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Welcome to dBASE for Windows ---------------------------- This file contains important, late-breaking information about dBASE for Windows, including updates to the printed documentation. TABLE OF CONTENTS ----------------- 1. Configuration and System Requirements 2. dBASE SpeedFilter Optimization 3. Documentation Updates 4. Compatibility Tips 5. Common Support Questions & Answers 6. Working with FoxPro Tables 7. IDAPI Configuration Notes 8. dBASE Magazines and Supporting Products 9. Acknowledgments Three additional text files contain valuable information about working with dBASE for Windows: dBASESQL.TXT in \DBASEWIN\BIN contains information about using Borland SQL Links with dBASE for Windows. SAMPLES.TXT in \DBASEWIN\SAMPLES describes the sample program files. EXTERN.TXT in \DBASEWIN\SAMPLES\EXTERN describes the samples that illustrate using the Extern System. 1. CONFIGURATION AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS ----------------------------------------- System requirements: - DOS 3.1 or higher - Windows version 3.1 - 6 MB RAM required, 8 MB recommended - 24 MB free disk space for a complete installation - 10 MB free disk space for minimum installation Supported Network Operating Systems: Netware 3.11, 3.12, 4.01 Personal Netware (Novell DOS 7) Banyan Vines 5.5 IBM LAN Server 3.0 * MS LAN Manager 2.2 Lantastic 6.0 * For proper operation of dBASE for Windows with LanServer 3.0, change the following parameters in the DOSLAN.INI file on the workstation: NBS: 4K BBS: 5K dBASE for Windows can be installed to a drive compressed with Stacker 4.0, and the data can be kept on the compressed drive. dBASE can be installed to a drive compressed with DOS 6.2 DblSpace, or DOS 6.22 DrvSpace, but the data must be kept on an uncompressed drive. If you want to run the dBASE for Windows Interactive Tutors, and your machine has less than 12 MB of RAM, you should set the dBASE typeahead buffer to 1600. This can be done using the Desktop Properties dialog box. To jump from Crystal Reports Help or Component Builder Help to dBASE Help, you must have the \DBASEWIN\BIN directory in your DOS path. To open Crystal Reports Personal Trainer from within Crystal Reports Help, you must have the \DBASEWIN\CRYSTAL directory in your DOS path. On a single machine, to access the same table concurrently using Sessions or multiple instances of dBASE for Windows, DOS SHARE.EXE must be loaded. Also see section 7 of this README file, "IDAPI Configuration Notes." 2. dBASE SpeedFilter OPTIMIZATION --------------------------------- dBASE SpeedFilters provide the fastest access to your dBASE tables. See the "About SpeedFilters" topic under "dBASE for Windows Basics" in the dBASE online Help file for more information. 3. DOCUMENTATION UPDATES ------------------------- Getting Started/User's Guide updates See section 1 of this README file for an updated list of supported networks. Navigator and Command Window changes: Double-clicking the Control menu box or choosing File|Close minimizes these windows. The number of tables in a query is limited by the number of work areas (225). To get context-sensitive help from the command line or while editing programs, select the command, function, or other language element name and press F1. If the language element selected is fully spelled out, the corresponding help topic appears. Language Reference/Programmer's Guide updates Please consider online Help your most up-to-date source of information on the dBASE language. The following language elements are not available in this release: Copy() method (Array class); use ACOPY() instead ReleaseOnClose property (Form class) ScaleFontBold property (Form class) ScaleFontItalic property (Form class) ScaleFontStrikeOut property (Form class) ScaleFontUnderline property (Form class) See online Help for updated information on the following function: MSGBOX() function - opens a dialog box that displays a message and pushbuttons; returns a numeric value that corresponds to the pushbutton the user chooses. Usage: MSGBOX(<message expC>, [<title expC>, [<box type expN>]]) If you run code samples from the Language Reference manual or the Programmer's Guide that show forms and controls, some controls may appear misaligned onscreen. To adjust, switch to Design mode and realign the controls, or adjust the values of the Top, Left, Height, and Width properties accordingly. SET PRINTER TO FILE <filename> is identical to SET PRINTER TO <filename>. Event handlers you create for the Key event must return a numeric value or a logical value. A numeric value is interpreted as the ASCII decimal number of a character, which automatically replaces the character input by the user. A logical value is interpreted as a decision to accept or reject the character input by the user. The Shell function has been updated: SHELL() hides or displays the dBASE interactive environment or "shell" when a form is open. It returns a logical value corresponding to the previous SHELL() state. The dBASE shell consists of the interactive components of the user interface, such as the Navigator, Command window, application