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Technical Notes

Saving Customized Settings Before Uninstalling Reflection 9.0 or Higher
Technical Note 1607
Last Reviewed 31-May-2006
Applies To
All Reflection Windows-Based Products version 9.0 through 14.x
Summary

Removing Reflection software packages (version 9.0 or higher) will result in end-users losing settings information for those components that store this information in the registry. This technical note describes how to save customized settings in Reflection before you uninstall, and how to restore your settings once you reinstall Reflection 9.0 or higher.

For information about saving customized settings before installing Reflection evaluation software, see Technical Note 1601.

Before You Uninstall Reflection 9.0 or Higher

Reflection utilizes the Microsoft Windows Installer (MSI) technology. When you uninstall Reflection 9.0 or higher, any customized settings stored in the registry will be removed. If you want to restore your customized settings, you must save them prior to uninstalling the product.

Backing Up the Windows Registry

Warning: Before you work with the Windows registry, you should back up the registry on your PC.

Use the Windows Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or another full backup program to back up your Windows registry. For information about the Windows registry, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base Article 256986 at:

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=KB;en-us;256986

Saving and Restoring Your Customized Settings

The process of saving and restoring your customized settings varies depending on the product.

Reflection for HP, UNIX, OpenVMS, and ReGIS Graphics

Most Reflection settings are stored in a settings file, however, some settings are stored in the registry. In addition to saving your Reflection settings files, you must manually save the registry-only settings to restore customized settings.

Saving Registry Settings

Follow the steps below to manually save the registry-only settings.

  1. In Reflection, on the Setup menu, click View Settings.
  2. With the cursor in the Search text box, press [Alt]+[W].
  3. In the Enter Password dialog box, type registry in lower case. Click OK.
  4. In the Display Settings section of the dialog box, select the "Changed from factory defaults" option.
  5. View the settings in the Reflection Settings section of the dialog box. These are the settings that you need to save. Write down the settings information; you will use this information to restore your Reflection installation.

Note: This hidden feature does not hide the keyboard and mouse mappings as it hides all other non-registry settings. You do not need to record setting changes that begin with Keystroke: or Mousechord:; these settings are saved in your settings file.

Restoring Registry Settings

After you reinstall Reflection version 9.0 or higher, you must manually restore the settings information in the registry. Use the View Settings dialog box to restore the settings values. To open the View Settings dialog box, click View Settings on the Setup menu. Type the values that you recorded in Step 5 of the preceding section to restore your Reflection settings.

Saving Reflection Secure Shell Settings

Reflection Secure Shell settings are stored in a file named config. A config file is created when a user changes a setting to a non-default value in the Reflection Secure Shell Settings dialog box and clicks OK. (To open Secure Shell Settings, click Connection > Connection Setup, enter a host name, and click the Security button.)

If you are upgrading from Reflection version 12.0 or earlier and using Reflection Secure Shell (SSH), we recommend you make a copy of the config file before upgrading. (Typically, this file was located at C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\Reflection\.ssh.)

Reflection for IBM

Reflection for IBM stores almost all settings files in the user's directory. These files will be accessible to the user after Reflection is reinstalled. The only exception is SNA engine settings. If you have SNA settings, save the Winnt\System32\Wrqsna.rlf file before you uninstall Reflection for IBM.

Reflection X

Most Reflection X settings are stored in the registry. In addition to saving your Reflection X registry settings, you may also need to manually save some customized files to restore customized settings.

Note: Before you begin, create a folder in which to save your customized Reflection X files, for example, C:\Rxcustom. You must save the files prior to uninstalling Reflection X. Be sure to review the entire Reflection X section before you uninstall and reinstall the product.

Saving Reflection X Registry Settings

Reflection X settings are stored in the registry. Use the Reflection X registry utility (Regconv.exe) to save Reflection X settings by converting them into an initialization (INI) file. You can also use the utility to convert INI files to registry entries.

Converting Reflection X Settings into an INI File

Follow these steps to convert Reflection X settings that are stored in the Windows registry into an INI file.

  1. Run the Reflection X registry utility. Click Run on the Start menu, and type regconv. Click OK. You may need to enter the full path, C:\Program Files\Reflection\Regconv.exe.
  2. In the Reflection X Registry Utility window's left pane, navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WRQReflection\Rx\config folder. On the Registry menu, click Export to INI.
  3. In the Save to INI File dialog box, specify an initialization file and location in which to store the registry settings (for example, C:\Rxcustom\Reg_contents.ini). When you click Open, a confirmation dialog box opens:
Convert configuration data from 'HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WRQReflection\Rx\config' to 'C:\Rxcustom\Reg_contents.ini'?

If the file Reg_contents.ini exists, you are prompted to overwrite it:

Overwrite configuration destination 'C:\Rxcustom\Reg_contents.ini'?

Restoring Settings by Converting an INI File into Registry Keys

After you reinstall Reflection 9.0 or higher, you must manually restore the settings information in the registry by importing the INI file you created in the preceding section, for example, Reg_contents.ini. To import your settings, follow these steps:

  1. Run the Reflection X registry utility. Click Run on the Start menu, and type regconv. Click OK. You may need to enter the full path, C:\Program Files\Reflection\Regconv.exe.
  2. In the Reflection X Registry Utility window's left pane, navigate to the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\WRQReflection\Rx\config folder. On the Registry menu, click Import from INI.
  3. Select the INI file you created in the previous section, for example, Reg_contents.ini, and click Open. Click Yes, and then click Yes again. Click OK. This process converts configuration data from the INI file to registry settings.

