Opening later versions of workspaces in early versions

[David Hardman]

Basically at work we have various people who make workspaces in
version 9 of the software, however those still with version 7.5 can't
open the workspaces.

Is there a way around this so you can open version 9 workspaces in
earlier version?

Thank you

[Hankins, Michael D.]

Open the workspace in any text editor(like notepad). Change the second line from 900 to 750

This will work unless there is something in workspace that was introduced after version 7.5 My guess is this works 99.9% of time.

Mike Hankins
Sr. Actuarial Support Analyst
309-821-2302 (P) / 309-820-4897 (F)
COUNTRY(r) Financial
1701 N. Towanda Ave., Bloomington, IL 61701
www.countryfinancial.com

Thank you

--
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MapInfo-L" group.
To post to this group, send email to mapi...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mapinfo-l+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.

[Eric Blasenheim]

I would really be surprised if this works. In fact, I would more
likely go with the 99.9% of the time is does not work. The versioning
of workspaces is pretty good. It starts low and then increases as we
write out the WOR file based on versions where various MapBasic tokens
were introduced. So you should get the lowest possible version.

However, this does not mean that there is not something in the
workspace that you could easily do without that would lower the
version. You have to find those things and remove them.

Eric Blasenheim
PBBI(MapInfo)

On Apr 12, 3:14 pm, "Hankins, Michael D."

> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

[Hankins, Michael D.]

OOPS. Sorry for the mis-information.

Mike

[Spencer Simpson]

One way to find those things is to downgrade the workspace as described
below, and then try to open the workspace.

If the workspace opens completely, without displaying an error message, then
it's in that lucky 0.1% of workspaces, and you can just save the workspace
to permanently make it a 7.5 workspace.

If the workspace fails to open, it should provide an error message with a
line number. You can then look at that line of the workspace in a text
editor, which may give you a clue as to the feature you're using from the
newer version.

I vaguely recall that one of the 9.x versions may have written workspaces
with some 9.x features turned on by default....
_______________________________

Spencer.

[David Hardman]

Thank you for the responses, I have indeed been told about changing
the first line numbers but as you so rightly say this does not work.

I do get an error message that quotes a line and I thought that if I
took this layer out of the text file and then try re-opening things
would work, however again this does not happen.

I was hoping there would be some sort of tool that would act almost
like a emulator for the older version of mapinfo. Never mind if this
does not exist!

Thank you again.

> athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.-Hide quoted text -

>
> > - Show quoted text -
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> "MapInfo-L" group.
> To post to this group, send email to mapi...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> mapinfo-l+...@googlegroups.com.

> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.- Hide quoted text -

[Eric Blasenheim]

If you have access to 9 and can load the workspace, I would try the
following.

If you are using a newer projection in the map, that can make the
version be higher. I vaguely remember Krovak.
In 9.0 we added label along a path. Change the label choices to either
horizontal or Rotate Labels with Segments.

Also we added multiple hotlinks and the ability to disable them. If
you have those you could remove the hotlinks or make sure there is
never more than one.

The other changes were most likely around projections and datums for
the map but try those few things first. If you need to do this on an
ongoing basis, make sure you don't use these features when creating
for 7.5. This is why it is hard to save as an earlier version as
particularly with things like labelling, themes removing the feature
could seriously alter the look of the map.

Note that data sources do not change the workspace version. That is in
your .TAB file. We purposefully do not increase the version of a
workspace because of the data source you currently have in it. If you
load that workspace in an older version you may get an error about the
data. So if your data is in a new projection or from a new database,
or uses WMS or WFS or FME we do not increase the workspace version.

Hope this helps.
Eric Blasenheim
PBBI (MapInfo)

> > athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.-Hidequoted text -

>
> > > - Show quoted text -
>
> > --
> > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
> > "MapInfo-L" group.
> > To post to this group, send email to mapi...@googlegroups.com.
> > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
> > mapinfo-l+...@googlegroups.com.

> > For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.-Hide quoted text -
>
> > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text -

[Gentreau]

Eric,

Is there a specific reason why MapInfo has never offered a 'Save As version
xx' option ?
Many software packages offer this, especially MS Office products, along with
all the standard warnings about missing features etc.

Maybe one for the wish list ?

Gentreau.

[John Elliot]

This is similar to a problem I had a short time ago when trying to open Tab
files. I traced the problem to the date-time field.
I asked on that thread, but received no reply, if there is any list that
shows all the changes introduced in later versions of MapInfo. Does anyone
know if this information is available. That would be a great help when
using older versions of MapInfo to open files and workspaces created in
later versions.

John Elliot

[Bill Thoen]

John Elliot wrote:
> This is similar to a problem I had a short time ago when trying to
> open Tab files. I traced the problem to the date-time field.
> I asked on that thread, but received no reply, if there is any list
> that shows all the changes introduced in later versions of MapInfo.
> Does anyone know if this information is available. That would be a
> great help when using older versions of MapInfo to open files and
> workspaces created in later versions.

Look in the "What's New" section of the MapBasic manuals. That's where
all the improvements, bug fixes, and other changes are listed for each
new release. Pulling all this information together and organizing it
could make a useful Wiki project for anyone who wants to make the world
a little better place for their having passed through. Half of the work
is already done, too.

