Delete old versions of Chief/File Management

[BethVanDeusen]

This might be a ridiculous question - but - can I get rid of my old versions of Chief? I have X15 but still have all the older versions still installed on my computer. I have been horrible at file management and have used 641GB of my available 952GB with most of it being old plans. I am slogging through my old files and deleting a lot of plans, but I also noticed that old versions of Chief are pretty big (@600MB). How do you all manage files? I have always ignored the prompt that asks if I want to manage files which seems to have been a bad idea. 

[DavidJPotter]

My business model includes working with users who never upgraded. I have versions 7- 25 on my PC. This supports creating work or helping to create and finish work started by others. People are generally sloppy with their file archiving so I keep copies of all the files I have worked on from Version 4-25. I have those files by version then client name, Hard drives and web storage are cheap, works for me.

 

DJP

[Kbird1]

On 12/29/2023 at 1:12 PM, BethVanDeusen said:

This might be a ridiculous question - but - can I get rid of my old versions of Chief? I have X15 but still have all the older versions still installed on my computer. I have been horrible at file management and have used 641GB of my available 952GB with most of it being old plans. I am slogging through my old files and deleting a lot of plans, but I also noticed that old versions of Chief are pretty big (@600MB). How do you all manage files? I have always ignored the prompt that asks if I want to manage files which seems to have been a bad idea. 

 

You could add a 2TB or 4TB Drive for extra Storage.........

 

but if you haven't already Check the Archive Folder under each Version you may find yo have dozens of GBs of Archived Files you know longer need, similarly for old Clients you may have many Plan File Revisions for each Client ....... Open the latest Layout/Plan File for each Client and do a Full Backup Zipfile, from Layout if there is one ( which will include the Plan) and then save just the ZipFile in the Client's Folder in case you should ever need it. ( Zipping compressing the Files and saves all materials in the Plan as well.)

 

This may help if you're not familiar with the process, you just won't be sending them to another User .

 

https://www.chiefarchitect.com/support/article/KB-00987/using-the-backup-entire-plan-layout-tool-to-send-files-to-another-user.html

 

M.

 

 

[mthd97]

As mentioned above I also recommend that you save all your past work to a suitable sized USB drive. You can definitely use much older files in newer versions of CA via CAX8 saving. See the information on the website for directions. Have fun archiving.