Portable Settings

• Dec 5, 2016 - 20:35

I've been running musescore by using the MuseScore-2.0.1 download. But every time I switch machines I have to set it up again. Anyway to program this once and save it to an external drive?

Thanks


Comments

First you should rather be using 2.0.3. Second you could be using the portable app, no need to install anything on all the Computers you want to use it on, just once on a thumb drive, including the settings.

Hey - How is this going to work when I switch to Linux? I can only get the older versions of MS to run on my Linux computer. I think?

I've got this portable thingy on my USB. It sets up fast enough, but I expected it to save my preferences for language and how to start up. It's not doing so. Does anyone know what might be the problem? I select the options then hit Apply and then OK. But when I crank up on another computer, it's a no go. It loads much faster than that other thing I was using - the Exe. file. That's a plus.

My preferences are being saved only during the session. When I started again this morning, I had to go through and set up my preferences again, after having saved them last night. Now, in this session, when I close and open MS, I have my preferences. But I'm starting each day having to reset everything. Is that right?

This is how I installed. I downloaded Portable to a public computer. I then located the MuseScore 2 folder in the directory of the computer and moved it to my USB. I have the whole folder there. Do I need the entire folder? I also copied that folder to other drives and into other project folders. So I could always quickly get a preset MS for any project. But it's not working the way I imagined it would. I must have done something wrong.

I have also altered the names on some of these folders.

In reply to by Joe H

What do you mean "in this session"? If you close and reopen MuseScore *from the same copy of the portable version* and your settings are saved, then MuseScore is doing its job. So if the next day those settings are gone, it must be you are doing something different - starting from a different copy of MuseScore presumably.

I'm starting from the same folder every day. Today when I open MS, my preferences are not saved. There are other issues and questions. I removed the musescore folder from the computer directory when I first downloaded this portable version. Do I need the whole folder? Or can this work if I remove the file that has the icon from the folder and just use that? Also, with the MuseScore-2.0.1 exe. file, I was able to see the file icons and double click to bring up MS. This portable version is not allowing that. I have to call up MS then ueing Open, search for the files in the dialog box.

Maybe i messed up by removing or copying the whole folder from the computer directory?

In reply to by Joe H

Not sure what folder or file you might mean. When asking for help, it's best to be as precise as possible in describing what you are doing. Step by step, like:

1) Using Windows Explorer, nagivate to the portable folder on USB drive
2) double click program icon to start MuseScore
3) go to Edit / Preferences and change, say, the icon sizes
4) quit MuseScore
5) wait some period of time
6) repeat steps 1-2

It *sounds* like you are saying that somehow, by mere virtue of waiting a few more hours, somehow the icon size change you made gets lost (that is, if you wait only minutes at step 5, it works, but not if you wait a whole day). This seems very unlikely to me, so I'm guessing there is more going on that you will need to be specific about - like what file or folder you are removing and when and why, specifically as part of a step by step series of instructions like this.

I came over here to the forum and asked about saving my preferences, and explained that I am frequently changing computers. I was using MS2. I was asking about MS2, and someone popped up and said I should update or better yet, download the Portable version. I downloaded the portable version but had no idea how it works. Is there a page with instructions for how it works? I asked where it was and someone said it was in the computer directory. That did not make sense since I am going to be switching computers ten times a week. So I went to the directory and cut or copied the MuseScore 2 folder from the directory. Did I need to do that? I pasted that in my USB.

That folder contains a bunch of other folders with names like "bin." I figured that the portable needed all of that info in order to function. Is that correct? It's very clumsy. I would think that all I would need is the file that has the MuseScore logo on it. That is the file I search for to start the portable. Every time I call it up, usually on a different computer, the settings have gone back to default, which means I have to go in to Preferences and change the language, the place I want to save to my USB and also how I want the start up to begin with my last session, where I left off. That works as long as I am on the same computer. I usually change computers for every session. I am having to go through set up each time.

Do I need the folder that is placed in the computer directory when first installing the portable version? I would love to ditch all of that and only keep the startup file that has the MS logo. You must know what that is, since there is only one such file in any MS setup and that is the icon for clicking and calling up MS. It is the same icon that appears on any MS mscz file. When I had the old version, that icon always appears on mscz files and I could also call up MS by double clicking on one of those files with the icon. With the portable version, my mscz files are not showing MS icon and cannot be opened by double clicking. I have to go to that big directory folder, search for musescore, get the file with the icon and click that, then I have to go to Open and dig through my drive to load a file. This has all gotten very laborious compared to the MuseScore 2 that I was using before. I have not gained anything by switching and have lost much labor.

