Converting .mxd after downgrade

Question

Hello,

I have recently had to downgrade from 10.3.1 to 10.2.2 (trial ran out). I have hundreds of .mxd files that I didn't do a Save as Copy beforehand. Is there any way to convert these now so that I can open them in 10.2.2?

Most of the posts I have found on this topic assume that you have access to the newer version.

Thanks

DanaNolan · Answer

Yes, but with a huge caveat. Most of my maps in folders named "older" have broken links and they open OK, albeit extremely slowly if the links were to SDE.

However, much of the symbology and definition queries, labeling rules, may not be visible until you fix the links. An you may lose some of this.

If you had created any .lyr files in 10.3, they usually work in 10.2, but not always.

MelitaKennedy · Answer

I'm just speculating based on what I little I know about ArcGIS. Part of the save-as-previous-version code is checking various libraries on what was or wasn't supported at that particular version. Because that information is likely in multiple dlls, it might not be easy have a stand-alone utility that doesn't need the entire software.

(Esri employee, but I work at the bottom of the software stack, mostly)

DanPatterson_Retired · Answer

Might be a good suggestion for a utility to do this... https://community.esri.com/community/arcgis-ideas?sr=search&searchId=c06cff60-94b0-4495-992d-df7f465572c7&searchIndex=0‌