Tutorial on moving custom assets to 2009

I hope someone will make up a simple procedure to move the custom assets we have in 2006 or 2004 into 2009.
This is always the biggest problem I have getting into a new version of trainz.
Now remember you young computer wizards you are dealing with some of us old farts that are not savy on movng files and folders here and there like you guys. So please be patient

Thanks.
Bob

railroy19 said:

I hope someone will make up a simple procedure to move the custom assets we have in 2006 or 2004 into 2009.
This is always the biggest problem I have getting into a new version of trainz.
Now remember you young computer wizards you are dealing with some of us old farts that are not savy on movng files and folders here and there like you guys. So please be patient

Thanks.
Bob

Click to expand...

Fairly easy, TRS2009 has an item on the file menu called import content.

Import content will search subdirectories so the crude simple way is point it at your drive letters one at a time and import content. It appears to import both .cdp files and folders. It leaves content open for edit so then you need to commit it <Ctrl>M. Commiting can take some time, mine is in it's third day.

A more precise way is to point import content at your local folder

C:\Program Files\Auran\TRS2006\local

When it will just pull in your TRS2006 corrected items. The built in TRS2006 are included.

Cheerio John

Importing Content from older versions

railroy19 said:

I hope someone will make up a simple procedure to move the custom assets we have in 2006 or 2004 into 2009.
This is always the biggest problem I have getting into a new version of trainz.
Now remember you young computer wizards you are dealing with some of us old farts that are not savy on movng files and folders here and there like you guys. So please be patient

Thanks.
Bob

Click to expand...

Hello

To install your custom (downloaded) content from TRS2006 follow these simple steps:

• Open Content Manager V2.0 (TS2009 Launcher > Content)
• Navigate to your TRS2006 “Local” Folder (c:\Program Files\Auran\TRS2006\Local)
• Highlight a small number of items* (L-Click on the first item, hold Shift, scroll down the list and L-Click on another item)
• L-Click and drag the items from the TRS2006 Local Folder onto the main window in CM2.
• A dialog will pop up saying “Installing Content”
• Possibly another window will pop up asking “Overwrite All” or “Skip All”. In most cases you should choose Skip.
• The items will be installed automatically one after the other.
• A Task Complete dialog will open when complete listing any errors or warnings (e.g. listing that items have been skipped).
• Now that you have the process worked out, increase to bigger groups of assets. Probably limit yourself to a few thousand items in one go to be on the safe side.
  

To install your custom (downloaded) content from TRS2004 follow these simple steps:

• Open Content Manager V2.0 (TS2009 Launcher > Content)
• Navigate to your TRS2004 “Downloads” Folder (C:\Program Files\Auran\TRS2004\World\Dispatcher\Downloads)
• Highlight a number of items (L-Click on the first item, hold Shift, scroll down the list and L-Click on another item)
• L-Click and drag the items from the TRS2004 Downloads Folder onto the main window in CM2.
• A dialog will pop up saying “Installing Content”
• Possibly another window will pop up asking “Overwrite All” or “Skip All”. Unless you want to Overwrite any asset, you should choose Skip.
• The items will be installed automatically one after the other.
• A Task Complete dialog will open when complete listing any errors or warnings (e.g. listing that items have been skipped).

To install your built-in content from Trainz Classics 2 and 3 follow these simple steps:

• Warning. This is a long process. Please be patient.
• Open Content Manager V2.0 (TS2009 Launcher > Content)
• Open CMP for either TC2 or TC3
  
• Select the items you wish to move and Open them for Edit (Ctrl-A then Ctrl-E)
  
• Navigate to the Editing Folder which will now hold all the Open for Edit files
  
• Drag onto CM2.
• Select them all and Ctrl-M to commit (This is an "overnight" process if you are commiting the whole set of data)
  
• A window will pop up asking “Overwrite All” or “Skip All”. Unless you want to Overwrite any asset, you should choose Skip.
• The items will be installed automatically one after the other.
• A Task Complete dialog will open when complete listing any errors or warnings (e.g. listing that items have been skipped).

To install .CDP files follow these simple steps:

• Open Content Manager V2.0 (TS2009 Launcher > Content)
• Navigate to the folder that contains the .cdp files
• Highlight the items (L-Click on the first item, hold Shift, scroll down the list and L-Click on another item)
• L-Click and drag the items from the TRS2004 Downloads Folder onto the main window in CM2.
• A dialog will pop up saying “Installing Content”
• Possibly another window will pop up asking “Overwrite All” or “Skip All”. Unless you want to Overwrite any asset, you should choose Skip.
• The items will be installed automatically one after the other.
• A Task Complete dialog will open when complete listing any errors or warnings (e.g. listing that items have been skipped).
• You will also need to click on the Open for Edit tab, then select the items, then R-Click and choose Edit > Commit. (This step is optional in SP1)

NOTE:

• You cannot drag and drop .ja files onto CM2
• After installing CDPs you will also need to commit the items to the database. This step will be optional in SP1 with the default set to auto-commit.
• Local content does not need to be opened for edit. Built-in content does. This is due to the .ja archive process doing some level of compression.
• Start out importing a smaller group of assets then work your way up to bigger groups once you are comfortable with the process.

Regards

Ahsan

Thanks Guys
I'm going to print out these instructions and get to work.
I have lots of custom assets to switch over like everyone else.
These instructions will get me over the hill thanks you all.

Bob

RailRoy I am not about to that the members who posted replies to this thread before me are wrong. I just think they are two technical. I posted a tutorial just today and in this forum group a simple tutorial that answers your exact question. The title of my post is

Also if you have a lot of material to transfer over I found that if you save those files to CDP you should be able to import them directly.


