Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[EpF]

Hi,

I've just updated to v13 and imported my v12 library successfully, but now I have to set up my toolbars as they were and all my Theatre View settings, as well as my Favourites menu etc.. Is there any way of doing this easily within MC? I know you can do it through the registry, but that seems a bit risky - I don't want to mess up the new version with redundant/incorrect registry entries. I seem to recall some mention of this stuff being saved in the Library backup, but that doesn't seem to be the case from my restore...

[rjm]

Configuration data is stored in 3 locations. Here is how to move all of it from MC12 to MC13.

1) Library field data (including user defined fields), views, sort orders, playlists, and podcast feeds are stored in the library (*.jmd) files.

To preserve these settings copy your MC12 library to the MC13 library location and open it with MC13. MC13 will automatically convert your MC12 library to the MC13 format the first time it is opened. Note that MC12 cannot open an MC13 library. By making a copy of the MC12 library for use by MC13, you can keep MC12 operational for a while in parallel with MC13. (I have done a lot of testing with recent MC13 builds and I am confident you can dump MC12 now if you wish).

2) Language file customizations, custom art, downloaded skins, and downloaded visualizations are stored in c:\Program Files\J River\Media Center 1x.

After installing MC13, use Windows Explorer to copy anything you want to preseve from MC12 to MC13.

3) Option settings, auto-import settings, favorites, toolbar customizations, skin selection, library location, and thumbnail cache location are stored in the registry and are unique per user account.

I have successfully moved all of these settings from MC13 on an XP system to MC13 on a Vista system by using regedit to export HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 13.reg on the XP system, copying this file to the Vista system, and double clicking it to import the settings into Vista.

Note that MC uses CR LF as a delimiter in Auto-Import registry settings, and CR LF is not preserved by regedit export/import. Therefore there is no way to move auto-import settings. You will have to enter these manually.

What I have NOT figured out is how to move MC12 settings to MC13 on the same system. I am pretty confident that you could manually copy important registry settings with regedit (from HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12 to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 13) but I do not know how to do this automatically.

In case you are not aware, you can run MC12 and MC13 at the same time. So what I did was open both and methodically copied all settings from MC12 to MC13.

[EpF]

Thanks rjm,

I had already completed sections 1 and 2, and I thought there had been some mention a long time ago about setting from section 3 being included. Basically, I have now exported the MC 12 registry entry, opened it with Notepad++, replaced all instances of 'Media Center 12' with 'Media Center 13', then I went through the whole thing (Notepad++ makes this kind of easy) and deleted any entries I thought might mess up the program ( ), then saved and merged the .reg file. So far it seems to have worked ok. Nothing is obviously broken, though a couple of things didn't make it through, like my Auto Import settings, which I don't remember deleting, but the vast majority is back the way I like it!

[rjm]

Thanks rjm,

I had already completed sections 1 and 2, and I thought there had been some mention a long time ago about setting from section 3 being included. Basically, I have now exported the MC 12 registry entry, opened it with Notepad++, replaced all instances of 'Media Center 12' with 'Media Center 13', then I went through the whole thing (Notepad++ makes this kind of easy) and deleted any entries I thought might mess up the program ( ), then saved and merged the .reg file. So far it seems to have worked ok. Nothing is obviously broken, though a couple of things didn't make it through, like my Auto Import settings, which I don't remember deleting, but the vast majority is back the way I like it!

Excellent tip. I didn't know you could edit a reg file. See explanation above for why auto-import settings do not move.

[EpF]

Excellent tip. I didn't know you could edit a reg file. See explanation above for why auto-import settings do not move.

D'oh! I read that eplanation first time, but had forgotten it by the time I did all the work and replied.

If you find yourself editing registry entries outside the registry, Notepad++ is a handy, open-source program as it recognises lots of different file-types that are just text, and presents them in a way that allows you to collapse sections, such as registry entries, making them much less cumbersome to edit. I am not affiliated with this program, by the way! 

[rjm]

D'oh! I read that eplanation first time, but had forgotten it by the time I did all the work and replied.

If you find yourself editing registry entries outside the registry, Notepad++ is a handy, open-source program as it recognises lots of different file-types that are just text, and presents them in a way that allows you to collapse sections, such as registry entries, making them much less cumbersome to edit. I am not affiliated with this program, by the way! 

Thanks. I was using Notepad++ but switched to UltraEdit because I think its much better. I cannot however find a setting in UltraEdit to collapse reg sections so there may be a good reason for me to re-install Notepad++.

I forgot to mention an important point above. The MC12 thumbnail cache is compatible with MC13 so you may want to copy it as well. My cache is 2.4 GB so I was very happy not to have to rebuild it.

[JONCAT]

My cache is about the same size. Any idea of Glynors system will backup 12 to 13?

DC

[hit_ny]

Note that MC uses CR LF as a delimiter in Auto-Import registry settings, and CR LF is not preserved by regedit export/import. Therefore there is no way to move auto-import settings. You will have to enter these manually.

When you dump the reg file, look at the keys

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12\Properties]
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (1)
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (2)
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (3)

or

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12\Properties\Keywords]
Properties\Keywords\View Settings - Thumbnail Text

If you notice the key contents, they have a  'box like' character, which turns out to be ASCII for 01 or start-of-header.

Just copy paste that character into your text reg file where the CR/LFs occur, paste it twice for each CR/LF and a dbl click on the reg file imports it into MC without any problem

[marko]

When you dump the reg file, look at the keys

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12\Properties]
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (1)
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (2)
Tag Info - Always Show Fields (3)

or

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12\Properties\Keywords]
Properties\Keywords\View Settings - Thumbnail Text

If you notice the key contents, they have a  'box like' character, which turns out to be ASCII for 01 or start-of-header.

Just copy paste that character into your text reg file where the CR/LFs occur, paste it twice for each CR/LF and a dbl click on the reg file imports it into MC without any problem

hit_ny,
I tried this, and it did not work for me. It was also tedious, to the point that in comparison, setting up auto import from scratch using MC would be the path of least resistance.
In the text editor (I had to resort to notepad because I could not work out how to stop UltraEdit automatically converting the little square into a carriage return) I set the whole thing onto one line as it appears in the registry, and everywhere a little square appeared, I put two in, saved the file, double clicked it to merge, and nothing got imported.

What am I doing wrong?

-marko.

[hit_ny]

hit_ny,
I tried this, and it did not work for me. It was also tedious, to the point that in comparison, setting up auto import from scratch using MC would be the path of least resistance.
In the text editor (I had to resort to notepad because I could not work out how to stop UltraEdit automatically converting the little square into a carriage return) I set the whole thing onto one line as it appears in the registry, and everywhere a little square appeared, I put two in, saved the file, double clicked it to merge, and nothing got imported.

What am I doing wrong?

-marko.

Any text editor will automatically convert the CR/LF into carriage return.

But the squares for the fields referred to above are ascii code 1 instead of 12&13 for CR/LF.

So you work with the import registry key as it is in your text editor. Just paste the square at the end of the first line then do a delete which will bring the line below up to the same line, go to the end of the line  do the paste, then delete once and so on for the whole key. I tried this with XP.

Another alternative might be to just copy the key as is within regedit and paste it into the corresponding key for the new version.

So copy the value of the Default Folder key from
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 12\Library Specific\{your-desired-library}\Import

into
Default Folder key in
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JRiver\Media Center 13\Library Specific\{your-desired-library}\Import