Installation in non-default directory (Windows).

[grabear]

When installing Microsoft R Open 3.4.3, I decided not to install in the default directory. Instead I installed on a separate SSD drive. Upon installation I picked the top level of that drive (V:/) like I do with all of my programming languages that I have.

Problems:

• It would not let me select a directory that did not exists. So if I hadn't already created _V:/Microsoft_R3.4.3/, then I could not just type that into the install directory text box.
• Instead of creating a folder called _V:/Microsoft_R3.4.3/ and installing the files there, MRO installed in V:/. I assumed after the first bullet point that MRO would take care of the installation directory by creating a new directory that was empty.
• After the disappointment of the installation strategy, I decided to uninstall the program. Instead of only removing Microsoft R Open files/directorys, it removed everything in V:/ drive.
  • I had Python, Rstudio, R 3.4.3, git, Pycharm, and Python to name a few installed here along with a few projects.
• When I saw my V:/ drive I was in shock, so I installed everything again and created a specific folder for Microsoft R Open before installing again.
• Luckily I didn't lose any important files, however, this is a really dangerous setup.

  Solution:

• I would suggest creating a new directory if the chosen (non-default directory) is not empty, upon installing this software.
• Give the user the ability to use a path that does not exist and creating a directory from that path. You could also prompt the user to let them know, so they can either cancel with the chose path or continue as needed.

[jeroenterheerdt]

Hi @grabear, sorry for the late response. I have tried to reproduce your error but I cannot. When I install MRO on Windows and enter a directory that does not exist in the installer, the behavior is as expected: the directory is created and MRO is installed in that directory, not in the parent. Closing this issue for now, let me know if you need more help.