Move extensions.data file

Status: Implemented

Created by James Kanjo 13 May 2011 22:31

**STE **

Notice the red circle in the image attached

I don't like how STE creates a data file within the root directory of the application itself. Because I store STE.app within my Applications folder (where it belongs), I always see this ugly "extensions.data" file when I view the grid-view of my apps.

I would suggest that the data file be moved to the ~/Library/STE/ directory instead, where app settings are commonly stored in the Mac OS.

You also have options here, as there are two library folders:

• root/Library/
• root/Users/{user's name}/Library/

If you placed it in the "Users" library, then each user could have their own individual extensions settings. But given that STE.app is a specialty application, you may not need to have settings on a per user basis, and just keep it in the "global" library folder.

leiger Profile | Send PM

14 May 2011 03:25. Edited 4 times. (Edit, Permalink) I had a quick attempt at fixing this for 3.40, but due to some complications I reverted it back and left it how it was. To save to the /root/Library folder, you must have Administrator permissions. Otherwise, the changes you make won't persist between sessions. Most likely everyone using STE on a Mac at the moment is an Administrator of their machine, but I don't want to just rely on that being the case. I think the best solution would be to instead put all of these files (extensions.data and recentdocs.data) into a separate folder, still in the same place as STE, but start the folder's name with a period (.) - this will have the following effect: Mac OS X / Linux: Hidden folder automatically Windows: Regular folder, that can be hidden if you want to via folder settings Would that work? This might make it harder for Mac and Linux users to copy those files to a different computer though (which can be particularly useful in the case of extensions.data, if the second computer doesn't have an Internet connection). I'm not sure what the best way to access a hidden folder is on Mac OS X. Windows users can just type the folder name into the address bar (which Mac/Linux doesn't have!). Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now)

GoVegan Profile | Send PM

14 May 2011 05:29. Edited 0 times. (Edit, Permalink) Instead of making a hidden folder, why not just use the library folder in the users home folder (my option 2 above)??? Surely that folder doesn't require root privileges? The only "problem" you would then have is having settings on a "per user" basis (possibly a good thing after all). Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now)

Arotaritei Vlad Profile | Send PM

11 Jun 2011 13:11. Edited 0 times. (Edit, Permalink) For Windows you can just store it in the application data folder (maybe…): C:\Documents and Settings\user\Application Data\STE Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now)

leiger Profile | Send PM

11 Jun 2011 14:07. Edited 0 times. (Edit, Permalink) Yep, those folder locations will be default. But what I really want to do is to let users choose where to store config files, so you can move them somewhere else if you want. Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now)

Arotaritei Vlad Profile | Send PM

12 Jun 2011 06:21. Edited 0 times. (Edit, Permalink) When you choose the location, a "Hide the config files" checkbox would be cool. Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now)

leiger Profile | Send PM

27 Jun 2011 07:53. Edited 0 times. (Edit, Permalink) This is what I'm going with: OS File separator Home directory Location of *.data files Windows 7 \ C:\Users\Shane HOME_DIR\AppData\Local\STE\ Mac OS X 10.6 / /Users/shane HOME_DIR/Library/STE/ Ubuntu 10.10 / /home/shane HOME_DIR/STE/ Other, e.g. non-existent "Millionaire OS"1 $ $bank$shane HOME_DIR$STE$ Most likely I won't let you change the folder location in the next version of STE, but I'm implementing it in a way that makes this easy to add sometime in the future. Once I'm satisfied that this works 100% fine on all operating systems using these default folders, I'll most likely let you change it. Your existing extensions.data and recentdocs.data files will automatically be moved to the new location when you start STE. This check is performed every time (not just once) - making it just as easy to install extensions on a computer with no Internet connection: just drag-and-drop the file into the same directory as STE, then run STE to automatically move the file to the correct folder. Footnotes 1. STE will happily use a completely random file separator like this and work on any Operating System … as long as it has Java, of course! ;-) Included page "inc:signature" does not exist (create it now) [[footnoteblock]]

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