Advice On Making Changes in Case CATalyst

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

Hello again. A lot of us on this forum are very active users of the program and I just hope we're all doing things safely.

First thing you should do before making any changes in your current user is create a new user and make the changes there and make sure you're always comfortable.

Also, backup, backup, backup. God forbid something happens, you could find yourself recreating days, if not months of work.

Also, you can copy the entire contents of your Case CATalyst CD, (which is an executable file, of course) along with an updated copy of your System Files case which contains, hopefully, your Dictionary, Layouts, etc., onto a jump drive or SD card. So, if disaster strikes, you can run to a spare computer or get a new one and within minutes of opening the box you can be up and running again. You can also put your USB-to-serial converter drivers on your jump drive so you don't have to lug around CDs that contain the drivers necessary to run those pieces of equipment.


I've done this on jump drives as small as 256K, however, I just got 1GB. A word of advice, however, stay away from Cruzer Micro jump drives that have the U3 software on them. They're a real pain to use. It's been suggested to me to look for PNY jump drives which work much better and are easier to use. I personally like using San Disk SD cards.

Finally, make sure you update the System Files on your backup SD card or jump drive and that goes for when there's a new version of Case CATalyst, too. And don't forget to put this backup back in your laptop case or whatever you use to transport your reporting related equipment around in.

[Karen Goldenberg]

Anthony,

I am so very happy you made your comment about not using the Cruzer Micro jump drive. I have been using one for about a year just for back-up. I, literally, just read instructions on using the U3 software and was intrigued by it. Can you mention what you felt was a "real pain" to use?

No pressure, no urgency, just curious. Thank you so very much.

Bubbie Karen

[Anthony D. Frisolone]

I guess it's borne more from not learning yet what the U3 actually means. I bought one in a pinch before a training I was doing one Saturday morning and I've been swamped since. I guess I'll get around to it sooner but it's low on the priorities list right now. I just think it's simpler to use a non-U3 jump drive or a SD card. The on thing I know is that you can load programs onto a U3 jump drive and run them from there, but that's about it. I'd love to hear from you what know about it. Thanks, Bubbie.