"Opening the Selected ArcGIS project failed: This project was saved using a newer version of ArcGIS Pro"

[VeronicaMcCall]

Does anyone know why I'm getting this error when trying to open current projects that previously crashed? They seemed to crash due to geoprocessing or saving the project. 

[StephanieLong1]

I have a project that simply won't open.  The error message states that it was created in a newer version of ArcGIS Pro, but it was actually created in an older version.  When I attempt to open the project on a computer with the correct version, it says OpenProjectAsync Failed.  Would be nice if we could 'repair' the .aprx file on our own.  Any suggestions?  Thanks!

[ThomasTsunemoto]

Hello,

Has there been an official fix on this bub by esri officials? I'm having this issue as well. 

[TestGnu]

Same issue with me today.. The problem occurred after I hit the close button, whilst the project was saving. Thereafter, when I restarted the Pro Project - it wouldn't open citing the new version error

[Geobunga]

This bug is still happening when trying to open certain Pro projects using version 3.2.0 (newest version). I am unsure what version the projects were originally saved from, and no way to know who last saved the projects that won't open. Some of these projects were last saved over a year ago and cannot be restored from backups. Is there ever going to be a fix or acknowledgement of what causes this error? 

[StephanieLong1]

That's a bummer to hear!

[Jmullen]

March of 2024, nearly 6 years after the original post on this thread, I received this error today. My computer froze up while trying to create a simple polygon. Went through the suggested work arounds with no luck. Tried to locate an error report but nothing was generated. On version 3.2.2, project file didn't go to zero like some others on this thread. Associated database and feature classes are still accessible but styling and 15+ layouts will need to be redone. Any updates regarding this bug? 

[gorek77]

I think I understand what the problem is.

Our electricity is turned off very often. the uninterruptible power supply discharges quite quickly (live in Ukraine)
My cowokers and I have about a minute or two to complete our work. BUT we manage to press the button to save the project and exit it correctly! I don't have time to shut down Windows because three to four seconds later the power goes out. In such a situation, we are guaranteed to get our problem! Tested on three different computers with ArcGis Pro version 3.2.2 and 3.3.1. We get a corrupt aprx file of normal size (or zero size with one file if it open as 'zip').

It turns out that when we click the "Save Project" or "Save Changes" button, our project is NOT WRITTEN TO THE DISK IMMEDIATELY! Probably, this requires additional time or so that some other services or programs in Windows DO NOT INTERFERE WITH DOING THIS LATER.
It's interesting that the Project Backup, which is created every 5 minutes, is deleted immediately... 😢
Developers should consider closing the project window only after the entire project has been saved to disk. If this is not possible, at least do not delete the backup.

[VikkramSubramaniam]

Hi,

This issue is still reproducible in the current version  3.3.1 and not sure when it will be resolved. In 3.2 and above, as tested, we can open the GDB. So, add all the data to Map and save the project, and it will be fine. Unfortunately, you have to redo all your layout and your python notebooks otherwise your feature classes are safe.