When I make a module or custom control external I’m presented with the option to save as binary, XML, etc. However, if I try to make the (IDE) folder external, I’m not presented with an option as to which project type to save as. Is this normal? Do I have to save them all individually to be able to select the type?
You cannot make folders in the Navigator external using the “Make External” contextual menu.
Paul, my experience differs.
I have a number of modules and subclassed controls in a folder I created in the IDE (2013r2) called “Default Classes”. I can right click this folder and choose “Make External…”. This prompts for a destination directory. It creates a subdirectory therein named “Default Classes” , and saves the modules and classes there in xojo_binary_code format (even though I default to XML).
I thought perhaps it was an oversight that I couldn’t specify the output format.
Are externals that are batch created in this manner deficient in any way?
You are correct. I complete spaced it. Sorry about that. See <https://xojo.com/issue/5647>.
I don’t see why they are deficient, other than not being in the format you want 
Thanks Paul. I’m getting a “Case Not Available” response in feedback.
I didn’t mean the externals are deficient, just wondering out loud if they might be since it appeared it wasn’t a supported method of creating them.
Sorry, the case turned out to be private. I’ve made it public.
I think this more of a situation that wasn’t considered so it always used the binary format, which was the original file format.
Are you making these items external to share them with another project?
Yes, I’d like to reference these items in my own projects. I’d like to tweak them in whatever project I’m in at a given time and have the changes appear in all projects. Primarily they’re subclassed Xojo controls with supporting code in modules.
For now, I’ll externalize each manually.
Hopefully this <https://xojo.com/issue/27959> doesn’t rear it’s head.