If you’re reading this, chances are you already know that My Digital Studio is going to be discontinued as of May 31, 2015.  As it stands, you will not be able to access anything related to MDS after this date.  This includes purchased MDS downloads and the software itself.  While support will cease for MDS after May 31, your files and software will continue to function.  However, you never know if a new version of Windows or Mac OS X is going to break MDS.

We know you’ve put a lot of time and money into your collections, and want to make sure you don’t lose what you have!    For that reason, we are taking the time to make sure you know how retrieve your downloads before they disappear.

Below are some steps to follow in order to make sure you have everything you want out of your Digital Download Manager.  For you visual learners, a video is linked at the end of this article that covers just about everything that follows.

1. Find out what you’ve already purchased
   1. Demonstrator downloads are located on the demonstrator website.  Log in as a demonstrator, click on ‘Ordering’ in the upper left hand corner, then on ‘Digital Download’ on the right hand side, under Ordering Options.  This will open a popup window, so if you don’t see the window, turn off your popup blocker and try it again.
   2. Customer downloads are located on your Stampin’ Up! online store account profile, under the downloads tab.
   3. The Digital Download Manager is now visible.  This will list every MDS purchase you’ve ever made.  You want to use this list of purchases to compare what you already have downloaded.
      1. If you have many purchases, you can’t simply print from here.  The window is set up to be endless scroll, and won’t load all your purchases at one time.  You have to keep scrolling down until it doesn’t load any more product.
   4. Print this list for future reference.  Whether you print a paper copy or a PDF copy of this list is up to you.
      1. Mac users can press ‘Command’ + ‘P’ together to print the list, and have the option to save it as a PDF by clicking on the ‘PDF’ button in the lower left corner of the print dialog.
      2. Windows users can print by pressing ‘CTRL’ + ‘P’ together.  If you’re a windows user and don’t have an option to save as PDF, you can download CutePDF Writer for free.
   5. Compare the list to what you already have downloaded to your computer.  The easiest way is to search for the title of the Digital Download, i.e. ‘Always Elegant’.  Download any sets you might be missing, as you won’t be able to get them after May 31, 2015.
      1. Mac Users can search using Spotlight, the magnifying glass in the upper right corner of your screen, or by pressing ‘Command’ + ‘F’ in the Finder window.
      2. Windows users can search by clicking the Start button, and typing the title in the ‘Search’ window
2. Types of downloads
   1. When downloading your MDS files from the download manager, you have three options.  The first two are self-explanatory:  If you’re using Windows, download the Windows installer.  If you’re using Mac, download the Mac installer.
      1. These installers place the files exactly where they need to go in order for MDS to find them.  On Windows, these files are typically located at C:\Program Files (x86)\My Digital Studio\Components.  For Mac users, these are typically located in Applications\My Digital Studio\Components
      2. The installers contain a mix of file types:  .jpg, .png, and most importantly, .svg (Scalable Vector Graphics).  The installers are the ONLY download files that contain .svg files.
   2. The third download option is ‘Other Applications’.  You will want to download this for each of your digital purchases if you plan on using another graphics program in the future.  For example, Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, or Illustrator.
      1. The ‘Other Applications’ download also contains .jpg and .png files, as well as a .abr (Adobe Brush) file.  This brush file equates into a “Stamp” for Adobe Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, and Illustrator.
   3. We’ll talk more about what to do with these files at a later time.  For now, its enough for you to have them downloaded from Stampin’ Up!

To recap, you want to log in to Stampin’ Up! and download not only the Installer, but also the Other Applications file, for all your MDS purchases.  You’ll be able to use the Other Applications files in, well, other applications.  Take the time to download the MDS software itself:  That way, if you need to reinstall it at a later time, you have a copy of it. You won’t have another chance after May 31 to get these.

Stay tuned for more information.