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When creating a Maintain application with forms, XML code gets added to the bottom of the MNT file. When you open the file inside the Maintain Development Environment (MDE), the XML is used to rebuild and display the forms.

When an MNT file gets deployed to a server, a Winforms file is created, and the XML is stripped out of the file. I believe this was done to reduce the size of the MNT file on the server. The issue is a file deployed to the server cannot be reopened in the MDE.

Of course, as seasoned programmers, we ALL back-up our code, but there are unforeseen issues. Sometimes the source files just disappear and you would have to recreate your forms from scratch. I am proposing that we change the deploy option to always deploy the XML with the MNT file. There will be an option in the deploy scenario to turn this off. This way, deployed forms can still be edited.

Is there anyone in this community that feels this is a bad idea? Please let me know.

Thanks
Mark Derwin

Mark,
Your proposal is to have the xml included in the deployed mnt file, as well as have a wmf file created? Or is it to get rid of the wmf file creation?
Anyway, both options would have my support. I've had it happen more than once that because of intermittent network problems the development files got corrupted. If I had the option to copy back from the just deployed files, it would have saved me loads of time.
Another option to possibly circumvent this is to have the CDE create backups of the development files, so that there would always be at least the copy of the previously saved maintain.

We would still create the Winforms files. The Winforms are used at runtime. The XML is just for development. As for the BAK files, we got rid of those a while ago. Must have been for space. Can't imagine why anyone would not want a backup.

Mark

Mark, excellent suggestion. Kudos. I too have had those 'unfortunate scenarios' where suddenly it was gone... (thank goodness for backups).

Ira. 5.3.6 aix

I strongly agree that this issue needs some attention.

I lost a day or two trying to work on a set of deployed files, before learning this hard lesson.

In my darker moments I wished I could bill that time to IBI

As to how to handle the files, consistency is very important (in the programmers UI) and that is what is broken when the deployed.mnt file is different then the development .mnt.

So I think that having them retain the same characteristics on all platforms is the way to go.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Dave Ayers,