Can we have a proper installer for Reflector now? It really irritates me that it comes in a zip and I have to put it somewhere myself. I just want a quick thing that will install it for me without fuss.
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11 comments
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Hi Colin,
It's funny you mention that. We've just set up an internal wiki page for people to add suggestions to, and that was one of the first things I wrote on it. I can't tell you if/when, it'll happen, but I can tell you you're not alone in wanting this, even amongst folks here at Red Gate. (I should also say that I can totally understand why Lutz Roeder never created an installer--they're the biggest pain in the neck you can possible imagine, and our collective will to live has been thoroughly sucked by the process of trying to get an installer for ANTS Profiler 4 that actually works properly all of the time on every platform.)
Thanks,
Bart -
Nooooooo! That's a horrible idea! :x
Installer:
1. Launch the installer;
2. Wade through dozens of pointless screens (welcome, license agreement, installation folder, "are you sure you want to install?", etc.)
3. Acknowledge UAC prompt (Vista);
4. Wait for the installer to copy the files to the installation folder, copy the files to the installer cache, update the registry, etc.
5. Launch the program;
Zip file:
1. Extract the files;
2. Launch the program;
If you feel that you have to offer an installer, you should keep the zip file option as well. -
Ahem. Zip file:
1. Extract files.
2. Dismiss prompt asking me if I want to overwrite existing files.
3. (First time only admittedly), create shortcut.
4. Drag shortcut to quicklaunch bar.
5. Launch the program.
Seriously though, I can see your point about Vista and UAC, and welcome screens for that matter. Maybe we could come up with some sort of double-click express installer that skips most of the guff, although UAC would continue to be a problem. Bear in mind though that Reflector only needs installing the once and will cheerfully upgrade itself... of course, that quite possibly wouldn't work if it had to download an installer (and again, the wonderful UAC could really cause problems here).
Like I say, I can't say if/when it'll happen, and there are other ancillary issues to be considered. I guess we'll see, and we're always open to user feedback. If we were to get an overwhelming quantity of feedback either way that would certainly influence any decision about this.
Cheers,
Bart -
The zip option requires me to create a folder somewhere, unzip the files to it, create a short cut and a whole buch of stuff I'd rather not have to think about. With an installer, even with lots of dialogs I can lazily just click-click-click right through the buttons without having to really think about anything. I can accept the defaults and I'm happy.
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I don't see any reason why we couldn't offer both options during the download process. (I constantly misplace my copy of reflector so an installer would suit me for my desktop) but there is also something very nice about being able to run it out of a zip file when at someone elses computer.
I'm not promising anything right now but we will look into it.
James -
I don't know a lot about it, but what about this new-fangled "web deployment" technology? This way you could run it from anywhere.
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An installer doesn't have to have a UI, so it would be possible to provide a 'quick install' version that puts everything in the default locations. It would also be possible to make a version with the usual prompts, but which could be disabled by using an msiexec command.
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Please, at least, keep a zip option!
To me, an "installer-only" software is definitely a no-no, especially when there is nothing more than a few files, no ActiveX, no registry edition, etc.
I can understand why some of us want an installer (ok, ok, it's not really fun to create a shortcut on the quicklaunch) but I don't think this should be the only way of distributing the software.
Please understand that some of us:
- may not have the right (account restrictions or legal) or the will to install things on the computer they want to run Reflector on
- prefer the usual and proven operations (unzip & erase) to an installer that may behave oddly (I know good and reliable installer procedures are hard to develop. The uninstall often fails because, "hey, our software isn't designed to be uninstalled, huh ?")
I want to still be able to download & extract the latest version on my thumbdrive, and then run it from there (on my PC, a friend's, or -- stealthily
-- a customer's)
Plus, keep in mind the following: the computer I run Reflector on may have NO Internet connection (so forget about forced/blocking updates : I was really annoyed by Reflector refusing to run when it stated its version was out of date...) -
I like using a browser with Reflector, and it would be so nice to register net components as browsable with IE Opera or firefox. I know it is easy with a /slash command, (i think that only does IE) but it gets tiresome after a while. There are a whole lot of other 'convenience' things that a proper installer would cure, like 'open-with with the right-click. James would never lose his copy of Reflector again.
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If there's a vote on this, I'd prefer the zip option (sorry Colin!) If an installer version was created, allowing a zip option would get my vote too.
Not alone: https://twitter.com/thoemmi/statuses/899092670
My 2p worth. -
There are times when I would like to be able to have something like this on a usb stick and run it from someone's machine as a diagnostic tool, or something without having to install it. Particularly if there are company restrictions for installing software on some machines.
On the other hand, for my development machine, I would be ecstatic to have an installer that would simplify the process of adding and removing this software.
So, if you make an installer, that would be great, but I would like the option to still run (at least the free version) without an installer.
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