12.1 install question
I am new to IntelliJ Idea and just got everything setup not long ago for version 12.0.4 for Scala and Android Development. I configured everything the way I wanted it and got the necessary plugins etc. and have a few projects just underway. I see there is now a 12.1 version available but there was no way to update. There was only the option to download again. When I went to install the new version the first thing it asked me was if I wanted it to uninstall the old version 12.0.4. I would say yes if I knew that it retain all my configurations, plugins etc. and I could just continue developing. What does or doesn't happen on a new install? Thanks
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You should be okay to install the upgrade. Most of the settings are maintained outside the install directory. I'm on OS X and all the settings, caches and logs are all under ~<username>/Library directory structure. Similar situation on Windows. I will tell you that 12.1 does upgrade the Scala plug-in. Support for Play2 framework is better in 12.1. Old projects will open fine from 12.0.4 to 12.1. Sometimes you might need to Invalidate Caches after an upgrade but most of the time not.
Grant
Almost all user settings are stored out of the installation directory. See http://devnet.jetbrains.com/docs/DOC-181 for details.
(BTW, uninstaller _has_ an option to remove user configs. Be sure to keep it checked off.)
Regards,
Alexander.
To add to what Grant and Alexander said, if you want to be extra safe and cautious, you can backup your settings. You can either manually backup the "config" directory shown in the document Alexander posted. Or you can use the Export/Import settings feature in IDEA. From the welcome screen, click Configure and then Export settings. From within IDEA, go to File > Export settings. Again, this is just an extra level of precaution. I've never lost my settings in the 10 years I've been using IDEA. But things happen. Periodically exporting your settings is also just a good general backup strategy in case of a drive failure.