[FEATURE REQUEST] PrusaSlicer Cloud Settings - Sync Settings between PCs

[weltermarcel]

Version

2.2.0

Operating system type + version

Win10

3D printer brand / version + firmware version (if known)

Original Prusa i3 MK3S

FEATURE REQUEST

Hi,

I use PrusaSlicer on several computers and each time I make tweaks on my print, filament or printer setting profiles, I have to export a ConfigBundle and import them on the other computers manually. I store the bundle file on a gdrive folder to make the syncing a little easier but if for any reason I forget to update the profiles on any of the machines with the latest profile settings and I then tweak some other things, then my new exported bundle contains a mix of old and new settings (depending on what I just changed / changed last time on the other computer)...

Now, another way to do this would be to automatically sync the .ini files on "C:\Users\USER\AppData\Roaming\PrusaSlicer" but the problem is that not all of the computers I use are on the same network and also not all of them run the same Prusa Slicer version all the time and I am not sure about cross-compatibility.

So a nice solution to this would be to be able to log into your account in PrusaSlicer and have all the settings stored on the cloud and getting to chose which settings should sync and which others not (like you get to do using the dropbox or gdrive apps). Also each time you open PrusaSlicer you could get a warning message letting you know there are new profiles available?

Maybe this is already on the pipeline or someone knows a workaround to this "issue"?

Marcel

[KD7LRJ]

Here's what I do in my Windows shortcut settings for starting Prusa Slicer (include the quotes as shown):

• Target: "C:\Program Files\Prusa3D\PrusaSlicer_2.3.0Alpha0_05.July.2020\prusa-slicer.exe" -datadir "G:\My Drive\3D Prints\PrusaSlicer\PreRelease_Settings"
• Start In: "G:\My Drive\3D Prints\PrusaSlicer\PreRelease_Settings"

I do need to restart the app to get it to reload the settings, but this has been working for me. I do not use multiple platforms, so YMMV.

...Doug

[renarsvilnis]

@KD7LRJ What folder does the PrusaSlicer for Windows contain? Wondering if it similar to what I have in MacOs in /Users/renarsvilnis/Library/Application Support/PrusaSlicer (see screenshot).

I'm currently looking into syncing settings between two Macs, have no issue creating symlinks from google drive as I do it already for a couple of dev-tools.

[KD7LRJ]

@KD7LRJ What folder does the PrusaSlicer for Windows contain?

The only addition in mine is a folder named "physical_printer," otherwise my list is identical to yours.

I should mention that using that option overrides the default behavior of the pre-release vs. release versions that try to keep their profiles in different locations. I just try to make a copy of the files occasionally, but mostly rely on the automatic snapshots taken during upgrades, etc..

As a side note that could probably be reported separately... The application acts like it's locked up when taking configuration snapshots. I'm guessing that when most people run that function on local drives, it's really quick and not noticeable, but when using a remote drive, it's a bit disconcerting for the 67 seconds that it takes (I just timed it) to start responding again. And before anyone asks about the speed of my internet connection...

[BraveSolo]

Why is this not baked into the Slicer? Its SO OBVIOUS! I run prusa slicer on 2 machines, and need to sync them_

[acekrystal]

I really need this feature too!

I wished Prusa would add better support for centralized configuration files... Since a few updates it has become harder and harder to keep using the "--datadir" way :

• Every update you need to go and find all shortcuts and edit this --datadir back in.
• If you open prusa-slicer related files directly slicer does not get opened through a modded shortcut and does not load in your config files
• Now these day's there are 2 shortcuts "Configure Automatic Updates" and "PrusaSlicer 2.5.0", I don't know if certain function stop working by only updating and making new shortcuts directly to "PrusaSlicer 2.5.0" file.
• Following up on the line above and this github #7567 issues, clearly feathers do fail and this is the first one I visually get feedback from that it fails. (Send System Info screen keeps opening on startup)

I'm using the --datadir to save my config files to a nextcloud synced folder, so I can use if over multiple PC's and even on laptop on remote locations to do my work. But it is just far from optimal. I even had one time the default config's overwrite my synced config files, losing all my configurations while at work by a customer under time pressure! I managed to get the files back by reverting backups and am now making backups before every update... but there is just so fragile using the --datadir way.

