Re: [Libreoffice] Installing beta versions replacing stable versions

I would +100 this suggestion.  AFAIK, under Windows, there is no easy way to
do a side-by-side installation, and certainly no way within the reach of a
typical user.  Without the ability to do a side-by-side, many users are not
going to test the Beta builds, and the quality of the release will suffer.

 

I would propose that all Beta and Dev releases (which are sorely needed BTW,
since the recent Beta releases have been "Dev" quality, not "Beta" quality)
would install to a "Dev" location, and only the RC's and final releases
would install to the release location.

 

AFAIK (at least for the predecessor project OpenOffice.org), there is (was?)
a well-documented switch that changed the product name and installation
location.  Under Windows, it would for example change the UpgradeCode
property in the Windows Installer file, the program base directory path and
base registry key, and the ProductKey and UserInstallation values in
bootstrap.ini.  These parameters need to be set and tested by the person who
creates the build.  I'm not sure if a patch is needed, but even if it is,
there would need to be a commitment to use it and an understanding how it
would be used.  If we come to such an agreement and a patch is needed, I
would be happy to look into it, but in order to prevent that effort from
being wasted, IMO, we should discuss and agree first on whether this is
something we want to do.

 

Thank you,

 

Allen