Exporting watch definitions

It is possible to export watch action definitions (and also conversion presets) by pressing the Export button. This will create an XML file with extension .catdv that can be dragged into another worker (either into the main window or into the watch action list in the configuration dialog) to install the watch action on that machine. If the watch action includes movie conversion steps the required conversion preset definitions are automatically included in the .catdv file.

When you install a watch definition you are prompted whether to replace an existing watch action with the same name or keep both and rename the old one.

You can parameterise .catdv settings files so that when a user installs them they are prompted to specify the values for certain parameters, such as the watch folder location, an FTP password, or YouTube account details, as these will differ from installation to installation.

To parameterise the file you should include text in the format {{Parameter name{Type information}:Default value}}. Everything between {{…}} will be replaced with the appropriate value entered by the user. For example,

<convert previewDir=”{{CatDV proxy folder{DIR}:/Volumes/CatDVProxies}}” … >

or

<job … md5Checksums=”{{Calculate MD5 checksum?{Yes=true,No=false}}}” … >

You can omit the type information and default value. Omit the type information for plain text fields, use {FILE} or {DIR} for a file or directory chooser, or use a comma-separated list {Option1,Option2,…} for a drop down pick list of values. If required these options can have a different display value from what is inserted into the final definition, for example with {Red=0xf00,Green=0x0f0,Blue=0x00f,Yellow=0xff0} the user could pick Green from the drop down list when installing the action but 0x0f0 would be inserted into the definition.