HOWTO: Move Visual C++ IDE Customizations to Another Computer

ID: Q247005

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Visual C++, 32-bit Editions, versions 5.0, 6.0

SUMMARY

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

The Visual C++ Integrated Development Environment (IDE) settings are stored in the following registry key:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\x.0

Where x.0 denotes the version number of the VC++ installation.

When you customize the Visual C++ IDE and quit from Visual C++, this key is updated. The next time Visual C++ is started this key will be queried and the changes will be reflected in the IDE. The "More Information" section discusses the specific keys that are used to store the Visual C++ IDE settings and the steps involved in moving those registry values to another computer.

MORE INFORMATION

To move Visual C++ customizations from one Visual C++ installation to another, you will have to export and import all or some of the registry keys mentioned in the "Visual C++ registry keys" section. This section doesn't cover all the Visual C++ keys. If you want your new Visual C++ install to be identical your current install then export and import the entire HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\x.0 registry key. See the "Export and Import registry keys" section on exporting and importing these keys.

The only difference between the key names in Visual C++ versions 5.0 and 6.0 is the version number in the name. For Visual C++ 5.0, the keys you are looking for are all sub keys of:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\5.0

and for Visual C++ 6.0:


HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\6.0

Not all of these keys will be present on every system, some of the keys are created when you customize specific IDE settings. If you are upgrading from Visual C++ 5.0 to Visual C++ 6.0, the Visual C++ setup program asks you if you'd like to move your customizations to the new installation. The procedures outlined in this article assumes that you have made no customizations to the new installation of Visual C++. If customizations have been made to the new installation, it is possible that the customizations will be lost when importing from the customized computer.

Visual C++ registry keys

Format

The Format key contains the settings for the custom colors and fonts used for the various windows that Visual C++ supports. You can get to this setting in Visual C++ by selecting the Tools menu, clicking Options, then selecting the Format tab.

For Visual C++ 5.0 the key is:
```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\5.0\Format 
```
For Visual C++ 6.0 the key is:
```
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\6.0\Format 
```
Layout

The Layout key contains information on the custom menus, toolbars, and command buttons. It's the same as the preceding key except you replace Format with Layout.

NOTE: The locations of these controls on the screen could be different, depending on the screen resolution.
TextEditor

The Text Editor key has information on the tab settings for different file types and some advanced settings. You can get to this setting in Visual C++ by selecting the Tools menu, clicking Options, then selecting the Tabs tab.
Tools

The Tools key contains information on the Tools menu item, including all the default tools that come with Visual C++ and the tools you have added, along with their absolute paths. You may have to update these paths correctly on the new computer.
General

The General key mainly contains information on controlling the Window menu and ToolTips.
Graphics Editor

The Graphics Editor key contains information on screen color.

NOTE: Some keys store absolute path information. Make sure these paths are right for your new installation or Visual C++ won't behave as expected.

Export and Import registry keys

Use the following steps to export a registry key:

Start the registry editor Regedit.exe.

Navigate to the key that you want to export, for example select:


 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\DevStudio\6.0\Format

Select Export Registry File from the Registry menu.

Specify a file name in the "Export Registry File" dialog box. The default extension for the file is REG.

Follow the steps below to import a registry key:

Copy the exported registry file to the target computer.

Start the registry editor Regedit.exe.

Select Import Registry File from the Registry menu.

Browse for the file copied in step 1 from the "Import Registry File" dialog box. On clicking Open, the Registry Editor message box displays whether the operation was successful or not.

You can avoid the above steps by double clicking on the REG file in Windows Explorer. This works as long as the .reg extension is a registered shell extension.

NOTE: Make sure that you have permissions to update the registry.

REFERENCES

For more information on Customizing Visual C++ see the following topic in the MSDN library:

Home Page: Customizing Visual C++

For topics on Windows registry see the following knowledge base articles:

Q136393 How to Modify Windows Registry

Q147769 INFO: RegClean 4.1a Description and General Issues

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbide kbRegistry kbVC500 kbVC600 kbDevStudio kbDSupport kbGrpDSTools
Version : winnt:5.0,6.0
Platform : winnt
Issue type : kbhowto