Migrating to a New Computer

Updated: 2020-05-21

If you buy a new computer, you can move your existing TaxCycle and DoxCycle settings and options to the new machine. Exporting and then importing an Options Profile will carry over many of your options. Other options that are saved in files—like custom templates—can also be moved by copying and pasting the files between machines.

Move data monitors, favourites and form tabs into Options Profiles

In early 2020, we made it possible to include configured data monitors, favourites and default form tabs in an Options Profile.

1. To include those options in an existing Options Profile, go to the Common Folders page under the Files and Folders section. Scroll to Data monitors and favourites section, then click on the link to Move data monitors, favourites and tab settings to Options Profile.
   
   • Clicking this link moves the files to the Options Profile zip file that is currently active.
   • Clicking this link will also move the files in the Local options zip file if that is currently active.
   • It also renames these files to match the format of other settings in the zip file.
   • To include these settings in a different Options Profile, make that profile active by changing profiles on the Start screen or at the top of the Options window and then repeat the process by clicking the link again.
   • You can opt to delete the old local files at the same time as moving them. However, if you have several Options Profiles, we recommend leaving them there until you have moved them into all the profiles.
2. New pages for Data Monitors, Favourites and Tabs now also appear under module options. Select these pages when creating an Options Profile to include the settings in the profile.
   

Note that if you do not include these settings in an Options Profile, TaxCycle will continue to use the local settings that it did before.

Export an Options Profile

If you get a new computer, you can quickly export the options and then import them there. Or, if you run a desktop computer and laptop computer, configure on one, export and then import on the other.

1. To open Options from the Start screen, click Options on the left side. If you have a file open, go to the File menu, then click Options.
2. Click Manage to expand the Options Profile section.
3. In the list of profiles, click on an Options Profile or Local options.
4. On the right side, click Export.
5. Save the file to a shared location on your network. If you don't work in a network environment, save the file to an external media storage device (USB key) or cloud storage.

Import an Options Profile

Options Profiles are zip files. To import an Options Profile zip:

1. To open Options from the Start screen, click Options on the left side. If you have a file open, go to the File menu, then click Options.
2. Drag the zip file onto the Options dialog box. This creates a separate profile in the list.
3. If you want to replace the contents of an existing profile, select the profile in the Manage profiles section of the Options dialog box, then click Import on the right side of the dialog box. This replaces the contents of the existing profile with those in the zip. (Handy if you create a profile to share just your print settings, for example.)

Setting up the Client Manager

If you are exporting/importing your Local options, you will still need to set up the Client Manager on the new computer. To learn how, read the First-time Client Manager help topic.

If you are exporting/importing an existing Options Profile, the Client Manager configuration will be carried over to the new computer and the connection will continue to work there.

Migrating settings files in TaxCycle

Importing an Options Profile will carry over the references to common folders to the new computer. It does not take the files within those folder. You must also transfer the contents of those folders to new machine.

1. From the Start screen, click Options in the blue bar on the left side. If you have a file open, go to the File menu, then click Options.
2. On the left, expand Files and Folders, then click on Common Folders.
3. On this page, click the View files link next to each folder path to open that folder in Windows Explorer.
   
4. On the old computer, copy the files in these files to a network folder or a new USB key. Then, on the new computer, reverse the steps to paste them in the referenced folder on the new machine. Note, if these paths already point to a network folder, you do not need to copy and paste the files. Importing the Options Profile will bring over that path.
5. Copy over the files in the following folders:
   • Templates
   • Invoice Number
   • Data published from SlipSync
   • Files for GIFI import
   • Attachments sent when transmitting a return (such as CO-17)
   • Printer settings not saved in print sets (such as the network location of the printer, etc.)

Move your files to the new computer

If you usually store you tax return files on the same computer where you use TaxCycle and DoxCycle, you will also want to move them over to the new computer. Then, check that:

1. The Client Folder settings are pointing to the folders where you save those files. See the Folder options help topic.
2. The Client Manager is set up to monitor those folder. See the Indexing and monitored folders help topic.

Important! Links between DoxCycle and TaxCycle files will break if you do not put the files in the same folder structure as on the original computer. If you choose to change the folder structure, you will need to update the links when you open a file. To learn how to manage these links, read the Link DoxCycle and TaxCycle help topics.