I want to transfer all my plugins, workspaces, etc. from my old computer to a new computer.

[Sierra063]

Hello, how are you doing today? I have new MacBook o laptop and I will need to transfer all my Adobe creative suite programs, plug-ins, preferences, workspaces to my new laptop from my old laptop. The older laptop has all my older version of my programs, plug-ins, etc. that I want to keep and use in the newer versions. The transfer is what is preventing me from using my new laptop. I never have done this before and I am just really confused with the process. What I am asking for help is if anybody can please explain to me where I need to look to find my plugins, preferences, workspaces so I can export them a and import them into the new laptop? Also, would I have to install the plugins again on the new computer? I would appreciate it very much. I am going to have to do this for each program now. I wish there was a way when you install the new versions that it would automatically transfer your previous settings you used before using the same account.

[Warren Heaton]

Migration Assistant works well if you're going from Intel to Intel or Apple Silicon to Apple Silicon; however, some third-party plug-ins may recognize that you are on a different machine and require that you authorize again the first time that you use them.

You're probably migrating from Intel to Apple Silicon.  For this, Migration Assistant is fine for files and documents, but do not use it for applications.  Do a clean install of Adobe Creative Cloud Desktop, After Effects, and any other Adobe applications that you'll be using.  You can be signed in to your Adobe ID on both laptops while doing this (the limit is two activations).  Then go through your third-party plug-ins, add-ons, and extensions, make sure they are compatible with Apple Silicon, and install and authorize those.  You may need to de-authorize or sign out of the plug-ins on the old MacBook before using them on the new one.

As far as After Effects settings go, you should be able to use Sync Settings (After Effects > Sync Settings) to sync them to your Adobe ID (if you're not already doing so) and then sync them to the new install of After Effects.  If for some reason that does not work as expected, you can try copying over the corresponding files or set them up manually.

You should be able to copy scripts over to their corresponding location manually.

[Sierra063]

So my older laptop is a Apple MacBook mid 2014 14 inch laptop and the new laptop is a 2021 M1 Chip Apple MacBook 14 inch id that helps. 

[Sierra063]

For me, I prefer to manually back up my files on my computer and not use migration assistant because I need to have more control over what files get moved since I am a designer. I would rather go through each file one by one using my external hard drive and keep a record of it than rely on a computer to keep track.

[Warren Heaton]

You can skip Migration Assistant entirely; however, it's great for user accounts, documents and files, and computer settings.

For moving files from drive to drive or folder to folder, I really like Carbon Copy Cloner (30-day trial, then purchase required).