PRB: Setup Wizard: Folder Is Empty or Folder Does Not Exist

• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Macintosh, version 3.0b
• Microsoft FoxPro Distribution Kit for Macintosh, version 2.5b

SYMPTOMS

The FoxPro for Macintosh Setup Wizard returns a "Folder Does Not Exist" or a "Folder is Empty" error message after you specify the Application Folder or Distribution Folder, even though a folder exists by the specified name.

This error message also occurs if the name of your hard disk begins with a space.

CAUSE

In order to meet cross-platform requirements, FoxPro for Macintosh does not accept all valid Macintosh folder names.

A folder name longer than 27 characters will cause a "Folder Does Not Exist" error. Although the Macintosh allows folder and file names of up to 31 characters, FoxPro reserves 4 characters for a period and 3-letter extension to maintain cross-platform compatibility.

A folder name containing a backslash (\) will cause a "Folder is Empty" error. Although the Macintosh allows backslashes within a folder name, FoxPro disallows this character to maintain cross-platform compatibility.

Folder names longer than 27 characters and up to 31 characters will not cause the Setup Wizard in Visual FoxPro for Macintosh to report that the folder does not exist. Backslashes and a space as the first character of a folder or volume name will still cause errors in the Setup Wizard.

In Visual FoxPro for Macintosh, you may receive the following errors:

If a backslash(\) is in one of the folder names: "Error #202 in createcustomcursor (0): Invalid path or file name."

If there is a space as the first character in the hard drive name: "Error #1961 in createdir (0): A subdirectory or file <path>:Distribution: already exists."

REFERENCES

For information about valid file and folder names, see Chapter 3 of the "Installation and Macintosh Features Guide."