1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. Thursday, 22 April 2021 20:15 PM UTC

How can we add a folder outside the Installation folder of our app using powerclient. PowerClient downloads the files on %AppData%\PBApps\Applications\MyApplicationName

I need to be able to add other folders outside of our app in powerclient to be able to include other resources.

 

Thanks and regards

Marcelo Peñailillo

Armeen Mazda @Appeon Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Thursday, 22 April 2021 20:20 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 1

Copy the files you want to add into same folder structure as your app and then add the files or sub folders in the External Files tab.  PowerClient will take care of deploying these external files to your users.

Comment
  1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 13:15 PM UTC
Thanks for your reply, but that is not what I need.



I need the application to be able to search for files by an additional path on the user's computer. Just as can be done for normal executables using the Windows registry.



[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\myapp.exe]

Default="C:\example_app_folder\myapp.exe"

Path="C:\example_app_folder;[RuntimeLocation];c:\example_folder"



Marcelo
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  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 14:38 PM UTC
Hi Marcelo, I think you should be able to do this same as traditional client/server deployment. I will get one of our product engineers to confirm, but did you test this and it doesn't work?
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Andreas Mykonios Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 23 April 2021 13:44 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 2

Hi.

You cannot add in a powervclient project files that are not in the location you workspace resides. This is currently a limitation.

Comment
  1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 14:35 PM UTC
Thank you very much again.

To be very precise, I don't want to add files to the project, I need the application running to be able to access other search folders by default for the application only.

You can modify the global Path variable of Windodws, but it is not the idea, it is necessary to be able to add folders to the Path variable of the running application, I have tried it this way and it does not work.
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  1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 14:38 PM UTC
Is it possible to request this as a new feature for a future version of PowerClient?
  1. Helpful
  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Monday, 26 April 2021 04:55 AM UTC
Please suggest feature enhancement ideas by email to product@appeon.com.
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Mark Goldsmith Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 23 April 2021 15:26 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 3

Hi Marcelo,

Notwithstanding Armeen's reply, so maybe his engineer will offer some additional insight/ approaches, but here are my thoughts:

I believe I understand what you're trying to do and so I'm thinking you should be able to accomplish what you want by placing a windows command, in this case regedit /s MyRegFile.reg, in the Preload Event in the Run Options tab of the PowerClient project. Create your registry file in advance (and include it in the External Files tab) in one of two ways depending on whether you want this app to be user specific or machine specific:

IE...
Computer\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\PB190.exe

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\PB190.exe

You probably know how the Default & Path entries for this registry subkey should be structured since you included an example in your reply to Armeen so I won't go into that. If the Path folders you're referencing also have to be created in addition to the registry settings then you could use the Preload Event for that as well.

Of course the above assumes that permissions or other GPO settings won't prevent changes to the registry on the client machines.

Again, Armeen may come back with another way to do it (or the way it's supposed to work) and even if the above doesn't work for you I wonder if the ability to make registry entries might be a nice enhancement for the PowerClient Project.

HTH...regards,

Mark

Comment
  1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 19:25 PM UTC
Dear Mark.



works fine..!!



I had tried this, but it didn't work by putting the% AppData% variable as part of the default value. The default value must have the full path of the executable



Marcelo

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  1. Mark Goldsmith
  2. Friday, 23 April 2021 19:49 PM UTC
Great to hear Marcelo and thanks for the update!

Regards...Mark
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Marcelo Peñailillo Accepted Answer Pending Moderation
  1. Friday, 23 April 2021 19:28 PM UTC
  2. PowerBuilder
  3. # 4

Problem Solved.!!

 

The windows app registry for add folders to an execcutable works fine.

[Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\App Paths\myapp.exe]

(Default)=Full Path of me application

Path=All directories separated by ;

 

Thanks and regards

Marcelo

Comment
  1. Kai Zhao @Appeon
  2. Monday, 26 April 2021 01:24 AM UTC
Hi Marcelo,



Glad to hear that you solved the issue! And specifying full path in the Windows app registry is currently the most convenient way to add folders to an executable.



Regards,

ZhaoKai
  1. Helpful
  1. Marcelo Peñailillo
  2. Monday, 26 April 2021 13:15 PM UTC
I really like powerclient, before powerclient the only alternative was to have its own distribution system for client / server applications.

From now on they can only keep improving powerclient.

Things that I am interested in that can be done:

1) Customization of powerclient startup and update interfaces.

2) Add macro variables and documentation for the preload commands of our application.
  1. Helpful
  1. Armeen Mazda @Appeon
  2. Monday, 26 April 2021 14:24 PM UTC
Preload commands already supported... you define those on the Run Options tab. Please send feature enhancement requests to product@appeon.com.
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