So, in fact you need to know in which release the file was done. This can be done in many ways, depending on how you work.
For example, do you have CATIA (lets say R18) already opened or not? Do you want to open CATIA (specific release and environment) when you open the file?
A program to check what release is your part can be done in any language you want and after checking the release can "intercept" CATIA and open the file inside CATIA.
Basically, if you want to check (manually) what release is the file, you can open it in any text editor and search for word release (you can find some other info if you wish, depending on your search criteria). For a better understanding I suggest you to do this with a small CATIA file and read what is inside.
Generally speaking, when you give a job to a developer is good to tell him all your procedure, conditions, constrains or what ever you think it will help him to give you a better solution.
That being said, you can search also forum or on Internet for such solutions, I know there are some applications which will tell you in what release are parts done or you can develop something starting with what I already wrote.
Regards
Fernando
- Romania
- EU