Opening a project

To open a project in Project Viewer:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
  2. Click This PC. A navigable folder list appears.
  3. Navigate around the folder list to the folder in which the project is located.
  4. Click the project to open it.

You may have to enter a user name and password to open a project. If this is the case, the Logon dialog appears for you to enter your user name and password.

Opening an Asta Powerproject 4D project

You can open projects that have been saved in Asta Powerproject 4D in PPV format. These projects contain all of the information that is required to open an Asta Powerproject 4D project in Project Viewer, including the project file, the 3D model that was open when the project was saved and a baseline, if one is referred to in the timeline simulation that was current when the project was saved. If an IFC group model was open when the project was saved, all of the 3D models within the IFC group model are contained within the PPV file.

You can choose to open Asta Powerproject 4D projects without their associated 3D models or IFC group models. Projects open more quickly when they are opened without their associated 3D models or IFC group models, so you may want to do this if you want to view an Asta Powerproject 4D project without the need to view its associated 3D model.

To open an Asta Powerproject 4D project in Project Viewer:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
  2. If you want to open the project without its associated 3D model or IFC group model, select the Disable IFC model loading check box .
  3. Click Browse. The Select dialog appears.
  4. Select the folder in which the project is located in the Look in field.
  5. Select "APV 4D files (*.ppv)" in the Files of type field.
  6. Select the project you want to open.
  7. Click Open.

You may have to enter a user name and password to open a project. If this is the case, the Logon dialog appears for you to enter your user name and password.

Unless you selected the Disable IFC model loading check box when opening the project, the 3D model or IFC group model opens in Project Viewer when you open the project and you can use Project Viewer to view and navigate around the model.

If you open more than one Asta Powerproject 4D project at the same time, you can use the Select IFC Model control in the Model group on the 4D tab of the Ribbon to switch between the 3D models or IFC group models that relate to the different projects that are open: the 3D model display is not updated automatically if you switch from one open project to another.

Opening a recently-viewed project

To open a recently-viewed project:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
  2. Click Recent. A list of recently-accessed projects appears.
  3. Click a project to open it.

The default number of files that appear in the most recently used list is four, but you can configure Project Viewer to display any number up to sixteen, using the General tab of the Options dialog.

Downloading a programme that is stored in Asta Vision

To download a programme that is stored in Asta Vision:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
  2. Click Asta Vision. A button appears for you to log into Asta Vision.
  3. Log into Asta Vision. A list of programmes to which you have access appears.
  4. Click the programme to download a copy of the latest revision of the programme.

If you want to download a different revision of a programme, right-click the programme and select Download Specific Revision rather than clicking it to download the latest revision.

Opening a project as a different user

To open a project as a different user - perhaps one with different access rights who can therefore view more or less of a project:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Open.
  2. Click This PC. A navigable folder list appears.
  3. Navigate around the list to the location in which the project is stored.
  4. Right-click the project and select Open as New User. The Logon to Project dialog appears.
  5. Enter the other user's user name and password, then click OK to open the project.

Importing projects in other formats

As well as using Project Viewer to open and view Asta Powerproject and Asta Easyplan projects, you can use it to open and view projects that have been created using the following project management applications:

  • Microsoft® Project (in XML and MPP format).
  • Primavera P3E®, Primavera P5® and Primavera P6® (in XML or XER format).
  • Primavera SureTrak® (in DIR or STX format).

To import a project from another project management application into Project Viewer:

  1. Click the File tab, then click Import.
  2. Click either Import from Primavera or Import from Microsoft Project, depending on the type of project you want to import.
  3. Complete the dialog that appears and click OK to import the project.