Path Rules for FoxPro for Macintosh

• Microsoft FoxPro for Macintosh, versions 2.5b, 2.5c, and 2.6a
• Microsoft Visual FoxPro for Macintosh, version 3.0b

SUMMARY

The following information describes differences and similarities in path constructs between the Macintosh and MS-DOS platforms and explains how to use path constructs in FoxPro.

MORE INFORMATION

The rules for naming drives differ on the Macintosh and MS-DOS platforms. The drive name on the MS-DOS platform consists of a single character followed by a colon such as C: or D:. On the Macintosh, a drive name may look like "Mac HD:" or "Barney:" (without the quotation marks). The Macintosh drive name can even contain a space between multiple letters whereas the MS-DOS style is limited to one character. Both, however, end with a colon.

NOTE: Volume names, paths, and file names are not case sensitive. The term "volume" is interchangable with "drive" on the Macintosh platform.

File Names

Valid characters in file names are:

   A-Z, underscore, and 0-9 but do not begin a file name with a numeral.

   Colon (:) - ASCII value 58
   Some systems substitute a dash -

   Double Quotation mark (") - ASCII value 34
   Colon (:) - ASCII value 58
   Backslash (\) - ASCII value 92

   Single Quotation mark (') - ASCII value 39
   Period (.) other than the one automatically appended - ASCII value 46
   Space ( ) - ASCII value 32

Path Strings

A path is a series of directory names or folders separated by a delimiter character such as a colon (:), which is the Macintosh notation, or a backslash (\), which is the the MS-DOS notation. The path may or may not have a file name at the end or a drive name at the beginning.

NOTE: Most FoxPro for Macintosh commands accept the path in either MS-DOS backslash (\) format or Macintosh colon (:) format regardless of environment settings. However, commands and functions such as FxNewFolder() from Foxtools, which interact directly with the System, require a path in Macintosh shorthand notation. Please see SYS(2027) in FoxPro Help for more information.

When to Use Quotation Marks

Surround the path and file name with quotation marks when any element of the volume, path, or file name contains any spaces or characters other than those suggested above. Surrounding a path with quotation marks may or may not be necessary, but if they are extraneous, they will be ignored.

Path Examples

For the following examples, assume the following structure:

Barney             <-- A volume with same name as folder
   +-Fred1.dbf
   |
   +-Folder
      +-Fred2.dbf
      |
      +-SubFolder1
      |  +-Fred3.dbf
      |  |
      |  +-Barney  <-- A folder with same name as volume
      |     +-Fred5.dbf
      |
      +-SubFolder2
         +-Fred4.dbf

   USE Barney:Folder:SubFolder1:Barney:Fred5
   USE Barney:\Folder\SubFolder1\Barney\Fred5

   * incorrect
   USE Barney\Folder\SubFolder1\Barney\Fred5

   USE \Folder\SubFolder1\Fred3
   USE \:Folder:SubFolder1:Fred3

More Information on Relative Path Rules

Given that the default folder is SubFolder1 specified by this command:

   Default=Barney:Folder:SubFolder1

   USE Fred3

   This assumes MS-DOS shorthand that does not require a preceding path
   separator for references relative to the current directory.

   USE :Fred3

   This Macintosh shorthand does require a preceding path separator for
   references relative to the current directory.

   USE :Barney:Fred5
   USE Barney\Fred5

   USE ..\Fred2
   USE ::Fred2

   USE ..\..\Fred1
   USE :::Fred1

   USE ..\SubFolder2\Fred4
   USE ::SubFolder2:Fred4