Back to my original question that I posted a week ago - Can I program MS2 to keep my settings? That is all I originally intended to do. MS2 works fine for me and I just want to program it to save my preferences on a USB and load it on any computer.

In reply to by Joe H

There is a reason the portable app comes as a full folder with its own soundfont, templates, style files, and everything else needed to run. It's definitely not enough to just have the exe file. Software of any complexity just doesn't work that way. Unless you have the expertise to understand exactly what you doing what, don't mess with the folder. Keep it as is and run the exe directly from that folder if you want things to work as intended.

In reply to by Joe H

Is there a page with instructions for how it works?

See http://portableapps.com/about/what_is_a_portable_app
and http://portableapps.com/support/portable_app#installing for some informations.

Double clicking on .mscz files doesn't work with the portable version by design.
The operating system doesn't know that there is MuseScore Portable on the USB device.
You could add a file assosiation yourself, just be sure to open with "MuseScorePortable.exe".
If you launch MuseScore.exe instead all settings will be stored in a non portable way on your harddisk.

Is the problem that I cut out the folder from the directory and placed it on the USB? I don't see why the portable was installed on the compter directory? What is portable about that? How do I make this system portable? There are no instructions on how to use the portable. I went to a page and downloaded it and it was put into the directory. What is portable about that? It must be on my USB in order to be portable. How do I move it from the computer directory to the USB? How do I use it once it is on the USB? - if it doesn't recognize my files and there is no desktop icon.?

I think that MS should supply the step by step. I supplied you with my step by step - but you haven't told me how to use this correctly and what I am doing wrong. I said I cut the folder out of the directory. You say I shouldn't mess with the folder. What then am I suppose to do? The folder is on my USB now. What do I do next? Download it again? Then what? Leave it in the directory? Then what? As long as it's in the directory on the computer, it is not portable. Am I supposed to copy the folder to my USB each time? I just have no idea how to use this because there are no step by step directions.

Actually, installing from the exe. was much easier. It took longer and I couldn't save my settings for taking along with me - but it was easier to find the icon and start up, and easier to load mscz files.

In reply to by Joe H

Marc
I looked at those links. They tell me how to install a portable app to a computer or device. In this case I want to install it to my USB. Is that what I should be doing? Choosing the USB device for installation, rather than the computer? I didn't choose anything when first installing. The program chose the computer by default.

In reply to by Joe H

The installation might *default* to a folder on your computer, but you don't have to accept that default. Just browse to your USB drive instead when installing. Should also work to just copy the already installed folder from your computer to the drive, assuming you haven't mucked with the folder since installing it.

Well, that didn't work. I wouldn't recommend doing that. I changed the name and the folder failed - then I changed it back. Now, I'm going to try installing directly to my drives and see how that works.

This is working alright, now. But I wonder why it is that when I use Save As, it selects the data folder as the default place for saving, when I selected another folder for saving scores in my preferences? I selected that in the General tab of Preferences and altered the path in Scores under Folders. Shouldn't it automatically know where the scores will be saved when I use Save or Save As? Where is it storing when I use Save? Does it know the correct path or not?

Also, when changing my preferences, why are there two buttons for saving them? - Apply and OK. What's the difference? If I use one or the other or both - what happens?

In reply to by Joe H

As mentioned previously, "Save As" defaults to the last folder you specified when using that dialog. it's exactly the right default for some use case, the wrong one for other case, but in any case, no one is forcing you to use the default.

"Save" is only active for existing scores that are score already saved, and in that case it simply resaves the existing file, exactly as every single other application in the world does. In cases where you try to use the Save command that hasn't already been saved, it gets automatically converted to "Save As", and you gewt the same dialog allowing you to choose the location, as explained earlier.

The meanings of Apply and OK are also pretty much universal to all computer programs, btw.

Thanks. I'm doing a lot better now. Got my MS set up on USB - preferences saved. I'm cruising. I'll need to learn more about MS in 2017. Any suggestions on where to start with an overview of MS? I have a Handbook in PDF. What's the most up-to-date material?

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