Projects and Files

Projects are created in the Source folder (Global Settings (Property pages))

Compiled files are stored in the Target folder (Global Settings (Property pages))

Each Project is contained in a folder located within the Source folder.

A Closed project will contain a ZIP file named with the name of the project. The Zip file contains compressed files of an Open Project.

An Open Project contains the following files:

PROJECT.TXT

This file contains project information, and is required for Build-A-Board Builder to recognize the files as a valid Project.

The following text files are the "source" code for the boards created in each project. They are stored as Text files so they are human readable outside of the Build-A-Board builder. In general, it is much easier & safer to edit the project using the Builder, but because these tools are to make life easier for people, the text files may be reviewed or edited directly. Please note that these files will be compiled prior to loading (opening a project). This ensures that they are properly understandable by the Builder.

My-T-Soft will only read compiled files - this is for 2 main reasons: 1) To ensure that the files are in the proper format, and 2) to reduce the target file size.

MWF00001.TXT

This is the My-T-Soft Window File - it contains information about the window size & position, and which panels are contained - it may contain multiple MPF?????.MPF files (Compiled from the MPF?????.TXT files).

MPF00001.TXT

These are the My-T-Soft Panel files - they contain information about the panel & which Button files are contained - there will be only 1 MBF?????.MBF file per panel (compiled from the MBF?????.TXT file).

MBF00001.TXT

This contains which Keys are associated with the button file

KEY00001.TXT

This contains information about the actual key (button) on My-T-Soft.

When Compiled, the following files may be seen:

MWF00001.MWF

This is a compiled MWF00001.TXT (My-T-Soft Window File)

MPF00001.MPF

This is a compiled MPF00001.TXT file (My-T-Soft Panel File)

MBF00001.MBF

This is a compiled MBF00001.TXT file (My-T-Soft Button File)

KEY00001.KEY

This is a compiled KEY00001.TXT file (Key file)

KEYBOARD.KBF

This is a single file containing MWF, MPF, MBF, and KEY file information.

The KEYBOARD.KBF is created in the Target folder, along with a ProjectName.KBF file (where ProjectName is the name of the current project (displayed in the Caption of the Build-A-Board Builder).

Additional File Notes (Advanced)

There are 3 folders (default \Program Files\Build-A-Board)

BIN Folder

See Files and Installation Information for more details on program and BIN files.

SOURCE Folder

The Source folder contains various Closed Projects in Sub-Folders for reference. Projects may be modified and saved as other projects if required. By default new projects are saved as sub-folders under this folder.

KEY1.TXT - This file contains the internal descriptions for Level 1 Keys & properties. It should not be modified.

KEY2.TXT - This file contains the internal descriptions for Level 2 Keys & properties. It should not be modified.

UNKNOWN.BMP - This file contains the default image for SOURCE project folders that do not have an associated bitmap image (for Project Display window).

TARGET Folder File Descriptions

The files within the Target folder are the Build-A-Board Test Files (files located in BIN\TEST).

Target Folder Notes

When a Project is built (Build | Build) in Build-A-Board, a folder of the same name as the Project is created in the Target folder. This folder gets a copy of the files in BIN\TEST, along with the result of the Build. Each selected Target (Run-Time | Select Target System), gets its own sub-folder under the Project's Target folder - upon a successful Build, the Target System sub-folder will get a copy of the appropriate sub-folder from BIN, and the result of the Build (for that target system).

Since everything in the Target folder can be re-created at any time from the Projects in the Source folder, only the Source folder needs to be archived to ensure project integrity.

Production Notes: Since the Target folder's Project sub-folder contains the output used on the Target System, preserving the compiled boards & target system files may be important. There is no default mechanism in Build-A-Board to manage this aspect of the process. Note that every Build from the same project for the same selected target will overwrite any duplicate files in the Target folder's Project's Target System sub-folder.