[ms4w-users] Installer improvements

[Jeff McKenna]

This is interesting news for MS4W users: improvements to the exe 
installer are happening (according to the stats a lot of people are 
already using the ms4w-setup.exe installer).  Here is a list of the 
current features (as of today) as well as what we hope to achieve in the 
near future:

Current Features

     * Install into any directory (e.g. C:/Program Files)
     * Specify an Apache port number
     * Install Apache service
     * Create desktop and start menu shortcuts
           o Browser localhost (using the user's default browser)
           o MS4W shell (no need to run setenv.bat)
           o Uninstall
           o Apache (stop/start/uninstall service)
     * List in Add/Remove Programs
     * Uninstaller

Desired Features

     * Include add-on packages (e.g. Mapbender)
     * Upgrading base and/or add-on packages
     * Use OSGeo4W packages

Feedback:

- download it 
(http://www.maptools.org/ms4w/index.phtml?page=downloads.html) and give 
lots of feedback to the list!!!

Notes:

- for now, if you want to use the add-on packages you must extract them 
where you installed the base installer (if you have C:/Program 
Files/ms4w/, extract mapbender_ms4w.zip into C:/Program Files)
- for Vista, the Apache startmenu shortcuts require you to right-click 
on them and choose "Run as Administator"


I am beside myself: seeing C:/Program Files/ms4w   (ha!)




-- 
Jeff McKenna
DM Solutions Group Inc.
http://www.dmsolutions.ca