On 4/30/2008 5:02 PM, Simon Urbanek wrote:
On Apr 30, 2008, at 4:29 PM, Duncan Murdoch wrote:
On 4/30/2008 4:01 PM, Simon Urbanek wrote:
On Apr 30, 2008, at 2:31 PM, Duncan Murdoch wrote:
On 4/30/2008 11:56 AM, Michael wrote:
On 29 Apr 2008, Duncan Murdoch wrote:
Right, you don't need to set the system path for everything, but you do need to set it in CMD (or other shell) before running Rcmd.
For Win 2K/XP/Vista, the system path can be set (through the GUI interface, not sure how to do it with scripts) without restarting, for new CMD processes started afterwards.
Sure, but the installer doesn't know how to do that. It just sets the path in the registry; it doesn't know how to give Explorer a kick to get it to reload from there. As far as I know there's no documented way to do that.
FWIW the PATH setting is effective immediately (at least on 2k/ XP ...). Any new shell you start (e.g. using Run..) will have the updated PATH already.
Does that happen with the Rtools installer? I didn't know that. I thought explorer only changes the PATH at startup, or when you edit it from the control panel.
Hmm I thought it did, but a subsequent test shows it doesn't. Apparently I must have triggered a change in the Control Panel so PATH was updated even before reboot. Anyway, there are free tools with source that show how to send a broadcast message to make that change active immediately, e.g.: http://www.codeproject.com/KB/applications/SetEnv.aspx?fid=230498&df=90&mpp=25&noise=3&sort=Position&view=Quick&select=1531752&fr=48 BTW: By testing this I found out that the Rtools installer is not as smart as it could be - when you run it a second time it will duplicate the paths.
Inno Setup supports no-reboot for PATH changes, and Rtools 2.8 now uses that. So no more reboots necessary. And the installer is a little bit smarter now than it was: it is now idempotent in its PATH mods. It's not as smart as it could be, still allowing lots of duplication there, but it won't add the same head twice in a row. Duncan Murdoch