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From: peter@hari.Viewlogic.COM (Peter Colby)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Re: I just downloaded StuffIt Classic and...
Keywords: stuffit classic compactor
Message-ID: <1990Nov7.101621@hari.Viewlogic.COM>
Date: 7 Nov 90 15:16:21 GMT
References: <2780@esquire.dpw.com> <kw48R1w163w@tosh.UUCP> <2787@esquire.dpw.com>
Sender: news@viewlogic.com (News Administrator)
Reply-To: peter@hari.Viewlogic.COM (Peter Colby)
Distribution: na
Organization: Viewlogic Systems, Inc., Marlboro, MA
Lines: 56

In article <2787@esquire.dpw.com>, baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve
Baumgarten) writes:
|> Because I don't want to keep the installer around after I've
installed
|> it (it does take up another 400K or thereabouts).  So a friend stops
|> by, says, "Gee, that looks like a useful utility.  Can you make a
copy
|> for me?" and I have to remember to copy the application, its
|> subfolder, the two folders it creates in the System folder, etc.

Why not keep it around on a spare disk (I mean you DO keep "backup
copies"
of your software, right?.

|> I know it's not a big deal, but I prefer having the application and
|> all its support files together.  After all, what's the point of
|> putting these things in the System folder?  Most word processors and
|> DTP packages keep their myriad dictionaries and printer definition
|> files in subfolders within the application folder, and that seems to
|> work fine.  And certainly on an Appleshare network, it makes little
|> sense to duplicate the Help and Optimizer files in everyone's System
|> folders, rather than just having them live in one place on the
server.

Actually, StuffIt Deluxe (which has the same support files issue) can
find
just about everything in the application folder thus making it
unnecessary
to keep stuff in the system folder. I believe the only exceptions (for
SD)
are the Magic Menu stuff and the Preferences file. I would try the same
for StuffIt Classic as well.
 
|> Anyway, it's not a big deal, just a general inconvenience.  And if
all
|> the files could live together in the same folder (or in
sub-folders),
|> you wouldn't *need* an installer in the first place.

There are other reasons for having an installer program - as mentioned,
one is to ensure that the complete set of files for the program stays
(unmodified) in one place.

I personally HATE the installer for a number of other reasons (like it
doesn't work for me, and I can't interrogate it to find out what files
are
there so I can decide what I need or what I happen to be missing from
the
last time it crapped out on me.

Peter C

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