Syncing of user settings

Question

A while ago, a new feature was introduced whereby each user’s settings (saved instances of a Window Layout (aka Text Combination), etc.) was saved to the server. I think that this is done every time the user does a S/R, correct?

There does not seem to be a Help topic for this feature, which is why I’m starting a new conversation. Perhaps a Help topic should be created.

Answer 1

The settings are only restored if all of the following is true:

• The user has not run Paratext on the machine before.
• Internet access has to be granted during the first start of Paratext.
• The user had previously done internet S/Rs that included saving their user settings so their settings are stored on the server.

Beyond that, user settings are currently never restored, sorry.

Comments

Why so strict? Could there not be an option to receive the settings stored on the server? I’ve seen it fail a few times, and the user may have a string of saved layouts that they then have to manually recreate.

I guess I could manually copy the file from their old computer: would I copy the whole folder:

• “Paratext 8 projects\UserSettings_\”

?

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wdavidhj:

Why so strict?

Mostly to prevent accidental overwrite of the user’s settings.

wdavidhj:

I guess I could manually copy the file from their old computer: would I copy the whole folder:
“Paratext 8 projects\UserSettings_\”
?

No, the user’s settings are not stored there, that is just the place where the backup is stored. There is no good way to manually force Paratext to restore their settings. You can, however, delete the C:\Users\{UserName}\AppData\Local\Paratext80 directory and Paratext will try to get the user settings again when restarted.

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Today I ran P8 for the first time on a new computer, and there was a progress bar that said it was getting the user’s settings. But when the main PT window opened, there were no saved windows layouts, for example.

Seems really hard to get this to work in practice!

Answer 2

Sometimes, when I move a user to a new computer, their saved window layouts do not appear on the new computer after the first S/R. What can I do to get those saved settings back?

Answer 3

I had a long list of saved text combinations under PT8. After using PT9, those text combinations are no longer available even when I open PT8. Why did this happen, and how can I get them back? I’m not trying to use my old text combination settings in PT9, since I realize the layouts are totally different in PT9. What I’m trying to do is go back and use PT8 with my old settings, if even to see what my text combinations were in PT8 so I can create something similar for PT9.

Comments

Well, it’s been 2 years since I posted this comment, and no responses. I still have the same problem. I have 21 translators who are working on new computers as of this week and lost their saved Text Combinations. I really don’t understand how it is that we can save those but there is no good solution for restoring them on a new computer. Please help!

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The previous discussion seems to indicate that the UserSettings_Name folder is not automatically restored, but requires a number of other things to be in place. That being said. If you have the old computer, you should be able to copy \My Paratext # Projects_WindowsCollections from the old computer to the new computer. This folder contains the saved layouts.

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I don’t know of a way to share text combinations, but in Paratext 9 you can share saved layouts, i.e., the arrangement and choice of open windows. Type “share layout” in the Paratext Help Window and you will see the full details.

Of course, the layout will look differently on different sized monitors, and those who share it must have access to the same projects and resources. There will be a notification if a project or resource is not loaded on a particular computer.

Blessings,