How to Work with Processes > Adding and Editing Processes

Overview

Within MCL-Designer V4, it is possible to use aliases to refer locations (paths). In other words, instead of using an absolute path to locate a file, you can use a relative path (which includes an alias) to facilitate file/folder access.

MCL Alias List

Alias	Relative path	Absolute path for Windows	Absolute path for Android
<MCL> (the folder where MCL components are installed)	━	No default absolute path - it depends on device model and OS.	No default absolute path - it depends on device model and OS.
<APPS>	<MCL>\Apps	MCL\Apps	files\apps
<DEFAULT>	<MCL>\Apps\"running application"	MCL\Apps\"running application"	files\apps\"running application"
<DATA>	<DEFAULT>\Data or .\data	MCL\Apps\"running application"\data	files\apps\"running application"\data
<RES>	<DEFAULT>\Res or .\res	MCL\Apps\"running application"\res	files\apps\"running application"\res
<SHARED>	<MCL>\Shared	MCL\Shared	The path to the root of the "external storage" disk depends on device model and OS.
<FILEBOX>	<MCL>\Filebox	MCL\filebox	files\filebox
<SD>	━	\"device name"\Storage Card\"file name"	No default absolute path - it depends on device model and OS. Ex:Storage\sdcard1\Android\data\com.mcltechnologies.android.agent."manufacturer"\files\"file name" Reading/Writing permissions depend on the device's model and OS version.
<SDROOT>	━	\"device name"\Storage Card\"file name"	No default absolute path - it depends on device model and OS. Ex: Storage\sdcard1\"file name" Reading/Writing permissions depend on the device's model and OS version.

For more detailed information on the "<SD>" and "<SDROOT>" aliases, register/log in to our MCL Community and access our MCL Knowledge Base (The Use of the <SD> and <SDROOT> MCL Aliases")

When entering a path, start with a backslash. This ensures project compatibility with the Windows Mobile/Windows CE and Android devices (ex: "\MCL\Apps\"running application" or "\MCL\Shared").

MCL Alias Usage

Below are examples of "Resource" files (see Navigating the Resources Module) and "Data Files" (see How to Work with Data Files) being referenced with the use of relative paths.

In a Button control:

The path to the resource's location ("banana.png") is referred with a relative path.

In an Advanced List Box control:

The path to the four resources used in the control is referred with a relative path (the alias <RES> represents the "Resources" folder).

In a "Copy File" process:

The source file to be copied ("Inv.dat" in the Data folder) is referred with a relative path and so is the target (the MCL-Mobility Platform's Outbox area).

In a "Receive File from Host" process:

The target for the file ("list.txt") is referred with the use of an alias.

In a "Variable Combine" process that creates a new variable by combining/extracting data from variables:

The path to the Resources area is referred with an alias (.\res\).

In a "Read from INI File" process:

The path of the file to be read ("settings.ini") is referred with an alias (the "SHARED" folder).