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Welcome to Visual dBASE
-----------------------
This file contains important, late-breaking information about Visual
dBASE, including updates to the printed documentation.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
-----------------
1. Configuration and System Requirements
2. Distributing Visual dBASE Applications
3. Accessing Database Servers with Visual dBASE
4. dBASE SpeedFilter Optimization
5. Documentation Updates
6. Borland Database Engine Configuration Notes
7. Using the ODBC Socket
8. Windows 95 Issues
9. Automated Registration Notes
10. dBASE for Windows 5.0 Compatibility Issues
11. dBASE DOS Compatibility Tips
12. Windows Colors Settings
13. Running the dBClock Sample Program with Dashboard
14. Common Questions & Answers
15. Working with FoxPro Tables
16. Installing Adobe(R) Acrobat(TM)
17. dBASE Magazines and Supporting Products
18. Acknowledgments
Additional Help and text files contain valuable information about working
with Visual dBASE:
CUSTOM.TXT in \VISUALDB\CUSTOM contains information about the Visual
dBASE Custom Controls.
dBASESQL.HLP in \VISUALDB\BIN contains information about using Borland
SQL Links with Visual dBASE.
EXTERN.TXT in \VISUALDB\SAMPLES\EXTERN describes the samples that
illustrate using the Extern System.
SAMPLES.TXT in \VISUALDB\SAMPLES describes the sample program files.
UTILS.TXT in \VISUALDB\UTILS contains information on using the Visual
dBASE utility programs.
1. CONFIGURATION AND SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-----------------------------------------
System requirements:
- Intel 386-based PC or higher
- Windows 3.1, Windows 95, or 100% compatible
- 6 MB RAM required, 8 MB recommended
- 29 MB free disk space for a complete installation
- 11.5 MB free disk space for minimum installation
Visual dBASE is compatible with Win-OS/2 and Windows 3.1 running
under OS/2 Warp.
Supported network operating systems:
Netware 3.11, 3.12, 4.1
Personal Netware
Banyan Vines 5.5
IBM OS/2 LAN Server 4.0 *
Lantastic 6.0
Microsoft LAN Manager 2.2
Windows for Workgroups 3.11 **
Windows NT Server 3.5 **
* For proper operation of Visual dBASE with LanServer 4.0, change
the following parameters in the DOSLAN.INI file on the workstation:
NBS: 4K
BBS: 5K
** If the server is also used as a workstation, the LOCALSHARE setting in
the System page of the BDE Configuration Utility must be set to True.
Without this setting, record and file locking will not be performed at
the server.
To open Crystal Reports Personal Trainer from within Crystal Reports
Help, you must have the \VISUALDB\CRYSTAL directory in your DOS path.
On a single machine, to access the same table concurrently using Sessions
or multiple instances of Visual dBASE, the DOS SHARE.EXE utility must be
loaded before starting Windows with the command:
SHARE /F:4096 /L:40
Also see section 6 of this README file, "BDE Configuration Notes."
2. DISTRIBUTING VISUAL DBASE APPLICATIONS
-----------------------------------------
The Visual dBASE Compiler is an optional, separately purchased, add-on
product for Visual dBASE. It compiles and links Visual dBASE programs,
forms, reports, bitmaps, and other code and resources into a Windows
executable which can be distributed royalty-free and run on systems
which do not have Visual dBASE installed.
To learn how to build and distribute Windows executables with the Visual
dBASE Compiler, see the Programmer's Guide and the online Help.
3. ACCESSING DATABASE SERVERS WITH VISUAL DBASE
-----------------------------------------------
Visual dBASE can be used to create powerful client/server applications
using a variety of popular database servers. Visual dBASE Client/Server
includes all the software required to do client/server development. Visual
dBASE Client/Server includes:
* Borland SQL Links for:
- Borland Interbase
- Informix
- Microsoft/Sybase SQL Server
- Oracle
* Borland's Local Interbase Server for developing and testing
client/server applications.
* The Data Pump Expert to easily move tables between platforms.
* The Visual dBASE Compiler for compiling applications to Windows
executables and royalty-free distribution.
* Resource Workshop for easily creating Windows resources using visual
tools.
For information on upgrading to Visual dBASE Client/Server contact
Borland or your local reseller.
4. dBASE SPEEDFILTER OPTIMIZATION
---------------------------------
dBASE SpeedFilters provide the fastest access to your dBASE tables. See
the "About SpeedFilters" topic under "Visual dBASE Basics" in the dBASE
online Help file for more information.
