Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 08, 2003 4:07 PM |
Tony.Scaminaci |
OK, so you didn't specifically request feedback. But the tone of today's log update sounds like you're conflicted :-) If the prefs are going to be stored in a file, I think that the user should be allowed to choose where to save it. My 9500 has two OS 9 partitions (9.1, 9.2.2). From OS X, we tend to boot into one or the other for disk maintenance, depending on what programs are being run, and how long we can run in one version or the other before OS 9 locks up completely :-( If you decide to go the file route, this method might resolve your conflict. Personally, I would prefer to store the prefs file on the OS X volume because my OS 9 volumes tend to get erased and rebuilt every once in a while. I'm sure everyone you'll ask will have a different opinion so the easy way out is to give the user a choice. But how would XPF keep track of the prefs file location? Maybe this isn't the best solution if you can't easily find the prefs file. If you decide to go with NVRAM, bear in mind that NVRAM tends to get corrupted quite a bit on these unsupported machines (especially with the XLR8 CPU upgrades). How would XPF react if the NVRAM became corrupted? Also, is there enough room in NVRAM for the prefs? Many of us have run into the "not enough NVRAM space" problem in the past. Seems like it's pretty full already with the XPF boot settings. Most of us will probably run XPF under OS X. It's a pain to have to boot back into OS 9 to install from an update CD. I don't think that anyone would complain if they didn't have to boot back into 9 anymore (except for Ben Ralston :-). So, maybe the best place for the prefs file is on the OS X boot volume in the system prefs directory structure. Where do other 3rd party apps store their preferences on the X volume? Tony |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 12, 2003 7:59 AM |
nick.ashton |
. |
The solution I use for my e-mail (I still use QuickMail Pro) in both OS 9 and OS X is to set up an alias to the location of my preferences and message store. It works fine from both OS 9 and OS X, so whichever system I'm using to access my e-mail I don't end up with duplicates or find myself unable to access filed messages. Could you use a similar method for XPF, set up the preferences in the default location for OS 9 (system:preferences) and OS X (~/Library/Preferences) but let the user create aliases at these locations to point to their preferred location. I agree it's not automatic the first time that you run it but is flexible. If a user has to reinstall either OS 9 or OS X they only have to set up one alias to coordinate things again. The other thing is that it allows you to keep the preferences separate if the view of your system from OS 9 and OS X can't be reconciled. For instance if the different way the two OSes name devices means you can't unambiguously identify a particular drive or partition. Or if you only boot into OS9 for disaster recovery purposes. On a side note I've noticed that some OS X programs seem to use the Classic system prefs panel settings to locate the OS 9 system that they assume you want to get information from. This doesn't seem to be entirely satisfactory since many people have a separate Classic system from the one they use to actually boot OS 9. |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 11, 2003 9:09 AM |
OSXGuru |
. |
Yes, the NVRAM idea was to parse the preferences out of the current NVRAM settings--it wouldn't involve writing anything extra to NVRAM. The per volume setting is whether to use a "helper" disk for that volume (and which one to use). (The "helper" disk is needed for booting from Firewire drives, and in some other cases where you can mount a drive in Mac OS X but can't ordinarily boot from it). Letting people have multiple preference files is an interesting thought--it wouldn't be that hard to implement, I think. But I would still need a strategy to find a "default" file, as I wouldn't want to force people to look for one themselves. |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 09, 2003 11:51 PM |
joevt |
. |
I wonder what's in the per drive preferences and what they are needed for? If you don't put those preferences on each drive then you need a way to identify each drive. Volume Name is probably not good enough; I guess you can let the Alias Manager handle that but it might not be any better than using Volume Name. About NVRAM limitations, I think Ryan was suggesting only reading the current settings that were used to boot OS X. He did not say that anything more would be written to NVRAM. |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 09, 2003 10:25 PM |
powderhaus |
. |
why not just make a directory for all XPF versions to install to and inside it have the prefs file and a folder for each version of xpostfacto that is installed. and when XPF is updated the user can delete the old XPF. That could get a touch confusing if the file is moved atound so it may be better to just stash it in XPF's normal directory (where ever that may be) and just have a screen that pops up when you start a new version of XPF that asks you to locate the other version, then procede to copy the prefs to the new direcory, or you could just have them make new prefs, there are only a few options anyhow. sorry for any typos, i am on my way to bed and i took out my contacts and i can't even see my screen. |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 09, 2003 4:01 PM |
gchron |
. |
Sorry for the last post but something is miising. I send it again :-) How if we put the prefs at the Users/shared folder in our OS X volume. It is in every OS X installation and can be found and in a firewire or other possible boot volume. The NVRAM idea is a nice one but I think that there so many stuff written at the NVRAM that it would be a liitle bit problimatic now or in real future. Now for you Tony.Scaminaci all application in OSX apple's and 3rd party stores their prefs in Users/[YourUserName]/Library/Preferences and that is the problem when someone start form 9 it does not know the [YourUserName] parameter. George |
. |
RE: Feedback on XPF Prefs location |
July, 09, 2003 4:00 PM |
gchron |
. |
How if we put the prefs at the Users/shared folder in our OS X volume. It is in every OS X installation and can be found and in a firewire or other possible boot volume. The NVRAM idea is a nice one but I think that there so many stuff written at the NVRAM that it would be a liitle bit problimatic now or in real future. Now for you Tony.Scaminaci all application in OSX apple's and 3rd party stores their prefs in Users// Library/Preferences and that is the problem when someone start form 9 it does not know the parameter. George |
|
|