rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz (Owen Baker) (09/03/90)
Why does Windows 3 not allow you to specify the default current directory that an application uses to save or retrieve user files? If you start an application from the command line (ie. "WIN PM") then in most cases you will find that the application will look for user files in the directory you started from, just what you want! BUT when you start an application any other way it defaults to the Windows directory. On a network this causes many users who are not familiar with drives and directories to attempt to save their files in the shared Windows directory. Generally they would not have access to write here anyway so they would get an error message, but this is not at all a friendly response when you are using it for the first time. Now before you all start telling me to read page 555 of the manual where it tells you about "Keeping a User's Files Off a Shared Directory" take note that Microsoft Australia's explanation of page 555 is that it is intended to explain how to keep temporary user files off a shared directory not the actual data files. Oh really? Well when I tested it on a Novell Network it did not do either so could someone please explain what it does mean??? By the way this problem is not new to Windows 3 either, with earlier Windows versions the same thing happened and the only nice way around it was to use Command Post or a similiar menu interface which gave you provision for entering the default directory when you started an application. Even entries such as "." and ".\" worked which allowed you to be in any directory to save/retieve files. What a novel idea!! Microsoft Windows 3 is vast improvement over previous versions and other manufacturers attempts at providing a real GUI for PC's. Its such a pity that it still has these basic flaws. Maybe Windows 3.1 will be an improvement. How about it Microsoft??? +-------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ | Owen Baker | Communication Services Unit | | rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz.au | RMIT - Victoria University of Technology | | (61) (3) 660-2038 | Melbourne, Victoria, Australia | +-------------------------------+-------------------------------------------+ In this case the above opinions are my own, not RMIT - VUT's.
peter@cbnewsc.att.com (peter.pavlovcik) (09/05/90)
In article <5534@minyos.xx.rmit.oz>, rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz (Owen Baker) writes: > Why does Windows 3 not allow you to specify the default current directory > that an application uses to save or retrieve user files? If you start an See page 91, under "HINT" and "NOTE". Personally I found their methods (as described there) not entirely intuitive and rather bizzare. (Please forgive me If I misunderstood your problem.) Peter Pavlovcik
icking@gmdzi.UUCP (Werner Icking) (09/05/90)
rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz (Owen Baker) writes: >Why does Windows 3 not allow you to specify the default current directory >that an application uses to save or retrieve user files? If you start an >application from the command line (ie. "WIN PM") then in most cases you >will find that the application will look for user files in the directory >you started from, just what you want! BUT when you start an application >any other way it defaults to the Windows directory. As far as I understand your problem you may use PIF-files to solve it. With PIFEDIT you may specify a starting directory for a program. After having created pgm.PIF you should not call pgm.exe (or .com or .bat or .btm ...) but pgm.PIF. But then you may run into the next problem. If you have bound files to an application via a line like ZIP=SHEZ.PIF ^.ZIP in the [Extensions] part of win.ini and specified a starting directory in the PIF-File Windows 3 will (try to) honor both. My solution for this is having two PIF-Files one for entering an application from the program-manager which defines a starting directory and one for the special case without a starting directory. The latter is then bound to the file-type: ZIP=SHEZONE.PIF ^.ZIP Hope this helps -- Werner Icking icking@gmdzi.gmd.de (+49 2241) 14-2443 Gesellschaft fuer Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung mbH (GMD) Schloss Birlinghoven, P.O.Box 1240, D-5205 Sankt Augustin 1, FRGermany