PhantomDeejay
Since this question pops up every now and then, I decided to make a small guide.
STEP 1:
Determine on which Drive your music collection is going to be on each PC.
There are 3 cases:
1) Music will be on primary drive (C) on both systems
2) Music will be on a secondary drive (D/E/F etc) on both systems
3) Music will be on primary drive on one system and on a secondary on the other.
STEP 2:
Setup Dropbox, depending on the case:
1) Setup Dropbox as usually, but configure it manually to have it's root at C:\ drive.
This means that your Dropbox root folder is C:\Dropbox
2) Setup Dropbox as usually, but configure it manually to have it's root at D:\ drive, or whatever letter you are going to use. While it's not critical, ideally both systems should use the same drive letter. So, depending on your machines configuration you may want to use Windows Disk Manager to assign the drives the same letter on both PC.
At the end, your Dropbox root folder should be something like D:\Dropbox on both systems.
3) Follow the instructions above to setup Dropbox as C:\Dropbox on one system and D:\Dropbox on the other.
STEP 3:
In this step we will create folders and configure our system to run through Dropbox. Follow the correct instructions depending on your user case.
1)
FIRST PC
SECOND PC
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
2)
FIRST PC
We assume that the drive letter you are going to use is D:
If it's F: or anything else, just change the drive letter accordingly.
SECOND PC
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
3)
Case 3 (where one PC is using C drive and the other is using D) is the most complex.
It's more or less the same procedure as above, but with a few caveats on how junction points are used. You see, with Dropbox you cannot create junction points inside Dropbox pointing to folders outside of it. So you always need to create junctions that point in folder inside Dropbox itself.
So, in this case, BOTH systems need to be configured as if they were both using drive C
FIRST PC, THE ONE THAT HAS ONLY A DRIVE C
SECOND PC, THE ONE THAT HAS A SECOND DRIVE D
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
PS: At some point above, we have set "D:\Dropbox\Music" folder to be hidden from view.
That was done so that you don't "accidentally" browse to it via the D: drive letter.
You should access your Music folder ONLY through the C:\Dropbox\Music junction point.
If you have any more questions, if I missed something, or if you spot any error, please let me know.
PPS: This is NOT an official guide. It is how I setup my own systems to keep everything in sync.
STEP 1:
Determine on which Drive your music collection is going to be on each PC.
There are 3 cases:
1) Music will be on primary drive (C) on both systems
2) Music will be on a secondary drive (D/E/F etc) on both systems
3) Music will be on primary drive on one system and on a secondary on the other.
STEP 2:
Setup Dropbox, depending on the case:
1) Setup Dropbox as usually, but configure it manually to have it's root at C:\ drive.
This means that your Dropbox root folder is C:\Dropbox
2) Setup Dropbox as usually, but configure it manually to have it's root at D:\ drive, or whatever letter you are going to use. While it's not critical, ideally both systems should use the same drive letter. So, depending on your machines configuration you may want to use Windows Disk Manager to assign the drives the same letter on both PC.
At the end, your Dropbox root folder should be something like D:\Dropbox on both systems.
3) Follow the instructions above to setup Dropbox as C:\Dropbox on one system and D:\Dropbox on the other.
STEP 3:
In this step we will create folders and configure our system to run through Dropbox. Follow the correct instructions depending on your user case.
1)
FIRST PC
- Open C:\Dropbox and create 2 folder inside it, "Music" and "VirtualDJ"
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you try to do that. That's normal. - On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "C:\Dropbox\VirtualDJ" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Close the command prompt
- Open VirtualDJ.
- Use the browser functions to MOVE all your music files from whatever location they are currently sitting at, inside C:\Dropbox\Music. Wait for all operations to complete.
- Once you have moved everything, open VirtualDJ settings, click on options, and then click on the small cog icon on the bottom right side of the window.
This should open VirtualDJ's "home" folder in explorer. - Leave the explorer window open, and close VirtualDJ
- Go back to the explorer window, select ALL files and folder, and cut them
- Go to C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ and paste them
- We are now going to modify the registry. Copy the text below, open Notepad and paste it.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"HomeFolder"="C:\\Users\\VDJ\\VirtualDJ"
Save the file anywhere on your PC, with a .REG extension. - Once you save the file, double click it to merge it in Windows registry. You should get an administrative warning. That's normal.
- If the file doesn't work, it's because you have not saved it with the right extension. You can always edit the registry manually, by looking up Google on how to do so. You need to browse the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ branch and then modify the HomeFolder key. You should type in C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ
- Now it's time to let Dropbox sync with the cloud. You CAN open VirtualDJ and work on the system, but before everything is synced to the cloud, you cannot start working on the second PC.
