PixInsight 1.8.1 Ripley Released

[Juan Conejero]

Excellent hacking, bitli!

[georg.viehoever]

is the recommendation still to uninstall before installing a new version?

Yes, you should always uninstall the previous version. The installer program will erase the previous PixInsight folder on Program Files and on the Start menu, so in theory it should work without a previous uninstall. However, uninstalling costs nothing and guarantees a sanitized environment before starting to work with a new version of the platform.

I dont really understand this: Is the action taken by the Windows Installer sufficient, or is it not? If it is not sufficient, then I think the installer should be improved to do the uninstall automatically. If it is sufficient, the recommendation to uninstall is nonsense. 

Georg

[Juan Conejero]

Well, Windows can do many things behind the scenes when an application is installed, which are beyond the control of an installation program. A previous uninstall is always an advisable safety procedure in my opinion.

[georg.viehoever]

So maybe make the uninstall (optionally) part of the install routine. That's how other programs do it...
Georfg

[bitli]

A creative alternative? :
If the file PixInsight64.ini was suffixed by the version of PI (build #, or whatever changes when the ini file is invalidated), would this not solve the problem of having to delete/reset the initialization file AND the possibility to have multiple versions ? In addition it would be easier to reference the old settings and daring users can still copy them to the current version if they want.
May be there could even be a file per 'instance' (like sufixed by -<instance>), so that it would be easy and relatively obvious for advanced users to play tricks, like copy the base instance to other instance, or delete just an instance settings.

I would really like to be able to keep an old version of PI around, because updating just before doing a presentation or finishing an image for a context makes me nervous. And I cannot resist updating to try the latest tools.

-- bitli

[IanL]

I usually keep the last version (and sometimes the one before) installed in case of problems with a new release.  On the whole the only issue I have encountered is toolbars needing to be sorted out if I revert to a previous version.  If something seriously weird starts happening, it is easy enough to wipe the ini file and start over.  Accepted this is not Juan's recommended practice and clearly there is a risk of things going wrong.

It would be nice to have the ability to run multiple versions with their own settings.  In the interim, given the ini is stored in the user profile, why not set up multiple windows accounts (one for each version you install) and just switch user if you want to revert to an older version?

[Niall Saunders]

Well,

To those who may remember me, you will have realised that I have been 'away' for (by my calculations) some three years now (just being 'too busy' to do any astroimaging).

But, boy, do I seem to have resurfaced at a good time!!

OK - so I have about 4000 thread posts to catch up on. But, I'll get there.

What I do get is the new-look 1.8 (downloaded yesterday, ready to be installed tonight - if I can make the required HDD space !!). Most importantly, I get the new interface without the hassle of having to 'transition' from the old interface (1.5x / early 1.6x). So - having totally foraotten just about everything I ever knew about PixInsight, I can simply start all over again.

I won't have to worry about icon colours, or menu layouts, or how to apply a Hostogram Stretch. I simply know that all my favourite tools and processes will be there (somewhere) and I will just need to find them all, and re-aquaint myself with them in their new guises!

Glad all the stalwarts have been working hard in my absence - I get to reap the rewards without having had to do any work 

Well done to all who have contributed.

Cheers,
Niall

[Harry page]

Hi Niall


Well now your are here I hope you are staying a while 

Sort of miss your thought experiments 

Harry

[Niall Saunders]

I had thought experiments?

Well, that disproves some of the theories put forward by my medical team. . . .

Yes - I am going to try and stick around for a while - after all, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the wonderful clear skies we have enjoyed this winter, here in the UK.

I'm still trying to de-clutter my HDDs, so that I can get 1.8 installed (3GB left on a 300GB C: drive - something HAS to go). Although I have 2x2TB in one ReadyNAS Duo and 2x500Gb in another, and a further pair of internal 1TB drives in the PC, I remain fastidiously paranoid about losing any data - so it is a permanent re-shuffle to keep within 300Gb or 'working' space. I really don't want to upgrade the internal drives - because then I would need to upgrade all the other drives to ensure that I always have at least two incremental backup sets on at least two separate physical drives (of which two will always be RAID X), and where the two NAS drives are in totally separate locations (one lives under the stairs in the house, the other lives in the observatory at the bottom of the garden). Paranoid? Me?

Glad to be back.

Cheers,
Niall