(updated below)

I have a file compatibility question concerning PipingDesignOnline's Pipe Stress Analysis Training. I am in contact with Anthony Horn about the issue, but I believe that ultimately the answer will hinge upon technical compatibility issues that can best be resolved in this forum.

The simple question is how I can get the course 6.00 files to work on my Caesar 2011 (5.30)? The short answer is that I can't. But I'm hoping there's a better, longer answer.

At minimum, I would need to convert or re-enter by hand the three C 2 files that are included in the training pack. But once I convert/create that C 2 5.30 file, I wonder if the cfg files are compatible, the hed files, etc?

The long question:
In order for me to capture all the pertinent data, would it be sufficient to reconstitute/re-input the 6.00 C 2 file in 5.30? What about Caesar's customary shotgun-blast of little datafiles? Can I just copy those 6.00 files (minus the C 2 files) into a folder with the new 5.30 C 2 files?

(The training file directory filenames and extensions are listed below).

C 2.HPL
CADWorx_Export_Final_Dimensioned Model.pdf
caesar.cfg
COEF
COMNDINP
CONTROLU
DBGENBIN
dir.txt
expjt.hed
EXPORT_DUMMY_LEG_EXAMPLE.C 2
EXPORT_INITIAL.C 2
EXPORT_REV_3.C 2
FREESTIF
frp.hed
MCONTROLU
OCONTROLU
RESTR
valve.hed
Vessel Measurements.pdf

UPDATE:
After getting elbows-deep in "compatible" wordsearches on this forum, I can see that this is related to a much discussed topic. So I'll emphasize what I think are the new/pertinent questions:

Are 6.00 cfg and hed files compatible with 5.30? How about the other files that are not "C 2"? If not, do the release notes detail the differences/changes represented in these miscellaneous files?

What new/different information is embodied in the 6.00 C 2 file that is not included in 5.30? Is this detailed in the release notes for 6.00?

Of the files listed above, only the ".c 2" job files are important to the course content. Any other CAESAR II files listed above are generated by the software based on the job.

We can discuss with PipingDesignOnline about providing these job files in 5.30 format, which will be upward compatible with later versions.

Thank you for your quick reply.

To extend this question to a more general question, version issues aside, if I have a C 2 file, and my cfg is either identical or I include a proper cfg file in the C 2 file folder, do I have all the information for that model?

I assume that if I went into that C 2 model and changed a database part (eg valve, FRP, expansion joint), I would also need the proper hed file to look up properties for that element?

Last file question: the cadworx export-to-Caesar function produces a C 2 file and a C2db file. The model seems to run fine with only the C 2 file. Searches for "C2DB" in the UG, TR, AP, turn up blank. No pertinent results come up on the forum search. What is the c2db?Can I just run the exported c 2 file without the c2db file?

Yes.



Yes, or you could manually enter the appropriate data.



The "c2db" file is a new file which is intended to contain "line number" information as well as any "included" model names. If you have none of these, that file is empty.

Thanks again, Richard.