How to: Check a project and fix problems

Whether a project file is valid is up to the starter that will run it on the user's computer. So instead of keeping its own rules, which could drift out of sync with the starter's, Bootstrapper Manager asks the starter (/check). The Check command on the Projects or Problems page has the starter check the selected project. For every problem the starter reports, Bootstrapper Manager takes you right to the place where you fix it: the page, the field, or the row.

Steps:

1. On the Projects page, select Check (Alt+C). The check covers the project as it is in Bootstrapper Manager, including unsaved changes; Bootstrapper Manager passes it to the starter as a temporary file. Your project file isn't changed.

2. If there are no problems, a notification says “The starter reports no problems.” Otherwise, the Problems page opens:

   

   Column	What it shows
   Area	The page where you fix the problem
   Problem	The starter's message, word for word (in English). It begins with the part of the project file it's about, such as files 'App\Kasse.exe': ... or start.runtime ...

3. Double-click a problem, or select it and then select Go to page. The command is unavailable until you select a row. Bootstrapper Manager opens the page and shows the field or row with the problem, marked in red.

   

4. Correct the value. The red marker disappears right away, and the problem drops off the Problems page and out of the count next to Problems, because the starter hasn't evaluated the new value yet.
5. Select Check again, or press Ctrl+S to save; the starter checks the file whenever you save. A notification tells you whether any problems are left.

Result: Once all problems are fixed, the number next to Problems in the navigation disappears, and the notification reports no problems.

Check: Select Trial run. Check evaluates only the project file; whether the source folder is reachable and contains everything the Files list names shows up only in the trial run (result 0 Ok); see How to: Test a project and build an MSI package.

The starter begins every problem message with the part of the project file it's about and, for a list entry, includes the entry's name; for example, registry 'Software\Muster\Kasse' value 'Port': DWord needs a number. From that, Bootstrapper Manager works out the page, field, and row. If it doesn't recognize a message's wording, it doesn't mark anything. This also applies to Bootstrapper Manager's own messages, such as “The starter was not found (…).” If the message doesn't refer to any known part of the project file, Go to page is unavailable; otherwise, it opens the right page but doesn't mark anything.

• Results stay until the next check. The rows on the Problems page and the number in the navigation stay until you check again, save, or reread the project. Only the problems for a field or row you change are removed right away (step 4). The subtitle shows when the check ran. Results are never written to the project file.
• No starter, no check: If Bootstrapper Manager can't find the starter, Check reports that as a problem. See step 3 of How to: Set up and start Bootstrapper Manager.
• Messages in English: The starter reports problems in English so that each one maps unambiguously to a place in the file, whatever the language of Bootstrapper Manager's user interface. For the error codes the starter reports on users' computers, see Error codes of the starter (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

• How to: Save a project
• Troubleshooting
• What the starter writes and reports (WKL Bootstrapper documentation)