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Created Design: external file for function and templates nodes (markdown)

Nathanaël Lécaudé 2017-05-15 10:18:18 -04:00
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# Node-RED: External file proposal
## The problem
Currently, the 3 code centric nodes (`function`, `template` and `ui-template`) load their code from a window within the node’s configuration page. While this approach works fine for small single-person projects, it gets complicated in a multi-user project hosted on GIT.
Doing diffs and merging flow files with a large number of functions or templates is a manual process now. This could be improved greatly if there was an option, in addition to the current mechanism, to load the code content of these nodes from a file on the user’s file system.
## Proposition
We propose the addition of a checkbox named `Load from external file` just above the code field. Checking this checkbox would make a field appear where the user can type the path to a file, similar to the `file-in` node. Given the fact some cloud environment are not compatible with a traditional file system, a setting named `allowExternalFiles` could be added in `settings.js` to disable this feature entirely.
## Exporting flows
This brings one problem, what happens when someone exports a flow ? We propose the addition of a checkbox in the flow export dialog named `Embed external files` that would embed the external file contents within the exported flow making sharing of that flow possible.