Vista
compatibility for dBASE Plus and dQuery
Updated May 14, 2007
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| There are several differences using dBASE Plus
in Windows Vista vs. Windows XP. These differences are laid out here
in the following categories: |
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Security
modes and Manifest files
- includes the best way to set up dBASE Plus or your Executables
to run in Vista.
Visual Issues -
includes examples on the visual differences of dBASE Plus
objects in Vista vs. XP.
Performance Variations and
Issues - includes examples of the differences
on some dBASE Plus properties and methods in Vista vs.
XP.
Manifest File Samples
- View and/or download samples of Manifest files for dBASE
and the BDE.
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Security
modes and Manifest files
Overview
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In Windows Vista, Microsoft has made substantial changes
in how Windows handles security when starting a program.
In older versions of Windows, programs ran all the time with whatever
security level the logged in user possessed.
In addition, it was possible to startup Windows with a workstation only
login that, by default, gave the user full access (i.e. administrator
access) to everything on a workstation.
In Windows Vista, Microsoft has substantially tightened security as follows:
- Vista defaults to running a program with a fairly low privilege level
even if the user logs in with a higher security level.
- Via manifest files or embedded manifest resources, Vista can be told
the privilege level a program requires, in order to run properly.
- The action Vista takes when a program attempts to perform an action
that requires elevated privileges can be configured via workstation
or domain level security policies to:
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- Prompt a user to login with elevated rights or administrator level
rights when needed
- Terminate a program that attempts to perform an action that requires
higher level rights
- Automatically elevate a program to a higher level if the logged in
user has sufficient rights
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More detailed information about Vista security and other
compatibility issues is available at:
http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/aa480152.aspx
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| Running dBASE Plus IDE or dQuery on Vista
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Both dBASE Plus and dQuery can be run successfullly on Vista
by installing an application manifest file that contains the appropriate
requested execution level (requestedExecutionLevel) setting. The BDE
Administrator must also have a manifest file installed for it to run on
Vista. These manifest files contain additional settings as compared
with the ones distributed with dBASE Plus 2.61.x and dQuery 3.xx. In
addition, a manifest file must be installed in the same folder as the
executable it is intended for.
Within a manifest file, the main setting of concern for Vista is the
requestedExecutionLevel which can be set to one of three possible values:
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runAsInvoker - The application should run with the
same Windows privileges and user rights as the parent process. runAsHighest
- The application should run with the highest Windows privileges
and user rights the current user can obtain, but the application does
not necessarily require the user to be an administrator.
runAsAdmin - The application should run only for administrators,
must be launched with a full administrator access token, and will not
run correctly in a standard user context. This requested execution level
marking is reserved for pre-Windows Vista applications that require the
user to be a member of the local Administrators group.
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Generally, setting requestedExecutionLevel to runAsAdmin will
allow existing dBASE, dQuery and BDE Admin executables to run properly.
Using one of the other settings may cause the application to hang at the
point that it attempts to change any supporting files. However, for situations
where you do not need to run with full administrator rights you can use
the other settings and only use the runAsAdmin setting when absolutely
necessary.
Click here to view/download sample
manifest files with each of the configuration settings mentioned
above.
(Please note: after initially replacing any manifest file you may
have to restart your computer to avoid getting a 'need to elevate' error
from Vista.)
Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode
Another option that is available on Vista is the 'Windows XP SP2 compatibility
mode'.
This is created to prevent the "This program might not have installed
correctly" dialog box that shows for applications that are hard coded
to look for the XP version.
If you are installing from the plus-setup.exe file then you should set
the 'Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode' as detailed below for the plus-setup.exe
file.
Also, The bdeadmin.exe file should be set to use the 'Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode'. If you do not set the 'Windows XP SP2 compatibility mode' for the bdeadmin.exe, the manifest file (bdeadmin.exe.manifest) may be ignored when trying to run the BDE Administrator. This may cause any changes to be saved incorrectly when modifying the BDE Config file directly.
Right-click on an .exe name or shortcut - goto Properties
- under the Compatibility tab - apply the Windows XP SP2 compatibility
mode.
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| Running deployed .exe on Vista |
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When deploying executables built with dBASE Plus you must
create a manifest file for your executable as well as for PLUSRUN.EXE. Otherwise
you will get an error: Could not load PLUSRUN.EXE (code 740) |
| Running deployed .exe on Vista across
a network |
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When launching an .exe built with dBASE Plus that is stored
across the network on another workstation or server you may get the 'Unknown
Publisher' warning. At this time, the following options are available
to suppress this warning: |
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1. Rename your executable's file extension from .exe to .dbw
and then make sure that the .dbw extension has a file association setup
with PLUSRUN.EXE. (This should be setup at install time for dBASE Plus).
OR
2. In Internet Explorer from the Toolbar goto Tools | Internet Options.
Under the 'Security' tab highlight the Local Intranet section. Click the
'Sites' button. Click 'Advanced' and add the server's address to the list
of trusted zones. |
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For future versions of dBASE Plus and dQuery we are looking
into alternatives for ensuring they are installed as trusted applications
on Vista. |
| Visual Issues |
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PushButton object - The pushButton Object
now adheres to the foreground portion of the colorNormal property. In
XP it does not.
TreeView object - In Vista the TreeView object does
not adhere to the foreground portion of the colornormal property. In XP
it does.
ScriptMaker - If you are using ScriptMaker ... the icons
on the pushbuttons and on the toolbar are all white. There
is an outline shape of what is there. But, no detail in the
icons. However, with the new release of dBASE Plus (2.61.2)
a new Inno script maker called 'Inno Script Generator' is
included. So far this application does not show any issues
related to Vista. |
| Performance Variations
and Issues |
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Some different behavior has been discovered with
some functions or settings
HELP System
Microsoft has released a Windows Help Program (WinHlp32.exe)
for Windows Vista. This will allow Vista to display 32-bit
Help files that have the ".hlp" file name extension.
Click
Here to download this program.
dBI is working on support for HTML Help in an upcoming release
of dBASE Plus.
Open File or Get File
In any get file or open file dialog, the 'Look in' drop down list does
NOT show the current folder until you choose one. Goto File | Open in
the main IDE menu. Or Use GETFILE() function to see this behavior.
ScriptMaker
NOTE: if you are using ScriptMaker ..
after opening a scriptmaker project - the moment the hScrollBar
is moved to see the top 'Inno' Compiler button, this error
comes up...
Scriptmaker (title)
Integeruberlauf.
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| Manifest File
Samples |
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Click Here
to download all the manifest files in a single Zip File. |
