This section describes the advanced method of deployment that offers maximum flexibility and functionality. This method involves building an absolute path for the product to deploy the files. This absolute path is comprised of three parts:
Server + Project Path + Folder Level
To build this deployment path, and to deploy, you must do the following steps:
The rest of this section describes each of these steps in detail.
You can deploy a whole project or select specific files to deploy.
To set the deployment for a project, just enter an absolute path for the location.
Note The Relative to the Parent Folder Deployment Location option is not available at the project level because the project folder functions as the root, and it has no parents. The Do not upload option is not available at the project level because no files would be deployed if this were set for a project level deployment. |
The Edit Project Properties dialog box appears.
For more information, see "Specific Deployment Location option".
The folder level of deployment allows you more flexibility, but requires more steps.
The Edit Folder Properties dialog box appears.
The following sections describe each of these options in detail.
Your deployment settings are applied to the folder.
The project deployment information is in the project .apf file. By uploading the .apf file along with a project, you can maintain the same deployment settings.
When you select Relative to the Parent Folder Deployment Location, the product deploys a folder to a location relative to its parent folder or project. For example, if the parent folder's deployment location is ServerDirectory/ParentFolder, then the child folder's deployment location is a subdirectory of /ParentFolder, for example ServerDirectory/ParentFolder/ChildFolder. The product calculates child paths for you automatically.
You use the Specific Deployment Location option to specify the exact path to which the product deploys the file or folder.
For best results, use the Browse button to set a specific deployment location. If you do choose to enter path names manually, follow these rules:
Note Typically, the path name you enter does not include the server name for the host. So when you select the servers to deploy to in the Deployment Wizard, the program automatically appends the server name to the path. If you do enter a server name as part of the path, and that server is not chosen for deployment in the Deployment Wizard, an error appears in the Results pane. |
You use the Absolute Deployment Path option to specify the exact path and server to which the product deploys the file or folder.
Note that you cannot use this option to deploy to more than one server.
The Do Not Deploy option specifies that the folder and its contents are ignored during deployment.
Adding a deployment server is similar to configuring a remote server in the Files panel. The primary difference is that deployment server information is added to the project file, while remote server information is stored in the Windows Registry.
So, even if you already added a remote server using Macromedia FTP & RDS, you need to enter the same server information to configure the server for deployment. For a full description of configuration options for FTP servers, see "Working with Files on Remote Servers".
For instructions, see "Working with Files on Remote Servers".
The server is listed under Deployment Servers on the Projects tab. You select servers from this list when you deploy your project.
Note When you deploy to multiple servers, the project files are copied to identical locations on each server. Make sure the servers contain the same directory structure. |
You can use the Deployment Wizard to accomplish the following tasks:
The advantage of scripts is that you can schedule them and have them perform additional tasks, such as file compression and custom logging.
When you deploy to multiple servers, the project files are copied to identical locations on each server, for example C:/Web/MyApps. So unless you are deploying to the root directory, make sure that the path to the intended deployment folder is the same on each server.
The Deployment Wizard automatically selects your Deployment Servers in the server list. Any remote servers that have been mapped to in the Files panel are also included in this list. You can deploy your project to any of these servers; however, the .apf file for the project only includes information for the Deployment Servers.
When you deploy a project directly, you are copying the files to the host server(s) at the time of deployment. You can deploy to the same machine you are currently using (localhost), or you can deploy to one or more remote servers.
In the third pane, highlight entries in the Select Remote Deployment Server list if you need to deploy to defined servers other than those already associated with the project. Click Next.
The Results window Deployment tab opens and shows the progress of the file transfer. When deployment is complete, the Results window also displays the status of each file and the amount of time required for the deployment.
You can create a deployment script to run at any time. The most powerful benefit of scripts is that you can modify them with custom code once they've been generated.
Deployment scripts are based on the Visual Tools Object Model (VTOM) and can be generated in either JScript or VBScript. For more information, see "Scripting the Visual Tools Object Model".
You can generate three types of deployment scripts:
You can only add custom code before and after deployment.
You can edit the script to deploy only a specified set of files, and you can add custom code to run during deployment.
Programmers can insert code in between the loops to add custom functionality during deployment; you can change anything for a project except its name.
The Deployment Wizard window appears.
The Results pane opens and displays the status of your deployment.
A dialog box listing the script's properties appears.
The script is removed from the Deployment Scripts list.
Each succeeding deployment overwrites the Results window contents, but the information (including a date/time stamp for each deployed file) is appended to the deployment.log file in the root directory. This file can grow considerably over time, so you should reduce its size as needed.
Tip You can disable or enable logging, or specify the location for the log file, in the Options > Settings > Projects > Deployment pane. |