.

Success!
Luc

[AK_9814628]

why i can not even load my file here, i always shows thiss message? 😕

[LucMeekes]

Yes, this website forum software is (claims to be) more knowledgeable about what a valid Prime file is, than the Prime software itself. I've run into that peculiar behaviour several times.

In such cases it may help to zip the file, and attach the zip file here.

Success!
Luc

[AK_9814628]

now i have done it, can you please try your magic if you have a time😊

[LucMeekes]

Problem solved.

The file that you put in your .zip file is not a Prime sheet file, but a portable document file (a PDF), showing the picture of a Prime sheet file. That is why Prime cannot open it.

If you change the extension of the file from .mcdx to .pdf, you can open it with a pdf viewer (e.g. Adobe acrobat reader, to name one) and see for yourself.

Note that while Prime is able to create a pdf from a Prime worksheet file, there is no (automatic) way to create a prime worksheet file from this pdf. But with some handwork you can recreate the worksheet.

Success!

Luc

[BR_10026112]

Hello,

I made a file mathcad prime 6.0, I saved it, but the computer shut down, and when I tried to open it it appears that the file is not supported. Can anyone help me with his recovery? I really need the information in it

[LucMeekes]

You've attached a .ZIP file, not a .MCDX file. The .ZIP file is corrupt.

Is it your Prime 6 .MCDX file renamed to .ZIP?

Luc

[LucMeekes]

That .MCDX file is exactly the same as the .ZIP file, so the answer to my question was: Yes.

I'll check it further later today.

Luc

[BR_10026112]

Hello,

You have the mathcad file attached to this message.

[Werner_E]

See if the attached file helps.

I tried an automatic repair and the result was a file much smaller than the corrupt one. So obviously there are some parts (maybe pictures) missing.

Given  that its a 52-page document, you really should consider a reliable backup strategy!

[BR_10026112]

Thank you very much! You saved me!! :))))

[BR_10026112]

Hello. I also have a corrupt file. Can you help me with his recovery? You can find the file in the attached archive

[-MFra-]

Hi,

It is a good habit when working with such software, to save the worksheets every day with a name different from that of the previous day, adding to the name, for example, the date of the day itself, or a progressive number, so that if you lose the last worksheet, you can always start over with the one of the previous day. Otherwise, in case of file loss, you have to do it all over again. Space occupied, even with this type of saving that lasts for months and months, is negligible compared to today's hard disk capacities. Furthermore, having a continuous backup system eliminates any loss problem. Mathcad 15's autosave is only useful when the file is not lost.

[ptc-6758562]

My problem with this is it does not get to the crux of the problem.  If the software is having relative frequent crash problems the answer should not be that the user saves constantly with different file names.  The answer should be in the software developer to work on minimizing bugs that cause crashes and to be responsive to those who are having the issue.

[Werner_E]

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@ptc-6758562 wrote:

My problem with this is it does not get to the crux of the problem.  If the software is having relative frequent crash problems the answer should not be that the user saves constantly with different file names.  The answer should be in the software developer to work on minimizing bugs that cause crashes and to be responsive to those who are having the issue.

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Fully agreed on, but -MFra- is not a developer but a user like you. And as a user you only have the choice to either take precautions like constant saving or use another software if it fits your needs and is more stable.
As a paying customer you may open a ticket to PTC support, report your problem and suggest improvements. But I won't go into detail about how I assess the chances that this will have a significant effect.