<< Click to Display Table of Contents >> RayPack > 8.0 > User Guide > PackDesigner > MSI / MST / RPP Based Projects > Advanced Mode > Features  Add a Feature

Adding a feature to a packaging project from within the FEATURE view can be accomplished by two different methods:

 

•Adding a root feature
When a new packaging project (RPP) is created, it does not contain any features, hence the first feature that is added has to be a root feature to initiate the tree structure

•Adding a child feature
Child features may be nested to any other feature. However, the depth of the feature tree may not exceed 16 (node) levels, as this is the limitation given by the MSI format standard definition.

 

Adding a Root Feature

To add a new feature on the topmost level of the feature tree structure, users have to click on the Create button, available on the upper left area of the FEATURE view, right above the display area for the existing feature tree. From the menu of activity options, New root feature has to be selected.

 

RayPack automatically adds a new root feature, pre-configured with default settings for new features. These defaults have to be adjusted towards the required feature behavior. First of all, the identifier of the feature should be updated, hence the new item added to the feature tree view is set into direct inline edit mode to indicate the requirement for identifier adjustment. Users may simply start to type for immediate replacement of the default feature identifier.

 

Please refer to the help section on editing features for details on how to adjust feature properties and what naming conventions have to be followed for feature identifiers.

 

Adding a Child Feature

To add a child feature to the existing tree structure, users have to right-click the desired parent feature, and select New feature from the context menu. As an alternative, it is also possible to left-click a feature and hit Insert on the keyboard to add a new child feature.

 

Child features are generally handled similar to root features, except of the lower level within the tree structure. Therefore, the very same defaults and update requirements mentioned for root nodes are given for child features as well.

 

Positioning of New Features

The position of any new feature within the tree structure is defined automatically: New elements are always added to the last position of the targeted node level. To adjust the feature order, users may

•Apply drag and drop on a feature: clicking the item within the tree structure, dragging it to the desired target parent feature, and dropping it there immediately applies the new positioning.
or

•Manually update the values set in the Display columns of the affected objects in the Feature table. RayPack orders features with the same parent ascending towards their Display value.