I’m moving Audacity 2.2.2. from a Windows 7 PC to a new Windows 10 PC and figure this might be a good time to upgrade to 2.3.3. I have several 2.2.2 chains that I don’t want to lose in the move. I was wondering how chains are converted to macros - does it happen automatically when you upgrade to 2.3.x ? Should I do a clean install of 2.3.3 on the Windows 10 machine and move the .cfg preferences file and “Chains” folder from the old PC manually, or install 2.2.2 on the new machine and restore the old .cfg and chains folder, then upgrade to 2.3.3 ? I remember trying out 2.3.0 on the old Windows 7 machine some time ago and having lots of trouble with the new macro behaviors, so reverted back to 2.2.2. Just looking for the most reliable chains-to-macros conversion.
The upgrade from Chains to Macros introduced a lot more features, but unfortunately could not entirely retain backward compatibility. (We do try to be backward compatible as far as possible, but on this occasion full compatibility was not possible.
Chains (and Macros) are stored as text files, and you will find them in the hidden folder:
C:\Users**user-name\Application Data\audacity**
where “user-name” is your log-in name.
I would recommend that you make a backup of the entire “Chains” folder before updating Audacity.
After updating Audacity, most of your Chains will probably still work, but any that break can be deleted and remade, using your backup copies as a guide.