Change AIJ_Prefs.txt folder

[PMCurie_IT]

Hello,

I'm trying to provide AIJ to the students of my highschool, but I found a problem when closing the program : a window appears with the following title: "Error Saving Preferences:C:\Windows\Cacheiac\SP\....\.astroimagej\AIJ_Prefs.txt"
User profiles are managed through a Windows overlayer that has some strange behaviour sometimes, as it shows here.
So my question is: is there a way to setup a custom path to save the .astroimagej folder?

Thanks for your help

Vincent

[karenacollins]

Hi Vincent,

Unfortunately there is not currently a way to change the location of the prefs file. I'm not familiar with the Windows
overlayer functionality, but is there a way to make sure that C:\Windows\Cacheiac\SP\....\.astroimagej\ directory is
"write" enabled?

What would be an example of a custom path that would work in your environment, and how does that differ in capabilities
from the C:\Windows\Cacheiac\SP\....\.astroimagej\ path?

As FYI for me, does the AIJ update functionality work properly (AIJ Toolbar->Help-?Update AIJ)? That requires write
access to the AIJ installation directory.

Karen

[PMCurie_IT]

Hi Karen,

Problem is that the C:\Windows\Cacheiac\SP\....\.astroimagej\ is not a per-user folder, it contains the default user config that will be used to create a temporary profile folder that will be erased once the user logs out.

The custom path I'd like to use would be something like
"\\%SERVPERSO%\%REPBASE%\%NOMLOGIN%\.astroimagej" or "U:\.astroimagej", since all users have a personnal folder on a server where they can store their docs and some %appdata% stuff.

I guess the AIJ update functionality wouldn't work in my setup since the AIJ is within a shared folder on a server and normal user don't have write access to it (but it does work with an admin account, after defining the proxy for the jre).

Vincent

[karenacollins]

Hi Vincent,

Is it possible to install AIJ in each student's personal folder, maybe as part of the account setup, to see if that
would solve the problem? All that would require is copying the AstroImageJ installation directory from anywhere in the
network (no specific other setup steps would be required). If that works, then the students could take advantage of
updates to AIJ if necessary, and retain settings between sessions. I realize that would not make the most efficient use
of disk space.

The reason I'm trying to find an alternate solution is that the AIJ_Prefs.txt file path is determined from within the
ImageJ code that AIJ is built on top of, so it is not trivial to change how the path is set. Are there any other
installation options that would avoid the use of the Windows overlayer and the temporary file system to solve the problem?

Karen

[PMCurie_IT]

Hi Karen,

Launching the AIJ from the personnal folder doesn't solve the problem, AIJ_Prefs.txt still wants to be written in C:\Windows\...

The Windows overlayer is a security layer that prevents users (mostly students) to misbehave with the system (forbids access to sensible folders and settings, etc). At this day there is no way to remove it without endangering the system. I have an alternative solution with another layer more windows-based (through GPOs), but I haven't yet installed it in this school.

Anyway, this problem only impacts for remembering personnal settings, so I guess it should work anyway, though they'd have to fix some settings each time they use AIJ. I've told the professor to test the software, if it works "as is", it'll do until I change the security system.

Thanks
Vincent

[karenacollins]

Thanks Vincent.

I expect AIJ will work otherwise, but let me know if it don't. Even if settings can not be saved, I am hoping the
professor can build a prefs file that could somehow be recognized by AIJ when it opens in the Windows overlayer
environment. If that is the case, the settings could default to what the students need. When I get a chance, I'll see if
I can find a reasonably easy way to specify a different location for the prefs file, but unfortunately, I can't commit
to do it in the near term.

Karen

[PMCurie_IT]

Hi Karen,

Finally got a report from the teacher: it works fine, the prefs are not an issue for him.

Thanks for your support

Vincent