I have purchased the Upgrade for 4.0 and am currently checking and rechecking to make sure I have the instructions correct and as easy to understand as possible before I post them. It will be possible to backup 4.0 tags, categories etc. But so far from what I have found any organization you have done in 3.0 just doesn't move over nicely to 4.0. But the good news is 4.0 has a more options and a more familiar organizational system for anyone that uses other commercially available software.
If you are running 3.0 please check the post below for instructions on backing up your software.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, June 13, 2011
How to Backup your Creative Memories Storybook Creator plus 3.0
I love the Creative Memories Storybook Creator Plus 3.0 but it lacks a good backup system for itself. Being extremely computer literate. I knew that if there was a way for the program to remember the files we created to sort our "My Stuff" then there was also a way to back it up. I spent several frustrating hours on the phone with their technical support and finally was transferred to tier 3 support. I could tell the guy totally knew what I was talking about but wouldn't share. Finally I found a blog by a CM consultant who had gotten the goods from technical support however she removed it when asked to, lucky for us I had copied all the text into a file on my computer before she took it down. I however have no ties to the CM company and they can threaten what they will if they discover this blog but my answer to them will be this. We purchased your program, we have the right to back it up. If you have a blog feel free to copy the text and share on yours as well. I figure the more it is shared and spread the easier it will be for others to find.
Here is a list of what StoryBook Creator users will want to have backed up, just in case. Especially if you are installing a system upgrade, moving to a new computer, or doing a “clean install,” as I just did with Windows 7. If you backup your whole hard drive regularly, just check to make sure the following files and folders are part of that backup. If you are comfortable with perusing your computer’s file system and with copying files, you should be able put this information to use. If your strengths lie outside the technical arena, you may want to ask your local techie for help. In that case, feel free to skip the rest—just print it out after the jump and hand it over to her/him. :)
Some important notes: Since most are currently running Windows Vista and SBC+3 with the defaults, those are the folder/file locations I am listing. (They are the same for Windows 7 and SBC+3) Your installation may be different. Some other folder names to search for, from older versions, are: “StoryBooks” and “My Scrapbooking Stuff.” Some of the locations I refer to are normally hidden. Also, though I am very familiar with how StoryBook Creator works, I cannot guarantee this list as comprehensive. There may be files that are important to you that I don’t use or know about.
Your Project Files
Under Windows Vista, the default location for projects when you first install SBC+3 is:
C:\Users\yourusername\Creative Memories\Projects
If you’ve saved projects elsewhere, back those up, too! Keep in mind that each project is its own folder and all the files and folders inside that one. For example, I’ve got an “Alaska2009" folder inside my “Projects” folder. To back that one project up, I can just copy the whole Alaska folder to my backup drive. Make sure not to re-arrange or directly edit the “insides” of each of your project folders!
Your Commercial Artwork and Keyword Files
The default location for Predesigned Pages and Digital Power Palettes, as well as files containing keywords you’ve created for items in them, is:
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Creative Memories\Packages
It’s important to backup these files, too, because sometimes digital content is retired and may be unavailable for download in the future. And creating keywords can take awhile, so you won’t want to lose that work.
Your Personal Paper and Embellishments
The default location for digital paper and embellishments you’ve created or brought into the program yourself, is:
C:\Users\yourusername\Creative Memories\User Content
This includes most items that can be downloaded from the Creative Memories Project Center.
Your Content Manager Organization and Other User Settings
If you’ve sorted your commercial and personal content into new folders or a particular order, or changed any user settings, you will want to back up everything in this folder:
C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Creative Memories\StoryBook Creator 3
Your Artwork Activation Codes
There are a couple of ways to back these up, and I recommend doing both.
1. The first is to use the built-in feature in SBC+3: Start the program, and go to “Manage my content.” Click on “Activation codes,” then choose “Make a backup copy of all my activation codes.” Save the file to your hard drive (I save mine in my Packages folder), and to your backup hard drive (mine is backed up when I back up those Packages).
2. The second is to backup this file:
C:\ProgramData\Creative Memories\StoryBook Creator 3\ContentLicenses.xml
My understanding from conversations with CM service reps is that the benefit of backing up this file is that you can restore it after any need to reinstall the software, and you won’t have to copy-and-paste, or worse yet, type in all those activation codes individually again! For convenience’s sake, I just backup everything in that folder, though the rest isn’t difficult or time-consuming to recreate.
