OK now I
think I had a relaxed mind enough to test this again.
What did I do this time:
0. Downloaded AddonMangerV1.2.zip again, just in case you have made changes without changing version number.
1. To start fresh, I deleted all files installed in previous tests, including the two .OCX files mentioned in my earlier post in this thread.
2. Copy DePBO.DLL to c:\windows\system32
3. Copy COMDLG32.OCX to c:\windows\system32
4. Create a directory c:\addonmanager, and copy AddonManagerV1.2.mdb to that directory.
5. Start AddonManagerV1.2.mdb, and I receive error messages regarding the two OCX files I had to install previously. You have not done anything to this problem and that is no wonder because the version is the same as in my previous test...
Luckily I have those files backed up so I can just copy them back to c:\windows\system32
6. Restart, and error messages have disappeared. Good. So for me,
COMCTL32.OCX and
VCMAXB.OCX are required files which are needed to run the database. You do not mention them in the readme so I call this a serious bug. I suggest that you include these two files in the ZIP so other people can avoid the trouble of hunting these two files. My operating system is Windows XP Home Edition (Finnish language but I suspect it doesn't matter at all) and I do not have Microsoft Visual Basic installed. I have not removed anything from the basic installation of Windows XP so the missing files are not anything I have caused myself.
Please include them to the package and fix the readme so other people who
might run into the same problem will have easier time fixing the problem than I had (did I really get it fixed...?).
7. The readme says "Initially, you'll be presented with a rather uninspiring set of blank content." No it's not like that. I have some packages and pbo's already visible. Fix the readme.
8. Are you sure drag&drop is an appropriate way of bringing packages to the program? I find it difficult, and would like more if there was a "Open file(s)" dialog. At least it should be possible, in addition to "drag&drop" Now I need to arrange windows so that I can drag&drop, and that's not convenient imho.
9. First attempt: drag "KEGsw44m.pbo" to "package". PBO read status box says: "error: DePbo no file opened"
Another attempt with BIS 6G30.pbo results in the same view: nothing. The database simply does not bring any info about the PBO's I drag & drop into it. The PBO gets listed on package list, but that's all.
"If you dropped a pbo package here, the database automatically does the rest. " Hmm so what it will do? I can't see anything else than the addon's pbo getting listed to the package list. "Pbo Name" and "Description" and everything nearby, remains empty.
All other PBO files which I test, results in "error: DePbo no file opened" in the Pbo read status box. In the readme you are saying that it's the PBO's fault. It is ok if you say so, but still, hmm...
10. Next, I try to drop "RHS_Naval_v1.00.rar" to "Package field (first clicking "New Package" of course) and one by one try to add each PBO contained in the RAR to the "Contents" field. The result: PBO has errors. include anyway. "Yes" Nothing useful has been achieved. I notice that you have included the same RAR file as an example to the package list already. Your example has the PBO's but mine doesn't.
11. OK... now that I have tested this database without success using an account with restricted privileges, I will change to a big bad administrator wolf account with all the rights and will to do anything a wolf would do with this database...
12. As admin: Drag&Drop PBO: no success. "error: DePbo no file opened"
13. As admin: Drag&Drop RAR: no success. Dragging and dropping RAR contents to "contents" field does not do anything. When I try to drag&drop the RAR contents, I have the specific package selected from the package list, as I assume I need to do. The readme does not tell this.
14. As admin: I try again with some original PBO files made by Bohemia Interactive Studio. I can't get the database to list any information about the PBOs. Now I don't get the error message to "Pbo read status" box, but I don't get anything else either. All your example packages have information, but what I dragged, have nothing. This database application simply does not work for me, I am convinced about that.
OK this is the end of testing for this time.
Notes about readme- Why you say that "copy the ocx files supplied in this package to your windows\system32 directory. These ocx files come from Microsoft, free of charge, and are support files for this very kind of situation." when there is only one OCX file in the package? Doesn't that make the instructions a bit more confusing?
- You say "zip and rar are opened automatically by the Windows Operatings system. To do the same for pbo's grab a copy of winbpo." Is that really true for RAR? I think you need to have WinRAR installed for that to work, am I right? For ZIP files it is true if one has Windows XP which can handle ZIP files. One might start to think that his OS is broken because it can't open a RAR like you told it will do. And even though I have WinRAR installed I can't get a RAR to open when I click it from the Package field (top-left corner). I just get a notification that Windows can't open that file. Opening RARs outside this database works fine.
- Plus what I said in numbers 6, 7 and 13.
Well this has been a long and desperate attempt to get this database working for me. But I have to put my hands up. I will surrender. I can't get it to work. I am sorry Mikero, but that's how it is. It does not work for me, even though I really wanted to get it working.
Anyway, it's a very good idea for an application and I wish you could improve it. I previously suggested that you could do a stand-alone application which would probably solve the dependency problems. Make it not rely on MS Access and (old) Visual Basic and it could be much better and would get much more users to get feedback from. Of course, it's a database and using Microsoft Access is a natural choice, I can't blame you for that.
OK that's about it for now. I would like to hear your comments, what could
I have done otherwise. Are there any suspicious parts in my report above, might I have done something not like you intended?
#Edit typo fixed
Topic: AddonManagerV1.2 (Read 3381 times)