{"id":1262,"date":"2010-03-01T06:44:19","date_gmt":"2010-03-01T10:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/w4kaz.com\/qth\/?p=1262"},"modified":"2015-07-12T21:38:31","modified_gmt":"2015-07-13T01:38:31","slug":"installing-writelog-under-windows-7-uac","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/w4kaz.com\/qth\/?p=1262","title":{"rendered":"Installing Writelog Under Windows 7 UAC"},"content":{"rendered":"

OBSOLETE:\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong> Versions after version 11 are much better. \u00c2\u00a0Disregard if using a version of Writelog after 2011. [w4kaz, 20150101]<\/span><\/p>\n

ENVIRONMENT:<\/em><\/strong> The following applies to an install of Writelog on a Windows 7 64 bit platform with User Account Control enabled.\u00c2\u00a0 Probably works for any Windows 7 version.\u00c2\u00a0 It may also apply to Vista, but that version of Windows has not found its way into my hands, so experiment at your own speed.\u00c2\u00a0 All installs were done under the administrators account, and testing of the application done in a limited user account.\u00c2\u00a0 No special permissions were granted to the limited user, nor to any of the directories.<\/p>\n

BACKGROUND:<\/em><\/strong> The new BlogBox is not used down in the KazShack dungeon, but\u00c2\u00a0 is the day-to-day computer.\u00c2\u00a0 After a contest, I move the log file up to the main computer and use an install of WriteLog on that box to spew out the Cabrillo, and ADIF backup, and the reports.\u00c2\u00a0 For my own nefarious reasons, I chose to set the new BlogBox up with an administrative user, and do all of the day-to-day activities within a limited user account.<\/p>\n

WriteLog is still backwards compatible with older versions of windows, and runs well even on systems with limited resources.\u00c2\u00a0 That is something that is a useful feature, as it allows a wide\u00c2\u00a0 choice of hardware platforms to be pressed into service.\u00c2\u00a0 Plus, I just damn well like WriteLog better than anything else.<\/p>\n

But since Writelog was designed before the day of user accounts there are some adjustments that need to be made to get it working in Windows 7.<\/p>\n

THE INSTALL:<\/em><\/strong> One approach used by many is to disable User Account Control[UAC] and run the system as the administrator.\u00c2\u00a0 That’s a judgment call.\u00c2\u00a0 Diametrically opposed to the goal here…but used with success by many.<\/p>\n

Another approach that seemed to work is to install it under an account with\u00c2\u00a0 administrator privileges.\u00c2\u00a0 But that also falls short of the goal, which is to get it going under a limited user account.\u00c2\u00a0 When installed as the administrator, the user accounts were able to run the program, but not able to save the configuration settings.<\/p>\n

The approach that seemed to work is to install WriteLog into its own directory[I named it c:\\writelog_install_home].<\/p>\n

The install went without a hitch.\u00c2\u00a0 The real trick is simply to find where everything is right after the install.\u00c2\u00a0 The important part is locating the “writelog.ini” configuration file.\u00c2\u00a0 For whatever reason the RedmondGeeks in Windows 7 [and maybe Vista] have an environment variable [“appdata”] that is used for hiding certain bits of data under UAC.\u00c2\u00a0 The term “hiding” is used deliberately since the directory referenced by the environment variable is indeed hidden.<\/p>\n

Finding STUFF:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n