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Making BasiliskII easier to install

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 3:30 pm
by EdTakken
I found the installer GUI quite confusing several years ago when I first installed BasiliskII.
I didn't know what the windows were asking me to make decisions about.
At present there is no GUI for upgrading to the 64 bit version for Mac OS,
and I found this much easier.
Ronald P. Regensburg points out that, "If you have an existing BasiliskII setup, you can simply replace the application with the new application."*
Except it's not quite that simple.
Invisible file .basilisk_ii_prefs has to be manipulated in two ways:
1) The path specification for the BasiliskII folder has to be corrected (four places) in invisible file .basilisk_ii_prefs, and
2) The invisible file .basilisk_ii_prefs has to be located on the same level as the BasiliskII folder, not in it.

I remember only a little Unix and hate vi, so the way I accomplished this was to use the mv command multiple times.
First rename .basilisk_ii_prefs to basilisk_ii_prefs
Edit the file.
Move it one up in the tree to the same level as the BasiliskII folder.
Then rename the file back to .basilisk_ii_prefs
(.basilisk_ii_xpram is apparently not needed.)

Conclusion:
I think BasiliskII would be easier for novices to install if there were
1) no install GUI,
2) no invisible prefs file,
3) all files in the folder BasiliskII, download being just a compressed version of this folder,
4) no path to be specified by user, the BasiliskII.app just reading files always in its own location.

*March 1, 2014, post by Ronald P. Regensberg, "Currently recommended BasiliskII builds for MacOSX/OSX/macOS"

Re: Making BasiliskII easier to install

Posted: Tue Mar 10, 2020 4:23 pm
by Ronald P. Regensburg
Many users will want to edit the prefs file by adding or removing volumes, by changing resolution, by changing network settings, by choosing which System/MacOS version they want to run in the emulator, and more. And that can best be done in the GUI app. The location of the prefs file does not matter much. Also: It is this board's policy to not distribute EULA or copyright protected materials, which includes for instance ROM files and MacOS. So we will not provide a ready-installed BasiliskII setup.

On the BasiliskII for OSX download post you will find links to not only the latest BasiliskII build, but also a link to the new 64-bit BasiliskII GUI, and a link to the setup guide that will show you examples of settings in the GUI.

And yes, to install the latest build in an existing BasiliskII setup, you can simply replace the existing application with the new one (with the latest build also the BasiliskII_keycodes file if you use that). It is really that easy. No need to change anything in the prefs file or GUI.
1) The path specification for the BasiliskII folder has to be corrected (four places) in invisible file .basilisk_ii_prefs,
No need to change the path to the BasiliskII folder because you do not replace or move that folder, you just replace the application file.
2) The invisible file .basilisk_ii_prefs has to be located on the same level as the BasiliskII folder, not in it.
I do not understand what you mean. BasiliskII can be setup anywhere you like. The hidden prefs file will always be in your Home folder.