Web Forms Projects
Whether you use the .NET Web Forms target wizard to create a new target from scratch or from an existing application, the target wizard always creates a new project. It automatically launches the .NET Web Forms Application project wizard.
A Web Forms project object is required to deploy the Web Forms application to an IIS 5.0 or later server. Once the application is deployed to a server, end users can run it from a Web browser.
Although you can always start the .NET Web Forms Application project wizard from the Project tab of the New dialog box, you can start it for a Web Forms target type only. If the current workspace does not have a target of this type, PowerBuilder does not let you run the .NET Web Forms Application project wizard.
| Wizard field | Description |
|---|---|
| Project name | Name of the Web Forms project. |
| Project library | Library where you want to store the Web Forms project. |
| Web application name | Name of the Web Forms application. By default, this is the name of the application for the current PowerBuilder target. |
| Application URL preview | Address for starting the Web Forms application in a browser (minus the default.aspx or default.htm start-up file name). |
| Resource file and directory list | Specifies a list of resource files, or directories containing resource files, that you want to deploy with the project.
When you select a directory, the resource files in all of its subdirectories are also selected by default. However, after you complete the wizard, you can clear the check box in the Recursive column on the Resource Files tab page for the project. If you do that, the resource files in the selected directory, but not in any of its subdirectories, are selected for deployment. |
| Win32 dynamic library file list | Specifies any Win32 DLLs that you want to include with your project. Modules in this list are deployed to the bin directory in the application Web site under the virtual root folder. |
| JavaScript file list | Specifies JavaScript files you want to deploy with the project. |
| Generate setup file option and Setup file name | Select this option and a setup file name if you are not deploying directly to an IIS server. |
| Direct deploy to IIS and IIS server address | Select this option to deploy to an IIS server and enter the address of the server where you want to deploy the Web Forms application. |
The Web Forms project painter
| Project tab page | Functionality not available in the .NET Web Forms wizard |
|---|---|
| General | Includes the following radio button build options:
Use debug builds for debugging purposes. Release builds have better performance, but when you run a release build in the debug mode, the debugger does not stop at breakpoints. For information on the rebuild scope, see Rebuild Scope The Enable DEBUG Symbol check box enables code inside conditional compilation blocks using the DEBUG symbol. This selection does not affect and is not affected by the project�s build type setting. It is selected by default. |
| Resource Files | The wizard automatically includes the resource files from all subdirectories of a directory that you add to the wizard�s Resource Files page. In the Project painter, a check box displays under the Recursive column for each directory in the Resource Files page list box. You can clear the check box to deploy only the files in the directory that is listed. You can also select a registry XML file that you want to deploy to the File/Common directory for your application.
For more information on using registry files, see Registry Functions for Web Forms Applications |
| Library Files | The Library Files tab has separate list boxes for target libraries (PBLs and PBDs) and for dynamic Win32 library files (DLLs) that you want to deploy with your project. The PBLs you select are generated as PBDs if they contain DataWindow or Query objects. By default, all target libraries are selected, but you need to select a PBL only if it contains DataWindow or Query objects that you use in your application. If your target library list includes a PBD file that contains other types of PowerBuilder objects, such as functions or user objects, you cannot reference those objects in your Web Forms application. These types of objects must be contained in a PBL file rather than in a PBD file before you deploy them to a Web Forms target. For a Web Services client, you can import a PBX file into a target PBL using the Import PB Extension item on the library�s context menu, rather than using the PBD file that contains the SoapConnection and SoapError classes. |
| Configuration | On this Project painter page, you can modify global properties for the project before it is deployed. You or the application server manager can also change global properties after the project is deployed.
For more information about global properties, see Global Web Configuration Properties |
| Version | Version information includes values for the product name, company name, description, and copyright, as well as major, minor, build, and revision version numbers for the product, file, and assembly that you generate when you build the project. The values you enter appear in the generated assembly file’s Properties dialog box in Windows Explorer. They are viewable on the Web Forms server, but are not typically available to end users of Web Forms applications. |
| Post-build | You can use this Project painter page to select an application, such as a code obfuscator program, to process the generated Web Forms application immediately after it is deployed. You can select different applications for post-build processing of debug and run versions of your project. |
| Security | Lets you configure CAS security zones for your applications, minimizing the amount of trust required before application code is run by an end user. |
| Run | Contains the Application field where you can enter the path to a browser you want to have run the Web Forms application and the Arguments field where you can enter the URL for the Web Forms application. By default, the path to the Internet Explorer browser is displayed for the Application field. The Arguments field is populated by default with the value for the project�s Application URL Preview, with Localhost as the default server name. |
| Sign | The Assembly group box on this tab page allows you to attach strong name key files to the assemblies that your project generates. |
This picture shows the General page of the Project painter for a .NET Web Forms project.