Hi. Sorry I was away on Holiday while this whole thread was continuing. So is this a correct summary so far?:
1) Get an installer to make a game folder in CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA and set the correct permissions. Then any accounts will be able to create shared date in it. JazzieB has hinted that you must run the installer under an administrator account not a normal one with elevated permissions, but we don't have any more detail on this right now. Problems I can see with this approach are a) getting a portal to reliably create and apply the folder permissions in their specialist installers and b) what happens if that installer script is run on XP/98/Me etc, will it still work? Oh and c) ensuring the installer is run under an administrator account if JazzieB is correct. Apart from those issues, it would seem to be fine.
2) Get your game to use code to create a game folder in CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA and set the correct permissions. Can this be done "silently" (probably not because, as Gabriel says, Vista security wouldn't be much good) or will you have to call some special code which prompts the user with one of those UAC boxes that says the app is requesting a higher security level? Perhaps you won't need special code and the box will appear anyway as soon as you try to change permissions? How has testing on this gone so far? I assume that if the OS is not Vista, we should detect this and simply not call the permission setting code.
3) Use CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS instead. Am I to understand that all users including non-administrators can write to this fine? If so it sounds a good solution. Only problems are a) some portals may complain that it's not the official location b) some users may niot like it - but stuff them, at least the game works!
I've discounted the LOCAL_APPDATA folder and any others that mean the data is not shared properly between different users logged on.
I'd really appreciate some feedback on this summary because as a group we still need to find the correct way forward. Thanks!
1) Get an installer to make a game folder in CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA and set the correct permissions. Then any accounts will be able to create shared date in it. JazzieB has hinted that you must run the installer under an administrator account not a normal one with elevated permissions, but we don't have any more detail on this right now. Problems I can see with this approach are a) getting a portal to reliably create and apply the folder permissions in their specialist installers and b) what happens if that installer script is run on XP/98/Me etc, will it still work? Oh and c) ensuring the installer is run under an administrator account if JazzieB is correct. Apart from those issues, it would seem to be fine.
2) Get your game to use code to create a game folder in CSIDL_COMMON_APPDATA and set the correct permissions. Can this be done "silently" (probably not because, as Gabriel says, Vista security wouldn't be much good) or will you have to call some special code which prompts the user with one of those UAC boxes that says the app is requesting a higher security level? Perhaps you won't need special code and the box will appear anyway as soon as you try to change permissions? How has testing on this gone so far? I assume that if the OS is not Vista, we should detect this and simply not call the permission setting code.
3) Use CSIDL_COMMON_DOCUMENTS instead. Am I to understand that all users including non-administrators can write to this fine? If so it sounds a good solution. Only problems are a) some portals may complain that it's not the official location b) some users may niot like it - but stuff them, at least the game works!
I've discounted the LOCAL_APPDATA folder and any others that mean the data is not shared properly between different users logged on.
I'd really appreciate some feedback on this summary because as a group we still need to find the correct way forward. Thanks!