Message: This plan cannot be opened.


Reference Number: KB-01209
Last Modified: July 19, 2021

The information in this article applies to:

Chief Architect Premier or Chief Architect InteriorsHome Designer Professional or Home Designer Architectural or Home Designer Suite



QUESTION

When I try to open a file that was given to me by another party, a warning message states:

You are running an older version of the Software that does not support the newer features of the file you are attempting to open.

or

This plan cannot be opened. It was written by a newer version of the program than you are currently running. You may want to check for and install any available program updates.

Why can't I open this file?


ANSWER

Any given version of Chief Architect software can open files created in that same version and previous versions. It cannot, however, open a file created in a more recent version of the software.

For example, Chief Architect X10 can open files created in version X8, X9, etc., but it cannot open files created in version X11.

If you are encountering this warning message when you try to open a particular file, then the file was created in a version of the software that is newer than the version you have.


It is important to note that this may be caused by a mismatch in build numbers, rather than full versions (ex: if you are running build 21.2, you will not be able to open a plan created in build 21.3); you may be able to resolve the issue by downloading and installing the latest program update for your software:

 

If running the latest update does not help, you may want to consider upgrading your software license to the latest program version: