Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Say there!
I build on three machines (my desktop, my laptop, and on the build system). I use publishing, batch targets, the whole kit.
I need to be able to control the publish output directory build by build.....
Ideally, madbuild would take a param, -publishdir or something, so I could control the publish dir from the cmd line.
How?
Thanks!
I build on three machines (my desktop, my laptop, and on the build system). I use publishing, batch targets, the whole kit.
I need to be able to control the publish output directory build by build.....
Ideally, madbuild would take a param, -publishdir or something, so I could control the publish dir from the cmd line.
How?
Thanks!
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
You can specify different publishing parameters in each target and then specify which target(s) to build/publish using the command line. Search in Flare v7 help on "madbuild" and it'll return you the topic that discusses the options.
Lisa
Eagles may soar, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.
Warning! Loose nut behind the keyboard.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
That means making 2 or 3 copies of 7 targets....LTinker68 wrote:You can specify different publishing parameters in each target and then specify which target(s) to build/publish using the command line. Search in Flare v7 help on "madbuild" and it'll return you the topic that discusses the options.
Does not sound workable to me?
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Why do you need to make 2 or 3 copies of each target? You build from three machines but are all three publishing to different locations? Why publish to three locations instead of one final one that all three build machines point to?
Lisa
Eagles may soar, but weasels aren't sucked into jet engines.
Warning! Loose nut behind the keyboard.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
I won't bother you with the build environment here. It is big and complicated.LTinker68 wrote:Why do you need to make 2 or 3 copies of each target? You build from three machines but are all three publishing to different locations? Why publish to three locations instead of one final one that all three build machines point to?
The problem in Flare is that:
Target is tied to Destination
and
Batch Target is tied to the discrete destinations set on the Targets
So the only "Flare" way to modify the output is to have multiple TARGETs.
If madbuild had some ways to override these properties, it would be golden.
As it is, the entire command line compile feature of Flare is, in fact, useless. I can use it on ONE system, but cannot use it on ALL systems.
The command line compile, while nice on paper, is a bit of a joke in real life.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
I don't see why you need copies, as you'd just need the targets/destinations required for that particular machine; e.g. you don't need build or laptop targets/destinations on your desktop machine.samjones6 wrote:That means making 2 or 3 copies of 7 targets....LTinker68 wrote:You can specify different publishing parameters in each target and then specify which target(s) to build/publish using the command line. Search in Flare v7 help on "madbuild" and it'll return you the topic that discusses the options.
Does not sound workable to me?
So presumably all you need to do is edit the publish destination file(s) on each machine.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Dude,LTinker68 wrote:Why do you need to make 2 or 3 copies of each target? You build from three machines but are all three publishing to different locations? Why publish to three locations instead of one final one that all three build machines point to?
Please don't argue with my process.
My needs are what they are.
Flare is as flexible as it is (or isn't).
I am just looking to meet my needs. Nothing special.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
I have one project ... just one... in version control.Dave Lee wrote:So presumably all you need to do is edit the publish destination file(s) on each machine.
I can't maintain machine specific elements of the Flare files... Total zoo.
I am just trying to use a batch file to build... nothing too crazy about that, right?
-
- Senior Propellus Maximus
- Posts: 4293
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:29 am
- Location: The Electric City
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Dude?samjones6 wrote:Dude,LTinker68 wrote:Why do you need to make 2 or 3 copies...
There you got some folks who want to help you out, but nothing is ever good enough.
New Book: Creating user-friendly Online Help
Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/1449952038/ or https://www.createspace.com/3416509
eBook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XB9E3U
Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/1449952038/ or https://www.createspace.com/3416509
eBook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XB9E3U
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
All,
I cannot edit any Flare target/destination files on a per machine basis.
What I have in my other tools is a single batch file, that does the build, knows which machine it is on, and sets its outputs in the batch correctly based on what is needed.
The problem with Flare is that madbuild does not let me set the output dir.
It appears my batch file may have to:
1) Make the target or destination file RW (it is RO since it comes from SCM)
2) Change the output dir in the target/destination xml
3) Run madbuild
4) Execute an SCM command to roll back the target/destination file (so the modified file is not accidentally checked in later)
That is a lot of circus compared to the (dreamed of) -publishdir param for madbuild.
I cannot edit any Flare target/destination files on a per machine basis.
What I have in my other tools is a single batch file, that does the build, knows which machine it is on, and sets its outputs in the batch correctly based on what is needed.
The problem with Flare is that madbuild does not let me set the output dir.
It appears my batch file may have to:
1) Make the target or destination file RW (it is RO since it comes from SCM)
2) Change the output dir in the target/destination xml
3) Run madbuild
4) Execute an SCM command to roll back the target/destination file (so the modified file is not accidentally checked in later)
That is a lot of circus compared to the (dreamed of) -publishdir param for madbuild.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Then you'd have to create a separate version of each target for each machine - the only difference being the destination each will publish to.samjones6 wrote:I have one project ... just one... in version control.Dave Lee wrote:So presumably all you need to do is edit the publish destination file(s) on each machine.
