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Inserts the contents of the specified source file (known as an include or header file) into the current program file at the location of the #include statement.

Syntax

#include <filename> | "<filename>"

<filename> | "<filename>"

The name of the file, optionally including a full or partial path, whose contents are to be inserted into the current program file. You can specify the file name within or without quotes. An include file typically has an .h file-name extension.

If you specify <filename> without a path, the preprocessor uses the following search order:

  1. It searches the current directory for the file exactly as you’ve specified it.

  2. If you omitted the .h file-name extension, it adds the extension and searches the current directory.

  3. If it can’t find the file in the current directory, it looks in <home directory>\ INCLUDE. (The home directory is the one in the _DBWINHOME system memory variable.)

  4. If it can’t find the file in the current directory or <home directory>\INCLUDE, it looks in the directory you specify with the DOS environment variable INCLUDE.

Description

The effect of #include is as if the contents of the specified file were typed into the current program file at the location of the #include statement. The specified file is called an include file. #include is used primarily for files which have #define directives.

Identifiers are available only to the program in which they are defined. To use a single set of identifiers in multiple programs, save the #define statements in a file, then use the #include directive to define the identifiers in additional programs.

An advantage of having all the #define statements in one file is the ease of maintenance. If you need to modify any of the #define statements, you need only change the include file; the program files that use the #define statements remain unchanged. After you modify the include file, recompile your program file for the changes to take effect.

To use #include directives in WFM and REP files generated by the Form and Report designers, place the directives in the Header section of the file so that the definitions will not be erased by the designer.