issues/problems of upgrading mid-project (v.10 to v.11)

[Anonymous]

hi

we're approx. 80% into a largish project on v10. we have v11, should we upgrade? and if so what will happen with our stories on this project? we have (2) 6 storey buildings plus we have created additional stories for interior elevations (in the old fashion).

any thoughts would be welcome

thanks

m

[TomWaltz]

For a job that far along, I don't think it's really something you would see any return on investment from.

[Anonymous]

yup, i kind of thought so but the only reason were considering it is that our v10 install discs are not the later release which was for macs with intel and therefore 'it does not run native' - sorry i'm not technical...which means that even though our computers are mac pros w/ dual core + 3gigs of ram, etc., etc., the archicad runs slow. so i thought we would upgrade to the v11 disc which does run native.

maybe i should just do it and open a copy of the project?

[Thomas Holm]

Don't. In the middle of whatever, you might run into some incompatibility that might cause a lot of extra work or a missed deadline. Like an updated library part that doesn't comply with your needs, or has a new bug that happens to surface in your project because of not foreseen circumstances- Such issues are normally easy to spot in a new project before they cause damage, but in an 80% completed one they might be fatal.

Instead, contact your reseller to get an AC10 Macintel version! Should be free for you. Then, use AC11 when you start the next project.

[Anonymous]

right - good idea, i'll contact them tomorrow. i hope they can source one quickly as when i brought it up last week they said it was gonna be hard to source

many thanks

moji

[Djordje]

Moji wrote:
right - good idea, i'll contact them tomorrow. i hope they can source one quickly as when i brought it up last week they said it was gonna be hard to source

many thanks

moji

?!?!?!?!? A reseller that does not have installation packs ????

Hard to believe ... unless those guys don't care if they sell Archicad or potatoes.

Unbelieveable.

[Anonymous]

Just don't even be tempted

After reading other stories of anguish on this forum we made a policy not to. Only new projects commence in 11.

I might finish with the fact that someone in our office inadvertently opened a file in 11 last week, worked on it, and later realised what they had done. It is now very ssloooowwww. And there has been a bit of work redoing lib parts etc.

Just don't do it....!

[Thomas Holm]

I might add that in my view the migration issues seldom come from bugs in Archicad. Even if a new version adds new features that might have bugs, these shouldn't matter because old projects didn't use them.

The real issue is the library parts. Many of the standard parts, even if they look alike, have minor revisions. Some are of course bug corrections, others might be additions to handle the new program's new features. Some of those additions might create not anticipated problems in your old project.

Even library parts that have not changed at all might cause issues, because the new program interpretes them diffferently - it could be that it interferes with some new feature, or simply that the new program is sensitive to a bug in the library part that didn't matter to the old version. In the simplest case this bug sin itself might be harmless, but the new AC version's better consistency checking refuses to load it. This is bad enough - imagine a complete roof structure, modeled with customized profiled beams, that won't open in the new version because of some glitch in line xxxx of macro yyy etc. When you've closed this OK/Cancel dialog a hundred times or so, and you realize you can't replace the parts with new because they all had different customized dimensions, you swear never again!

This is why you should not migrate a project that's close to finish, unless there is something in the new program version that you really, really need. And even then, proceed with the utmost caution. Keep a complete untouched installation of the old program version with libraries n all on a separate hard disk, safely tucked away in a closet! (mac tip: SuperDuper!)

And this is also why I fancy Matthew Lohden's idea of the Unified File Format for Archicad: When you place a library object in the project, that part would completely (including all used macros etc) be stored in the project file, and would never be exchanged for another variety, regardless of which or how many libraries you had loaded at any given time, unless I explicitly tell Archicad to change it.

This idea would significantly lessen the headaches caused by sloppy library management, something I'm all too familiar with, being the primary culprit!

Thanks for reading this rant all the way!

[Rick Thompson]

Just since everyone is so clear that it would be awful... why not? Just make a copy first and see if you have any issues? Why postpone joy? I move AC10, and what is left of the AC9 files, into AC11 on a regular bases. The AC10 to AC11 has never been an issue for me. If you have a copy to fall back on if there is a catastrophic failure, then you are fine.. right?

Just my 1 cents worth. You can do it, your a trained professional, but don't try this at home, or around small children.

Do it.. do it, fear not, life is short... but make a copy.

[Anonymous]

...yes life is short and so is time - which is why i cannot afford the time to mess around testing things, i wish i could as there are so many tools in archicad i wanna play with.

anyway thank you for all your comments - i should be getting v10 for intel in the post today and will save the sweet v11 for the next project

moj