SECOND PC
- WAIT patiently until Dropbox has downloaded all your files from the cloud.
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you tr to that. That's normal. - On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "C:\Dropbox\VirtualDJ" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Close the command prompt
- Follow the same steps as above to modify the Windows registry.
- Once you have finished modifying the registry, your 2 systems should be in sync.
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
2)
FIRST PC
We assume that the drive letter you are going to use is D:
If it's F: or anything else, just change the drive letter accordingly.
- Open D:\Dropbox and create 3 folder inside it, "Music", "VirtualDJHome" and "VirtualDJExtDB"
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you try to do that. That's normal. - Go on D: drive. On the root of the drive there should be a folder named "VirtualDJ"
- Rename it to "VirtualDJ2".
If there's no "VirtualDJ" folder on D:\ then you don't have to do anything. - On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "D:\Dropbox\VirtualDJHome" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Then type this command as well mklink /j "D:\VirtualDJ" "D:\Dropbox\VirtualDJExtDB" and hit enter.
- Close the command prompt
- Go on D:\VirtualDJ2 folder. Select ALL files and directories and cut them
- Go on D:\VirtualDJ folder and paste them.
- Delete the D:\VirtualDJ2 folder
- Open VirtualDJ.
- Use the browser functions to MOVE all your music files from whatever location they are currently sitting at, inside D:\Dropbox\Music. Wait for all operations to complete.
- Once you have moved everything, open VirtualDJ settings, click on options, and then click on the small cog icon on the bottom right side of the window.
This should open VirtualDJ's "home" folder in explorer. - Leave the explorer window open, and close VirtualDJ
- Go back to the explorer window, select ALL files and folder, and cut them
- Go to C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ and paste them
- We are now going to modify the registry. Copy the text below, open Notepad and paste it.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"HomeFolder"="C:\\Users\\VDJ\\VirtualDJ"
Save the file anywhere on your PC, with a .REG extension. - Once you save the file, double click it to merge it in Windows registry. You should get an administrative warning. That's normal.
- If the file doesn't work, it's because you have not saved it with the right extension. You can always edit the registry manually, by looking up Google on how to do so. You need to browse the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ branch and then modify the HomeFolder key. You should type in C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ
- Now it's time to let Dropbox sync with the cloud. You CAN open VirtualDJ and work on the system, but before everything is synced to the cloud, you cannot start working on the second PC.
SECOND PC
- WAIT patiently until Dropbox has downloaded all your files from the cloud.
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you tr to that. That's normal. - Go on D: drive. On the root of the drive there should be a folder named "VirtualDJ"
- Rename it to "VirtualDJ2".
If there's no "VirtualDJ" folder on D:\ then you don't have to do anything. - On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "D:\Dropbox\VirtualDJHome" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Then type this command as well mklink /j "D:\VirtualDJ" "D:\Dropbox\VirtualDJExtDB" and hit enter.
- Close the command prompt
- Follow the same steps as above to modify the Windows registry.
- Once you have finished modifying the registry, your 2 systems should be in sync.
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
3)
Case 3 (where one PC is using C drive and the other is using D) is the most complex.
It's more or less the same procedure as above, but with a few caveats on how junction points are used. You see, with Dropbox you cannot create junction points inside Dropbox pointing to folders outside of it. So you always need to create junctions that point in folder inside Dropbox itself.
So, in this case, BOTH systems need to be configured as if they were both using drive C
FIRST PC, THE ONE THAT HAS ONLY A DRIVE C
- Open C:\Dropbox and create 2 folder inside it, "Music" and "VirtualDJ"
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you try to do that. That's normal. - On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "C:\Dropbox\VirtualDJ" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Close the command prompt
- Open VirtualDJ.
- Use the browser functions to MOVE all your music files from whatever location they are currently sitting at, inside C:\Dropbox\Music. Wait for all operations to complete.
- Once you have moved everything, open VirtualDJ settings, click on options, and then click on the small cog icon on the bottom right side of the window.
This should open VirtualDJ's "home" folder in explorer. - Leave the explorer window open, and close VirtualDJ
- Go back to the explorer window, select ALL files and folder, and cut them
- Go to C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ and paste them
- We are now going to modify the registry. Copy the text below, open Notepad and paste it.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"HomeFolder"="C:\\Users\\VDJ\\VirtualDJ"
Save the file anywhere on your PC, with a .REG extension. - Once you save the file, double click it to merge it in Windows registry. You should get an administrative warning. That's normal.