I can't maintain machine specific elements of the Flare files... Total zoo.
If you're also using batch targets, then set up a batch target for each machine too, to build all the targets for that machine.
Not ideal, but then again it wouldn't actually take that long to set up - less time than already spent on this thread.
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
You are mistaken, and that comment is a little insulting.Dave Lee wrote:Not ideal, but then again it wouldn't actually take that long to set up - less time than already spent on this thread.
(I do not have time to waste. Please don't suggest that I do.)
It would take significant time to setup and test (running a single build takes 10-20 minutes) on multiple machines (multiply that).
Over months or years, however, it would take a lot of time and headache to maintain (these things get forgotten, cause they "just run").
The right way is to do it... the right way.
The build script is the place to do this stuff.
What madcap has essentially done with the Publish feature is this:
There it is!
"We know that build and publish are distinct, so we are going to give you the two features, one called "target" and the other called "destination." However, we won't let you bind destinations to targets, rather you have to bind the target to the destination. Further, we will give you essentially no control from the madbuild command line over any of the attributes in either the target or destination.
Now we won't really document any of this clearly, but a smart user will struggle with this for awhile, and will figure out that if you need control over the process from your build batch file, then you need to forget about the Flare publish feature. Just use madbuild for the compile, and then use xcopy, ftp, or whatever in your build batch file to put the content where you want it.
It is true that Flare gives TONS of control over css, publishing, single source, etc. However for building, we really don't give you the control (via cmd line params) that a sophisticated user would look expect to find."
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Well, I made that comment because there seemed to be more focus on debating the lack of functionality, rather than resolving the issue at hand.samjones6 wrote:You are mistaken, and that comment is a little insulting.
(I do not have time to waste. Please don't suggest that I do.)
It would take significant time to setup and test (running a single build takes 10-20 minutes) on multiple machines (multiply that).
The reason I didn't think it would take a long time to set up, is because all you need to do is make two copies of each target, and alter a single tick box in each copy to change its publish destination. I didn't see that taking longer than a few minutes on each machine.
Running test builds would take a long time, but then you'd need to do that for whatever method you choose; if you used scripts, you'd have to run test builds for those too.
And if you're happy creating scripts to do this, then great; that's probably a better solution for those able to do that.
-
- Propellus Maximus
- Posts: 1260
- Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:46 am
- Location: Vancouver, Canada
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
Although I can't agree with the OP's tone, I have to agree with his issue. I am also very disappointed in the lack of override controls in MadBuild. For now, it isn't much of a problem for me since I am the only author but this will become a problem later on.
Unless someone can explain the reason for this limitation, it seems reasonable to expect that one should be able to override destinations in a Madbuild batch.
Unless someone can explain the reason for this limitation, it seems reasonable to expect that one should be able to override destinations in a Madbuild batch.
Shawn in Vancouver, Canada
Main tools used: Flare 11.x, InDesign, Google Docs, Lectora, Captivate.
Report bugs: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback/bugs.aspx ▪ Feature requests: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx[/i]
Main tools used: Flare 11.x, InDesign, Google Docs, Lectora, Captivate.
Report bugs: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback/bugs.aspx ▪ Feature requests: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx[/i]
-
- Senior Propellus Maximus
- Posts: 4293
- Joined: Thu Feb 02, 2006 9:29 am
- Location: The Electric City
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
I can only suggest submitting a feature request. Given that this thread was dead for over two years it appears not to be a hot issue for most users.
New Book: Creating user-friendly Online Help
Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/1449952038/ or https://www.createspace.com/3416509
eBook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XB9E3U
Paperback http://www.amazon.com/dp/1449952038/ or https://www.createspace.com/3416509
eBook http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XB9E3U
-
- Propellus Maximus
- Posts: 1260
- Joined: Wed Aug 21, 2013 11:46 am
- Location: Vancouver, Canada
Re: Madbuild: How to control the publish dir?
The next best thing...or how I solved this problem... was leaving the target destination as (default) and that way the output is in a predictable location. Good enough perhaps in the future, as well.RamonS wrote:I can only suggest submitting a feature request. Given that this thread was dead for over two years it appears not to be a hot issue for most users.
Yes, I did send a feature request.
Shawn in Vancouver, Canada
Main tools used: Flare 11.x, InDesign, Google Docs, Lectora, Captivate.
Report bugs: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback/bugs.aspx ▪ Feature requests: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx[/i]
Main tools used: Flare 11.x, InDesign, Google Docs, Lectora, Captivate.
Report bugs: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback/bugs.aspx ▪ Feature requests: https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx[/i]