* PSU V3 installation - a few thoughts

[Frankyls]

Hi,
today I installed PSU V3 on my laptop to test it before I buy it. I used PSU V2 since half a year (or so) and didnt want to destroy my working installation with a program in demo mode, therefore I was very carefull - and it was good to be carefully.
One of the actions taken was to copy my PSU database and to name the 2 database folders acordingly (e.g. PSU V2 DB and PSU V3 DB)

Here are my observations:
1. PSU V3 wants to install itself into the directory where PSU V2 is installed. This can be changed, but for a demo I would prefer a different folder. If one is not aware of this then you overwrite your PSU V2 installation.

2. What happens when you start PSU V3 for the first time depends on the settings of PSU V2. If you run PSU V2 with "show a login dialog on startup" disabled, then PSU V3 start converting your database at once. You will not be asked if that is ok. That is something I don't find ok. I would suggest to place a dialog window before the conversion starts (and which shows the database to be converted).

3. After conversion of the database I closed PSU V3 and started PSU V2. I got a message that I'm trying to open a newer database with an older program version. The only thing I could do is to leave the dialog by pressing ok. It would be helpful to be able to open a different database!

4. I renamed the databased I had prepared for the installation: PSU V2 DB was converted to PSU V3, so I renamed the folder to PSU V3 DB and the other way round

5. After this I started PSU V2 again without error message. I enabled "show a login dialog on startup" in settings, closed the program.

6. Started PSU V3, selected the correct PSU V3 DB folder and DB in the dialog, the program started as expected.

7. Closed PSU V3 and started PSU V2. To my surprise the version 3 database was preselected in the dialog. I didn't expect this. It seems as if the login dialog is used for both program versions. I believe this is dangerous. Not if you start PSU V2 after working with PSU V3, but in the other way round. You can convert you DB to version 3 by accident if you are not carefull!

Hert, please think about it. My opinion is this should and can be improved.

regards

Frank

PS: my OS is Win 8.1 64 bit

[vlad]

FWIW, I would have liked a straighforward way to run V2 or V3 as I pleased, completely independent of each other, too. (OTOH, I have the feeling that I'm going to forget pretty soon about PSU V2. )

[Hert]

Thank you for your input Frank and you do raise some valid points. But best to log feature requests in Mantis. Before you know it I forget about this topic.
http://mantis.idimager.com

[vlad]

1. PSU V3 wants to install itself into the directory where PSU V2 is installed. This can be changed, but for a demo I would prefer a different folder. If one is not aware of this then you overwrite your PSU V2 installation.

Agreed - but I haven't bothered to submit any ticket (since I had already installed V3 in a different folder).

2. What happens when you start PSU V3 for the first time depends on the settings of PSU V2. If you run PSU V2 with "show a login dialog on startup" disabled, then PSU V3 start converting your database at once. You will not be asked if that is ok. That is something I don't find ok. I would suggest to place a dialog window before the conversion starts (and which shows the database to be converted).

Agreed - I sumbitted request #2572.

3. After conversion of the database I closed PSU V3 and started PSU V2. I got a message that I'm trying to open a newer database with an older program version. The only thing I could do is to leave the dialog by pressing ok. It would be helpful to be able to open a different database!

Agreed - I sumbitted request #2573.

7. Closed PSU V3 and started PSU V2. To my surprise the version 3 database was preselected in the dialog. I didn't expect this. It seems as if the login dialog is used for both program versions. I believe this is dangerous. Not if you start PSU V2 after working with PSU V3, but in the other way round. You can convert you DB to version 3 by accident if you are not carefull!

Yesterday I was actually bitten myself by such an "accident" (except that I did not have the login dialog enabled - which meant my old V2 database was automatically converted to V3, without getting a chance to decline and choose another database). This is what has prompted me to submit request #2574 (as well as the other two mentioned before).

Hert, please think about it. My opinion is this should and can be improved.

And so is mine! I submitted detailed Mantis tickets to keep all the issues on record - but IMHO they make sense to be addressed sooner rather than later (since they all affect the ongoing V2 to V3 transition). Until then, I hope other users can learn from Frank's experience and mine - and are careful enough to avoid avoid any pitfalls.

Regards,
Vlad

[lippe]

Hi Vlad,

My advise for working with 2 different Photo Supreme versions: specify a different database for each version and don't use the registry for storing the settings.
Create a shortcut for each version on a safe location. Below an example for Photo Supreme V3 on Windows 64 bit

Code: Select all

"C:\Program Files\IDimager Products\Photo Supreme x64\IDimagerSU.exe" -regfile "%localappdata%\IDimager Systems, Inc\psu3.idreg" -D "%localappdata%\IDimager Systems, Inc\catalog\IdimagerSU3.cat.db"