* When you open the sample files included on the CD you may see a message stating that there is a mismatch with your language driver. You can safely ignore this message and continue.
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.
