Installing Applications

How you install and configure an application depends on whether it is created for Windows 95, an earlier version of Windows, or MS-DOS.

Using Add/Remove Programs with Win32-based applications.

Windows 95 simplifies installing applications created for Windows 95 by providing an Add/Remove Programs option in Control Panel. When you install an application by using this option, Windows 95 does the following:

• Adds information about the application to the Registry, such as which parameters to use to run the application and which files to delete when removing the application from the computer.
• Searches drives A and B for applications named INSTALL or SETUP. If a setup application uses a name other than INSTALL or SETUP, start the setup application by double-clicking its icon in My Computer.

Keeping Windows 3.1 settings.

If you upgrade by placing Windows 95 in the Windows 3.x directory, you do not need to reinstall applications. Setup automatically moves information about currently installed applications to the Registry. Setup also converts existing Program Manager groups and adds them to the Programs menu on the Start menu.

If you install Windows 95 in a separate directory, you must reinstall all Windows-based applications to ensure that they work properly under Windows 95. Copying .GRP and INI files from your previous Windows directory is not sufficient to run applications under Windows 95.

Creating applications groups and icons.

When a Windows-based setup application creates an application group and icons, Windows 95 creates folders and icons for the Programs menu on the Start menu. If a setup application fails to create a shortcut correctly, you can do it manually. For information about adding shortcuts to the Start menu, see online Help.

Running specific applications.

For information about whether a specific application runs under Windows 95, check the Windows 95 README.TXT file. If you do not find an application listed in the README.TXT file, check with the application's manufacturer or your software vendor. Windows 95 provides a utility that makes an incompatible application compatible with Windows 95. The "make compatible" utility is a file named MKCOMPAT.EXE in the Windows SYSTEM directory. For more information, see "Troubleshooting Applications" later in this chapter.

Installing MS-DOS-based applications.

You can install an MS-DOS – based application by running its executable file. Windows 95 copies information about the application from the APPS.INF file to the application's PIF file. If it was installed under an earlier version of Windows 95, Setup automatically moves its settings to the new APPS.INF file. If there is no information about the application in APPS.INF, Windows 95 uses default settings instead, or you can manually set the properties, as described in "Setting Properties for MS-DOS – Based Applications" later in this chapter.

Note

Windows 95 has no separate PIF Editor. To configure an application, right-click the application's executable file, and then click Properties.

For more information about installing applications after you have installed Windows 95, see online Help.