Install path on Windows

[xelra]

I was just looking for where Atom installed itself and I saw that it's a user-context installation. Unfortunately it's not in the correct path for user-context installations.

If you have a look at the Windows Dev Center page for Installation Context you'll see that user-context installations go to %LocalAppData%\Programs, but Atom installed itself to just %LocalAppData%. It would be great if this could be changed to adhere to Windows standards.

[RichardMisencik]

Or how about being able to choose the install path? Like every other installer instead of this silent installer

[xelra]

@RichardMisencik There has already been an issue about that and it has been closed for good reason.

This issue is about just the user-context installation path not adhering to Windows standards.

[50Wliu]

Hmm. I have a bunch of stuff under %localappdata%, but only a single Python folder under %localappdata%\Programs.

/cc @paulcbetts

[ericcornelissen]

@50Wliu, same here... But based on the article referenced by @xelra I think this is the result of the fact that older versions of Windows (apparently) did not have a dedicated folder for Per-User Installations, and so programmers decided to just put Per-User Installations in %LocalAppData% (but this is pure speculation).

Windows Server 2008 and earlier, and Windows Vista and earlier: No per-user capable folder is available. The path is the same as for the per-machine context (for example, %ProgramFiles% or %ProgramFiles(x86)%.) Files in this folder can be accessed by all users.

Given this context, I see no reason not to install Atom in %LocalAppData%\Programs if that is the official/intended way to install Per-User Installations by Windows.

[xelra]

@EllyeFS Please do not hijack my issue for another issue ("Customizability of the install path in the installer on Windows").

Personally I completely agree with the current stance of non-customizability. On every OS other than Windows it is common place not to get asked about where software gets installed. There are pre-defined paths that get chosen based on the installation context.
On Windows it's actually no different. Microsoft tells developers exactly (see my link) where software should be installed. Choosing custom install paths actually has implications for security and inter-operability. Only because the common Windows installers chose to ignore this for 30 years, doesn't make it a good choice, it just creates a generation of miseducated users.
Even on Windows this is changing though. With package managers like Chocolatey or the Windows App Store taking over, there won't be any custom installations anymore.
Just think about it, have you ever chosen an install path on Android? Linux? OSX? iOS? Even on Linux you only get to choose the prefix if you compile yourself. And everyone who does so, educates themselves about where software goes for his specific distro.

Installers that are not unattended are a thing of the past and it's a good thing they're dying out.

[damieng]

I'm open to considering %localappdata%\programs as it shouldn't have all the limitations and restrictions around permissions and updates that %programfiles% (c:\program files) has.

One thing to consider however is that this does add another 9 characters to the path length. That doesn't sound much but given the 255 character limit on Windows and some of the npm node_modules that aren't flattened some users - especially those with long usernames - could break again.

Changing the install path is not as simple as it sounds as the installer Squirrel is opinionated as to what paths to use. There are a many number of other applications using Squirrel and changing it there would likely upset and break other packages. It would need to be configurable there.

[Zireael07]

The npm character limit should be gone with the latest version, though - or am I misremembering when the update was supposed to happen?

[damieng]

npm 3 flattens the folders out to a single hierarchy for packages where there are no version conflicts. Conflicted versions still get nested and tend to have conflicted sub-dependencies of their own.

[ghost]

@xelra Just wanted to let you know the reason why other OS' (at least Linux) don't ask for your file path is because of how the system is structured. Linux uses the /home directory for all personal files and everything else is stored in the other file locations. Don't think many people will be able to tell you why the program doesn't install in the programs file.

[stale]

Thanks for your contribution!

This issue has been automatically marked as stale because it has not had recent activity. Because the Atom team treats their issues as their backlog, stale issues are closed. If you would like this issue to remain open:

1. Verify that you can still reproduce the issue in the latest version of Atom
2. Comment that the issue is still reproducible and include:
   • What version of Atom you reproduced the issue on
   • What OS and version you reproduced the issue on
   • What steps you followed to reproduce the issue

Issues that are labeled as triaged will not be automatically marked as stale.

[lock]

This issue has been automatically locked since there has not been any recent activity after it was closed. If you can still reproduce this issue in Safe Mode then please open a new issue and fill out the entire issue template to ensure that we have enough information to address your issue. Thanks!