FoxPro for Macintosh General Tips and Tricks

• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, versions 2.5b, 2.5c

SUMMARY

This information is also available in FoxPro's online Help file.

To go directly to this topic, choose the "Tips and Tricks" Help topic. Then do one of the following, depending on which online Help file is in use:

• FOXHELP.HLP: Choose the "General Tips" jump text.
• FOXHELP.DBF: Scroll to the "General Tips" heading.

MORE INFORMATION

Opening and Closing Folders in the Finder

To open a different folder and close the current folder, press the Option key while double-clicking on the folder you want to open.

Using TeachText to Copy PICT Files to General Fields

You can use TeachText, a program that comes with System 7, to open and display PICT files. Once a picture is displayed in TeachText, you can select part or all of the picture, copy it, and then paste it into a general field in your FoxPro table.

Be sure that you use the version of TeachText that comes with System 7 on the Tidbits disk. This is TeachText version 7.0 or later. Other applications you might install on your Macintosh, such as Microsoft Excel, do not require System 7 and may install an older version of TeachText that does not support PICT files.

Multiple Configurations with Macintosh Aliases

You can start FoxPro for Macintosh by double-clicking the icon for the CONFIG.FPM configuration file. You can create multiple configuration files (in separate folders) and start FoxPro for Macintosh in different configurations by using Macintosh aliases.

After you create a CONFIG.FPM configuration file, you can create an alias for it by selecting the file from within the Finder and then choosing the Make Alias command from the File menu. Double-click the alias to start FoxPro for Macintosh in the configuration specified in the original CONFIG.FPM configuration file. You can rename the alias, and move the alias to a different folder, the Macintosh desktop or another disk.

For example, you can create multiple CONFIG.FPM files, create aliases for them, rename the aliases and then move the aliases to the Macintosh desktop. This allows you to start FoxPro for Macintosh in different configurations from the Macintosh desktop.

Whenever you edit or delete the original CONFIG.FPM file, you must also delete the Macintosh alias and create a new alias. Since the Macintosh alias points to the original file, if you edit a CONFIG.FPM in the FoxPro editor and Create Backup Copy is checked in the Edit Preferences dialog, the alias still points to the backup file, CONFIG.BAK rather than the new CONFIG.FPM.

For more information about Macintosh aliases, see Macintosh Aliases.