Editing the mia.txt file.

[BlackNight]

I see that InstallAware crease the files (project).mia ans a (project).mia.txt. If I add a command tot the mia file it gets added to the mia.txt file. Can I edit the ..mia.txt file and have the added to the .mia file. This would make life a bit eaiser.


Thanks
BlackNight.

[giaviv]

Dear BlackNight,

MIA script files are accompanied by human readable TXT files - while InstallAware script files are plain text, they are not human readable outside of the IDE. The TXT file however are human readable - corresponding exactly to the script text as seen in the IDE - in plain text form, thus serving as a valuable aid in change tracking mechanisms. Note that these human readable files do not contain any project information and therefore cannot be re-opened inside the IDE. That being said, the TXT files are of no significance to your project - so in order to edit your script - well - use the IDE!

Sincerely,
Aviv Giladi
InstallAware Support

[BlackNight]

Thanlk you!

[bokkie]

...thus serving as a valuable aid in change tracking mechanisms...

Aviv,

That's mostly true but there is a caveat: for example, if I add a Run Program statement to a script and enable the hide program window tickbox you don't see that reflected in the script text in the IDE. If however, I enable the "wait" tickbox, the IDE text shows (WAIT) in the statement and removes it if I deselect it. In other words, the .mia contents are correct but the text file can hide-cum-obscure some information. If I compared a text file with the hide program window ticked to another with hide program window deselected, both files appear identical. Certainly, you're right to say it aids change tracking mechanisms but for 100% accuracy I find you can't rely on the text file alone. It's possible there might be other statements with detailed dialogs that exhibit the same behaviour. I mention this mostly for BlackNight's benefit as he might think that the text file is all he needs to consider when taking comparison history into account. Mostly, yes, but there are a couple of exceptions.

[giaviv]

Dear bokkie,

You are absolutely right. The sentence is an excerpt from the help files, and I think that it is accurate since the term "valuable aid" is used, rather then "the only way" Thanks for the clarification!

Best,
Aviv Giladi
InstallAware Support