Transferring SE Configurations Between PCs

[3JB]

Tried searching, but didn't come up with much.

I use Slick Edit at work and at home.  What is the best way to transfer settings between PCs?

I am interesting in transferring things such custom menus, macros, key bindings, colors, formatting, etc.  I really don't want to have to manually set all this up (new install at home), and then worry about keeping the two installs setup the same.

Thanks.

EDIT: I have SE 2010:
SlickEdit Version 15.0.1.3
Build Date: August 04, 2010

[LBCEi]

If you are trying to transfer settings such as keybindings, indenting, formatting, coloring, etc. (basically anything set through the Tools, Options dialog), you can export all of those by going to the Export/Import Options under the options dialog.  There you can select a specific group of options/settings to export, or export all of your settings.  You can then copy the exported file to the other PC and import those options.  This functionality is available in your 2010 version of SE and, I believe, SE 2009 as well.

This won't take care of synchronizing custom menus or macros -- probably a version control system accessible from both machines is best for that.

Good luck

[3JB]

This won't take care of synchronizing custom menus or macros -- probably a version control system accessible from both machines is best for that.

Where are the custom menus stored?  Is there a file that SE writes?  I know where my custom macro files are of course, but not where SE saves the custom menu info to.

I have XP on one machine and Vista on the other if that matters.

Thank you for your help.

[rdroaten]

Set the SLICKEDITCONFIG environment variable on both systems to point to a directory on a removable drive.  I did this for several years before we got broadband in our area.  Works really well.  Plug in the drive at home, run SE, and you should be right where you left off at the office - including open files.

[3JB]

Set the SLICKEDITCONFIG environment variable on both systems to point to a directory on a removable drive.  I did this for several years before we got broadband in our area.  Works really well.  Plug in the drive at home, run SE, and you should be right where you left off at the office - including open files.

Should have clarified, between work and home are two different projects.  But, this might work.

Thanks.

[ScottW, VP of Dev]

Options Import/Export should handle your custom menus, but it will not handle custom macros. If you're trying to keep your work and home configs the same all the time, using a flash drive or other removable storage is the best way. You can store your config there and use it in both locations.

Your file history and the list of open files is stored in your workspace. Since you are working on two different coding projects, you should have different workspaces for them. If you were working on the same codebase, you would want to bring your workspace back and forth as well.

As previously noted, you can set the SLICKEDITCONFIG environment variable to specify the location of your config directory. You can also do that from the command line using the -sc option: "vs -sc e:\MyConfig". I use the second approach, editing the shortcut icon properties, but I have lots of different configurations.

If you're not trying to keep the two machines synchronized but just want to get your home machine setup to match your work machine initially, you can just copy your config directory from work and paste it into the default location on your home machine. Then you don't have to mess with the environment variable, -sc option, or an external drive. You can use options import/export to synchronize the two machines after you've made changes to your configuration.

As for managing your custom macros, we recommend that you create a directory in your config directory for this. On Windows, the default location for your config is "My Documents\My SlickEdit Config". Below that will be a subdirectory for each major version of SlickEdit that you've run: "15.0", "15.0.1", etc. Create a subdirectory called "MyMacros" or whatever you like and make it a peer of those version subdirectories. Then, everything that makes your instance of SlickEdit different from any other instance of SlickEdit is in a single directory tree. Be sure to back this up regularly and keep multiple previous versions. Some problems with SlickEdit are fixed by returning to a default config. Then you have to re-import your settings (which might reintroduce the problem). It's better to be able to fall back to an earlier config that didn't have the problem.

Do NOT store your own macros in the "macros" subdirectory of the SlickEdit installation. That just leads to complications.

There's some really good reading in the Appendix of the User Guide in "Configuration Directories and Files", if you want to learn more about where/how SlickEdit stores various information.

[3JB]

If you're not trying to keep the two machines synchronized but just want to get your home machine setup to match your work machine initially, you can just copy your config directory from work and paste it into the default location on your home machine. Then you don't have to mess with the environment variable, -sc option, or an external drive. You can use options import/export to synchronize the two machines after you've made changes to your configuration.

This sounds like what I need to do.  I'll give it a try, thank you.

[3JB]

Well, that didn't work.

I copied my entire "My SlickEdit Config" to/from, exported/imported all my settings, and copied my macros.  My SE at home is 15.0.1, whereas at work it is 15.0.0.  I did get two errors when importing things, but they didn't seem like anything major, and I don't remember what they were.

When I started SE after copying the config, I got a status message saying that it was copying the 15.0.0 folder to 15.0.1.

After that was done, my project list from work is in the history, but that appears to be the only thing that is the same.  All the colors are different, none of the keybindings are there, none of the menus are there, etc., etc.

Guess I'll just do it manually.

[3JB]

Removing the copied "My SlickEdit Config" copied from work and restoring my old "My SlickEdit Config" from home has resulted in my menus and keybindings being removed.

So, I guess I'm starting from scratch.  Would have saved myself time by manually settings things up in the first place.