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For testing purposes I took DEV installer (it containes 2 fixes which should come into 3.5) from 28 MAR, 03. I found following things as very critical and dangerous when it is used for installing of product. It cause Data lost, thus it is P1. Description: ============= It is not intuitive when the user wish import settings from previous versions: -Offered is only 3.4 from combo box (even thought it has to know import from some of version of FFJ and S1S) -Data lost when the user desided to import settings selecting ver.3.4 from drop down list! Following dialog isn't related to the dir which contains old user settings, but it is related to the installation dir (which is IMHO illogical, but that's my oppenion). BUT dangerous and data lsot is that user isn't warned that this dir contains some date and if you wish to override them. It is simply and silently go through the inst. proccess with the result my previous settings are mixed together with new version of product. -uninstallation is impossible. Don't know if it is side effect of the mixed settings and product in one dir or not. But an attempt to unistall the product failed with this message: "ERROR: cannot find product /product.xml"
CC'ing Martin and Ian
Hi, Dan installer uses autodection. That means in combo there are only installations of IDE which were properly installed or unzipped and user uses standard userdir (doesn't use -userdir switch). I think use of -userdir switch is not common and we try to get rid of case when user should know were settings are stored. Fact that user should select installdir (not userdir)is described in text area above textfield for dir path. From my point of view intuitive enough. Problem with no warning when user selects no-empty install dir looks serious and I'll investigate more what can I do with it. This part of installer uses InstallShield's proprietary install action - I hope warning dialog is standard part of it. The same with uninstaller - but it might be side effect of previous issue.
There is new issue 3254 about prompting user before replacing files.
I apologize there is typo in my previous comment. New issue is issue 32524 .
Thank you Risa for separrating issue:-) I was little bit in hurry and mixed things too much together.
According to discussion with HIE and marketing I sign this as wontfix. Actual usage of installer is according user needs. But there should be documented possibility of using import settings wizard in documentation (release notes or such a document).
wontfixing.
OK then :-(
Richard, is it possible to get the Import Settings wizard if you use the installer? For me, the Import Settings wizard only shows up if I install the IDE with the zip distribution.
If you remove your userdir then there should be ISW displayed. Ask Vita Stejskal for more info.
OK, that's what I thought. So in the readme, I'll add something in the installation/upgrading section like [Richard, please check, especially the part about where the userdir is located by default]: "The installer only recognizes previous installations where the user directory resides in the default location. It does not recognize installations where you have specified a user directory using the -userdir switch. If you would like to import settings from an IDE that the installer does not recognize, you need to remove the user directory that the installer has set up for you. The next time you start the IDE, the Import Settings wizard will appear and give you the opportunity to specify the IDE installation that you want to import settings from. To import settings from an IDE installation that the installer does not recognize: 1. Complete the installation. 2. On your system, find the user directory (netbeans/3.5)that installer has created for you. The IDE user directory stores your personal settings This directory is located in the directory that your operating system, by convention, designates for user-specific data. On Microsoft Windows systems, the Documents and Settings folder is typically used. On UNIX and Linux systems, the usr/netbeans/3.5 directory is used. If you are unsure where the user directory is located, start the IDE, choose Help | About, and click the Details tab. The User Dir field shows the location of the IDE user directory. 3. Delete the IDE user directory from your system. 4. Restart the IDE. 5. In the Import Settings Wizard, designate the home directory of the IDE that you want to import settings from."
IMO the user's home directory is used on unix/linux system which is the /home/<username>.
I changed my mind. Rather than doing all of that explaining for the hack (which could confuse other users who it doesn't concern), I decided to write the following at the beginning of the Compatibility/Upgrade section: "When you first run the IDE, you can import the settings that you used in a previous installation of the IDE. These settings include project-specific settings and global options. If you choose not to import settings from a previous release, the IDE begins with a set of default settings. If you use an installer, the installer guides you through project import choices. If you run the IDE from an unpacked archive, the Settings Import Wizard appears the first time you run the IDE and guides you through the choices. Note: The installer only recognizes previous installations where the user directory resides in the default location. It does not recognize installations where you have specified a user directory using the -userdir switch. If you would like to import settings from an IDE that the installer does not recognize, download an archive version of the IDE instead of the installer."
import scenario simplified for 3.6. removing RELNOTE keyword