Synchronising settings between 2 pcs (FH 6)
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Hi Cathy,
Directory Junctions may be ‘overkill’ if you only have a few customisations that need synchronising, but they can work well.
The Restore tab Registry Data option can always be omitted or even inhibited completely in the Options tab.
Your screen resolutions are not dramatically different so syncing the Registry Data may be OK. So try this process: 1) On the PC that is out of sync, run the Plugin and temporarily change the Backup Folder before creating a Backup to preserve all current settings. 2) Change the Backup Folder to the shared Google Drive path then Restore everything including the Registry Data. 3) If any FH window sizes and positions are a problem then manually adjust them or: 4) Run the Plugin and temporarily change the Backup Folder to the path used in step 1) and use the Restore tab Registry Data only.
If you are satisfied that FH windows do not get too upset then you can always perform the full Restore.
If you find you need to avoid syncing the Registry Data then we need to discuss what custom settings will not get synced. The most significant ones are the core Diagram settings and most Tools > Preferences.
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Cathy Roberts
Hi Paul Thanks for your comprehensive advice but I'm afraid "directory junctions" go straight over my head. I did have a look at the KB & it said there were two plugins for synchronising the settings & the one that Mike wrote looked as if I might understand it better! I have no problem with the data, that's already on Googledrive, so I can access it from either machine, but I had customised some of the Property Box settings on one machine & wanted to be able to replicate that on the other machine without trying to remember exactly what I had done. The problem with Mike's plugin was that I already had an old version (which didn't tell me it was an old one) & which was full of dire warnings & things I didn't understand (TLS etc????), hence the plea for help. I have updated the plugin & Mike has answered most of my queries, as you will have seen, leaving only the differing resolutions - I'm afraid I don't even know if the resolutions are what Mike would call "very different"? So I am not sure whether to omit the Registry Data or whether there is some other workaround which will mean what Mike calls "some important settings" can be synced. Thanks again for your help but I'm afraid my tech-savvy is severely limited! Cheers Cathy On Tue, 18 Oct 2022 at 13:18, Paul Tanner-Tremaine <paul@...> wrote: Cathy, have you seen or read the topic in the Knowledge Base : |
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Paul Tanner-Tremaine
Cathy, have you seen or read the topic in the Knowledge Base :
https://fhug.org.uk/kb/kb-article/synchronizing-family-historian-settings-using-directory-junctions/ It should still work with v6, as it is system software doing the hardwork, and not FH. I set this up some time back on my desktop, Google drive and my laptop, and they sync very well. Once I got one junction working, I wrote a batch file to do them all, instead of manually typing the commands in for each ProgramData/Calico Pie/Family Historian folder on each pc. I set the folders to be 'Available offline', so Google Drive does sync to each within minutes, and you can take your laptop to the library and have all the current pc project there. Add info at the library, save, go home, reconnect/start up PC and laptop, and laptop will sync the data to google drive in the cloud, and that in turn will update the pc.. I skipped the local Log File, as I didn't think that needed to be copied, as it would only reflect local issues. Basic steps are a) create a ProgramData/Calico Pie/Family Historian on the google/MyDrive b) Move all the files under the PC's C:/ProgramData/Calico Pie/Family Historian c) run the mklink junction command for each folder that was under the one that was 'moved' At this stage, test FH still works. FH will still look at the local C:/ProgramData/Calico Pie/Family Historian and the junction will take it to the actual data under the google mydrive. d) On the laptop under C:/ProgramData/Calico Pie/Family Historian, create a new folder, say savedfhdata e) run the mklink junction command for each folder, so that the laptop fh gets pointed to the google/mydrive folder and files. f) test the laptop fh still works. Laptop and Pc have differing screen resolutions, but as I am not syncing the registory, the Pc and Laptop keep their own resolutions without a problem. With that said and operational, I run the Backup plugin about once a month on each computer, and keep it on that computer, so as to not get them mixed up. If you need help. or anyone thinks I have forgotten something, please let me know! Paul TT |
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Cathy Roberts
Hi Mike Thanks for that, I'll change the backup folder to the Google drive. My laptop screen resolution is 1366 x 768, whereas the desktop is 1680 x 1050. I don't want to try the "restore" sync without knowing how to reverse the process if the display becomes unsatisfactory - how would I do that or is there some other way of effecting the sync without including the Registry Data? Sorry to come back with more questions every time, I'm not very tech-savvy I'm afraid!! Cathy On Sun, 16 Oct 2022 at 16:57, Mike Tate <post@...> wrote:
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You already have your Projects synced via Google Drive. So I suggest you set the Plugin Backup Folder of settings to also use Google Drive rather than the C: drive. Whether you also put Project Backups in Google Drive too depends on whether you prefer keeping them separate on each PC.
Then, after running the Plugin Backup tab on one PC and waiting for sync, you can run the Plugin Restore tab on the other PC. Repeat that process in either direction after changing custom settings on one PC to sync the other PC.
There is one caveat if the screen resolution on your two PC is very different. If you sync the Windows Registry Data then the position and size of FH windows may be unsatisfactory. But if you omit the Registry Data then some important settings will not get synced. I can provide more details if necessary.
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Cathy Roberts
Hi Mike Thanks for that pointer - I hadn't thought to check because plugins normally tell me if they're not the most up to date version, & this one didn't, just said last updated in May - but it didn't say which year! So now I have updated my plugin & although it still comes with red health warnings it doesn't seem to be quite so incomprehensible. How much of the contents of the FH folder it generates do I need to copy to the other machine - it has 3 folders & 2 files - or would it be better to change the folder to which it saves backups to the same Google drive place the Projects are in? Currently all backups of settings & Projects are on the C drives of the individual machines. Thanks in anticipation of your help Cathy On Sat, 15 Oct 2022, 18:49 Mike Tate, <post@...> wrote:
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Hi Cathy, I’m busy this evening so I will get back to you tomorrow. Are you running the latest Plugin version 3.5 from the Plugin Store?
See the FHUG Knowledge Base ‘Family Historian Copy and Migration Guide’: https://fhug.org.uk/kb/kb-article/family-historian-copy-and-migration-guide/ Review the sections Copying Program Settings and Restoring Program Settings.
Mike Tate |
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Cathy Roberts
I am sure this has been asked before but I have had a look at both the KB & the Forum & got myself completely confused.
I run my FH programme on a desktop and a laptop & the actual Project data is on a Google drive, so I can access it from either (but NOT both at once!) However the customised settings have got adrift &, knowing that some settings are in odd places, I remembered about the Backup & Restore plugin & thought I'd see if that would do the trick. Well, I managed to backup the settings on one machine but now I come to the Restore bit ... The plugin is full of dire warnings and says I should check the Help & Advice but clicking on that button takes me to a page that says "navigation to this web page has been cancelled" & then goes on about TLS & suchlike, which I don't understand at all. Helpfully the plugin says if I have any questions, to contact Mike Tate ... so please Mike (or any of the other Gurus) - what do I do now? Kind regards Cathy |
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