Working with the manifest_rt.txt File

In many cases you can use the IDL_DIR/bin/make_rt/manifest_rt.txt file (where IDL_DIR is the IDL installation directory) without modification. If, however, your application uses files that are not part of the IDL distribution, or to include features left out of the default runtime distribution, you can create a custom manifest file. To create a custom manifest file, begin by copying the manifest_rt.txt file and giving your file a new name, such as manifest_custom.txt.

Note: Use a text editor such as vi, emacs, TextEdit, or the Windows Notepad to edit manifest files. Blank lines and any text following a comment character (semicolon) will be ignored by the MAKE_RT procedure.

Format of the Manifest File

The manifest files used by the MAKE_RT procedure are plain text files that contain entries that determine which files in the IDL installation directory are copied to the runtime distribution. One manifest can be used for all platforms.

See the comments in the manifest_rt.txt file for its rules for specifying which files are copied.

Removing IDL Features

Smaller runtime distributions can be created by removing features that your application does not use. This can be achieved by commenting out entries, removing entries, or by negating files and directories in the manifest_rt.txtfile.

If you choose to remove one or more optional features, be sure to test your application thoroughly using the runtime distribution. Removing features may reveal dependencies in your code of which you were unaware.

Including Optional IDL Features

The manifest_rt.txt file includes virtually all IDL files that would be required for a distribution. However, there are features that are rarely used or that require a special license. To include these features in your runtime distribution, you will need to edit the manifest_rt.txt file and add the desired files and directories.

Including Non-IDL Files

To include features that are not described in the manifest_rt.txt file, add new lines describing the location of the files. Note that paths specified in the manifest file are relative to IDL_DIR, and that files will have the same relative location with the IDL runtime distribution as they have in the source distribution.

When adding non-IDL files to a manifest file, use the forward slash (“/”) as the directory separator, even on Windows platforms.

If you are unable to place your extra files into the source IDL distribution, you may want to manually copy the files after the runtime distribution has been built.