Computer Software for Steel Professionals

Transferring the System to a New PC

When installing Structural Material Manager on a new drive (perhaps a network drive), it is possible to bring all of the jobs over from the old drive.

By far the simplest technique is to back up all important folders in the old system, install Structural Material Manager on the new PC, and restore the backed up folders into the new system. The Backup and Restore functions are discussed in the User's Guide which is located in Structural Material Manager's Help menu. No technical expertise is needed if you chose that route, and there is no need to read the rest of this document.

The remaining directions are intended for those who want to transfer the system in one fell swoop without backing up individual folders with Structural Material Manager's Backup function. These directions require some technical savvy and assume that an old system was installed on local Drive C:, and you wish to install a new system on network Drive H: w/o losing any existing data.

Follow these steps:

  1. Install the system to Drive H:. After installation, test it to make sure it functions properly. The Structural Material Manager desktop icon will automatically refer to the new Drive H: system when the installation is finished, so just double-click the usual icon to run the system. Note that the only jobs present will be the samples supplied from E.J.E. Industries, Inc. Shut down Structural Material Manager when you are done.
  2. Install the system to Drive C:, i.e., over the old system. This is necessary to make sure the old system is in the same data format as the new one. No existing jobs will be lost. Run the system by double-clicking the icon; the installation to Drive C: automatically made the icon once again refer to the old Drive C: system. Your existing jobs should all be listed. Close Structural Material Manager.
  3. Explore the EJE directory in which Structural Material Manager resides. One way to do this is to right-click (not left-click) the Start button to display a pop-up menu. Left-click on the Explore option that appears in that menu, and browse Drive C:. Locate the EJE folder that exists on Drive C:, and click it one time to select it. With the mouse cursor still pointing to the EJE folder, click the right mouse button, and left-click on the Copy option that appears in the pop-up menu. The old Structural Material Manager system is now copied to the Windows clipboard.
  4. Remain in Windows Explorer, and find Drive H:. Click once on Drive H: to select it. Right click the Drive H: icon (leave the mouse cursor pointing to it), and select Paste from the pop-up menu. Do not select the EJE folder on Drive H:, as you only want Drive H: itself selected. If you have done everything correctly, you'll be asked for confirmation concerning the overwriting of existing files. Answer that ALL files should be overwritten.
  5. Install Structural Material Manager to Drive H: once again. Repeating this installation does no harm, and it guarantees that the icon once again points to the Drive H: system.

Having the original system on Drive C: and wanting to install the new one on Drive H: as shown above is just one possibility. Of course you can substitute other drive letters for your own particular needs. The key to using these directions - regardless of the actual drive letters used - is that you need simultaneous access to both drives: the one on which your old system was located and the one to which you now want to install.