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Post by George on Jul 6, 2019 12:05:48 GMT -5
MUEH: Your comment re: UNDO intrigued me. All the stuff you've gone through to get different titles in your various sessions is what's causing your UNDO problems. SPFLite cleans up all old UNDO files in the TMP folder only when it determines that it is the ONLY copy running.
By making each instance appear different, cleanup occurs each and every time, even when multiple copies are running.
We have to come up with a better way to handle all this.
George
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Post by Stefan on Aug 9, 2019 5:12:18 GMT -5
George,
My original requirement is basically:
The ability to place the SPFLite setup definitions (Ini, keyboard, AUTO, FILELIST, MACROS, PROFILES) in a shared location so any given user (or users) can access them. My reasons are: (a) I have multiple laptops and it is hugely irritating when changes/additions to these areas are not reflected on all of them and (b) the use of the DOCUMENTS folder is inappropriate because this data isn't "documents" and thus belongs in %USERPROFILE%\username\SPFLITE in keeping with other applications' private area. In short, the ability (at installation or perhaps via the OPTIONS/GENERAL field) to place the SPFLITE folder (not just the INI file) anywhere, be that on another drive on the same PC or on a network (from whence it can be also made available locally via "Always available offline").
I seen no need to change the existing command-line overrides (eg INIT for the INI file location or TITLE), as it clearly is essential for mueh and perhaps others too.
Hope this helps.
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Post by George on Aug 9, 2019 16:26:07 GMT -5
Stefan: Everyone: The problem with moving the "Base" location to somewhere other than \Users\Me\Documents\SPFLite is that of "where do you store this "Base" location? SPFLite has to start 'somewhere' to figure out where/what config files are being used.
I can store it in the registry, but if you have multiple physical systems, that doesn't work. I can force a command line parameter to specify the location, if different than the default. Would that be acceptable? It doesn't work too well when, say, TXT files are pointed at SPFLite as the default app.
Maybe we need a small file (SPFLite.PTR) in a standard fixed location (Users\Documents\SPFLite\) to point at the REAL base location for all the config files. This way each physical system could point at the same location for the rest of the files.
I have figured out how to handle multiple Instances (e.g. different -TITLE things) but determining the BASE location is the big problem.
George
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Post by George on Aug 10, 2019 11:48:49 GMT -5
Robert: Not the way I'm going at all. You know me, when everyone has different ideas, methodologies etc. etc. we'll never reach a consensus. Even when you and I have spec'ed out something, it usually ends up somewhere else after numerous last minute revisions and multiple re-writes of the same code (like the recent Backup/Restore feature). I'm not going through that again.
You may hate the Registry, but why? One needn't get involved in the windows methods of layers and layers of cross linked entries. It functions quite well as a simple Key/Data database. All I want to do is use it to store one item - the HOME location (currently \Documents\SPFLite\ ) so that users can store the SPFLite data anywhere they want.
I've read and re-read all the various comments as to what people want (and those who want NO change) and I thin I've covered off everyone's requirements. From "do nothing" to supporting multiple instances, with options for shared or unique options, shared or unique Keyboard Maps etc.
For the "do nothing" crowd (including me) who are happy with the way things are, the migration to V12 is totally painless, all Options, settings etc. are migrated automatically and my testing so far is that it is fully transparent. Changing Options, Profiles, KeyMap etc all are exactly the same. And after it's over the data folder is tidier as five files and one folder can just be deleted.
I'm still tweaking and testing, when I finish, I'll publish where it stands, what it will look like, and what it can do and then entertain further suggestions. But I am not going back to a complete study, design and discuss this all over again.
If you want to tell me how misguided I am once again, and how this is not the professional way of doing things, fine. I never have meet your software design standards, but it's my hobby and my coding, so this time it's my call. Trust me a bit, this is going quite well.
George
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Post by Jo on Aug 10, 2019 18:54:12 GMT -5
I use some Rexx programs to create an FLIST in the ...\FILELIST folder, and another to read all entries of a FLIST and to process these files (ZIP or copy them, ...). And sometimes I use a portable SPFLITE installation on an USB-Stick. Therefore the FILELIST-Folder is not always below C:\Users\Jo\documents\SPFLite\ but often on another drive ...\SPFLite\Config\ So my solution was to create a windows environment variable named SPF_INI_Path which points to the actual SPFLITE.ini folder. The SET SPF_INI_Path is done in a startup-routine, searching REMOVABLE drives for ...\SPFLite\Config\ and %userprofile%\documents\SPFLite\
Maybe SPFLITE could read a SET variable at startup and use it as HOME, or else use the old %userprofile%\documents\.. folder as today.
Jo
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Post by George on Aug 11, 2019 10:56:17 GMT -5
Robert: That's what I said I would do. Once the basic kinks are out I'll describe how it might work, remembering it is not cast in stone.
Jo: Haven't tested out the portable support yet, but like before, I'd planned on making it hang off the location of the EXE file on the thumb-drive, along with it's \CONFIG folder. Will that still do what you want?
Also, are you saying you have multiple FILELIST folders? Or am I mis-reading that?
George
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Post by mueh on Aug 12, 2019 0:50:17 GMT -5
Hi George ! Looks like you plan to anchor the CFG file in the SPFLite. exe path which i find is a brilant idea . Could you consider that there are multiple EXE files around and the CFG file should go with the EXE Name . f.e SPFL110A.CFG if needed Have different exe lnk ico files so that i get different Windows in the TASK Bar . ( Needs different exe file ) Here a Picture showing the Task bar at the top Thanks
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Post by George on Aug 12, 2019 10:16:01 GMT -5
mueh: Why do you think I want to anchor the file in the EXE path? What are you looking at to see that? And I would NOT be doing that, for Robert's reasons alone.
BTW. Can you explain what benefit you are achieving by copying the config files in batch before execution? What EXACTLY are you achieving (or conversely, what problem are you avoiding)
Also why do you have multiple EXE's? I thought the -TITLE solved your problem of patching the ID for the title bar. I really need to understand what and why you're doing all this so I can be sure it's covered off in the new plan.
George
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Post by mueh on Aug 12, 2019 13:17:07 GMT -5
George : Sorry that i interpreted your sentence
I'd planned on making it hang off the location of the EXE file on the thumb-drive, along with it's \CONFIG Folder wrong .
I use different EXE names to get in the WINDOWS Task Bar one ICON for every Instance of SPFLite Running . Allows to select that Instance of SPFLite with one mouse click . Disabling Task Bar Button Combine is no Option for me . As long as i can use -INIT and -TITLE and different EXE names in the next Version i'm happy .
Thanks
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Post by Jo on Aug 12, 2019 16:46:27 GMT -5
George: Portabe installation works fine. And yes, when all subfolders are still found below the \CONFIG, its fine. The drivename of my portable drives is not always E: or F:, therefore I first scan the removable drives for a \SPFLITE\CONFIG subdir to SET SPF_INI_Path=E:\...\SPFLITE\CONFIG or E:\...\SPFLITE\CONFIG or C:\Users\Jo\documents\SPFLite On my static SPFLITE installation there is just one FILELIST folder, but each portabe drive (currently I have 2 of them) has his own FILELIST folder. From time to time I update the portable drive and this is done on the same PC where the static SPFLITE installation sits. So sometimes I alternate between static and portabe SPFLITE.
What I wanted to suggest: SpfLites current folder structure works fine and I think, does not need any complicate redesign. Why not let the user decide if he wants the default or SET a special windows environtmentvariable. So at SPFLITE start, just read that variable and use that path instead of C:\Users\...\documents\SPFLite\
Jo
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