The COMPONENTS view is designed to manage the properties of the component objects required to populate features. Whilst the FEATURE view shows components in their feature relation context, the COMPONENTS view is designed to provide direct access to the components as core elements of MSI based packaging routines.
The left area of the COMPONENTS view is used to show the flat list of components available within the current packaging project. As soon as a component object is selected from this list, the details pane on the right-hand side of the COMPONENTS view is loaded with the properties defined for that component. Users may view and edit component properties within the same details pane.
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Be aware: Components must be assigned to at least one feature in order to take effect on the package installation procedure. Therefore, unassigned components are marked with a red icon inside the list area. Please make sure to have a list of components with green icons before the packaging project is compiled into an actual package. MSI packages with unassigned components are simply not valid. |
Standard Component Object Manipulation Procedures
The following set of procedures may be initiated from the COMPONENTS view:
•Assign features to a component
When a component is right-clicked within the list area, the context menu reveals options to rename and remove it, as well as items that allow to duplicate a component, and to assign the component to a specific feature.
Selecting Go to Row from the context menu loads the TABLES view with the Component table displayed, and the data row of the selected component highlighted for swift recognition.
Unset a Key Path
It is possible to remove key path components by opening the context menu and selecting the Unset a key path option.
Searching for Components
The pool of components stored within a complex software packaging project can actually be quite voluminous. Therefore we added a search functionality to this view. To filter the list of components to those containing a specific keyword within the component name, users simply use the search field above the component list area. The live search starts to filter the list as soon as a key is entered, narrowing the result list down with every additional key. This intuitive way of searching is used in several RayPack views, since it is considered to be the fastest, most convenient, and intuitive method to filter lists and tables.
To deactivate the keyword filter, users simply remove the search string from the input field. There is no need to hit Enter, the display update is executed immediately.