Application build destination directory should not require absolute paths

[MGiacomet]

It makes no sense (from a Software Engineering and Process standpoint) to force (and store) an absolute path for a build destination directory, in the project. What if a group is sharing a project but each developer prefers to have their files located in a different folder?!!

I recommend NI consider replacing the line of code in LabView that is checking for the presence of an absolute path for the build folder with on that does: "If user entered an absolute path, use it; otherwise, prepend the current project location to whatever (relative) path the user entered before building."

[MauraW]

Hi Derrick, 

If you specify the Destination directory to something outside the parent folder. I know that this is not ideal but that is the reason why we are looking into these issues as bugs! 

Also as an update to this page the first report number (681975) is for building executables. This issue is also present when building packed project libraries so that is documented in 717261.  

[Chris_Cilino]

The use case for me is the following.

I want to create a template project with build specifications already set up so my developers can just add source to the project, right click on build specifications and builds are made. I want builds to wind up in an export directory in the following location from the project:

..\..\..\Exports

I have a standard software module directory structure and ant all generated builds to wind up in the export directory. 

The workflow for my developers is

1. Open the template project.

2. File>>Save as the templae to the development location.

3. Check into SCC.

4. Make a build.

[matt.baker]

Are there any details on 717261?

[GregFreeman]

Ugh I'm currently being cooked by this too. I want my PPL's to build to <ProjectDirectory>\lib. My coworker checked out the code and his project path is different than mine on his harddrive. When he rebuilt a PPL it created the absolute path from my PC (since i was the one that configured the build spec) and started putting the PPLs there, which then his code can't find.

[IlluminatedG]

Necro necro post (callback to my 2016 reply earlier...)

Here's your fix for 2020+ and could probably be verified to work on earlier versions if someone wants to reach out to me: https://www.vipm.io/package/illuminatedg_lib_ig_relative_build_paths/

Wasn't a bug, is in fact documented in the help you get when you click the help button in the bottom right. It explicitly supports only going 1 layer up before it falls back to absolute path.

[IlluminatedG]

Greg, we need to stop meeting like this 😂