Saving Custom Fonts

If extra fonts were added, save the fonts folders, including the Fonts.ali and Fonts.dir, to the RXCustom folder. After you reinstall Reflection 9.0 or higher, move the fonts folders to Program Files\Reflection\X\Fonts.

Verify that the "Subdirectories and font servers" information is correct by clicking Fonts on the Settings menu in the Reflection X Manager (titled X Client Manager in versions 9.x and 10.x).

Saving a Reflection X Profiled Version

If Reflection X was profiled, save the Rx.ini file to the Rxcustom folder. Once you reinstall 9.0 or higher, move the Rx.ini file to one of the following folders:

In version 11.x

  • All Users\Templates\WRQ\Reflection\X folder
  • <User name>\Templates\WRQ\Reflection\X folder
  • RX program directory (where Rx.exe is located)

In versions 9.x or 10.x

  • All Users\Application Data\Reflection\X folder
  • <User name>\Application Data\Reflection\X folder
  • RX program directory (where Rx.exe is located)

Reflection X searches in the above order for Rx.ini. The first Rx.ini found is the one used.

Saving Additional Customized Reflection X Files

If any of the following files were customized, save them to the Rxcustom folder: Rwmrc<lang>.txt, Rgb.txt, Xhosts.txt, and Xrdb.txt.

After you reinstall Reflection X, move the files to the All Users\Templates\WRQ \Reflection\X folder (or All Users\Application Data\Reflection\X folder in version 9.x or 10.x).

Saving Customized Keyboard Mapping Files

Save customized keyboard mapping files (*.kmp) to the Rxcustom folder. Once you reinstall 9.0 or higher, move the files to the All Users\Templates\WRQ \Reflection\X folder (or All Users\Application Data\Reflection\X folder in version 9.x or 10.x).

Saving Reflection Secure Shell Settings

Reflection Secure Shell settings are stored in a file named config. A config file is created when a user changes a setting to a non-default value in the Reflection Secure Shell Settings dialog box and clicks OK. (To open Secure Shell Settings, click Connection > Connection Setup, enter a host name, and click the Security button.)

If you are upgrading from Reflection version 12.0 or earlier and using Reflection Secure Shell (SSH), we recommend you make a copy of the config file before upgrading. (Typically, this file was located at C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\My Documents\Reflection\.ssh.)

Reflection FTP Client

The Reflection FTP Client automatically saves your custom FTP site and configuration settings. In versions 12.0 and earlier, these settings are stored in the Windows registry. (Note: Beginning in Reflection 13.0, FTP settings are saved in *.rfw settings files.) You can use the Saveftp utility to export the site and configuration information from your Windows registry. Save this information in a separate folder. Once you have installed Reflection, you can import the information to your PC to restore your custom settings.

Note: Reflection FTP client user names and passwords are exported along with the connection information. The passwords are encoded, however, in both the registry and the exported registry file.

Exporting the FTP Client Registry Settings

Attachmate provides a utility named Saveftp.exe to export the registry settings for your Reflection FTP sessions. Follow the steps below to obtain and run the Saveftp utility. Note: You must have a zip utility to perform this process.

  1. Download the file, Saveftp.zip, from the Attachmate Download Library to your PC.
  2. Extract the file using your unzip utility.
  3. Run Saveftp.exe. The Save Reflection FTP Settings dialog box opens.
  4. In the Save As Version section, select the "9 and later" option. Select the Include User Settings check box, and then click Save.
  5. In the Save As dialog box, select the folder in which you want to save the Ftpsettings.reg file. Ftpsettings.reg contains your FTP Client registry settings. Click Save, and then click OK.

Importing the FTP Client Registry Settings

Follow the steps below to import the saved Ftpsettings.reg file to restore your installation.

Note: Before importing the settings, Reflection FTP Client must already be installed on the PC.

  1. Close all open Reflection applications, and then open Windows Explorer. Navigate to the folder containing the Ftpsettings.reg file.

Warning: Make sure that you have backed up the registry before you import the new settings. Existing registry values that have the same connection names as the ones you are importing will be overwritten when you perform the next step.

  1. Double-click Ftpsettings.reg to import the registry settings.

If you have multiple user accounts on a single Windows NT machine, you will need to repeat this step after each user logs in.

Reflection for Secure IT Windows Client

In the Reflection for Secure IT Windows Client version 6.0 or higher, your Reflection and SSH settings are stored in the Reflection folder. These settings need not be saved separately before installing evaluation software. For more information about these settings files, see the "New User Folder Location" section of Technical Note 2277. And for administrators who deploy system-wide settings, additional information about managing settings is available in Technical Note 1894.

Related Technical Notes
1601 Saving Customized Settings Before Installing Reflection Evaluation Software
1894 Managing Settings in Reflection for Secure IT
2277 Recommendations When Upgrading to Reflection for Secure IT Windows Client 7.x from 6.x

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