Migrating to new computer

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    • #72171
      TeqToo
      Member

      I’m currently using InDesign CS4 on a computer that seems to be coughing its last. When I replace the computer, I will need to re-install InDesign on the new machine. But I have designed a series of newsletters on this computer with very specific character style sets. I need to migrate those over to the new computer. How can I do that?

    • #72172
      Eugene Tyson
      Member

      Character styles are contained in the files themselves, opening the files on the new computer would import them.

      You can also use the Panels flyout menu to import styles from another document.

      Best way to transfer them?

      I’d package all the files to a Dropbox folder.

      Wonderful script here https://www.kahrel.plus.com/indesign/batch_convert.html

      Will scan a selection of folders/subfolders and you can choose to Package them all.

      Even keep the same file structure.

      Once you transfer to the cloud (dropbox, one drive, Adobe Cloud or whatever you use) you will then be able to install that same cloud storage on your new computer and once you log in your files should start syncing.

    • #72174

      Make sure you deactivate it on your old computer before installing on your new one.

    • #72175
      David Blatner
      Keymaster

      TeqToo: When you create a new document on your old computer, does it automatically have paragraph and/or character styles in the panel? If that is the case, then you have “default styles.”

      As others pointed out, your documents will all come across with their styles just fine. But those default styles may not. But you can capture those by:
      1. Creating a new document and saving it with any name. (That document will have all the default styles in it.)
      2. Move that document to the new computer.
      3. Launch InDesign on the new computer, and while no documents are open in InDesign, choose Load All Text Styles from the paragraph styles panel menu.
      4. It will ask you for a document to load them from; choose the new document you just created.

      Now all the default styles will appear in InDesign. Because no documents were created, they become the default styles in the new document, too.

    • #72176
      TeqToo
      Member

      All goood ideas – David, when I create a new InDesign document, there are no character styles in the flyout panel. However, when I open any of the previously created newsletter documents, ALL the character styles from ALL of the previous newsletters are in there. So maybe I should take one of those older newsletters, clear out all the actual “content”, but leave the character styles, save it with a new name, move that to the new computer, and then proceed as you suggested? That will get me started anyway. However I will have to do as Eugene suggests in order to have access to all of the old newsletters in full.

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