Importing a project from another Machine:

 

If you ever find yourself needing to take a project you have created to another computer, this is the tutorial for you. You may also need this tutorial if you want to import projects we have provided for you on other tutorials.

Students in the class ECE189 at UCSB should not need to worry about this too much because they should make a folder in their home directory --- (not on the C: drive) --- to store both the project-specific central library and the rest of the project files there. The home directory will be automatically mounted as a drive (normally the Z: drive) and this happens without regard to which Digilab computer has been used.

NOTE:  Always use the same central library for a project or else you will probably run into errors when DxDesigner tries to communicate with Expedition PCB. This means that if you are importing a project that was created on another Digilab computer or is from another person's home directory, please also use their central library.

 

To make this tutorial a little bit more interactive, please download a copy of a project we have created.

 

Click here to download

 

The link provided here is merely the project used with our Easybus tutorial.

 

For those who want a quick overview of the steps taken, see the list below. For those of you who wish to follow along and do each step with screenshots and explanations, then continue reading after the numbered list.

 

  1. Place a copy of the project you want to open, and the Central Library that comes with it, in a location that you know how to browse to.
  2. Open up DxDesigner and click either the button for open file or use the File Menu->Open->Project…
  3. Browse for the project you just placed on the computer and click OK
  4. Click the OK button for the Central Library warning.
  5. Click the Setup menu->Settings…
  6. On the left hand navigation pane of the window that pops up, click on the word "Project" at the very top.
  7. Click the “…” button to browse to where the Central Library now resides and click the OK button.
  8. Click the OK button on the Settings window to confirm your changes.
  9. Enjoy full access to your project!

 

Now to actually show you how all of the above steps are done.  Lets start at step 2 though shall we?

 

(1-open_dialog.jpg)

 

The previous image shows the file you will want to open up.  When you click the Open button the following will happen.

 

(2-warning.jpg)

 

This warning message occurs because the project expects the Central Library to be where it was the last time the project was run in DxDesigner.  The project stores the location of the Central Library as a full path and not a local one so even if the local paths did not change when you moved the project and the library, it will still have this warning. Just click the OK button and let's move on.

 

Click on the following menu option:

 

(3-settings.jpg)

 

This will open up the following window:

 

(4-settings_window.jpg)

 

If you look at the many fields specified for your project, you will notice that the Central Library Path is the only field that will not auto-correct itself.  Merely click on the “…” button to browse for where you placed the Central Library.  Once you have changed the Central Library Path to be correct then you are ready to use the project you obtained from another computer!