Importing charts
You can import chart files by directly copying them from a USB stick, or across a network (e.g. your wireless router network) using File Explorer. Chart files end in the .SFcht file extension e.g. "MyCharts.SFcht".
Astro Gold for Windows keeps its chart files in the "Documents/Astro Gold" folder, by default. You can use "File Explorer" to manually copy/move any external chart file into this folder if you wish. Charts can be imported for example from Solar Fire or Astro Spark.
Exporting charts
1.You can export whole chart files by using "File Explorer" to manually copy the chart files from Astro Gold's chart folder (which by default is "Documents/Astro Gold") to your desired destination folder.
2.To attach any chart file to an email to send to someone else use File Explorer to navigate to the chart file location.
a.If you don't know where that it is look first in the "Documents/Astro Gold" folder.
b.If the chart file isn't there click on the Documents folder in the left-hand pane then navigate through the folders in the right-hand pane to where the chart file is located.
c.Select the chart file, then right-click on it and in the pop-up menu click on Copy.
d.Next, find or create the email you want to send then right-click in the message area and click on the left-most icon that is directly under Paste or Paste Options. This will attach the chart file to the email.
e.If that doesn't work press Ctrl+V (press down the Control key and while holding it down press down the V key). This will attach the chart file to the email.
"iCloud Drive" is a service for storing files in the cloud, or on the internet in other words. It is a service provided by Apple that you have to sign up for, and when you do you get 5GB of free storage of your computer files stored on Windows or on your iOS or MacOS devices (iPhone, iPad, Mac computer etc).
Thus Astro Gold for Windows is also able to (optionally) store its charts on the internet in "iCloud Drive". When you do this all your Apple devices can also access the same chart files, which are automatically kept in synch, and remain there even if you delete Astro Gold off your computer or another device.
•You must have iCloud enabled for the device(s) on which you want to use this feature, following each app's prompts to switch to "iCloud Drive". In particular note that you must sign on to the "iCloud Drive" with the identical Apple ID on each device you want to use this feature.
•The first device on which you enable this feature will be the one whose chart files are moved onto iCloud. When you enable this feature on any other devices later on, they will lose access to their own local chart files, and instead link to the chart files moved across to the cloud from the first device that was enabled to store its files on "iCloud Drive".
IMPORTANT: After setting up "iCloud Drive" on the first device, before you enable/activate the "iCloud Drive" on a second or subsequent devices, it is a good idea that you check these subsequent devices for any charts that only exist on these devices.
If you have such charts, and want to keep them, first export those charts to the first device (for example, send them as an attachment to an email), and then open them in Astro Gold on the first device. This will then automatically put those charts on the "iCloud Drive", and so you will not lose them when enabling iCloud on these subsequent devices.
<< To set up iCloud Drive to store your charts on it
➢ Install iCloud for Windows from the Microsoft Store, sign in with your Apple Account, then turn on iCloud Drive in the Windows iCloud app. After that, iCloud Drive appears as a folder in File Explorer, where you can open, edit, and add files like any other folder.
1)Press the Windows button, type "Microsoft Store", then click on Microsoft Store in the search results, which loads the Microsoft Store app.
2)In the Microsoft Store app, type in the search bar at the top "iCloud for Windows" then click on iCloud in the search results, then Get.
3)Once iCloud is installed, find the app via the Start button, Apps - then click on it to launch it. Follow the instructions to setup "iCloud for Windows" on your computer.
4)Open iCloud for Windows if it isn't already open and if you haven't already sign in with the same Apple Account you use on your Apple devices.
5)Turn on "iCloud Drive".
6)Click Done or Apply to finish setup.
➢ Once enabled, "iCloud Drive" shows up in File Explorer and syncs files between your Windows PC and your Apple devices. You can also choose a different location for the folder. The first step is to check that you actually have the "iCloud Drive" turned on:
1)Close Astro Gold
2)From its icon on the Windows Taskbar (if you put it there) or via the Start menu / Apps, launch the iCloud app.
3)Sign in with the same Apple Account you use on your Apple devices
4)Find iCloud Drive in the list and turn it on.
5)Click Done or Apply to apply the change.
➢ Now you are ready to tell Astro Gold to use the "iCloud Drive":
1)Open Astro Gold.
2)Start off by selecting a chart, by opening one in the normal way (see Opening charts).
3)As you do, in the "Saved Charts" dialog click on the Files button, then Browse/Open Chart Files. In the window that opens, on the left hand pane in you will see your "iCloud Drive".
4)Click on it and in the pane on the right you will see the Astro Gold folder.
5)Click on the Astro Gold folder, and your chart files will be displayed on the pane to the right of that.
6)You can then select a chart file and click on the Open button.
<< How many charts can be stored on the iCloud Drive?
You can store up to 5GB of data for free on your iCloud Drive. This includes all of your files, not just Astro Gold files.
You may need to pay for extra storage. However each Astro Gold chart takes up only about 200 bytes of storage, so even a chart file with 1000 charts would only take about 0.2MB of storage. Hence in practical terms any extra storage space requirement is much more likely to be prompted by your other file types.
General information about the iCloud storage service
Any file you put in the iCloud Drive stays in there until you delete it from the iCloud drive.
Apple has thousands of computers (called "servers") on the internet, all interconnected, which is what makes up the iCloud storage system, and your files are stored on some of those computers.
Your files are not just stored on one computer though - at any one time there will be several copies of your files stored on different computers. Therefore if one computer goes down for some reason, your files aren't lost because there will be copies of them on at least one other computer.
See above for setting up iCloud on your MacOS computer, or see here for setting it up on other devices: Set up iCloud on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
Once you have done this you will have an "iCloud Drive" folder on your computer or device that you can store files in. This folder and its files will be replicated (mirrored) on any other devices where you have set-up iCloud, and also in your iCloud Drive on the internet.
To access your iCloud Drive on your computer/device you can just go to it directly the same way you access any of your folders and files on your computer or that device. For example on Mac computers (they have the MacOS operating system) you can use the "Finder" app to find your folders and files, and in Finder you can clearly see your iCloud Drive listed in the left-hand pane. Just double-click on it to open it.
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To see your iCloud Drive on the internet though, you will need to use a browser (on a Mac computer use the Safari app), and then type in www.icloud.com and press the Enter key. You will then have to log in with your Apple ID, and enter your Apple ID password.
Once you are in there you will see several icons, and one of them says iCloud Drive. Double-click on it to open it, and you will see perhaps several things, but there will be one or more folders called "Astro Gold". If there is only one, double-click on that to see your chart files. If there are more than one Astro Gold folder you may have chart files in more than one.
In any event, if you see your chart files in there, they are safe, no matter what.
