Author Topic: Update to TD 3.1  (Read 933 times)

jodybingo

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Update to TD 3.1
« on: January 23, 2012, 09:29:10 PM »
I updated TD on my laptop last night. It overwrote my templates, not an issue, I have backups beyond backups made. When I got to work, I opened TD on my laptop and made active the Data Store on our work machine. All of our templates had then been overwritten. The work machine had not been updated to 3.1 yet. This isn't the first time I noticed this either. An updated machine with overwritten templates had overwritten templates on an existing data store when making it active. There is no dialog of initializing either. As though it initializes without my authorization.

Corey Cooper

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Re: Update to TD 3.1
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2012, 12:11:26 PM »
Every time the software starts, the active Data Store is initialized.  If this didn't happen, then any new or updated templates would never make it into the Data Store when you upgrade the software.

But the software tries to be smart about this process.  Timestamps on the files in your installation folder (typically C:\Program Files\The Tournament Director 3) are compared to timestamps on the same files in your Data Store.  The newer files win.  So using the default layout file as an example (templates\Default.tlo):

1) If you delete this file from your Data Store, the next time you start the TD it will be copied from the install folder to your Data Store (you'll get the default layout back)
2) If you modify this file in your Data Store, the next time you start, the TD the software will compare the timestamps and it will see that the file in your Data Store is "newer", and will NOT copy it from the install folder (you won't lose your changes)
3) If you install a new version of the software, it is likely ALL files included with the software will now have newer timestamps than the same files in your Data Store, and thus they will all be copied to the Data Store, overwriting existing files there

Please note that this ONLY applies to files included with the software.  This is why the user manual and the download page recommend that you do not modify those files.  You will likely lose any changes you've made to them upon updating the software.  If you want to modify an included file, copy it first, giving it a new filename, and modify the copy (or, taking the default layout as an example, on the Layout tab load the default layout, then save it as a new filename).