INFO: Contents of the FoxPro for Macintosh DK Readme File

ID: Q112516

2.50b MACINTOSH kbreadme
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, version 2.5b

SUMMARY

Following is the complete FoxPro for Macintosh "DK Readme" file found in the main FoxPro folder (usually FoxPro) and on the disk labeled "Disk 1 - Setup" of the Distribution Kit.


MORE INFORMATION

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Release Notes for


Microsoft(R) FoxPro(R) for Apple(R) Macintosh(R) Distribution Kit

(C)1994 Microsoft Corporation. All Rights Reserved.


This file provides information not contained in the Distribution Kit documentation, and provides corrections to the documentation. **********************************************************

For the most up-to-date information about Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh and other Microsoft products, see the Microsoft Knowledge Base. The Microsoft Knowledge Base contains more than 40,000 detailed articles with technical information about Microsoft products, bug lists, fix lists, documentation errors, and answers to commonly asked technical questions--all available through the Internet.

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Contents


Part 1: SetupWizard Additional Information
Part 2: Other Additional Information
Part 3: Changes to Documentation Since Printing
Part 4: Internet Access Instructions


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Part 1: SetupWizard Additional Information


Contents

  1. Distributing the .ESL File


  2. File Compression Progress


  3. SetupWizard Prerequisites


  4. Memory and Disk Space Requirements


  5. Changing SetupWizard Options


  6. Title and Copyright Maximum Length 



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Distributing the .ESL File

Just before SetupWizard starts compressing your files, you may see a prompt asking you whether you want to distribute an additional .ESL file with your application. If your application is a stand-alone executable, distributing this file is not necessary, or recommended.

This file is an optional 2.5 MB runtime library, which has extended support for users to run FoxPro applications, even if they don't have FoxPro. You can choose to distribute the .ESL file if your users don't have their own copies of FoxPro, but it will occupy two extra disks, and take extra time to compress. 


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File Compression Progress

As files are compressed, a thermometer displays the percent-done progress. This information updates only after each file is compressed. Since compression of large files can take 15 minutes or more per megabyte, there will be no apparent progress displayed for quite some time, but this is normal. 


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SetupWizard Prerequisites

To use the SetupWizard application, you must have the Apple Shared Library Manager (ASLM) files installed. If you did not install ASLM when you installed FoxPro for Macintosh, use the FoxPro disk labeled "Apple Shared Library Manager" to install ASLM before running SetupWizard. 


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Memory and Disk Space Requirements

Before running SetupWizard, make sure you have at least 600K available memory, and free disk space totaling at least twice the size of your application folder. Unexpected errors can occur if these conditions are not met. 


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Changing SetupWizard Options

SetupWizard options must be changed by running SetupWizard itself. Do not hand-edit any files that SetupWizard writes to; unexpected results may occur. 


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Title and Copyright Maximum Length

The limits for the Title and Copyright strings are 37 and 72 characters, respectively. To avoid truncation during installation, restrict your string lengths to these limits.

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Part 2: Other Additional Information


Contents

  1. Installing the Distribution Kit


  2. Additional Distribution Kit Files


  3. Customizing the Apple About Menu


  4. Names of Application Folders and Files


  5. Building a Stand-alone Executable File


  6. Distributing Shared Library Files


  7. Distributable Files


  8. Labeling Distribution Disks


  9. Customizing Installer PICT Files


  10. Using Installation Billboards


  11. Using the Distribution Kit with FoxPro


  12. Distributed Applications on a Network


  13. Creator Type Conflicts 



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Installing the Distribution Kit on a Network

If you install the Distribution Kit, using Network Install #2, to a network location that contains FoxPro, you will be prompted to replace some files. These files are common to both FoxPro and the Distribution Kit, and differ only in their timestamps. Since the files are otherwise identical, you can choose to replace the files, or continue to use your existing copies. 


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Additional Distribution Kit Files

The Distribution Kit includes an additional file, FOXMAC.LIB, that is not listed in the documentation. It is required to create executable files, but does not need to be redistributed. Make sure this file is located in your main FoxPro folder. 


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Customizing the Apple About Menu

In your distributed application, you can include your own text on the Apple About... menu, and display your own About screen when that menu item is chosen.

To customize the Apple About... menu text:
  • Include the command SET APLABOUT PROMPT <expC> in your application code.


To customize the About screen:

  • Include the command ON APLABOUT <command> in your application code.


See the Help file for more information on these commands. 


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Names of Application Folders and Files

The names for your application folder and files must have:

  • No more than 27 characters


  • No special characters such as commas (,) or ellipsis ( )


In addition, application folder names must have no spaces. 


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Building a Stand-alone Executable File

If you use the BUILD EXE command to create a stand-alone executable file, you must include the keyword STANDALONE. Omitting this keyword, or using the COMPACT or EXTENDED keywords, results in the "Feature not available" error message. For complete instructions on creating stand- alone executable files, see Chapter 4, "Building an Application for Distribution," in the User's Guide for the Distribution Kit. 


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Distributing Shared Library Files

If your application includes shared library files (files with the extension .MLB), the Installer provided with the SetupWizard automatically installs the .MLB files into the System file, and prompts the user to install Apple Shared Library Manager (ASLM), after installation of your application is complete.

