Is it time to stop using the version number in the Paratext project folder name?

Question

I realize that the Paratext project folder was renamed from My Paratext Projects to My Paratext 8 Projects when we all migrated from Paratext 7. Now that most if not all of us have migrated, I wonder if it is possible to go back to My Paratext Projects for the installer default. It is simply confusing to have the Paratext project folder change based on when you first installed Paratext.

I still have my Paratext 7 folder but have archived it as My Paratext 7 Projects. I also still have PT 7.6 installed so I can look at those projects for historical reference.

People may not realize that if you move or rename your Paratext folder (while Paratext is not running of course), when you open Paratext the next time it will simply ask you to navigate to the new Paratext folder and it will work just fine.

My question is:
Does anyone know of any good reasons not to rename ones My Paratext 8 Projects or My Paratext 9 Projects folder to My Paratext Projects?

Answer 1

As long as you can rename a Paratext 7 “My Paratext Projects” folder to something else, this might be ok. I say this because there are still occassional needs to pull up a Paratext 7 project, especially for migration.

I say 'might because there are so many users out there. How would it affect them to rename the My Paratext Projects folder? Or would they even notice?

The other issue if is somebody still has Paratext 7 installed. Of course, that’s not supported, but it could happen… like… on my computer right now. LOL.

Answer 2

For the record let me tell you my experience of using My Paratext Projects.
I was a bit concerned that this might mess things up so when i installed Paratext on a back up machine I told the installer to use My Paratext Projects. I can tell you that it is working just fine.

So yesterday after posting the above comment I renamed my My Paratext 8 Projects folder to My Paratext Projects.

• This is an important tip: After changing the Paratext folder name or moving it you must run Paratext in Administrative mode to update Paratext to the new folder.

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I have not had any other issues.

Answer 3

Two reasons come to mind, whether they are “good” is for you to decide:

1.) If you rename from “specific” to “generic” you lose information. My folder is presently called PT8 and that is telling me that it was initially created (most likely) with Paratext8 and that I might find some specific stuff inside that originated from Paratext8 and might no longer apply to Paratext9. You can also tell that I do not like long paths at the root of complex projects.

The new PT concept seems to be that you start with Paratextn and can update for one or more generations on the same data. So for technicians and support staff it might be helpful to know the depth of the local “history” at a glance.

2.) Second reason: Every change has got inherent dangers, that are typically not obvious before or even right after the change is made.

A few days ago, we discussed PT icons here and my personal conclusion was that icons should be removed altogether because people agree that they do not communicate and need to be “learnt”. So they just take precious screen space. It is clear to me that such a deep change like removing all icons sounds great but will most likely cause some unexpected trouble down the road. Not worth it at the moment; I did not persue the subject.

Ask yourself or other users what actual benefits you would gain from the renaming of the PT projects folder, rather than “why not?”. There is wisdom in the saying “never touch a system”. (Oh bother, I sound old now.)(If there ever is a new radical generation of PT with all those amazing new ideas included, like no icons, keyboard-friendly-ergonomics, then I hope it falls into a phase, when I can make some time to help with testing.)