Prolink Software - Knowledge Base Article

How to Move Prolink Products to a New Computer

If you need to move a Prolink product from one computer to another or upgrade one version to another there are a few steps in this process:

Deactivate the license on the “old” computer by going to the Help > License Configuration menu and selecting the Deactivate License button (Kill License button in v.3.4)
Download and install the software (http://prolinksoftware.com/download_list.aspx )
Copy settings files over to the new machine (see individual sections below for software- and version-specific instructions)
Activate the license on the new computer (see: Prolink Knowledge Base Article - Downloading and Activating your Software)

Note: the steps below assume you are using the program default file paths for user-editable files such as report templates, Buddy jobs, spec plans, etc. If you store those on the network then, instead of copying the files below, point the new installation to the correct network locations.

Data Collection Service (DCS) v.4.0

Copy settings file: C:\ProgramData\Prolink\Data Collection Service 4.0\DCSSettings.json to the same path on the new machine

Enterprise Data Loader (EDL)

v.4.2 to v.4.2

Copy the settings file C:\ProgramData\Prolink\Enterprise Data Loader 4.2\Settings.cfg to C:\ProgramData\Prolink\Enterprise Data Loader 4.2\

v.4.0 to v.4.2

Copy the settings file C:\ProgramData\Prolink\Enterprise Data Loader 4.0\Settings.cfg to C:\ProgramData\Prolink\Enterprise Data Loader 4.2\

v.3.3 to v.4.x

The settings file format changed between versions. There are no files to copy, you must start with a fresh installation

v.3.3 to v.3.3

Copy the settings file: C:\Prolink\Enterprise Data Loader 3.3\config.xml to the same path on the new machine

Enterprise Report Scheduler (ERS)

v.4.x to v4.x

There are no configuration files to copy. You must deactivate your existing ERS services before activating them on the new installation. Note: see the Services section below for more information.

v.3.4 to v.4.x

There are no configuration files to copy. You must convert your ERS templates or they won’t be compatible with ERS v.4.1/v.4.2. Note: see the Convert Templates section below for more information.

v.3.4 to v.3.4

Copy the settings file C:\Prolink\Enterprise Report Scheduler 3.4\ERSSettings.cfg to the same path on the new machine.

Convert Templates

You must convert ERS v.3.4 templates using the Template Converter in ERS v.4.1 or v.4.2. Access the template converter in ERS via the Help > Launch Template Converter… menu.

Services

Your ERS v.4.1 services will not run in ERS v.4.2. If ERS is being upgraded or moving to a new machine, you must deactivate any active services and then reactivate them on the new version/machine. Any resources (reports, dashboards, full views, etc.,) that use these services will have to be modified to use the newly-registered services instead. To deactivate your ERS services, go to File > Show Service Settings > Manage Services > select Deactivate next to each.

The downside to moving services is that every resource needs to be updated to point to the new service. For this reason, we recommend setting up Service Groups and then assigning your existing services to one or more Service Groups. You will also have to assign the service groups to each deliverable by choosing the service group in the Processor list in each deliverable.

One advantage to using service groups is that ERS will use the next available service in the group, so if some of the services are missing it won’t impact the processing of your deliverables. Once you assign a service group to a deliverable, you can then delete or rename the individual services and it won’t impact the deliverable. ERS will simply try the next service in the group.

To create service groups, go to Tools > Adminstrator > Service Related > Service Groups, and then assign your existing services to the group in Tools > Administrator > Service Related > Service Settings. Next, edit each resource (full views, dashboards, reports, etc.) and assign a Service Group to each resource instead of an individual service. Now deactivate the services in the old copy of ERS and then activate them in the new one.

GageStation

To transfer GageStation to a new machine, follow the version-specific instructions for both QC-CALC Real-Time and QC-Gage.

QC-Gage

v.4.0 to v.4.0

Copy the file C:\ProgramData\Public\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0\QC-Gage.ini to the same location on the new computer

Copy the following files from C:\Users\Public\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0\ to the same location on the new computer:

AssignableCause.dat
CorrectiveActions.dat
Button.qbs
Factors.ini
Global.dat
SpecPlanDefaults.ini
QuickLaunchAssignments.ini
Copy the contents of the Scripts folder if you use a custom gage script
Copy spec plan files if they are on the local machine. The default location in QC-Gage 4.0 for spec plans: C:\Users\Public\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0\SpecPlans

v.3.4 to v.4.0

Copy the file C:\Prolink\QC-Gage 3.4\QC-Gage.ini to C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0:

