Re: [Bug-gnubg] How to change the directory where settings saved?

[Philippe Michel]

On Sun, 27 Oct 2013, Ben Stover wrote:

> Anyway this trick
> - should be documented

Indeed

> - allow a relative path (like "..\mypreferences") starting at GnuBGs 
> installation directory which means "go up one dir and then step down 
> into neighbor dir "mypreferences"

This should work as well. It does on unix and there is no reason why it 
wouldn't on Windows.

> - not only available as cmdline flag but as menu option

It seems quite awkward to me :
- you start gnubg with no pre-existing user preferences
- it uses its default settings (including saving its preferences in 
$HOME/.gnubg)
- you change the setting for the preferences directory
- and then it shouldn't autosave its settings (like it usually does when 
the configuration is changed) but on the contrary reread them from this 
new directory

Isn't creating a shortcut starting it with the right flag  simpler ?


This should be enough when the memory stick always uses the same drive 
letter, but to have something truly portable, I think we'll have to use 
some kind of environment variable in the settings involving a path.

Consider this scenario :
- you install gnubg in E:\gnubg
- the first time it runs, it creates a gnubgautorc with lines like:
set matchequitytable "E:\gnubg\met\Rockwell-Kazaross.xml"
- you use your memory stick on another computer where it is seen as F:\

It seems the beginning of such paths, if it matches the installation 
directory, should be replaced by a variable, something like:
set matchequitytable "%GNUBGDATA\met\Rockwell-Kazaross.xml"

And then, at runtime, it would use this environment variable if set, or 
default to its installation directory.

The portable version would then be started from a short script that 
determines where it is run from, sets the environment variable accordingly 
and launches the real executable with -s %GNUBGDATA\preferences or 
something similar.