Support and Downloads grumble! including Railmaster exe file latest download and important files to back up

[Michael_A]

Why is it so hard to find the Railmaster exe files and other useful information like which files to back up?

 

I looked in the Downloads and Support areas of the Hornby Website, and neither is particularly helpful. So I hope th efollowing helps:

 

Link

 

to Railmaster exe setup files:

 

http://www.powerpos.com/rail-master/rm_setup.exe

 

And for important files to back up:

 

HornbyRailMasterSupport said:

 

If you want to backup data that you have created within RailMaster, the files to copy

 

are as follows:-

 

Resource.mdb This contains all of the locos you set up

Groups.dat This contains details of loco groups you set up

*.pln These are track plan files

*.prg These are RailMaster program files for automation

 

You should never

 

copy the entire RailMaster folder onto another PC or the latter installation will not work. RailMaster must be installed properly from the CD or downloaded setup file. Only then can you copy the above files into the new RailMaster folder.

 

The program

 

folder which contains all of the above files (assuming you did not alter any of the default setup properties) is C:Program Files (x86)RailMaster. On Windows XP and earlier, it is just C:Program FilesRailMaster.

 

The next major update of RailMaster

 

will contain a backup routine to automate this. In the mean time you can either copy the files manually, or if you know your way around batch files you could create a small batch file to copy the required files onto another medium e.g.:-

 

Copy "c:program

 

files (x86)railmasterresource.mdb" e:

Copy "c:program files (x86)railmastergroups.dat" e:

Copy "c:program files (x86)railmaster*.pln" e:

Copy "c:program files (x86)railmaster*.prg" e:

 

The above batch file assumes your backup

 

medium (e.g. USB memory stick) is located on drive e: although you can change this in the batch file if it a different drive letter. Batch files can be edited in the Windows Notepad text editor and saved with the file name something.bat. You can then create

 

a shortcut to the file and run it from a single icon.

 

[RDS]

@Michael_A

Thank you for some very useful information. The timing is excellent because I have been looking, only this morning, at writing a batch file to do a few things, in particular copy some important information to back-up.

 

If I want to

 

put the files within a specific folder on drive e (or any other I should choose) do I just add the folder name after e:, for example, e:temp.

Also, does the 'temp' file (I have suggested as an example) need to exist already or is there a command to create

 

it, that can be included in the batch file.

I notice that the source files are contained within "", but the destination files are not.

 

 

 

 

[PJ_model_trains]

RDS said:

@Michael_A
Thank you for some very useful information. The timing is excellent because I have been looking, only this morning, at writing a batch file to do a few things, in particular copy some important information to back-up.

If

I want to put the files within a specific folder on drive e (or any other I should choose) do I just add the folder name after e:, for example, e:temp.
Also, does the 'temp' file (I have suggested as an example) need to exist already or is there a command

to create it, that can be included in the batch file.
I notice that the source files are contained within "", but the destination files are not.

Hi RDS

This is what I use which includes RailMaster and TrackMaster

You will

see for me they go to a specified folder on D drive

Copy "c:program files (x86)railmasterresource.mdb" d:RailMaster
Copy "c:program files (x86)railmastergroups.dat" d:RailMaster
Copy "c:program files (x86)railmaster*.pln" d:RailMaster
Copy

"c:program files (x86)railmaster*.prg" d:RailMaster
Copy "c:program files (x86)trackmaster*.tp" d:TrackMaster

You can specify drive e etc and any folder path you have setup to save them to.

[RDS]

@PJ_model_trains

Thank you for your reply.

Does the folder path have to exist already, or is there a command to set one up?

 

[Fishmanoz]

PJ and RDS, you are stretching the brain matter here remembering DOS from the 90s, but hopefully my comments below will be correct.

 

I'm pretty sure your source file path and name doesn't need to be in quotes, but clearly it works with them too.

 

RDS,

 

as written your temp is a directory or a folder, not a file

 

There is certainly a DOS command to create a directory although simpler to just use Windows Explorer to do it. Don't include such a command in a batch file as it will want to create each time

 

it runs and the second time it will already be there.

 

You realise your batch file as written will back up all the standard track plans and programs included in Railmaster. This is not desirable as you may when copying saved files back to Rsilmaster

 

later overwrite the latest with an earlier version you saved. Much better to create your own files with a file name convention and say a 2 digit number following. Then you could back up all files of the type convention??.prg for example.

 

Hope that

 

helps rather then confuses.

[PJ_model_trains]

Fishmanoz said:

PJ and RDS, you are stretching the brain matter here remembering DOS from the 90s, but hopefully my comments below will be correct.

I'm pretty sure your source file path and name doesn't need to be in quotes, but clearly

it works with them too.

RDS, as written your temp is a directory or a folder, not a file

There is certainly a DOS command to create a directory although simpler to just use Windows Explorer to do it. Don't include such a command in a batch file

as it will want to create each time it runs and the second time it will already be there.

You realise your batch file as written will back up all the standard track plans and programs included in Railmaster. This is not desirable as you may when copying

saved files back to Rsilmaster later overwrite the latest with an earlier version you saved. Much better to create your own files with a file name convention and say a 2 digit number following. Then you could back up all files of the type convention??.prg

for example.

Hope that helps rather then confuses.

Hi Fishy

With TrackMaster I saved the layout at stages naming every file with the date eg 140108_name_stage I know files are dated but I do this because if you use the format

yymmdd the result is always in mathematical order.

