How to: Create, open, or convert a project

You can start a project in one of three ways: create it from one of the starter's templates (New), open an existing project file (Open), or convert a configuration from the former starter (StarterPro.config.xml, Import). All three commands are on the Projects page. Whichever you choose, Bootstrapper Manager writes or reads a format 2 project file, adds the project to the list, and selects it so you can edit it on the other pages.

Steps:

1. On the Projects page, select the arrow next to New, and then choose a template:

   Template	What the new project file contains
   Empty project	Only the product and the source. The version and launch target are still missing, so Check reports them as problems until you fill them in
   Access application	The database named in the app-manifest.json file in the source folder, copied to [VersionDir]; the version from that manifest; how to start the database (/runtime, as the manifest specifies); and a Microsoft Access condition. The manifest describes the built application; the WKL Office SDK (wkl-office deliver) and the WKL Forms Object Library build tool save it to the source folder along with the application
   Access application with WKL components	Everything above, plus the WKL Forms Object Library from the source folder's components\x86 and components\x64 folders, registered for the user, and a .NET 10 Desktop Runtime condition
   … with WKL components and ODBC driver	Also a sample ODBC driver with a user data source, which you replace with the driver you ship
   … with WKL components and WKL JSON	Also the WKL Office JSON library from the json\x86 and json\x64 folders
   … with WKL components and a private .NET runtime	Also a private .NET runtime from the dotnet\x86 and dotnet\x64 folders, instead of the .NET 10 condition

   If you select New itself rather than the arrow, Bootstrapper Manager uses the Access application template. That template needs an app-manifest.json file; an application built without the WKL Office SDK or the WKL Forms Object Library build tool starts from an empty project (see the tutorial). If you deliver with the SDK, you don't need New: the SDK writes the project file itself and opens it in Bootstrapper Manager (see Start from the WKL Office SDK). Choose a template with WKL components only if your release includes the components; otherwise, the starter won't find a components folder on the user's computer. For exactly what each template adds, see How to: Create a project from templates (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

2. In the New project file of the starter dialog box, choose a folder and a file name. The suggested name is bootstrapper.json, the file the starter reads by default. Save the file in the folder where Wkl.Bootstrapper.exe will be.
3. If the file already exists, Bootstrapper Manager asks whether you want to replace it.
4. A message titled New tells you what's left to do: which folders the source folder needs and which sample values (such as the ODBC driver) you need to replace.

Result: The new project is selected. The product ID (the Product ID field) is set to the name of the folder you chose, and the source folder (the Source field) is set to deploy in the starter's folder. You can change both on the General page.

Check: Select Check. For a project created with Empty project, the Problems page reports the missing version (version needs either value or from.). Check reads only the project file; whether the source folder contains what the project names shows up only in Trial run.

Steps:

1. Select Open, and then select the project file (*.json, format 2).
2. If the file is already in the list, Bootstrapper Manager reads it again. If the project has changes that haven't been saved to the file, Bootstrapper Manager first asks whether to reread the file and discard those changes. Select No (the default) to keep your changes and select the project.

Result: The project is selected and moves to the top of the list, because it's the one you read most recently.

Check: The subtitle of the other pages names the project, for example “Project Kasse (Kassensystem).”

Steps:

1. Select Import, and then select the StarterPro.config.xml file.
2. Choose where to save the new project file. Bootstrapper Manager suggests bootstrapper.json in the same folder as the old configuration. Import never overwrites an existing file, so if one already exists, choose a different name.
3. The starter converts the configuration (/import-starterpro). A message titled Import lists anything it couldn't carry over.

Result: The new project is selected. The starter never carries over the SQL connection or passwords from the old configuration, because they don't belong in a project file that's copied to every workstation. For next steps, see How to: Move from the former starter (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

Check: Work through the items in the Import message, and then select Check and Trial run. Only the trial run shows whether the starter would launch the converted project on this computer.

The list is sorted by Last read or saved, with the most recent project at the top. That project is selected when you start the configurator.

• New and Import need the starter. For where Bootstrapper Manager looks for it, including the locations that apply only to these two commands, see step 3 of How to: Set up and start Bootstrapper Manager.
• Replacing a file is safe: If New fails (because there's no starter or the starter reports an error), the previous file is left exactly as it was.
• Format 1: Open rejects a format 1 file and tells you why. You have to convert such a file to format 2 by hand; see The project file (format 2), section Format 1 (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

• How to: Set the product, version, appearance, and launch target
• How to: Save a project