[GNC] Updates on Windows

[John Ralls]

> On Jan 21, 2021, at 5:53 AM, David T. via gnucash-user <gnucash-user at gnucash.org> 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