Setting Up Shared Program Groups

 Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
Article ID: Q84845
The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.1, 3.11
  • Microsoft Windows for Workgroups version 3.1

SUMMARY

Pages 274 and 275 of the Microsoft Windows Resource Kit discuss how to set up shared program groups with Microsoft Windows 3.1. Step 2 on page 275 says that the group files (.GRP) must be marked read-only. However, doing so may produce the following error if you change the Windows video display driver on a workstation: 

   Group File Error: Program group file <filename> is write protected.
   Its icons cannot be updated for the new display device.

MORE INFORMATION

The .GRP files contain icon display information. If the video display driver is changed, the group icon information is also changed.

After the errors for each group are displayed, the icons may appear visually correct. However, after some usage in Windows, the icons may become blotchy or incorrectly displayed.

To avoid this problem, create separate directories containing display-specific groups for different display drivers. The PROGMAN.INI file for each workstation should point to the correct directory containing the display-specific groups.

For more information on this problem, query on the following words in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   icon and extraction and error

KBCategory: kbnetwork kbdisplay kbusage
KBSubcategory: wfw win31 wfwg
Additional reference words: 3.10 3.11 WRK strange appearance

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Last reviewed: November 21, 1994
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