Testlock

See Also

Testlock.exe determines whether your network supports native locking.  Testlock.exe is installed in the platform-specific (for example, WIN32) subfolder by default.

The locking system is set in the SRCSAFE.INI file.  The primary variable is Lock_Mode, which can be set to either Native or Lockfile.  The default is Native.

To determine the locking system in use on your network:

  1. Install VSS to a drive accessible from two or more computers.

  2. From one of the computers, go to the WIN32 folder and run:

    Testlock.exe <folder name>

    Testlock.exe locks a file, and displays the message "Press any key to continue."  Do not press a key yet; leave the program running, and go to step 3.

    If Testlock.exe fails and does not display the message, go to the specified folder and delete the file(s) Testlock.*, then try again.  Make sure not to delete anything else.

  3. From another computer, run Testlock.exe again, providing the same folder path as before.

    Testlock.exe attempts to lock the same records that the first computer has locked, and report the results.  If the lock fails, your network file system supports native locking.  If the lock succeeds, you must use the Lockfile variable setting.

  4. Press a key on both computers to end the program.

    If native locking is supported, repeat steps 2 through 4 on various computers on your network, testing each platform combination to make certain the necessary features are supported across your entire network.

    To save time, you may leave Testlock.exe running on one computer, and repeat step 3 on every other computer.  Then switch to a different "first" computer and repeat the pattern, and so on.