Hello,
I have edited a Flare project with MadCap Flare 2023 and I have to share it with a customer, who is using Flare 2018.
So, now they can not open my version of the project. Can anybody tell me if there is any way to downgrade it so my customer can open it with version MadCap Flare 2018 r2?
Thanks!
Vanesa
MadCap Flare: Downgrade possible?
Re: MadCap Flare: Downgrade possible?
As far as I know, MadCap haven't documented how to do this - but I think it's worth contacting MadCap support to find out how they would handle this.
How difficult it is to fix will depend a lot on exactly what changes you have've made to their project. If your changes make use of any new features introduced since 2018r2, then they're not going to work and need to be removed (like microcontent, CSS variables, eLearning, branding stylesheets).
It might help to run a file comparison tool to check the differences between the original 2018 project and your edited 2023 project.
How difficult it is to fix will depend a lot on exactly what changes you have've made to their project. If your changes make use of any new features introduced since 2018r2, then they're not going to work and need to be removed (like microcontent, CSS variables, eLearning, branding stylesheets).
It might help to run a file comparison tool to check the differences between the original 2018 project and your edited 2023 project.
Re: MadCap Flare: Downgrade possible?
Hello,
No, we have not used any new features at all. We have only done a translation of the text, so it should be possible to downgrade it a prior version.
It's quite strange that MadCap does not support such a thing. I will try to contact them.
Thanks!
Vanesa
No, we have not used any new features at all. We have only done a translation of the text, so it should be possible to downgrade it a prior version.
It's quite strange that MadCap does not support such a thing. I will try to contact them.
Thanks!
Vanesa
Re: MadCap Flare: Downgrade possible?
You might be able to copy topic files from your 2023 project to overwrite the topic files in the original 2018 project. Topic files don't usually contain any information that's specific to a Flare version (if you haven't used new features).
However, project files will be more difficult to handle. If you open a project file from 2018 in Flare 2023 and then save it, it might include additional data that is specific to Flare 2023, like a default setting for a new skin feature or just a version number. For example, a skin file I saved in 2018 has Version="1" inside the skin, and the same skin file in 2023R2 is now Version="6".
All the project files are text XML files, so it's easy to open them and see any changes. That's why I suggested using a file comparison tool, as you might be able to find unexpected changes to the files, and revert them back to the 2018 version.
Just make sure to work on backups of your projects.
However, project files will be more difficult to handle. If you open a project file from 2018 in Flare 2023 and then save it, it might include additional data that is specific to Flare 2023, like a default setting for a new skin feature or just a version number. For example, a skin file I saved in 2018 has Version="1" inside the skin, and the same skin file in 2023R2 is now Version="6".
All the project files are text XML files, so it's easy to open them and see any changes. That's why I suggested using a file comparison tool, as you might be able to find unexpected changes to the files, and revert them back to the 2018 version.
Just make sure to work on backups of your projects.