03 | How to use the XXData folder and Setting Presets

[PeterSt]

Assuming a well structured setup of your kept (older) XXHighEnd versions, the below counts :

The XXData folder is not allowed to be your (current) XX folder (where XXHighEnd is installed in), not is it allowed to be a sub folder of that.

This by itself should mean that you *will* create that data folder outside the scope of XXHighEnd versions, and from this should follow that the data can be preserved over XXHighEnd versions. They now can all use the same data ... even over different OSes ...

Important : This data folder defaults to litterally \XXData\ which means that no drive letter (or share name) is there;
It may need some thinking over, but exactly this means that you can have different "data" as such, depending on which drive XXHighend is installed on. Only when the drive letter would be there (which is allowed just as well !) you'd be telling that the data to use is the same always !
But think about what different dual boots may imply for, and which disk/partition has what drive letter in which OS ...

For existing XXHighEnd users, after denoting the possibly new (forced) Data Folder, of course copy the contents of your before Data Folder to the new one. If you never filled in a Data Folder before, it means that your "data" as such is in the middle of other temporary or more fixed data in the "old" folder where XXHighEnd was installed, and there's nothing much else to do than starting all over with this "data" (which is not a big deal anyway, plus you will be used to this (somehow), *or* you always installed a next XXHighEnd version over an older one which is a BAD idea.

While the above is about "data" in general, one of the major pieces of data will be just those saved settings. Let's call it a Setting Preset from now on;

A "Settings Preset" can exist in two extensions :
.XXSI (there is one of these, called PresetLoader.XXSI, and it is always saved in your XX folder);
.XXSS (this can have any name to your liking, and it is always saved in your denoted Data Folder (default \XXData).

- XXHighEnd always comes with one PresetLoader.XXSI file (remember, it sits in your XX folder).
- When you start XXHighEnd, the settings are always loaded from PresetLoader.XXSI.
- When you Quit XXHighEnd, the settings are always saved to PresetLoader.XXSI.
- You can save your Settings at any time to a dedicated .XXSS file, denoted by the name you give to it.
- You can load your Settings back from any previously saved .XXSS file.

Keep in mind that this is about all the Settings there ever are, and currently no differentiation is made between e.g. GUI Settings and Sound Settings. Remember though that the GUI settings can be saved separately by means of the little buttons at the left side of the GUI. This theoretically means that after loading a Preset from an earlier saved .XXSS file, you should also load back the GUI settings by means of such a little button. Well, if necessary at all of course.

Good to know : As an effect over the "over OSes" working settings, you most probably will notice that the general Wallpaper you set for the particular OS, will inherit to the other ...