How to move Imatch 5 to a new computer?

[zacken542]

How do I a move Imatch 5, including ALL settings to new computer?


Sven Åke

[ChrisMatch]

There is a topic in the help file about transfering the settings
(Technical Reference > The Settings Database)

Copying Your Settings to Another Computer
If you get a new computer or you use IMatch on multiple computer (desktop in the studio, laptop while traveling) you can copy all your settings as follows:

Make sure IMatch is not running. This ensures that all settings in the settings database are current
Copy the imatch5.pts file to the other computer
That's it. By copying a single file, all settings are on the other computer. When you make changes to the settings file on the other computer (which you always do when you work with IMatch), remember to copy it back to the original computer so you have the same set of settings everywhere.

[zacken542]

If you read this https://www.photools.com/community/index.php?topic=457.0 all settings is NOT in DB

Code Select Expand

If you change the database, what settings will be 'lost'?
- Preferences>Database >> set manually
- Preferences>Indexing >> set manually
- Preferences>Metadata !!partly!! (left part of the dialog; e.g.: XMP Labels) >> Import feature looking at the images in your database
- Preferences>Metadata Templates >> use Export... / Import... feature
- Preferences>Cache >> set manually
- Preferences>File Relations >> set manually
- Preferences>Sort Profiles >> set manually
- Preferences>Background Processing >> set manually
- Preferences>Edit Attributes >> use Export... / Import... feature

- special settings (color, comments,...) for 'Media & Folders', 'Categories' and 'Timeline' elements
      >> use the Thesaurus to transfer Keywords

have I miss understand it?

Sven Åke

[ChrisMatch]

The problem here is that all those settings are in the 'Settings Database' but are only applied under certain conditions. If you don't change your computers user name and don't change the iMatch database (the one that contains the information about the files not the one that contains the settings) then you should be fine.

In most of the situations this behaviour makes perfect sense.
If you have one database for your images and now decide you also want to make a separate DB for your MP3 files then it would be of no use to also have some of the settings preserved (e.g. File Relations will probably look different).

So transfering iMatch5 to a different computer (keeping user name and database the same) should be an easy task.
The part you quoted describes the situation where you change your iMatch database (create a new one).

[Mario]

So transfering iMatch5 to a different computer (keeping user name and database the same) should be an easy task.

That's the situation for which this system has been designed. A user with multiple computers where he/she uses the same database. E.g. a professional with a desktop in the studio and notebook for on-location work. Or a user who travels. A user who works with IMatch at home and at the office...Copying just the single PTS file and the database will move all settings automatically.

If you work with multiple databases, IMatch has to separate some settings, e.g. the relation setup because some settings contain links to internal database objects and these cannot be transferred between databases. These settings are of course perfectly valid if you use the database on another computer, or another user uses the database.

[zacken542]

Thanks for your answers
Sven Åke