Working with Support Files

This topic provides answers to frequently-asked questions about working with support files:

1. I tried to add an Excel template to my application and received an "Access denied" error message.
2. I tried to save data in an XML data file and received an "Access denied" error message.
3. Where did the files I saved in rdDownload go? They've been deleted.
4. What kinds of image files can I use with Logi applications?
5. Can #ID type class definitions be used in style sheets with Logi applications?
6. Can external HTML files be embedded within Logi reports?
7. Does Logi Studio include some kind of style sheet editor or do I need to get one of my own?
8. How can I organize my support files in the _SupportFiles folder into sub-folders?
9. Can I use URLs or tokens to refer to external images with the Image element?
10. What happened to the _Images folder? I don't see it anymore in new applications.
11. How can I organize files within the _SupportFiles folder?

1. I tried to add an Excel template to my application and received an "Access denied" error message.

This can occur if you still have the template file open in Excel while trying to add it to your application's Support Files. Close the file in Excel before trying to add it to your project.

2. I tried to save data in an XML data file and received an "Access denied" error message.

In order to allow the account used by the web server to run Logi applications to write to the server's hard drive, you must give it permission to do so. This is described in detail in File Access Permissions.

3. Where did the files I saved in rdDownload go? They've been deleted.

Two folders, rdDataCache and rdDownload, in your Logi application folder are used by the server engine to store temporary files. Any files in these folders are automatically "cleaned up" (deleted) periodically. If you want to write data out to files or export reports and retain them, we recommend you create a new folder in the application folder and place them there.

4. What kinds of image files can I use with Logi applications?

Logi apps will work with image files in these formats: .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .png, .bmp, .wmf, .xbm, .art

5. Can #ID type class definitions be used in style sheets with Logi applications?

Yes. For complete information about the class definitions that can be used with Logi apps, see Using Style Sheets.

6. Can external HTML files be embedded within Logi reports?

Yes. The Include HTML and HTML File elements can be used to embed HTML code and external HTML files, respectively, into Logi reports. For more information, see Insert HTML into Reports.

7. Does Logi Studio include some kind of style sheet editor or do I need to get one of my own?

Logi Studio provides two ways to edit styles sheets. It includes a content-specific, internal style sheet editor, which opens in a tab inside the Studio Workspace panel, and the Class Selector tool which allows class editing and previewing within Studio. Menu options within Studio can also launch whatever external CSS editor you may own that's associated with the .css file extension. Logi applications also Themes, some of which are provided, and Studio includes a Theme Editor tool so you can create customized themes.

8. How can I organize my support files in the _SupportFiles folder into sub-folders?

If you create a new sub-folder, such as "images", under Support Files in Studio's Application panel, and give your support files names that begin with the sub-folder name, such as "images.logo.png", they will appear in Studio's Application panel organized into virtual sub-folders, for example, as "logo.png" beneath the "images" folder. You can also drag files into the folders and have Studio rename them automatically (see #11 below).

9. Can I use URLs or tokens to refer to external images with the Image element?

Yes. Generally, if you just supply a file name in the Image element's Caption attribute, it assumes your image file to be in the _SupportFiles folders. If you supply a complete URL ("http://somesite/myImage.gif") instead, this assumption is overridden. However, using a token in the Caption to supply a URL can be problematic, due to the timing of token evaluation. The solution is to force the Caption to be considered as a URL, by entering "http://" and then the token, like this: "http://@Data.myURLToken~". Naturally, your token must not contain the (now redundant) "http://" itself.

10. What happened to the _Images folder? I don't see it anymore in new applications.

After the release of Logi Info v10, files formerly stored in individual folders named _Images, _Stylesheets, _IncHtmls, _DataXMLs, and _Scripts were consolidated into the _SupportFiles folder, with backward compatibility provided (as long as file paths are not specified using tokens).

11. How can I organize files within the _SupportFiles folder?

Files can be organized within the _SupportFiles folder by adding sub-folders from withinStudio's Application panel (right-click the SupportFiles folder) and dragging files into them. This automatically adds a prefix to the file name. For example, if you created a sub-folder in Studio called "images", a file named "myLogo.png" dragged into it would be renamed "images.myLogo.png".

Using external OS file system tools to create a sub-folder under _Support files will not work correctly; the sub-folder must be created within Studio. After that, you can add files to _SupportFiles externally, manually including the prefix in the name, if desired. When working with these organized files you must provide the complete file name; for example, an Image element's Caption attribute value would be "images.myLogo.png".