I've been using PC Focus 5.5 since approx 1990. I have successfully used it in a DOS window under all versions of Windows, including XP Home, on various desktop and notebook machines... until now. I upgraded my notebook recently to Lenovo T61 Thinkpad running XP Pro. I copied all necessary Focus files to the T61 and made the adjustments to autoexec.nt and config.nt files as I have done successfully on many other XP machines over the years. Focus 5.5 invokes and runs, but it cannot find the data files... it also cannot find the text to the error msg that it attempts to paint to screen (when I invoke Focus, the msg I receive is "ERROR MESSAGE TEXT MISSING 227" and then I receive the ">>" prompt).

Recognizing this was my first ever attempt to run Focus under XP Pro, I attempted to run Focus on 3 or 4 other XP Pro machines that I have access to, desktops and notebooks. I have identical circumstances with each XP Pro machine... Focus cannot find the data on any of them. Obviously, there is something about XP Pro that I need to know. Do I have a "permissions" issue?... Is XP Pro failing to recognize the "focpath" and "focdata" commands I inserted into autoexec.nt?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Harvey

Harvey, I like you have a personal licence for PC focus 6.0.

Maybe someone from IB could tell us how much it would be to upgrade to WebFOCUS!

An upgrade may not be practicle if the application use a lot of CRTFORM with MODIFY or -CRTFORM with Dialog Manager.

And those -WINFORMS as well!

One thing Harvey might try is the compatibility settings for his application. I know that you can back compatibilize a lot of windows apps this way.

quote:

Originally posted by hammo1j:
And those -WINFORMS as well!

One thing Harvey might try is the compatibility settings for his application. I know that you can back compatibilize a lot of windows apps this way.

Hey Folks,

Thanks for the attempts to help me!... By "back compatibilize", do you mean using Windows' built in "compatibility mode" options?... which are available by right-clicking the pif file of a DOS ap?.. (the pif editor appears and you have the option to click a check box and select: Win 95, or 98/ME, or NT4.0, etc.?). If so, I've tried these to no avail and I didn't expect that would help anyway as getting Focus 5.5 to invoke and run is not the problem. It runs. I can invoke the menu if I want, etc. It's just that when I attempt to run a focexec or access a data file, I have errors indicating Focus cannot find the data. Remember, I've never had this problem on 12-15 different notebooks and desktops running various DOS versions and all Windows versions up to and including XP Home. I only have the problem with XP Pro but I have it on all the XP Pro PCs that I have tried.

Seems to me there's gotta be a problem with a "permission," or something wrong with my "path" statement or my "set focdata" or "set focpath" lines in the autoexec.nt file... but hey, if I really knew why Focus couldn't find its data I wouldn't be asking for help. Anybody have any other thoughts?... Anybody know of other DOS aps that worked fine under all versions of Windows including XP Home but were squirrelly under XP Pro?

Harvey,

Although we have stopped using PC/Focus, I still have it installed on my machine. I run PC/Focus 6.01.2 under XP Pro and I don't have any problems with either CRTFORM or WINFORM.

All applications are started with a batch file in which there is:
1. a path statement - path=C:\DosProg\Focus;C:\WINDOWS\system32;C:\WINDOWS; (PC/Focus is installed in the first directory)
2. a focpath statement - set focpath=C:\Appl\General (this is where there is the general profile)
3. the Focus command - C:\DosProg\Focus\focus

Maybe this can help.

Danny,

I'm not in position yet to tryout your configuration, but thanks for the info and I'll try your setup tomorrow... but I'm curious:

You don't use a .pif file to invoke?... just invoke from a .bat file?
In what dir do your data files live?
Your path and focpath statements are in the .bat file and not in an autoexec.nt file?
So you have no "focdata" set statement?

Thanks again!

Harvey,

That is correct. We just use the foc.bat file. Of course, you can add a focdata statement.

We invoke the foc.bat from a shortcut. Its target directory is the directory where the application lives.