[Lazarus] multiple versions and portable lazarus

[Hans-Peter Diettrich]

Roberto Padovani schrieb:

> Uninstalling old versions, always leaves something behind. For example
> I had some packages of mine installed in the old one, and the new one
> complained it couldn't find the package file (so it created a dummy
> one). Why and how did the new one searched for them?
> It seems to me that I cannot uninstall completely.

You seem to have the old Lazarus config in the default place, from where 
it is used by *every* Lazarus installation. (never destroyed)
Remedy: use --primary-config-path with *every* Lazarus installation 
(desktop icon)

The new installation tries to include the same packages, as installed in 
the previous version/config.

> As a bonus, the new 0.9.30 has a problem with my toolbar. In the
> office win32 pc I have a top screen windows launch bar, always on top,
> that let's me be confortable when I am away from my Mac. The lazarus
> 0.9.30 menu bar keeps going behind it (like many other apps, also) and
> even if I fix the position, the next time is behind again....somehow
> not remembering the preference, which 0.9.28.3 did.

For some inobvious reason the IDE MainBar has hard coded coordinates and 
extent. You'll have to patch the IDE (Main.pas TMainIDE.Create)

> Generally speaking, why do I have to _install_ (in the win32 sense)
> lazarus? Isn't it possible to have a portable installation?

Lazarus tries to make it simple for a single installation, in detail on 
Windows. Multiple or new installations are harder to handle.

> If I compile it from scratch, set a few environment options and
> register some extension, should it work?

This works, when you destroy the Lazarus config from the default place 
(...user\...\Lazarus\) and add --pcp=... to the desktop icons.

> The same is true for FPC, can it be portable?

Use "make install" to install multiple versions in parallel. AFAIK every 
such installation needs its own fpc.cfg file. Then switch the FPC EXE 
and Source paths, in the Lazarus IDE.

DoDi