SDE file conversion between 8.4 and 9.2

Question

We are installing a new XPP - version 9.2. Can we just copy our sde files from 8.4 or do they need to go thru a conversion? 
 Seems like Item Format sde files works - but do we loose any new fields?

Steve Piercey · Accepted Answer

XPP Style (sde) files are always upwards compatible. Any 'sde' file from a previous version will automatically be upgraded to its newer version on the later release when used on the 9.2 system. New fields get the default value and all current values remain the same. So in general, if there is a new field that says "enable feature...", the default value will be 'no', because XPP will try to preserve current behavior as much as possible. It is then up to the user to modify the new field in the 'sde' file. 
 
That being said, under no circumstances should you copy files from the 8.4 'Lsyslib' into the 9.2 'Lsyslib' unless you know what you are doing. This is the system library and XPP delivers a lot of global files there. Copying a 8.4 file over the 9.2 version would be disastrous. A good example would be the _xy_sys.sde (system macros). If you copied that over, you would lose all of the changes that XPP has made to that system file and a massive amount of features would stop working. 
 
User style and font libraries are safe and can be successfully copied over. 
However, the reverse is not true. Once you access a 'sde' file on the XPP 9.2 system it cannot be used on the 8.4 system. So whatever you do, do not cross mount the libraries to be accessed by both systems. Instability on both versions will result. 
 
If you are concerned, or need help you might contact support. Depending on the requirements, they may recommend professional services get involved. 
 
Steve Piercey 
SDL

XPP > XPP

SDE file conversion between 8.4 and 9.2