When a user sends an error report for an obfuscated program, the objects and methods in the error report are obfuscated. This means that the error report would be unintelligible without first being de-obfuscated. 

SmartAssembly uses map files to convert obfuscated information within an error report back to meaningful names. SmartAssembly also uses map files to record information about the assembly which is used when displaying error reports, for example line numbers.

Managing map files

SmartAssembly creates a map file to store information required to de-obfuscate code.

In SmartAssembly 6.2 and earlier, you had to mark your assembly as released to save the map file for more than 180 days. This is no longer required. In SmartAssembly 6.5, map files are saved permanently.

Ensure that you back up the map files created by SmartAssembly. You cannot decrypt error reports without them. Map files are located by default in the following location:

• On Windows Vista and later: %ProgramData%\Red Gate\SmartAssembly\Maps\
• On earlier versions of Windows: %ProgramFiles%\Red Gate\SmartAssembly 6\Maps\

Moving map files

You can change where map files are saved. This may be useful if you are decommissioning the storage medium where the map files are currently stored, for example, and you need to move the map files.

Using SQL Server database

The map files are stored in the folder you specified when you first set up SmartAssembly. To move them:

1. Open SQL Server Management Studio or equivalent
2. Connect to the database server which contains the error reports
3. Right-click on the SmartAssembly database and click New Query
4. Type the following line into the new query window:
   SELECT * FROM dbo.Information
5. In the results, note the value stored in the MapFolderNetworkPath column
6. Create a new query as follows:
   UPDATE dbo.Information
SET MapFolderNetworkPath = '\\NEWPATH\Folder'
WHERE MapFolderNetworkPath = '\\OLDPATH\Folder'
   replacing \\OLDPATH\Folder with the value you noted in step 5 and replacing \\NEWPATH\Folder with the new location for map files.