Default Exclusion Template Support

[RoyEssers]

By default, each packaging project uses its own application.json file to define settings for studio-nip.ps1. While you can configure exclusions per project, there is no built-in mechanism to apply a shared set of exclusions across all projects.
To address this, you can introduce a default_config_file_path parameter and a DefaultTemplate.json file containing your preferred default exclusions. This approach gives you flexibility and avoids manually prepping your VM with exclusion lists for each packaging session.

Step-by-Step Instructions
1. Update the param() block to include the new parameter:
Replace:

param (
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=0, Mandatory=$true)][string]$config_file_path,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=1)][string]$installer_path=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=2)][string]$output_folder=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=3)][string]$working_folder=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=4)][string]$appset_name=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=5)][string]$debug_mode=$null
)

With:

param (
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=0, Mandatory=$true)][string]$config_file_path,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=1)][string]$installer_path=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=2)][string]$output_folder=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=3)][string]$working_folder=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=4)][string]$appset_name=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=5)][string]$debug_mode=$null,
    [Parameter(ParameterSetName="jsonFile", Position=6)][string]$default_config_file_path=$null
)

# Fallback to default template if not explicitly provided
if (-not $default_config_file_path) {
    $default_config_file_path = (Get-Item "$PSScriptRoot\DefaultTemplate.json" -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue).FullName
}

2. Insert the merge logic after working folder resolution:
Below:

$WorkingFolder = ""
if(!$working_folder)
{
    $WorkingFolder = $working_folder
}
elseif(!($json.ProjectSettings.WorkingFolder))
{
    $WorkingFolder = $json.ProjectSettings.WorkingFolder | Format-String
}

Add:

if ($json.CaptureSettings.ApplyDefaultTemplate) {
    Write-Host "DefaultTemplate is true — merging CaptureSettings..."
	
	$customjson = $null  
    $customjson = Get-Content $default_config_file_path -Raw | ConvertFrom-Json

    # Helper function to merge and deduplicate arrays
    function Merge-Unique {
        param($list1, $list2)
        return @($list1 + $list2 | Select-Object -Unique)
    }

    # Merge CaptureSettings
    $json.CaptureSettings.RegistryExclusions = Merge-Unique $json.CaptureSettings.RegistryExclusions $customjson.CaptureSettings.RegistryExclusions
    $json.CaptureSettings.FileExclusions     = Merge-Unique $json.CaptureSettings.FileExclusions     $customjson.CaptureSettings.FileExclusions
    $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessExclusions  = Merge-Unique $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessExclusions  $customjson.CaptureSettings.ProcessExclusions

    # Merge ProcessInclusions
    $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.IncludeChildProcesses = `
        $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.IncludeChildProcesses -or `
        $customjson.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.IncludeChildProcesses

    $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.Include = Merge-Unique `
        $json.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.Include `
        $customjson.CaptureSettings.ProcessInclusions.Include

    # Save merged JSON for troubleshooting
    $config_file_baseName = [System.IO.Path]::GetFileNameWithoutExtension($config_file_path)
    $json | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10 | Out-File $(Join-Path $output_folder "$($config_file_baseName).merged.json") -ea 0 | Out-Null
    Write-Output "Merged json: $($default_config_file_path) with application.json config file: $((Get-Item $config_file_path).Name)"

3. Enable the feature in your application.json file:
To activate the merge logic, add the following flag under "CaptureSettings":

"CaptureSettings": {
  "ApplyDefaultTemplate": true,
  ...
}

4. Create your DefaultTemplate.json file:
This file should contain the default exclusions you want applied across all projects. Example:

{
  "CaptureSettings": {
    "RegistryExclusions": [
      "HKEY_USERS\\.DEFAULT",
      "HKEY_USERS\\S-1-5-18",
      "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\\SOFTWARE\\Clients\\StartMenuInternet"
    ],
    "FileExclusions": [
      "?localappdata?\\Packages",
      "?programfilesx86?\\Microsoft\\Edge"
    ],
    "ProcessExclusions": [
      "C:\\Windows\\System32\\SecurityHealthService.exe",
      "C:\\Windows\\System32\\sppsvc.exe",
      "C:\\Windows\\System32\\CompatTelRunner.exe"
    ],
    "ProcessInclusions": {
      "IncludeChildProcesses": true,
      "Include": []
    }
  }
}