Windows 10 Installation question - 64-bit download vs. Windows Store

MusicBrainz Picard
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I am new to Picard (I looked at it some years ago but never installed it for some reason, so still new).
I run Windows 10 on a 64-bit machine, and I would like to hear pros and cons of installing from the 64-bit download versus getting Picard from the Windows app store.

Thanks

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I believe they’re the same thing, but the store version gets updated by the store…

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As gabriel said, functionality wise they are the same. As a user you should see no difference.

The big advantage is that the store version gets updated automatically. New versions are available only a few days after we have announced the release, as any new release needs to be approved by Microsoft, but I don’t see this as a big issue.

One downside is if course that it is a Microsoft controlled store. You should be aware that Microsoft knows what you install there and how often and when you use the apps.

So if you find the Store install more convenient, and you don’t mind using you MS account for software installs, you can use the store version.

There is a technical downside to the store version, but that is mostly an issue from a development point of view: It is harder to debug. Especially if there is a bug that prevents it to start at all it is difficult to figure out the cause. In such situations I would ask users to install Picard using the installer. Luckily so far this was not much of a problem in practice.

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In windows 11 for desktop apps (so far you don’t need a Microsoft store account https://store.rg-adguard.net/ allows you to paste an app to download free apps and sideload onto your computer.

The only issue I have got is that the normal location for where the settings are stored under %appdata%\Roaming\MusicBrainz are not read from there. I have zero clue of where the ini file is stored with the store version of the app.

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Unless you are stuck with Win10 S edition, use the normal installer and avoid the store. The settings are in some weird hidden folder buried deep in the %AppData% folders under an obscure Microsoft branch.

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The AppData handling needs some explanation. In general for store apps Windows provides a separate location per App for files created in AppData. But it also merges this private AppData folder with the users AppData, so for the app it all appears as one and apps also have access to existing AppData files.

For Picard that means that if you installed Picard via the store only, the config file and plugins will be placed at a location private to the app.

But if you installed Picard via the installer before the config file already exists, and the store app will see and use this.

The following documentation provides some more details on how this works:

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So I have to copy the picard folder in the %appdata% folder, with the ini file to %appdata% roaming on the target pc, then install picard from store?

I did try this beforehand, but i signed in to picard, I did uninstall the store app, then I re installed and seamed to have worked.

Maybe a import settings feature would be useful for both the store and desktop?

So, I guess is to simply,

  1. copy the picard folder from %appdata%\roaming to the pc you want to move picard to.

  2. install picard from store and sign into musicbrainz account.

  3. Close and reopen picard store app and should be good to go.

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Yes, we have already a story for that:

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