Please advise benefits of alternative configurations

[alan]

I have downloaded BatteryBar version 3.2 build 62.

I like the configuration options when installing,
I especially appreciate how small it is without languages and themes.

Windows Add / Remove can often reconfigure installations, but not for BatteryBar. It would be nice if it could.
The Start menu has a BatteryBar item. I was disappointed that it fails to configure.
I did manage to reconfigure by running the set-up file again.
I was able to do this without first un-installing BatteryBar - eventually ! !

I FOUND A BUG.
The re-installation proceeded gracefully - but eventually I realised it had silently ground to a halt.
I launched Windows Task Manager and saw the Batterybar Installer was not responding, so I closed it.
Then I realised the installer might expect exclusive access to the Batterybar folder it was re-creating,
so I killed a remaining BatterBar process and watched the existing task-bar item disappear,
and then I could re-install on top of the existing installation.

Please advise me on the use / benefits of alternative configurations :-
1. Only BatteryBar ToolBar
2. Only BatteryBar Floating ToolBar without Running on start-up
3. Only BatteryBar Floating ToolBar PLUS Run floating on start-up
4. All the above together.
NB I will be using the licensed PRO version.

Will any of the above options, or some other minor "tweak", defer the starting of BatteryBar until I choose to launch it by my start-up script ?

When my daughter logs on she often forgets to switch on the supply.
I think the start-up supervisor will have to give her multiple Floating Toolbars ! !

Regards
Alan.

[Chris]

Start menu item
The start menu item is automatically installed when you install the Floating toolbar, since that would be the only way to turn it on. I suppose I could make it a separate option but then you'd just have to make a shortcut yourself.

Installation bug
It's probable that BatteryBar fails to install properly on standard XP user accounts. On Vista and 7 it will request elevation. I'll need to do some more testing on that.

Reconfigure BatteryBar
I think that this is a limitation of the current installer model I'm using. Perhaps I need to investigate switching to MSI for the installer.

Configurations
Only BatteryBar Toolbar
This is the classic BatteryBar that runs on your taskbar. It's not a stand-alone application and can only be used as a toolbar. The benefit to this is that it's always visible and never covers anything on your desktop.

Floating Toolbar
The floating toolbar is a stand-alone version of BatteryBar. It does not run on the taskbar. This version was request by users who either have problems with the toolbar running or they don't want to give up space on the taskbar.

There isn't much reason to have it not run on startup, but I think it's important for people to opt-in to a program adding itself to run on startup. When set to run on startup, the floating toolbar will run as soon as you login, meaning you don't have to go and open it yourself. You may not want to do this if you use your laptop mostly with the power cord plugged in but you want to see it when you're on battery.

All of the above together
Actually, it's a bad idea to have both running together. Right now both versions use the same settings and profile files, so running them at the same time will cause odd behavior. I ought to change the installer so that you have to choose between one or the other, but not both.

Startup script
If you want to control when BatteryBar starts and stops, then the floating toolbar is the best option. The toolbar (taskbar) version is controlled by explorer, so if the bar is on when you logoff/shutdown, it'll automatically reload when you login.

[alan]

Thank you for the information Chris.

I will now try the TaskBar version and if it degrades my start-up then remove it and use the Floating version.

You say "it's a bad idea to have both running together". I had assumed that both together was a valid option because both check-boxes were ticked by default when i launched the setup. Perhaps it would be helpful for others to change the initial defaults.

There is no bug when performing a clean installation,
merely an inconvenient freeze when running the setup.exe to reconfigure, and it waits because the folders are already in use.
It failed to tell me, but I was naughty trying this without first stopping the running process.
When I used Add/Remove to remove BatteryBar, I was given a warning that I had to close the running process. BatteryBar did good ! !

I know I was doing naughty things, but I like to explore the boundaries ! !

No, No, No, please, not an MSI installer - I hate them.
I prefer "portable" software that keeps out of the registry and can be un-installed by a simple folder deletion.
I do tolerate non-portable stuff that is installed, but MSI is another matter.

To un-install a non-MSI application requires a minimal overhead of a little bit of code that can remove all its folders and registry settings.

To un-install an MSI application requires the permanent retention in Windows of a monstrous jumbo installer that can do far more than is needed for removal, and without which it can be impossible to upgrade the product, whose new installer demands data from the old installer before it will upgrade.
Some years ago I would upgrade the antispy AdAware - but when I found they changed to an MSI installer I immediately reverted to the previous version.
Many times "Windows Messenger" was blocked because a new update was released and Microsoft demanded installation of the update before they would resume service. I was horrified when I found that each update had not only required the presence of the previous installer, but even worse, after completely installing it failed to remove the out-of-date installer. I found a series of 8 versions of the installer.
An MSI installer can "repair" a broken application, but now I have broadband I would prefer to download a second time rather than "repair" it.

It took some effort, but half of C:\ has now been relocated to other partitions or otherwise removed. The time taken to create a backup image of C:\ has halved. Hence my obsession with avoiding space wasting MSI installers.

Regards
Alan

[Guest]

Windows has a built-in feature: you can undock a toolbar from the taskbar and have it floating on the desktop - it works best with the Language toolbar (can be configured through Control Panel-Regional Settings; it's shown by default if you use a non-English key mapping).

Maybe you could improve your BatteryBar to work correctly with this feature (the floating bar shows only a part of the meter on my Windows XP).

-Ether