VTS enables you to customize and enhance your applications without modification of the base application using a set of configuration files. The enhancements can be added on multiple levels. For example, you can create a customized OEM layer, and then base a further customized application layer on top of the OEM layer. Each application references the directory upon which it is based. This principle works for as many layers as you require. The base layer for all applications is always the VTS layer. The application is built up from all of the variable and module definitions that VTS encounters as it searches the referenced application directories backward to the VTS layer (from the application layer(s), down to the OEM layer(s), and finally to the VTS layer upon which the OEM layer is ultimately based). Any variables or modules encountered first (from the application layer down through to the VTS layer) overrides the same modules or variables encountered in lower layers. Additionally, any configuration file declarations override the AppMod.src declarations within the same level (see AppMod.src Root File for a Standard Application).
The VTS configuration files and their respective variables are described in detail in Configuration Files and Variables in this guide. The sections that follow provide a brief overview of each of the VTS configuration guides, and their purpose.
Workstation.ini Configuration Files
Workstation.ini configuration files are named for the workstation to which they apply (e.g. "MyWorkstationName.ini"). When encountered in the application directory on a workstation of the same name, a workstation.ini configuration file is read first, before all other configuration files (including Config.ini, described below), and the application's AppMod.src root file (see AppMod.src Root File for a Standard Application).
A workstation.ini file has the same format as the Config.ini configuration file, and can be used to set the same configuration variables. Its purpose is to allow you to establish custom settings for some or all of the workstations running your VTS application without requiring you to alter each and every Config.ini file. Typically, the configuration variables whose values should be common to all workstations running the application are defined in the Config.ini file, and this configuration file is propagated to all workstations. Those configuration variables whose values are different for certain workstations can be configured in workstation.ini files.
A given workstation will only read and load the configuration variables it encounters in a workstation.ini file with its name; therefore, multiple workstation.ini files can reside on a single workstation without affecting that workstation. This behaviour allows the configuration files to be identical on all workstations, while causing different behaviour on each workstation.
Config.ini Configuration File
The configuration files allow easier ad-hoc changes to the system without requiring a full recompile of the application. The concept of the file is similar to the AppMod.src root file in that it divides variables and modules into different classes or sections (see AppMod.src Root File for a Standard Application). The format is a standard Windows configuration or initialization file format with section names enclosed in square brackets ("[ ]"), followed by a list of variable names and their assigned values.
Within each section, the common format used for configuration file variables is:
Variable = Value
The variable can be any legal VTS variable name. This variable is added to the application with the class number dictated the section under which it falls, and its value determined by the value to the right of the equals sign.
Another format used for configuration file variables is:
Load = Module, RunFileName
The "Load" keyword indicates that VTS will define a variable called, "Module", and will assign its value to the loaded module found in the .RUN file indicated by "RunFileName".
A third format used for configuration file variables is:
Run = Module, RunFileName
This format is similar to the Load format above, except the module indicated by RunFileName is launched, and its object value is assigned to the Module variable.
The base sections and configuration variables recognized in the Config.ini configuration file (and in workstation.ini configuration files) are identified in Configuration Files and Variables in this guide.
ToolExt.ini Configuration File
The standard configuration toolbox is activated by setting a variable in the Code module called, ToolBoxOn. Setting ToolBoxOn to 1 causes the configuration toolbox to open on your screen, whereas setting ToolBoxOn to 0 causes the configuration toolbox to close. When the configuration toolbox is manually closed using its Windows close box, the value of ToolBoxOn is automatically reset to 0.
To enable you to extend and enhance the configuration toolbox, VTS supports a configuration file named, ToolExt.ini. The ToolExt.ini configuration file supports the addition of new buttons and tools to the configuration toolbox. ToolExt.ini must be stored within your application directory. Detailed information on the ToolExt.ini configuration file can be found in ToolExt.ini.