Senior moment or...?

[theavy]

I may be mistaken, but I could swear that using past versions of VSP (2018 and prior) I could open a project with say VSP 2018, and then open the same project later with VSP X10. However, now that I have opened a project with VSP 2019, none of the earlier versions will open the project.

Did I forget to do something somewhere along the line after upgrading?

[Davidk]

Nothing really changed. You could always open a project created in say x9, using 2018. But if you just saved it from 2018, it became a 2018 project. To get X9 to open that same project next you would have to "save as" from 2018, and choose X9 from the filetype box in the save as panel.

The problem in this is that, with 2018 and 2019, the "save as" function is broken. On my system saving as say x10 from within 2018 looks like it works, but when you start X10 and then open that saved as project, X10 immediately crashes. 2019 ditto. Corel knows about it, but hasn't yet (?) done anything about it. So I suggest you change your work practice in several ways:
1. include the VS version in the project file name eg, myproject_x9.vsp. This way you will know what version of VS to start when you want to work on a project.
2. Don't use the 'save as' function for a project. If you have inadvertantly opened say an X9 project in 2019, made changes but not saved it, then just exit without saving. It wastes work, but should mean your project file for the relevant VS version is intact and openable with X9.

[Ken Berry]

However, now that I have opened a project with VSP 2019, none of the earlier versions will open the project.

What you have described is the usual behaviour of all versions of VS that I am familiar with going back about 15 years. Later versions can open projects made in earlier versions. But the opposite is not true. Projects made and saved in a later version can only be opened in the three versions preceding that version, and only if, when you go to Save in VS, you use the dropdown menu beside "Save As File Type" and choose the earlier version you want to save the project as.

So if you have opened *and saved* a project -- either a new one or one made in an earlier version -- it will be, by default, saved as a VS 2019 format project, and cannot be opened in earlier versions. But if you want to open it in VS 2018, X10 or X9, then you choose that version in File > Save > Save As File Type in VS 2019.

EDIT: I see Davidk has also answered this while I was typing! He has covered the issue of problems experienced with this in both VS 2018 and 2019. I too had experienced this problem. But I have been playing around with it since installing SP2 in VS 2019. So far I have not experienced the problems he mentioned. A VS 2019 project "saved as file type" as VS 2018, opens fine in VS 2018, and VS 2018 has not crashed or otherwise misbehaved. The same happens when I "save as file type" X10. And X10 also does not crash. So I am wondering if SP2 has fixed the problem.

Hopefully David will post his own views on this.

[theavy]

Thanks to both of you! That is, without a doubt, the step I'm missing.

[Davidk]

And I've just done that, with mixed results. Synopsis: Ken seems to be right regarding 2019 since installing SP2, but 2018 at SP4 level is still broken for the project file 'saved as' function. Predictable, since the only update released recently was for 2019.

The details of test:
- 2 tests - one of 2018, and the second of 2019. Using the same project file in both cases, it was originally created in 2018, and 'saved as' an X10 file from 2018, and 'saved as' an x10 file from 2019.
- test 1: started 2018, opened the 2018 project file. Saved it as an X10 vsp. Closed 2018, started X10. When X10 has started, opened the 'saved as' project file: open starts and x10 immediately crashed.
- test 2: started 2019, opened the 2018 project file. Saved it as an X10 vsp. Closed 2019, started x10. When x10 has started, opened the 'saved as' X10 project file: open starts, proceeds normally and completes Ok. Project file plays as expected.

Will Corel fix 2018? how long is a piece of string?......

[theavy]

Thanks for that Davidk!