PWB 1.10 Reads Environment Variables From .STS Files

ID Number: Q70123

1.10 | 1.10

MS-DOS | OS/2

Summary:

Under Programmer's WorkBench (PWB) version 1.10, the settings for the

environment variables INCLUDE, LIB, and HELPFILES are stored in state

(.STS) files under the [environ] tag. (These settings were not stored

in PWB version 1.00.)

When PWB starts, it will set its internal environment to the values in

the .STS file regardless of how the environment is set when you type

"PWB".

This can be a special problem when starting PWB for the first time if

you've forgotten to run the NEW-VARS.BAT (or NEW-VARS.CMD under OS/2)

batch file. In this case, PWB records the null environment variables

in the .STS file. When it restarts, it will use the null values that

were previously recorded in the .STS file, even if you run the

NEW-VARS file before starting PWB the second time. The workarounds

below work well in this situation, too.

More Information:

Here is how PWB reads .STS files when it starts:

1. If a program list is set, PWB reads the environment information

from the <program list>.STS file in the same directory as the

program list.

2. If no program list is set, this information is read from the

CURRENT.STS file in the INIT directory.

3. If no program list is set and no CURRENT.STS file exists, the

environment is read from the DOS command shell.

Any changes to these three environment variables made with the DOS Set

command will not be recognized in PWB if the CURRENT.STS or <program

list>.STS files exist.

The following are three possible ways of changing the INCLUDE, LIB,

and HELPFILES environment variables:

1. Modify the variables in the Environment dialog box under the

Options menu in PWB.

2. Delete the .STS files.

3. Modify the environment variables under the [environ] tag in the

.STS files. (Microsoft doesn't recommend doing this, but it can

be done this way.)