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Help / Editors / Project editor / Application patch
  • Creating a patch
  • History of patches
  • Viewing the history of patches performed from a project
  • Reinitializing the patches (clear the history) performed from a project
  • Installing a patch
  • To install a patch
  • Patch and network setup
  • Patch and network setup
  • Notes
  • Translating the interface for self-extraction
  • Creating a new executable
  • Reinitializing the patch number to 1
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Stored procedures
How to create a patch?
Creating a patch
To create an application patch:
  1. Perform the necessary modifications in your application.
  2. On the "Project" tab, in the "Generation" group, expand "Patch" and select "Create a library patch".
  3. Specify the elements to include in the new patch (windows, reports, ...). You can also:
    • Add elements ("Add" button):
      Any type of file can be added to the list of elements inserted into the patch: images, text files, etc.
    • Create the patch from an existing library description ("WDU" button).
      When creating a WINDEV library, a ".WDU" file with the same name is automatically created. This file contains all the references of the elements included in the library.
      The patch number is specified by default. It can be modified.
      All the elements already found in a patch that was created beforehand are automatically selected.
      If patches have already been created, they can be reinitialized (clear history) ([Reinitialize patches]). In this case, the patch currently created will be patch number 1.
  4. If necessary, enter a description of the modifications performed by this patch. This description will appear when managing the history of the different patches performed from a project.
  5. To install the patch, all you have to do is copy it into the application directory.
    You also have the ability to generate a patch setup (check "Generate a setup"). A self-extracting executable will be created from the patch currently created.
    In this case, you can specify:
    • a file to display before extracting the patch,
    • a file to display after extracting the patch,
    • for a multilingual application, the path of the TXT file containing the translation of the interface for self-extraction. For more details, see Remarks.
  6. Validate. The application patch is created in the PATCH subdirectory of the current project directory as well as in the EXE subdirectory of the project. The file name has the following format: <Project name>.WDL.001 where 001 corresponds to the version number of the patch. Rename <Project name> with the name of the library only if the project name differs from the library name.
If a self-extracting executable was requested, it is generated in the PATCH directory and its name has the following format:
<Project name>.001.EXE where 001 corresponds to the version number of the patch.
Remark: Patch containing classes: If your patch contains a class, the declaration code of the class must not be modified in relation to the version used with the executable. The declaration code must be identical: same members, same structures, same declaration order. Otherwise, the executable must be re-created.
History of patches

Viewing the history of patches performed from a project

To view the history of patches performed from a project:
  1. On the "Project" tab, in the "Generation" group, expand "Patch" and select "History of library patches".
  2. For each created patch, you can view the patch elements and the corresponding description.

Reinitializing the patches (clear the history) performed from a project

To reinitialize the patches (clear the history) performed from a project:
  1. On the "Project" tab, in the "Generation" group, expand "Patch" and select "History of library patches".
  2. Click the "Reinitialize" button.
Installing a patch

To install a patch

If no setup file was created: copy the file corresponding to the patch into the directory of the application (directory containing the application library).
If a setup file was created: run the file corresponding to the self-extracting executable on the user computer and extract the patch into the directory of the application (directory containing the application library).
Patch and network setup

Patch and network setup

The patches can be used with a network setup.
To do so, copy the files corresponding to the patch (or install them via the patch installer) into a "PATCH" subdirectory of the "INSTALL" directory of the reference application.
The patches will be automatically retrieved when the client application is started.
Remark: This method is not supported for a network setup via HTTP.
Notes

Translating the interface for self-extraction

The interface of the self-extracting program can use a language other than the default language (English).
Interface of self-extracting program
To do so, create a .TXT file with the following information:
[GENERAL]
NATIONDEFAUT=1
[WDAUTOEX01]
R000=Self-extracting PC SOFT archive
R001=Extract the content of the archive in the directory:
R002=Keep the tree structure
R003=Extract
R004=Close
For example, to get an interface in French:
[GENERAL]
NATIONDEFAUT=1
[WDAUTOEX01]
R000=Archive Autoextractible PC SOFT
R001=Extraire le contenu de l'archive dans le repertoire:
R002=Conserver l'arborescence
R003=Extraire
R004=Fermer
Caution: The first three lines of this file must not be modified.
In the following lines, specify the desired translation.

Creating a new executable

Once several patches have been created, if you create a new executable that takes into account all the different patches, you can delete the patches that were previously created and that are useless now.
When a new patch is created on this new executable, you must respect the numbering of patches proposed by WINDEV. The patch number cannot be re-initialized (see the next paragraph).

Reinitializing the patch number to 1

An application patch is used to apply modifications to an executable or to a library without having to reinstall the application. This is a maintenance operation that is easy, light and fast.
For each new patch, a generation number is incremented and stored in the history. This patch number and this history prevent the application from applying obsolete patches.
Therefore, they cannot be reinitialized.
However, WINDEV allows you to assign a specific number to a patch in order to fix the potential maintenance errors.
Minimum version required
  • Version 9
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Last update: 07/03/2023

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