BimlStudio Project Setup For BimlFlex

A BimlStudio project is used to build and generate the metadata configured in BimlFlex.

Create the BimlStudio Project

From the start page, create a new BimlFlex Project.

Place the project in a suitable folder, the folder will contain source code for the project and should be managed through a source control system.

Once the new BimlStudio project is created, it is possible to open it from the folder by opening the project file directly, or by opening the project from BimlStudio.

At this stage, a new BimlFlex project has been created in BimlStudio, but this has not yet been connected to the metadata repository.

Tip

The Varigence YouTube channel contains various introduction videos about using BimlFlex and BimlStudio. This video provides an overview of creating a new BimlFlex project in BimlStudio.

Connect to the BimlFlex Database

The BimlStudio project needs to access the metadata in the BimlFlex database in order to generate output.

Note

The databases are created and updated through the BimlFlex installer. It is also possible to set up the databases from the BimlFlex ribbon tab in BimlStudio, or directly by using the Setup BimlFlex Databases button. Additional information is available in theBimlFlex database installation section.

To connect the BimlStudio project to the BimlFlex database, connectivity details to the metadata database need to be provided.

When the connectivity to the BimlFlex database is established, a customer and version can be selected from the drop-down lists. Selecting a customer and version here and saving the project will ensure the right output is generated.

Tip

Connectivity from BimlStudio to the BimlFlex database can always be opened by clicking the Open Bundle option in the BimlFlex ribbon.

Important

After updating a Customer or Version, close and re-open the application.

When the BimlStudio project is associated with a customer and version, the metadata can be refreshed on an ongoing basis by clicking the Refresh Metadata option in the BimlFlex ribbon. This will reload the metadata, parse and validate it, and update the Logical View in BimlStudio.

The following properties are available to configure the metadata connection:

Field	Description
Server	The address of the server where the BimlFlex database is hosted.
Authentication	The credentials used to access the server and database.
Database	The name of your BimlFlex Database. This dropdown list is populated with all databases available through the server connection. Clicking Update will refresh the list of available databases from the connection defined.
Customer	The BimlFlex Customer used to configure the project metadata. Click Update to refresh the dropdown with a list of Customers in the BimlFlex database. A new customer can be created with the New Customer button.
Version	The BimlFlex Metadata Version to be built and used for code generation in BimlStudio. Click Update to refresh the list of Versions in the BimlFlex database associated with the selected Customer.
Use My Connection Strings	Use the Connection Strings for the current user that were set while the Use My Connection String option was enabled.
Use My Exclusions	Use the Exclusions defined in the BimlFlex Metadata.
Use Quick Parse	Only load placeholder objects into the logical model. This allows for faster processing by not populating the full Biml representation in memory

Building Assets

Once the user is content with the configuration of their metadata, they are ready to build their assets for the configured target architecture and technology. At this stage, the user should already have a BimlFlex project for BimlStudio ready to go.

Note

Any time a change is made in the metadata, it is required to build the project and deploy the generated artifacts to update the solution.

Open the Project

Open the project by double clicking the .mst file in the Windows File Explorer or by opening BimlStudio and locating the .mst file in the dialog.

Project Settings

For further, more detailed configuration, the BimlStudio project options include settings such as the target SQL Server version, SSIS and ADF versions, and whether to use the project or package deployment model for SSIS.

Most of these are optional to change, but when using SSIS the target version and deployment method needs to be correct for the packages to open correctly in Visual Studio, and run correctly on the destination SSIS server.

If this is the first time a solution is being built, the user should check their project settings to ensure that the correct target versions are set.

The project settings can be accessed via the 'File' menu in BimlStudio, and then selecting 'Project Settings' from the menu. Within the dialog, users may select settings for Biml Engine, Build, Target Versions, Options, and Externals.

Important

Once all settings are completed, restart BimlStudio and reopen the BimlFlex project to load the metadata.

The most important settings to configure initially are the Build and Target Versions settings.

Note

Users should also check that their output path is correctly configured. If one is not provided then the generated assets will be created in the output folder of the directory that contains the .mst file.

For additional information, please refer to the BimlStudio reference documentation.

Access Project Settings by clicking File then Project Settings.

Build Output

In the build section, the output locations and options for built artifacts. Use these settings to direct where the output artifacts will be created.

To access or configure the project's output path, click File then Output Settings. Select Build from the left side of the menu.

The desired output path may be entered manually in the Output Path field. Alternatively, click the Browse... button to locate and select the output folder from the path selection dialog that appears.

Select or deselect the Clean Output Folder option, as desired.

Cleaning the output folder will scrub the folder of any old files, so that the folder only contains assets related to the most recent build.