Importance of FOXUSER.DBF to Catalog Manager

ID: Q113005

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, version 2.6
Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, version 2.6

SUMMARY

The FoxPro Catalog Manager uses the FoxPro resource file, FOXUSER.DBF, to store information about the Catalog Manager environment. Since these preferences are likely to be unique for every user, each user should be assigned his or her own resource file.

MORE INFORMATION

When the Catalog Manager starts up, it attempts to read the current resource file to determine the following user preferences:

Catalog Name - The last catalog used during the last Catalog Manager session.
Catalog Manager Settings - The Catalog Manager environment settings such as BELL, EXACT, and EXCLUSIVE. You can access these settings by choosing Settings from the Tools menu in the Catalog Manager. Note that these settings are stored with the resource file and not with a catalog; therefore, the settings apply to the Catalog Manager environment in general, not a specific catalog.
Table Name - The last table or query used during the last Catalog Manager session.
Active Tab - The last tab activated during the last Catalog Manager session.
Show Paths - The setting that determines whether paths are displayed in the Files list box of the Catalog Manager.

This information is stored as individual records in the active resource file. To demonstrate this behavior, type the following sequence of commands in the Command window:

   USE SYS(2005) AGAIN      && open the current FOXUSER file
   BROWSE FOR ID='CATALOG'  && browse the catalog preferences

If a resource file is not in use, these preferences will not be saved, and the user will be asked to open a catalog each time he or she enters the Catalog Manager environment. If a resource file is in use but marked as read-only, the user will receive the following error when attempting to start and later leave the Catalog Manager:

   Error 111 (Cannot write to a read-only file.) occurred while writing
   the preference to <path>\FOXUSER.DBF.

The error occurs because the Catalog Manager is unable to write the preferences listed above to the resource file.

FoxPro catalog files (.FPC), like FoxPro project files (.PJX), are single- user objects; therefore, preferences will be unique for each user, and each user should be assigned his or her own resource file to increase the user's productivity if the user often finds himself or herself using the same catalog during several consecutive FoxPro sessions. To accomplish this, the CONFIG.FP or CONFIG.FPW configuration file should specify a path to a unique resource file.

For more information about the FoxPro configuration file, see the "Customizing FoxPro" section of the "Installation and Configuration" manual.

Additional reference words: FoxDos FoxWin 2.60 multiuser multi-user KBCategory: kbprg KBSubcategory: FxprgMultiuser

Last Reviewed: June 27, 1995