WC_FileRecovery 2.
0 User Guide
WC_FileRecovery is a program that can be used to recover files in a corrupted Windchill cache. It
was developed by Ron Thellen and is being made freely available to anyone that wishes to use it. Care
was taken in developing WC_FileRecovery to ensure that no files are damaged or corrupted further
during the recovery process. Despite these efforts, it is conceivable that there are conditions or user
customizations that may not have been taken into account. Therefore, anyone that uses
WC_FileRecovery assumes all responsibility for any and all results in its use. If you are not willing to
assume such risk, do not use the program.
WC_FileRecovery has been tested as indicated in the chart below.
Pro/ENGINEER / Creo Version
3.0 4.0 5.0 Creo 1 Creo 2
8.0 ● ?
9.0 ? ●
Windchill
9.1 ● ● ● ● ●
Version
10.0 ? ● ● ●
10.1 ● ● ●
Usage of this program with any untested versions is not currently supported and results are unknown at
this time.
Before using WC_FileRecovery, copy the cache files to a different folder.
Do not attempt to recover the files directly in the local cache.
This will ensure that the files in the local cache remain in their current and original state. The
Windchill cache is usually found in a location similar to (your cache location may vary):
C:\Documents and Settings\<user>\Application Data\PTC\ProENGINEER\Wildfire\.wf\.cache\<server>
WC_FileRecovery examines Windchill cache files, attempts to determine the original Pro/ENGINEER
or Creo file name and, if found, can be used to rename the cache files to that name.
After starting the program and accepting the User Agreement, the user simply:
browses to the folder containing the copied cache files and selects the files they wish to recover
(usually all “lid” files in the folder)
reviews the filename data for each cache file displayed in the dialog
o (the user can select one or more files shown in the display) by:
selecting the files manually,
using the search function to select the files or
a combination of both methods
recovers all files or the selected files.
The renamed files can then be opened in Pro/ENGINEER or Creo.
Installation and Pre-requisites
WC_FileRecovery 2.0 is available in both 32 bit and 64 bit Windows versions. It requires Microsoft
.NET 2.0 Framework in order to run. During installation of either version the installer will query the
system to determine if .NET is installed. If not, you will be provided an option to download and install
the required version of .NET from Microsoft.
WC_FileRecovery Process
When WC_FileRecovery is started, you are presented with the following User Agreement:
If the user clicks No, the program exits. If the user clicks Yes, the WC_FileRecovery main screen is
displayed.
Select File Open and browse to the location of the copied cache files:
NOTE: WC_FileRecovery looks for “lid” files by default. These represent new or modified files in
your local cache that have not been uploaded to the server. If desired, you can change the Type
dropdown to “sid” files. However, because “sid” files in the local cache represent files that have
already been uploaded to the server, it is usually unnecessary to attempt recovery of these files.
Select the files you wish to recover and click the Open button. WC_FileRecovery examines each
selected file and attempts to determine:
The type of Pro/ENGINEER or Creo file (Part, Assembly, Drawing, etc.).
The Pro/ENGINEER or Creo file name.
The Windchill version (“lid” files only).
After examining all selected files, WC_FileRecovery reports the results:
The number and location of the examined files is displayed above the results window.
The reported results contain the following information for each cache file:
The original cache file name.
The type of Pro/ENGINEER or Creo file (Part, Assembly, etc.).
The Pro/ENGINEER or Creo alternate file name.
A preferred Pro/ENGINEER or Creo file name. This usually occurs when a file has been
renamed and represents the new file name, but not always.
The date modified value from the original file.
The Windchill version of the file (“lid” files only). The file’s version is only used for reference
to aid in determining which file you wish to recover. It is not used in the recovered file’s name.
NOTE: Three of the items (File Type, Alternate Name and Preferred Name) cannot always be
determined. If a preferred file name is found, this name will be used for the renamed file, otherwise
the alternate Pro/ENGINEER file name will be used. If the type of Pro/ENGINEER file can be
determined, but a name cannot be found, WC_FileRecovery will rename the file to recover<n> with
the appropriate Pro/ENGINEER file extension (where <n> is a sequential numeric suffix). This allows
you to open the file in Pro/ENGINEER in order to determine what the file is. If none of these items
can be determined, WC_FileRecovery ignores the file and makes no attempt to rename the file.
