Deployment Manager

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Project > Deployment

The Deployment Manager can deploy a cross-platform application as well as a native 32-bit Windows application. The Deployment Manager works with the Platform Assistant, so the application being deployed must use the Platform Assistant server and a connection profile. The Deployment Manager allows you to enable, view, add, delete, or edit the files that are being deployed. You can also use the Deployment Manager to add other necessary "featured files" to the deployment, such as database drivers for the target platform.

Tip: The Deployment Manager is not needed for every project that is to be deployed to a remote system. In most of the cases when you create a project, everything works flawlessly when the project is deployed to the remote machine without the Deployment Manager. But projects differ, and the Deployment Manager gives you control over these special cases.

With the Deployment Manager, you can:

• Enable or disable the files that are to be deployed to the target machine (check or uncheck ).
• Add featured files from a generated list of ready-to-deploy files (click ).

  Important: For cross-platform database applications, you must use the Deployment Manager to enable the necessary database drivers for your specific target machine. You enable the database drivers using the Add Featured Files dialog box. When you actually run, debug, or deploy your application, the IDE copies the files currently enabled in the deployment list (including the database drivers and any other featured files you have added) to the machine where the Platform Assistant server is running.

• For all applications, add other files to your deployment list (click ).
• Edit properties of the files that are to be deployed (Platforms, Remote Path, and Remote Name).
• Delete files from the deployment list (click ).

Deployment Manager Window

The Deployment Manager employs a toolbar with command buttons and a build configuration and target platform combo box, and a files list that uses seven fields (columns), all of which are sortable:

Deployment Manager Toolbar

Button and Icon	Description
Enable check box	Enables files to be included in the deployment.
Reconcile command button	Resets the project deployment information to the default values for your project type and selected target platform. When you run this command, RAD Studio removes from the deployment information of your project any file that you manually added with the Add Files () or the Add Featured Files () commands, and restores any default file that you removed with the Delete Files () command.
Add Files command button	Allows you to add files that are not part of the project to the deployment list. A common example would be adding data files or configuration files that your Application makes use of. Read more on this help topic: Adding Files.
Delete Files command button	Allows you to delete files that were previously added through the Add Files command button. Note that you cannot delete files that the IDE automatically adds. When selecting these files, the Delete Files button will be disabled (grayed). Read more on this help topic: Deleting Files.
Add Featured Files command button	Displays a dialog box that contains a list of files that you can select to add to your project. This command is mainly used for database-related applications. Read more on this help topic: Adding Featured Files.
Deploy command button	Deploys the files to the remote machine. This command uses the currently selected configuration to deploy the files. This command is not required in order to start deploying the files. The files in the list are also automatically deployed by running the project in the IDE.
Connect command button	This is a two-state (sticky) button. The Connect button will remain down while the machines are connected. When the connection fails or succeeds, the button will remain pressed. If the connect operation completes with success, the Remote Status fields are updated. Otherwise, an error message is displayed. The Connect button is disabled when All Configurations is selected, because you can only connect to one machine at a time.
Revert to Default command button	Reverts all changes that you have ever made in the Deployment Manager to the current project. The project is reverted to the state that it was in when you first opened it in the Deployment Manager.
Configuration Selector combo box	Selects the build configuration and target platform for which you are deploying. Any of the fields of the files list might change if the configuration changes. This combo-box is the same as the Target field in Target Options on the Project Options dialog box.

Deployment Manager Fields

The Deployment Manager has seven columns or fields that are described below. Only three of the fields are editable: Platforms, Remote Path, and Remote Name.

Field	Editable	Description
Local Path	No	The path of the corresponding file on the local machine. Note that these paths are relative to the project and can contain macros, such as $(BDS).
Local Name	No	The name of the local file.
Class	No	The class that the file belongs to. Classes are used to group files with the same deployment rules. Some of these rules might be used to specify that this file is only available for a given platform.
Platforms	Yes	Each file will be deployed for a given list of platforms. It is possible for files to be deployed to only one platform at a time. For example, info.plist is only deployed for Mac OS X and iOS, while other files, such as .exe files, might be deployed only for 32-bit Windows or 64-bit Windows. It is also possible for files to be deployed to all or any combination of platforms. You can edit the platform where you want the files to be deployed. If you select a wrong combination of platforms, the project might not work at all.
Remote Path	Yes	The destination for the file. This field is initialized with "./" (dot-slash), which indicates a relative path name. If you do not fully qualify the remote path for the deployed files, then the path is relative to either: The scratch directory of the Platform Assistant server, by default inside C:\Users\name\Documents\RAD Studio\Profiles (Win32 and Win64 target platforms). The application bundle (Mac OS X and iOS target platforms).
Remote Name	Yes	The remote file name.
Remote Status	No	If the Connect button is pressed, then the Remote Status columns will show the status of the file comparing the remote file to the local file. The remote status can be: Not Connected: The Connect button is not pressed down, so no remote data is found. Unknown: There was an error getting information from the local file. Newer: The remote file is newer than the local file. Older: The remote file is older than the local file. Same: The local and remote files have the same time date stamps. Not Found: The remote file was not found.

Read the next sections for further information about configuring the Deployment Manager and how to deploy a project.

Deployment Manager Topics

• Deployment Manager - Deploying a project
• Deployment Manager - Add Featured Files (database drivers)
• Deployment Manager - Adding files
• Deployment Manager - Deleting files

See Also

• Connection Profile Manager
• Create a Connection Profile wizard
• paserver, the Platform Assistant Server Application