Hi All,
The company I work for has been using RAM Structural System for a few decades now. One of the reasons we've decided to keep using RAM for all these years is because we are often acquired to renovate or make additions to an existing structure that we have worked on in the past. Staying with one structural analysis software allows us to use already developed models from when we last worked on the structure.
Recently we have been asked to renovate a structure that we had designed back in 2005. We have a RAM model already from when we first worked on the structure, however, we seem to be having difficulty opening the model. When I try to open the file I first get the pop up box,
I select yes, and then get the warning,
I select OK, and then I am brought to RAM Manager. I can see in file explorer that the file type has been converted from "filename.ram" to "filename.rss." Then, when I click on RAM Modeler, I get the error,
I click OK, and get another warning, similar to above,
I then click OK, and go to Criteria > Master Steel Table > ramaisc > OK. The software then crashes. This seems to happening for all our RAM models from 2005 and before. Has anyone experienced this issue before and is there a fix to this issue? It's necessary to us to use the old models, as it would take days to remodel the existing structure. Thank you.
Frame3revJuly6.ramSteel Framing.ramFloor Addition.ram
It could be that the old file is write restricted (read-only, or something about the directory where it's saved). If you send a copy of one of your old files I can investigate further. Another possibility would be to convert it in steps, say up to version 15, then up to version 17.
Thanks for the quick response Seth.
I believe I have uploaded the files using the secure file upload. I have never converted a RAM model iteratively as you suggested, however I will try to figure out how to do so in the meantime.
Those are lonely ".ram" files. If they are so old that they predate the .rss file extension, then there should be a whole set of files with various extensions, the .ram files is just one of many that are required. See also: https://communities.bentley.com/products/ram-staad/w/structural_analysis_and_design__wiki/3112/ram-ss-files-faq
Note, in Ram Manager v17.01 you can use the File - "Save as Archive" feature to make smaller backup copies of your RAM models for archiving in the future.
Answer Verified By: Shaun Ronan
You just answered my question with that response. I was only copying the lonely ".ram" file from our server for archived projects, which I believe has write restrictions, to my desktop to try and open it. Once I copied the whole set of files with various extensions to my desktop, I was able to convert and open the old RAM model.
You saved the day! Thank you so much Seth.