INIRELOC does not look up the program directory

[Garlin007]

The addon program INIRELOC can be used to re-enter the INI file locations, in case you didn't get it right the first time when you installed Total Commander.

It has the same options as when you install Total Commander, including "Program Directory".

If you choose "Program Directory" during install it works as you would expect - it puts the ini files in the program directory - even if you chose to install Total Commander in a directory other than the default directory. In may case, I chose to install Total Commander in C:\Program Files\TotalCmd instead of the default C:\totalcmd (or something similar, but it was a folder off the root).

If you choose "Program Directory" in INIRELOC it seems as if it will set the registry entries to point to the default program directory - not the actual program directory. This works fine for people who have installed Total Commander in the default directory, but will not work as expected for those of us who didn't. I think that either the wording for that choice should be changed to "Default Program Directory"; or better, it should set the registry entries to point to the actual program directory.

For anyone reading this post who has run into this problem with INIRELOC, choose "Other Location" to set the INI file location.

[robinsiebler]

Why not just directly edit the registry? It's a lot faster than downloading, uncompressing and using a specific program for such a simple task.

[Garlin007]

Actually, Robin, it was harder than you might expect! I searched around in the registry for the setting and couldn't find it! I searched for wincmd.ini and totalcmd, hoping I would find the existing entry so I could change it. In my case this was a second user on the computer, and unless you have specified to use the same INI file location for all users when you install the program, the ini entries are only in HKCU for the user that installed the program. There was nothing for me to modify for this second user since there was no default entry in .DEFAULT nor anything in HKLM nor HKCU.

Of course I know this now after hunting around in the registry, the INI files and the documentation for a half hour - but I didn't know it before I started. It turned out to be much easier to download the program and use it to change the settings. Only after they were changed was I able to find them.

Also, while it may be easy for us "techies" to change the registry , for 99% of the users out there the registry is forbidden territory (for good reason) so they are better off using a program. Of course, those same users are probably unlikely to change the location anyway - but for those who want to we might as well make the program work as expected.

[Sheepdog]

TC is saving it's path at both HKLM\software\ghisler\total COmmander and HKCU\Software\Ghisler\Total Commander - when you install it with th install Program. There it saves
a) the path to wincmd.ini
b) the path to wcx_ftp.ini
c) the path you installed TC in (i.e. the programm directory)

If you do not install TC and copy only the programm directory from your backup CD, there is no path in the registry. So you can't find it there

When you start TC from your copied directory, it uses a wincmd.ini in your %windows%-directory.

When you decide to relocate the wincmd.ini with 'inireloc' the former mentioned paths will be created at the registry (Maybe only in HKCU if you don't check the 'for all users' checkbox - i didn't try it). For inireloc cannot know, where your TC were installed it assumes the default directory 'c:\totalcmd' as 'programm directory'. And if you do not declare 'other location' it assumes you want to locate the ini files in the default program directory.

You request that inireloc should use the actual program directory. But how should it know it? By searching all drives for TC? There might be more than on TC-directory ( Actually I use permanently 3 to four different TC installations). You can say 'use the %Commander_path% ' , but what if inireloc isn't started from within TC.

I think the behavior of inireloc is reasonable.

sheepdog

[Garlin007]

I did install the program using the Install.exe, and it added these three keys
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ghisler\Total Commander "FtpIniName"
Type: REG_SZ
Data: .\wcx_ftp.ini
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ghisler\Total Commander "IniFileName"
Type: REG_SZ
Data: .\wincmd.ini
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Ghisler\Total Commander "InstallDir"
Type: REG_SZ
Data: C:\Program Files\TotalCmd

I tracked the installation like I do with all software I install and so I know id did not add any keys to HKLM except the uninstall information.

Later on when I logged on as another user there were no keys in HKLM nor HKCU for that user.

You are right - if there is no information for INIRELOC to refer to in order to know where Total Commander is installed it is reasonable for the Program Directory option to use the default program directory. The question is, if I installed the program using the Installer, why is there no information for it to look at?

I think I may have discovered that the install program is not working as expected since it is not storing information in HKLM. I think that since Total Commander first looks in HKCU for the location of the INI files and then in HKLM, it is reasonable that whether or not you choose the All Users Use This Location option that the path is stored in HKLM. I think that if you do not chooose that option then the install program only updates HKCU - which is different from what you thought should be happening.

[Aezay]

Maybe this topic will help:
http://www.ghisler.ch/board/viewtopic.php?t=258&highlight=registry+path

But read all posts, dont stop after mine.

[Garlin007]

It appears after reading that post that I am not the only one missing registry entries. My understanding of how Total Commander found its ini file was correct. The program first looks in HKCU and then in HKLM and then looks for files are in the Windows folder.

I think that some more thought has to go into which registry entries are set during install so that the program will work as expected when a user other than the one who installed the program logs in.

[Sheepdog]

I tried to install TC without changing the default settings and indeed there is not setting of TC at the registry at all.
Before that at least I changed the program directory of TC - so I assumed that the install programm always creates a registry entry.

That TC sometimes creates an entry and sometimes not is really rather confusing.
I agree to you that there should be a more predictable behavior of TC-Install concerning the registry.

sheepdog

[IGL]

Wouldn't it be better if TC does not touch the "filthy" registry and just searched for *.ini file in current directory? If in current directory wincmd.ini contains
IniDirRedirect=%windows%
then goes into C:\Windows and reads *.ini from there.
Another could be IniDirRedirect=%User%
In case you have normal wincmd.ini in this dir - it is used.