VBE_Extras catch-up #7: Backup and restore your Settings

When I first made VBE_Extras available for download, it contained a whole load of functionality that I never wrote blog posts about. I'm now setting that right for a few of the core areas of that functionality.

VBE_Extras allows you to customise its behaviour in many ways. Most of these "settings" are controlled via the Settings dialog (in the VBE's main menu, select: Extras > Settings). As of May 2026, there are 19 tabs with 151 settings in the Settings dialog (not all tabs and settings apply in every host application so the number can vary slightly).

If you're like me, one of the first things you will do when you get a new bit of software is to go to the Settings and see what you can customise to your needs ... turning functionality off that you don't like or won't use; turning functionality on that you do like but isn't switched on by default. Customising other things to make them work better for the way that you work (BTW, if you're looking for a specific settings and cannot find it, use Find Setting).

It would be really annoying if you got a new device and had to manually copy all of those Settings to the new device. Could take ages. Handily, then, VBE_Extras includes a way to backup your Settings and then to restore them on another device (or restore them on the same device if you needed to rebuild it for some reason).

To backup/save your Settings, in the main VBE menu, select: Extras > Help > Settings > Backup/save.

To restore/load your Settings, in the main VBE menu, select: Extras > Help > Settings > Restore/load.

As well as the Settings in the Settings dialog, backing-up and restoring your settings includes any Themes that you have created along with the various preferences for how other dialogs are displayed (for example, the dialog that shows a list of declarations, the dialog that shows a list of references, the rename dialog etc).

There's also an option to reset your Settings to the defaults: in the main VBE menu, select: Extras > Help > Settings > To defaults.