One who certainly made our little MapInfo world a better place was
Jacques Paris. Among the many useful things he contributed to the public
weal was his ABC project. I can't remember what ABC stands for now (I
always think "Already Been Chewed" in my mind because the project
involved used MapBasic manuals, but I think the BC part actually stands
for Backward Compatibility. In this project he collected old MapBasic
manuals from people across the 'net and then he wrote up all the
differences between each version and published them on his website. His
website's gone now, but a copy of its contents still exists at the
French-language website of georezo.com. The English translation of the
ABC Project is at http://georezo.net/jparis/abc/abc_main_en.htm. Or you
can read it /en fran�ais/ if that suits you.

- Bill Thoen

P.S. The 'A' in ABC Project stands for 'Application.'

[Driver, Greg 9434]

Bill,

Jacque's website is back on-line - http://www.paris-pc-gis.com/

There's some really useful information and tools on Jacques's site and it's certainly helped me over the years.

Regards

Greg Driver

NOT PROTECTIVELY MARKED

can read it /en français/ if that suits you.

- Bill Thoen

P.S. The 'A' in ABC Project stands for 'Application.'

--

You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MapInfo-L" group.
To post to this group, send email to mapi...@googlegroups.com.
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mapinfo-l+...@googlegroups.com.
For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.

Information about this E-mail
This email and any files or attachments with it are intended solely for the use of the individual(s) or organisation(s) to whom it is addressed.
It may contain information that is confidential or subject to legal and/or professional privilege.
If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete it including any files or attachments from your e-mail account or computer.
Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Surrey Police.
Surrey Police monitor incoming and outgoing e-mail.

[Eric Blasenheim]

By the way, the data of what causes a change in the TAB, WOR or MIF
versions is part of the Professional help file. Under Help, Contents,
Useful Tables and Information, MapInfo Map Interchange format, there
is a table for file versions of TAB, MIF and WOR>

It's a bit hidden there as part of MIF I would agree but it is there.
The information goes back to version 4. It looks like version 1000 was
not added so that is an oversight.

On the more interesting question of why there is no Save As to an
earlier version (I think Gentreau asked) I have a few comments as to
what is a bit different about Professional in the workspace or even
TAB save cases.

In most products where this is allowed, the Save As command not only
saves changes but makes the "current document" to be what was saved.
So if you are going to save a Word or Excel file to an earlier version
AND you are going to lose something, then you generally see that right
away; some formatting is not saved or or calculations might be lost.

In Professional, we don't really have a current workspace so what
might happen when you save to an earlier version would be arguable.
Would we just write it and let you see what happens on your own? Would
we remove every feature from the later versions changing the map,
removing themes or labels or data sets if necessary? If a projection
change is in effect, do we close the tables and/or maps with all the
resultant effects? When we had two options and now have added a third,
which of the two earlier options do we revert to?

Unlike other products that might change the actual format, (XLS to
XLSX) we only change the version due to some feature. So you are going
to lose something. The only question is if it something that you care
about and could tell. For example, you might have a setting on a layer
that is not visible so losing that feature might not be apparent until
something else changed.

While it would certainly be possible to go through the reverse process
of losing features from later versions to get back to an earlier
version this could have serious consequences. What might be more
helpful is to have a tool that could show you what you have in your
current session that is above a specified version and let you decide
on the best course of action.

Just some thoughts and just my opinion.

Eric Blasenheim
PBBI (MapInfo)

On Apr 13, 4:16 am, "Driver, Greg 9434"
<Driver9...@surrey.pnn.police.uk> wrote:
> Bill,
>
> Jacque's website is back on-line -http://www.paris-pc-gis.com/

> ABC Project is athttp://georezo.net/jparis/abc/abc_main_en.htm.  Or you

> can read it /en français/ if that suits you.
>
> - Bill Thoen
>
> P.S. The  'A' in ABC Project stands for 'Application.'
>
> --
> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MapInfo-L" group.
> To post to this group, send email to mapi...@googlegroups.com.
> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to mapinfo-l+...@googlegroups.com.

> For more options, visit this group athttp://groups.google.com/group/mapinfo-l?hl=en.

>
> Information about this E-mail
> This email and any files or attachments with it are intended solely for the use of the individual(s) or organisation(s) to whom it is addressed.
> It may contain information that is confidential or subject to legal and/or professional privilege.
> If you have received this email in error please notify the sender and delete it including any files or attachments from your e-mail account or computer.
> Any opinions expressed in this email are those of the individual and not necessarily those of Surrey Police.

> Surrey Police monitor incoming and outgoing e-mail.- Hide quoted text -

[Gentreau]

When did that appear?
It doesn't seem to be there in ver 8.5.1 at least.

As for the "Save As" idea, I personally think that it would be excellent to
have a tool
which would tell you what needs to be changed/lost to make the
table/workspace accessible to
users of earlier versions.

Perhaps it could be presented in the form of a menu item "Convert to earlier
version"
or as an option in "Table ... Export" and "Save Workspace"

BR
Gentreau.

[Peter Horsbøll Møller]

Gentreau,
I don't remember exactly when it was moved to the help file.
Before that it was part of the User Guide, look for a chapter in the end on MIF/MID Exchange format.

Peter Horsbøll Møller
Pitney Bowes Business Insight - MapInfo

2010/4/15 Gentreau <goo...@gentreau.com>