Family Historian User Group

I have developed Jane's Plugin Backup Family Historian Settings mainly for my own purposes, but wondered if its features would be of interest to others.

Backup Features

• It includes every folder/file from the Program Data Calico Pie folder, so even modified Standard Diagrams/Fact Sets/Reports/Text Schemes are preserved. (Jane's Plugin only includes Custom folders).
• If any file is deleted by FH from the Program Data Calico Pie folder, then on the next run the Plugin offers to delete it from the backup folder too.
• The backup file Modified and Accessed date-time stamps are now set correctly. (Jane's Plugin has them reversed).
• The Current_User and Local_Machine settings for FH in the Registry are automatically preserved in a Registry.keys file using REG EXPORT command.
• All installed versions of FH are included, e.g. I have Family Historian V4.1.3, Family Historian 5.0 Beta, and Family Historian Demo 3.0.

Restore Features

• Restore does much the same as Backup, but in the reverse direction, and each FH Program, and Program Data Files & Registry Data Keys are selected individually.
• If any file in the Program Data Calico Pie folder is newer than the file being restored from the Backup folder, then the Plugin asks what to do ~ Copy Old Backup File or Keep New Program File.
• If any file exists in the Program Data Calico Pie folder, but not in the Backup folder, then the Plugin offers to delete it from Calico Pie folder.

Other Features

• Apart from the initial Backup, the Plugin rarely copies any files. It compares each Calico Pie versus Backup file byte size & modified date, and only if they differ does it perform the copy, which means it runs much faster and is much safer to use.
• The Backup folder location is remembered per Project, so that Backup/Restore of settings can be performed (with care) on a per Project, per User, or per PC basis.
• It would be particularly useful in transferring ALL settings from an old PC to a new PC, in case Windows Easy Transfer does not do it OK.

The Plugin needs a better User Interface with a lot of WARNINGS about using Restore, especially for less experienced users.

Any comments???   What do you think???   Is it worth adding to the Plugin Store???

ID:6004

Personally, I'd hold off adding it to the store until (a) it had been trialled by several other users, and (b) you've finished the necessary polishing. But the concept is great, and I'm strongly in favour of making it available (preferably superseding Jane's version, to avoid confusion).

Mike,

I too would be very interested in your version. I especially like the backup and restore of the registry entries.

Bill

This sounds very good to me too.  How can we test it without adding it to the store?

Thank you for your positive feedback. That gives me the impetus to build the User Interface.

I am testing the Plugin in various User/Administrator accounts on PC running Windows 7 64-bit, and Windows Vista 32-bit, and Windows XP 32-bit.

When the User Interface is ready, and my testing is finished, perhaps I could post it in the Plugin Store, with caveats that the Restore feature needs to be checked by experienced users, and not used by anyone who does not understand and accept the associated risks.

The best way to share plugins for testing once the store goes live will be to upload them in to the Knowledge base (I think you will find they can be uploaded as media). That way they can have a page there and won't confuse the store with items not quite ready for general consumption.

A Beta Test Version 1.0 of my Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings plugin is now available for download from the FHUG Work In Progress Plugins area.

Jane - could you possibly rename this download to Backup and Restore Family Historian Settings.fh_lua?
The media store needs to be able to cope with files that have this type of Windows filename using mixed case letters and spaces.

Please take care when using this Plugin, because it not only operates on the C:ProgramDataCalico Pie folder but also the Windows Registry keys for HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCalico Pie and HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico Pie.
Ensure you have suitable file backups and either a Windows Registry backup or a System Restore point to allow recovery if anything should go wrong.

At present there are NO FHUG Help pages for this Plugin ~ I will add them later as necessary.

Getting to this stage took a bit longer than expected.
I was originally using regedit to export/import the Windows Registry keys.
But found Windows 7 & Vista Administrator accounts invoke User Account Control every time regedit is run, which was too annoying.
I now use the Commands REG QUERY, REG EXPORT and REG IMPORT which run in a Batch .bat file.
This causes a Command Prompt window to popup briefly when the Plugin starts, and on each Backup and Restore, but is less intrusive.

I have run the Plugin on Windows 7 (64-bit), Vista (32-bit), and a slow XP (32-bit) laptop.
I have used Administrator accounts, Standard User accounts, and Guest accounts.

If running a non-Windows Firewall, such as Comodo, the Batch .bat file may need approving initially.

