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FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between Express and Advanced Installation?
The Express install is a quick way of installing some of the most high profile OSGeo4W packages in a minimum number of steps. The downside is that the express install does not allow control over many details of the installation such as where to install, use of proxies, and local cache directory selection. It also does not provide access to some of the less common packages, special versions of packages, and add-ons for packages.
There is no harm in using the express install on a first pass through to get up and running, and then going through advanced install later to add additional packages.
How do I install a package not available through Express?
To install packages not available through the Express install, use the Advanced install path.
At the Select Packages dialog it is possible to browse through all packages, and select particular packages to install, uninstall, or reinstall. Packages are grouped into logical sections (Commandline, Desktop, Web Applications, etc). To look at the packages available in a particular section select the category in the treelist view.
For each package, the "New" column indicates what will be done with the package.
- "Skip" indicates that the package is not installed, and will not be installed.
- "Keep" indicates that the package is installed, and will not be altered.
- "Uninstall" indicates that the package is already installed, and will be uninstalled.
- "Reinstall" indicates that the current version of the package will be reinstalled.
- A version (like 1.0.0-1) indicates that this version of the package will be installed, possibly replacing an existing version.
To request a package be installed click on "Skip" and it will change to the most current version of the package available. Clicking additional times on this column will cycle through other options.
If it is difficult to find a particular package, it may be helpful to hit the "View" button in the top right corner of the dialog, and change to the "Full" view giving one long alphabetical list of packages.
Is there a way to get bug fixes after I have installed?
Yes. The default mode for the OSGeo4W installer is to check the server for newer versions of package, and if available they will be downloaded and installed. The OSGeo4W package maintainers generally try to issue new versions of packages for project point (bug fix) releases, and sometimes even more frequently. As well, new versions of packages may be issued to correct packaging problems.
Is there a way to avoid updating/upgrading all packages?
When going through the Advanced install path, it is possible select "Keep" on the radio buttons near the top of the Select Packages dialog in order to default to keeping the existing versions of packages instead of updating to the latest. The default setting (Curr) updates to the most current version.
Is there a way of uninstalling packages or all of OSGeo4W?
Individual package can be uninstalled via the Advanced install path. In the package listing click on the "New" column until the value changes to "Uninstall". Currently packages do not clean up desktop or start menu icons when uninstalling, this may be done manually.
Currently there is no installer option to uninstall OSGeo4W completely. However, when all OSGeo4W applications, shells and services (like apache) are shutdown it is possible to just delete the whole OSGeo4W file tree (usually C:\OSGeo4W).
See also trac #38 (enhancement).