5. DOCUMENTATION UPDATES
-------------------------
User's Guide updates
- See section 1 of this README file for an updated list of supported
networks.
- When installing Visual dBASE under Windows 95 or Windows NT, Visual
dBASE may not automatically register with the operating system. To
insure this process is completed, double-click on the VISUALDB.REG file
in the \VISUALDB\BIN directory immediately after the installation
completes.
- 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).
- The section called "OEM and ANSI conversions" on pages 316-317 is
incorrect. This material is discussed in the help correctly. To find
this information, search for OEM in the help, then choose the topic
"Converting between OEM and ANSI text".
- To get context-sensitive help from the command line or while editing
programs, select the command, function, or another language element
name and press F1. If the language element selected is fully spelled
out, the corresponding help topic appears.
- Note on creating a form in the Form Designer based on a Custom Form
Class: When an object on the form is selected, the handles (the small
squares surrounding the selected object) appear in black if the object
is defined on the current form, and appear in white if the object was
inherited from the parent form class. Changes made to inherited objects
(those with white handles) will be reflected only in the current form.
The parent form and its objects will be unaffected. To change the
custom form class, the custom form must be modified directly.
Language Reference/Programmer's Guide updates
- Online Help is your most up-to-date source of information on the dBASE
language.
- The following properties are not documented in the Language Reference,
but are documented in the online Help: DesignView, CanNavigate,
RefreshAlways, and OnDesignOpen.
- The following commands and functions are not documented in the
Language Reference, but are documented in the online Help: ADIREXT()
and EXTERN SQL.
- Using LOCAL or STATIC variables, or properties of LOCAL or STATIC
objects, in a <condition> of the LOCATE or SET FILTER commands is not
allowed. Use a PUBLIC or PRIVATE variable, or a PUBLIC or PRIVATE
object, instead. This restriction also applies to the use of properties
of the objects THIS or FORM in the <condition>, since THIS and FORM
have LOCAL scope.
- PaintBox objects have an OnClose event. This is not documented in the
Language Reference.
- Note on the CanNavigate() event: When the CanNavigate event handler
is used, the event handler must return .T. for the user to be allowed
to navigate between records. If the CanNavigate event handler returns
.F., the user cannot leave the current record.
- The syntax for expression codeblocks in the Language Reference and
on-line Help is incorrect. The correct syntax is:
{|[<parameters>]| <expression>}
The pipes ( || ) are required even if no parameters are passed. The
syntax is documented correctly in the Programmer's Guide.
- The Language Reference incorrectly says that the default setting of
SET LDCHECK is ON. The default setting is actually OFF.
- Correction to the Local SQL INSERT INTO command: The <column list> is
not optional for local tables.
- Correction to the SET KEY TO command: Replace the beginning of the
syntax discussion with the following:
<exp list 1> | RANGE <exp 2> [,] | ,<exp 3> | <exp2>, <exp3>
Specifies a condition that filters records. For Paradox and SQL
tables, <exp list 1> can contain values (separated by commas) that
match composite index key fields.
- Replace the syntax statement in the Local SQL CREATE TABLE command with
the following:
CREATE TABLE <table name> (<column name> <data type>
[ , <column name> <data type>...]
[ , PRIMARY KEY ( <column list> ) ]
)
- When the structure of a database server table is changed, the database
should be closed and re-opened before continuing to use the table;
otherwise, dBASE may behave as if the table structure is unchanged. A
workaround is to go into the BDE Configuration Utility, and on the
Drivers page, change the schema cache size from its default of 8 to 0.
However, this workaround should only be used during development and
testing of applications because it will have a negative impact on
performance.
- When forms containing Visual dBASE custom controls are generated via
the Form Designer, the full path to the location of the custom-control
files on that machine is stored in the .WFM file. To distribute an
application with custom-control files, edit the .WFM file to remove the
full path. Then copy the custom-control files to the directory where
the .WFM is stored.
- On database servers where a unique row identification method is not
available (such as a primary key or unique index), issuing a REFRESH
command will clear any SET FILTERs and SET RELATIONs that were active.
- Do not issue a REFRESH command against Views or read-only SQL result
tables. Reissue the SELECT command instead.
Upgrade Guide updates (applies only to the upgrade product)
- The MarkCustom() method described in Chapter 6 does not exist. Its
functionality is built into the Form Designer.
