Uninstallation and config files

[umbra]

When you uninstall TC and choose to remove configuration files, TC removes only wincmd.ini and wcx_ftp.ini. Other config files (pkplugin.ini, ...) or "<user>\AppData\Roaming\GHISLER" directory itself are not removed. Is there a reason for this behavior?

[ghisler(Author)]

pkplugin.ini isn't created by TC. The dir is not removed because a directory itself does not take much space.

[umbra]

Ok, but TC does not support multiple installations on the same system. So what's the point in keeping those files, especially if user decides to remove settings during uninstallation?

Also why doesn't TC remove *.pif files from Windows directory?

[petermad]

Ok, but TC does not support multiple installations on the same system

That's not true.

[umbra]

2petermad
Then how can you install several TC instances so that they won't share their settings? And I don't mean a portable mode, because that is not an installation.

[Trast]

Ok, but TC does not support multiple installations on the same system.

You can install TC in different directors

[karlchen]

Hello, petermad and Trast.

What umbra meant and what you will know, too, is this:

1) If you use the Total Commander installer in order to install T.C. it will always put the programme folder of the latest installation to the registry key HKCU\Software\Ghisler and (potentially, too, depends on what you told the setup to do) to HKLM.\Software\Ghisler as well.

2) The Add/Remove Programs list inside the Control Centre will always only list one single Total Commander installation, the last installation performed by the T.C. installer.

Apart from this you can have as many parallel T.C. installations on your disk as available disk space permits.

Kind regards,
Karl

[karlchen]

Hello, umbra.

portable mode, because that is not an installation.

It is an installation, only a manual installation.
What you think the installer does? It creates folders and copies files into the folders as appropriate.
If you create a portable installation, you perform these tasks manually.

The difference is that the installer also generates meta data about the installation in the form of registry keys. During a manual installation you are pretty unlikely to do so, in particular if you are creating a portable installation.

Karl

[umbra]

Hi karlchen, I know what that is (at least I think so ). For me an installation customizes a product to a specific computer and registers this product in the system (e.g. in the registry). The reason for using a portable mode is that it lacks these steps.

My point is that every time you !install! TC using its installer, all these instances will share the same wincmd.ini. If you choose to change its location, installer won't create a new file, it will just moved the old one. And I don't see any reason, why I would have several instances of TC using the same wincmd.ini (except for having both 32b and 64b versions). Portable mode installations are independent of this file, because they have their own wincmd.ini.

My original suggestion to remove the whole config folder during TC's uninstallation is based on these two use-cases:
1. There is only one installation of TC - So there is no point in keeping these settings if user decides to remove wincmd.ini.
2. There are several installations of TC - They share wincmd.ini anyway, so if user decides to remove wincmd.ini, other installations will become useless (or, at least, corrupted).

I did not include portable installations in these use-cases, since they don't use those shared config files. Or am I missing something?

[Trast]

Sorry, my bad

[petermad]

2petermad
Then how can you install several TC instances so that they won't share their settings? And I don't mean a portable mode, because that is not an installation.

During installation the installer asks you where you want to install to - here you install to different locations. Lter the installer asks you where you want to put the ini files - here you choose the program directory.

Then you have to do a little manual work - you have to put the line: UseIniInProgramDir=7 in the wincmd.ini file for eache installation (otherwise they will all use the last installed one).

Before UAC in Windows Vista/7, it was easy since the wincmd.ini in TC's program directory would be writable.

With UAC you will have to manually make the folder writeable, where the ini files are kept - or simply install to a already writeable directory.

Nobody says that a program has to be installed into "Program flies" or "Program Files (86)" anyway - If you let the installer put the program in for example %appdata% you can also easily make several installations with program and ini files in separate folders, without doing any manual copying or folder creation etc.

[ghisler(Author)]

During installation the installer asks you where you want to install to - here you install to different locations. Lter the installer asks you where you want to put the ini files - here you choose the program directory.

Then you have to do a little manual work - you have to put the line: UseIniInProgramDir=7 in the wincmd.ini file for eache installation (otherwise they will all use the last installed one).

No, if you chose "program directory", TC will use the ini in each program's directory - this is stored in the registry in the form .\wincmd.ini . UseIniInProgramDir=7 is only needed for portable installations, for the case where there are no registry settings (or to override the settings on the target computer).

Please do not install to a directory under "Program files" if you want to place the ini in the program directory, otherwise TC cannot modify it (except when run with full administrator rights, which is not recommended).

[petermad]

if you chose "program directory", TC will use the ini in each program's directory - this is stored in the registry in the form .\wincmd.ini .

Even simpler then

But if you later install another version of TC and then do NOT choose "program directory" - then this will change the registry setting - and all the other versions installed with ini file in program directory will no longer use the right ini file - so for safety reason it is a good idea to add UseIniInProgramDir=7 to wincmd.ini.

[ghisler(Author)]

If you skip the ini location page (which is the default), the installer will not change it in the registry.