How to open Flare with a project from the command line?

[samjones6]

I do most of my work in Flare 7, but I need to do some things in v6.1.

If I just "execute" the project file, it always opens in v7.

How can I have a command line open of a project in v6.1 ?

Thanks!

[RamonS]

Why not open Flare 6.1 and then load the project within Flare?

[samjones6]

Why not open Flare 6.1 and then load the project within Flare?

Cause I am in and out of this stuff all day, and I like to automate things!

[LTinker68]

Isn't there a way to create a desktop shortcut that specifies the program to use to launch the shortcut? It seems like I did that a long time ago with a shortcut to a website that had to run in IE because it wouldn't work in any other browser and IE wasn't my default browser. It has been a long time, though, so maybe you can't do that with desktop shortcuts anymore.

[Andrew]

You can still do that. Create the shortcut to the project, then right-click it and select Properties. On the General tab, click Change. Then you have to select the right Flare version...and, of course, there is no version number to choose from. Yay.

So you then have to click Browse, then find the v6.1 folder, and select that executable to make sure you get the right program.

At least, that *SHOULD* work. I just tested it, and my project opened in v4.2 (despite redoing the binding to v6.1 twice). Weiiiiird.

(Incidentally, I reported the lack of version identifier on the Open With menu in Windows Explorer as a bug -- #24727, if you want to report it and reference my case. Report bugs here.)

[RamonS]

Well, one problem is that such a feature might suggest that it is OK to open projects across Flare versions. It is highly discouraged to open a project file in a lower Flare version than the project was used with. And such a feature would just increase the number of cases. That said, I don't deny the benefit to the smart users.

[samjones6]

It is highly discouraged to open a project file in a lower Flare version than the project was used with.

Madcap support has told me that the project files are identical across 6.1 and 7.0, and that both can be used against the same project.

[RamonS]

OK, then you know more than I do. It didn't used to be that way.

[Andrew]

Well, one problem is that such a feature might suggest that it is OK to open projects across Flare versions. It is highly discouraged to open a project file in a lower Flare version than the project was used with. And such a feature would just increase the number of cases. That said, I don't deny the benefit to the smart users.

...whereas the lack of any indication of a version number makes it much more likely that you open a project using the wrong version because you can't tell which one is which.

Madcap support has told me that the project files are identical across 6.1 and 7.0, and that both can be used against the same project.

Very good to know, thank you! But beware, it's not always thus (for example, the files changed between 3 and 4).

[NorthEast]

It is highly discouraged to open a project file in a lower Flare version than the project was used with.

Madcap support has told me that the project files are identical across 6.1 and 7.0, and that both can be used against the same project.

I'm guessing that means you can edit a v6 project in v7, provided that you don't start using v7-only features; e.g. table mediums, equations, QR codes, new source control integration, etc.

But as RamonS said, it's generally not a good idea to mix-n-match versions; even if it does work, you still need to be careful.

It's also worth noting that the generated output in v7 is different, for WebHelp at least; it uses different internal styles, and includes extra XML files.

...whereas the lack of any indication of a version number makes it much more likely that you open a project using the wrong version because you can't tell which one is which.

If you squint at the icons, there's a slight difference!