What FoxPro Checks When Opening a .DBF File

• Microsoft FoxPro for Windows, versions 2.5x, 2.6, 2.6a
• Microsoft FoxPro for MS-DOS, versions 2.0, 2.5x, 2.6, 2.6a
• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, versions 2.5x

SUMMARY

When FoxPro attempts to open a .DBF file, it checks certain aspects of that file. If the file appears to be in the expected format, the attempt to open the file will succeed. If a problem is detected with the file, FoxPro returns an error message. This article explains what tests are performed when FoxPro attempts to open a .DBF file.

MORE INFORMATION

When FoxPro attempts to open a .DBF file, it tests the following items:

• Record length

  The record length must not be <= 1. The record length must not exceed the maximum record length.

• Fields

  The .DBF file must have at least one field.

• Number of fields

  The number of fields must not be greater than the maximum allowable number of fields.

• Number of records

  The number of records cannot be less than zero.

• MS-DOS file size and data

  The start of data plus the number of records multiplied by the record length must not exceed the file size reported by MS-DOS.