The Windchill version will display as follows (“lid” files only):
1. All reported versions will include a “+”, indicating the files have been modified.
This is the same as the “modified” indicator in your workspace.
2. New files that have been saved to your workspace will have only a "+".
3. Checked out and modified files that have been saved to your workspace will include the
full checked out file’s revision, e.g., “A.2+”.
You can sort on any column by clicking on the column header. Clicking once performs an initial
ascending sort. Clicking a second time reverses the sort. The sort column and sort order is indicated
in the column header.
You can perform a simple search by entering a text string and clicking the Find button. For example,
in the above listing, if you want to find files that have the string, "door" in the file name, you would
use that as your search string. Clicking the Find button highlights (selects) all rows with matches and
brings the first matching row into view. The number of matches found is reported.
File (on the Menu Bar)
To recover cache files, you have two options.
Recover Selected Files This option is only available if you have selected files in the list,
either manually or by using the search feature. Selecting this option
recovers only the selected files.
Recover All Files This options recovers all files in the list regardless of whether you
have any files selected.
You will be prompted one final time to be sure you wish to proceed with the file recovery. Depending
on which recover option you selected, you will see one of the prompts shown below. The location of
the files to be recovered is displayed again to make certain you are recovering the correct files.
If you select Yes, the files are recovered and another dialog is displayed when recovery is complete.
It is possible that there may be two or more “lid” files in a users local cache that represent the same file
(i.e., multiple versions of the file may exist in the local cache if frames are enabled). During file
recovery, if one version of the file has been recovered either in this WC_FileRecovery session or an
earlier session and a second version of the file is encountered, you will be presented with a dialog
showing details of both files and you will have the option to overwrite the previously recovered file.
Review the details of the two files (size and date modified) and select an appropriate action.
Options (on the Menu Bar)
The conflict dialog above, although useful, can be rather tedious when there are multiple iterations of
files in the local cache. In the Options drop down on the menu bar there is an option named Recover
All Iterations. This option can be “checked” and if it is, the conflict dialog above is avoided and all
conflicting files automatically have a numeric suffix appended to the name of each iteration (e.g.,
mypart.prt.1, mypart.prt.2, mypart.prt.3…). The Recover All Iterations option is unavailable until files
have been added to the display and the default state of the option is for it to be unchecked. Hovering
the cursor over the option displays a tooltip that provides a brief summary of the option.
As indicated in the tooltip, when you check this option, the list of files is automatically sorted, first by
Date Modified and then by Preferred Name. This configures the list in the proper order for application
of the numeric suffixes.
Note that while this option is checked, you cannot click a column header to sort on a different column.
To sort on a different column, uncheck this option. This ensures the list is in the proper sort order for
recovering all iterations.
After clicking OK on the “Recovery Complete” dialog, the main screen message above the results
window is also updated to indicate that the process is complete.
NOTE: The list of files in the display is updated after file recovery is complete, i.e., recovered files are
removed from the display. The availability of the recover options (under File on the menu bar)
changes as follows after recovering files:
If there are no files remaining in the display, neither recover option is available.
If there are remaining files in the display, only the Recover All Files option is available in the
display. You may select additional files for recovery (for recovering the selected files) or
recover all remaining files in the display.
You can also begin the process over at the File Open step. The previous location you browsed to is
retained during this active session and will be the default location in the Open dialog.
When finished recovering files, click File Exit.
Support
WC_FileRecovery was developed on my own (limited) time and as such is provided as is. Discussion
in the PTC Community is welcome, but I make no promise of correcting any issues that may become
known. Also, because this was developed on my own time and so as not to present any conflict of
interest with my employer, I will not engage in any discussion on the exploder during my normal
working hours. Again, this program is being provided free of charge with no warranty, expressed or
implied.
Enhancements in WC_FileRecovery 2.05
Added a “Version” column to the Windchill Cache Recovery Tool’s results (“lid” files only).
Added a Desktop shortcut.
