Anyone still have lots of Argus DCF .sf files and wondering what to do with them?
Argus DCF used a file format commonly known by its extension, the ".SF file". These became something of a standard in the industry and were commonly sent around by email between, for instance, CREC's and their analyst. They were also used as archives, with (I'd wager) thousands of these files are stored for future reference.

Argus has since moved to new formats, and the SF files appear to be in the process of being progressively abandoned.

I'd like to hear from Argus users out there: do you still have lots of SF files, and if so, what's your plans (or desires) for them moving forward?
[{"id": "ee4ld63", "text": "Convert them to Argus AE files and continue using them. ", "replies": [{"id": "ee4pmme", "text": "So you're converting hundreds of these files into your AE system?\n\nAnd how do you communicate with 3rd parties without AE?", "replies": [{"id": "ee4ql04", "text": "I convert them on an As Needed basis. I\u2019m a commercial appraiser so my needs for files might be very different from yours.  As you pointed out, ARGUS is forcing the change as they stop supporting DCF. I still have DCF but we are in constant renegotiations on a quarterly basis the keep the licenses.  Another option for you might be FUEL, it\u2019s my understanding they can convert the files.   It\u2019s a cloud based software competing with ARGUS thats relatively affordable. ", "replies": [{"id": "ee9x0he", "text": "Ok I get it.\n\nI am curious about the size of your workflow - I assume the total portfolio you're covering has to be large. Do you mind if I ask what sort of total SQFT you're handling?\n\nI see many people who had DCF workflows and simply can't justify the move to AE, and I'm trying to gauge the point where you say \"screw it\" and switch to AE (or alternately say \"screw it\" and move to Excel).", "replies": [], "depth": 4}], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}, {"id": "ee4yji9", "text": "Every time I\u2019ve converted DCF to AE there\u2019s huge variances.... ugh", "replies": [{"id": "ee9x367", "text": "Do you use any special features - I don't know, porter's wages or the parking space system? Or maybe complex recoveries? Or do you see this even with simple files?", "replies": [], "depth": 3}], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ee4uj13", "text": "Lender here. Just import the DCF file to AE. You can still keep the DCF file as a backup. We also export the AE file and store in our cloud system when we close a loan. All our borrowers provide annual AE files, as stipulated in reporting covenants. ", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ee9xrm4", "text": "It varies greatly.  Given I\u2019m in appraisal rather than say asset management we don\u2019t work on the same assets frequently, if we do it\u2019s an annual update.  It can be as small as a single tenant office building or a portfolio of Class A buildings sometimes over 15M SF. Over the past year or so its been a noticeable difference from our clients sending us primarily DCF to now everyone sends us AE and requests that we only use AE.  As far as our business, we don\u2019t really have a choice to go the AE route.  ", "replies": [{"id": "ee9y4w2", "text": "Interesting! This is just the sort of thing I was trying to figure out.\n\nWhen you say \"an AE file\", do you mean AEIX or AVUX?", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}, {"id": "ee9z821", "text": "AVUX", "replies": [], "depth": 1}, {"id": "el6xk8q", "text": "You can import every file into AE at once:\n\n1. I located the .sf (old format) files and saved a copy to a single folder.\n2. I ran the batch calculation process for all using DCF. This is only necessary if the files were not calculated when they were saved and you want to be able to compare any differences between old and new. AE has an audit report that lets you view variances but it doesn't show up if the DCF file is uncalculated.\n3. Open AE, create a portfolio (\"legacy\") and after navigating to it click import and then choose every file.\n\n&amp;#x200B;\n\nOnce everything is imported you can search across all files or sort by attributes.", "replies": [{"id": "el7s6n0", "text": "But that only helps if you have AE, and the counterparties too. Appraisers general do, but I'm seeing some smaller groups within banks and such that aren't moving from DCF to AE because it's a small part of their workflow.", "replies": [], "depth": 2}], "depth": 1}]