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Re: Re: How change $AddOnsDirectory

• To: mathgroup at smc.vnet.net
• Subject: [mg41203] Re: [mg41169] Re: [mg41128] How change $AddOnsDirectory
• From: Kirk Reinholtz <kirk.reinholtz at jpl.nasa.gov>
• Date: Wed, 7 May 2003 03:53:00 -0400 (EDT)
• References: <200305061001.GAA06096@smc.vnet.net>
• Sender: owner-wri-mathgroup at wolfram.com

While we're on this topic, I'm wondering how one would have discovered
MATHEMATICA_ADDONS
without resorting to this list.  My help in "master index" mode does not
find this.  A
search on the wolfram.com website in the "search site" box also comes up
empty.

I found a couple described in A.7.1 of the book, neither of which is the
above, and a couple
of others near the documentation for Environment["var"].  Do they all
exist in one place???

Where is this and other such goodies documented???

John Fultz wrote:
> 
> As of version 4.2, AddOns are no longer in versioned directories.  I.e.,
> $AddOnsDirectory won't change from 4.2 to 5.0 to future versions.  It's
> not clear to me from your email why you're trying to set up separate
> directories (the desirability of sharing the AddOns directory between
> versions is part of what motivated the design for $AddOnsDirectory in the
> first place).
> 
> As to the decision to add "Mathematica" afterwards, this has to do with
> the fact that we build non-Mathematica products which are based upon the
> Mathematica binaries.  These products would append their own identity
> instead (for example, Calculation Center would append "\CalculationCenter"
> afterwards).  So one environment variable setting can affect the base
> directory chosen for $AddOnsDirectory by all Wolfram products.
> 
> Sincerely,
> 
> John Fultz
> jfultz at wolfram.com
> User Interface Group
> Wolfram Research, Inc.
> 
> On Mon, 05 May 2003 09:04:07 -0400, Murray Eisenberg wrote:
> >Thank you -- but OUCH!
> >
> >I do not want to have "Mathematica" automatically appended to the path I
> >specify!  My directory structure has, under D:\Math, several separate
> >directories for different versions of Mathematica
> >(D:\Math\Mathematica4.0, D:\Math\Mathematica4.2, etc.)
> >
> >In order to use all my AddOns (except Standard AddOns), especially
> >Applications, with all versions of Mathematica -- without having to
> >maintain multiple copies of these AddOns -- I want a separate directory
> >D:\Math\AddOnsMma for them (and then have subdirectories Applications,
> >etc., of that.
> >
> >With the effect you describe of setting, say
> >MATHEMATICA_ADDONS=D:\Math\AddOnsMma, then this would force everthing
> >there to be buried one directory deeper than I want -- into
> >D:\Math\AddOnsMma\Mathematica.
> >
> >On the other hand, if I set, say MATHEMATICA_ADDONS=D:\Math, then that
> >would be obviously (?) undesirable: the directory would be
> >D:\Math\Mathematica, which is obviously too much like the names of the
> >top directories I'm using for the different versions of Mathematica
> >itself.
> >
> >Why in the world was the design decision made to automatically append
> >"Mathematica" to what those environment variables specified?  Is there
> >some decent way around this?
> >
> >John Fultz wrote:
> >>You can set the default value of the parent of $AddOnsDirectory and
> >>$UserAddOnsDirectory via an environment variable, which works for both
> >>FE
> >>and kernel.
> >>
> >>MATHEMATICA_ADDONS for $AddOnsDirectory
> >>MATHEMATICA_USERADDONS for $UserAddOnsDirectory
> >>
> >>Mathematica will append '\Mathematica' to whatever you set, so if, for
> >>example, you do:
> >>
> >>MATHEMATICA_ADDONS=D:\Math\AddOnsMma
> >>
> >>then the value of $AddOnsDirectory will be...
> >>
> >>"D:\\Math\\AddOnsMMa\\Mathematica"
> >>
> >>$AddOnsDirectory and $UserAddOnsDirectory in the kernel are intended to
> >>be
> >>equivalent to something like $TopDirectory, which is to say that they're
> >>
> >>constants derived from the system.
> >>
> >>Incidentally, the above is true for all operating systems; it is not
> >>Windows-specific.
> >>
> >>Sincerely,
> >>
> >>John Fultz
> >>jfultz at wolfram.com
> >>User Interface Group
> >>Wolfram Research, Inc.
> >>
> >>
> >>On Sun, 4 May 2003 03:57:04 -0400 (EDT), Murray Eisenberg wrote:
> >>
> >>>How do I supply a permanent new location for $AddOnsDirectory.  This is
> >>>under Windows XP.
> >>>
> >>>The HelpBrower documentation under "File Layout" seems to say that if I
> >>>set a value for $AddOnsDirectory in an init.m file located somewhere on
> >>>the ConfigurationPath, that value should be used.
> >>>
> >>>So in [top directory]\Configuration\FrontEnd -- where [top directory]
> is
> >>>the directory containing Mathematica.exe -- I created a file init.m.
>  In
> >>>that file I tried, separately, all three of the following:
> >>>
> >>>$AddOnsDirectory="D:/Math/AddOnsMma"
> >>>
> >>>$AddOnsDirectory="D:\\Math\\AddOnsMma"
> >>>
> >>>$AddOnsDirectory=FrontEnd`FileName[{"D:", "Math", "AddOnsMma"}]
> >>>
> >>>None of these seems to have any effect, however:  Once I open
> >>>Mathematica, the value of $AddOnsDirectory is still its original value,
> >>>namely,
> >>>
> >>>"C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Mathematica"

• References:
  • Re: How change $AddOnsDirectory
    • From: John Fultz <jfultz@wolfram.com>