- If the file doesn't work, it's because you have not saved it with the right extension. You can always edit the registry manually, by looking up Google on how to do so. You need to browse the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ branch and then modify the HomeFolder key. You should type in C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ
- Now it's time to let Dropbox sync with the cloud. You CAN open VirtualDJ and work on the system, but before everything is synced to the cloud, you cannot start working on the second PC.
SECOND PC, THE ONE THAT HAS A SECOND DRIVE D
- WAIT patiently until Dropbox has downloaded all your files from the cloud.
- Go to C:\Users directory and create a folder named "VDJ"
You will get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you tr to that. That's normal. - Go on C: drive. On the root of the drive create a folder named "Dropbox"
You may get an Administrative prompt from Windows when you tr to that. That's normal. - Go on D: drive. If there's a "D:\VirtualDJ" folder, delete it.
- Open D:\Dropbox folder.
- Right click on "Music" folder, select properties, and then select "hidden".
- Hit Apply, and when you windows prompts you, select "This directory only"
- On Windows start menu/search type "cmd". Right click on "Command Prompt" and select "Run as Administrator"
- On the command prompt, type this mklink /j "C:\Users\VDJ\VirtualDJ" "D:\Dropbox\VirtualDJ" and hit enter.
You should see a success message saying that junction point has been created. - Then type this command as well mklink /j "C:\Dropbox\Music" "D:\Dropbox\Music" and hit enter.
- Close the command prompt
- Follow the same steps as above to modify the Windows registry.
- Once you have finished modifying the registry, your 2 systems should be in sync.
All you have to now, is to make sure that you never have VirtualDJ open on both computers at the same time.
PS: At some point above, we have set "D:\Dropbox\Music" folder to be hidden from view.
That was done so that you don't "accidentally" browse to it via the D: drive letter.
You should access your Music folder ONLY through the C:\Dropbox\Music junction point.
If you have any more questions, if I missed something, or if you spot any error, please let me know.
PPS: This is NOT an official guide. It is how I setup my own systems to keep everything in sync.
Posted Sat 27 Jan 24 @ 3:55 pm
DJ VinylTouch
Great guide @PhantomDeejay!
Minor comments if you don't mind:
Minor comments if you don't mind:
- You could probably make this more platform/share service agnostic (I could almost guarantee there will MacOS/other cloud service users that aren't saavy enough to adapt this without help.)
- Change references of "Dropbox" to "Network shared folder" or other more appropriate term, since this applies to all cases of shared folder setups.
- Probably remove all references to Windows and make approriate symlink/other OS shell commands references in all cases (Windows and UNIX) where applicable. - Thanks for really stressing the importance of serial usage of the shared database + music folder!
Any synonymous usage could result in database/file corruption.
Most desktop clients for cloud shares have a pause sync feature - that could possibly be utilized by default.
Posted Sat 27 Jan 24 @ 4:18 pm
PhantomDeejay
Yes, the guide can be applied with almost all cloud services as long as they allow you to set a custom "root" sync folder.
Using a generic name, would make all scripts look more complicated. Especially the creation of junction points.
The procedure "can" be adapted to work on MAC OS as well, but things get more complicated quite quickly.
The worst case scenario is to use one Windows and one Mac Os system.
If I manage to iron out all details on that combo (since I use it on a limited extent) I will update the guide.
PS: Even if you pause one system from syncing, if you use them at the same time you'll end up with conflicting files and possibly some data loss since both systems will change files and the cloud service won't know which file to keep.
Using a generic name, would make all scripts look more complicated. Especially the creation of junction points.
The procedure "can" be adapted to work on MAC OS as well, but things get more complicated quite quickly.
The worst case scenario is to use one Windows and one Mac Os system.
If I manage to iron out all details on that combo (since I use it on a limited extent) I will update the guide.
PS: Even if you pause one system from syncing, if you use them at the same time you'll end up with conflicting files and possibly some data loss since both systems will change files and the cloud service won't know which file to keep.
Posted Sun 28 Jan 24 @ 2:49 pm
DJ VinylTouch
I agree @PhantomDeejay with all that you have said...I guess it's just that the guide seems very Windows centric. Nothing really has to change, but you could expect some questions coming your way depending on the user and OS.
You are correct, serial usage with complete sync is a hard requirement regardless. I personally use the pause for my Nextcloud server sync on my machines just as an added precaution - I keep both paused when not using any, and unpause on the machine that I'm using, allowing full sync both ways before using/just before packing it up again. I also keep it paused during live use to prevent any intermediate files (like lock files) from being synced to the remote unnecessarily.
PhantomDeejay wrote :
PS: Even if you pause one system from syncing, if you use them at the same time you'll end up with conflicting files and possibly some data loss since both systems will change files and the cloud service won't know which file to keep.
