Where to Store the Files for a Project

The directory structure you use for your application files is an important consideration when you plan to export your application. It is important to create a directory structure which allows all files to be relative to the main project (.prj) file. Even though you can add any file from any path to your project, the following guidelines ensure that the application files will be found after you export your project.

Create an organized directory structure containing all of your application files. For example, you might create a directory structure similar to the following:

Figure 22-3: Example Directory Structure

Figure 22-3: Example Directory Structure

Note
This example uses the same names as the default directory names displayed in the Project window. See Modifying Project Groups for more information on the types of files stored in these groups. You do not have to name your directories in this manner. It is more important that all application files that you plan on exporting are organized in your local project directory.

Keep the project file (.prj) at the root level of all the other files and directories in your project. As shown in the previous figure, the project file myproject.prj is in the root level directory myproject.

When a project's files are exported, the files will be placed according to where they are in relation to the .prj file, keeping the directory structure intact whenever possible. All of the directories that are in the same directory as the .prj file will be recreated when an IDL Project is exported.

If you have files that are stored outside of this hierarchy, they will be exported to the top-level directory. If, for example, one of your files, intertemp.dat, exists in D:\otherproj\data, when you export your project it will be placed in the project's top-level directory as follows, C:\myproject\intertemp.dat. This may result in "File not found" errors when attempting to run your application after exporting it.