Improved Solutions for Storing Files

Under storing files we understand that documents, image files or hyperlinks are copied from an external source directory into the project. This way these files can be taken into consideration, for example, during the backup and restoring projects.

Regardless of whether the storing was carried out manually by the user or automatically by EPLAN, the reference to the original source directory was lost for the stored file. This resulted, for example, in it not being possible to update the stored files anymore.

A distinction is now made between manual and automatic storage:

Manual storing always takes place interactively, for example when inserting an image file in the graphical editor. Manually stored files are not automatically overwritten by newer files.
In the case of automatic storage (for example in the case of a data backup), the external references are also used with preference after storage. Automatic storage is therefore used as a backup if the source file cannot be reached. Automatically stored files (documents, images, etc.) are updated if newer referenced files are available.

In addition the stored files in the project directory are now not stored directly below the directories DOC or Images but in subdirectories that are derived from the source directory name. This means that identical file names in different source directories are now also supported during storage.

Benefit:

With the new solutions for storing files, references to files are retained even if a complete project is passed on to others. No side effects occur anymore during the automatic storing of files.

EPLAN now offers you more control over the referenced files. This way you can now update manually stored files as required.

Extended dialog for copying external files

In order to make handling of stored files easier for the user, the dialog Copy external files to project has been extended and renamed into Copy referenced files manually into the project. In the new column Type of storage you are shown whether the referenced file was copied into the project or not. The possible entries "Not stored", "Manually copied" or "Automatically copied" cannot be directly changed by you.

If you activate the respective check boxes in the Copy column for files with the "Automatically copied" or "Not stored" type of storage, EPLAN then copies these files manually into the project. This changes the storage type to "Manually copied".

If this is the case for files with the "Manually copied" type of storage, a prompt is displayed with which you can overwrite the files. This way you can update manually stored files as required.

In addition, the following new columns have been added to the dialog Copy referenced files manually into the project:

Modification date (reference) and Modification date (stored): Through the entries in these columns you can check whether the stored or the referenced file has a more recent modification date. The value in the Modification date (stored) column remains empty if the file has not yet been stored.
Reference type: The entry in this column shows you how the respective file is referenced in the project. This way you can recognize into which subdirectories the files are copied (reference type "Document" in ...\<Project name>\DOC\, reference type "Image file" in ...\<Project name>\Images\). This is, for example, relevant when images are inserted as a hyperlink. In this case the image files have the reference type "Document" and are copied into the DOC subdirectory during storage.

The command for storing documents is now also available in the ribbon so that the dialog can be opened faster (Tab Master data > Command group Synchronization > Store documents).

Further changes in the user interface

In order to make a clear distinction between the manual and the automatic storage at other points in the user interface as well, the option Copy referenced data has been renamed to Automatically copy referenced files in the dialog Back up projects. In projects that are newly created with Version 2025, this option is now activated by default during the data backup.

In addition, the setting Copy externally linked documents to output directory has been renamed to Copy externally linked documents automatically to output directory in the General tab of the Settings: PDF export dialog.