Uninstalling SyncTrayzor with "Delete settings" also deletes Syncthing configuration/database

[MagTun]

Thank you for maintaining this project! I’m reporting an issue encountered on a fresh installation of v2.1.0.

Description:
When uninstalling and selecting the option to "delete settings/files," the uninstaller removes the entire Syncthing configuration and database folder rather than just the SyncTrayzor wrapper settings.

Since SyncTrayzor is a tray utility/wrapper, it is unexpected for it to wipe the data of the "mother" program (Syncthing) it manages. A user might want to remove the tray utility while keeping their core Syncthing IDs and folder configurations for use with the standalone version or another tool.

Suggested Improvement:
The uninstaller should ideally only target SyncTrayzor-specific files. If deleting the core Syncthing data is intended as an option, it would be safer as a separate, clearly labeled checkbox to prevent accidental data loss.

Environment:
SyncTrayzor Version: Release 2.1.0 (Fresh install, not an upgrade)
OS: Windows 11

[GermanCoding]

This was one of the things I changed in SyncTrayzor v2. The v1 uninstaller always removed its settings upon uninstall, but would leave all of syncthing's data as-is, with no option to change this behaviour.

I considered this unexpected/bad behaviour, because SyncTrayzor bundles a syncthing instance: You install SyncTrayzor, you also get syncthing (with no extra install). However, when you then remove SyncTrayzor, syncthing is not removed - which violates a basic uninstaller principle: Clean up everything you brought, which for SyncTrayzor usually also includes the syncthing instance.

However, I do understand that this isn't desirable for all users, which is exactly why I added the "clean up everything" as an optional, opt-in feature: The user has to explicitly confirm this, otherwise the uninstaller won't touch your syncthing data. I tried to word this as explicitly as I can. The confirmation prompt currently says this:

Remove all syncthing configuration, metadata, folders, device ID? This cannot be undone.

This, at least to me, makes it absolutely clear that the syncthing configuration, including its database, will be wiped. Note that it deliberately says "syncthing" here, not "SyncTrayzor". Do you disagree, or is there a different wording you would have preferred to make this clearer?

A user might want to remove the tray utility while keeping their core Syncthing IDs and folder configurations for use with the standalone version or another tool.

This is exactly why the uninstaller asks: If this is the case, just tell it to not delete syncthing data (which is also the default by the way, i.e. in silent uninstalls this is exactly what happens).

If deleting the core Syncthing data is intended as an option, it would be safer as a separate, clearly labeled checkbox to prevent accidental data loss.

Adding dialogs in the uninstaller is already a hack, I would prefer not to add more to it. It's also not really clear to me what behaviour the checkbox would have: The SyncTrayzor configuration itself is a single, tiny, xml file that is trivially re-created if needed. No one should care if that is cleaned up upon uninstall. But having a 20+GB database left on your system when performing a (supposed) full uninstall of a program, that is something I care about.

I would claim that the average user of SyncTrayzor isn't even entirely aware of the difference between SyncTrayzor and syncthing. As such, if SyncTrayzor had no option to remove syncthing data, they wouldn't even know that there's syncthing data left to delete. SyncTrayzor is aimed for the simple use cases on Windows, so it is expected that it manages syncthing for you. To me that definetly also extends to the uninstall. I understand that unexpected data deletion is bad, but that's precisely why the uninstaller asks.

[MagTun]

Thanks for the detailed explanation! I didn't realize that SyncTrayzor bundles Syncthing as a single package for new users.
Because I had been using a standalone Syncthing installation for months before trying SyncTrayzor, I viewed the program as an 'enhancement' or 'plug-in' rather than the primary manager of my data. When I read 'Remove all syncthing configuration,' I misinterpreted it as 'the configuration SyncTrayzor uses to talk to Syncthing' rather than the core identity and database of Syncthing itself.

To help prevent other users (especially those moving between standalone and the tray utility) from making the same mistake, perhaps the wording could be even more explicit like :

'Warning: This will wipe your core Syncthing configuration, including your Device ID and folder database. Do not check this if you plan to keep using Syncthing (standalone or with another tool) after removing SyncTrayzor.'

I agree that cleaning up is important for the average user, but since the result is permanent data loss of a 'mother' program's config, a tiny bit more 'scary' wording might save someone who, like me, didn't realize SyncTrayzor had 'claimed ownership' of the existing Syncthing files."

[GermanCoding]

I hoped that the "this cannot be undone" sounds a bit alerting, but making it more obvious is better, yes. A potential issue here is that there's some character limit for the dialog box (again, it's a hack as Inno Setup does not officially support this) and I'm not sure if your proposed message fits into that limit. I originally had a longer message similar to this, but it didn't fit into the limit, which is why the existing prompt is a bit brief. But I will look into this, maybe there's a way to fit some more characters in there.

[MagTun]

Makes sense.

The phrase 'This cannot be undone' wasn't scary to me because I didn't realize Syncthing was bundled within SyncTrayzor; I was perfectly fine with deleting what I thought were just the wrapper's settings.

Suggested wording (less characters than the current warning):

Wipe ALL Syncthing config?⚠ Uncheck to keep Syncthing standalone — no undo !

Using the word 'Standalone' is the key to making users like me pause. Thanks for being open to the feedback!