Unable to export to CDP

[Twowit2woo]

Can Trainz really not handle a filesize of a Gig?

I have a freeware route that I downloaded through content manager and at some point it got screwed up (no idea how.)

I deleted it and painstakingly managed to find all the missing stuff again so for security I just want to be able to export it as a CDP in case it goes wrong again.

I get a message "Folder contents are too large for: arc" (etc.)

Does this mean simply that I cannot take a backup of this 1 route?

 

[MasterTracklayer]

No. It means simply that you cannot "take a backup" of this one route via that method.

You can copy the route and contents into another type of archive (assuming that it can handle that much data in one go), or just copy the route and contents to another location. There are many archival/compression formats with associated programs out there.

I`ve seen warnings against using Zip format (which happens to be built into Windows), but nobody has said why anywhere that I`ve seen the warning.

 

[JCitron]

Try exporting the route-only and the session-only to CDP separate from any dependencies and then if needed, create separate CDPs for the dependencies. I had to do that when I exported my large route and session.

 

[Twowit2woo]

Try exporting the route-only and the session-only to CDP separate from any dependencies and then if needed, create separate CDPs for the dependencies. I had to do that when I exported my large route and session.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I believe that is what I am doing already.

I find just the route in content manager and try to export that. I have also exported each session by itself. The sessions exported fine, it's just the route that complains

 

[Twowit2woo]

No. It means simply that you cannot "take a backup" of this one route via that method.

You can copy the route and contents into another type of archive (assuming that it can handle that much data in one go), or just copy the route and contents to another location. There are many archival/compression formats with associated programs out there.

I`ve seen warnings against using Zip format (which happens to be built into Windows), but nobody has said why anywhere that I`ve seen the warning.

So it sounds like you are suggesting doing this manually by File Explorer (as opposed to using the automatic method built in (i.e. export))

I've had a poke around the directory but there are no meaningful file or folder names that I can see (I can see a "Packages" folder for example but they are called things like 703p, sc077 etc.

I can also see a folder called "original" that has lots of subfolders that start with the word "hash"

So I'm unsure how to do this manually.

The zip part of it by the way, i.e. compressing the file, I'm not particularly bothered about. It's really just .... how do I get this route out of the game so that I can re-import it at a later date if required.

 

[Ghost42]

Haven't had to resort to this myself but if you go to 'Backups' in the build foldder you will see your route, r/click and there is a zip prompt.

 

[stagecoach]

Open CM and find your route. Instead of exporting to CDP use open for edit. Now you can locate your edit folder and copy the route folder.

 

[JCitron]

So it sounds like you are suggesting doing this manually by File Explorer (as opposed to using the automatic method built in (i.e. export))

I've had a poke around the directory but there are no meaningful file or folder names that I can see (I can see a "Packages" folder for example but they are called things like 703p, sc077 etc.

I can also see a folder called "original" that has lots of subfolders that start with the word "hash"

So I'm unsure how to do this manually.

The zip part of it by the way, i.e. compressing the file, I'm not particularly bothered about. It's really just .... how do I get this route out of the game so that I can re-import it at a later date if required.

No, not at all.

Use Content Manager.

1) Export Route and Session. If your route is about 512 MB, it'll shrink to about 250 MB. Sessions are generally smaller and can be included in the same CDP file.
2) While in Content Manager, get dependencies for your route.
3) Sort on status so that only from DLS, Third-party, and Modified at grouped together to exclude Built-in and Payware.

Select groups of assets while keeping an eye on the size of them. When you get up to about 512 MB, create the CDP.
Repeat until all the DLS, Third-party, and Modified are selected.

If you want, you can skip over the DLS assets and download those again should you restore from your backup.

This is what I did when I needed to send my very large route to N3V for testing. I ended up with 5 CDP files when all was said and done.

 

[JCitron]

The alternative is what @stagecoach coach says. You can then use WinRAR or even the built-in compress files to archive option in Windows to create a .zip file. To restore this route, and or session if done the same way, you either import or drag the route/session folder back in to Content Manager after uncompressing the archive. Keep in mind this is only the route and session and not everything.

 

[Twowit2woo]

Thank so much to everyone for all of your suggestions.

It does sound a bit convoluted, whatever manner is used! I will have a go at all the suggestions. Thanks again.

 

[MasterTracklayer]

So it sounds like you are suggesting doing this manually by File Explorer (as opposed to using the automatic method built in (i.e. export))

Yes. That is exactly what I was suggesting.

So I'm unsure how to do this manually.

What @stagecoach suggested is what I had in mind. Find the route in Content Manager, right-click and Edit in Explorer, go up one directory level in the new window, and move the directory to a safe location. Close the Explorer window and Revert the open-for-edit route. I can expand the details on this; just let me know if you want me to.

 

[Twowit2woo]

Yes. That is exactly what I was suggesting.

What @stagecoach suggested is what I had in mind. Find the route in Content Manager, right-click and Edit in Explorer, go up one directory level in the new window, and move the directory to a safe location. Close the Explorer window and Revert the open-for-edit route. I can expand the details on this; just let me know if you want me to.

Got is - and used successfully.

Each day is a learning day - thank you!