There should be little risk in using the Backup operation.
There is some risk in using the Restore operation for the C:ProgramDataCalico Pie custom data files.
There is a higher risk in using the Restore operation on the Windows Registry keys for FH Preferences.
See Understanding the Scope of Features for details of which Preferences are stored in the Windows Registry.

There are warnings on the Internet about Exporting/Importing Registry keys under the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE keys.

• Windows XP non-Administrator accounts are not supposed to have write access to these keys.
• Windows 7 & Vista non-Administrator accounts use Virtualisation to overcome this problem.
• Migrating Registry keys for a 32-bit application like FH between 64-bit and 32-bit PC should beware of HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432Node keys.

So far I have not encountered any of the above problems.
[EDIT] I have discovered that the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE[Wow6432Node]Calico PieFamily Historian... keys grant Everyone permission for Full Control, which explains why any user account can write to those keys.

Please let me have your feedback, but do identify which Windows version and what type of Account you are using.
I am particularly interested if Dropbox or similarly synchronised PC can exchange Backup/Restore data OK.

Mike,

It seems like one possible use for this would be to allow me to backup my beta 5 settings and restore them to the new version 5 when it comes out.

I'm assuming that when it comes out, version 5 will use the folder c:ProgramDataCalico PieFamily Historian.  Would it be possible to restore to this folder from the folder that holds the backup for Family Historian 5.0 Beta?

I thought maybe I could just rename the folder from 'Family Historian 5.0' to 'Family Historian' and then run the restore, but I was concerned this might not work because of the Registry.keys file and the Version.data file that contain the Family Historian 5.0 Beta folder name and version number respectively.

If that won't work, is there any other way to easily copy over my beta 5 settings to the new version 5?

Thanks,

Bill

Bill said

It seems like one possible use for this would be to allow me to backup my beta 5 settings and restore them to the new version 5 when it comes out.

Currently the Plugin prevents such operations, because the risks associated with migrating settings between different FH Versions is too great.

However, for Beta testers there are some possible techniques.

1) Copy Custom Data Files
The simplest and safest is to use Windows Explorer to copy all the required customised data files from the Backup Data folder for Family Historian 5.0 Beta to the Program Data Calico Pie folder for Family Historian Version 5.
These files would be the ones in Custom folders only, unless you have customised Standard settings, or Property Box Tabs, etc.
However, this method will NOT restore Tools > Preferences and other Registry based settings.

2) Edit Registry Data & Restore
This is a riskier route, but should work OK.
a) Rename Backup Folder
Rename the Backup Data folder for Family Historian 5.0 Beta to Family Historian.
b) Edit Registry.keys
Open the Registry.keys file with Notepad and similarly replace every Family Historian 5.0 Beta with Family Historian.
Also copy the installed [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico PieFamily Historian2.0] keys section obtained from a Backup into this edit.
Then File > Save the Registry.keys file.
c) Edit Version.data
Open the Version.data file with Notepad, correct the Version number, and use File > Save.
d) Run Plugin Restore
The Restore operation should then work OK.

If enough Beta testers wanted this feature, then it might be possible to provide a special variant of the Plugin to automate the process.
It would need to use regedit and suffer UAC popups in order to create plain text (instead of binary) Registry.keys files, that the Plugin can read, edit, and write.

Mike,

I've used option 1 before when moving to another computer for example.  I think I will use option 2 for this because I really want to get the preferences copied over as well.  It is a pain to have to reset them all manually.

I do have a question though.  You said:

Also copy the installed [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico PieFamily Historian2.0] keys section obtained from a Backup into this edit.

I was wondering if you could clarify a couple of things for me.

The Family Historian 5.0 Beta Registry.keys file already has a section called this.  Does the one from the Family Historian file replace the one that is already there?

I'm assuming it is just the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico PieFamily Historian2.0] section.  I shouldn't do the  [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico PieFamily Historian 5.0 Beta2.0Preferences] section also should I?  Just want to be sure.

Thanks

Bill

Your interpretation is perfect.

The reason that section is required is for the Version digits, and I suspect the installation key is there too.

However, I think I have modified the Plugin to do it automatically, providing both Family Historian 5.0 Beta and the new Family Historian Version 5.0 are installed on the PC at the same time.
Cannot fully test it until Family Historian Version 5.0 is available, but it looks OK.

