T
timhirrel
Guest
i have some desktop apps that have been distributed through their respective web sites, tdhcad.com and tdhgis.com. these apps are developed in c++ with dependencies on cairo, wxwidgets and sqlite libraries. i now wish to publish these apps in the microsoft store.
recently, i have successfully built and run the apps in vs17 (previously, i used gcc). but in trying to package the apps i have run into issues i would appreciate some advice on how to handle.
1. the apps need read only access to some database files. the apps look for these files in a particular directory off of the executable directory. how can such a directory containing these file be included in a package?
2. the apps need to create some database files for user data storage. by default, these files are created in a directory off the executable, but this default can be overridden by specifying a directory as a command line argument. since apps in the store can't write to the executable directory, i would like for the store version of my apps to run with a command line argument specifying a user data directory by default. ideally, i would like for users to be able to specify a different directory if they so choose. the apps allow the user to create any number of database files in different directories.
3. ideally TdhGIS and TdhCad would have access to a common database file as this allows the user to add TdhCad graphics to a TdhGIS display.
4. the apps can display the user's manual, in pdf form, by calling ShellExecute. how can a pdf file be displayed by a store app?
Thanks for your consideration of these matters.
update:
i seemed to have solved issue 1 by adding the following lines to the .wapproj file:
<Content Include="TdhCad_Structure\TdhCad.sqlite" />
<Content Include="TdhCad_Structure\TdhCad_config.sqlite" />
for issue 2, this can be accomplished when debugging by specifying a command argument within:
configuration properties | debugging
if only that feature was also available for the release version.
Continue reading...
recently, i have successfully built and run the apps in vs17 (previously, i used gcc). but in trying to package the apps i have run into issues i would appreciate some advice on how to handle.
1. the apps need read only access to some database files. the apps look for these files in a particular directory off of the executable directory. how can such a directory containing these file be included in a package?
2. the apps need to create some database files for user data storage. by default, these files are created in a directory off the executable, but this default can be overridden by specifying a directory as a command line argument. since apps in the store can't write to the executable directory, i would like for the store version of my apps to run with a command line argument specifying a user data directory by default. ideally, i would like for users to be able to specify a different directory if they so choose. the apps allow the user to create any number of database files in different directories.
3. ideally TdhGIS and TdhCad would have access to a common database file as this allows the user to add TdhCad graphics to a TdhGIS display.
4. the apps can display the user's manual, in pdf form, by calling ShellExecute. how can a pdf file be displayed by a store app?
Thanks for your consideration of these matters.
update:
i seemed to have solved issue 1 by adding the following lines to the .wapproj file:
<Content Include="TdhCad_Structure\TdhCad.sqlite" />
<Content Include="TdhCad_Structure\TdhCad_config.sqlite" />
for issue 2, this can be accomplished when debugging by specifying a command argument within:
configuration properties | debugging
if only that feature was also available for the release version.
Continue reading...