what is it with PS prefs?

[hot_denim]

I have also had those thoughts

[Phosphor]

I don't think it's bad design, as I RARELY have had to delete my Photoshop prefs. Maybe once or twice in the past 7 years.

This is not meant to be infammatory in any way, but it has seemed to me (again over the past 7 years that I've been interacting online in Photoshop discuussions) that Windows folks are more often in need of a preference dump than we Maccers, but I wouldn't pretend to know why that is.

[Colin Walls]

Phos:

Although I'm a Windows man [simply because it is a default and offers me greatest choice], I have to admit that I do know why you have had less trouble. It's simply that MacOS provides a more secure programming environment that Windows. You comments bear out my suspicions.

[Daryl Pritchard]

I don't recall ever having to reset my preferences using any PS version with any version of the Windows O/S. Or, if I did it was only to learn how to. I guess I've been lucky to have had few problems in PS that I couldn't attribute to something other than preferences.

Daryl

[YrbkMgr]

Well to echo Phosphors remarks, although I'm a PC guy, and in fact, I'm in Win98SE, I have NEVER EVER had to reset my preferences.

Here's my opinion, and it's just an opinion.

Look at the scope of the questions in this forum. Some people think they know better and remove the Windows Swapfile. Some people have no idea how to change what program is associated with what. It's not a slam on them, but the fact is, there are SO MANY system variables.

That's basically a polite way to say, that *I* think people screw up their systems, usually out of ignorance. I still know people who think you can just delete a program folder and the program is removed (true in some cases, but not usually).

I view the Preferences file kind of like the Win.ini or System.ini files of Windows 3.1. It's a critical "bootstrap" file that everything is written to and unlike the win.ini file, PS rebuilds it to some default values.

With that analogy in mind, some people make changes to their systems, either inside of photoshop or outside of it and it screws the pooch where the prefs are concerned. Oh and don't forget about bad sectors on HD's and whatnot - how many visitors regularly do the housekeeping they need to? Based on my experience, not many.

When you ask about improvements, personally, they'd have to re-do the structure and here's my little soap box.

Whoever invented the Registry for Windows, had a good idea. But he/she used those screwed up numbers, you know, like:

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ai\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1

They should take that guy out and kick his ever luvin butt for that idea. Who on Gods green Earth knows what the hell that means?

Anyhow, that's my two cents.

Peace,
Tony

[YrbkMgr]

Right Brent. I'm win98, everything is groovy, I'm busy as all get out, so... what am I fixing? Even though, I'm an AMD Athalon 700, with 2-20 gigs and 256, If it ain't broke...

Although more speed would be nice... <shudder>

[Chris Cox]

We found one thing that caused the prefs to become corrput. But it still seems to happen far more often that it should.

We're looking into it.....

[dave milbut]

Who on Gods green Earth knows what the hell that means?




Me. :)

I'm willing to bet a great percentage of corrupt prefs are due to people just turning off their computers with programs open instead of useing shutdown. I've seen it happen. If I HAD to place a wager, I'd say between 20 and 40%!

[Daryl Pritchard]

Off? Shutdown??? What's that? :)

Heck, my PC is always on...then again, I have reasons for that, such as being able to access my FTP server from work.

[Klaas A Visser]

I'm going to echo the comments around a lot of issues having their genesis
in the user's "approach to computing". I am by no means an expert, but have
always made a point of understanding the underpinnings of any system I use.
This is probably due to being a computer service engineer when Bill Gates
and Paul Allen were only thinking about creating a software company <grin>.

So a lot of my family and friends come to me for advice when the "computer
is broken". The majority of issues are user based (one person decided the
quickest way to shut down his PC and all the peripherals was to unplug the
powerstrip where everything was plugged into, regardless of what was or was
not running at the time), because of a lack of hardware/software knowledge
and the various interactions, setups, etc. This is most prevalent where
folks have bought a pre-configured and pre-loaded system, and have no
information about how things are set up.

The predominance of Windows in the home/consumer environment ensures that
most of the problems appear on PC based systems.

As computers (either Mac or PC) become more and more commoditized, users
have a right to expect not to have to know the details (just as a car driver
doesn't have to know how his fuel injection system works), but the
complexity of the technology is not so easily hidden, or made "idiot-proof".

Just my two cents worth

cheers
Klaas

[dave milbut]

right on klass.

Sure you do Dave <grin>.





HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ai\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1




without being to exact, here's a quick explaination

the shell extention (windows explorer) handler for files with extention .ai which has a content type of "application/postscript" (as defind in hkey_classes_root registry hive) is handled with the app that has a class id (guid) of: {0C5B0CED-206B-4c39-B615-0EB23C824612}

(a guid is generated by a windows compiler and allows a program to refrence another program via a unique number scheme, it's generally meaningless except that it IS unique. this is also the way versioning and compatability is maintained across multiple iterations of a library - dll or other control)

looking in HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ you find that that class id (above) refrences:

"C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Shell\AIIcon.dll"

an apartment threaded library that handles icons in explorer.

<double grin>

[YrbkMgr]

Jeezus. Well I learned two things today. That the number is generated solely for the purpose of being a unique reference (loosly put)and you can discover what application references that number in the class\root\clsid; the second thing I learned is that I can effectively insert my foot into my mouth without my hands ever leaving my wrists.

You never cease to amaze me Dave. I conceed <bowing>.