Looking for some pointers to automate new ui setup

[Mn3MoN1C]

Hey guys, so I'm kind of new to lua but I'm a programmer so I've been able to pick up little things here and there as I go. I've been working on designing a UI using other addons however, the issue I keep finding myself is how I would easily distribute it. I've seen many other ui's where they tell people to copy over a copy of the ui designer's wtf folder and what not. I would like to automate this a little better as is done in addons like Spartan UI and Mazzle UI. However, these are big addons to try to break them down and understand their methodology for automation is kind of complicated. I was wondering if anyone could perhaps give me some basic pointers for how I might have my addon copy settings from my folder and set it up for the user to make the process a little more invisible to the end user. Thanks!

[Seerah]

SpartanUI doesn't use a WTF folder, as the UI is hardcoded to look that way (besides Bartender, where SpartanUI hooks into the Bartender code to set it up). If you try to change the bartender bars in spartanui, the next time you log in, they will be back the same as they were on install - hence, hard-coded.

MazzleUI uses a combination of a WTF folder that needs copied over and hooking into addon code to set things up.

Anyway, the addon cannot copy settings from your folder. Best thing is to include all saved variables and use default profiles when possible (or class profiles if it's different per class). If you must use some sort of profile selection or some such, then you will need to use that addon's api for selecting profiles, modifying things, etc.