> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://wiki.inels.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://wiki.inels.com/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-projects-and-files.md). # Projects and files *Part 3 — Reference.* *** ## 15.1 What a project is One file, extension **`.elp`**, holding your entire configuration: every unit, address, name, floor plan, wire, function, group, program, timer and setting. Internally an `.elp` is a **ZIP archive of XML files** — one for functions, one for wires, one for groups, one for programs, and so on, plus the project structure and gallery images. You will never need to open it that way, but it explains two things: `.elp` files compress well, and a corrupted archive loses the whole project rather than part of it. **Back up your `.elp` files.** They are the one thing that cannot be re-downloaded or reinstalled. *** ## 15.2 Creating and opening All from the application menu `[☰]`. | Item | Result | | ------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | | **New** | An empty project. Nothing predefined. | | **New from default** | Based on the factory default — **61 predefined functions**. | | **New from user default** | Based on your own saved default. | | **Open** | Opens an existing `.elp`. Dialog title: *Select project to open*. | | **Recent projects** | The last few, listed in the menu. | The file dialogs filter on `Projects (*.elp)`, with *All Files* available. > **Prefer "New from default" over "New".** An empty project makes you rebuild functions that already exist. See [Tutorial 1 §Step 1](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/tutorial-your-first-idm3-project.md#step-1--create-the-project). *** ## 15.3 Saving | Item | Result | | ------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Save** | Writes back to the same file. | | **Save as** | Writes to a new file. Dialog title: *Save project as*. | | **Save as default** | Stores the current project as **your user default**. Asks *"Really save current project as default?"* | | **Export IMM** | Exports for the iNELS visualisation / multimedia system. | > **Save writes a file on your PC. It changes nothing in the building.** To make a change live you must **Save to central unit** — see [Chapter 23](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/connecting-and-uploading-to-the-central-unit.md). On exit iDM3 offers to save: *"Save changes and close iDM3?"*, or *"Save changes?"* when only closing a project. *** ## 15.4 Project settings **Project** ribbon tab → **Informations** group → **Set**. ### Project informations | Field | Notes | | --------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------- | | **Name:** | Shown in the ribbon while the project is open | | **Version:** | Your version number | | **Increment version before save** | Bumps the version automatically on every save | **Turn on Increment version before save on real jobs.** The version is how you tell whether the central unit is running the same build as the file in your hand. ### Author informations | Field | | ---------- | | **Name:** | | **Email:** | Fill these in. On a site you did not commission, the author details are often the only way to find out who built it. *** ## 15.5 Project resource limits `[☰]` → **Prefernces** *(spelled that way in the software)* shows how much of the central unit's capacity your project uses, as progress bars: | Counted | | | | ------------------- | --------------------- | -------------------- | | AllModules count | AllDevices count | ThermoDrivers count | | Users count | Cards count | Readers count | | EZSZones count | Timers count | Counters count | | Controllers count | PeriodicalProgs count | ContinualProgs count | | TwoStateProgs count | WeekPlans count | DayPlans count | | SystemBits count | SystemInts count | Groups count | | UserFunctions count | Wires count | VirtualWires count | | MessageIncome count | MessageOutcome count | MessageSMS count | | Contacts count | | | Check this before a large project goes live. Running out of wires or system bits late in a job is an expensive discovery. See [Chapter 27](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-settings-and-preferences.md). *** ## 15.6 Getting a project off a central unit `[☰]` → **Load from central unit** downloads the project the CU is running — including all the names the original installer gave things. This is worth knowing before you need it: **you are never locked out of a system just because the `.elp` was lost.** Connect, load, and you have the whole configuration back. iDM3 asks *"Load project from CU?"* before overwriting what you have open. See [Chapter 23](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/connecting-and-uploading-to-the-central-unit.md). *** ## 15.7 Where files live | | | | ------------------------ | ------------------------------------------ | | Projects | `\Projects\` | | Factory default | `default.elp` | | Your default | `userDefault.elp` | | Function block templates | `funcBloks\` — **not** part of the project | [Appendix F](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-files-and-folders.md) has the full layout. > **Back up `funcBloks` separately.** Function block templates live outside the project file, so a project that uses them is incomplete on a machine that lacks them. See [Tutorial 10](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/tutorial-macros-and-function-blocks.md#sharing-blocks-between-machines). *** **Next:** [Chapter 16 — Device manager](/inels-bus/inels-design-manager-idm3/idm3-device-manager-reference.md).