PRB: Executable Created with FoxPro Starts But Does Not Run

• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5a, 2.5b, 2.6

SYMPTOMS

When you are executing an .EXE file created with FoxPro for Windows, the .EXE file flashes briefly on the screen and then disappears.

CAUSE

The .EXE file may be reading a CONFIG.FPW file that contains a COMMAND= statement that calls a nonexisting program. The .EXE file will not be able to locate the program and will terminate.

RESOLUTION

Make sure the CONFIG.FPW file does not contain such a command.

MORE INFORMATION

When developing an .EXE file for distribution, many developers copy the .EXE and .ESL files into a separate directory in order to test the .EXE file. When the .EXE file starts up, it acts just like FoxPro and looks for a CONFIG.FPW file in the .EXE's directory. If it does not find a CONFIG.FPW file, the .EXE file looks in the directories that are listed in the MS-DOS PATH statement. When it finds a CONFIG.FPW file, such as the one located in the FoxPro directory, it runs the commands in that file. If a COMMAND= line is in the CONFIG.FPW file and it issues a DO command to run a program, the .EXE file tries to run that program. If the .EXE file cannot find the program, the .EXE file terminates as if a QUIT command were issued.