How To Save Corrupt Files (maybe)

How to save a Corrupt File (maybe)
This trick doesn’t always work, so it is a last hope solution. If you can get most of you drawing using this method, you may only have to redraw a small amount. Also, this trick only works with Design Layers, so all the annotations that you add to the viewports will be lost.
There is one trick that I have given out a few times lately where the file is corrupt or crashing frequently. Remember that this works sometimes, it doesn’t always work. If it can work then it is a life saver. I have sometimes used it to access a file that is so corrupt that it won’t open.
This trick uses WorkGroup Referencing. Refer to the VectorWorks Architect Manual, or the VectorWorks Landmark manual (also covered in the archoncad manual Setting up Large Projects available at http://www.archoncad.co.nz ).
• Leave the corrupt file closed and open a new file.
• From the Menu Bar chose
Tools > Workgroup References…
• We have to add the file that is corrupt, click on the New button.
• Find the file on your computer. Then click on the Open button.
• The New Reference dialog box gives you control over which layers to attach to the current file.
• Select all the layers that you want, but do not select any layers that have layer links on them, layer links can not be imported. Remember that only Design Layers can be imported.
• Then click on the OK button.
• So far this is just the same as the manual. Now for the trick.
• Delete the Workgroup Reference. This will break the link to the corrupt file.
• You get a dialog box asking you what to do with all the resources that you have referenced into the current file. Choose to keep them all and they will all stay in the current file, imported from the corrupt file.
• The Workgroup References dialog box is empty. No files are currently linked, but the layers that you choose from the corrupt file remain in your file, and all the information on the imported layers comes in as well.

If this method doesn’t work the first time try importing the layers one at a time. Attach one layer, Save the file. Remove the layer. Save the file. Attach the next layer and so on. You may find that only one of the layers is corrupt. If you do, leave that layer out and attach the others and remove them, keeping all the resources.
You could end up with all but one layer saved. That is better than redrawing the complete file.
You should also have a backup strategy so that you could go back to yesterdays file, or the day before. That file may not be corrupt.

7th July 2009
I know people that are still accessing this blog, but it was written 3 years ago. Vectorworks now has a new interface for this area, so some of the instructions need to change.

You access the References from the Tool Menu, choose Organization…
Click on the References Tab
Click on the setting button.
Choose Design layer import

For detailed instructions on using Workgroup Referencing try this short shart manual:
http://www.archoncad.com/workgroup-referencing.html