Any Reason to Keep Dorico 4 Pro if Upgrading to Pro 5?

Dorico
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This is similar to a question I asked earlier, which was largely resolved, but I need to dig a little deeper.

I know that installing Dorico Pro 5 does not automatically replace an existing Dorico Pro 4 installation, but unless there is something I’ve missed, I can’t see why I would want both versions on my PC at the same time.

If there is a reason I should keep both, please explain!

Otherwise, should I uninstall Dorico Pro 4 before or after I install Dorico Pro 5, or doesn’t it matter in which order I do this?

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I would keep 4 for now, until 5 has any bugs worked out that may affect your workflow (there are a few).

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Yes, there are a couple of crashes that can affect some existing Dorico projects when opening them in Dorico 5. We’re aiming to have fixes for those problems into your hands as soon as possible, but in the meantime, I’d recommend keeping Dorico 4 around.

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Moreover, the behaviour of D4 & D5 maybe different (and it is in some minor situations). So perhaps you may prefer to keep both in case you need to make corrections, or if you prefer D4 choice.

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Thanks for your comments so far, folks!

I guess my main follow-up question is, when (if?!) I do decide to uninstall Dorico Pro 4 after upgrading, will that uninstall be 100% clean, leaving no stranded files behind, and not remove any components of Pro 5? Simply, I am keen to avoid getting my Windows installation dirtied up!

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On Windows, if you run the Dorico 4 uninstaller from Programs and Features (or whatever the heck it’s called in Windows this week), that will remove everything related to Dorico 4 that should be removed. Dorico 5 relies on many of the same shared files (sound content, VST instruments, etc.) so that’s the only thing you should uninstall.

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Thanks - looks like I should probably uninstall Dorico Pro 4 first, then install Pro 5 - I can always use my second copy of Dorico 4 on another PC for a while as “safety backup”, until I am happy that Pro 5 works with all my stuff! :slight_smile:

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Brian,
I would suggest not uninstalling Dorico 4 until after installing Dorico 5 at the very least. There may be support files in Dorico 4 that you have customized, and you want to give the Dorico installer every chance to port over to the new version.

I notes that a custom user library I had created (because it was not created in Dorico) had to be copied into the Dorico 5 folder from the Dorico 4 folder; so I was glad I had kept the Dorico 4 installation intact until I was sure I had everything spot on.

If space on your boot drive is at a premium, you might consider getting an SSD second drive and using the Library Manager program to transfer sound files off your boot drive to the fast SSD.

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Uninstalling Dorico 4 won’t remove your user-level application data, so unless you go and nuke it manually, it’s OK: Dorico 5 will still be able to migrate your existing user data.

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When you upgrade to Dorico Pro 5, it removes the license for Dorico Pro 4.

Does Dorico 4 run off the Dorico 5 activation (Steinberg Licensing)?

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Dorico 4 Preferences stay after uninstallation. Same as Cubase. I tend to uninstall the older version before installing the newer version, and it just migrates everything over when you start it. I only have to go in and adjust any new preferences added in the latest version, if needed.

Moving content to another SSD creates a mess as it just dumps everything into one folder unless you exercise some foresight and create the relevant subfolders yourself. Can be a bit of a PITA for content management.

I haven’t run into any issues with Dorico 5 Pro, yet, but I also haven’t installed it on my MBP, and I’ve heard quite a few issues with crashes (couple people can’t even start the app up) on that platform.

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Dorico 4 will run with a Dorico 5 license.

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Again an on-going thanks to all who are offering advice and opinions. It is truly appreciated.

Just to explain a wee bit further, I bought Dorico 4 Pro about a year ago, just as two my my first post-Pandemic musical jobs came in. I didn’t really have time to get up to speed with Dorico, having never used it before, so for these two projects, I persevered with creaky old MakeMusic Finale 2005! It barely runs on Windows 10, and is full of annoying bugs and inconsistencies - but I had spent the previous 16 years learning my around the worst of the horrors, and I needed to be productive in terms of music output from day one.

SO - although I’ve had Dorico 4 Pro for a year or so, and played around with it during “downtime”, to get to know it a bit better, I don’t actually have any serious projects, or preference libraries, or whatever, hanging about.

What I DO have, during that time, is a newly re-formatted PC, now with Windows 11 (and Dorico 4 Pro), which is still more or less squeaky-clean in terms of “clutter”, and running oh so smoothly compared to my previous Windows 10 setup.

SO … YES, I want to upgrade to Dorico 5 Pro, and will. But NO, there is nothing “important” that I need to keep from Dorico 4 Pro. Both those 2022 theatre projects were done in Finale 2005.

THIS is why I think I might be best served, by thoroughly cleaning my machine of Dorico 4 Pro, and then installing Dorico 5 Pro from scratch.

And moreover, it worries me that if I install Dorico 5 Pro, and it relies on the same fonts etc that were installed originally with Dorico 4 Pro - and then uninstall 4 Pro, that some of those shared resources might be deleted by mistake.

IN short … I think I can see what I will be doing over the coming weekend!

And THANK YOU ALL again for your comments and advice! :slight_smile: