The All-in-One Guide to OXZ Packaging and Distribution

[Reval]

Is it OK to keep the OXP's requires.plist in with the manifest.plist when you zip it up, or will it need to be deleted for the Manager?

[another_commander]

You need to keep it in the zip file.

[Reval]

Ok, thanks. And is it advisable to have the Wiki account login (for the info link) _before_ uploading to the Manager?

Also, is a ReadMe file expected, or does the manifest summary text suffice (and how long can it be?)?

Edit: the summary, that is.

[another_commander]

I think it is best to have the wiki page prepared before you do the OXZ Manager part, if you do intend to have a wiki page, that is.

A ReadMe file is nice to have, but since the oxz is a zipped file, nobody is expected to read it unless they extract the oxz in their AddOns folder using the Manager's extract option. And even then, I bet very few will read it. So, up to you really if you want to include one or not. In any case, the description text should be as informative as possible in as little space as possible. Summaries longer than around 300 characters will spill over the options text of the Manager screen (that's actually a bug, we should be able to handle extremely long descriptions somehow).

[Reval]

Ok, got it - thanks. But no hyperbole, though, right? We're not _selling_ these OXPs?

[montana05]

Ok, got it - thanks. But no hyperbole, though, right? We're not _selling_ these OXPs?

No, Oolite is non-commercial so no selling CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 is already implying that. While I do agree with a_c a quick readme.txt with the source is always nice to have. A quick description, license and change history would do.

Btw for the expansion manager you will need an access code, aka user key.

[Reval]

That's the login credentials for the OXZ manager, right? If so, I got that today.

Edit: Just waiting for the Wiki login now...

[stranger]

I need some hints.
Trying to upload updated MoonsTexturePack.oxz today and get this warning:

Upload warning
The file you uploaded seems to be empty. This might be due to a typo in the filename. Please check whether you really want to upload this file.

Moreover, trying to visit page wit already uploaded files I get this message:

A database query error has occurred. This may indicate a bug in the software.[7b246d53f2c3833a08ac1970] 2020-11-26 01:19:58: Fatal exception of type "Wikimedia\Rdbms\DBQueryError"

I have no idea what is wrong with this latest pack. Assembling it and preparing in exactly same way as previous version - just replace texture files and update info.plist and manifest.plist.

[Cody]

See here.

[stranger]

Thank you, Cody. Already find it. Seems it is not fault on my side.
Well, let's wait for fixing issue.

[Cholmondely]

Problems with the dreaded AppleMac regarding zipping an oxz:

AppleMac comes with "Archive Utility" (Version 10.15 (128.2.1)) which happily unzips oxz's.

But when I try the reverse, bung it in the ManagedAddOns folder and restart Oolite I get "~~~~~.oxz does not have a valid manifest.plist and could not be loaded"

This even happens when I unzip and then immediately re-zip what I unzipped!


What am I doing wrong?


I can work around it by bunging the failed oxz in the AddOns folder, but I want a working oxz!

[stranger]

What am I doing wrong?

Go INTO unzipped OXZ folder, select ALL content of unzipped OXZ folder and zip ONLY this selected content, NOT root folder! After zipping relocate archive from root folder, rename it and change extension from .zip to .oxz

[Cholmondely]

What am I doing wrong?

Go INTO unzipped OXZ folder, select ALL content of unzipped OXZ folder and zip ONLY this selected content, NOT root folder! After zipping relocate archive from root folder, rename it and change extension from .zip to .oxz

I tried that too: I ended up with a zillion and one zipped files rather than just the one!

Are you saying that I bung the zipped file collection into a new folder and title that as .oxz?

Edited to add: Stranger's suggestion (further down) works for my AppleMac.

[montana05]

What am I doing wrong?

Go INTO unzipped OXZ folder, select ALL content of unzipped OXZ folder and zip ONLY this selected content, NOT root folder! After zipping relocate archive from root folder, rename it and change extension from .zip to .oxz

I tried that too: I ended up with a zillion and one zipped files rather than just the one!

Are you saying that I bung the zipped file collection into a new folder and title that as .oxz?

A workaround sometimes helps is to add the manifest and (probably) the redme as well is copying the file(s) manually in the zip before renaming it to an oxz.

[stranger]

Well. DarkRay OXZ for example.
Unzipping (extracting) this folder will create new folder DarkRay (usual folder without any extensions).
It contains three files and one folder:

info.plist
manifest.plist
readme.txt
Textures

Go into DarkRay folder and select all these items, not DarkRay folder per se!
Right click onto these 4 items will show contextual menu with option Archive 4 items. Select this option.

Now you have new element in DarkRay folder:

Archive.zip
info.plist
manifest.plist
readme.txt
Textures

Relocate this new created Archive.zip onto Desktop and change name from Archive.zip to DarkRay.oxz

That's all. It is ready to upload.