APPDATA folder question
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From: Karl E. Peterson on 19 Dec 2008 19:46 expvb wrote: > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> wrote ... >> For curiosity sake, I just fired up a Win95 (950b; build 1111) VM that's >> *almost* pure. The API returns these folders: >> >> CSIDL_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data >> CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data >> CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\All Users\Application Data > > You must have installed something that updated the shell, or you are using a > different function. My code uses SHGetFolderPathA if it's available (exported from shfolder.dll), otherwise it calls SHGetPathFromIDList and SHGetSpecialFolderLocation. I'm not sure what I may have installed. As I said, one VM I tried it with still had IE3! Add/Remove programs shows: - Command Prompt Here Power Toy - Cygnus Hex Editor - Send To Extensions Power Toy - TextPad 4.6 - Tweak UI - Virtual Machine Additions - WinZip On the ME system, the only thing I've installed are the Virtual Machine Additions. Hmmm, looking on the 95 systems, the shfolder.dll files on both have an internal version stamp of 5.00.2919.200 and the product name resource is "Microsoft(R) Windows (R) 2000 Operating System". I have no idea where that originated! Here's the list of supposed possibilities: http://support.microsoft.com/dllhelp/default.aspx?l=55&fid=96426 And definitely none of those were installed on that VM. Now I'm really puzzled. Definitely time to build a from-scratch VM. -- ..NET: It's About Trust! http://vfred.mvps.org
From: Bill McCarthy on 19 Dec 2008 19:50 "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> wrote in message news:%23HQdRRiYJHA.4424(a)TK2MSFTNGP05.phx.gbl... > > Well, no, I don't have a totally "clean" Win95 machine to verify that on. If you're using VPC you should look at using differencing discs. Makes it easy to rollback. Admittedly these days hard disc space is so cheap I tend to just copy entire VPCs as soon as I create them.
From: expvb on 19 Dec 2008 20:09 "Eduardo" <mm(a)mm.com> wrote in message news:gihc2j$ot5$1(a)news.motzarella.org... > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> escribi� en el mensaje > news:e83hj8iYJHA.552(a)TK2MSFTNGP06.phx.gbl... > > I have to say that I didn't understand this phrase: > >> you're pretty danged well off forcing the creation of the folder when you >> first create the INI file, otherwise you might have some real >> difficulties later when you come back to look for it. It's a good habit to check if the folder exists and create it if necessary. For example, GetTempPath() returns the temp folder, but the folder does not necessarily exist. See the remarks section for Windows NT/2000/XP. If you are using CSIDL vales, add CSIDL_FLAG_CREATE. To check if a folder exists, you can use the following VB6 function: http://vbnet.mvps.org/code/fileapi/folderexists.htm If you want to check and create several folders, like "SomeFolder\Company\Software", use InStrRev() to scan a string backward for "\" and check and create folders as needed. You can also use SHCreateDirectoryEx() which does this automatically, but it requires Shell version 5.00. > On other hand: > I decided not to use the APPDATA folder in not NT systems (95/98/ME), and > just to write to somewhere else on those O.S. versions as I used to do in > the past. > > The other question is: do you think that now or in some future time it can > be any trouble with it? I mean, do you think that some firewalls programs > could do the same "nanny" work as Vista does on itself, but on 95/98/ME > and disallow to write to "Programs files\appname" or "Windows\appname" or > wherever? Applications that secure a system, maybe. If you have a Windows 9x that has shell version 5.00, maybe if you use the CSIDL, there might be an advantage if the user later upgraded to XP or later, the setting could be moved to the proper location, so the user doesn't have to reinstall your application. I am not sure if the upgrade wizards even support this, I am just guessing at what the advantages of using CSIDL in Windows 9x might be.
From: C Kevin Provance on 19 Dec 2008 20:16 Did you install those Powertoys individually or from one package. I seem to recall the powertoys package having a shell update for Win95. "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> wrote in message news:eeGiwxjYJHA.1272(a)TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl... | expvb wrote: | > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> wrote ... | >> For curiosity sake, I just fired up a Win95 (950b; build 1111) VM that's | >> *almost* pure. The API returns these folders: | >> | >> CSIDL_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\Application Data | >> CSIDL_LOCAL_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\Local Settings\Application Data | >> CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA: C:\WINDOWS\All Users\Application Data | > | > You must have installed something that updated the shell, or you are using a | > different function. | | My code uses SHGetFolderPathA if it's available (exported from shfolder.dll), | otherwise it calls SHGetPathFromIDList and SHGetSpecialFolderLocation. I'm not sure | what I may have installed. As I said, one VM I tried it with still had IE3! | | Add/Remove programs shows: | - Command Prompt Here Power Toy | - Cygnus Hex Editor | - Send To Extensions Power Toy | - TextPad 4.6 | - Tweak UI | - Virtual Machine Additions | - WinZip | | On the ME system, the only thing I've installed are the Virtual Machine Additions. | | Hmmm, looking on the 95 systems, the shfolder.dll files on both have an internal | version stamp of 5.00.2919.200 and the product name resource is "Microsoft(R) | Windows (R) 2000 Operating System". I have no idea where that originated! Here's | the list of supposed possibilities: | | http://support.microsoft.com/dllhelp/default.aspx?l=55&fid=96426 | | And definitely none of those were installed on that VM. Now I'm really puzzled. | Definitely time to build a from-scratch VM. | -- | .NET: It's About Trust! | http://vfred.mvps.org | |
From: Karl E. Peterson on 19 Dec 2008 20:16
Bill McCarthy wrote: > "Karl E. Peterson" <karl(a)mvps.org> wrote ... >> Well, no, I don't have a totally "clean" Win95 machine to verify that on. > > If you're using VPC you should look at using differencing discs. Makes it > easy to rollback. Differencing disks (coming to terms with) have been on my TODO list for too long now! > Admittedly these days hard disc space is so cheap I tend to just copy entire > VPCs as soon as I create them. Yep. That's what I'm doing now, too. Store a clean one, then store a couple more with various common scenarios, and build from there as needed. -- ..NET: It's About Trust! http://vfred.mvps.org |