title: Releasing a Snapshot
author: Peter Brett, DanielPharos

Here's the process you might follow to prepare and release a snapshot.
Before you'll be able to follow the process outlined below, you'll
probably want to read <a href="http://alexandria.wiki.sourceforge.net/File+Release+System+-+Offering+Files+for+Download">File Release System - Offering Files for Download</a> to know how to work with the SourceForge File Release System.

<ol>
<li>Make a copy of the <tt>runtime</tt>, <tt>source</tt> and <tt>infobase</tt> directories you want to release.</li>
<li>Build a QuArK binary from this source directory.</li>
<li>Put the new QuArK binary in the main runtime directory (where it belongs).</li>
<li>Zip up the directory, each to a different zip-file, using the scheme from <ref>src/distribution/policy</ref>. No fancy zip-compressions, please! Any plain old unzipper should be able to unzip the files.</li>
<li>Create a new snapshot-release in the QuArK-package using the SourceForge File Release System. Name this release 'snapshot YYYY-MM-DD', and add the zip-files to that new release. Don't forget to set the 'specifics' on the files correctly!</li>
<li>Make sure the new release is 'Active', and visible on the SourceForge website.</li>

You should also e-mail a release announcement to the development
mailing list (<a href="mailto:quark-python@yahoogroups.com">quark-python@yahoogroups.com</a>),
something along the lines of: (I'm going to assume that the date is 31st August 2007)

<code>Subject: Snapshots 20070831

New QuArK snapshots are now available from
http://quark.sourceforge.net/
 
- Compiled Infobase:
http://quark.sourceforge.net/download/quark-help-20070831.zip
- Full source code with Python 2.2.3:
http://quark.sourceforge.net/download/quark-src-20070831.zip
- Win32 binaries with Python 2.2.3:
http://quark.sourceforge.net/download/quark-win32-20070831.zip
</code>

It's also a good idea only to have four snapshots on the site at a
time, so as to be sure not to exceed the storage quota.  So delete the
oldest snapshots if you need to.
</ol>
