site_archiver@lists.apple.com Delivered-To: installer-dev@lists.apple.com Organization: Microsoft Corporation / Macintosh Business Unit Thread-index: Acae1iNbYhFdxArJEduX1AAKlWdyEg== Thread-topic: Can I refer to files outside of a .pax archive? User-agent: Microsoft-Entourage/11.2.4.060510 On 6/29/06 3:12 PM, "Stéphane Sudre" <ssudre2@wanadoo.fr> wrote:

On jeudi, juin 29, 2006, at 11:30 PM, Rick Sustek wrote:

...

For the simple drag install, I definitely like the popular convention of placing an alias to the /Applications folder right next to the icon of the app itself, and indicating that the user should just drag it over.

Some reasons why this technique is a potential source of problems even when it seems just brilliant:

<snip />

2. Permissions are blown up if an admin user do this

The owner of the dropped files become the admin user who dropped the file not root as it should be.

Why is root a "should be"? Your copy will be set to have the admin group, which will give write permissions to all the administrators, which is all that is necessary. I've not tried, but I believe this happens if you are a regular user who tries to copy something to an admin-restricted folder and have to authenticate to the Finder. Furthermore, if I chown one of my /Applications items to be me, nathanh, instead of root, and run repair permissions, it does not get "corrected".

It might not be an issue but next time someone runs a Repair Permissions after installing an OS update (as if the problem was not there before the update), he may see that the permissions were incorrect and doesn't remember he just drag and dropped the file.

3. An alias speaks only one language

It might be nice to have an alias of the Applications folder but Applications is not spelled "Applications" in Japanese. So one's potential Japanese customers will wonder what Applications is supposed to mean.

Would it be cheating to write a drop-script-style-app and gave it the same icon that a symlink to the Applications folder would have, and then when you drop it, it queries for administrative authentication? If it gets it, it tells the finder to copy the dropped item to the /Applications folder, and if not, ensures a ~/Applications folder and tells the Finder to copy it there instead? It could be a bundle, which means it could have a localized file name. :) This also helps address your point #1.

4. Window Background pictures are not localizable

Let's omit the fact that Finder Window Background pictures set on Mac OS X 10.2 and later are not visible on Mac OS X 10.1.

If they are not localizable, then it means you need to make one version for each language you're supporting so that the instructions do not turn into an enigma. The QA team (just in case you're not the QA team too) will thank you for adding more testing cases. Advantage: it solves Point 3.

Ick. So much for world-wide CD image. :/

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Based on the different applications installed by drag and drop from a disk image I've seen:

Points 3 and 4: Never taken into account. The application is touted to include a bunch of localization, but the installation procedure is not localized itself.

I believe our localized versions of Microsoft Office 2004 actually have individually localized background images. I'd have to check to make doubly sure tho. We don't use the symlink/alias mechanism.

Point 2: Nobody ever cares.

I'm not sure why it's an issue, per above.

Point 1: Nobody ever cares. Any OS X user is an admin user, right?

No, we do care. Some of our novice users are people trying to install it on administratively-restricted machines (educational labs, perhaps even some enterprises), and won't know why things don't work. -- Nathan Herring MacBU SDE/Development _______________________________________________ Do not post admin requests to the list. They will be ignored. Installer-dev mailing list (Installer-dev@lists.apple.com) Help/Unsubscribe/Update your Subscription: http://lists.apple.com/mailman/options/installer-dev/site_archiver%40lists.a... This email sent to site_archiver@lists.apple.com