> On Jan 21, 2021, at 5:53 AM, David T. via gnucash-user 
> <[email protected]> wrote:
> 
> Hello,
> 
> I've used GnuCash for a very long time, under different operating systems 
> (currently GC4.4 on WIndows 10), and I have a minor question about the 
> upgrade process under Windows.
> 
> When I updated under MacOS, I was able to install multiple versions in 
> parallel simply by renaming the app bundle in Applications (for example, from 
> Gnucash.app to Gnucash-3.11.app). It was then possible to run either version, 
> if needed. Under Windows, however, the installation process begins by 
> removing the earlier version from the system.
> 
> Setting aside the wisdom or folly aspect of having or running multiple 
> versions of GnuCash, I am curious why it is that the Windows installer always 
> removes the previous version before installing the next. While this is a 
> minor point, it *does* have an effect in my daily usage. I pin the Gnucash 
> icon to the taskbar, to make it easy to find and run (Aside: one of the 
> things I like least about Windows 10 is its management of the Apps menu). 
> When the new version gets installed, this is not preserved, and I have to 
> re-pin the icon after every update. As I've already noted, this is a minor 
> point, but it's the kind of oddity that sticks in my brain.
> 
> Could someone explain this oddity to me?

As Derek says, macOS is the odd one out because it alone has self-contained 
application bundles. Windows hard-codes paths in all sorts of metadata that 
make it difficult-to-impossible to have more than one installation of any 
particular program. Package managers, including MacPorts and Fink on macOS 
(Homebrew just downloads our dmg), have a fixed directory heirarchy that 
affords only one installation of any particular program. Users with enough 
knowledge of GnuCash's pieces can move things around and set up different 
environments to have more than one version installed, but that's beyond the 
average user.

I suspect what's going on is that the pinned shortcut in the taskbar is a 
pointer or flag of some sort on the Start menu shortcut. The uninstaller 
deletes that and the installer makes a new one that doesn't have the flag set. 
You might try creating a separate shortcut that the installer doesn't know 
about and pinning that to the taskbar.

Regards,
John Ralls

_______________________________________________
gnucash-user mailing list
[email protected]
To update your subscription preferences or to unsubscribe:
https://lists.gnucash.org/mailman/listinfo/gnucash-user
If you are using Nabble or Gmane, please see 
https://wiki.gnucash.org/wiki/Mailing_Lists for more information.
-----
Please remember to CC this list on all your replies.
You can do this by using Reply-To-List or Reply-All.

Reply via email to