How to retrieve previous AI settings from old computer

[BillSiever]

Hi all,

My laptop recently died, and I had to get a new one. Unfortunately, when I re-installed Illustrator, I found that all my old settings were gone. I had a million shortcuts assigned to things like Trim View and Deselecting. Also, my Graphics Styles library appears to be gone. Is there a way to import those things into the new version of Illustrator from one of my AI files, say? I use Windows 11, if that's important, and it's a Lenovo Ideapad laptop. I think the most important thing at this point is how to retrieve my Graphics Styles library. At the moment, I just have this (screenshot attached). Thanks in advance!

[Monika Gause]

You need access to the old harddrive. And then here are your settings files:

https://www.vektorgarten.de/illustrator-settings.html 

[BillSiever]

Thanks, Monika. Unfortunately I no longer have the old hardrive. (My laptop was toast.) Is it impossible to do this without that?

[Doug A Roberts]

You can get any styles used in old files by opening them as a library. If you set up document profiles to store styles, they should all be in any files created from them. If they were separate library files, they are gone with the harddrive.

[BillSiever]

Thanks, Doug! I'm kind of a beginner with AI -- how do I find out if set up document profiles to store the styles? I'm a book editor, and I just use AI occasionally to make maps, and I have no memory of how I set things up. I generally find AI to be quite overwhelming, so I was constantly checking YouTube videos for how to do every tiny little thing. Hence my displeasure at having to start over again with everything! Thanks!

[Doug A Roberts]

If you open an old file and look in Window > Graphic Styles and it contains all the graphic styles from your library, then there are two possibilities:

1. You used every single graphic style from your library in one file.

2. You created the file from a document profile that contained every graphic style in your library.

[BillSiever]

Ah, I see. When I go to Window > Graphic Styles, all I see is the weird window full of black, white, and gray squares shown in the screenshot below.

I don't quite understand how this all works. I have a file open that has a bunch of styles applied (it's a map, so I have things like main roads, minor roads, pond edges, pond fill, etc.). Surely there's some way to create a library based on what's already in the file? I have about 100 maps, and each map has basically the same set of styles used in each file for roads, trails, mountain contours, ponds, streams, etc. It seems bizarre that that info would just be gone. Anyway, any easy-to-follow advice appreciated! -- Bill

[Doug A Roberts · Accepted solution]

Those are your graphic styles. They display in thumbnail as a square with a stroke and fill. If you're used to displaying them another way, click on the panel's menu and select Small or Large List View. If you want to save what's there as a library, select Save Graphic Style Library.

[BillSiever · Accepted solution]

Oh, that's it -- ha, how funny! I selected Small List View, and voila, there they are. Phew, thank you, Doug!