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Is anyone interested in an option to have Textpad use an INI file instead of the registry for preferences? I work on several servers that are locked down pretty tight - no registry access. Currently I can run textpad.exe but it doesn't remember my preferences....

Yes! The registry is Evil Anything that could possibly not be in it should ... not be in it.

In particular, it would make it a darn sight easier to transfer settings between users, machines, etc.

Anytime there are PC options you cannot control without the blessing of Big Brother, this is Evil. "Imagine a world with no registry, it's easy if you try..."

Yes, and also be able to store the ini file in any location, i.e. a network drive.

Would be very useful - I have to use a number of compilers across a number of projects and it would be useful to have the ability for a separate ini file for each setup rather than having multiple compiler options. It's easier to change as well!

Cheers,

Chris

Would still like this!!!
At the moment I edit in TextPad but then have to run the required IDE to compile the project. It would be nice if I could have a set up for each compiler (a different ini file which could reside in the project directory) then I would not have to leave TextPad at all

By the way, I seem to have lost the ability to display everyones picture in the forum - it just shows a small red cross. Is it just me?

dixonc wrote:By the way, I seem to have lost the ability to display everyones picture in the forum - it just shows a small red cross. Is it just me?

Same here. I suspect someone moved or disabled the avatar directory.

The key problem with the registry is that you don't understand it properly. If you know what you're doing, and only if, and if you have made an attempt to understand it, you will find it's easier to sling it around machines with group policy/ reg files than opening up a system's permissions so you can poke an ini file somewhere.

Keep the registry - it's what it's designed to do!

ninjalabs wrote:The key problem with the registry is that you don't understand it properly. If you know what you're doing, and only if, and if you have made an attempt to understand it, you will find it's easier to sling it around machines with group policy/ reg files than opening up a system's permissions so you can poke an ini file somewhere.

Keep the registry - it's what it's designed to do!

Everyone who's posted here "understands the registry" just fine. Just because someone has a different opinion than you do, doesn't make you right and them ignorant.

But keep that condecending attitude. I've sure it will get you far in life.

Trolls abound...

Some more insight for you so you see my point in full.

You should use the right tools for the right job and the registry is the right tool.

The condescending attitude comes from the experience I have gained over the last 10 years or so dealing with the registry and INI files and really poorly written software on VERY large (2000+ user) networks. Three points for consideration:

1. INI files are hard to replicate using group policy to client workstations or new build workstations. Textpad is used in some very large network environments, one of which I managed for 3 years. I wouldn't want to alienate those users by making the software unmanageable (like most text editors are) by spreading numerous ini files around.

2. The registry is where meta-data belonging to applications should reside. Microsoft have been trying to get people to use it for years and years, but they are fighting a losing battle against people with their own ideas. This causes fragmentation and gives windows a bad reputation for being unmanageable, when in fact it is poorly designed applications without the centralised configuraiton which are the problem.

3. The configuration should be in ONE place and ONE place only. This is logical. Registry scales infinitely, multiple INI files don't.

I'd be interested in hearing valid opinions against this.

Why not keep a TextPadConfig.txt file, written in plain text, in the same directory as TexPad.exe?

That is what I would like. Anyone else?

^OO^ wrote:Why not keep a TextPadConfig.txt file, written in plain text, in the same directory as TexPad.exe?

Because Windows allows more than one user to share the same installation of a program. With that solution, ALL users on a machine would have a SINGLE set of options. Or, whenever you use the machine after someone else used it, you'd have to set back options to what you want (because that other user might have changed something).

If options are stored in a file, then in the appropriate place (i.e. in the user profile).

What about expanding the workspace format?

I am clueless about the registry and in general the inner workings of Windows and don't want to learn!!. All I would like is a way to set up TextPad so I can have one toolset for one project and for another project use a different toolset rather than having to have everything set up simultaneously. At the moment I'm involved on a number of projects which require 4 different c compilers plus lint. It would be nice for example to have one shortcut to the processor documentation which changed depending on the project as well as one compile button.

Don't care how it's done as long as I can easily edit the information and copy / change it for the next project (or zip up the project and email it to someone else to continue development). If people are against ini files the workspace file seems a reasonable place to put the information (it would reside with the source files which seems logical) although it would be useful if this was a plain text file so it can be edited easily, e.g. change compiler and settings - which sounds like an ini type file

registry is easy.

Configure textpad for each compiler and export the relevant registry data in turn:

1. configure compiler
2. start regedit (start -> run -> regedit)
3. navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Helios
4. right click export -> save reg file to "compiler1.reg" to "compiler4.reg"
5. goto 1.

To switch, close textpad, double click regfile for compiler options, start textpad.

For each project, distribute a regfile and a tws file.

Sorted. No harder than INI files!

Cheers for that - will give it a go!