About Project Files

For Backups and Pack-and-Go

A provider has been added that allows users to store files and pack them along with their Pack and Go project, or simply provide storage and versioning for important files that may need to be recovered at a later date.

The Project Files provider contains two subfolders, Archives and Nodes. Archive items define sets of files to store, and Nodes associate those archives with a particular machine (allowing the same configuration database to be used for multiple machines).

When creating or editing an archive, the user can pick between these Types:

The archive is used as a simple backup storage – This type of archive is used to store backups and multiple versions of files. These files will not be packed in a Pack and Go operation.
The files in the archive can be restored during Unpack operations – This type of archive will pack the files in a Pack and Go operation and restore them when the package file is unpacked.

When choosing the "unpack" type, users can pick one of these Destination Types where the files will be placed on unpack:

Anyglass Folder – C:\Program Files\ICONICS\GENESIS64\WebSites\AnyGlass in a default installation.
Binaries Folder – C:\Program Files\ICONICS\GENESIS64\Components in a default installation.
Common Data Folder – C:\ProgramData\ICONICS in a default installation. (This is the only option available in IoT projects, and it refers to /usr/share/iconics in that case.)
Published Displays Folder – C:\Program Files\ICONICS\GENESIS64\WebSites\PubDisplay in a default installation.
Custom Folder – The user can choose a custom location, specified in the Custom Folder field.

When unpacking, all files on the Files tab of this archive will be placed in this location. They will be placed in the root directory unless a folder is specified as part of the File Path column. For example, a file with a File Path of Subfolder\Display1.gdfx in an archive with the Destination Type of Custom Folder and C:\Temp as the Custom Folder will create a file at C:\Temp\Subfolder\Display1.gdfx when unpacked.

Files in other tabs will be placed in the proper locations based on the tab.

To add files or certificates, go to the appropriate tab and select one of the Import options (such as Import files). Browse for the file or files you'd like to import and select Open. Apply the changes when done.

The Files tab has an Advanced Import option that allows the user to choose an entire folder at once.

Select the Extract the file button for a file to download a copy of the default (usually the latest) version. Users can also right-click on an archive and choose Restore archived files to restore the default version of each file to its original location.

Multiple versions can be kept for each file. Select the Manage file versions button next to the file in question to upload a new file version, choose which version is the default, delete versions, or download a specific version of the file.

Select the Delete the file (X) button next to a file to delete it and all of its versions from the archive.

Remember to hit the apply button after each of these actions.

The System Files tab is for special GraphWorX64 system files that have to be stored in a special location (Isolated Storage). These files are for user settings, symbols, the materials toolbox, and similar settings. Use the Import system files link to choose which sorts of files you'd like to store in the archive.

Nodes can be used to specify which archives to extract on which systems. Expand Project Files, edit Nodes, and add items to the list to associated archives with machines. Nodes are optional – if no items exist in the nodes list, all archives with the "unpack" type will be unpacked for every system. Nodes have no effect on archives with the "backup" type.

This provider is also available in IoT project templates, where it can be used to deploy files to edge devices. See Deploy Custom Files to Devices.