User preferences lost between Hugs upgrades on Windows

[Claus Reinke]

[some possibly shared hugs/ghci concerns]

> The settings on Windows are stored under a registry key for each
> specific release. This means that if you install WinHugs, carefully
> set up everything, then upgrade, you loose all your settings.

part of the reason was also to enable multiple independent versions
of Hugs to be installed, I think? So:

a) shouldn't there be a way from within Hugs (or GHCi) to 
    export/import settings?

b) shouldn't there be an installation option checking for compatible
    old settings and offering to copy them?

c) given the move towards cabal, shouldn't there be a way for new
    Hugs/GHC installs to take over existing library install setups 
    (provided that the libraries sources haven't been removed, and 
    that the rebuild is possible with the new Haskell implementation)? 

while on the subject of user preferences, does the current round
of Hugs/GHC releases on Windows do away with that "we take 
over the handling of Haskell files, no matter what the user wanted"?

- it's a pain to have Hugs and GHCi compete with each other on this

- I don't want either to be the default handler for .hs/.lhs files; not
    only do I tend to have several versions of Haskell implementations
    installed at any time (usually including 2 ghcs), I want Haskell files 
    to open in my favourite editor, not in any of those Haskell 
    implementations (and no, going via WinHugs :e is not an option, 
    eg when browsing files from some darcs repo on the web)

any chance of Haskell implementations being less greedy and more
cooperative on Windows this time round?-)

cheers,
claus