User Guide

Understanding projects 139
The following table describes each folder type in detail:
About the project file
The project (.apf) file controls the project folders and files that appear on the Projects
resource tab for a project. It is the only element that HomeSite+ for Dreamweaver
MX creates when you create a project. When you double-click a file on the Projects
tab, the project file locates and opens the file.
The project file can do this because it contains the absolute path for every file in the
project, similar to how a Windows desktop shortcut operates.
The project file is in WDDX format. For a virtual project folder, the project file lists
each file with its absolute path. For a physical manual-include folder, the project file
lists the directory for the files, the included file types, and each file with its relative
path. For a physical auto-include folder, the project file lists the directory for the
files, and any filtering by file type. For more information, see “About project folders”
on page 138.
Folder type Icon Description Use to...
Virtual Container for files that have no logical
relationship to each other. You can put any
collection of files in a virtual folder.
You cannot put a virtual folder under source
control. Also, to deploy a file that is in a
virtual folder, you must manually select it.
Hold files that are located in
different directories and disk
drives, so you can access
them from a single location.
Manual-include
(physical)
Container for the files in a directory that you
specify. Also, you can specify the file types
of files that you want to add automatically.
You cannot change the location of this
folder.
Select the files in your project
on a file-by-file basis, in a
specific directory; for
example, use this if you need
only three files in a directory
for your website.
Auto-include
(physical)
Container for all files in a directory; except
those with a file type that you exclude. This
folder remains in sync with its corresponding
directory on the disk drive.
You can change the type of this folder to
manual-include.
Organize pointers to files, or
all files of a certain type, in a
specific directory to be
included in your project.