How to: Choose which files to install and where

The Files page is the packing list for your release. Each row tells the starter which file or folder to take from the source folder and where to put it on the user's computer. If something isn't on this list, it never reaches users, even if it's in the source folder.

The example on this page is the point-of-sale app from the tutorial: the source folder C:\Lieferung\Kasse\deploy contains Kasse.accde, a bin folder with two DLLs, and a Berichte folder with a report template.

• The source folder is entered in the Source field on the General page. The commands on this page open that folder and accept only what's inside it.

Steps:

1. In the navigation pane, select Installation > Files.
2. Select Add files, and in the dialog box, select one or more files; in the example, Kasse.accde. To add a whole folder, select Add folder; in the example, add bin and then Berichte. Both dialog boxes open in the source folder.
3. Or drag files and folders from File Explorer onto the list.

Result: Each file and folder you selected appears in the list once. Bootstrapper Manager enters the source relative to the source folder and, as the target, the same subfolder under [VersionDir], the folder of the installed version. That way, the installed version keeps the source folder's structure:

Check: The target tree on the left shows bin and Berichte under [VersionDir]. If the Bootstrapper Manager skipped something, a message tells you why: the path is outside the source folder (the starter takes only what's in it), or there's already an entry for that source.

Not everything belongs in the version folder. The starter creates that folder anew for each version and gradually removes old ones. Files that users open themselves or need to keep belong in a fixed folder; in the example, the report templates go to the user's Documents folder.

Steps:

1. In the Berichte row, select the Target cell.
2. Enter [Documents]\Kassensystem\Berichte.

You can also drag files from File Explorer straight onto a folder in the target tree. They get that folder as their target; a dragged folder is added there as a subfolder with the same name.

Result:

Check: The target tree shows Kassensystem\Berichte under Documents [Documents]. To see the full path each file would get on your computer, run Trial run; see How to: Test a project and build an MSI package.

Columns and project file members. The starter defines what each column means, patterns such as bin\*.dll, the actions registerCom and registerNetCom, and [Dir:<ID>] and [ItemVersion]. See The project file (format 2), section Files (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

Bitness of an entry. An entry with x86 or x64 is set up only when that bitness applies; which one applies is set by the Bitness field on the General page (default: that of the installed Access, see How to: Set the product, version, appearance, and launch target). This way, components\x86 and components\x64 sit in the same delivery, and each user gets the matching components.

Target folders. The tree shows the starter's target folders and, under them, every subfolder the entries name. On the user's computer, the starter replaces the placeholders with these folders:

Selecting a folder in the tree shows only its entries and the ones below it. The tree is just a view of the entries: it's rebuilt for each project and never written to the project file.

Parts without a column. Parts of an entry that have no column of their own (such as keep) are kept as they were read when you save.

COM servers (registerCom) need a registration.json file next to them; the WKL Forms Object Library release package includes it starting with version 1.57. For details, see The project file (format 2), section COM servers (WKL Bootstrapper documentation).

• Tutorial: Take an Access application from source folder to verified installation
• How to: Set up shortcuts, registry values, and other entries
• How to: Check a project and fix problems