# Hardware Profiles

Hardware Profiles let you save and switch between completely different hardware configurations with one click. This is ideal if you have multiple physical simulators — for example, a racing cockpit and a flight setup — and want to swap between them without manually reconfiguring sim components and outputs each time.

***

## Overview

A hardware profile captures your entire hardware setup:

* **Sim Components** — all the hardware configured in the Sim Config tab
* **Outputs** — all the output devices configured in the Outputs tab

When you switch hardware profiles, both your sim components and outputs are replaced atomically, so your configuration always stays consistent.

***

## The HW Profile Selector

The **HW Profile:** selector is visible on both the **Sim Config** tab and the **Outputs** tab — the two tabs where hardware configuration happens. As you switch between these tabs, the selector moves with you so you always have quick access to profile management. It contains:

* A **dropdown** showing the currently active hardware profile
* A **Save** button to save changes to the active profile
* An **⋯ (actions) button** with additional options (Save As New…, Revert to Saved, Rename…, Delete)

### Default Profile

On first launch, a **Default** hardware profile is automatically created from your current configuration. This ensures your settings are always captured in a profile. The Default profile can be renamed or deleted just like any other profile.

### Unsaved Changes Indicator

When you modify sim components or outputs while a profile is active, the dropdown displays the profile name with an asterisk — for example, **MyProfile \***. This tells you at a glance that your current configuration differs from what's saved in the profile.

***

## Creating a Hardware Profile

1. Set up your sim components in the **Sim Config** tab and your outputs in the **Outputs** tab as desired.
2. Click the **⋯** button next to the HW Profile dropdown and choose **Save As New…**.
3. Enter a name for your profile (e.g., "Racing Cockpit" or "Flight Setup").
4. Click **OK**. Your current hardware configuration is now saved as a hardware profile.

### Naming Rules

* Profile names can be up to **50 characters** long.
* The following special characters are not allowed: `\ / : * ? " < > |`

***

## Switching Profiles

1. Click the **HW Profile** dropdown.
2. Select the profile you want to activate.
3. Your sim components and outputs will be replaced with the ones saved in that profile.

If you have unsaved changes when switching, a prompt will appear with three options:

* **Save & Switch** — saves your current changes to the active profile, then switches
* **Discard & Switch** — discards your unsaved changes and switches immediately
* **Cancel** — stays on the current profile without switching

> **Note:** Profile switching is disabled while motion is active. Stop motion before switching profiles.

***

## Reverting to Saved

If you've made changes you want to undo, you can reload the profile's saved configuration:

1. Click the **⋯** button next to the HW Profile dropdown.
2. Select **Revert to Saved**.
3. Your sim components and outputs will be restored to the last saved state of the active profile.

This discards all unsaved changes and removes the asterisk from the dropdown.

***

## Renaming a Profile

1. Click the **⋯** button next to the HW Profile dropdown.
2. Select **Rename…**.
3. Enter the new name and click **OK**.

***

## Deleting a Profile

1. Click the **⋯** button next to the HW Profile dropdown.
2. Select **Delete**.
3. Confirm the deletion when prompted.

After deleting a profile, the dropdown will show no active profile, and your current sim components and outputs will remain unchanged.

***

## Tips

* **Your active profile is remembered** — when you restart DR Sim Manager, the last active profile is automatically restored.
* **Watch for the asterisk** — a `*` next to the profile name means you have unsaved changes. Use **Revert to Saved** to discard them, or save via **Save As New…** to keep them.
* **Name profiles descriptively** — names like "2DOF Racing Cockpit" or "6DOF Flight Setup" make it easy to identify each setup at a glance.
* **Upgrading from an older version?** Your existing profiles are automatically migrated — no manual steps required.
* If a profile's saved data becomes corrupted, DR Sim Manager will display a clear error message instead of crashing, so you can recreate the profile.

***

## What's Saved in a Hardware Profile

A hardware profile is a snapshot of two configurations:

| Configuration      | Source Tab | Description                                                                                                                |
| ------------------ | ---------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Sim Components** | Sim Config | All simulator components — type, dimensions, geometry, travel limits, overallocation, and any component-specific settings. |
| **Outputs**        | Outputs    | All output devices — type, connection settings, axis-to-port mapping, and device-specific configuration.                   |

Profiles do **not** include motion profiles (cue settings), game selections, application settings, or shortcuts. These remain shared across all hardware profiles.

***

## Use Cases

### Multiple Physical Simulators

If you have more than one rig — for example a racing cockpit with a hexapod and a flight setup with a different controller — create a hardware profile for each. Switching profiles reconfigures everything in one click instead of manually adjusting components and outputs.

### Different Configurations for the Same Rig

You might use different output settings depending on the situation:

* A "Full Motion" profile with all axes active.
* A "Quiet Mode" profile with reduced axes or lower output ranges for late-night sessions.
* A "Demo" profile with conservative settings for showing the rig to guests.

### Solo vs. Shared Use

Create one profile optimized for your preferences and another with safer, more conservative settings for when others use the rig.

***

## How Switching Profiles Affects the Current Session

When you switch hardware profiles:

1. The current sim components and outputs are **completely replaced** with those saved in the target profile.
2. The UI immediately reflects the new configuration — the Sim Config and Outputs tabs update.
3. If you have unsaved changes, you'll be prompted to save, discard, or cancel.

{% hint style="warning" %}
Profile switching is disabled while motion is active. Stop motion before switching profiles.
{% endhint %}

***

## Migration from Legacy "Rigs" System

If you used an older version of DR Sim Manager that had "Rigs" instead of "Hardware Profiles," your saved rigs are automatically migrated to the new system on first launch after updating. No manual steps are required — your existing configurations are preserved with the same names.

***

## Profile File Location

Hardware profiles are stored on disk at:

```
%localappdata%\DRSimManager\HardwareProfiles\
```

Each profile is a subfolder containing two files:

```
HardwareProfiles/
├── Default/
│   ├── sim.json
│   └── outputs.json
└── Flight Setup/
    ├── sim.json
    └── outputs.json
```

These are standard JSON files and can be manually backed up, copied, or transferred to another machine. See [Configuration File Reference](/dr-sim-manager/advanced/config-files.md) for more details on file locations and backup procedures.


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