Since the user needs to have the ASLM extension installed to use your application's shared libraries, you might want to provide ASLM with your application. You can obtain a distribution license for ASLM from Apple Corporation. 


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Distributable Files

If your application includes a graphical Help file, you can also distribute the Microsoft Help engine. Add the following files to your application folder: 


   Microsoft Help
   FoxPro Help


Note that you can distribute only the Help engine files, not the FoxPro Help files. 


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Labeling Distribution Disks

The distribution disks must have the following names: 


   Disk - 1 Setup
   Disk - 2
   Disk - 3


and so on. If the disks do not have these names, the application will not be able to install. 


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Customizing Installer PICT Files

The Installer displays a default logo on its initial screen. To change the logo used by the Installer, replace the Installer PICT files with your own files.

To replace the Installer PICT files:

  1. Using a resource editor such as ResEdit(TM), edit the Installer.


  2. Open the PICT resource.


  3. Copy your PICT file over the default logo resources, which have ID numbers of 256 and 257. 256 is the monochrome version of the graphic, and 257 is the color version.


When you restart the Installer, the new PICT resources are displayed. 


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Using Installation Billboards

The Installer does not include any billboards, but you might want to include one or more billboards describing the features and highlights of your product. Billboards are displayed while your application installs.

Creating Billboards

Billboards are PICT files. For each billboard you want to display, create two PICT files: one in black and white, and one in color. These files should match exactly except for color.

When deciding how many billboards to include, consider the size of your application. The installer uses the total size of your application as a measure for displaying billboards. For example, if your application files take up 5 MB, and you include five billboards, each billboard will display for one-fifth of the installation, or the time it takes to install 1 MB.

Displaying Billboards

To display the billboards you create, add billboard resources to the Installer:

  1. Using a resource editor such as ResEdit, edit the Installer.


  2. Add two new resources called BBC and BBBW. BBC will contain the color billboards, and BBBW will contain the monochrome billboards.


  3. Add items to these resources for each of the billboards. The ID numbers for the items must begin at 128 and be numbered sequentially.


  4. For each billboard, copy a binary version of the PICT file and paste it into the resource item. 



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Using the Distribution Kit with FoxPro

If the Distribution Kit libraries, FOXMAC25.ESL and FOXMAC.LIB, or any applications created with the Distribution Kit, are accessible on any mounted drive, double-clicking a FoxPro file to open it will use the Distribution Kit libraries or launch the Distribution Kit application instead. This is due to the later timestamp on the Distribution Kit libraries. To use FoxPro and the Distribution Kit together, you must do one of the following:

  • Launch FoxPro directly, then use Open from the File menu to open FoxPro files.


  • Unmount the drive that contains the Distribution Kit, while working with FoxPro.


  • Modify the FoxPro timestamp to be later than the Distribution Kit file timestamp.


  • Modify the timestamp on the DK libraries or application to be earlier than FoxPro's timestamp.




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Distributed Applications on a Network

When two computers try to run the same distributed application over a network, the second machine receives a message, "Application in use." To prevent this message, you must do one of the following:

  • Lock the distributed application.


  • Checked the Shared bit on the application.


  • Place the application on a read-only share.


Any of these choices ensures that your executable or application can be accessed over a network. 


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Creator Type Conflicts

The Macintosh operating system expects that each application and its associated files have a unique creator and file type. However, executable files created with FoxPro share the same creator and file type as FoxPro itself. If you run your FoxPro executable file, then try to launch a FoxPro file, the executable will run instead.

As an application developer, you can choose one of the following:

  1. Don't keep executable versions of your applications after you've made disks.


  2. Keep only compressed versions of your executable files.


  3. Alter the creator type of your application executable files.


When users have more than one FoxPro executable file, they will encounter similar problems. To work around this situation, they must launch the executable file first.

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Part 3: Changes to Documentation Since Printing



Page 4

Change "FOXM250B" to "FOXMAC25".

Page 26

Change "FOXM250B" to "FOXMAC25".

Add the following section to "Creating an Application Folder":

The names for your application folder and files must have:

  • No more than 27 characters


  • No special characters such as commas (,) or ellipsis ( )


In addition, application folder names must have no spaces.

Page 29

The SetupWizard Results dialog box does not appear in Step 8 of the SetupWizard, as the manual describes.

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Part 4: Internet Access Instructions



To access the Knowledge Base through the Internet, use anonymous logon. The name of the server is ftp.microsoft.com, and the IP address is 207.46.133.140. Connect through the FTP server on your network, and, at the FTP prompt, type: 


   open ftp.microsoft.com


At the user prompt, type: 


   anonymous


At the password prompt, type your full Internet name.

To access the Fox portion of the Knowledge Base, type the following commands: 


   cd deskapps
   cd fox
   cd kb


and read the README.TXT file. 


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Microsoft and FoxPro are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

Apple and Macintosh are registered trademarks, and ResEdit is a trademark of Apple Computer, Inc.

Additional query words: dk setup wizard 


Keywords          : 
Version           : MACINTOSH:2.5b
Platform          : MACINTOSH 
Issue type        : kbinfo


Last Reviewed: February 18, 1999
© 1999 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Terms of Use.