QtGameMaker/help/files/209_00_include.html

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<h3>Including files in stand-alone games</h3>

<b><i>This functionality is only available in the Pro Edition of Game Maker.</i></b>

<p>
As has been indicated before, you can create stand-alone versions of your game.
Sometimes your game will use additional files. 
For example you might want to include video files or text files that are used in the game. In some
cases you want to add DLLs or images and sounds that are loaded during the running
of the game. You can provide these together
with the stand-alone executable but it is sometimes easier to include them
in the file. In this way only one file needs to be distributed. Included
files will default be exported when the game starts.

<p>
You can indicate the files you want to include in the executable in
by choosing <b>Included Files</b> from the <b>Resources</b> menu. The following
form will be shown:

<p>
<img src="images/form_include.jpg">

<p>
At the top of the form is a list of files to include. 
Use <b>Add</b> to add a new file to the list, <b>Change</b> to change
a selected file, <b>Delete</b> to delete the selected file, and <b>Clear</b>
to clear the complete list. When adding or changing an entry, the following form will pop up: 

<p>
<img src="images/form_datafile.jpg">

<p>
Here you can indicate a number of properties. You can press the <b>Load</b> button to indicate
which file must be included. You can change the <b>File Name</b> if you want to save the
file under a different name than the original file name. 

<p>
There are a number of options you can set. When you check <b>Store in the editable gmk file</b> the
included file in not only added to the executable but also to the editable version of the game.
The advantage is that you can e.g. send the editable version to somebody else and can be sure
the file is still there. Also, you can remove the included file if you want or move it elsewhere 
without problems. The disadvantage is that the editable version of the game becomes larger and
takes longer to load.

<p>
Checking the option <b>Free memory after export</b> means that after the file has been exported
(when running the game) it will be removed from memory. If you want to be able to export it again
later you should uncheck this option.
If a file that is exported already exists it is normally not written. You can change this
behavior by checking <b>Overwrite existing files</b>. Also, when the game is finished the
files are normally not removed (unless they are in the temporary folder which is completely
removed). You can change this by checking <b>Remove at game end</b>.

<p>
<b>A word of warning is in place here. If you are testing your game, the working directory
of the game is the directory where the .gmk file is stored. If your include files are also
stored here and you choose to remove them at the end of the game you might loose them
alltogether! So better not store these files with the .gmk file but e.g. in a subfolder!</b>
 
<p>
Finally you can indicate to what folder the files are exported.
There are four options here. In the
default situation the files are exported in the folder where the stand-alone game is
stored. This is also the working directory for the game. So the game can just use
the file names to access them (no paths are required). This works well if the stand-alone
is stored e.g. on the hard disk but will fail if it is stored on a read-only device,
e.g. on a CD.

<p>
The second possibility is to indicate that the files must be exported into the temporary
folder that is created during the running of the game. If you select this option you will
need to provide the path to the temporary folder when you use the file name during the
game. This path can be
obtained using the built-in variable <tt>temp_directory</tt>. Don't forget to
add the backslash in this case. So to e.g. play a video file you might type in
the following piece of code:

<p>
<blockquote>
<pre>
{
  splash_show_video(temp_directory+'\movie.avi',<b>true</b>);
}
</pre>
</blockquote>

<p>
Realize that this temporary folder is removed once the
game is finished. So you e.g. cannot store save games or special information in this case.
Only choose this option when you want the game to be run from a CD or when you do not
write any files from within your game.

<p>
The third option is to indicate the folder to which the file must be exported yourself.
If it does not exist it will be created. E.g. you could specify <tt>C:\MyGame</tt>. (Note 
that you need to provide a full patgh and that you should not include a backslash at the end.)
This is only allowed when the game does not run in secure mode.

<p>
Finally, you can indicate not the export the file automatically. In this case you should
use e.g. the function <tt>export_include_file(fname)</tt> to export it yourself when
required.


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<!-- KEYWORDS
including files
exporting files
export directory
data files
adding files
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