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File | Open

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File menu > Open

File toolbar > Open

Top-Tip: How to Restore window size of the 'Save' and 'Open' dialogs

You can open different file-types in the Windows® Open dialog.

File-types:

CXL is the file-type for a MechDesigner model.

The MTD file-type is the motions in MotionDesigner.

The CXL file and the MTD file should be in the same path.

OLD MODELS: MechDesigner may find a sketch-element that is over-constrained.

A pop-up will ask if MechDesigner can delete the constraint to allow the sketch to be solved. Click YES if you want to open the file. Please re-check the important sketches in the model.

If you are not sure. Save as... the model immediately to a new file-name.

See also: Save As... LXL file-type

ZXL is a file-type for a MechDesigner ZIP file.

Extract all file-types to one path.

The files include:

•	CXL and MTD file-types

•	STL, SLDPRT, SLDASM and DXF file-types that you have linked to CAD-Lines.

The STL, SLDPRT, SLDASM file-types become linked to the path in which you extract the ZXL files.

Note:

You can choose to specify the path in which to extract ZXL file-types:

Application Settings | General tab | File Options > Extract ZXL files to:

◉	Create sub-directory automatically ( a sub-directory to the path location of the ZXL file )

◉	Specify ZXL output directory.

I recommend you select Specify ZXL Output Directory. I usually specify the path of the ZXL file itself, but you can also select or create a new path.

See more: File menu > Save as... ZXL file-type.

When you open a DXF file-type, you add a DXF element to the Assembly-Tree as a child to the Model. The DXF element is the container for the DXF drawing.

To show the DXF Drawing in the graphic-area, you must link it to a CAD-Line.

Thus, to show a DXF drawing, there are two actions:

1.	File > Open DXF file-type

2.	Edit a CAD-Line and use the Cad-Line dialog-box > DXF tab.

You can link the DXF Element and DXF Drawing to one and many different CAD-Lines.

See more CAD-Line dialog-box > DXF tab

MEC is a Camlinks file-type.

See more: Open MEC files

Why so many .CXL and .MTD files?

If you explore to your model files, you will see many file-types. Why so many files?

They are different backup files

DEFAULT-FILE-TYPES

•	CXL & MTD file-types: the default MechDesigner and MotionDesigner file-types.

•	ZXL the ZIP file-type for MechDesigner

BACKUP FILE-TYPES

When you open a model:

1.	CXL.n and MTD.n are copied to CXL.n+1 and MTD.n+1

2.	CXL.2 and MTD.2 are copied to CXL.3 and MTD.3

3.	CXL.1 and MTD.1 is are copied to CXL.2 and MTD.2

4.	CXL and MTD are copied to CXL.1 and MTD.1

5.	A copy of CXL and MTD are saved to RAM

AUTO-SAVE

After every # commands:

1.	The copy of CXL and MTD in RAM are saved to ~CXL and ~MTD on disk

2.	A new copy of CXL and MTD are saved to RAM

WARNING : You overwrite the original model each Auto-Save

See Application Settings > General tab > File Options to edit:

•	Number-of-Back-up copies : n

•	Number-of-Commands between each Auto-Save : #

•	Do you want to use Auto-Save?

•	Do you want to save model to ZXL on exit?

Tutorials and Reference Help Files for MechDesigner and MotionDesigner 14.2 + © Machine, Cam, Mechanism, and Motion Design Software by PSMotion Ltd