You can run multiple virtual instances of Toad from the command line to overcome that limitation. When you run multiple virtual instances of Toad, each has its own temporary App Data location that is isolated from your primary instance.
Virtual instances can be temporary or permanent. By default, the virtual instance is temporary and is automatically cleaned up when Toad exits, including the work performed. To retain any work that you do in a virtual instance, use the KEEPFILES option in the startup command. KEEPFILES saves the files to the standard Windows temporary directory unless you use the BASEPATH option to specify a different directory. If you omit those options, work can be saved individually to any local directory from the virtual instance.
Reasons to use multiple Toad instances include, but are not limited to, the following:
- You need to run a script that will take a long time to execute and you want to be able to check on it occasionally, but you do not want it to affect the work in your primary instance of Toad. Run the script in the background in the virtual instance.
- You are writing a Toad app in the Automation Designer and you want to test it, but you do not want its history saved in the default execution log. Run the app in a virtual instance so that the app writes to the execution log of that instance.
- Toad appears to be frozen while processing work, and you want to continue working in another instance or do some troubleshooting.
- You want to preserve settings in the primary Toad application while trying different ones temporarily. Use a virtual instance for your tests.
- You work on multiple projects with multiple source repositories and you want to keep them separate in Toad. Keep one project in your main Toad instance and launch a virtual instance for the other project.
- You suspect corruption or other problems with your user files in the main Toad instance. You can start a virtual instance with the CLEAN option, and then test to see if the same error appears. Alternatively, you can start a virtual instance without the CLEAN option and then test different settings to reproduce the problem.
To launch a virtual instance of Toad
Start the command string with the Toad.exe command and the /VIRTUAL option, using any of the other options as needed.
Example:
"C:\Program Files\Dell\Toad for Oracle 2016 R2 Suite\Toad for Oracle 12.10\Toad.exe /VIRTUAL BASEPATH=C:\VirtualToad KEEPFILES
"C:\Program Files\Dell\Toad for Oracle 2016 R2 Suite\Toad for Oracle 12.10\Toad.exe" /VIRTUAL CLEAN
| Commands to manage virtual Toad instances | Description | | /VIRTUAL | (Required) Starts a virtual instance of Toad with its own private App Data folder. | | BASEPATH="path" | Instructs Toad to create its private folder under the specified directory path. By default, Toad creates its private folder in the standard Windows directory for temporary files (usually c:\temp). | | CLEAN | Instructs Toad to run as a clean install. If this is not specified, Toad attempts to clone the primary App Data folder. This can also be helpful in tracking down potential issues with user files. | | COPYFROM="path" | Instructs Toad to clone user settings and files from the specified path. This is similar to the standard USERPATH parameter, but it clones the specified path, rather than simply using it. The path should point to the path that contains the User Files folder. This option and USERPATH are mutually exclusive. | | KEEPFILES | Retains the private App Data folder after Toad exits. The folder is retained either in the BASEPATH location, if specified at startup, or otherwise in the standard Windows temporary directory. By default, Toad will not retain user files or settings from a virtual instance. | | USERPATH="path" | Specifies a user-defined folder to use as the App Data folder. TOAD will use that folder rather than the standard AppData location. This is useful if you want to run TOAD from external media, such as a USB flash drive, and not have TOAD create an AppData folder on the machine. This option cannot be used with the /VIRTUAL option because it does not allow TOAD to run in multiple instances (each instance of TOAD would use the same AppData path). This option and COPYFROM are mutually exclusive. |
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