Mike,

That's great!  I look forward to using the plugin when the new release of FH is available.

Thanks!

Bill

Bill, I presume you are comfortable with the fact that, if the FH 5.0 Beta settings are copied to the new FH V5.0, then any settings it inherits from FH V4.1 will be lost.

In other words, you must ensure any settings you want to retain from FH V4.1 are transferred to FH 5.0 Beta first.
Especially any Tools > Preferences and other Registry settings.

However, if you Backup the FH V4.1 settings, then any individual custom data files can be copied into FH V5.0 later using Windows Explorer.

FYI:
Rather than replace it, the Plugin will simply delete the [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARECalico PieFamily Historian2.0] section from the Registry.keys file, thus leaving those keys unaffected in the Registry.

Mike,

I copied all of the settings, references, and custom folders over from 4.1 to the beta so the beta has everything the way I like it.  After beta 2, I started using the beta to enter and change things so I haven't used 4.1 for quite some time.

Will you update this thread when the new version of the plugin is available?  

Thanks for doing this!

Bill

Version 1.1 of Backup And Restore Family Historian Settings is now available for testing.

This includes the following features:

• Allows the FH 5.0 Beta Backup Data to migrate to a new FH V5.0 installation.
• Handles Diagram Picture and Box Icon image files located outside the Program Data Icons folder.
• Registry Data Keys Backup now always excludes the [HKLM...Family Historian...2.0] Version details section.
• Any existing Backup Data date-time stamp is provided to inform when Backup was performed.

For the FH 5.0 Beta migration to FH V5.0 to work, both must be installed, and the Plugin run from FH 5.0 Beta.
Note that Registry Settings migrate from the FH 5.0 Beta current Windows Registry keys, NOT the Backup Data ~ Registry.keys file.

Thanks Mike!

Bill

Mike,

I downloaded and installed version 5 today.  I tried to run the restore and had a couple of problems.  

1.  When I installed version 5 it asked for my name and key.  I put that in and it was accepted.  Then I tried to start 5.0 beta and it wouldn't run because it said the key was wrong.  So, I put in the name and key for version 4.1.   That was accepted and the beta started up.  I know this isn't your problem, but I thought you should know.

2.  I started the plugin and went to restore the data files and got this error.



3.  I tried to run the plugin again to do the registry entries, and got this error.



Bill

Thanks for the feedback - remember this is still a beta test version.
Until I can install FH V5.0 there is probably little I can do.

Could Jane or Simon comment on if it is feasible to run FH 5.0.0.7 Beta alongside the new FH 5.0.0?

Bill - If you are comfortable to do it, can you look in the Registry under Calico Pie and see if there are separate keys for Family Historian and Family Historian 5.0 Beta?

V5 will upgrade a normal V4 installation. V5 beta will not be touched.

Mike,

What's the delay, it is out there to be downloaded and installed.  [grin]

Just kidding.  I look forward to you having a chance to test it more.

Thanks,

Bill

Jane,

Not sure why, but I can't run them both.  If I put the key in for version 5, then the beta says it has the wrong key.  If I put the key in for the beta (my old 4.1 key), then version 5 says it has the wrong key.  

Bill

Just tried V1.1 with FH 5.0.0.7 on Win 7. The plugin starts ok, but after a couple of seconds displays this error:

tatewise said:
Bill - If you are comfortable to do it, can you look in the Registry under Calico Pie and see if there are separate keys for Family Historian and Family Historian 5.0 Beta?

Mike,

There are separate sections under HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCalico Pie in the registry. I don't see the key here anywhere.

There is no Calico Pie entry under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWARE.

Bill

Ah I forgot the key, I was thinking about the contents of settings and the registry, which I presumed as per the thread that was was you were talking about sorry.

Bill,
With FH 5.0 Beta I presume it will not accept the new FH V5.0 licence key.

Anyway, with FH 5.0 Beta running, please run the Plugin and simply Skip through the Backup options.
What FH Program: Names and Versions are listed in turn.

Regarding the Registry the following entries should exist:
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCalico PieFamily Historian...
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareCalico PieFamily Historian 5.0 Beta...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeCalico Pie\Family Historian...
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESOFTWAREWow6432NodeCalico Pie\Family Historian 5.0 Beta...
On a 32-bit PC there is no Wow6432Node folder.