Navigating Through Directory Tasks: A Comprehensive Guide to Organizing in Visual Studio Extensions (VSIX)

Table of Contents

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Folder Operations in the Files and Folders Page - VSIX Project

Creating new folders

Use the [New Folder ] toolbar button, the “New Folder” tree/list context menu item or press the Insert key while the tree control is focused. The folder names must have valid filename specific ASCII characters only.

You can create two types of folders: regular and property based. Property based folders will be resolved at install time to the values from the respective property. This property can be one of the Windows Installer Folders , the result of aSearch operation or a custom property set in the Properties page.

In order to create a property-based folder which uses a custom property you can follow these steps:

create your custom property (you can use the “Properties” page, a search, a custom dialog, a custom action etc) and be sure that its value points to an existing location (Ex: MY_PROP).
go to the “Files and Folders” page of your project and right click “Target Computer”.
select “New Folder” -> “Property based” in the context menu.
select your custom property in the Property Picker dialog.
add your files in the previously created folder.
in the Custom Actions Page create a Set installer property custom action before Paths Resolution action group.
In the “Property Name” field write the exact name of the previously created property (Ex: MY_PROP).
In the “Formatted Text” field write the new path. This field is ofFormatted Type .

Note that a property used by a property-based folder must contain a valid path. If this is not the case and the path cannot be resolved, the installation will fail.

If a property used by a property-based folder is not set at install time before the “CostFinalize” standard action executes, then Windows Installer automatically sets the property to the “TARGETDIR” path.

Adding an existing folder from the hard-drive

Use the [Add Folder… ] toolbar button, the “Add Folder…” tree/list context menu item or press the + key while the “Folders” panel is focused. The newly added folder with all the included files, will appear in the selected folder from the left pane.

To add a folder with all its files as temporary , expand the [Temporary Files ] toolbar dropdown and select[Temporary Folder ] item or set focus on the “Folders” pane and use the “Add Temporary Folder…” context menu item.

Setting folder properties

Use the[Properties… ] toolbar button or the “Properties…” tree context menu item.

In the Folder Properties Tab box you can:

set the selected folder to be one of the Synchronized Folders with a source folder on disk
schedule the folder to be removed at component install or uninstall time
add, edit or remove the folder’s permissions

Converting folder contents to path variables

Use the “Convert Paths…” context menu item. A wizard will be launched enabling you to convert the following folder items to path variables:

Regular files source paths.
Temporary files source paths.
Synchronized folders source paths.

Uninstall Cleanup

Launches a wizard that will allow you to specify what files and folders created by your application will be removed upon uninstall. In order to run this wizard select the parent folder, the directory from where you want to delete files and folder, and from the context menu select “Uninstall Cleanup…”. After the wizard launches, simply follow to on-screen instructions to choose the files you want to delete.

This feature should not be used for System folders as it could lead to System corruption.

Using this feature for folders containing a very large amount of data will increase the installation time accordingly.

Renaming folders

Use the “Rename” context menu item or press theF2 key. The folder name is of PseudoFormatted type.

Locating the attached component for a resource

Use the “Go To Component” tree context menu item or press the F8 key. This command will activate theOrganization page with the appropriate component selected in the left tree control.

This command is available only for a user defined empty folder, a synchronized folder or a folder removal operation.

Moving folders

Drag and drop the folder(s) to be moved to the target folder.

Removing folders

Use the [Delete ] toolbar button, the “Delete” tree context menu item or press the Delete key on a selected folder.

Refreshing synchronized folders

Use the[Refresh ] toolbar button or the “Refresh” tree context menu item.

In case of Merge Module projects the following attributes can be made configurable at merge time:

Directory_Parent
DefaultDir

For more information about the resources and attributes that can be configured, please see: Configurable Merge Modules Page .

Repackager settings

These settings are available in a folder’s context menu. They are used to work with folders directly from the repackaged result instead of from the hard drive. In the latter case you can easily configure the repackager from the Repackager Settings dialog.

Add folder to ignore list

Specify what files should be disregarded during a repackager scan.

The Application Folder or Application Shortcut Folder cannot be added to the ignore list.

Folder Settings…

Configure folder filters directly from the Repackager Settings dialog .

A new Duplicate of Default profile will be created if no current profile is already defined.

Click here

Topics

Folder Properties Dialog
The Folder Properties Dialog in Advanced Installer.
Folder Picker Dialog
The “Folder Picker” dialog.
Folder Paths
The paths of the folders in the “Files and Folders” page.

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Navigating Through Directory Tasks: A Comprehensive Guide to Organizing in Visual Studio Extensions (VSIX)