Moving jAlbum to a new computer
Here's a summary of what you need to do to move jAlbum from one PC to a new PC. These instructions apply to all Operating Systems, though the locations of specific folders may vary they are virtually the same. Ensure that the configuration folder has been copied to the new location before jAlbum is launched on the new PC. This will ensure your jAlbum will use your existing preferences and settings instead of creating its own defaults.
Note, this information details where files are stored using jAlbum default settings. If you store files in other locations, like project settings files saved outside of the project’s folder, you will need to identify and move those files yourself.
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Configuration folder
This is the folder with skins, external tools, defaults and other files that jAlbum needs to work how you have set it to.
Open jAlbum and then invoke keyboard shortcut CMD/CTRL + C to open jAlbum's configuration folder, on a Mac it is found within your library folder. The folder contents will look something like that shown to the right.
Now copy the folder named 'JAlbum' to the same location on your new PC.
Projects folder
This is the folder that contains your projects and their settings, needed to make your album - if your projects contain images and not links!
Return to jAlbum and invoke keyboard shortcut CMD/CTRL + , (comma) to open the 'Preferences' window. Select the 'Projects' tab (previously 'Album') and note the location of the 'Projects' folder, the Mac default location is '/Users/username/My Albums'. Switch back to your computer's file system and locate that folder, now copy that folder to the same location on your new PC.
Original images
If any of your projects contain links to folders or files then you must ensure your original images are accessible from your new PC. If they are not on an external drive you will need to copy them to their equivalent location on your new PC. This is because essential files are stored in hidden folders within the image folders, see Where are all my files
The default location for images is the 'Pictures' folder in your 'Home' folder.
Output folder
The default location for your albums (output folder) is defined in Preferences>Projects>Output directory. If, for a given project, you have changed the Output folder to something other than its default location - an album folder within the project folder - you'll have to handle that manually. Copy the finished album from wherever you stored it on the old PC to wherever you plan to store it on the new PC, then correct the path under Settings > General > Output directory.
Install jAlbum
Install jAlbum on the new PC.
If you're changing operating systems, or versions, you may have to fix some path names, since things are likely kept in different places. You can run into similar issues if you're changing your name on the new PC. This is particularly true if you had jAlbum set to keep only links to the original image files, rather than copying them into the album project (the default).
If you open an album project on the new PC and instead of seeing a thumbnail you're seeing a red "X," that means that the original images are no longer where jAlbum expects them to be. There is an external tool that will try to correct broken links, but if that fails you will need to manually fix broken links as shown below.
Double-click on the first missing thumbnail, and navigate to where the image files are now stored, and select the correct image file. jAlbum will attempt to correct the other path names based upon this one, but you may have to repeat this procedure for other missing images.
Having problems?
If you encounter problems, contact our support or start a thread in the General Discussion section. Be sure to tell us which OS and version are on the old and new PC's.