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Catastrophe for standalones moving from XP to win7

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 2:28 pm
by kresten
A horrible set-back !!!
I have been developing over 14 years an extremely ambitous application: a GNU-licenced "Citizen Diary" ( see: http://www.phenomenalog.dk ) meant to armor and empower citizens on all platforms, even with cheapest laptops, to deal with personal information management and challenges and threats in an increasingly digitized local and global community.
The application has reached a shape, version 18.1.2 where it is ready for some Beta-testing, opening up for the first phase of its further user-driven development.
I got the precursor of the catastrophe this summer, when I found that the standalone crashes on Vista ( see my previous post here), and the explanations which Paul Gresham mailed me, explained that it was because the application saves data to the program files directory, not tolerated by Vista and ( I neglected at that time:) also Windows 7.
Now, I understand that the main stack can not be changed, - but previously all sub-stacks could, - this is the essense of a diary,a calender,an adress-stack etc etc. .
Now Paul explained, that data files should be stored in "one of the special folders allocated for this".
Can somebody explain, how this can be done: Apparently the Main stack shall be in one place, and the substacks somewhere else ?
The substack are datafiles, but they are also program files...
I cannot be the first to meet this stumbling block.
Please help !
Kresten Bjerg kresten.bjerg@psy.ku.dk http://www.bjerg.psy.ku.dk http://www.phenomenalog.dk http://www.phenomenalog.wikispaces.com

Re: Catastrophe for standalones moving from XP to win7

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:22 pm
by shaosean
Your user created data should be stored away from your main application's executable files (regardless of operating system).. If the data being saved is truly user created (or user owned) data, then store it in the user's document folder (or ask them where to save it).. If the data is application created (owned) data then use one of the application data folders..

In either case, look at the specialFolderPath function..

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-- gets the path to the user's document folder (Mac and Windows)

put specialFolderPath("documents") into tUserDocumentsPath

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-- gets the path to the user's home directory (*nix)

put specialFolderPath("home") into tUserHomePath

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-- gets the path to the user's application data folder (Windows)
-- this is the folder to store your application created data
-- these are the files that are not needed for your program to run (clip art, template files, etc)

put specialFolderPath("0x001a") into tUserApplicationDataPath

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-- gets the path to the user's application data folder (Mac)
-- this is the folder to store your application created data
-- these are the files that are not needed for your program to run (clip art, template files, etc)

-- "mySoftware is the name of your application, create the folder and store your application's files

put specialFolderPath("home") & "/Library/Application Support/mySoftware/ into tUserApplicationDataPath

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-- gets the path to the user's application data folder (*nix)
-- this is the folder to store your application created data
-- these are the files that are not needed for your program to run (clip art, template files, etc)

-- "mySoftware is the name of your application, create the folder and store your application's files
-- note the dot (.) before the folder name, this will hide the folder from directory listings

put specialFolderPath("home") & "/.mySoftware/" into tUserApplicationDataPath

Re: Catastrophe for standalones moving from XP to win7

Posted: Tue Nov 16, 2010 3:25 pm
by AndyP
Hi kresten,

Have a look here:
http://www.runrev.com/newsletter/octobe ... hp?a=NWS99

and

http://revonline2.runrev.com/stack/427/ ... rs-Utility

to find your special folder locations.