Jupiter - Lost custom settings? ...

John-Simpson

Posts: 164
Registered: 15-Jan-2008

Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 11 Nov 22, 13:44

Lost some, if not all of my custom settings this morning, but only on my 3 Jupiter skin websites and not on my Gromit (yes I still use it! ) and Tiger Skin based websites.

What I first noticed was that the upload folder location was lost. I restored the folder location on the FTP setting. Then the uploaded album lost its custom colours and folder design!

I restored the settings by importing them from a published album. (one that hadn't been uploaded recently.)

It may be a coincidence but this all followed after a Windows 10 update overnight.

I'm sorted now, but I can't understand why it happened.

Did anyone else notice this? Maybe,I pressed reset somewhere - my fault!

Edited by: John-Simpson on 11 Nov 2022, 12:45

JeffTucker

Posts: 8,470
Registered: 31-Jan-2006

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 11 Nov 22, 14:34

in response to: John-Simpson

I can honestly say that I've never seen anything even remotely like that happen.

The skins are completely independent of the operating system - you can take a project from a Windows machine and move it to a macOS machine, and other than a change in the location of the project directory itself, nothing else has to be modified. So, it's difficult to understand how an OS update could have any effect on a project.

A hunch - if you open a saved project, then accidentally select the same skin again, the skin is reloaded, but with its default settings, rather than the project's saved settings. If you then make the album, or attempt to upload it, it will be with the default skin settings. How to get out of this trap? Close the project without saving it, open the project again (which still has your settings for it), make and upload again.

John-Simpson

Posts: 164
Registered: 15-Jan-2008

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 11 Nov 22, 22:47

in response to: JeffTucker

I see that my skins are stored in AppData-Roaming-JAlbum-Skins.

I presume this is normal and shouldn't get touched with a Windows Update?

I think the Jupiter skin(s) somehow reverted to default settings as you say.

Your hint is useful if I remember to look at the uploaded album and notice my colours and other stuff are all wrong before closing the project down.

For belt and braces security, I have taken a screenshot of every page in JAlbum and Jupiter settings. (23 screen shots!)

I probably could have done a Save Project Settings As and saved it somewhere in the My Albums within a folder named security!

JeffTucker

Posts: 8,470
Registered: 31-Jan-2006

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 11 Nov 22, 23:27

in response to: John-Simpson

John-Simpson wrote:
I see that my skins are stored in AppData-Roaming-JAlbum-Skins.

I presume this is normal and shouldn't get touched with a Windows Update?

That's correct.

I think the Jupiter skin(s) somehow reverted to default settings as you say.

The skins, when you download them from the jAlbum site, are stored in that AppData location. But they're never changed by anything you do. When you use the skin to make an album project, your changes from the defaults aren't stored with the skin - they're stored with the project, in the jalbum-settings.jap file. That's the file that gets saved when you tell jAlbum to save the project. Your projects are stored wherever you've told jAlbum to store them - by default, Documents\My Albums.

None of this would be affected by an operating system update. Please trust me on this - I've been through countless Windows and macOS updates over the last 15+ years, and none of them has ever changed anything in my jAlbum installations, in my skins, or in my album projects.

John-Simpson

Posts: 164
Registered: 15-Jan-2008

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 14 Nov 22, 21:07

in response to: JeffTucker

Thank you Jeff for your prompt help and knowledgeable reply. I mark this as answered and finished.

JeffTucker

Posts: 8,470
Registered: 31-Jan-2006

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 14 Nov 22, 23:17

in response to: John-Simpson

I'd still like to know how this happened, though I'm inclined to put it down to App Trolls™.

John-Simpson

Posts: 164
Registered: 15-Jan-2008

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 15 Nov 22, 00:04

in response to: JeffTucker

JeffTucker wrote:
I'd still like to know how this happened, though I'm inclined to put it down to App Trolls™.

Ha ha that explains a lot!

I've long given up spending too much time trying to figure out why things go wrong in life and jAlbum too!

With your guidance, I have put this down to operator error and I thank the jAbum creator, David Ekholm and team for having the foresight to enable jAlbum to download settings from an existing online Album.

Brilliant, well done and a massive thank you to you, Jeff, for your dedication to the forum and your 'Out of this World' Album Skins.

Cheers John

Edited by: John-Simpson on 14 Nov 2022, 23:06

JeffTucker

Posts: 8,470
Registered: 31-Jan-2006

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 15 Nov 22, 00:26

in response to: John-Simpson

Just be thankful you don't have to contend with the Code Gnomes™.

John-Simpson

Posts: 164
Registered: 15-Jan-2008

Re: Jupiter - Lost custom settings?
Posted: 15 Nov 22, 10:20

in response to: JeffTucker