frequently asked questions

how can i restore data or copy data between pc's?

The following steps assume that you are familiar with using Windows Explorer and understand files and folders. If not, you will need to involve someone who does (e.g. a family member or a local PC support person). 

understanding the artworks data and where it needs to be

• ArtWorks has a database file, named ArtWorks.dat, which has all your data (works, clients, history). However images are not stored in the database - instead all the image files are stored in a separate folder named 'Images'.

• ArtWorks only ever looks in its own back yard for the data, not anywhere else on your system. Specifically it looks for 
  ArtWorks.dat in its own folder, and for the images in a sub-folder called Images.

• When you install ArtWorks it always goes in a folder called 'C:\Program Files\ArtWorks' as shown below.

copying or restoring data

1. to copy from an existing pc to a new pc

Follow this procedure if you have a new PC and need to transfer all your existing data across.

• First install ArtWorks on the new PC by running the setup file ArtWorksInstall.msi (if you don't have this you can download it from our web site at www.artworkspro.com/downloads/artworksinstall.msi)

Note that you cannot just copy the whole ArtWorks folder across from the old PC and have it run - it won't work that way - you must install it.

• When you first start ArtWorks (from either the desktop icon or the 'Start' - 'Programs' menu you will see the demo data (the dogs). 

• To replace this with your existing data you just need to copy across two things - the database file and the Images folder.

Let us assume that you have copied the data on the old PC to a USB drive F:\ArtWorks Backup. In Windows Explorer you would have copied C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\ArtWorks.dat to F:\ArtWorks Backup\ArtWorks.dat and the C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\Images folder to F:\ArtWorks Backup\Images

Now insert the USB drive on the new PC and copy -

F:\ArtWorks Backup\ArtWorks.dat to C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\ArtWorks.dat and

F:\ArtWorks Backup\Images to C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\Images (note that this is a folder and will contain all your image files)

In both cases you will see a confirmation message indicating that the file and folder already exist - 'Would you like to replace the existing file'. Click "Yes'

• That's it. Now when you start ArtWorks you will see your own data

2. copy from a backup folder

Follow this procedure if you have had a system crash or other problem and need to restore your data from a backup folder or drive.

• Let us assume that backup is stored on a USB drive F:\ArtWorks Backup

a) If you used the ArtWorks internal backup menu to backup the data, the F:\ArtWorks Backup folder will contain -

    An ArtWorks.dat file; and
    An 'Images' folder (which contains all your image files)

b) If you used Windows Explorer and just backed up the whole ArtWorks folder the F:\ArtWorks Backup folder will contain -

    An ArtWorks.dat file;
    A whole lot of other files; and
    An 'Images' folder containing all your image files

• Now, to restore just copy

F:\ArtWorks Backup\ArtWorks.dat to C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\ArtWorks.dat and

F:\ArtWorks Backup\Images to C:\Program Files\ArtWorks\Images (note that this is a folder and will contain all your image files)

In both cases you will see a confirmation message indicating that the file and folder already exist - 'Would you like to replace the existing file'. Click "Yes'

• That's it. Now when you start ArtWorks you will see your own data

common problems

After copying, if you still see the demo data instead of your own data there can be two causes of this -

a) You have copied to the wrong folder. Double check. (Also check the file size of the ArtWorks.dat file as an indicator of whether this is the right file. The demo data is about 548Kb, your own database should be larger than that)

b) You have named the database incorrectly. This occurs quite often and is usually caused because your Explorer settings are not showing the file extensions. The end result is that you can accidentally name the database ArtWorks.dat.dat

If the ArtWorks folder looks like this -

then you need to go to 'Tools' - 'Folder Options' and select the 'View' tab. Un-check the setting 'Hide Extensions for known file types' i.e.

 

Remember: ArtWorks only EVER looks in its own folder for the database, so if it is not showing your data you have done something wrong.