Hi,

I was wondering what is the procedure for adding a utility to the official projects for others to use and to develop further for the benefit of the community?

Having worked with DNN for a number of years and creating custom Modules I decided I needed a way to auto generate the contents of a project for installation.  I was speeding time packaging zip files and tracking the correct contents.  Although a relatively simple task it was open to error. So I set about developing a small utility called "Manifestor".

The function of this utility is to create the following:

Resource File

• Generate a treeview list from a project folder which allows the developer to select the required files to add to a zip archive (Resource File). This zip is then added to the installation folder (created) in the project folder.

Manifest File

• Generate a dnn manifest file from a project folder. This list can be edited if required.

PA File

• Generate a PA file from the project folder which includes the above files.

Finally I wanted to save the settings for further reuse.

If anyone is interested in such a utility, please let me know.

Colin

Hi Nina,

Thank you for replying.

Is this similar to the install project, but based on module level? Not really, but is a sort of setup utility.

This windows utility is for developers to package up a custom module.   Its for all levels, beginners to advanced.

Simply, its a utility with three individual sections that can be used independently or as a three step process to output a custom module zip file that can then be uploaded to dnn.

I've only created the bare minimum at the moment, I decided to develop it in the middle of the night to try and save me time and to reduce the errors in packaging as I'm working on about 15 different custom modules for different clients. It can be a challenge to track all file versions when your juggling.

With this I don't have to worry.

Once I have saved the details (autogenerated) from the initial project setup in Manifestor for what I want to be included, I can just go back to the app, press a button and bingo - fresh package to go!

DNN has a similar approach in Module Definitions to create a PA.  

Manifestor builds on this excellent functionality with lots of options and yet is independent of the dnn framework.

Anyway,  Thanks for your interest and I'd appreciate it if some more fellow core members could offer some feedback.

Cheers,

Colin