Copy these files from C:\Prolink\QC-Gage 3.4 to C:\Users\Public\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0:

AssignableCause.dat
CorrectiveActions.dat
Button.qbs
FactorList.ini
SpecPlanDefaults.ini
QuickLaunchAssignments.ini
Copy the contents of the Scripts folder if you use a custom gage script
Copy spec plan files if they are stored on the local machine. The default location in QC-Gage 4.0 for spec plans: C:\Users\Public\Prolink\QC-Gage 4.0\SpecPlans

QC-Mobile

v.4.x to v.4.2:

Copy the settings file C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-Mobile 4.x\Settings.cfg (where x is the minor version number 0 or 2) to C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-Mobile 4.2\Settings.cfg

v.4.0 to v.4.0

Copy the settings file C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-Mobile 4.0\Settings.cfg to the same location on the new computer

QC-PLC

v.4.x to v.4.2:

Copy settings files from C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-PLC 4.x\ (where x is the minor version number 0 or 2) to C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-PLC 4.2\ on the new computer:

PDCConnections.cfg
PDCSettings.cfg

v.4.0 to v.4.0

The same steps as v.4.x to v.4.2, except copy the .cfg files from C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-PLC 4.0 to the same path on the new computer:

QC-CALC Real-Time/QC-CALC SPC/QC-CALC Enterprise

v.4.0 to v.4.1:

The same as v.4.0 to v.4.0 except that the paths for v.4.1 have changed to:

- C:\ProgramData\Prolink\QC-CALC 4.1\
- C:\Users\Public\Prolink\QC-CALC 4.1\

v.4.0 to v.4.0

See: Prolink Knowledge Base Article - Moving Settings to Another Computer QC-CALC 4.0

v.3.x to v.4.x

See: Prolink Knowledge Base Article - Upgrading QC-CALC to version 4.0

SPC Office Buddy

v.4.2 to v.4.2

Copy these files and folders from C:\Users\Public\Prolink\SPC Office Buddy 4.2 to the same location on the new machine:

Global.dat
ExcelJobs folder
Template folder

v.4.0 to v.4.2

Copy these files and folders from C:\Users\Public\Prolink\SPC Office Buddy 4.0 to C:\Users\Public\Prolink\SPC Office Buddy 4.2\:

Global.dat
ExcelJobs folder
Template folder

Excel Jobs

Excel jobs may be pointed at folders for SPC Office Buddy v.4.0. We have supplied variables for the template and output locations, but most people were not aware these variables existed. This means your Excel Jobs are probably hard-coded to look for the template in a specific folder.

Before running your Excel jobs in v.4.2, we recommend editing them to use the following variables in place of hard-coded paths:

The [default_template] variable will use the Default Template Folder set in the Tools > Options > Excel Jobs > Default Template Folder

Example: “[default_template]Sample_template.xls" will look for the template “Sample_template.xls” in the location set in Tools > Options > Excel Jobs > Default Template Folder

The [default_report] variable uses the path set in Tools > Options > Excel Jobs > Default Report Folder

Example: “[default_report]Sample_Report.xls” will produce a Sample_Report.xls in the folder set in Tools > Options > Excel Jobs > Default Report Folder

Using these variables means that changing your Excel Jobs to a new server is as easy as changing the settings in the Tools > Options > Excel Jobs area.

Buddy Jobs

Buddy jobs refer to a record filter and a part file. The format of record filters changed between v.3.4 and v.4.0, so you will have to recreate your record filters in SPC Office Buddy v.4.2. If you’ve already moved to QC-CALC Real-Time v.4.0 you may have recreated the filters.

If you moved to QC-CALC Real-Time v.4.0 and you’re using SQL Server for data storage, your record filters are stored in the database. In this case, all you have to do is set SPC Office Buddy v.4.2 to use SQL Server in Tools > Options > Data Storage.

If you moved to QC-CALC Real-Time v.4.0 and you’re using file-based storage (QCQ files), your record filters are likely stored in a global.dat file. The location of this file is set in QC-CALC Real-Time in Tools > Options > Data Storage. You can make SPC Office Buddy v.4.2 use this same file by setting the location in Tools > Options > Data Storage.

Note: We recommend storing global.dat on the network so you can point all installations of our software to the same filter file.

v.3.4 to v.4.2

Follow the same steps as moving from v.4.0 to v.4.2 above, except you must recreate any record filters. Record filters in v.4.0 use a different format and cannot be converted. If you are moving from file-based storage to SQL storage, you will have to modify all Batch and Excel Jobs so they point to the correct part files and filters stored in the SQL database.