 

[Twowit2woo]

Just when I thought I had gotten the hang of this, it looks like I haven't

I have a free route and session that I downloaded via content manager. I painstakingly found all missing assets so it was now complete.

I exported the route as one CDP and the session as another. So far so good.

As a test I then deleted the route (which deleted the session too) and then from the first Trainz menu did a 'File, Import content file" and imported both the route and the session.

It restored perfectly and all was good.

Because this worked I then went through every single route and session I own and painstakingly exported everything thinking this was actually a faster way to get everything up and running following a fresh install (rather than having to download everything.)

The theory was good I thought!

But having uninstalled and reinstalled everything from scratch and then imported all the CDP's, the free route had the orange icon showing that stuff was missing. I clicked on it and it showed over 800 items for download - so I'm back to square one

So can anyone help me understand what it is I'm missing about this procedure and why, despite exporting the route and session to a CDP, it now has 800 items missing?

I know I can take a backup of the entire folder as per a previous post but I was loathed to do that because Trainz seems to leave behind a lot of mess when you're constantly installing and uninstalling. When I did the uninstall there was still half a terabyte of files left behind so I don't want to be backing this up.

I'm really just looking for the most straightforward way to back everything up and restore it exactly as it was at the time of the backup. If the only option is to backup the entire folder structure then I guess I need to start from scratch, get everything as I want it and then do the backup?

Any advice is much appreciated

 

[stagecoach]

Route and session do not contain all the assets, only a reference to them. This is the kuid table found in the config file of the route or session. If you have Tane or above you need to copy the build folder located in the path your Trainz settings/install shows.
If you have a new install of Trainz you can direct the path to the old folder location and do a DBR and all content will be as it was.
Trainz installs two folders, the program folder which you can select where it goes, and a data folder which always goes to the C drive. This can be moved to another location after installation. Uninstall only removes the program folder leaving the data folder intact.

 

[Twowit2woo]

Route and session do not contain all the assets, only a reference to them. This is the kuid table found in the config file of the route or session. If you have Tane or above you need to copy the build folder located in the path your Trainz settings/install shows.
If you have a new install of Trainz you can direct the path to the old folder location and do a DBR and all content will be as it was.
Trainz installs two folders, the program folder which you can select where it goes, and a data folder which always goes to the C drive. This can be moved to another location after installation. Uninstall only removes the program folder leaving the data folder intact.

Ah - that makes sense. Thank you for clarifying

 

[MasterTracklayer]

The way to ensure that you get ALL assets that are used by a route and its sessions is to find and select all of the sessions in Content Manager, right-click on them, and Show Dependencies Recursively. Is this what you did to back up your routes? If not, these assets, plus the assets that are not used by anything else you have, would account for the terabyte of residual data in your trainzbase.

Were you trying to purge your trainzbase of unused assets? There are other ways to do that without dumping things that you don`t know what they are but that are used by one or more of your routes & sessions. Do you want a recipe for this? I can think of a simple way to identify them, but it could mean a lot of work for your computer. Oh, wait, that`s what computers are for.

 

[Twowit2woo]

The way to ensure that you get ALL assets that are used by a route and its sessions is to find and select all of the sessions in Content Manager, right-click on them, and Show Dependencies Recursively. Is this what you did to back up your routes? If not, these assets, plus the assets that are not used by anything else you have, would account for the terabyte of residual data in your trainzbase.

Were you trying to purge your trainzbase of unused assets? There are other ways to do that without dumping things that you don`t know what they are but that are used by one or more of your routes & sessions. Do you want a recipe for this? I can think of a simple way to identify them, but it could mean a lot of work for your computer. Oh, wait, that`s what computers are for.

Where this all started is that I was downloading sessions from the content store only to find there are lots of missing assets and then spending a ridiculous amount of time trying to hunt them down.

I persevered with this on some really nice routes and managed to find them so that the session and route are now fully complete.

Having gotten to that stage I simply wanted to just back them up so that in the event of a Trainz reinstall I can just re-import them without going through all the pain and hassle of trying to find all the missing assets again. That's all I'm trying to achieve.

 

[JCitron]

As I said, you need to create smaller CDP files for the dependencies and a single CDP for the route and one for the session, although these two items can usually be combined in one since the session is pretty small.

 

[MasterTracklayer]

Thank you for answering my question, @Twowit2woo, but please re-read that post`s first paragraph. It still applies, regardless of why you are trying to collect them. If done correctly, the window that opens after Show Dependencies Recursively will include all installed assets used by any of the sessions. You can then Select All and Export to CDP right there, should you wish. The only problems I anticipate is the possibility of an Unknown Asset appearing in the list and the possibility of trying to export packaged content. Both of these would be simple to filter out first, should that prove necessary.

 

[JCitron]

Thank you for answering my question, @Twowit2woo, but please re-read that post`s first paragraph. It still applies, regardless of why you are trying to collect them. If done correctly, the window that opens after Show Dependencies Recursively will include all installed assets used by any of the sessions. You can then Select All and Export to CDP right there, should you wish. The only problems I anticipate is the possibility of an Unknown Asset appearing in the list and the possibility of trying to export packaged content. Both of these would be simple to filter out first, should that prove necessary.

He needs to sort out built-in and any DLC and only include DLS and third-party, otherwise there will be errors when creating the CDP file(s).