There are certain things to keep in mind if you want to move your SimaPro desktop project to SimaPro Flow in the SimaPro online platform. To prevent common import/export errors or possible mismatch of results between SimaPro desktop and Flow, please go through the following checklist.
When modelling in SimaPro desktop
1. Download the latest database updates from SimaPro desktop.
2. Avoid the use of product stages.
3. Waste scenarios are not supported in SimaPro Flow.
- It is recommended to not use these for the projects you want to integrate into the platform.
- Waste treatment processes are possible to use. These processes will be imported as negative input in the platform.
4. Beware of copied library processes:
5. Not all parameter expressions from the SimaPro desktop are available in the platform.
When exporting from SimaPro desktop
6. Always select ‘Export to the platform’ when exporting from the SimaPro desktop.
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Assuming you have the latest version of the desktop software, this ensures that you will have the necessary information available in the file you export, and, thus, avoid unnecessary worry.
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If you do not have the latest software version of the SimaPro desktop (earlier than 9.1.1):
- Make sure to export with the options described in this article (PS: you can also use ‘Selection’ of you only have a few processes you want to export).
- Check if the file you export has platform IDs/mapping information. Platform IDs ensures that when the processes are imported to the platform, the right library processes are linked to the right processes. To check if your file has platform IDs, please follow the instructions in this article.
- When using ecoinvent library, it is preferable to use the unit libraries instead of system library. If you use SimaPro 9.1.1 with ecoinvent 3.6, the platform IDs will also be included in the system libraries).
- Remember that the limits for the imported file are 750 processes and 15 MB.
When importing to SimaPro Flow
7. Always review the parse report if you get one.
- It might seem overwhelming at first, but very often there are some clues about things that might have changed from the original model, and you might want to check this before moving to the calculation or building Share projects.
- Please contact support if you need further assistance in understanding the report or if you have further feedback on how to improve it.
8. Regionalized project processes need adaption when importing.
- When importing a project for which you want to use a regionalized method, you need to make sure that the geographies are correct. The geographies need to be changed to the correct one once the processes are uploaded to the platform as the geographies are not yet detected in the import to the platform. The project processes from desktop will be assigned a geography of 'Unspecified'. You will NOT get notified about this when importing.
- Therefore, you need to check the geographies of processes which are created from copies of library processes or processes which are created in your project (all processes with the exception of processes from the professional databases)
- For more information on this, feel free to contact us.
When working in SimaPro Flow
9. Recommended to use one ecoinvent library at the time.
- This ensures that the calculation works a lot faster in SimaPro Flow and your SimaPro Share projects will work faster.
- However, it is possible to use several libraries, but it is recommended to be mindful about this as it might not be necessary for your project.
Hopefully, these tips make your transition to the SimaPro online platform smoother. Please feel free to check the Getting Started guide for more information and contact support if you have any questions about how to import a project to Flow.