6. BORLAND DATABASE ENGINE (BDE) CONFIGURATION NOTES
-----------------------------------------------------
Your DBASEWIN.INI file lets you specify a default BDE configuration file to
use whenever Visual dBASE is started. However, if another, non-dBASE,
BDE-based product is already running with a different BDE configuration
file when you try to start Visual dBASE, Visual dBASE will issue an error
and will not start.
Choose the BDE 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 BDE section of the WIN.INI file.
You might need to change some or all of the following IDAPI.CFG settings:
- DBASE FILE TYPE -- During installation, if a BDE configuration file
exists on your machine, its settings are read into the new BDE
configuration file. This may cause the dBASE FILE TYPE level to be set
to 4 (the dBASE IV level). To use Visual dBASE specific field types
(i.e. Binary and OLE), set DBASE FILE TYPE to 5.
- LOCAL SHARE -- If you are not on a network, and it is possible to have
Visual dBASE and other non-BDE software products accessing the same
tables at the same time, you need to set LOCAL SHARE (System Page) to
TRUE and have the DOS SHARE.EXE program loaded in memory.
- NET DIR -- If you are using Paradox tables, or are executing SQL
commands through Local or Remote SQL or SQLEXEC() on a shared drive
(network), you must enter a valid path into the IDAPI.CFG's Paradox
driver NET DIR setting. See the instructions above on how to use the
BDE Configuration Utility.
Placement of the Borland Database Engine (BDE) files:
If you are installing Visual dBASE on a workstation that already
contains a copy of the Borland Database Engine, install the Visual dBASE
BDE files to the same directory. Typically, this directory is called
\IDAPI.
If you have an existing installation of the BDE, the installation program
copies your default BDE configuration file to whatever location you
specified for your Visual dBASE BDE files. (Your default BDE
configuration file is specified in the BDE section of your WIN.INI file
as CONFIGFILE01.)
If the CONFIGFILE01 setting does not exist in your WIN.INI and you do not
have an IDAPI.CFG file, a new IDAPI.CFG file is created in the same
directory where you installed your Visual dBASE BDE files. The
installation program changes the CONFIGFILE01 setting to point to
IDAPI.CFG at this new location.
7. USING THE ODBC SOCKET
-------------------------
Visual dBASE includes support in the Borland Database Engine for an ODBC
Socket. It has been certified with Microsoft's 2.0 ODBC Driver Manager. If
you have a different version of the ODBC Driver Manager, back up your
existing ODBC.DLL and ODBCINST.DLL and copy the version 2.0 files ODBC.NEW
and ODBCINST.NEW files from your BDE directory to your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM
directory, renaming them to ODBC.DLL and ODBCINST.DLL.
The driver description in the ODBC.INI file must match the driver name
exactly as found in the ODBCINST.INI file in order for the BDE
Configuration Utility to add drivers to the BDE configuration file.
When using ODBC data sources with the Auto ODBC option set to True and
a driver name greater than 32 characters, the BDE truncates the name to
32 characters. These truncated drivers do not appear in the driver list
within BDECFG.EXE. Therefore they cannot be deleted from the
configuration file. Every time that the Auto ODBC option is set to True
these drivers are added repeatedly to the configuration file after every
save - thus the configuration file keeps growing and there is no way to
remove the excess drivers. To avoid this problem do not use driver names
greater than 32 characters in length.
For information on how to create an ODBC driver connection and alias,
search for "ODBC Driver Connection" in the BDE Configuration Utility
online Help file.
8. WINDOWS 95 ISSUES
--------------------
- When installing Visual dBASE under Windows 95 or Windows NT, Visual
dBASE may not automatically register with the operating system. To
insure this process is completed, double-click on the VISUALDB.REG file
in the \VISUALDB\BIN directory immediately after the installation
completes.
- The BDE does not support the Windows 95 Universal Naming Conventions
for accessing network servers as directories in this release.
Therefore, a command such as:
USE \\MYSERVER\MYDATA\MYTABLE.DBF
does not work. A workaround is to map the server/directory to a drive.
For example, if in the command above we mapped \\MYSERVER to drive G:,
the command could be entered as:
USE G:\MYDATA\MYTABLE.DBF
which would work.
- Windows 95 requires double quotes around a filename that includes
embedded spaces when executing a program. Therefore in the RUN()
command, extra delimiters (square brackets or single quotes) must be
supplied around such filenames. For example:
RUN(.T., ["C:\PROGRAM FILES\ACCESSORIES\MSPAINT.EXE"])
9. AUTOMATED REGISTRATION NOTES
-------------------------------
Visual dBASE features an automated registration system which allows you to
register your software with Borland at the time you install the product.
