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There are many variations of initial configuration that matter. The first one This first run-through of the typical scenario is not the simplest but accounts for possible interactions with existing installations.

The initial This instance of the scenario is using a configuration of Windows Vista that already has three other ODF-supporting applications installed:

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• The previous version of OpenOffice.org is OO.o 3.3.0-it, installed as an experiment around differences in UI and writing aids. It was already noticed that the 3.3.0 install stole the file associations that had been previously associated with the Libre Office installation.
• The shadowed-button works well as a desktop icon/shortcut. I don't link the tint that much, but it is a recognizable, simple icon that could be seems useful to preserve. Taking it through a tansition transition that blends in some sort of Apacheness over time would be interesting along with the march to top-level projectASF Top-Level Project.
• This The processing model for this scenario case is with Windows Vista Ultimate SP2 (32-bit) installed on a Windows Virtual PC under Windows 7 Ultimate. The processor is an Intel i7-980X. – dh:2011-12-20T00:11Z. The virtual display is VGA there's no Aero.

Issues/Migration

• The name associated with the desktop icon/short-cut of course.
• The tooltip acknowledges Oracle support. The other text is fine.
• This is worth describing with regard to our own build status. I record it here as part of capturing observations when they occur (for now). – dh:2011-12-18T22:19Z

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• There are three kinds of warnings that can occur at this point. First, files that are downloaded form from the internet may provoke a warning before execution is allowed. Secondly, there is some verification of the EXE (which is a problem in this case). Finally, there is a requirement for administrative operation of the installer. This message reflects at least the last two of those cases.
• The nightly builds are not signed.

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• A signed .EXE is needed
  • It would be valuable for any downloadable binary to be signed although this might not work with automated nightly builds.
  • A process and appropriate ceremonies for binary releases is needed that includes signing the binary in the form that is verified by Microsoft Windows.

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• The browse to a folder to use has a straightforward dialog.
• Navigation onto the network, to a server, and then down to the folder is a bit cumbersome because this doesn't have an Explorer view.
• If I hadn't been doing this for a lot of OpenOffice-based installations, I would not know whether the folder I choose will receive files (yes) or will it receive a folder so it is safe to use a folder that already has other materia material (no).

Issues/Migration

• The title bar of the "Browse for Folder" dialog is fine, still using the download button.
• The text names the product and version and that needs to be changed.
• This is not really OpenOffice.org that is being installed. It is the setup that is being installed. That needs to be very clear (and another reason for reviewing the nomenclature).

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• This examples uses a UNC location on a local-area file server.
• Installing setup on a CD-R/W drive might be interesting.
• Installing setup on a flash drive would also be useful.
• I assume that a CD-ROM install would already have the setup expanded into a folder that auto-run or a manual setup execution could use. It would be interesting to confirm that this is an easily-constructed variation for future re-install, installation on multiple systems, etc.

Unpacking the Setup Files

At this point, it is the setup files that are being installed, not OpenOffice.org itself. This is how that appears before the unpack is started:

Image Added

Observations

• This dialog first appears with a default (pre-filled destination) that is on the users desktop. This is an absurd location:
  • Most users don't think of this as part of the file system (though some very naive users put everthing on their desktop).
  • There is no indication of the consequences of a particular choice or whether there is some special reason for defaulting to the desktop.
  • It is not cleaw whether the folder can be safely deleted without causing difficulties. At one point I found out that installing a later version would fail if the previous setup were removed, because it was needed to uninstall the previous version.
• For those reasons, I have adopted the practice of putting the setup folder on a shared server location where I keep them for an extended period of time without cluttering my desktop.
• I have let this software train me to treat this as ordinary and, while I remark on it to myself every time I do an OO.o install, I have come to install it as ordinary.

Issues/Migration

• There's something off about this involving users at all. And not knowing the reason for it and the consequences of choices is unfortunate.
• Dialog Elements
  • The product name needs to be changed in the title line of the dialog box.
  • The product name and version is mentioned twice in the instructions.
  • There is an OpenOffice.org logo and gull symbol in the top heading area.
  • There is a faint identifier of the Nullsoft Install System v2.37 that might need updating if not supplied automatically
  • The space-available number is not exactly right, since this is a virtualized file system with over 6 TB installed drive space. This could be what is reported by the server, though.
• The setup folder is beiing placed at a UNC address and it should work well from there. Previous OO.o and LO releases operate with this just fine.
• Unless the setup files do have to be retained for some future purpose, the default destination should be to a generated temporary location and no alternative should be directly requested unless there is some minimum-space-available threshhold cannot be met. It would be useful to have a way to specify where the setup goes, but as an exception and not one that has casual users deal with a dialog for which the consequences of any choice is not understood.
• It is particularly important that users not be confused into thinking that this has anything to do with where Apache OpenOffice itself will be installed.

Variations

• none?