To Installer, or not to Installer

JimO'Connor · 08-15-2004, 02:16 PM

Hi Friends,

I've heard from Tech Support that the number one issue people have with MA is installation. We try to make the user experience as pleasant as possible, so with Goldfish Aquarium we are using the Apple installer. Goldfish Aquarium has a more complicated installation -- you need to put the screen saver in to the screen savers folder, the application into the application folder, and the Life Globe folder into the Application Support folder.

The Apple installer requires you to authenticate as an administrator of your machine to do an installation into the /Library folder, which is where most of the stuff goes. Using the Apple Installer we can't install into the ~/Library folder, nor can you because everything is hidden inside a package. Is this an issue for anyone?

I'm sorta annoyed with the Apple Installer, and am thinking about just writing an Apple Script to do the task. Any opinions?

Jim

AKcrab · 08-16-2004, 02:10 AM

Some folks hate installers, but if there are three things that need to go in three locations, that's the best way.

Make is clear during the installation exactly what is going where, and include an "uninstall" option.

patscarr · 08-16-2004, 06:02 AM

I love installers and think they are needed most of the time because most people are not too savvy about their computer.

08-15-2004, 02:16 PM	#1
JimO'Connor Mac Development Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Kenai, Alaska Posts: 678	To Installer, or not to Installer Hi Friends, I've heard from Tech Support that the number one issue people have with MA is installation. We try to make the user experience as pleasant as possible, so with Goldfish Aquarium we are using the Apple installer. Goldfish Aquarium has a more complicated installation -- you need to put the screen saver in to the screen savers folder, the application into the application folder, and the Life Globe folder into the Application Support folder. The Apple installer requires you to authenticate as an administrator of your machine to do an installation into the /Library folder, which is where most of the stuff goes. Using the Apple Installer we can't install into the ~/Library folder, nor can you because everything is hidden inside a package. Is this an issue for anyone? I'm sorta annoyed with the Apple Installer, and am thinking about just writing an Apple Script to do the task. Any opinions? Jim Jim O'Connor Order N Development

08-16-2004, 06:02 AM	#3
patscarr Pet Shark Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Back in Buffalo Posts: 5,455	I love installers and think they are needed most of the time because most people are not too savvy about their computer. Patrick

08-16-2004, 02:10 AM	#2
AKcrab Registered Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 233	Some folks hate installers, but if there are three things that need to go in three locations, that's the best way. Make is clear during the installation exactly what is going where, and include an "uninstall" option.