Registry Settings Import During Launch

In previous versions of R.O. Writer, user settings were stored in the registry for each user on each machine. As a result, user settings had to be configured and maintained on each workstation.

User-based registry settings are those configuration settings unique to each user and machine. For example, the settings on the File menu in Configuration.

R.O. Writer 3.0 and higher have been re-programmed to look for user settings in the database instead of the registry. As a result, user settings need to be imported into the database so that R.O. Writer can find them.

You do not need to do anything to import the registry settings into the database. R.O. Writer does it for you at launch.

The normal launch process has been upgraded to check the database for registry settings specific to the current user and machine. If there are no required settings in the database, R.O. Writer begins importing those settings from the registry on the local machine.

Import After Upgrade

The import process should happen during the first launch after upgrading to R.O. Writer 3.0 and not again. After the settings have been imported once, they should not need to be imported again because R.O. Writer finds those settings in the database on every subsequent launch.

As a result, the import process does not need to run on subsequent launches. However, R.O. Writer always checks the database to verify. If there are new user settings, for some reason, R.O. Writer imports them.

Imported Settings

The settings from your current registry are not changed when they are imported into the database. Your settings remain the same after the import process is complete.

The only difference is that now, R.O. Writer looks for these settings in the database instead of in the registry. After the import is complete, the same settings appear on R.O. Writer windows.

Import Process During Launch

When you launch R.O. Writer after an upgrade or a change, the registry settings are imported. The process runs on the launch window as follows:

  1. When you launch, R.O. Writer checks the database for registry settings for the current user.
    • The user is identified by a combination of the machine name and user name in the Windows operating system (for example, "Machine1/Username").
  2. If there are no settings for the current user in the database, R.O. Writer imports those settings into the database.
  3. The import process runs on the R.O. Writer launch window. This process happens so quickly that you might not even see the progress bar in the upper right corner.
  4. When the import process is complete, R.O. Writer creates a backup of the current registry file to the following location on the local machine:
    • C:\Users\[Username]\AppData\Local\Progressive Automotive Systems, LLC\R.O. Writer\RegBackup
  5. R.O. Writer deletes the imported settings from the registry.
  6. When the process is complete, R.O. Writer then begins importing report files.

What Remains in the Registry

The majority of registry settings imported into the database are set on the File menu in Configuration.

The following registry settings remain in the registry after the import process is complete:

Form Type Selections

In previous versions of R.O. Writer, form type selections for printed repair orders, estimates, works orders, etc. were saved in the registry of each machine. As of R.O. Writer 3.0, form type selections are imported into and then stored in the database by the machine name and user name. This means that form type selections remain the same on each machine after the import process is complete.

NOTE: You can see these report files in the Custom Forms utility by clicking the Custom button on the Forms Setup window.

Machine Name and User Name in the Windows Control Panel

Imported registry settings are stored in the database by machine name and user name. If you want to find these settings for each user in the database, you need to look under the machine name and user name.