The product editor is the one-stop shop where you can define all aspects of your product from basic definition to branding.
Because we just created a product configuration based on the RCP template, most of the product information has already been filled out by PDE based on the plugin.xml of the com.example.xyz plug-in.
The Product Definition section is where the product ID and name are specified, as well as the application that will run when the product is launched.
In this example, we will create a plugin-based product.
The Testing and Exporting sections should look familiar to the user as they are very similar to sections on the Overview page of the plug-in editor.
A very noticeable difference however is the first step in the Testing section: Synchronize this configuration with the product's defining plug-in. What does this mean?
Remember that the product configuration is for PDE use only and is not interpreted nor read by the runtime. Some of the data that enter in this file (e.g. product ID, application, window images, about image, etc.) must be copied to the plugin.xml file of your branding plug-in for these changes to take real effect at runtime. That's what the synchronize action does. It makes sure your plugin.xml contains up-to-date data and in sync with the product configuration.
The Configuration page is where you list all the plug-ins and fragments that constitute the product.
A configuration file is a property file containing system properties read by the runtime upon startup. It is recommended to let PDE generate a default config.ini file for you.
You can also specify the program arguments and VM argumens with which your product is to be launched.
For a list of program and VM properties, refer to the Runtime options document.
The Branding page is where the product is given its identity: launcher name, custom images, custom launcher icons, splash screen and About dialog.
Name the executable that will launch your product rcpmail.
Customizing the launcher icons varies per platform. In this example, we will leave the default Eclipse icon as-is.
The splash screen must be named 'spash.bmp' and is assumed to be at the root of the product's defining plug-in if its location is not specified. In our example, the RCP mail plug-in project does have a splash.bmp at the right location, so the field can remain empty.
More customization can be done to the window images and the About dialog. All that data is already filled out by PDE using the plugin.xml of the com.example.xyz plug-in.