Why is TechDoc not in WAR (Web Archive)?

When we released the first Java version of TechDoc, there was no such thing as WAR files. Several years back, we received a request asking that we look into supporting WAR deployment. We restructured the layout of TechDoc a bit and made it WAR deployable, but all of the remaining configuration still had to be performed. When we began trying to setup all of the configuration steps, we found that WAR files were just too simple and did not support all of the features necessary to support an enterprise level product like TechDoc. We distributed a WAR version of TechDoc for a short time, but due to user feedback we discontinued it. We found that all of our users preferred our simplified installer over the WAR deployment process.