Where do HotPot programs save latest folder names?

[stefpen gmail]

I produce exercises across many folders with almost all programs. Programs load the last config files and save the HTML files in the last location. This causes confusion and mistakes.

I have Hot Potatoes in several places and different disks. No matter where I start a hotpot program, it always loads the latest config file and saves to the latest folder where I've saved the product.

I need to know the location where the programs keep this data (last config file , so I can change the old folders to the current ones.

[Martin Holmes]

Hi there,

One piece of advice: Never save config files. Just make sure you always
have "Reload config info from file" checked in the Options menu. That
saves you lots of trouble. Every exercise then keeps its own
configuration data inside it. I've worked on lots of Hot Potatoes
projects over the years, and I don't think I've saved a config file
since around 2003.:-) When I move from one project to another, I just
open a file from that project, and the configuration is imported from
that file; then I hit File / New to create a new file, and the
configuration is retained, although the exercise data is removed.

When you start Hot Potatoes and then try to open or save a file, it
default to the last location where you opened or saved a file. That
makes sense to me. What is the alternative? Should it always start in
your document folder, so that no matter how long you've been working on
the same project, you still keep having to navigate to the project
folder every time?

The information about the last directories used is kept in the system
registry.

Cheers,
Martin

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[stefpen gmail]

Dear Martin,

Thank you for your prompt reply and extensive information.

I will not change anything in the registry. I will follow your instructions. But there is an option which is not clear to me: "Reload Config info from file". When I press it, a warning appears: "This will change the way data and configuration information is handled when data files are loaded. Are you sure you want to change this setting?" It's like a black box. The option does not ask me for a file name, it just does something and I cannot understand the effect.

I've searched but could not find any explanation of this option. Would you explain the meaning of this option?

1. Which file will be used to reload Config info from? Where is this file?

2. How will it "change the way data and configuration information is handled when data files are loaded"?

Regards,

Steve

[stefpen gmail]

to: Martin Holmes.

(This is an afterthought to my previous message.)

You suggest to "always have "Reload config info from file" checked in the Options menu". Is this is the same option I asked about ("Reload Config info from file" )?

I press it but there is no "Checked" indicator, so I cannot tell if it's checked or not.

1. Where can I see if "Reload Config info from file"is active?

2. If the option is "checked", will it reload config info from the latest config file, no matter on which disk and folder it resides? What happens if the external disk is not plugged in or the folder does not exist?

3. What will happen if the option is "unchecked" (though I cannot see it)? I think it will do the same: use the latest config file (if it can be found, otherwise use a default config for the program.)

Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Regards,

Steve

[Martin Holmes]

Hi there,

The current configuration information is always stored in the data file.
When you select the option "Reload Config info from file", then whenever
you reload a saved data file, the configuration information stored in
that file will be reloaded into the configuration screen. That means
that if you have configuration information in your Config screen, and
you reload a data file, that configuration information will be
overwritten by the configuration information stored in the data file
when you saved it.

For almost all normal use of Hot Potatoes, this is a simpler and better
approach than keeping separate configuration information in another file
that you have to reload.

If I were rewriting Hot Potatoes now, I would not provide the option to
save configuration information to a config file. It was a mistake, and
it has caused confusion ever since. A better approach would have been to
explain to people how to save an empty data file with "template" in the
file name, and reload that data file first when you want to create a new
exercise with existing configuration information.

Hope this helps,
Martin

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[Martin Holmes]

Hi there,

That option displays differently on different versions of Windows. In
older versions, if it is checked, there is a checkmark next to it; in
more recent versions, the button in the menu shows as pressed-down when
it is selected.

See my previous answer for the second question.

Cheers,
Martin

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[stefpen gmail]

to Mr. Martin Holmes:

I'll try to follow your advice to save an empty data file as a template. For the time being I am exploring the .cfg files (which are actually XML files) which I've saved from a variety of options: original programs and their - very useful - addons. When I start a new exercise, I plan to load the .cfg file (until I master your "template" idea - on Windows 10 I cannot see if the button is ON).

Yesterday I found that the .cfg file does not contain all configuration data, e.g. strFuncLightColor, strFuncShadeColor, and the other color variants. Probably they are calculated or imported from another file. This is not important. The important function I need is to load the source file, as well. In this way I can have a complete set if I have to redo an exercise. In this way if I save a "template" made with an addon, I'll easily redo the same exercise or make a new one based on the same template.

Best regards,

Steve