Subject: AbiWord file association capture - opinions?
From: John Selby (a.selby@paradise.net.nz)
Date: Fri Jan 18 2002 - 14:20:44 CST
I'm just wondering what people think about the default setup for the Windows
version of Abiword, which now by default "captures" the file associations
for .rtf and .doc documents.
When this first happened (with AbiWord 0.9.4 if I remember rightly) and I
simply installed with the defaults I was dismayed to find that AbiWord had
taken over file associations that I didn't want it to interfere with.
I found that it was no simple matter to reverse the situation, because the
file extensions .abw, .doc and .rtf had all been lumped together as a group
in my registry and I couldn't think of an easy way to separate them out
again (that is, to have .rtf and .doc associated with Wordpad, and .abw with
AbiWord). I solved the problem by restoring my previous registry from a backup.
I think this default behaviour is not desirable, because most people just
accept the defaults when they install software. The average computer user
simply doesn't understand the choices offered in "custom" installation menus
and will allow the installation to proceed with its defaults. I think many
people will be dismayed to find that the installation of AbiWord has "messed
up" something they didn't really intend to change.
I'm asking for opinions here rather than filing a bug report, because the
installation default behaviour is not really a bug - it's a "feature" :-).
Personally I would prefer that the default setting for installation of
AbiWord were to have the file association "radio button" left unchecked, so
that the user needs to make a deliberate decision to change the file
associations for .rtf and .doc.
I understand that a number of the hard working developers of AbiWord
subscribe to this group, so they may be interested in some expressions of
opinion. What do you think?
Regards, John Selby.
Napier, New Zealand.
__________________
John Selby
selby@paradise.net.nz
__________________
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