druid.
druidHello dear Podium users (but mostly Frits :P).
Do you remember how I wanted the option of where to store my Podium projects/templates etc? Because I absolutely hate programs using the My Documents folder (like a couple of installed games do currently)?
Well, I was so happy when Podium added the option.
However, I don’t feel it is entirely complete yet, but one thing in particular is really annoying me recently (since I’ve only just noticed when it does it). It is a bug.
Those of you who have changed your default directory, please (if you have not already done so) delete the Zynewave Podium Projects folder from your My Documents folder. Now, go to double click a .pod file. Don’t just run Podium; actually double click on a .pod file and let Podium do it. It resets the My Documents folder, and the Start Menu folder.
Can this please be fixed? There’s no point offering an option if Podium just keeps putting it back (but not resetting the choice of folders meaning it’s not even using what it reinstalls!!).
In the best case, it would be good to select this folder on install. It seems counterproductive to just install into My Documents, then when I change it, leave it there and not even copy it to the new location. The option, at this present time, is very much a quickly hacked in one, rather than one that has been integrated smoothly and effectively.
And I don’t mean to use offensive language here, just trying to be clear with my point. No offense intended Frits.
ZynewaveSorry for the delayed response. I wanted to get the 2.05 release out of the way first.
I tried what you described, and can confirm that double-clicking a .pod file will restore the “Zynewave Podium Projects” folder if it has been deleted. Loading a project file from the Podium UI does not have this problem.
This is actually not an action performed by Podium. It is Windows that starts up the Podium installer to repair the missing files. I checked my installer compilation tool and found no way to specify that this action should not be performed.
One way to solve this is to remove the example project files from the installer, and also skip the creation of the projects folder by the installer. The example projects can then be downloaded in a separate zip file. The Podium startup can check for the presence of a valid projects folder, and if not found, prompt the user if the default folder should be created. The downside of this approach is that this default folder then won’t be removed if you uninstall Podium.
Any alternative suggestions?
druidNo problem on the delay. I’ve had glandular fever, have barely touched the computer, and at uni my usage of Podium and any audio software has massively reduced :(. So it hasn’t been bothering me. 🙂
Now that you said Windows does it itself (and this is odd; why do other softwares not do as Podium does? There must be some difference somewhere in how things are done…) I tried something quickly.
I can now double-click Podium files without it “installing”. If you go to the filetypes dialog (in explorer or my computer) and then find .pod and edit the open action, you’ll see it uses “DDE”. I have never found out what that means in all my years of computer experience, probably I never cared. I don’t know why Windows needs it, really. I simply switched that off (which then removes the extra features that say “System” and “Podium”, again, I do not know what these fields are for but many apps use them) and left the running thing at “C:ongenpodiumPodium.exe” “%1” and it works just fine.
So if it’s this easy, what IS Windows doing, and why is it running the installer, instead of just straight to the program? Something weird there. And couldn’t you, in your installer, tell Windows to associate the filetype just how you want? I don’t know, I never got into that side of programming/developing, but surely people do it. Maybe it’s a limitation with the .msi format? No idea myself.
I would indeed like an option to change the default projects folder in the installer; other programs do this, and when you uninstall it will also remove whatever folder you have chosen, too (and ask first just in case you want to keep it). I’m not sure if you want to go to that length Frits, but well.. I’ve seen plenty of software do it.
But yeah, I hope that .. er .. helps, or, guides you better, or something like that.
Zynewave@druid wrote:
I can now double-click Podium files without it “installing”. If you go to the filetypes dialog (in explorer or my computer) and then find .pod and edit the open action, you’ll see it uses “DDE”.
I vaguely remember seeing those options once, but I can’t seem to find these now on Vista. All I can find is a window to assocate extensions with applications, but no further options. Anyone know if the DDE settings are still available in Vista?
And couldn’t you, in your installer, tell Windows to associate the filetype just how you want? I don’t know, I never got into that side of programming/developing, but surely people do it. Maybe it’s a limitation with the .msi format? No idea myself.
I checked the installer tool, and I can’t specify any settings related to this. It’s possible that a more advanced installer tool allows the developer to control this behaviour.
druidWell I should say I’m using Windows XP Pro. I can’t bring myself to move to Vista for another few years, and even then I will likely cry and wait for the next version of Windows, and then a few years for it to iron out, again.
There must be something in Vista that has control of this sort of thing; what if this problem happens with other programs too? Surely it could happen. Then what would Vista users do?
Not that you really need to answer these Frits, guess I’m thinking out loud. In quite a few ways, I’m often more of an advocate of software that I can just unzip to a folder, and setup folders within the program (and the program by default users folders within its own root folder structure, or *maybe* uses the default application data folders etc of user folders in Windows). I have seen too many installations that aren’t flexible enough (far far worse than what I’ve complained about with Podium; where by default it installs into C:programname, comes with no uninstaller, can’t be shifted because it’s got stuff in the registry and is programmed to look in that directory only, etc.) and while many installations these days are just fine, they just .. give me a sense of unease sometimes.