Ethereal-users: Re: [Ethereal-users] User profile dir on versions of Win 9x

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From: Guy Harris <guy@xxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Mon, 7 Jan 2002 17:15:34 -0800 (PST)
> On versions of Win 9x/Me  you don't need to have user profiles or user
> profile directrories.

Well, apparently there's a marvelous "SHGetFolderPath()" routine, which
everybody and his dog says should be used to get the application data
directory's path.

Too bad it's not present on all 32-bit versions of Windows.

World+dog says that there's this lovely redistributable "shfolder.dll"
file that contains an "SHGetFolderPath()" that uses the native OS's
"SHGetFolderPath()" if the OS has it and emulates it as best as possible
if the OS doesn't.

However, nowhere do I see an indication of where you *GET* that lovely
redistributable file - do you take it from an OS that has it?  Do you
download it from some Microsoft Web site?  And what are the restrictions
on redistributing it?  Does the universe explode in a burst of gamma
rays due to particle-antiparticle annihilation if you redistribute it
with a GPLed application?

Microsoft "helpfully" say "SHFOLDER.DLL is installed by the Windows
Installer redistributable", but that doesn't help much if you don't
*use* the Windows Installer redistributable in your installation package
- and we don't....

And if you redistribute it, should you install it only if the OS doesn't
have it?