SyncToy: My Favorite Tool for Backing Up These Items
I currently use SyncToy 2.1 to back all this up without having to think much about it after the initial setup. Again, I can’t guarantee it will work for you, but it has for me! I use the “Echo” setting and have each of the above folders set up as a “Left Folder,” and corresponding folders on my backup drive each set up as a ”Right Folder.” After StoryBook Creator is closed, I “Run All” in SyncToy whenever I’ve spent a lot of time working in StoryBook Creator or after having purchased, downloaded, installed, and activated artwork from Creative Memories.
Here is a list of what StoryBook Creator users will want to have backed up, just in case. Especially if you are installing a system upgrade, moving to a new computer, or doing a “clean install,” as I just did with Windows 7. If you backup your whole hard drive regularly, just check to make sure the following files and folders are part of that backup. If you are comfortable with perusing your computer’s file system and with copying files, you should be able put this information to use. If your strengths lie outside the technical arena, you may want to ask your local techie for help. In that case, feel free to skip the rest—just print it out after the jump and hand it over to her/him. :)
Some important notes: Since most are currently running Windows Vista and SBC+3 with the defaults, those are the folder/file locations I am listing. (They are the same for Windows 7 and SBC+3) Your installation may be different. Some other folder names to search for, from older versions, are: “StoryBooks” and “My Scrapbooking Stuff.” Some of the locations I refer to are normally hidden. Also, though I am very familiar with how StoryBook Creator works, I cannot guarantee this list as comprehensive. There may be files that are important to you that I don’t use or know about.
Your Project Files
Under Windows Vista, the default location for projects when you first install SBC+3 is:
C:\Users\yourusername\Creative Memories\Projects
If you’ve saved projects elsewhere, back those up, too! Keep in mind that each project is its own folder and all the files and folders inside that one. For example, I’ve got an “Alaska2009" folder inside my “Projects” folder. To back that one project up, I can just copy the whole Alaska folder to my backup drive. Make sure not to re-arrange or directly edit the “insides” of each of your project folders!
Your Commercial Artwork and Keyword Files
The default location for Predesigned Pages and Digital Power Palettes, as well as files containing keywords you’ve created for items in them, is:
C:\Users\Public\Documents\Creative Memories\Packages
It’s important to backup these files, too, because sometimes digital content is retired and may be unavailable for download in the future. And creating keywords can take awhile, so you won’t want to lose that work.
Your Personal Paper and Embellishments
The default location for digital paper and embellishments you’ve created or brought into the program yourself, is:
C:\Users\yourusername\Creative Memories\User Content
This includes most items that can be downloaded from the Creative Memories Project Center.
Your Content Manager Organization and Other User Settings
If you’ve sorted your commercial and personal content into new folders or a particular order, or changed any user settings, you will want to back up everything in this folder:
C:\Users\yourusername\AppData\Roaming\Creative Memories\StoryBook Creator 3
Your Artwork Activation Codes
There are a couple of ways to back these up, and I recommend doing both.
1. The first is to use the built-in feature in SBC+3: Start the program, and go to “Manage my content.” Click on “Activation codes,” then choose “Make a backup copy of all my activation codes.” Save the file to your hard drive (I save mine in my Packages folder), and to your backup hard drive (mine is backed up when I back up those Packages).
2. The second is to backup this file:
C:\ProgramData\Creative Memories\StoryBook Creator 3\ContentLicenses.xml
My understanding from conversations with CM service reps is that the benefit of backing up this file is that you can restore it after any need to reinstall the software, and you won’t have to copy-and-paste, or worse yet, type in all those activation codes individually again! For convenience’s sake, I just backup everything in that folder, though the rest isn’t difficult or time-consuming to recreate.
SyncToy: My Favorite Tool for Backing Up These Items
I currently use SyncToy 2.1 to back all this up without having to think much about it after the initial setup. Again, I can’t guarantee it will work for you, but it has for me! I use the “Echo” setting and have each of the above folders set up as a “Left Folder,” and corresponding folders on my backup drive each set up as a ”Right Folder.” After StoryBook Creator is closed, I “Run All” in SyncToy whenever I’ve spent a lot of time working in StoryBook Creator or after having purchased, downloaded, installed, and activated artwork from Creative Memories.
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