Keep 2012 from automatically convertinging files

[markleasor]

I jumped the gun on upgrading to 2012 before my coworkers (didn't realize there was no reverse compatibility :) and now when i open a project, 2012 is the default version of Revit it opens in and it automatically gets Converted, so it can no longer be used in 2011. This is a problem when i accidentally open a file that needs to stay 2011 and all of sudden it is getting converted to 2012.
Two possible solutions that I have tried and failed to find:
1.Tell windows to only open .rvt files in 2011
2. Keep Revit 2012 from automatically converting the files it opens.

Thanks!

[hadlari]

you cant use revit 2012 unless you update the files to 2012. if you need to keep you files in 2011, use 2011.

Once a file has been converted there is no going back. hopefully you have some back up files/archived files that you can recover for the files you allready converted. also if you are working with any other consultants you all have to be using the same version of revit if you want to be linking their files into your model.

[Baldwin_4-6-0]

you cant use revit 2012 unless you update the files to 2012. if you need to keep you files in 2011, use 2011.

Once a file has been converted there is no going back.

the only way you can "go back" If you accidentally upgrade a revit project...is just don't "Save" it, and then it will stay in the previous version. Then open up the previous version software and open your revit project through that version

Or if you do upgrade & then save the file, the only way to get the file back is to retrieve the previous version from back up.

[narlee]

I've read, in the forum somewhere, that the factory can reverse it for you. I would put in a subscription request.

[cdatechguy]

I never open up Revit files from Windows Explorer...just directly from Revit...that solves the opening of 2012....

But you can tell Windows to open the correct revit.exe in the Control Panel...search for Set Associations....and change the location for revit to the 2011 location...

[narlee]

Excellent point.

[markleasor]

I never open up Revit files from Windows Explorer...just directly from Revit...that solves the opening of 2012....

But you can tell Windows to open the correct revit.exe in the Control Panel...search for Set Associations....and change the location for revit to the 2011 location...

Thanks, thats the setting I couldn't find.

And it's also good to find out that if you don't save the file in 2012 it won't actually be converted.

[DaveP]

Dang it, Michael! You beat me to it again.
Opening files by double-clicking from Windows Explorer can have other side-effects as well. If you use Worksets, you won't get a new Local when you double-click on the Central file.
Maybe it's because I almost always have multiple versions of multiple programs installed, but I've never trusted opening files from Explorer. I always open the program first, and then use the built-in File Open.

Not positive on this, but I also think that even if you specify in Explorer to use 2011, if you EVER open 2012, Revit will once again reassociate 2012 to .RVT

[Rick Moore]

Standard Windows behavior is to use the last version opened but I'm pretty sure Revit will open from explorer with the last version installed - you can't change it to another version.

[rosskirby]

Rick is right. Since all versions of Revit open Revit.exe, Windows doesn't care which version you tell it you want to be the default. It will always be the latest version installed (unless you go in and rewrite the value in the registry, which I don't recommend).

The best way to avoid this problem, as others have said, is to open Revit first (whichever version you want to use) and open the file via Revit's "Open" command. Also, you might want to start including the Revit version a file was created in within the file name (i.e. 2011.001 Project_v20xx, where xx represents the version of Revit). Then, if you decide to upgrade a project to a newer release, you open detached from central and do a Save As with the new release number.