menu, SpeedBar, and the application window. By default, the shell is on and SHELL() returns .T. Here is the syntax: SHELL([<expL 1>][,<expL 2>]) <expL 1> determines whether to hide or display the shell. If the expression evaluates to .F., dBASE hides the shell. <expL 2> determines whether the dBASE application window remains visible when the shell is off. If the expression evaluates to .T., the application window remains visible. If <expL 1> evaluates to .T., the full shell is on and <expL 2> is ignored. If you open an MDI form, the application window stays visible (to contain the form) regardless of the <expL 2> value. When you display a form, you might want to prevent access to the shell so the user can perform only the tasks intended by the program. For instance, turning the shell off prevents the user from opening a table with the Navigator or issuing a command in the Command window. Use SHELL(.F.) to turn the shell off and make a form look like a standalone application or to prevent unwanted changes to data. Programmers typically issue SHELL(.F.) in a form's OnOpen procedure. When all forms in a program are closed, the shell automatically returns. You can also explicitly restore the shell with SHELL(.T.) The following table shows how the value of the two SHELL() parameters and the form's MDI property affect the user interface. <expL1> <expL2> MDI Result ------- ------- --- ------------------------------------ .F. must .T. The Navigator and Command window are be invisible. The dBASE application window .T. is visible (since MDI forms require a parent window, <expL 2> must be .T. when the form's MDI property is .T.). The dBASE application menu and SpeedBar are visible unless the form has a menu associated with it. If the form has a menu, the menu appears in the dBASE application window in place of the dBASE application menu and SpeedBar. .F. .F. .F. The dBASE application window is invisible and only the form appears. The form name also appears in the Windows Task List in place of dBASE. .F. .T. .F. The dBASE application window is visible and the form appears in a separate window. The dBASE application menu and SpeedBar are visible, but the Navigator and Command window are not. .T. ignored .T. The shell is active. If you open the or form with Open(), the user can access .F. the Navigator, Command window, SpeedBar or menu while the form is open. If you open the form with ReadModal(), the dBASE interface is visible but inaccessible until the form is closed. 4. COMPATIBILITY TIPS ---------------------- Declaring a variable PRIVATE that is in use as the screen name for SAVE SCREEN TO <screen name> returns the run-time error "Variable undefined: <screen name>". dBASE for Windows handles <screen name> differently than dBASE IV; it creates <screen name> as a PUBLIC memory variable. dBASE for Windows does not run dBASE IV Label and Report binary files (.LBL and .FRM). Use the Component Builder to convert them to Crystal Reports files (.RPL and .RPT). dBASE IV .LBG and .FRG label and report files may be run as source code. dBASE IV queries that contain sort instructions cannot be used by the Component Builder and Crystal Reports for dBASE. In the case of QBEs that SORT, please see A11 in the Common Support Questions & Answers section below. To honor Windows keystroke behavior, Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End no longer open and close memo fields. Use F9 to open them; use F9, Ctrl+W, or <Esc> to close them. F9 and double-click are used to open memo, OLE, and binary fields in dBASE for Windows. If your application uses the ON KEY LABEL F9 <command> to redefine F9 for these fields, double-click on the icons to open them. The SET STATUS ON/OFF command is not supported (returns a warning) in dBASE for Windows. However, you may still use the Application page of the Desktop Properties dialog box to turn the status bar on or off. You can also do this via the DBASEWIN.INI file, by changing the setting of StatusBar to OFF or ON in the Desktop section. This must be done before starting dBASE for Windows. APPEND FROM ARRAY will require matching data types between the array element and the corresponding field in the table. This is not required in dBASE for DOS. dBASE for Windows does not support dBASE IV PLAY MACRO, SAVE MACROS, or RESTORE MACROS commands. dBASE IV MACRO.KEY files must be converted to a Windows macro format or reprogrammed under dBASE for Windows as functions. When installed on a standalone machine, dBASE for Windows does not change the default for SET EXCLUSIVE to on; dBASE IV does. Because of this, you might want to SET EXCLUSIVE ON at the top of dBASE IV DOS applications that require exclusive use of tables. In dBASE for Windows, a new return value has been added to the READKEY() function to indicate that no update has occurred. READKEY() returns 14 if an unchanged record is left by pressing Ctrl+W or Ctrl+End. dBASE for Windows uses SET DELETED ON as the default setting. If you want the default to be OFF you must go to the Tables page of the Desktop Properties dialog box to set the default to either on or off. Another way of doing this is in the DBASEWIN.INI file, where you can change the setting of DELETED to OFF or ON in the "OnOffCommandSettings" section. This must be done before starting dBASE for Windows. 