---
title: Astro PM Settings
description: "Every app-wide switch in Astro PM lives in the Settings panel. This page walks each section top to bottom, listing every setting, its default, and what it actually changes. (Per-rig scheduling settings live in the [Nightly Simulator](/docs/nightly-simulator/), and equipment specifics…"
url: "https://astro-pm.com/docs/settings/"
updated: "2026-07-12"
category: Astro PM App Guide
---

# Astro PM Settings

Every app-wide switch in Astro PM lives in the Settings panel. This page walks each section top to bottom, listing every setting, its default, and what it actually changes. (Per-rig scheduling settings live in the [Nightly Simulator](/docs/nightly-simulator/), and equipment specifics in [Equipment Setup](/docs/observing-sites/) – this page is everything else.)

One setting lives *outside* the panel: the **light/dark theme toggle** sits in the main window title bar, top-right, and is remembered between sessions.

### License & Activation

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084443.jpg)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084443.jpg)
Screenshot: the License & Activation section

The top of the section shows your license state at a glance – a colored status dot with Valid (and days remaining on trial), Expired, or No license. During the **14-day free trial** an amber banner reminds you, with a gold **Buy License** button linking to the store.

| Setting / control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| License Key + Activate | paste the key from your purchase email and activate (requires internet at that moment) |
| Key / Expires / Seats / Cloud Targets | read-only summary once licensed: masked key, expiry date, seat count, and the cloud target limit (trial limits lift on activation) |
| Sync Token + Copy | your cloud sync token – copy it into the NINA plugin Options; see [Cloud Sync & Your Sync Token](/docs/cloud-sync-token/) |
| Pair Phone… | opens the QR pairing dialog for the [phone app](/docs/pairing-your-phone/) |
| Auto-sync new projects to the cloud (default ON) | saving a project with coordinates automatically pushes its target and exposure plan to the cloud |
| Sync only Active projects (always ON) | policy, not preference: only Active-status projects live in the cloud; moving a project off Active removes its cloud copy |
| Remove License | frees this computer’s seat (with confirmation) – use before retiring a machine |

### Diagnostic Logging

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084739.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084739.png)

| Setting / control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Enable diagnostic logging (default OFF) | writes detailed trace information to a log file – useful when working through an issue with support; auto-truncated at 5 MB so it can never grow unbounded |
| Log size / Open Log File / Open Folder / Clear Log | see how big the log is, open it, browse the folder, or empty it |

The log path is shown in the section (under your user profile’s AppData). Leave logging off in day-to-day use; flip it on when reproducing a problem, then attach the log to your support message.

### Imaging Root Folder

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084749.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084749.png)

The root folder is where Astro PM organizes your image files on disk. Set it once and the file-side of the workflow becomes automatic:

| Setting | Default | What it does |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Root Folder Path + Browse | not set | the top-level directory for all project folders; the status dot confirms it exists |
| Auto-create folder structure for new projects | ON | saving a new project creates its hierarchy automatically: [Root]/[Site]-[Telescope]-[Camera]/[Target]/ with Originals, Processed, and Stacked inside |
| Auto-assign local folder to Originals for all filters | ON | every filter line points at the Originals path; Astro PM scans subfolders recursively (Session 1, Session 2, per-filter folders), and any folder named `rejected` at any depth counts as rejected subs – matching [Sub Inspector](/docs/sub-inspector-grading/)’s workflow exactly |
| Save final image to project root folder | ON | a project’s final processed image is also written as a PNG into the target’s folder |
| SubInspector: Auto-analyze images on open | ON | Sub Inspector runs full star analysis (HFR, FWHM, eccentricity) the moment a folder loads; turn off to browse without the analysis pass |
| Delete remote images after sync | OFF | after a remote file is successfully copied locally (and sizes match), the remote copy is deleted – keeps observatory disks lean |

   **Careful:** The delete-remote option only removes a remote file after verifying the local copy exists with a matching size – but test it on a non-critical project first, exactly as the in-app warning says.

