How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

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john coloccia
Posts: 87
Joined: 26 Mar 2015, 08:27

How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

#1 Post by john coloccia » 11 Oct 2016, 05:19

I currently have 2.4. I'd like to at least try version 3.0. Is there a surefire way to install 3.0 without affecting anything in 2.4 (libraries, settings, etc)?

Tomg
Expert
Posts: 2028
Joined: 20 Jun 2015, 07:39

Re: How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

#2 Post by Tomg » 11 Oct 2016, 09:46

john coloccia wrote:I currently have 2.4. I'd like to at least try version 3.0. Is there a surefire way to install 3.0 without affecting anything in 2.4 (libraries, settings, etc)?
I'm sure you're aware of this already, but just in case, back up all of your custom libraries and schematic/board files into a folder outside of the default DipTrace directory (preferably on another drive) before opening this potential can of worms.

My past encounters with DipTrace installs/upgrades have inspired the following unofficial, unprofessional, "expert" conclusions...
1) Newer versions of DipTrace appear to adopt the older version's settings/preferences, even after first uninstalling the older version. (Don't ask me which file/registry stores the info because I don't know.)
2) The latest 64-bit version of DipTrace installs into the "C:\Program Files" directory. The old 32-bit versions install into the "C:\Program Files (x86)" directory. The exception to this might be a 32-bit version that uses a 64-bit installer. Don't know for sure, so take a look at those two directories on your computer to see where your current install resides so that you will be able to judge whether or not you want to tangle with the new installation.
3) It is possible that once you load the newest version and wind up disliking it for some reason, you will need to uninstall it and then reinstall your old version to get back to your original workflow. There is always the chance that some mystery "heritage" program settings/preferences file/registry will have been changed by the new version.
4) Resaving any of your old schematic/board files with the new version may cause the old version to generate warnings about new v3 features it doesn't recognize when it first opens them. Or you may be hosed altogether. Back up your original custom libraries and schematic/board files first.

By the way, v3 (specifically v3.0.0.2) seems to work fine as far as I can tell. It's not perfect of course, but I prefer it over v2.4.

The new hotkey tool will allow you to speed up some of the more mundane tasks like...
* Update/Unpour All Copper Pours
* Zoom Extents (default setting is the "Home" key)
* Mirror
* Hide Errors
* etc.

Some of the bug fixes...
* Autorouter - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10793
* BOM - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10911
* Update All Copper Pours - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10911
* DXF import - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10985
* 3D Preview - http://www.diptrace.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=10950
* etc.

Good luck.
Tom

john coloccia
Posts: 87
Joined: 26 Mar 2015, 08:27

Re: How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

#3 Post by john coloccia » 13 Oct 2016, 01:29

I appreciate the help, Tom. Is there any official guidance on this? Alex?

Alex
Technical Support
Posts: 3897
Joined: 13 Jun 2010, 23:43

Re: How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

#4 Post by Alex » 26 Oct 2016, 00:37

You can install DipTrace v.3 to different folder than version 2.4. This will not affect existing version and libraries. But some settings will be shared between versions because they are saved in registry and *.dat files. You can backup your settings and recover them when you want (read below).
Please run regedit, find "HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/Novarm/DipTrace" tree and export it to a file. Find a folder where DipTrace saves *.dat files with settings (depends on operation system, usually it is C:\ProgramData\DipTrace\") and backup it. If you decide to get back to version 2.4 with all settings, you can run registry file and recover *.dat files from the backup.

john coloccia
Posts: 87
Joined: 26 Mar 2015, 08:27

Re: How to install 3.0 demo without affecting 2.4?

#5 Post by john coloccia » 28 Oct 2016, 05:33

Alex wrote:You can install DipTrace v.3 to different folder than version 2.4. This will not affect existing version and libraries. But some settings will be shared between versions because they are saved in registry and *.dat files. You can backup your settings and recover them when you want (read below).
Please run regedit, find "HKEY_CURRENT_USER/SOFTWARE/Novarm/DipTrace" tree and export it to a file. Find a folder where DipTrace saves *.dat files with settings (depends on operation system, usually it is C:\ProgramData\DipTrace\") and backup it. If you decide to get back to version 2.4 with all settings, you can run registry file and recover *.dat files from the backup.
Thanks, Alex. You know what I ended up doing, which is maybe the best solution, is installing it in Linux in a virtual machine. I'm happy to report that even like this, it seems to run perfectly in Wine. Even the 3d viewer runs smoothly.

Thanks!

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