### Getting and using resources from a real path

Not only can you use the published resources described in section Publishing resources, but also those resources obtained from a real path. The difference between real path resources and published resources lies in the way of managing them. Published resources are managed in JReport Enterprise Server totally. Real path resources are managed in both the server and OS system. In the server, when accessing a resource node which is linked with a real path, the local resources in the real path are loaded to the node and displayed together with other server resources (including the published resources) in the node. You cannot delete the real path resources directly from the server UI, but can only achieve it by removing the resources from the local disk.

To use real path resources, you should specify a real path for a virtual folder. You can then add or remove resources into or from JReport Enterprise Server by adding or removing them into or from the real path. Also, if you do not want to publish report sets to the server by using the publish feature, you can set a real path instead.

The following example uses the resources in the folder /SampleReports obtained from the real path:

1. On the JReport Administration > Configuration page, check the Enable Resources from Real Paths option in the Advanced tab, save the changes and then restart the server.
2. Open the Properties dialog of the folder /SampleReports, check Enable Resources from Real Paths, specify a real path for the demo virtual folder as `C:\JReport\Server\reportbak`, then click OK to save the changes.
3. In the Windows directory `C:\JReport\Server\reportbak`, create three sub directories report1, report2, and report3, and then copy some report sets and catalogs into them.
4. On starting JReport Enterprise Server, click the virtual folder /SampleReports. You will then see the three sub folders: report1, report2, and report3 within it, including their report sets and catalogs.

Now end users can perform operations on the real path resources, including running, advanced running, scheduling, viewing versions and setting properties.

Notes:

- You cannot publish resources from real path.
- You cannot use a real path resource as an archive location.
- The relationships of folder real paths do not need to be consistent with that of the resource tree folders. That is, they are independent of each other. For example, in the resource tree, the folder ABC, whose real path is `C:\FolderABC`, has a sub folder DEF. The real path of DEF need not necessarily be a folder in `C:\FolderABC`. It can be any folder.
- After using the real path resources, under certain special conditions some invalid nodes will be generated in the server databases. In order to delete the invalid nodes, administrators can perform the corresponding option on the JReport Administration page to clear unused nodes from the internal JReport Enterprise Server database. For details, see Clearing unused nodes from the system database.

#### Setting a default real path for the Public Reports folder before the server starts

JReport Enterprise Server enables setting a default real path for the Public Reports folder without having to log onto the server. There are two ways to achieve this goal: setting the real path during or after installation.

- Setting during installation
  1. When installing JReport Enterprise Server using the Installation Wizard, select the installation type Custom Installation for Standalone Server.

     The Configuration screen is then available for you to configure the server properties.

  2. In the screen, select Advanced from the left panel.
  3. Check the Enable Resources from Real Paths option, and then type in a path in the Public Reports Real Path text field or specify a path using the Browse button.
  4. Upon completion of the installation, an install.server.properties file will be created in the `<install_root>\bin` directory. When the server starts, it retrieves the file contents, and then sets the real path for the Public Reports folder. Note that the file is deleted after the server has loaded the file contents.
- Setting after installation

  If you want to set a default real path for the Public Reports folder after installation, you can create an install.server.properties file in the `<install_root>\bin` directory manually. Specify the content in the file as follows:

  `server.publicReportsRealPath=D:\JReport`