Software Bisque Knowledge Base Article – 1241

TRANSFERRING THESKY‘S SETTINGS

(Originally titled “PORTING THESKYX’S SETTINGS”)

ISSUE

TheSky‘s settings can be moved or duplicated to a different user account on the computer, or different edition of TheSky that is installed on the same computer, or event to a different computer or operating system.

However, simply copying the settings to a new location will not necessarily result in TheSky being able to utilize all of those settings. If the new location is on the same computer as the original, it is possible that the settings will be fully utilized, yet split between the two locations.

RESOLUTION

This discussion refers extensively to TheSky‘s Application Support Files (ASF) folder .  Note that this is a description of the folder where the settings reside, not the folder’s name!…follow the link for details.

If you have not already, please see the articles on Backing Up TheSky‘s Settings and Restoring TheSky‘s Settings (restoring settings alone is sufficient when transferring to a different computer with an identical ASF folder path).

There are several files in the ASF folder that store path definitions to files or folders. Copying or moving these configuration files to a different location will typically result in invalidating the path definitions they contain. Even nothing more than a change in the OS’s user name can relocate the ASF folder. (When restoring from a backup, the path definitions are valid if the files are restored to their original location.)

While TheSky can function with some invalid path definitions, it attempts to substitute default settings for some that it cannot locate.

Below the affected files with a brief description of their purpose and instructions for editing path definitions they contain.

AppSettings.ini
Includes, among others, software serial number(s) and the path definition for the last-used TPoint settings file.

1. If running, close TheSky.
2. Navigate to the ASF folder, then locate and rename the AppSettings.ini file to something like AppSettings backup.ini.
3. Open AppSettings backup.ini in a text editor, such as Notepad (Windows), or TextEdit (macOS). With TextEdit, be sure to click Format > Make Plain Text first.
4. If you’ve changed editions of TheSky, or otherwise need to change your serial number(s), look for lines that include the text SerialNumber and replace the value after the equals sign with your new serial number(s) for the corresponding software/add-on.
5. Click Edit > Find and search for lines that include the text Path (no quotes) and, where necessary, revise the value after the equals sign to the correct location of the application.  Note that the TheSky for Windows includes two executables: a 32-bit and 64-bit version.
   • The default location of the 32-bit executable is C:\Program Files (x86)\Software Bisque\TheSkyX <Professional or Serious Astronomer> Edition.
   • The default location of the 64-bit executable is C:\Program Files (x86)\Software Bisque\TheSkyX <Professional or Serious Astronomer> Edition\TheSky64.
6. Save the modified contents as a new file named “AppSettings.ini” (without quotes, and in the same folder).
7. If you changed your serial number in step 4, launch TheSky to verify your serial number information using the About TheSky command from the Help menu (Windows) or TheSky menu (macOS).

ImagingSystem.ini (under the Imaging System Profile sub-folder)
Includes, among others, the path definitions for the Camera Add On’s AutoSave folder(s), if applicable. Note that this is the default imaging system profile file name. Additional profiles may have been created, and may be edited in the manner described here. You needn’t edit profiles that you no longer use.

1. If running, close TheSky.
2. Navigate to the Imaging System Profile sub-folder of your ASF folder, then locate and rename the “ImagingSystem.ini” file to something like “ImagingSystem backup.ini”.
3. Open this file in a text editor, such as Notepad on Windows, or TextEditor on Mac. With TextEditor, be sure to use the Plain Text option.
4. Look for lines that include the phrase Path and, where necessary, revise the value after the equals sign to the correct location.
5. Save the modified contents as a new file named “ImagingSystem.ini” (without quotes, and in the same folder).

LastDocument.ini
Keeps track of the last-opened ‘.skyx’ Sky Document that stores primarily Sky Chart parameters (site location, date and time, chart orientation, displayed elements, etc.).

1. Launch TheSky.
2. Use the File > Open command to choose a desired Sky Document.
3. The “LastDocument.ini” file should automatically be updated when TheSky is closed.

Tips:

• If you’d customized TheSky‘s Application Support Files (ASF) folder location, you’ll need to do the same for the new installation, or it will instead use the default location, being unaware of your alternate location. See Changing Where TheSky‘s Settings Are Saved.
• If moving between computers of very different display pixel densities, the appearance of TheSky‘s toolbars and windows might look different. On Windows this can be addressed using the text magnification setting (under Windows’ Settings > System > Display), and/or by adjusting TheSky‘s Toolbar Button Options on the Toolbar tab of the Preferences window. Also, regardless of the operating system, you may restore the default window and toolbar settings by closing TheSky and then renaming or deleting the WindowPositions.ini file from the root of the ASF folder. When next launched, a new WindowPositions.ini file will automatically be created using the default configuration.
• If you’ve changed computers and need to interface TheSky with peripherals (e.g. mount, camera, focuser, dome), you may also need to copy or install associated third-party drivers and/or plug-ins and re-configure associated port assignments. If ASCOM is used (Windows only), you’ll also need to install the ASCOM platform.

APPLIES TO

• TheSkyX First Light edition
• TheSkyX Student edition
• TheSkyX Serious Astronomer edition
• TheSkyX Professional edition (32 bit)
• TheSky Professional edition (64 bit)
• TheSky Imaging edition

• This topic was modified 3 years ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 2 years, 5 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.
• This topic was modified 1 year, 8 months ago by  Daniel R. Bisque.