"Created with a newer version of Logix Designer": how to get at the logic anyway
You open the OEM's project and Logix Designer stops you: the file was saved by a newer major revision than the one you have. The line isn't waiting for a software upgrade.
Logix Designer can open projects from its own major revision or older, never newer. A project saved in v33 won't open in v30, and there is no setting that changes that. To open it you need the newer version installed (side by side is fine, if your licence covers it), or an .L5X export imported into your version when the project uses nothing your version lacks. If you only need to read the logic, a version-independent viewer such as Rungview opens the .ACD directly, whatever version saved it.
Why the version matters so much
Each major revision of Logix Designer pairs with the same major revision of controller firmware. A v33 project targets v33 firmware, and may use instructions, data types or module profiles that v30 doesn't know about. Rather than guess, older software refuses the file. The minor revision (33.01 vs 33.02) doesn't block opening; the major number does.
Option 1: install the newer version
Studio 5000 versions install side by side, and your licence usually covers several. Downloading and installing a version takes a while and a few gigabytes, and you'll need the right firmware on the controller to go online with it. If you'll be maintaining this machine, it's the proper fix.
Option 2: ask for an L5X and import it
Someone with the newer version saves the project as .L5X. Your older Studio 5000 can import it if every instruction and module in it exists in your version. If not, the import fails and lists what's missing. Editing the version number inside the XML is a common trick, but it only works when the project really uses nothing newer, and Rockwell doesn't support it.
Option 3: just read it
When the machine is stopped, you usually don't need to edit anything. You need to see which permissive is false. Rungview opens the .ACD regardless of its version, draws every rung, and lets you click a tag like Guard_Closed to see every rung that uses it. It runs on your laptop, read-only, and Pro also exports the project as .L5X for importing later.
Read the newer project on your current laptop
Open the .ACD regardless of version and find the rung that matters. Pro is $9 a month or $59 a year.
Get Rungview
.ACD and .L5X · read-only, never touches the PLC · files stay on your computer · cancel Pro any time.
FAQ
Can I save a project down to an older version?
Logix Designer doesn't save to older major revisions. An L5X export imported into the older version is the usual route.
Does Rungview care which version saved the ACD?
No. It reads the file itself, so v20-era and current projects open the same way.
Can I go online with the controller from Rungview?
No. Rungview is a file viewer only. Going online needs Studio 5000 at the controller's firmware revision.