Notes for Updater/Upgrader of Railroad-Professional

If you have never used Railroad-Professional before and are using it for the first time with the current version, you can stop reading now. ;-)

However, for those who have one of the previous versions installed and running, here are some useful informations. In principle, however, the setup program is simply executed and that's it.

Difference between Update and Upgrade

Update:

• An update is present if only the 3rd and/or 4th digit of the version number changes, whereas the first two digits remain unchanged. For example, the transition from version 3.1.0 to 3.1.1 represents an update; likewise the transition from version 3.1.0.0 to 3.1.0.1.
• An update provides minor functional improvements and new features compared to the previous version. Often, errors in the program are also fixed via an update (so-called bug fixes).
• With Railroad-Professional an update is always installed into the same directory as an already existing previous version with the same 1st and 2nd version number. This means that the installation process does not ask for an installation directory if it finds a matching previous version on your computer. The files of the existing previous version are simply replaced by the new ones. An update process is therefore simple and quick.
  Caution: If you have changed supplied libraries and not given them new names, they will be overwritten during the update process, i.e. the changes you have made will be lost! Therefore you should always give own names to changed libraries (at the latest before the update process).
• During an update process, the registration key remains valid and does not have to be requested or entered again. An update is therefore always free of charge!

Upgrade:

• An upgrade is present as sonn as the 1st and/or 2nd digit of the version number changes (regardless of whether the 3rd and 4th digits also change or not).
  If the 1st digit of the version number changes (no matter what the other digits do), it is called a major upgrade.
  If the 2nd digit of the version number changes, but the 1st digit remains unchanged, this is called a minor upgrade.
  For example, the transition from version 3.1.0 to 3.2.0 represents a minor upgrade; likewise the transition from version 3.1.0 to 3.3.2, whereas the transition from version 3.1 to version 4.0 is a major upgrade.
• An upgrade represents an extensive extension of the program compared to the previous version. As a rule, numerous new features and/or serious changes/improvements are implemented. However, an upgrade may also be necessary because technically necessary changes have been made to the data format with which Railroad-Professional stores track plans and/or libraries.
• With Railroad-Professional, an upgrade is always installed into a new directory, both for a minor and a major upgrade. Therefore you will be asked for an installation directory during the installation process. If there is already an older version of the program on your computer, it will remain unchanged (and can even be used independently). If you don't like the new version, you just have to uninstall it and you can continue working with your old version as usual.
• After installing the upgrade, copy your self-created track plans, macro and clipboard files from the directory of the old version to that of the new version, if necessary.
• If you have created your own libraries under the previous version or changed the supplied ones, copy them into the current directory as well. If the data format has changed, Railroad-Professional will still read the old libraries, but you will always receive a message that the library is in an outdated format. You can turn this off, by changing your library in the program into the so-called library manager (menu item 'Tools') and save it there again immediately. This will automatically save your libraries in the new format and the above message will no longer appear.
• During a minor upgrade, the registration key usually remains valid. However, it may happen from time to time that you have to enter your unlock data again.
  For a major upgrade, on the other hand, you always need a new registration key to unlock the program again. You can request this directly from the program (see also below under 'Fees'). However, with a major upgrade, you can work in the free version for as long as you like to try out the new features.

Supplementary technical information

From version 3.7, after a standard installation, the supplied libraries are located in the directory 'C:\Users\Public\Documents\Railroad-Professional x.y\Libraries' ( where x.y stands for the respective program version). All track libraries are in the '\Tracks' subdirectory, all accessory libraries are in the '\Accessories' subdirectory. As of version 3.7, the library files have "meaningful names".

In principle, Railroad-Professional can load libraries and track plans from all older versions. If necessary, these are automatically converted to the current format during the loading process.

Fees

For information on the fee details, see under "Supplemental information" on our registration page.

We wish you much success and fun with the track planning,

Your Railroad-Professional Team.