Virtualization

Ummm .. How are u trying to import the "specific files" into the bubble.

Are u using something like xcopy "C:\app\import" "Q:\<shortfolder>\appdir ..."
and where in the application this import functionality is required ( Pre-launch, after launching ( when specific functionality is accessed), or at the shut down of the application).

I have coupled some applications in organization which require this sort of stuff like .. when application launches it needs to go to a dicrectory in user profile and import them into the sequence and when shutting it down it should copy the file from sequence (Q:\) back into the same directory in user profile. Basically it is like ( Restore/Backup) logic.
We did this with simple batch files to copy the files to & fro from Q:\ to specific user-profile folder.

Hope this helps !

Sreekanth

This is a VFS installation (installation to C:\app directory). I can't change the code so I had to install it in this manner for it to work at all.

The program is expecting a specific file to be located in the c:\app\import directory and to read that information back into the program. I wouldn't want to say I'm copying data, but more like trying to read data into the virtual bubble. The import function is only assessable once the application is running, so I would say 'after launch'.

For testing, I created a test app batch file to just copy a file from the local HD (C:\app\import) into the virtual app (c:\app\hold) - no luck. If I could copy a data file from the local HD back into the virtual bubble, I believe I could resolve my problem.

After thinking more about it, if I'm copying data into the bubble I'm changing the size & integrity of the virtual program - maybe that's not allowed?

OK, maybe copying data wouldn't be the right answer, but reading data into a temporary location within the bubble to process & save it to another location is really what I'm trying to accomplish.

After trying to adjust to the clock's change over the weekend (with less sleep than I would really liked to have), I came back Monday and resolved one issue which led to more problems.

I found out that I can't copy files from the local HD location that I had designated into the virtual bubble, but I could copy files from a network share into the virtual bubble. What was also interesting is that when I shutdown the program & reran it, the files were retained within the bubble & I could overwrite them with no issues or prompts. See attached for details:

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>copy c:\app\import\file.lst c:\app\hold
c:\app\import\file.lst
The system cannot find the path specified.
0 file(s) copied.

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>copy c:\app\import\file.lst \\SG-Server\content\test_app\testing
c:\app\import\file.lst
The system cannot find the path specified.
0 file(s) copied.

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>copy \\SG-Server\content\test_app\testing\file.lst c:\app\hold\file1.lst
1 file(s) copied.

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>cmd.exe
Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>dir
Volume in drive Q is SoftGrid
Volume Serial Number is 1010-1010

Directory of Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD

03/23/2007 03:54 PM <DIR> .
03/23/2007 03:54 PM <DIR> ..
03/26/2007 07:35 AM 14 file.lst
03/26/2007 07:35 AM 14 file1.lst
03/23/2007 03:49 PM 210 import.bat
3 File(s) 238 bytes
2 Dir(s) 2,146,590,720 bytes free

Since the program's original batch file was looking the import folder, I can put that back into the bubble - I just need to import the data files from the network drive into the virtual bubble for processing. The new problem associated with that is I have to figure out how each user can write to specific network location without overwriting somebody else's data. If I can write a batch file that creates a folder based off the user's logon each user's data will be separated, but can an import script within the bubble call this user login folder variable data? Another idea would be to run a pre-stream / pre-launch script to copy the information to the network share & a post-shutdown script to clean it up (delete everything), but what happens when two users are using this program at the same time? Could have bad results.

Looking for a tip or best practice.

I'm on a roll today. My MS SG tech rep suggested to try the %username% variable in my batch files & everything's working like I want it too. I'm able to push data file to a network share & pull the data back into the bubble. Here's the change results:

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>copy \\SG-Server\content\test_app\testing\test.user\file.lst c:\app\hold
1 file(s) copied.

Q:\New Folder\VFS\APP\HOLD>copy \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\test.user\*.abc c:\app\hold
\\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\test.user\test1.abc
\\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\test.user\test2.abc
\\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\test.user\test3.abc
3 file(s) copied.
Here's the final changes to Test.bat (located on the local HD c:\app\import) & import.bat (within the bubble):

Test.bat

cd c:\app\import
del *.lst
dir /b test*.abc > file.lst
if not exist \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username% md \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username%
copy file.lst \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username%\
copy *.abc \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username%\

import.bat

copy \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username%\file.lst c:\app\hold
copy \\SG-server\content\test_app\testing\%username%\*.abc c:\app\hold
cmd.exe

I'd prefer to pull from the local system to avoid issues that may arise with pushing / pulling data across the network & securing a specific location on a server that will work for any user with any program, but...

Is it beer time yet (at 1150)?