Mbed Studio install location

Mbed Studio
1

How can I get Mbed Studio to install in the proper place - under Program Files - rather than AppData/Local?

There is no way should executables be running from AppData - Windows has additional security features which are circumvented by running executables from outside Program Files.

2

Hi @SteveThackery,

Thank you for your feedback. Mbed Studio on Windows supports 2 types of installations. The default path is different between them. Both types use the most common locations for the Windows system.

  • Current user only (default): Studio is installed in AppData/Local/Programs
  • All users: Studio is installed in Program Files

Apart from that, Mbed Studio supports also setting a custom path during installation. This option is available for both types of installations.

We will add this information to the documentation on Arm Mbed Studio - Arm Mbed Studio | Mbed Studio Documentation

Thanks,
Arek - Mbed Studio team

3

Thank you for that information - and adding it to the documentation would be great.

A quick search around the internet suggests that AppData is still somewhat controversial for program installation, mostly because it bypasses the UAC protections provided in Program Files, and also renders the installation difficult to locate because AppData is hidden by default.

Anyway, it looks like I can over-ride it, so that helps. Thanks again!

4

Ooops - installation to Program Files doesn’t work, because the installer fails to request escalation for writing to the protected area. You have to “Run as administrator” on the executable, after which it works OK.

Why doesn’t the installer follow normal Windows conventions?

5

Hi @SteveThackery,

  1. Selecting all users installation is requesting the admin privileges automatically. It shouldn’t be required to run an installer using Run as administrator. I guess that you are seeing this issue because you selected current user installation and are trying to set a destination to Program Files. In that case you are correct. Starting it as an administrator is required.
  2. We are following normal Windows conventions. Many programs have an option for installing for both current user and all users. In both cases default paths used are exactly the same as the ones used by Mbed Studio. Just to name few examples:
  • Python 3 - Also installs Python in AppData\Local\Programs by default. Same as Mbed Studio have 2 options for all and current user installations.
  • VSCode: Has 2 separate installers. One for all users (System Installer) and second for current user (User Installer). Both installers have default paths set exactly like Mbed Studio.

Please do not hesitate to let us know if you can think of any improvements of had a different Windows conventions in mind.

Thanks,
Arek - Mbed Studio team

7

Hi Arek,

You are correct - I wanted it in Program Files, but for me only. In those circumstances it should ask for escalation rather than fail. But maybe it doesn’t matter - it’s only a minor thing.

Thanks for clarifying it.

Steve