The PBR file is the most mysterious of all things PowerBuilder. The Help file entry is short, cryptic, incorrect and pretty much useless. The HTML Help file, which was first created for PowerBuilder version 8, does have a fairly good description.
Basically it is a text file which contains a list of resources which need to included in the application executable. A resource can be an image file or a datawindow object, which is only referenced in a script. Image files can be Icons (.ICO), Cursors (.CUR) or Pictures (.BMP, .GIF, .JPG, .JPEG, .RLE, and .WMF files).
When you generate the application executable and you have elected to create .PBD files, all datawindows are included so they do not need to be in a .PBR file. If you are generating the application as machine code or everything in one .exe then datawindows need to be in a .PBR file.
If you want to have unreferenced datawindows included in a .PBR file, check the 'Check for unreferenced datawindows' checkbox. If you do so, you may want to check the 'Use full path for datawindow objects' checkbox. This may be required if the libraries that make up the application reside in different directories. There is no way of telling in advance, only trial and error would tell you for sure. Having this checked when not required shouldn't cause a problem.
You also have the option of creating one .PBR file or one for each library. If you choose to create a single file, a window will appear asking for a file name. If you choose multiple files, a window will appear asking you to choose a directory to store them in.
The first step in the process is to click the Search toolbar button. This will cause it to search the source code of the application for image file names and optionally unreferenced datawindows.
Once the search is done you have the option of deleting entries. This might be used if the program was confused by your code and included an entry it shouldn't have. You may also want to delete entries if you have some reason you need the image loaded dynamically.
The final step is to click the Files toolbar button. You will either choose a file name or a directory name. Once this is done you can update your Project object you use to build the executable.
Actions:
Sort Data (Alt+S): Opens the Specify Sort window.
Search: Starts the search process.
Delete: Delete images or datawindows from the result list.
Generate Files: Save the .PBR file(s) according to the options.