Versions of TRANSYT prior to TRANSYT 13 are in ASCII format and can be read by any text editor. From TRANSYT 13 onwards, the files are saved in a binary format and cannot be read other than using a licenced version of TRANSYT.
TRANSYT 16 and TRANSYT 17: When TRANSYT is unlicensed it will present in DEMO Mode, and in that mode specific data items, such as O-D demand matrix flows, are randomised each time the traffic model is run. Therefore full examination of existing files is not possible. Data, results, and some graphical output can be saved either in PDF or Word format and examined there.
However, some earlier versions did allow TRANSYT files to be examined in full, and evaluation runs to be carried out in order to populate the files with data used in animations:
TRANSYT 15.5: Once you open your file, you will be able to examine the input data and most of the results. If you wish to carry out any animations, or you wish to ensure the results are up-to-date, you can carry out an evaluation run at any time. When using multiple analysis sets, you can choose to run each one individually or all at once using the evaluation run drop-down option. This demo mode allows a small number of changes to be made to the file before further changes are prevented. This feature was added to allow you to gain better understand of the product’s capabilities prior to purchase.
TRANSYT 14 and TRANSYT 15 (Prior to 15.5): When a TRANSYT file is opened, you will be offered the chance to carry out an evaluation run of TRANSYT. This is because TRANSYT 14 and TRANSYT 15 files do not contain the full output animation data, so the demo version allows the file to be run in order to create this. Saying YES to this question will allow you to read the full output results of TRANSYT. Because TRANSYT only stores the last run of the model in the file, if multiple analysis sets are used in the file, you will only be able to see the results associated with one set. However, you will still be able to access the input data for ALL analysis sets. This demo mode does not allow input or output results to be changed – You will need to have a fully licensed version of TRANSYT running to do this.
TRANSYT 13: The contents of a TRANSYT 13 file that you can read using the Demo, depends on how the data file has been saved – A standard TRANSYT file does not contain the animation data associated with a run of TRANSYT. In order to ensure the animation data is available to users of the demo version, you need to save the file in TRANSYT 13 using the “Save with Full Run Data” option. Even without this additional information, you will still have read-only access all the input data and standard results. Because TRANSYT only stores the last run of the model in the file, if multiple analysis sets are used in the file, you will only be able to see the results associated with one set. However, you will still be able to access the input data for ALL analysis sets. This demo version does not allow input or output results to be changed – You will need to have a fully registered version of TRANSYT to do this.
(Updated April 2025)