Registration is accomplished via modem, if a modem is available, or by
printing out and mailing or faxing your registration information.
If you start, but do not complete, the automated registration when you
install Visual dBASE, you will be automatically reminded to register after
14 days. This reminder can be disabled by removing the command
"C:\VISUALDB\VDB55REG\remind.exe" from the line that begins "load=" in the
WIN.INI file in your Windows directory.
Under Windows NT, the steps to disable the reminder are different. The
steps are:
- Double-click on REGEDT32.EXE in the \WINDOWS\SYSTEM32 directory.
- Find the "HKEY_CURRENT_USER on Local Machine" window.
- Search the tree for Software\Microsoft\WindowsNT\CurrentVersion\Windows
- Double-click on the "load" item to bring up the String Editor.
- Remove the entry for REMIND.EXE from the string.
Once you have registered, you can safely remove the directory
\VISUALDB\VDB55REG and the files contained therein.
10. dBASE FOR WINDOWS 5.0 COMPATIBILITY ISSUES
----------------------------------------------
- Note that for expression codeblocks, the Visual dBASE syntax is:
{|[<parameters>]|<expression>}
The pipes ( || ) are now required even if no parameters are passed. In
dBASE for Windows 5.0 the pipes were optional if no parameters were
passed.
- Forms created using dBASE for Windows 5.0 that used the BUTTONS.CC
custom control library, or resources from other files which resided in
the \DBASEWIN directory tree, may need to be modified. In some cases the
full path to a file was inserted in the .WFM file. Since the base
directory for Visual dBASE is now \VISUALDB, not \DBASEWIN, the path to
the file will need to be corrected.
- The default ComboBox style is now 1 (DropDown).
- SET CONFIRM now defaults to ON.
11. dBASE DOS 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>". Visual dBASE handles <screen name> differently than
dBASE for DOS; it creates <screen name> as a PUBLIC memory variable.
Visual dBASE does not run dBASE DOS Label and Report binary files (.LBL
and .FRM). Use the Component Builder to convert them to Crystal Reports
files (.RPL and .RPT). dBASE DOS .LBG and .FRG label and report files may
be run as source code.
dBASE DOS 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 A10 in the Common 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 Visual
dBASE. 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
Visual dBASE. 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 Visual dBASE.
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.
Visual dBASE does not support dBASE DOS PLAY MACRO, SAVE MACROS, or
RESTORE MACROS commands. dBASE DOS MACRO.KEY files must be converted to a
Windows macro format or reprogrammed under Visual dBASE as functions.
When installed on a standalone machine, Visual dBASE does not change
the default for SET EXCLUSIVE to ON; however, dBASE DOS does. Because of
this, you might want to SET EXCLUSIVE ON at the top of dBASE DOS
applications run under Visual dBASE that require exclusive use of tables.
In Visual dBASE, 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.
Visual dBASE 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 Visual dBASE.
12. WINDOWS COLOR SETTINGS
--------------------------
Default color settings are taken from the settings in the Windows Control
Panel. You can use color settings for the color properties of controls
and with the SET COLOR command. The following chart shows the available
color settings and the corresponding setting from the Windows Control
Panel. See the online help for the ColorNormal property for usage.
Color Setting Windows 3.1 Control Panel Windows 95 Control Panel
=================== ========================= ========================
ActiveBorder Active Border Active Window Border
ActiveCaption Active Title Bar Active Title Bar
AppWorkSpace Application Workspace Application Background
BackGround Desktop Desktop
BtnFace Button Face 3D Objects
BtnHighlight Button Highlight 3D Objects
BtnShadow Button Shadow 3D Ojbects
BtnText Button Text 3D Objects
CaptionText Active Title Bar Text Active Title Bar
GrayText Disabled Text <not configurable>
Highlight Highlight Menu
HighlightText Highlight Text Menu
InactiveBorder Inactive Border Inactive Window Border
InactiveCaption Inactive Title Bar Inactive Title Bar
InactiveCaptionText Inactive Title Bar Text Inactive Title Bar
Menu Menu Bar Menu
MenuText Menu Text Menu
Scrollbar Scroll Bars 3D Objects
Window Window Background Window
WindowFrame Window Frame <not configurable>
WindowText Window Text Window
13. RUNNING THE DBCLOCK SAMPLE PROGRAM WITH DASHBOARD
-----------------------------------------------------
If you use the optional Visual dBASE Compiler to compile the sample program
dBClock to an .EXE file, and you use Dashboard from Starfish Software,
dBClock will not run. This is caused by a naming conflict; Dashboard has a
DLL called DBCLOCK.DLL. A simple workaround is to rename the .EXE so the
name does not conflict. For example, rename DBCLOCK.EXE to DBCLOCK1.EXE.