5. COMMON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ------------------------------ Q1: How much hard disk space do I need to install dBASE for Windows? A1: Full Installation requires 24 MB. If space is a problem, select Custom Installation and omit the options you don't need. Minimum Installation requires 10 MB of hard disk space. In addition, you should have 1.5 MB of free drive space on the drive/partition where Windows is installed (if installing on a different drive/partition). When using a compressed drive, allow a plus 20 percent margin. Q2: The Getting Started book says 6 MB of RAM is required (8 MB preferred). Will dBASE for Windows run on a 4MB machine? A2: A 4 MB RAM machine has 3 MB of extended memory available before anything else is loaded into extended memory. Running Windows 3.1 requires SMARTDRIVE to be installed which typically takes 1 MB of extended memory. The 2 MB of extended memory remaining is then used by Windows in conjunction with a (Windows) swap file created on your hard drive. All your Windows programs will be sharing this limited resource. dBASE for Windows will likely run on this environment but with reduced performance. The product is recommended for machines that have the specified (6 MB or more) amount of RAM. Q3: How do I access these Windows memory management controls? A3: a) Choose the Windows Control Panel. b) Choose 386 Enhanced. c) Click the Virtual Memory pushbutton. d) Click the Change pushbutton. e) Choose "Permanent Swap File". f) Increase the value of the New Size option. g) Consult your Windows documentation for further information. Q4: Can dBASE IV and 5.0 for DOS and dBASE 5.0 for Windows be installed on the same machine? Which one will start when I issue the dBASE command at DOS with dBASE in my PATH? A4: dBASE for DOS, (dBASE IV or dBASE 5.0) starts by calling DBASE.EXE. dBASE for Windows has an executable file named DBASEWIN.EXE. The command DBASE, issued at DOS, will execute dBASE for DOS. The command DBASEWIN, issued at DOS, will give you a DOS error "Not a DOS Program." You must start Windows first. The command WIN DBASEWIN from DOS will start dBASE for Windows. Typically dBASE for Windows will be run from the Program Manager in Windows. Q5: All my old data files (.DBF, .DBT, .MDX, .QBE, .FMT, .FRG, etc.) are located on my C:\DBASE or C:\DBASE\DATA subdirectory. Do I have to move them to the DBASEWIN directory? A5: Subdirectory selection is easy from the Navigator in dBASE for Windows. Enter the correct path in the entry field or click the file icon to select a new directory. Files in various directories can also be organized in a catalog. When running dBASE for Windows, it is ok to change the current directory to a directory on which dBASE for DOS is installed to access data files. Q6: Where can I get more examples on programming with dBASE for Windows? A6: Additional samples and example source code are available in the dBASE for Windows forum on CompuServe. Q7: As a dBASE DOS user, sessions are new to me. Where can I get more information about how these work? A7: See the "About Sessions" topic under "dBASE for Windows Basics" in the dBASE online Help system. An article is also available on the Borland TechFax machine; obtain a catalog at 1-800-822-4269. Q8: I get the error "In use by another" when I am accessing tables in a standalone environment. What does this mean? A8: dBASE for Windows installs with "Set Exclusive = On" which only allows the table to be opened once. Although you are accessing the table in a standalone environment, file access in Windows is similar to accessing files on a network in that files can be accessed multiple times. In order to remedy this, use the setting in the Desktop Properties menu to "Set Exclusive = Off". To do this, choose Properties|Desktop, click the Table tab, and uncheck the "Exclusive" box. Q9: When starting dBASE for Windows, I receive the error "Buttons.cc not found", however, this file is located on my network drive. What do I need to change in my configuration? A9: Edit your DBASEWIN.INI file, usually located in your \DBASEWIN\BIN directory, and make sure the line that reads "Procedure =" has the proper path to the location of your BUTTONS.CC file. This file should be located in your \DBASEWIN\SAMPLES directory. Then restart dBASE for Windows. Q10: I have a large application written in dBASE IV 2.0, what do I need to do to run this application in dBASE for Windows? A10: You can run your program from the Command window, however, your program will only be displayed in the results pane. You can convert your code to Windows type code using the Component Builder included with dBASE for Windows. For further information on using the Component Builder, load the Component Builder by clicking its icon and see the Conversion Guidelines in the Component Builder online Help file. Q11: When I run or design a report based on a sorted Query, my fields disappear from the report. How do I see my fields? A11: This is because the sorted query creates a temporary file with a unique name, each time the query is executed. We recommend that you perform the sort in the report designer. Alternately, you can edit the query as a program and change the variable assignment of SORT___001 to a unique specific file name like SORT___001 = "NEW" and delete the rest of the line. You should add a line, SET SAFETY OFF, before the variable assignment, and add a line at the end of the QBE, SET SAFETY ON. Now you are ready to build a new report on this query. More complete details are available on the Borland TechFax machine; obtain a catalog at 1-800-822-4269. 