Restoring Chief Architect Content

The information in this article applies to:

QUESTION

What is the best way to restore Chief Architect or Home Designer files that I've backed up?

ANSWER

There are different types of Chief Architect/Home Designer files that you can back up and restore, including:

• The Program
  
• Core, Bonus, and Manufacturer Catalogs
• User Catalog
• Plans and Layouts
• Toolbars, Hotkeys, Templates, and other user data
  

When restoring backed up files, it is helpful to know how to copy and paste files in your operating system's file system. There are several ways, and all are easy.

When restoring files associated with Chief Architect or Home Designer, it is important that the software not be running.

To copy and paste files

1. Open the File Explorer in Windows or Finder in macOS, navigate to a file you would like to copy to the system Clipboard, and select it.
   
   
   
2. If you would like to select multiple files, hold down the Ctrl key on your keyboard if you're using Windows, or the Command key if you're using a Mac, then click on additional files to add them to your selection.
   
   
   
3. Copy the selected file or files to the Clipboard:
   
   
   • On Windows, click the Copy button in the Home ribbon, right-click and select Copy from the contextual menu, or press Ctrl + C.
     
     
   • On macOS, select Edit> Copy from the menu bar, right-click (Control-click) and select Copy from the contextual menu, or press Command + C.
     
     

     On a Mac, hold down the Control key while clicking to initiate a right-click command. More information about right-click commands on Apple input devices can be found in the following Apple resource: Right-click on Mac.

   
   
   
4. Once they are copied to the Clipboard, navigate to the location where you would like to paste a copy of the selected file(s).
   
   
   
5. Paste the selected file or files:
   
   
   • On Windows, click the Paste button in the Home ribbon, right-click and select Paste from the contextual menu, or press Ctrl + V.
     
     
   • On macOS, select Edit> Paste Item from the menu bar, right-click and select Paste Item from the contextual menu, or press Command + V.

To restore the software

1. Double-click the Chief Architect or Home Designer installer file.
   
   
   • On Windows, the installer may look like the icon below:
     
     
     
     
   • On macOS, the installer may look like the icon below:
     
     
     
   
   
   Note: The name of the file will vary depending on what version of the program installer you have, but in general, the file name will begin with the product title, followed by a version number, and ending with the .msi file extension on Windows, and .dmg on a Mac.
   
   
2. The Setup Wizard will appear. Click Next.
   
   
   
3. Read the End User License Agreement carefully, agree to the terms, then click Install to proceed with the installation process.
   
   
   
4. Once the program has been installed successfully, click Finish.
   
   

   For information on installing your Chief Architect program on multiple computers, please see the Related Articles section below.
   

   
   

You can now open the Chief Architect or Home Designer program; but, if you want to use backed up library content or user settings, you may want to restore that data first.

To restore the Core, Bonus, and Manufacturer Catalogs

It's important that the Chief Architect or Home Designer program is not running when you perform the steps below.

1. Browse to the file location where you saved your library backups.
   
   
   
2. Select the folder or folders you wish to restore. These folders may include one or more of the following:
   
   
   • Bonus Libraries
   • Core Libraries
   • Manufacturer Data
   • Manufacturer Libraries
   • Referenced Files
     
   
   

   Do NOT back up or restore the Program_Data folder or the dont_change.dat file. They contain unique, encrypted registration information and if you try to use a copied and pasted version of either, your license registration will not be recognized by our registration server.

   
   
3. When the folders are selected as a group, copy them to the Clipboard, as described above.
   
   
   
4. Next, navigate to the default location for Chief Architect/Home Designer's library content:
   
   
   • On Windows, press the Windows Key and the letter R on your keyboard at the same time to open the Run dialog. Type %programdata% and then click OK to open the Program Data folder.
     
     
     
     
   • On macOS, open Finder, select Go > Go to Folder, type: /Library/Application Support then click Return.
     
     
     
   
   

   Note: If you have changed the location of the System Library Database Folder,you will want to instead navigate to your custom file location instead. Please see the "Moving Library Content to the Cloud or Other Custom Location" resource in the Related Articles section below to learn more.
   

   
   
5. Look for a folder with the name of the program and version that you want to restore data to and open it.
   
   For example, "Chief Architect Premier X16" or "Home Designer Pro 2025".
   
   
   
6. Paste the copied folders to that location, as described above.
   
   
   
7. If a folder with the same name exists in this location, a message will prompt you to either Replace the existing folder, Skip this folder and keep the existing one, or Stop the pasting process completely. Choose Replace to paste your backed up folder.
   
   
   
8. Open the Chief Architect or Home Designer program and verify that all of your catalogs are present in the Library Browser .
   
   

To restore the User Catalog

1. Launch the Chief Architect or Home Designer program and create a New Plan .
   
   
   
2. In the newly created plan, navigate to Library> Import Library from the menu.
   
   
   
   
   
3. Browse to the location where you saved the backup of your User Catalog. 
   
   
   
4. Select the library (*.calibz or *.calib) file and click Open.
   
   
   
5. Once imported, an Information message will display saying that the library has been imported successfully. Click OK.