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This page describes the various elements involved in launching a Delft-FEWS application, what has changed in the 2018.02 compared to previous versions and provides a step-by-step guide on how to set up a Delft-FEWS client yourself.
New structure of the Delft-FEWS binaries
With the 2018.02 (and later) release(s), the structure of the Delft-FEWS binaries has changed compared to previous versions. This is due to the fact that:
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| Note that createShortcuts.exe has no way of using a patch. |
Content of the Region Home folder
If you have uploaded a basebuild via the admin interface, with a number below the patch number, this will be downloaded to a localBaseBuildRepository (\%LOCALAPPDATA%\fews\localBaseBuildRepository on Windows or ~/.cache/fews/localBaseBuildRepository on Linux). Only the differences between the boot build and basebuilds are downloaded. The patch (in the region home) determines which basebuild will be used and the basebuild plus the patch determine the further behaviour of your Operator Client.
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All operating system specific files are found in their respective folders in the Delft-FEWS binaries folder.
The createShortcuts application
As mentioned above, the creation of the Delft-FEWS (start-up) shortcuts has changed and this is now handled with the createShortcuts application. This application (createShortcuts.exe file) can be found in the build package in the directory of the relevant operating system (Windows or Linux). With this application, shortcuts can be created for Stand Alone (SA), Operator Client (OC) or Configuration Manager (CM) applications of Delft-FEWS. A step-by-step guide on how to do this is listed below. The application opens a menu that looks like this:
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- Database connection URL to Config Manager
- Database connection URL to Operator Client
- Path to Stand Alone or Operator Client *clientConfig.xml
Create shortcut with database connection
The database connection options require a URL to the database server on which the Delft-FEWS central database is located. When the database server has no single sign on enabled and the username and password are not embedded in the URL, the user will receive a pop-up once, allowing him/her to enter these credentials, which are then saved (secure on Windows) for that specific shortcut. In certain circumstances another pop-up will appear with the relevant (valid) *clientConfig.xml files in the database, so that the user can select the right one. When the database connection option is selected, shortcuts can only be created at the Desktop and/or Start Menu.
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When possible always enable single sign on in the database server so database credentials are not needed at all.
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Notice that with this option, all folders and files are placed in the %appdata% (local) folder, which is cleaned after closing the client |
Create shortcut with existing clientConfig.xml
For the third option the path to an existing clientConfig.xml file can be entered directly, obtained by clicking on the Browse button or, alternatively, a completely new clientConfig.xml can be created by clicking the New button. This last option will by default create a clientConfig.xml file for a Stand Alone application (which could be edited to make it suitable for an Operator Client application). More information on what should be included in the clientConfig.xml file can be found at: Root Configuration Files for Operator Client and Forecasting Shell Servers. When this option is selected, shortcuts can be created at three possible locations (Desktop, Start Menu and/or Region Home directory, which is the same as the location of the clientConfig.xml file).
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When an invalid URL or path is entered, a similar pop-up window is shown, informing the user of the specific error without attempting to create the shortcuts.
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Notice that with this option, all folders and files are placed in the same folder as the selected clientConfig.xml |
Debug menu
The Debug option allows for more advanced options, as can be seen from the pop-up window that will appear:
Step-by-step: how to create a SA (2018.02 and upward)
For this step-by-step guide, we assume that a Windows operating system is used. To create an OC or CM application, most of the steps are similar, with the exception of steps 4 (a SA application is not required), step 6 (a clientConfig.xml file is required for an OC and requires additional elements, see documentation) and step 8 (select the relevant option for an OC or CM).
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