File System View

The File System view is displayed within the main program area when the File System node of any project is selected in the Projects view. This view is used to define and review the changes to be performed to the file system when installing a deployment package created on a basis of this project Pic 1.

The File System view

Pic 1. The File System view

The file system modifications can include modifications of folders, files and shortcuts. The location of each element is represented with a file system path, that consists of drive name or system folder and several folders included into each other. When monitoring existing installations, the required changes are created automatically and added to the corresponding project representing the installation process. It is also possible to create the changes manually or import files and folder from local file system.

Tree

The Tree button from the Presentation group of the contextual File System tab should be used to display the file system modifications in form of a tree, similar to Windows Explorer.

Flat

The Flat button from the Presentation group of the contextual File System tab allows you to display the file system modifications as a raw list, where each element is represented with its full path.

Information on the file system modifications can be represented both in form of a folder tree with data on each folder and in form of a resource list. When displayed as a resource list, it is by default grouped by processes responsible for the creation of each entry. For entries created manually, such a procedure is not applicable. You can clear the grouping using the table features, and it is possible to revert to the default layout at any time using the Reset Layout item from the configuration menu.

The icon next to every item represented in the File System view is used to describe of the item's type and state. The state icons are provided to help you understand what is currently happening in the program. You can always see if the item is being processed now by some operation or not, and if there are any processing problems.

Below is the list of icons used to represent the item type and state:

	-	a logical drive;
	-	a logical drive is being processed;
	-	a logical drive that contains a permanent path;
	-	a system folder;
	-	a system folder is being processed;
	-	a system folder that contains a permanent path;
	-	a folder;
	-	a folder is being processed;
	-	a folder is a part of a permanent path;
	-	a sync folder;
	-	a folder in a sync folder;
	-	a file;
	-	a file is permanent;
	-	a file in a sync folder;
	-	a shortcut.

The following overlays are used to represent the operation to be performed with an item:

	-	an item should be created;
	-	an item should be modified;
	-	an item should be deleted;
	-	permissions should be defined for an item;
	-	an item is excluded from the build.

As for the problematic situations, the following overlays are used:

	-	an item containing errors that should be resolved before creating a deployment package;
	-	an item containing changes that may lead to problems (e. g. removing of system-critical resources);
	-	an item is either a missing link or contains missing links.

The actions for adding, editing and deleting the file system changes as well as copying and moving those changes between projects are available in the File System view pop-up menu and on the contextual File System Ribbon page.

Functions Overview

Changes Management	From the File System view, you can create, edit and delete the modifications to be performed by a deployment package to the file system. The actions for creating a new drive, system folder, folder, file and shortcut can be found within the New group on the contextual File System Ribbon page. The System Folder and Drive buttons from the New group on the Project page can also be used to create a new system folder and drive, respectively, together with the New System Folder and New Drive items in the pop-up menu displayed on an empty selection in the File System view. When a drive or folder is selected in the File System view, you can use the New sub-menu of the pop-up menu to create a new folder, sync folder, file or shortcut in the selected location. To change any file system modification, you can use the Edit item from the pop-up menu or the Edit button from the Management group on the contextual File System Ribbon page, and to delete the modification, use the Delete items.
System Folders	Within the File System view, it is possible to replace the common system folders with their definitions and vice-versa. The system folder definition is expanded to the actual path when a deployment package is being installed on a target PC. To replace a path, representing a system folder, with its definition placeholder, you can use the Roll System Folder menu item from the pop-up menu or the Roll button from the System Folders group on the contextual File System Ribbon page. To expand a system folder definition to the path that is defined on a current PC, use the Unroll System Folder menu item from the pop-up menu or the Unroll button from the System Folders group on the contextual File System Ribbon page. It is also possible to roll and unroll all system folders within a project using the Roll All and Unroll All buttons from the System Folders group on the Project Ribbon page.
Copy/Move	You can easily copy and/or move the modifications to be performed by a deployment package to the file system from the File System view. You can use the drag/drop and copy/paste techniques as well as the Cut, Copy and Paste menu items to reach the goal. It is also possible to use the Copy To and Move To items available both in the pop-up menu and on the contextual File System Ribbon page to perform copy/move immediately choosing a target project in a dialog.
External Tools	From the File System view, it is possible to open a location of any file system item in the Windows Explorer using the Jump to Explorer item from the pop-up menu, when a file system item is selected. When a file is selected, you can open this file using the Open File item from the pop-up menu. You can also import changes from a file system of the PC MSI Package Builder is running on. To perform import, you should either use the items available in the Import sub-menu of the pop-up menu displayed on an empty selection and from the Import group on the contextual File System Ribbon page, or the File System button from the Import group on the Project Ribbon page.
Filters' Settings	Any file system item from the File System view can be easily added either to monitoring or uninstall file filters using the Apply As Filter sub-menu from the File System view pop-up menu when a file or folder is selected.
Presentation	The changes to a file system performed by a deployment package can be displayed in the File System view in form of a tree or in form of a table. To switch between different data presentation models, you can use either the Tree and Flat buttons from the Presentation group on the contextual File System Ribbon page, or the Presentation sub-menu of the view pop-up menu displayed on an empty selection.
Search	Within the File System view, you can execute a search for specific changes to the file system performed by a deployment package using the Find item from the pop-up menu.

For detailed information on the changes to a file system that can be defined in a project, refer to the File System Modifications section of this document.