The install button

[hambil]

Has to go.

Simply downloading a hack should mark it as installed. If the user then decides not to install it, or later uninstalls it, they can click on uninstall (which should still be provided). This is the way updates work, btw.

I believe this will go a long ways toward fixing the numbers and some of the hard feelings.

Will some users get marked as installed and not have installed? Sure, but I am sure the percentage will be far, far fewer than the ones who install and don't click install.

Clicking install never really made sense to me.

Just my 2 cents.

[peterska2]

This isn't practical.

Over 400 installed hacks my installed hacks list read the other day. Most of them I had not installed on my site. I do a lot of installations for other people, and having the install button pressed on my account does not help me work out which hacks I have installed and which I haven't.

I also download hacks to have a look at them in more detail before possibly installing them to my test boards, and from there only about about 10% actually get installed on my live board. Those that do make it to my live board get the install button clicked.

If downloading resulted in an install click, then my account would probably read as literally every hack ever written for 3.5 as installed, and trust me, thats a heck of a lot of hacks.

[Xenon]

Actually nope.

most hacks will be downloaded and tested before installed, so i personally think, that the percentage won't be far fewer.

The updated works that way, because the user clicked install already, and wants to get informed about those things, it is not done automatically

[Logikos]

I often use the install button to see how a hack is progressing. I like getting emails to remind me. I also click the install link if I like the hack and want to come back to it at a later time.

[hambil]

The same people who don't know how to use the install button, will be the ones who don't know how to use the uninstall button. I believe the numbers will be more accurate. Will someone like peterska2 need to click 'uninstall' more often, yes, but that is a small price to pay to remove the entire issue of users not clicking install and all the hard feelings and support issues it creates.

[Chris M]

The "Install" button should be made to "Installed" or "Mark as installed" or something more clear, but not removed...

Chris

[Logikos]

I agree with Chris on this one.

[hambil]

At a minimum it would be nice to see a 'downloaded' count, so we can compare it against the installed. And even possibly a 'downloaded' vs. 'installed' in the users postbit.

Edit:
And perhaps an auto 'install' reminder to users when they download.

[Logikos]

We used to have the # of downloads shown, not sure why this was taken away. but this is a standered feature in vBulletin.

[Chris M]

It isn't on Smooth Blue Stefan

Chris