### Export & Import

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084755.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084755.png)

Whole-app backup and migration:

| Control | What it does |
| --- | --- |
| Data + Horizons (radio) | exports equipment, projects, exposure plans, settings, custom apps, thumbnails, and Sky View horizon images – the compact option, with a live size estimate |
| Full Backup (radio) | everything above plus reference, final, and completed images – the complete archive, size shown |
| Export… | choose a filename and location; runs in the background with live status |
| Import… | **replaces all existing data** with the export file’s contents – a backup of your current data is created automatically first, and a confirmation dialog stands between you and the button |

   **Tip:** Moving to a new computer? Full Backup on the old machine, install Astro PM on the new one, Import – done. For routine safety, a periodic Data + Horizons export is small enough to keep in cloud storage.

### Star Catalog

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084802.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084802.png)

Optional downloadable star catalogs that deepen annotation and sky rendering:

- **Named Stars – Tycho-2**: ~2.5 million stars complete to V ≈ 11.5, about a 30 MB download. Install/Reinstall, Cancel mid-download, or Remove; the status line reports star count, magnitude range, size, and build date once installed.
- **Deep Stars – Gaia DR3 subset**: complete to V ≈ 18 for long-exposure and narrow-field annotation (~1-2 GB) – marked *Coming soon*.

Separately, Sky View can import a Gaia set from a local ASTAP D50 database – see [Surveys & Star Rendering](/docs/sky-view-surveys/).

### Catalog Overlays

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084807.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084807.png)

One checkbox per deep-sky catalog – NGC, IC, Messier, Sharpless, LBN, LDN, Barnard, planetary nebulae, supernova remnants, bright stars – each with its colored marker swatch. These toggles control catalog visibility in **both Sky View and the Image Annotator**, with All On / All Off shortcuts. (Per-catalog density sliders live in Sky View itself – see [Overlays & Catalogs](/docs/sky-view-overlays-catalogs/).)

### App Connections: ASTAP

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084842.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084842.png)

Point Astro PM at your `astap.exe` (Browse defaults to C:\Program Files\astap). A green “Found – ready to use” dot confirms it. ASTAP unlocks **local plate solving** throughout the app: the [Image Analysis](/docs/image-analysis-diagnostics/) panel, the [Annotator](/docs/image-annotator/), the [Focal Length Calculator](/docs/focal-length-calculator/), and Sky View’s Gaia import. If you image, you want this one configured.

### App Connections: Astrometry.net

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084854.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084854.png)

The online blind-solve fallback for when ASTAP is stumped. Create a free account at nova.astrometry.net, copy your API key from Profile → API Key, paste it here, and Save. Used by the [Image Annotator](/docs/image-annotator/) as the remote solving option.

### App Connections: CCD Inspector

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084828.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084828.png)

If you use CCDWare’s CCD Inspector, set its executable path here (Browse checks the usual CCDWare install folders). It appears as an external-tool button in the [Image Analysis](/docs/image-analysis-diagnostics/) panel, opening the loaded image directly.

### App Connections: Stellarium

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084822.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-084822.png)

Connecting Stellarium’s Remote Control API enables two-way target hand-off: pull the selected Stellarium object into a project or Sky View, or push your framing out to Stellarium.

| Setting | Notes |
| --- | --- |
| Executable path | path to stellarium.exe (Browse defaults to C:\Program Files\Stellarium) |
| Port | the Remote Control port – Stellarium’s default is 8090 |
| Password (optional) | only if you set one in the plugin |
| Test Connection | pings the API and reports connected / not running / timeout |

**One-time Stellarium setup:** open Stellarium → F2 Configuration → Plugins → Remote Control → check “Load at startup” → configure the port (8090) → optionally set a password → restart Stellarium.

### App Hub

[![](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-085216.png)](https://astro-pm.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-12-085216.png)

Add any external application to Astro PM’s sidebar for one-click launching – PixInsight, PHD2, your camera vendor tool, anything. **Add App** picks the .exe and asks for a display name; Remove and Move Up/Down manage the list, and the order here is the order in the sidebar. A small thing that turns Astro PM into the single launchpad for an imaging session.

### Credits & Acknowledgments

The final section credits the data sources and open tools Astro PM stands on – Hipparcos and Gaia star data, CDS/VizieR/SIMBAD, Aladin Lite, ASTAP, Astrometry.net, NINA, Stellarium, Open-Meteo weather, NOAA GOES imagery, OpenStreetMap, and the software libraries under the hood. Every entry links to its project.