This article also applies to the following legacy products:
Pro | Architectural | Suite
My Chief Architect or Home Designer file was here yesterday, but today it seems to be missing. Where is the first place I should look for my missing file?
When using Traditional File Management, Chief Architect programs save files to the location on your computer that you have chosen to save them.
In this article, we will discuss how to check your Recycle Bin/Trash and search your operating system for lost or missing Chief Architect files. If you're unable to locate the original file you were working on, you may be able to locate a backup of the file within the archives.
You should check your Recycle Bin/Trash immediately, as continued write activity increases the possibility of an unrecoverable loss.
If the missing or lost files cannot be located in your operating system's Recycle Bin or Trash, it is possible they haven't been deleted, but may be at a different location than you initially checked. Use the search function in your operating system to locate them.
*.plan
.*.layout
.
*.caproj
.
.plan
, .layout
, or .caproj
to search for plan, layout, or project files.
If you encountered a power failure or forced system restart before you were able to save your most recent changes in the file, you may be able to locate a recent backup which has much of the data still saved in it.
To learn more, please see the "Accessing Your Archive Files" resource in the Related Articles section below.
Archive files are meant to be for emergency use only and should not be used as your primary backup method.
If you do not already have a backup system in place, please see backup resources in the Related Articles section below.
If you are not able to access your hard drive, or if you are unable to find your missing data, contact a computer professional in your area.
Alternatively, use another computer to search the Internet for a data recovery expert, as you may be experiencing a hard drive failure resulting in data loss that could become more serious as time goes on.
For future reference on how Chief Architect recommends organizing your files when using Traditional File Management, please see the Related Articles section below.