Diverging projects

[jmayo-EE]

We have a project that needs to be archived and the archive needs to stay functional with XRefs and DRefs. Then we need to continued the project down two separate paths. In other words I need two copies of this project.

What is your method for coping an entire project?

I copied the entire project folder, renamed the orginal project folder so the shorcuts would break in the copies. I then opened the copies are remapeed the data shortcuts in the dwg and associated the new projects to the files. Saved and renamed the orginal folder back.

Everything seem fine. The new project is correctly assigned to each file and if I open the datashortcut editor each copy of the project points to the correct path.

The problem is when I open some of the files in the copied projects the data references go back to the orginal project. So something in these files keeps ignoring the new project paths and it is quite a pain to recreate the shortcuts all the time.

So if you see issues with my method or have a better method please let me know.

[Civil3DReminders_com]

Did you use the datashortcut manager to change the paths? I find it easier. I also chance the name of the objects, mostly changing the capitalization so the names don't really change. That way they can't fine the original as easily.

[AllenJessup]

John,

Have you taken a look in the Data Shortcuts Editor? I find in cases like this you [or at least I] can get double paths in the XML file.

Allen

[jmayo-EE]

Hey guys thanks for the response. I did not use the editor to change paths but I did use it to confirm the new location and was all mapped correct. I also did not get a broken reference block at 0,0.

I will try to test it again using the editor only.

[jmayo-EE]

My goal with breaking the ref's by renaming the folder was to force each shortcut to the new path manually which went off w/o a glitch.

[Lisa_Pohlmeyer]

Your folder copy method is exactly the way we have done it in the past.  Each time we did it in 2012 it went off without issue. Haven't tried it in 2015 yet. One thing different is that I used the Data Shortcut Editor to modify the shortcuts before opening any of the drawings in the copied project.

[jmayo-EE]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I did not think there should have been an isssue with the method and the shortcut editor displayed the correct paths, the dwg's were associated to the correct project but one pipe network and on surface kept going back to the original project when opened. I still can't explain this but I may have a circular ref issue.

A Util.dwg file was created as the source for a project's pipe networks. These networks were ref's into a Util-Plot.dwg where a bunch of sheets were made.

During revisions someone xref'd the util-plot.dwg into the source file, util.dwg. I am not quite sure but I think when the files were opened in the new project they may have had issue with the same FG surfcae Xref'd and point to the original project and another dref'd looking in the new location.

I really don't know if this was the issue or not but it's the only thing I can find that may have caused the dref's always pointing back to the original project. Even with the shortcut editor telling me it was pointing to the new project and the new project was associated to the files.

I did manage to recreate the ref to the problem network and surface w/o too much relabeling in the sheets...

Does anyone think that the xref/dref circular reference was messing with this?