How to backup the PI settings ?

[Ioannis Ioannou]

During all these years, from time to time, when I open PI, and with no apparent reason (ie no previous program or computer crash), PI resets it's settings to the default. Not a big deal, but I usually have my UI heavily customized (eg I prefer the console bottom right, or I have a different set of favorites in the Process Explorer or a customized toolbar). Not  a big deal, I can customize them again in 5-10 minutes, but I wonder, where PI keeps the settings under Windows and Linux? Is there a way to back them up for the next time ?

TIA

[FunTomas]

Still no solution for this problem? Every time i started PixInsight, I need to hide Zoom toolbar and enable Readout data > Show Readout Preview. Is it possible to save my desktop settings finally? If PixInsight start as new session, is it possible to use my own global preferences? This is very annoying.
I am running PixInsight 1.8.4.1195 on Win7 64bit platform. Many thanks for solution.

[Juan Conejero]

This problem cannot be reproduced on any of our working and testing machines, including physical and virtual machines running different Linux distributions, OS X 10.10 and 10.11, and Windows 7/8.1/10. All application settings, including toolbar configurations and readout options, are always stored and restored correctly across different sessions on all of these machines.

[Ioannis Ioannou]

Juan, your machines may work without a problem, but that does not mean that the problem does not exist !

Under unspecified conditions, the settings are lost. And this is not a user mistake, it happens randomly.
For example this is happening to me since ver 1.6: I just got used of it - I re-customize the UI every time it happens (once every -let say- 3 months, depending the usage of the program). I have to admit, the frequency with 1.8 is a lot lower than the previous versions - but again, can't tell for sure, lately I do not have time for the hobby

An option to backup the settings (or something similar) will be just handy.

[Juan Conejero]

Hi John,

If we cannot reproduce a problem, then we cannot understand and eventually fix it. We test the entire PixInsight platform exhaustively on a variety of machines and operating systems, and this issue simply does not happen.

From my support experience after more than 8 years, this kind of problems on Windows are typically caused by bad interactions with other software applications, especially virus protection and firewall applications and/or viruses blocking access to disk files. See a very recent example in this thread.

[Ioannis Ioannou]

Point well made, but my point was not "fix", just "give us a workaround"  I know very well what you are talking about (this is my job)

[Juan Conejero]

On Windows >= 7, PixInsight's main configuration file is:

C:\Users\<your-user-name>\AppData\Roaming\Pleiades\PixInsight.ini

You can replace this file with a saved version when the application is not running. However, you will lose all settings that have changed since you saved the original. This should work, at least for .ini files generated by the same version of PixInsight currently installed.

[Ioannis Ioannou]

Groovy, this will save me a lot of trouble, thanks 

Actually i have a file named PixInsight.ini dated 5/1/2016 and another, named  PixInsight64.ini dated 27/7/2015. I guess I need only the first, but what is the second ?

For Linux, let me guess (I just logged with ssh into home to check it), should be ~/.PixInsight/PixInsight.conf , right ?

[FunTomas]

I found in specified folder these files (see attachment). I moved *64.ini and *.nW8604 to another folder and now will wait what happens. :-)

[FunTomas]

In specified folder remains only pixinsight.ini. When started pixinsight at work (main difference is network and external display), PixInsight started without Zoom toolbar.
Now, after starting PixInsight at home (another network and without external display) the zoom toolbar is again visible. In specified folder is only Pixinsight.ini. Can I explore or test something else?

I try to hide zoom toolbar, exit PixInsight and make backup of Pixinsight.ini. After next corrupted startup will do the same thing. I am curious for file difference...

[FunTomas]

I explained why and how are these settings lost. Explanation is in bug report.
http://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=9642.0