PS: Even if you pause one system from syncing, if you use them at the same time you'll end up with conflicting files and possibly some data loss since both systems will change files and the cloud service won't know which file to keep.
You are correct, serial usage with complete sync is a hard requirement regardless. I personally use the pause for my Nextcloud server sync on my machines just as an added precaution - I keep both paused when not using any, and unpause on the machine that I'm using, allowing full sync both ways before using/just before packing it up again. I also keep it paused during live use to prevent any intermediate files (like lock files) from being synced to the remote unnecessarily.
Posted Sun 28 Jan 24 @ 4:29 pm
kradcliffe
I've tried working between Windows and Mac previously and it ends up a trainwreck.
The database and history files don't work properly with the different file path structures.
The database and history files don't work properly with the different file path structures.
Posted Sun 28 Jan 24 @ 6:33 pm
GadgetMan
I used to use Dropbox, but now do the same with OneDrive.
We used to be able to change the HomeFolder with the 32 or 64-but Registry Tool by DJ CEL.
Is that still available for download?
We used to be able to change the HomeFolder with the 32 or 64-but Registry Tool by DJ CEL.
Is that still available for download?
Posted Thu 08 Feb 24 @ 11:36 pm
kradcliffe
All the legacy plugins are long gone Roy.
This is the script I use to change the home folder (set for D but you can change it to anything)
Paste it to a .txt file and change to .reg and run as admin. This is under the assumption you're using the 64bit version.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"RunFolder"="C:\\Program Files\\VirtualDJ\\"
"HomeFolder"="D:\\VirtualDJ"
This is the script I use to change the home folder (set for D but you can change it to anything)
Paste it to a .txt file and change to .reg and run as admin. This is under the assumption you're using the 64bit version.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"RunFolder"="C:\\Program Files\\VirtualDJ\\"
"HomeFolder"="D:\\VirtualDJ"
Posted Fri 09 Feb 24 @ 6:47 am
GadgetMan
kradcliffe wrote :
All the legacy plugins are long gone Roy.
This is the script I use to change the home folder (set for D but you can change it to anything)
Paste it to a .txt file and change to .reg and run as admin. This is under the assumption you're using the 64bit version.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"RunFolder"="C:\\Program Files\\VirtualDJ\\"
"HomeFolder"="D:\\VirtualDJ"
This is the script I use to change the home folder (set for D but you can change it to anything)
Paste it to a .txt file and change to .reg and run as admin. This is under the assumption you're using the 64bit version.
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ]
"RunFolder"="C:\\Program Files\\VirtualDJ\\"
"HomeFolder"="D:\\VirtualDJ"
Luckily I still have it downloaded and it still works like a charm.
Hope your well...
Posted Sat 10 Feb 24 @ 1:44 pm
GadgetMan
PhantomDeejay wrote :
Since this question pops up every now and then, I decided to make a small guide.
Here's how I do it. This will work with Dropbox or OneDrive:
- Map
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\VirtualDJ] "HomeFolder" to "C:\\Users\\<account>\\<OneDrive> or <dropbox>\\VirtualDJ"
- I still use DJ CEL's Registry Tool.
- Be online at every gig, or remember to sync when back at home
- Quit VDJ and stay online for a few mins while breaking down to allow the recent files to sync: Log Report.txt, systemreport_session.txt, settings.xml, playlists\default.m3u and your history.
- Repeat for machine 2, 3, 4, etc...
In addition, I will regularly:
- Right-click on each VirtualDJ database folder on each external drive and "Compress to ZIP file"
- Rename the zip file to VirtualDJ(<drive letter>).zip
- Copy to my OneDrive\VirtualDJ folder
Now each database is backed up to my cloud storage.
You will have problems if you start the 2nd PC without the hard drive connected, if you've moved Dropbox to an external drive, as the background task for Dropbox won't be able to start if the drive cannot be found, or worse, it will recreate the folder where it expects it to be on the system drive.
Also, if your external drive fails, then you lose the whole lot - or you have to remember to sync all your backup drives.
Which ever method you use, one key advantage is that both Dropbox and OneDrive have file versioning.
So, if you screw up your mappers, your pads, etc. You can simply log in to the storage provider web site, find the file, right-click and restore to a previous version you know worked.
This even applies to the zipped databases you backed up.
Posted Sat 10 Feb 24 @ 2:09 pm
GadgetMan
Quoted - rather than edited - sorry...
Posted Sat 10 Feb 24 @ 2:09 pm
GadgetMan
Quoted - rather than edited - sorry...
Posted Sat 10 Feb 24 @ 2:11 pm
GadgetMan
Quoted - rather than edited - sorry...
Posted Sat 10 Feb 24 @ 2:12 pm