Lost most Presets since AI CC 2019 Update

[designu46483552]

Either our IT guy failed to check "Import Previous Settings" on Update or he checked it and the counter-intuitive Adobe Update bug has done the opposite.

Whatever happened I have now lost most previous Presets from my system and AI 2019 is now a fresh, uncustomised app- frustratingly so.

So I got another IT guy to restore a folder load of old AI stuff from the 2018 version backup, which is now located on my Desktop.

Workspaces, Swatches and Scripts are there in the restored content but what about Brushes, Graphic Style and Symbols (don't get me started on Custom Arrowheads).

So leaving aside why this occurred in the first place;

1) Where should our IT guys go looking in the backup for all that lost goodness?

2) Is there a valid 2018 Settings file somewhere that I should point Edit > My Settings > Import Settings at?

In Photoshop it might be hidden in something like "Roaming" in AppData.

Many Thanks.

[Bill Silbert]

You are probably much better off with this situation. Importing previous settings and preferences has been a huge source of trouble for many users. Even though they have improved the process for CC 2019, my experimentation has shown that there are, sometimes whacky, issues that have cropped up when the old preferences have been imported. For example, in my test I found that items from the Type section in my Illustrator preferences were either missing or even only partially there. Over on the InDesign forum you can read about many people who have been left with an empty Control Panel (myself included).

That being said, I would suggest a one-time fix that should be helpful at least as long as the current version of Illustrator is in use. Set up the program exactly as you like and then quit the program to complete the customization. Then make a copy of your preference folder. Save that to use at any future time when preferences may need to be replaced. I've been doing this for years and it has been a life saver on many occasions.

[designu46483552]

Good advice Bill.

I'm used to managing my own Apps and Backups on a Mac but unfortunately here I'm on a restricted PC.

Where's this "preference folder" (on a PC)?

I don't think I'm better off though.

Update in CC has imported my previous settings and preset assets wonderfully before, it's just this time it went wrong.

I'm now faced with several weeks worth of tinkering to restore the set up to how it was, assuming I can find/remember it all.

The crazy thing is that Update deleted almost all my stuff from the old app folder even though it didn't import anything to the new app!

[Doug A Roberts · Accepted solution]

My experience has been that everything you keep in the Program files folder (C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator CC 2019\Presets, which might be scripts, actions, library files etc.) are ignored or deleted depending on what you tell the CC app to do (keep or delete old versions).

Everything in the user preferences folder (C:\Users\Username\AppData\Roaming\Adobe\Adobe Illustrator 23 Settings) seems to be successfully carried over though.