Project Management

Project & Model Management

A structure modeled in ProtaStructure is saved with its related settings and parameters as a “Project”.  At any time you can go to Building Setout tab, the Project icons are shown as below.

Once you have a project open, ProtaStructure’s automatic backup system can periodically make a copy of it to prevent accidental loss of data. Open projects can be archived  at any stage - the resulting zip file being an efficient format for transferring the project to other computers. These and other project management topics are explained in detail in the following sections.

Open Project  

If you click the Open Project icon, the open project dialog will appear. 


With reference to the above dialog, the explanation is as follows : 

1.     The Project Data Folder is the main folder where the project models are stored.

The project model consists of several files stored in a single folder called the Project folder. This Project folder is created as a subfolder in the Project Data Folder. The project folder name will always be created precisely the same as the project name.

2.     A Data Folder called ProtaData20XX would be auto-installed under My Documents by default; where example models are given. 

3.     If required, you can specify a different location by clicking Choose/Create Folder. 

4.     Clicking on Explore will open the current Project Data Folder in windows explorer.

5.     You can open existing projects stored in this Data Folder by selecting it in the project list

After selecting the project, a preview of the project will be shown on the right-hand side

Double-clicking on the project name or clicking OKwill open the project.

6.     Click on the dropdownlist below to expose the most recent accessed Data Folders.

7.     Tick Most Recently Used Projects to show the recent projects opened quickly.

8.     You can also read Project Last Saved Date to locate the saved project quickly. 

Projects in the list can be re-order according to alphabetically or chronologically by select "A-Z" or "Date". It can also filter by  select release version from the pull down list.
If you press the “OK” button  having selected an existing project, the selected project will be loaded to the Graphic Editor.
If you press “Delete Project”  the currently selected project will be permanently deleted. 
Notes
Previous versions of ProtaStructure model can be opened directly in latest version :
  1. Firstly, you must choose the correct Data Folder by clicking Choose/Create Folder. 
  2. Browse to the desired Data Folder (note data folder is the main folder, not the project folder)
  3. You will then be able to see the project and open it. 
  4. You will be prompted to save the model as another name. 
  5. After converting, the project will open. 
  6. Newer version projects can’t be opened in older versions of ProtaStructure (not backward compatible).

New Project  

If you want to create a new project, you can click the “New Project” button in the Start Page and type-in the “Project Code” that will identify the new project.

Each project should have a different project code within the same Data Folder. Project Code or Name follow these rules  : 
  1. Total can be up to 80 characters in length.
  2. Can be alphanumeric, example "Project123"
  3. Spaces are not permitted.  Example "Project 123" is not allowed
  4. Dash or underscore can be used.  Example "Project-123" or "Project_123" is allowed
  5. Other special characters such as (!@#$%^&*.+/) cannot be used.  Example "Project/123" or "Project&123" is not allowed. 

ProtaStructure Data File Structure

ProtaStructure stores all the files of a project in a folder called Project Folder. 

Project Folder has the same name as the Project Code, which is the Project Name.  Spaces are not permitted for Project Name. 
Project Folder is created in a parent folder called Project Data Folder, i.e. main folder one level up. 
You can have multiple Data Folder storing different Project Folders (as shown below) 

Notes
If you are a new user, for simplicity, use just one data folder for all projects.
To open a project, the Project Data Folder must be correctly chosen : 
  1. Click “Choose / Create Folder” in the Open Project dialog to change it.  
  2. By default, a folder called called ProtaData20XX will automatically be created in My Documents folder, which contains the quick start guide examples (as shown below).  
  3. The picture below shows that if you want to open the quick start models, you need to choose the correct Data Folder, which is the parent folder one level up. 


Warning
Do not manually rename the Project Folder in Windows Explorer.  
If you want to rename a project, use Save Project As function in ProtaStructure.
Do not delete any files inside the Project Folder – all are essential

Good practices for managing project  

  1. Always store your project in the local hard drive for optimum performance. 
  2. External hardisk and server is not ideal as files can be very large for large model.
  3. Auto-synchronising of the project folder with third party software is not recommended, e.g. dropbox, onedrive as performance may be impacted.
  4. Backup your model often manually.  Go to File > Save Project As > Same the model as another copy. 
  5. Alternatively, go to File > Archive Project to create a compact project zip file of the model files only 
  6. Automatic backup is created every hour which can be restored using Open Previous Backup in the Building Setout tab.
InfoRefer to this article for more details : Managing Project Model via File Menu



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