Copying 3D from CATIA Version 4 to CATIA Version 5

The following data can be copied from CATIA Version 4 to CATIA Version 5:

• surfaces (both polynomial and BSpline)
• faces
• volumes
• skins and exact solids
• mockup solids (see remarks regarding copy/pasting mockup solids below)
• polyhedral surfaces and solids
• circles
• ellipses
• points
• lines
• planes

• clouds of points
• edges
• parabolas
• hyperbolas
• curves (both polynomial and BSpline)
• CCVs
• NURBs (curves and surfaces)
• PIP elements (Tubing)
• GPR elements (AEC Primitive)
• STR elements (planar structures, linear structures)

You should have already completed the task Checking CATIA Version 4 Model Data Before Copying it to CATIA Version 5.

You may want to customize certain settings before proceeding with this task. For more information, see  Customizing Compatibility Settings.

1. Open a new CATIA Version 5 CATPart document. To do this, refer if necessary to "Creating New Documents" in the CATIA - Infrastructure User's Guide.

2. In the specification tree or geometry area where the Version 4 model is displayed, select the geometrical element or elements you wish to convert.

3. If you intend to copy the geometry you can either:

• drag and drop the elements onto the appropriate location in the CATIA Version 5 document. The cursor changes slightly i.e. the symbol appears indicating where a drop is allowed. If the cursor changes to the symbol , the drop is not allowed in that location.

• or:

  • Put the elements you have selected in the clipboard by clicking Copy , select the Edit > Copy command or select the Copy command in the contextual menu.

  • In the specification tree of the CATIA Version 5 document, select the appropriate item (for example, PartBody or Body.1, Body.2, etc. in the PartDesign workbench).

  • Click the Paste icon or select the Edit > Paste command or select the Paste command in the contextual menu. This operation recovers the specifications previously put in the clipboard.

4. If you intend to copy the specifications:

   • Put the elements you have selected in the clipboard by clicking Copy , selecting the Edit > Copy command or selecting the Copy command in the contextual menu.

   • In the specification tree of the CATIA Version 5 document, select the appropriate item (for example, PartBody or Body.1, Body.2, etc, in the PartDesign workbench).

   • Select the Edit > Paste Special...  command or select the Paste Special... command in the contextual menu.

     The dialog box below appears:

   • Select the CATIA_SPEC and click OK. This operation recovers the specifications previously put in the clipboard.

5. To view the copied data, you will need to update your V5 document, by clicking Update , only if this document in which you paste V4 data, is not up to date.
   Otherwise, if the V5 document is up to date, it will be automatically updated after the copy / paste operation, but only if there is no migration error.

6. You may want to click the Fit All In icon to fit all data in the window.

   Note that the toolbars change depending on whether a CATIA Version 4 model or a CATIA Version 5 document is selected. If you copied the geometry the result should look something like this (using the Window > Tile Horizontally command):
   If you copied the specifications the result should look something like this (using the Window>Tile Horizontally command):
   Bear in mind the following when copy/pasting: The migration of V4 model data to a V5 document generates a report (.rpt) file named after the model migrated: on Windows: in C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Application Data\DassaultSystemes\CATReport on UNIX: in /u/users/username/CATReport

• If you used the CATIA_SPEC option mentioned above note that only the paste operation is included in the report i.e. the actual update of the CATPart document is not taken into account.
• If you want to manipulate the data in this CATProduct, you will not be able to Copy/Paste features belonging to different V4 Models (within the CATProduct) in the same transaction, at the same time, otherwise a Warning appears. For instance:

• When copy/pasting mockup solids: If the solid has a history then the V5 specifications are created. However, if the solid has no history or if the CATIA_RESULT option is selected (using the Paste Special... command) then a cgr file is generated containing the visualization information of the solid. The name of this file is "mymodel_SOLMxxx" and is located in the same directory as the V4 CATIA model. This file can be visualized separately or inserted into the Product Structure application.
• When copy/pasting sets of surfaces : If you want to get a unique surface in V5, it is more efficient to perform the join in V4 before the transcript than in V5 on the resulting surfaces.
• When copying / pasting the *MASTER of a Model in a CATPart, the Model's comment is taken into account. The Model's comment will be added to the properties of the destination CATPart as it is already done in the V4 to V5 Migration batch.