Creating a project
You can create a new project when you create a new target using
most Target wizards. You can also create a project at any time from
the Project page in the New dialog box if you have already created a
target of the appropriate type.
The Project page has two kinds of icons: icons that open wizards
that help you set up a project, and icons that open the Project
painter. Wizard icons display next to the icon for the same project
type. The following procedure describes how to create a new project
from the Project page.
To create a new project object from the Project page:
-
Select File>New or click the New button in the PowerBar
to open the New dialog box. -
Select the Project tab.
-
Select the target in which you want to create the project
from the Target drop-down list. -
Select the wizard or project type you need and click
OK.If you select a wizard, complete the wizard screens to
create a new project with most of its properties specified. Use
the context-sensitive Help if you are not sure what to enter. You
can open the Project painter now or later to modify the properties
if necessary and to build the project.If you do not select a wizard, the Project painter for the
type of object you selected opens so that you can specify
properties of the project object.Once you have created a project, you can open it from the
System Tree.Projects can be modified only in the painter
Unlike most other PowerBuilder objects, a project object
cannot be edited in the Source editor.
Target-relative paths and shared
projects
All paths used in projects are stored as target-relative paths,
if possible. If you later move the application to a different location
in the file system, or another user copies or checks out the
application, the paths are adjusted relative to the new target
location.
For example, suppose user A has an application target stored in
the following directory structure, where pbl_1.pbl contains the
application object:
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
C: arget1 arget1.pbt C: arget1pblspbl_1.pbl C: arget1pblspbl_2.pbl C: arget1 es arget1.pbr C: arget1out arget1.exe |
When user B copies the application to the following directory
structure, no changes need to be made in the Project painter, because
the paths reflect the new directory structure:
|
1 2 3 4 5 6 |
D:PBMy TargetsTarget 1 arget1.pbt D:PBMy TargetsTarget 1pblspbl_1.pbl D:PBMy TargetsTarget 1pblspbl_2.pbl D:PBMy TargetsTarget 1 es arget1.pbr D:PBMy TargetsTarget 1out arget1.exe |
A projects that was created in an earlier version of
PowerBuilder using hard-coded paths must be opened and resaved before
the files it references are modified with target-relative
paths.
If a path is not on the drive where the target is stored, then
the path is stored as an absolute path. For example, the path to image
files stored on a shared network directory such as
J:
esimagescommon is stored as an absolute path in the project
file.
References to files outside the target path
If a project references a PBL or another file on a local drive
that is outside the path of the target, make sure that the PBL or
file is copied to the new target location and that it is referenced
correctly in the project.