Reading Version 5 Data in Version 4 Format

 

Warning Prerequisites
In order to read and use CATIA Version 5 CATPart documents in CATIA Version 4, the following steps must be carried out:

  1. From Version 4.23 R1, CATIA Version 4.23 R1 must be installed on a UNIX machine.

  2. You must then install a CATIA V5Rn configuration corresponding to the CATPart's level and it must includes the V4 Integration product (V4I), for example the MD2 configuration (Mechanical Design 2) and set up the appropriate licenses.

  3. In order to be able to access the CATIA Version 5 software from a CATIA Version 4 session you must add to the USRENV.dcls file, both in the user and administrator environments, the following (n: is the release number):

CATIA.ENVTV5 : STRING;
CATIA.ENVTV5 = `$HOME/CATENV/CATIA.V5Rn.Bn.sh';
CATIA.MACHV5 : STRING;
CATIA.MACHV5 = 'my_server_machine';

where $HOME is the root $HOME and where CATIA.V5Rn.Bn.sh is the shell downloaded to $HOME/CATEnv/ using the CATIA Version 5 installation procedure.

  1. Make sure that:

  • the path used to access the CATPart document is the same and the file system containing the CATPart and the file system containing the CATPart is shared between the V4 and V5 machines.
  • the user $HOME is the same on the V4 and V5 machines and is shared between both.

  1. Once the above statement is added to the USRENV.dcls file it is possible to use Version 5 data in a Version 4 session within a client/server environment with the appropriate V5 license set up on the server machine. However, if the last two lines of the declaration above are not specified it is assumed by the system that both V4 and V5 are installed on a local machine.
    This avoids the error message "Dynamic storage cannot be allocated" displaying when you attempt to read
    CATIA Version 5 data.

  2. You are now ready to manipulate CATIA Version 5 data in CATIA Version 4. You can, for example:

  • browse V5 documents as passive models using FILE/OPEN.
  • read a V5 CATPart document and copy exact solids and surface entities into CATIA Version 4 using MODELS/COPY.
 

Reading directly Version 5 Data in Version 4

You have the possibility to read directly CATIA Version 5 Data in Version 4.

For more information, refer to CATIA V4 Documentation in:

CAA Infrastructure Solutions
Data Administration and Interoperability Guide
Part II : Understanding Different Data Interoperability Issues
Manipulating CATIA Version 5 in a CATIA Version 4 Session.