Please add a proper way to point to a synced profile location!

[DragonFinlay]

While I fully agree that the drawbacks of the datadir method are annoying and it would be nice to have a "proper" way to do this, think about how many people actually need something like this.

PrusaSlicer is mostly used by owners of Prusa printers, which are especially interesting if you're new to the 3D printing scene. I imagine the majority of our users would never make use of this feature at all, it's mostly "power-users" like us with more than one PC for slicing, or PCs in different locations.

I'll check with the team what is planned in this regard and how it can be implemented. Thanks for your comments!

[disconn3ct]

I imagine the majority of our users would never make use of this feature at all, it's mostly "power-users" like us with more than one PC for slicing, or PCs in different locations.

The number of existing solutions, for a variety of different slicers and printers at different user skill levels, seems to indicate that you are mistaken.

I know of at least 2 less technical printer owners who ended up just dedicating a laptop to 3d printing because of this issue. (Locally, I'm the only one who uses the printers anymore because of this. I have the "settings that work", and nobody is interested in going in circles aligning everything everything just to run off a quick print.)

If it were simpler to compare, edit and merge settings, this would be much less of an issue, but that UI is an entirely different challenge.

[MichaelKetchel]

I can attest to this being a royal pain in the butt. I have 2-3 computers that I do design and printing from; My very powerful desktop with multiple monitors for primary design and slicing, which is in a completely different end of the house, and either my Surface or laptop for tweaking and slicing from the print room. Additionally, I work in both Windows and Linux (because Fusion is windows only....sadness). I use Syncthing to try to selectively sync files, because the contents of the data directory are too tightly coupled with both the version of Prusaslicer as well as the platform, so syncing sometimes breaks things badly. I'd love to just store the datadir on my NAS, but for the reasons above, bad juju. But every time I come back, I'm left wondering where my definitive, most recent filament and slicer profiles are, because the way things save is weird if I forget to close Prusaslicer on another machine or one updates before the other. This is immensely frustrating, and knowing this headache awaits me often discourages from even starting printing projects, as mine often involve some tweaky filaments like TPU.

I don't care if Prusaslicer necessarily implements an internal sync, but I'd love to at least see it store data files in a more sync-friendly way; keeping the OS and local settings/recent files etc separate from the important stuff like printer and filament profiles, and perhaps being mildly aware of the version of those files so that when you update one instance, the others don't puke because the config is in the new format, but rather prompt for an update. The user can then use their favorite file sync system.

I think separate, dedicated printing areas are more common than you'd think, and are becoming more so as people become more aware of the issues surrounding particulate emissions from FDM printers, or fumes from filaments like ABS. Most people I know have their printers in their own room or closet now.

[rangersnuggles]

I have:
A desktop Mac in my home office
A desktop Mac in my office office
A Mac Laptop
A workshop PC running Windows

A LulzBot Mini in my office
A Prusa Mini, An Ender 3 S1, A Voron 2.4 and a Voron 0.2 en route.

I would really love a good way to keep Prusa Slicer settings consistent and synced between everything.

[tr1pp4]

would love to see this too.

Actually i run Prusa Slicer on one machine only, but rectently my SSD died and of course i do not backup all my settings frequently. It's 2023, we should spend time for other things than manual backups

Prusa could at least add a feature to automatically save the settings to a specified path, it's really not rocket science.
As a workaround i will setup a "mklink" to OneDrive, same a i do for other tools.

[anghelos]

I've made these scripts which kind of solve this for my use case, maybe it could be useful to you too: anghelos/prusaslicer-config-sync. I've also attempted a version for Mac/Linux, but haven't had the opportunity to thoroughly test it.