By Mark Kuiack

While distributions like Corel® LINUX® OS have taken the time and hassle out of installing Linux, the process of copying over all of your special preferences from the Windows® platform can still be time consuming for some. The leap to Linux is now easier than ever, but nobody wants to go through the tedious process of restoring every bookmark, e-mail preference and desktop option that they have set over the years.

For this reason, Corel LINUX OS Second Edition was released with Corel® SmartMove, an incredibly easy-to-use utility for transferring Windows-based application settings over to the Linux platform. This article will show you how easy it is to make yourself feel at home in your new Linux environment using Corel SmartMove.

Get Moving! … Running Corel SmartMove
Once you're ready to start copying over your Windows settings, open Corel SmartMove by clicking Application Starter | Applications | System | SmartMove (illustrated below). If you are using Windows NT® or Windows 2000, choose SmartMove (root) and you will be prompted to type the root user's password. You'll also notice the SmartMove Restore Utility which we'll explore a little later.

Running Corel SmartMove from the Corel LINUX OS desktop

Importing Your Windows-Based Application Settings in Five Simple Steps

Step 1 – Selecting a Windows Directory
After opening Corel SmartMove, you'll be brought to Step 1 (the lovely graphics on the left-hand side of the SmartMove window let you know what step you're on) where you'll be asked to select a Windows directory (shown below). Corel SmartMove lets you migrate application settings from Windows 95/98/2000 and Windows NT. The Smart Windows detection feature should list all the Windows folders from which you can move over application settings; however, if it doesn't detect a Windows folder for whatever reason, you can disable the smart detection and navigate to your desired Windows folder. Once you've selected a Windows folder, click "Next" to move on to Step 2.

Step 1 – Selecting a Windows directory

Step 2 – Selecting a Windows User
In Step 2, you can choose the user whose settings you want to import to Linux (illustrated below). Simply select a user from the Users List and click "Next" to move on to Step 3. Before advancing to Step 3, you'll see our cute penguin friend (shown to the right) who will politely ask you to "Please Wait" for Wine to be initialized. This can take a matter of seconds, or longer, depending on the size of the Windows registry chosen.

Step 2 – Selecting a Windows user

Step 3 – Selecting Plug-ins and Setting Your Import Options
This is where things really start to happen. Here you'll see a list of Windows-based plug-ins, each with a group of options that you can import (illustrated below). If any of the plug-ins are disabled (grayed out), this means that they were not initially installed on the Windows system, so naturally no settings can be imported. A grayed out box with a check mark in it means that only part of the category or sub-category can be installed. For example, you can't import both your Netscape Navigator® and Microsoft® Internet Explorer settings—you have to pick one. You'll also notice Select All (denoted by the checkmark) and Deselect All (denoted by the 'x') buttons to make the selection process even easier for you.

Step 3 – Selecting the settings you'd like to import to Corel LINUX OS

Remember: you don't have to import all the settings for a particular plug-in. For example, Corel SmartMove gives you the power to import only your Netscape® bookmarks if that's all you need. Simply click on a plug-in to view all of the import options available to you. To find out what all these different options mean, let's delve a little deeper into the import capabilities for each Windows-based plug-in:

• Multimedia: The Winamp Importer lets you import your Playlist, Equalizer and General Settings (which include "Repeat", "Random skin", "Volume", "Shuffle" and more) for export to your XMMS player (included with Corel LINUX OS Second Edition). Selecting "Overwrite Playlist" will replace your current XMMS Playlist with the one you're importing.

• Instant Messenger: The ICQ Importer lets you import your Personal User Information (UIN, nickname, password), User Contacts (UIN, first name, last name, nickname, e-mail), Server Settings (server name, port number), Sound Settings (message arrival, user online, etc.) and User Profiles to KICQ on Linux. The "Overwrite Contacts" option lets you either replace your contacts completely or append your new contacts to the existing list.

• Internet Chat: The MIRC Importer lets you import your Server and User settings from mIRC on Windows for use with kvIRC on Linux.

• Internet Browsers: You'll have to select either Internet Exlporer or Netscape Navigator to import. Here you can import your Start Page (the page that's opened when you launch your browser), Proxy Settings (http, ftp, gopher, socks, https), Cookies, and Favorites or Bookmarks. From Internet Explorer, you can also import your Typed URLs (the drop down list of the most recently visited URLs). The "Overwrite Current Bookmarks" option allows you to replace your Netscape Linux bookmarks with your imported bookmarks or have them added to your existing list.

• Internet Mail: You'll have to select the settings of one of the e-mail plug-ins to import. The Netscape Mail, Office Outlook® and Outlook Express importers let you import the settings for your User Identity Info (full name, e-mail, organization, smtp display name) and Mail Server (server name, login, smtp server name). You can also import your News Server name from both Netscape Mail and Outlook Express. If you're importing settings from Netscape Mail, you will also be able to pick from a list of User Profiles.

• Desktop Settings: The Display Settings Importer lets you import fun stuff like your Desktop Colors (desktop, background, title bars, etc.), and Wallpaper. The "Apply to All Desks" check box lets you apply your imported settings to all your virtual desktops in Corel LINUX OS Second Edition, should you wish to do so. The Mouse Settings Importer lets you import the Right/Left Handness of your mouse as well as the Mouse Motion (speed of the mouse).

• Drives: The Network Drive Importer ports the persistent Network drives in Windows to Samba shares.

Step 4 – Specifying the Settings to Import and the Destination Linux Plug-ins
In Step 4, Corel SmartMove does most of the work for you. You simply have to enable the check boxes for the Windows-based applications you're importing; on the right hand side, you'll be shown the Linux-based application(s) to which the application settings can be moved (shown below). Once you're satisfied with your choices, click "Next" to move on to the final step. If you want to create a backup of Linux-based application settings, click "Configure" and enable the "Backup If Possible" check box.

Step 4 – Specifying the settings to import and the destination Linux plug-ins

The Final Step – Reviewing the Selections List
The Final Step (shown below) isn't really a step at all, but more of a review of what you've done so far. Just verify that everything is correct in the Selections List and click "Finish" to start importing your Windows-based applications settings into Corel LINUX OS Second Edition.

The Final Step – Reviewing your selections

You should now see a set of status bars that let you know things are happening. Once the status bars reach 100%, click Close and—believe it or not—you're done! You can also click "Export Log File" to save the log file that Corel SmartMove automatically generates. Now, if you've changed settings like your Desktop Colors and Wallpaper, you should be able to see your changes take effect immediately. But, should you come to the sudden realization that your brown, orange and pink desktop color scheme isn't as attractive as you once thought, don't worry. It's even easier to revert back to your old Linux settings…

On Second Thought … The SmartMove Restore Utility
The SmartMove Restore Utility (illustrated below) is as simple as simple gets. Just enable the check boxes of the Linux-based applications you want to restore and click (you guessed it) "Restore". Now, close the status box and you should see your settings reverted back to the way they were before you brought in your Windows settings.

The SmartMove Restore Utility

So, with the SmartMove utility in Corel LINUX OS Second Edition, you can now import all of your favorite Windows settings into Linux without the fear of permanently overwriting anything. Corel SmartMove makes unnecessary headaches like setting your old desktop preferences and reassembling your mass of Internet bookmarks a thing of the past. Whether you're making the permanent switch to Linux or coexisting with Windows, Corel SmartMove will make you feel right at home in your new Linux environment.

Corel SmartMove is available as part of Corel LINUX OS Second Edition.

Mark Kuiack is a full-time Web Copy Writer for Corel Corporation and Editor of Linux.Corel.com.