Projects - mrvisscher/activity-browser GitHub Wiki

Projects are one of the many ways in which Brightway helps you structure your data. A project is a standalone environment in which you store your LCI databases, Impact Categories, Calculation Setups and any other data. Data that is stored in project One cannot be used in project Two and vice versa. Use this to your advantage in any way you like.

Projects are stored separately from your Activity Browser installation in a folder dependent on your operating system and user preferences. This means you can install multiple version of Activity Browser and access the same projects. It also means that removing Activity Browser is not going to fix any issues related to your project.

If you want to know where a particular project is stored, check the Activity Browser console window, which will display the folder for the current project when you open it.

Selecting a project

When you launch the Activity Browser you will be dropped into your startup project, Brightway's "default" project by default. You can always see what project you are in by checking the window title bar, the toolbar at the bottom of the screen, or see what project is selected in the drop-down menu at the top of the project tab.

You can switch between projects in one of two ways: you can either choose a project from project tab's drop-down menu, or through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > Open project > Choose your desired project

Creating a new project

You can create a new project by either clicking the New button at the top of the Project tab, or through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > New

You'll be asked to provide a unique name for your new project, after which the Activity Browser will switch to your new project and allow you to setup your project in any way you like.

Deleting a project

You can delete your current project by either clicking the Delete button at the top of the Project tab, or through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > Delete

You'll be asked for confirmation and whether you want to delete the project folder from the disk as well. If you do not delete your project from disk, Brightway will just unregister the project, which will hide it from the project selection menu's, but the data is preserved in the project folder mentioned above. If you choose to delete it from disk entirely, the project and it's data are removed entirely.

Duplicating a project

You can duplicate your current project by either clicking the Duplicate button at the top of the Project tab, or through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > Duplicate

You'll be asked to provide a unique name for your duplicate project, after which the Activity Browser will switch to this project. This feature is handy if you want to test out anything that may break your data, by first duplicating your project you ensure that your data is preserved if you want to return to it.

Exporting a project

You can export your entire project to a .7z archive. This archive will contain all data stored within the project like LCI databases, Impact Categories and Calculation Setups. You can export your project through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > Export this project

You will be asked for a location the .7z archive with your project data should be saved to. Exporting may take a while to complete.

Importing a project

Similarly, you can also import a project that has been exported to a .7z archive. You can import the project through the Project menu in the main menu bar.

  • Project > Import a project

You will be prompted for a unique project name, after which the project will be installed and the Activity Browser will switch to your imported project.

A note on Brightway25 projects

Brightway25 is not yet officially supported by the Activity Browser. Projects created using Brightway25 use a different structure and managing them through the Activity Browser may cause breaking issues. Brightway25 projects are shown in the project selection menus, but disabled for this reason.

If you know what you're doing feel free to enable these projects by setting the AB_BW25 environmental variable. Needless to say this is at your own risk.