optset files

[dummzeuch 1505]

For the first time ever I just looked into the option set functionality of the project options dialog:

 

 

There are Apply and Save buttons for each section and each configuration that read / write .optset files which are in XML format and contain the settings to be changed at some configuration level.

 

This seems very complicated to me, so I wonder whether anybody actually uses it, and if yes, for what and how ?

[FredS 138]

I did and stopped due to: RSP-14723.

 

However applying them via that dialog is inconvenient the better way is to use the 'Configuration Manager':

 

One example is to redirect output or change configuration for an entire project group.
I used this a lot for UniDAC's FastReport components to change output directories.
 

Each time  new version was made available I would simply run the 'Configuration Manager' using an altered Option Set before compiling.

 

 

 

 

[Uwe Raabe 2057]

 I often have different optset files containing unit search path entries. Usually I separate them by library name.

 

F.i. there is one optset for TMS Scripter or GLScene, where several folders have to be added to the search path. As my folder layout for projects is consistent, the search path for each library is the same for each project. Thus I only have to add that optset to each project (only the first one, the others with drag'n'drop) to add the necessary folders to the project search path. As a gimmick I can see immediately which libraries a project depends on.

 

This is als pretty convenient when the projects inside a project group share a couple of local folders in their search path. Using an optset for that makes changing the search path for all projects at once just a breeze.

 

Unfortunately FinalBuilder is not able to resolve those optset references. Therefore I have written a small program doing that, which is called immediately before the compile action.

 

Regarding RSP-14723: Indeed, optset references are not removed from the dproj. As that is not very common in my workflow I usually fix this by editing the dproj manually.

[David Heffernan 2345]

I use them to apply the same options to all my various projects. They work quite nicely. It means that if ever I change an option, or make a new project, I can roll it out effortlessly, and with confidence.