The files for standard VTS applications are stored within their own separate application directories, which in turn are stored within the VTS installation directory. Application directories are typically identifiable by name, as the name of the directory for each application is usually the same as the name given the application without any spaces (that is unless you've modified the application directory's name to be different from the application's name). The application name and thus the application directory's name are assigned when the application is initially created (see Creating New Applications).
Note: If you find it necessary to rename an application directory, the steps are provided in the topic: Renaming an Application Directory.
VTS applications are often built on top of other VTS applications (see Application Inheritance and VTS Layers). If an application is built on top of one or more other application layers, then each layer will have its own separate directory. These layers will not exist in subdirectories of application directories; all application directories exist at the same level within in the VTS installation directory.
There are several important files and subdirectories that are contained within each application's directory. These are identified in the following table. The structure of the files and subdirectories within each application directory is very similar to the structure of the files and application subdirectories within the VTS installation directory.
|
Directory |
Description and Contents |
|
Bitmaps |
The Bitmaps directory within an application directory is provided for you to store any custom equipment graphics you wish to be available to this application or to applications based on this application. Any equipment graphics you place in an application's Bitmaps directory will be supplemental to those provided by the VTS layer for this application. Note: Any bitmaps added to the Bitmaps subdirectory for an application will be available only to that application and any applications layered on top of it. If you require that bitmaps be available to all of the applications you will be creating, you must store them in the VTS layer directory's Bitmaps directory. Information on adding bitmaps to VTS can be found in the topic: Adding Custom Graphics to VTS. |
|
Pages |
The Pages directory contains the application page files for your application, including the .SRC and .RUN files for each page you create. The VTS scripting code for each page you create is stored in a separate file with the .SRC extension. When VTS automatically runs and compiles the scripting code stored in a .SRC file, a file in a run-time format is generated with a .RUN extension. The .BAK files are also very important, as they contain the last version of the page that compiled without an error. Note: If you use the Configure dialog to delete a page from an application, the .SRC and .BAK files remain. If you decide to reinstate the deleted page, the .SRC file will be used to generate a .RUN file for the page. |
|
Template |
A Template directory is provided with each application to be used as a storage place for files that are to be used in the creation of applications based on this application layer. When a new application is built on top of an existing application layer, the contents of the original application's template directory will be copied directly onto the root of the new application's directory, along with a new blank template directory to be used in the event that the new application is also to become a layer. This allows the custom tools, options, and tags you have constructed to help form the basis for new applications. |
In addition to the above directories, a VTS application directory contains a number of files of different types, some of which are outlined in the table below:
Files Stored Within a VTS Application Directory
|
File |
Description |
|
AppMod.SRC |
The AppMod.src file is the main application module file for the application, listing all top-level variables and modules for the application. Briefly, the AppMod.SRC file is like a directory listing of all the code files that will be used for the application. |
|
Config.ini |
The Config.ini file in an application directory can be used to set values for configuration settings for this application. Any non-default values you declare within the Config.ini file in your application directory will apply to this application, unless non-default values have been declared for the same settings in a workstation.ini file in this layer. Configuration options are discussed in "VTS Programmer's Guide: Introduction to Config.ini". |
|
GDI.wif |
The GDI.wif file helps VTS to identify a directory on your hard drive as being an application directory. It contains the name of the application, the path of the parent application (the layer upon which this application is built), a globally unique identifier for the application, the name of the data source for the application, and the application's directory name. Note: Under certain circumstances, you might encounter problems with duplicate globally unique identifiers. This issue and its resolution is addressed in the topic Duplicate Globally Unique Identifiers (GUIDs). |
|
Menus.txt |
The Menus.txt file is a text file containing the menu structure for this application. |
|
Menus2.txt |
The Menus2.txt file is a text file, similar in structure to Menus.txt, that contains the menu for this application, an ID for each menu page and the parameters for every parameterized page in the system. |
|
PageHist.txt |
The PageHist.txt file is a text file containing a reference of the last 16 pages viewed in your application. PageHist.txt is used with the Display Manager's page history buttons to enable users to travel forward and backward through the page history. |
|
PageList.txt |
The PageList.txt file is a text file that is responsible for recording the page change buttons that have been added to the Display Manager's navigation bar. |
|
Palette.pal |
The Palette.pal file is a binary file containing the data for the VTS color palette. There are 256 distinct colors in the VTS palette. It is recommended that you use the VTS palette colors when you are designing custom bitmaps and backgrounds for your applications. See Adding Custom Graphics to VTS for details. |
|
Points.mdb |
The Points.mdb file is the tag properties database that is used to store tag properties for this application. |
|
SecMgr.dat |
The SecMgr.dat file is an encrypted binary file used by the Security Manager to contain account information for this application. |
|
SecurityManager.ini |
The SecurityManager.ini file contains security configuration settings for this application. The SecurityManager.ini file is discussed in the VTS Programmer's Guide: Introduction to SecurityManager.ini. |
|
System.run |
The System.run file is a run-time file compiled from VTS scripting code that is required by VTS to run your application. |
The files listed in the preceding table (excepting menus2.txt) are copied from the VTS layer's Template directory into the application directory when the application is created.