POV-Ray : Newsgroups : povray.beta-test : Install location : Re: Install location Server Time
7 Jul 2024 07:26:21 EDT (-0400)
  Re: Install location  
From: Warp
Date: 24 Jan 2010 13:16:10
Message: <4b5c8e6a@news.povray.org>
Chris Cason <del### [at] deletethistoopovrayorg> wrote:
> On 24/01/2010 5:19 AM, Warp wrote:
> >   There is something POV-Ray can do: Ask the user what to do. ("Because of
> > <reason xyz> POV-Ray will be installed in <the My Documents folder>.
> > Yes/No/Cancel.")

> After 15 years of working on POV-Ray, I have learnt one thing in
> particular: 99% of users don't read what the installer says, but will just
> click through on everything. Some will then complain when it does something
> they don't expect.

> Example: the installer used to ask if it should register POV-Ray as the
> application to open .INI files. This question was clear and required a
> yes/no answer. I still got people complaining that POV had 'stolen' the
> association for INI files and that this 'was really rude' (or words to that
> effect). So, I took that feature out and no longer associate INI files.

> To put it simply, the installer has to be written in such a way as to cater
> to the vast majority of users *without* causing us support hassles. This
> means I have to apply KISS to the design.

  I think that in this particular case the path-of-least-confusion would be
for the installer to fail to install by default if the user has no
privileges to install to the Program Files directory (with a clear error
message stating so), and make the option to install into the My Documents
directory non-trivial (but accessible).

  But I understand it if it's mostly out of your control if the installer
program is made by Microsoft and not you.

-- 
                                                          - Warp


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