Roger

Hi Roger
What is the title of your post.
I will do a search for it and it may be just the thing I'm looking for.
I started to transfer my local folder last night and It's still in the process of comitting. This may take a very very long time.
I have one problem that I would like to solve, this is the fact that I have so many custom assets that get downloaded when you download new routes from the DLS and then when you delete these new routes because you don't have use for them you end up with so many custom assets thay you will never use but taking up so much space on your computer.
I know you can delete them but that is like a full time job.
Now I'm installing all of those unused assets into 2009.
That's what happens when you don't know what your doing like me.
Bob

Hi Bob
The title of that post is A simple Tutorial--Gmax to Trains
I got to thinking a little more about your question. The link
above is to my tutorial is the process I used to get an asset just created from Gmax into TRS2009 or TRS2006. There are some parts of that tutorial that would definitely help you but even that tutorial would be more than what you need to do. I'm not sure TRS2004 as it (in my understanding) does not have a content manager in it.( I might be wrong I haven't done anything with TRS2004.) But with 2006 you Use your CMP to locate your assets. Right click on each one of them and click save as CDP from the drop down menue. You take the all the cdp's that you've created and put them all in a folder that you know what the location of it is. Close 2006 Cmp and open Cmp2 in TRS2009. Go to file/import/and location of your cdp files/ and press enter on your keyboard and CMP2 will go to that folder and automatically install each and every asset that you made into a CDP into TRS2009. The key to TRS 2004 content I think is to figure out how to get those assets in CDP format.

HI Roger

Thanks for that solution I think that is what I will try instead of importing the Local folder like I'm trying right now. Importing the whole folder will just take forever I think. My computer has been running for two whole days now and I'm only up to the assets starting with the letter J that's only about 1/3 of the custom assets.:hehe:
I may just start over from scratch and not install all these assets and just pick out the ones I use most. It may be a lot of work but it will be worth it.

Thanks again Roger.

I'm trying to do the above between TRS09, TRS10, S&C setup, to TRS12, with the 3.7 manager.

Do I do as above, in the long instructions, or are there new easier ways to copy content?

ColGibbon said:

I'm trying to do the above between TRS09, TRS10, S&C setup, to TRS12, with the 3.7 manager.

Do I do as above, in the long instructions, or are there new easier ways to copy content?

Click to expand...

Adding to such an old post, even though the topic seems appropriate, will probably mean your query does not attract much attention.

From 2009 onwards the above process has been replaced with two options in Content Manager. One option is to create a CDP file from the selected items in the Content Manager listing window. The other option is to import CDP files from the location where they were saved when they were created. Note that it is CDP files, not content folders (which are the subject of the above discussion) which are created in one version and then imported in the other. You can export as many or as few of the assets as you want, although there is a limit on the size of the CDP file that will be created - keep the number of asset per file to a manageable number. Some assets will have errors in the new version - it is worth taking the trouble to identify these at the time as new imports, because often you will discover that you just don't need them. Avoid exporting built-in assets, and avoid overwriting existing assets when importing (you get the option to skip assets already installed).

SailorDan said:

Adding to such an old post, even though the topic seems appropriate, will probably mean your query does not attract much attention.

From 2009 onwards the above process has been replaced with two options in Content Manager. One option is to create a CDP file from the selected items in the Content Manager listing window. The other option is to import CDP files from the location where they were saved when they were created. Note that it is CDP files, not content folders (which are the subject of the above discussion) which are created in one version and then imported in the other. You can export as many or as few of the assets as you want, although there is a limit on the size of the CDP file that will be created - keep the number of asset per file to a manageable number. Some assets will have errors in the new version - it is worth taking the trouble to identify these at the time as new imports, because often you will discover that you just don't need them. Avoid exporting built-in assets, and avoid overwriting existing assets when importing (you get the option to skip assets already installed).

Click to expand...

That's fine. I've discovered searching for CDF files and dropping the files into the 3,7 manager gets the job done. but on my model list.

In the S&C addon, there are no CDF files just 2 Data ja files/ How do you copy and load the content?

I have lots of Red highlighted mods, which I suppose are damaged or incomplete? How do I fix these models?

many thanks

ColGibbon said:

That's fine. I've discovered searching for CDF files and dropping the files into the 3,7 manager gets the job done. but on my model list.

Click to expand...

I'm sure you mean CDP.

That technique will only work if TS12 is the current installed version. The preferable procedure is to open CM for the version of Trainz that you want to import the assets into and import the CDP files by selecting the files from the folder where you created them. There is no reason that you can't have one version of CM open for creating the CDPs and at the same time a different version of CM open for importing the CDPs. Then you simply alternate - Save, Import and repeat.

ColGibbon said:

In the S&C addon, there are no CDF files just 2 Data ja files/ How do you copy and load the content?

Click to expand...

I'm sure you mean CDP. IF that route is payware then you should download it using the payware download facility built into the version of Trainz that you want to load it into. For older versions, the route will list in CM and can be exported to CDP like any other route.

ColGibbon said:

I have lots of Red highlighted mods, which I suppose are damaged or incomplete? How do I fix these models?

Click to expand...

First check that they weren't built in for the version you copied them from. It is not good practice to try to move built-in assets from one version to another.

Then check that they have not obsoleted assets that were installed and working in the version that you imported them into.

If they are not originally built-in and if they do not obsolete existing assets and if you need them in the new version then you can fix them using the instructions here: https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Trainz/AM&C/Fixing_Assets