Project Databases

It is possible to make a much smaller WINDOW5 project database by saving only the records in each library that are used in the defined glazing systems and windows. For example, saving a project database in this fashion would mean that only the glass layers referenced by the glazing system would be saved in the glass library, rather than the entire glass library that is installed with the program. The database size reduction is significant – a database with the entire Glass Library records is 15+ MB, while a database with only the referenced glass layers can be less than 1 MB.

The steps to save a WINDOW database in this manner are the following:

• Select the Library “level” that the export should start from:

Starting from the Window Library will mean that records from all the other libraries that are used either directly or indirectly from those libraries will be included in the project database:

• Glazing System Library: All the glazing systems referenced in the Window Library entries
• Frame Library: All the frames referenced in the Window Library entries
• Divider Library: All the dividers referenced in the Window Library entries, if dividers are modeled.
• Glass Library: All the glass layers referenced from the glazing systems used in the Window Library entries
• Gas Library: All the gases referenced from the glazing systems used in the Window Library entries
• Environmental Conditions Library: All the environmental conditions referenced from the glazing systems and the Window Library entries.

Starting from the Glazing System Library will mean that records from the other libraries used to define the glazing systems will be written into the project database, and no other entries:

• Glazing System Library: All the glazing systems referenced in the Window Library entries
• Glass Library: All the glass layers referenced from the glazing systems used in the Window Library entries
• Gas Library: All the gases referenced from the glazing systems used in the Window Library entries
• Environmental Conditions Library: All the environmental cond

To Export data to a new WINDOW5 database:

• From the List view of that library, click on the Export button
• In the Export dialog box, make the appropriate choices, such as "Format" = Window 5 Database
• Click on the New button, and a Save As dialog box will appear, where you can browse to the desired directory and enter the desired database filename. Click on the Save button when you have completed that.
• Then back in the Export dialog box, click the OK button, and the records will be written into the new database, with all the necessary associated records.

To Import data from an existing WINDOW5 database:

• In a similar manner to the export, you can import records into an existing database. This can be useful in bringing records in from an older database into a current database.
• From the List view of the library you want to import into, click on the Import button
• Click on the Browse button to select the database to import from
• A dialog box will appear which shows the records of the database to be imported from
• Select as many of the records as are needed, and click on the Select button
• The desired records, and all associated records, will be imported into the currently open library.
• If the imported records contain records that already exist in the database being imported into, the program will display a message saying that the record already exists (for example a glass record) and do you want to overwrite the existing record with the one you are importing from.