14. COMMON QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
-------------------------------
Q1: How much hard disk space do I need to install Visual dBASE?
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 User's Guide says 6 MB of RAM is required (8 MB preferred). Will
Visual dBASE 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. Typically, Windows 3.1
has SMARTDRIVE installed which 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. Visual dBASE 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 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.
Consult your Windows documentation for further information.
Q4: Can dBASE for DOS and Visual dBASE 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.
Visual dBASE has an executable file named DBASEWIN.EXE. The command
DBASE, issued at DOS, will execute dBASE for DOS. On a system with Windows
3.1, 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 Visual dBASE. Typically Visual dBASE will be run from the
Program Manager in Windows 3.1. Windows 95 does not use DOS, but can
emulate a DOS command line. Issuing the DBASEWIN command at a Windows 95
"DOS" prompt will start Visual dBASE.
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 VISUALDB directory?
A5: Subdirectory selection is easy from the Navigator in Visual dBASE.
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 Visual dBASE, 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 Visual dBASE?
A6: Additional samples and example source code are available in the Visual
dBASE forum on CompuServe, and at Borland's World Wide Web site on the
Internet (http://www.borland.com).
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 "Visual dBASE Basics" in
the dBASE online Help system. An article is also available on the
Borland TechFax machine; obtain a catalog by calling 1-800-822-4269.
Q8: When starting Visual dBASE, 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?
A8: Edit your DBASEWIN.INI file, usually located in your \VISUALDB\BIN
directory, and locate the [CustomClasses] section. Look for the line
beginning with CC that specifies the location of your BUTTONS.CC file. Make
sure the line has the proper path to the location of your BUTTONS.CC file.
This file should be located in your \VISUALDB\SAMPLES directory. Then
restart Visual dBASE.
Q9: I have a large application written in dBASE IV 2.0. What do I need to
do to run this application in Visual dBASE?
A9: 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 Visual
dBASE. 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.
Q10: When I run or design a report based on a sorted Query, my fields
disappear from the report. How do I see my fields?
A10: 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.
Q11: What do I need to do before creating Referential Integrity rules
for Paradox tables?
A11: Before creating referential integrity (RI) rules for Paradox tables,
all tables must have a Primary Key defined. To create an RI rule based on a
one-to-many link between tables, the child table's linked field must have
a secondary index.
Q12: How can I make sure a PaintBox control correctly processes the
Windows OnPaint messages?
A12: In the OnPaint event of you PaintBox control, you should use either
the BeginPaint() and EndPaint() functions to bracket your paint routine, or
use the ValidateRect() or ValidateRgn() functions. This will prevent your
control from receiving excessive Paint messages. These functions are all
Windows API calls, and are prototyped as EXTERN functions in the WINAPI.H
header file that comes with Visual dBASE.
15. WORKING WITH FOXPRO TABLES
-------------------------------
Visual dBASE 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,
Visual dBASE 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.
16. INSTALLING ADOBE(R) ACROBAT(TM)
------------------------------------
NOTE: This section applies only to the version of Visual dBASE
distributed on CD-ROM.
To install the Adobe Acrobat Reader manually:
1. place the Visual dBASE CD in the CD-ROM drive.
2. Run the program d:\INSTALL.ADB\ACROREAD.EXE, where "d:" is
the drive letter of your CD-ROM.
3. In Program Manager, drag the Adobe Acrobat Reader icon into the
Visual dBASE Program Group.
4. With the icon selected, select File | Properties on the Program
Manager menu bar.
5. Add the following to the end of the command line statement:
d:\BOOKS\STARTUP.PDF
where d: is the drive letter of your CD-ROM
Windows 95 and Windows NT users should be aware that the Acrobat
installation program will reboot Windows at the completion of the
installation.
This version of the Acrobat Reader will not run under Windows NT. Windows
NT users should contact Adobe for information on availability of an Acrobat
reader that is compatible with Windows NT.
17. dBASE MAGAZINES AND SUPPORTING PRODUCTS
--------------------------------------------
See the "Companion Products and Services" Help file for information on
additional software, training, books, and magazines that support Visual
dBASE.
18. 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.