Where store my general use scripts library?

[Fjord]

Hi!
I have a general purpose stack, which I use for most of my programming, with a 'start using stack "scripts.livecode"'. It sits in one of my Livecode-related folder. Since 2001 (or so, IIRC), I have changed Macs and reorganised my Rev/LC folders, of course. Now I have about twenty versions of that stack .
Whenever I rearrange my files and folder, my old stacks can't run anymore, as they don't find the stack "scripts", because of the pathnames changes.
If I leave a copy of it near each of my stacks and use relative pathnames, that would be a 'bread crumbs' approach with dozens/hundreds of copies. I'd rather put it into some fixed place once for all. Is there a place that seems better than others? I've thought of:
- the Livecode folder in Applications but I don't like the idea of leaving a stack there
- the 'Development > Objects Library' but I can't seem to add anything to it; and can I add a script or a stack?
- anywhere else?
- or, of course, some fixed folder… which is still the same problem.
I feel most people here have solved that same problem, but I missed the right solution!

[stam]

Why not use an approach outlined by Richard here: viewtopic.php?p=207876#p207849
Basically serve it off the net - same stack accessible everywhere (although admittedly more difficult to update i suppose)

[RCozens]

Hello François,

Here is a handler I wrote many years ago:

on startLibrary libraryName
set the itemDelimiter to "/"
put the effective fileName of this stack into libraryPath
put libraryName into item -1 of libraryPath
if there is a stack libraryPath then
start using stack libraryPath
return empty
end if
put "PlugIns" into item -1 of libraryPath
put "/"&libraryName after libraryPath
if there is a stack libraryPath then
start using stack libraryPath
return empty
end if
switch (the platform)
case "Win32"
get specialFolderPath("Documents")&"/"&libraryName
if there is a stack it then
start using stack it
return empty
end if
break
case "MacOS"
if char 1 of the systemVersion < 7 then
delete item -5 to -3 of libraryPath
if there is a stack libraryPath then
start using stack libraryPath
return empty
end if
delete item -2 of libraryPath
if there is a stack libraryPath then
start using stack libraryPath
return empty
end if
end if
break
end switch
return true -- = error
end startLibrary

It looks for the library stack in the same folder as the stack using it first. If the library stack is not there, it looks for it in a folder named "Plugins" in the same folder as the calling stack. If the library is not there, it looks in the Documents folder on Windows or somewhere else on MacOs (I don't remember the details...I have not used MacOS in many years).

Hope this helps.

[Klaus]

Bonsoir François,

why not use the build-in means?

1. Put the lib stack(s) into the same folder as the later standalone stack
2. Add your lib stack(s) via the "Copy files" tab in the "Standalone Application Settings" for your standalone.
3. Now you can access these stack(s) in your runtime as well as in the IDE!

Code: Select all

...
## Works on ANY platform, desktop and mobile AND in the IDE!
start using stack (specialfolderpath("resources") & "/scripts.livecode")
...

Hope that helps!


Best

Klaus

[jacque]

I've used a similar development library for years. I keep it in the user Plugins folder. LC will recognize it at startup. I've set it up in the Plugins Manager to open invisibly at startup. The stack itself has an openstack handler on the first card that inserts the stack script into back.

This allows all versions of LC to use it and I never have to move it or even think about it. I usually have more than one version of LC open and they all use it simultaneously.

[AndyP]

I do the same type of thing. Have the libraries in the plugins folder but, I have the plugins folders in a Dropbox account, which means that whatever computer I am using LiveCode on just has to have the plugins folder set to the Dropbox location. Just one location to worry about.

[jacque]

Funny, mine's in Dropbox too. It used to matter but I no longer use the laptop so it's kind of moot now. But I'm ready for the future if things change.

[Fjord]

@Jaqueline
I just set up my general purpose script the same way as you described. Works just fine, of course. Thanks for the great idea!!

[Fjord]

Back to that same subject, almost one year later:
I put my general purpose stacks 'Scripts.livecode' in Dropbox/Livecode Extensions/Plugins. Works all right.

Today I tried to make that stack a script-only stack, because that's what it should be, basically.

1) I copied the stack script from 'Scripts.livecode', removed the stack from Dropbox, created a script-only stack 'Skripts.livecodescript' (note the k, in order to avoid mix-ups) in that same Dropbox folder, pasted into the stack script, saved. Then in the IDE I went to the ‘’Development’ > Plugins' menu to declare the new stack. Couldn’t see it.
2) I tried to put 'Scripts.livecode' back into the ‘Plugins’ folder, I could see that stack, both in the ‘Windows’ menu and in the ‘’Development’ > Plugins' menu.
3) I removed the prefs, restarted LC, redefined the ‘Livecode Extensions’ folder, restarted LC, looked again, same situation.
I did all that stuff several times, of course.

Did I do something wrong? Or is there something that prevents a script-only stack to be a plugin?

[richmond62]

Personally all my "permanent cr*p" lives on 2 external USB drives (they are exact copies of each other)
so that when I am working on one of the 6 machines I use on a regular basis (bedroom, study (x 2)),
school (x 3), I have access to them as one of those 2 disks is always in my jacket pocket/sporran/shoulder bag.

[stam]

If you use iCloud and store desktop/documents in the cloud you can have a dedicated folder inside your Documents folder for example. As this is in iCloud it will be available on whatever
Mac you log in on with your iCloud account but also via a web browser interface for those systems you either don’t use iCloud mirroring or other OS’s. And you don’t have to worry about physical drives dying or theft, both of which have affected me previously (I guess this is similar to the dropbox method but is a step easier as you don’t have to set sync folders etc)

It is a Mac-centric approach and not useful to anyone that doesn’t use these settings.

But it is what I do and it works fantastically well (I’ve had to switch macs back and forth recently and it has worked perfectly). And as the plug-ins folder also resides in the Documents folder this is also taken care of…

[richmond62]

It is a Mac-centric approach

As I live a double life: half Macintosh, half Linux, I stick to the external drive method.

[SparkOut]

There are other options for automated cloud sync that don't rely on Mac only environments too. (Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, DropBox, mega.nz for instance).
And apps like Allway Sync that can manage synchronisation in a granular manner between all sorts of different services and drives, local, networked and removable.

[Fjord]

Thanks, but I'm afraid you didn't really read the questions I asked, which was NOT 'where should I drop my files' (that was solved August 2021), but why can't I seem to use a script-only stack as a plugin?

[jacque]

Thanks, but I'm afraid you didn't really read the questions I asked, which was NOT 'where should I drop my files' (that was solved August 2021), but why can't I seem to use a script-only stack as a plugin?

I'm guessing that LC filters plugins by extension and will only accept ".livecode" . Or it might check that the file is a stack, and SOS are saved as text files.