Saving regularly and in stages is something I have always done (like backing up or synchronising) I guess it goes back to the days MicroSoft systems were unstable and I have had every version from 3.1

to 7 with all the variation between, business and personal, some where a complete nightmare. I am sure I don't need to say that.

[RDS]

@Fishmanoz

It's a good help. I only started using MS software when they introduced Windows so I missed the DOS days. I always had Acorn machines before that (and still have some)

You are right about 'temp' being a folder (directory in Acorn speak)

 

not a file.

As far as RailMaster is concerned, I only intend to use these .bat files for backing up my .prg files and I like the fact that it can pick .prg out of the RailMaster folder. (I remember a long time ago, one of my suggestions for Desirable features

 

was that programmes are stored in a separate folder to make them easy to find - I currently have all mine starting with RDS Prog to keep them altogether)

I will need to rename some of my folders to remove the spaces, because DOS obviously didn't like those.

 

[MetmanUK]

Fishmanoz said:

I'm pretty sure your source file path and name doesn't need to be in quotes, but clearly it works with them too.

If your file or folder name contains a space then you will need quotes.

[PJ_model_trains]

RDS said:

@Fishmanoz
It's a good help. I only started using MS software when they introduced Windows so I missed the DOS days. I always had Acorn machines before that (and still have some)
You are right about 'temp' being a folder (directory

in Acorn speak) not a file.
As far as RailMaster is concerned, I only intend to use these .bat files for backing up my .prg files and I like the fact that it can pick .prg out of the RailMaster folder. (I remember a long time ago, one of my suggestions

for Desirable features was that programmes are stored in a separate folder to make them easy to find - I currently have all mine starting with RDS Prog to keep them altogether)
I will need to rename some of my folders to remove the spaces, because DOS obviously

didn't like those.

I don't know why programmers don't create a folder for backing up important files, or better still include backup in the program where the user can set the destination.

It ensures the correct files are being backed

up, it stops people like me backing up some files that could over-write some files if copied back in. They would naturally have to include restore, which is probably why they don't include it as the owness is on them to ensure which version files are being

restored in to.

I am sure Hornby programmers could include backup and restore in very little time.

[Fishmanoz]

Thanks for that Metman, still learning something new every day about DOS after all these years. It keeps popping out from under the GUI doesn't it.

[Graskie]

Oh dear! For some reason I've developed a headache. I think I'll just wait until the new RM update comes out!

[PJ_model_trains]

RDS said:

@Fishmanoz
It's a good help. I only started using MS software when they introduced Windows so I missed the DOS days. I always had Acorn machines before that (and still have some)
You are right about 'temp' being a folder (directory

in Acorn speak) not a file.
As far as RailMaster is concerned, I only intend to use these .bat files for backing up my .prg files and I like the fact that it can pick .prg out of the RailMaster folder. (I remember a long time ago, one of my suggestions

for Desirable features was that programmes are stored in a separate folder to make them easy to find - I currently have all mine starting with RDS Prog to keep them altogether)
I will need to rename some of my folders to remove the spaces, because DOS obviously

didn't like those.

My computer days started with a Tandy green screen system. I then got a the first of the BBC Micro's. Wanting more I then puchased a 2nd processor running in CP-DOS. Those were the days when the two dos systems were fighting

for the market... 'Gates' won and the rest is history.

I have therefore always used the " " space or no space, I guess although technology has moved on old habits are hard to drop.

[MetmanUK]

PJ_model_trains said:

I don't know why programmers don't create a folder for backing up important files, or better still include backup in the program where the user can set the destination.

It ensures the correct files are

being backed up, it stops people like me backing up some files that could over-write some files if copied back in. They would naturally have to include restore, which is probably why they don't include it as the owness is on them to ensure which version files

are being restored in to.

I am sure Hornby programmers could include backup and restore in very little time.

Backing up files from the program could be problematic as they are likely to be in use (by the program). However, they could

make the backing up process much easier.

[MetmanUK]

Fishmanoz said:

Thanks for that Metman, still learning something new every day about DOS after all these years. It keeps popping out from under the GUI doesn't it.

Yes, it's still there although but now its no longer under

the GUI but a pseudo version/program run by Windows. I rarely use it except that my PC/server backup script is based on xcopy which for speed and efficiency cannot be beaten.

[Fishmanoz]

Graskie said:

Oh dear! For some reason I've developed a headache. I think I'll just wait until the new RM update comes out!

Graskie, don't whatever you do open a Command window on your desktop, the headache will be back in a blinding

flash. Then no choice but at least 6 hours in the darkened room in absolute quiet is likely to help.

[RDS]

MetmanUK said:

If your file or folder name contains a space then you will need quotes.

Thank you. That will save some time (and trouble) renaming folders and files with spaces.
Sorry for the slow response - I missed your

posting a couple of days ago.

[PJ_model_trains]

MetmanUK said:

PJ_model_trains said:

I don't know why programmers don't create a folder for backing up important files, or better still include backup in the program where the user can set the destination.

It ensures the correct

files are being backed up, it stops people like me backing up some files that could over-write some files if copied back in. They would naturally have to include restore, which is probably why they don't include it as the owness is on them to ensure which

version files are being restored in to.

I am sure Hornby programmers could include backup and restore in very little time.

Backing up files from the program could be problematic as they are likely to be in use (by the program). However, they

could make the backing up process much easier.

They could have the program put files they say we should backup in a separate folder so that they are the only ones we backup.

[RDS]

PJ_model_trains said:

They could have put the program files they say we should backup in a separate folder so that they are the only ones we backup.

I agree and in fact I added this very suggestion to the 'Desirable Features' thread

on the 14th July 2013.