6. WORKING WITH FoxPro TABLES ------------------------------ dBASE for Windows can open, read, and write to FoxPro tables as follows: .DBF - FoxPro table file .CDX - FoxPro multiple index file .FPT - FoxPro table memo file 1. If the table has no production index, memo field, or general field, dBASE for Windows will open it and read and write data to it. 2. If the table has a production index (.CDX), you have an option to open it read-only, which ignores the .CDX file, or create a new .MDX file with the same index tags as are in the .CDX file. 3. If the table has a memo field or general field (.FPT), you have the option to open it, and read and write to it, as a non-dBASE table. If the table has a general field with OLE documents in them, dBASE for Windows can read and write them. You can also open the table and convert the memo or general field (.FPT) to the dBASE .DBT format. If you convert it, the original .FPT file is deleted, so you should make a backup of the table before converting. 7. IDAPI CONFIGURATION NOTES ----------------------------- Your DBASEWIN.INI file lets you specify a default IDAPI configuration file to use whenever dBASE is started. However, if another IDAPI-based product is already running when you start dBASE for Windows, dBASE will use the IDAPI configuration file that is already active. Choose the IDAPI Configuration Utility icon from Windows Program manager to edit the configuration file. When you open the utility it will display the IDAPI.CFG specified in the IDAPI section of the WIN.INI file. If dBASE is using a different configuration file and you want to change those parameters, you must use File|Open to explicitly open that file. During installation, if an ODAPI configuration file exists on your machine, its settings will be read into the new IDAPI configuration file. This will set the dBASE file level to 4 (the old level). To use the new dBASE for Windows field types, you will need to set this to 5. This can be done using the IDAPICFG utility. On a single machine, LOCALSHARE must be TRUE to use both dBASE for Windows and other non-IDAPI products that access a table at the same time. If you are using Paradox tables or executing a SQLEXEC() on a shared drive (network), you must enter a valid path into the NET DIR setting for the Paradox driver in the IDAPI.CFG. See the instructions above on how to use the IDAPI Configuration Utility. 8. dBASE MAGAZINES AND SUPPORTING PRODUCTS ------------------------------------------- a) Regular guidance on using dBASE for Windows is available in "dBASE Advisor Magazine" and "Inside dBASE for Windows." dBASE Advisor Magazine In the US call 1-800-336-6060 From outside the US call 1-619-483-6400 From CompuServe type "GO DB" Inside dBASE for Windows The Cobb Group PO Box 35160 Louisville KY 40232-9719 USA b) Training videos developed by Borland International are available from your local Borland representative. Two are available for dBASE for Windows: Developing Applications with dBASE 5.0 for Windows (90 mins, 9 lessons) Learning dBASE 5.0 for Windows (60 mins, 6 lessons) c) Borland Visual Solutions Pack Volume 1, version 1.1 is a set of Visual Basic Custom Controls that you can add as components to your applications developed with dBASE for Windows. These controls let you instantly add components such as spreadsheets, word processors, images, gauges and many other objects to your forms. For more information contact your local Borland representative. d) ForeHelp is a visual Windows Help file designer. This add-on from ForeFront Inc. facilitates developing Windows help files. Contact your local Borland representative for information on how dBASE for Windows customers can purchase this at a special price. e) Training courses are available in a variety of locations; please contact your local Borland representative for a list of training companies in your area. 9. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ------------------- Some of the sound files were provided by Programmer's Warehouse from Sound Explosion for Windows. Copyright (c) 1992-1994 Programmer's Warehouse. All rights reserved. Licensed sounds Copyright (c) 1990-1992 The Hollywood Edge. Sample music database provided by AudioFile, providers of current information for the retail music industry. Product listed in this database is available through Sound Delivery, 1280 Santa Anita Court, Woodland, CA 95776. Sampled music provided by Southern Library of Recorded Music, 6777 Hollywood Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90028, (213) 469-9910.