Dorico can't find Auto Save folders error message

[Tom_Fryer1]

Hi all,
I just migrated my system to a new computer and have been getting a recurring error message.
(https://drive.google.com/file/d/1OP7PPOcYQiBAbPIl-H_s0QKzUXbKfpkI/view?usp=sharing)

I used PC Mover Pro to move all my apps and data to the new rig and I suspect that this might be the the cause of the issue. I have re-registered etc. at My Steinberg.
I have also tried a re-install and the same error message occurs.
I looked for a way to re-point Dorico at the auto save folders but couldn’t find where to do this.
Any help would be appreciated.

I am using the latest version of Dorico and the PC is a Ryzen 5950 based machine with plenty of RAM and storage.
Cheers, Tom

[pianoleo]

Welcome to the forum, Tom.

The AutoSave location is determined the first time you run Dorico, and that location is then stored in a preferences file (see below). When you copy this file to a new computer or operating system, problems can arise if your user account has a different name, because the location is stored in the preferences file explicitly.

I’ll just quote myself from another time that this one came up:

@pianoleo

The easiest way around this is to:
a. close Dorico
b. navigate to %appdata%\Steinberg\Dorico 3.5 and delete the preferences.xml file

The downside to this method is that you’ll lose all your Dorico application preferences (anything found in the main Preferences dialog, but not things like Layout Options/Notation Options/Engraving Options/Playback Options).

The slightly more tricky route that lets you hang on to your other preferences is
a. close Dorico
b. navigate %appdata%\Steinberg\Dorico 3.5 and open preferences.xml in a decent text editor (I recommend Notepad++ on Windows; it’s free and it works fine)
c. edit the line in the middle of this screenshot (line 136 in my case) so that the path is correctly set for your new user account (sorry; this screenshot was done on a mac)

The history to the option disappearing from Preferences > Files > Auto-save is this:
The Dorico Autosave folder is automatically wiped every time you close Dorico or a Dorico project via usual methods. If Dorico crashes or hangs, and you Force Quit or End the Process/Task, the contents of the Autosave folder is left intact (and the next time you launch Dorico you’ll be presented with a list of Autosaved projects for recovery). When the Autosave function was introduced, some users failed to understand that the Autosave folder would regularly be automatically wiped, and set the AutoSave path to their Desktop, or their Dorico Projects folder, or their Documents folder. They then complained when Dorico automatically deleted everything from their Desktop/Dorico Projects folder/Documents folder. For this reason, the Autosave path has been removed from the Dorico Preferences dialog. Really, the only downside to this is the scenario you’re in right now.

[Tom_Fryer1]

Thanks Leo,
For the welcome as well! I am not a new member though something changed with the new format I think, but that is inconsequential.
I will try what you suggested and report back on my success!

Cheers, Tom

[Tom_Fryer1]

It appears to have done the trick! I edited the preferences file.
Many thanks Leo.
Cheers, Tom

[Maximvs]

Thanks a lot Leo for this solution, it worked perfectly for me to edit the Preferences.xml file.

Best regards,

Max

[rubberfingers]

I see the reason for removing the Autosave path from Preferences… except that I want to put these autosaved files on my D: drive (hard disk) instead of C: drive (Solid-state drive). I’m glad you wrote up the method, but it would be nice to specify the drive, maybe with a big warning. Fortunately I’m comfortable editing XML, but for many musicians this is a bit scary.