Initializing the dBASE Database Driver
When you install the dBASE database driver, the Setup program writes a set of default values to the Microsoft® Windows® Registry in the Engines and ISAM Formats subkeys. You should not modify these settings directly; use the setup program for your application to add, remove, or change these settings. The following sections describe initialization and ISAM format settings for the dBASE database driver.
The Paradox database driver will work in one of two modes, depending upon whether the Borland Database Engine (BDE) is installed. Paradox data is only updateable with the BDE. Without the BDE, the Paradox data can be Read, Exported, or Linked to read-only.
dBASE Initialization Settings
The Jet\4.0\Engines\Xbase folder includes initialization settings for the msxbde40.dll driver, used for access to external dBASE data sources. Typical settings for the entries in this folder are shown in the following example.
win32=<path>\msxbde40.dll
NetworkAccess=On
PageTimeout=600
INFPath=C:\DBASE\SYSTEM
CollatingSequence=ASCII
DataCodePage=OEM
Deleted=On
DbcsStr=On
Century=Off
Date=MDY
Mark=47
Exact=Off
The Microsoft Jet database engine uses the Xbase folder entries as follows.
| Entry | Description |
|---|---|
| win32 | The location of Msxbse35.dll. The full path is determined at the time of installation. Values are of type String for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_SZ for Windows NT 3.51. |
| NetworkAccess | A binary indicator for file locking preference. If NetworkAccess is set to 00, tables are opened for exclusive access, regardless of the settings of the OpenDatabase and OpenRecordset methods' exclusive argument. The default value is 01. Values are of type Binary for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_BINARY for Windows NT 3.51. |
| PageTimeout | The length of time between when data is placed in an internal cache and when it is invalidated. The value is specified in 100 millisecond units. The default is 600 units or 60 seconds. Values are of type DWORD for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_DWORD for Windows NT 3.51. |
| INFPath | The full path to the .inf file directory. The Microsoft Jet database engine first looks for an .inf file in the directory containing the table. If the .inf file is not in the database directory, it looks in the INFPath. If there is no INFPath, it uses whatever index files (.cdx or .mdx) it finds in the database directory. Values are of type String for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_SZ for Windows NT 3.51.
This entry is not written by the installation procedure. |
| CollatingSequence | This setting is only used if the BDE is not present on the machine.
The collating sequence for all dBASE tables created or opened using the Microsoft Jet database engine. Possible values are ASCII and International. The default is ASCII. Values are of type String for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_SZ for Windows NT 3.51. |
| DataCodePage | This setting is only used if the BDE is not present on the machine.
An indicator of how text pages are stored. Possible settings are:
The default is OEM. Values are of type String for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_SZ for Windows NT 3.51. |
| Deleted | A binary indicator that determines how records marked for deletion are handled by the Microsoft Jet database engine. A value of 01 corresponds to the dBASE command SET DELETED ON and indicates never to retrieve or position on a deleted record. A value of 00 corresponds to the dBASE command SET DELETED OFF and indicates to treat a deleted record like any other record. The default is 00. Values are of type Binary for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_BINARY for Windows NT 3.51. |
| DbcsStr | A binary indicator that determines how the string functions will handle Far East character set data. A value of 01 corresponds to the dBASE command SET KANJISTRING ON and indicates that strings should be treated as a dbcs character stream. A value of 00 indicates that strings should be treated as a simple byte stream. |
| Century | A binary indicator for formatting the century component of dates in cases where date-to-string functions are used in index expressions. A value of 01 corresponds to the dBASE command SET CENTURY ON and a value of 00 corresponds to the dBASE command SET CENTURY OFF. The default is 00. Values are of type Binary for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_BINARY for Windows NT 3.51. |
| Date | The date formatting style to use in cases where date-to-string functions are used in index expressions. The possible settings for this entry, which corresponds to the dBASE SET DATE command, are American, ANSI, British, French, DMY, German, Italian, Japan, MDY, USA, and YMD. The default is MDY. Values are of type String for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_SZ for Windows NT 3.51. |
| Mark | The decimal value of the ASCII character used to separate date parts. The default depends on the Date setting as follows:
A value of 0 specifies that the system should use the separator usually associated with the selected date format. The default is 0. Values are of type DWORD for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_DWORD for Windows NT 3.51. |
| Exact | A binary indicator for string comparisons. A value of 01 corresponds to the dBASE command SET EXACT ON. A value of 00 corresponds to the dBASE command SET EXACT OFF. The default is 00. Values are of type Binary for Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0, and of type REG_BINARY for Windows NT 3.51. |
dBASE ISAM Formats
The Jet\4.0\ISAM Formats\dBASE III folder contains the following entries.
Entry name |
Windows NT 3.51 Type |
Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 Type |
Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | REG_SZ | String | Xbase |
| ExportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE III (*.dbf) |
| ImportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE III (*.dbf) |
| CanLink | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| OneTablePerFile | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IsamType | REG_DWORD | DWORD | 0 |
| IndexDialog | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IndexFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE Index (*.ndx) |
| CreateDBOnExport | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
| ResultTextImport | REG_SZ | String | Import data from the external file into the current database. Changing data in the current database will not change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextLink | REG_SZ | String | Create a table in the current database that is linked to the external file. Changing data in the current database will change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextExport | REG_SZ | String | Export data from the current database into a dBASE III file. This process will overwrite the data if exported to an existing file. |
| SupportsLongNames | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
The Jet\4.0\ISAM Formats\dBASE IV folder contains the following entries.
Entry name |
Windows NT 3.51 Type |
Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 Type |
Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | REG_SZ | String | Xbase |
| ExportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE IV (*.dbf) |
| ImportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE IV (*.dbf) |
| CanLink | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| OneTablePerFile | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IsamType | REG_DWORD | DWORD | 0 |
| IndexDialog | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IndexFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE Index (*.ndx; *.mdx) |
| CreateDBOnExport | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
| ResultTextImport | REG_SZ | String | Import data from the external file into the current database. Changing data in the current database will not change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextLink | REG_SZ | String | Create a table in the current database that is linked to the external file. Changing data in the current database will change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextExport | REG_SZ | String | Export data from the current database into a dBASE IV file. This process will overwrite the data if exported to an existing file. |
| SupportsLongNames | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
The Jet\4.0\ISAM Formats\dBASE 5.x folder contains the following entries.
Entry name |
Windows NT 3.51 Type |
Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 Type |
Value |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engine | REG_SZ | String | Xbase |
| ExportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE 5 (*.dbf) |
| ImportFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE 5 (*.dbf) |
| CanLink | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| OneTablePerFile | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IsamType | REG_DWORD | DWORD | 0 |
| IndexDialog | REG_BINARY | Binary | 01 |
| IndexFilter | REG_SZ | String | dBASE Index (*.ndx; *.mdx) |
| CreateDBOnExport | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
| ResultTextImport | REG_SZ | String | Import data from the external file into the current database. Changing data in the current database will not change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextLink | REG_SZ | String | Create a table in the current database that is linked to the external file. Changing data in the current database will change data in the external file. |
| ResultTextExport | REG_SZ | String | Export data from the current database into a dBASE 5 file. This process will overwrite the data if exported to an existing file. |
| SupportsLongNames | REG_BINARY | Binary | 00 |
Note When you change Windows Registry settings, you must exit and then restart the database engine for the new settings to take effect.
See Also
Customizing Windows Registry Settings for Microsoft Jet