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Microsoft(r) Visual FoxPro(tm) ODBC Driver Version 6.0a

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(c) Copyright Microsoft Corporation, 1998
Release Notes
September 19, 1998
Welcome to this release of the Microsoft(r) Visual FoxPro(tm) ODBC Driver! Pleas
e read this important information.
System Requirements
------------------------
How to Use This Document
------------------------
To view the ReadMe file in Windows Notepad, maximize the Notepad window, and cli
ck Word Wrap on the Edit menu. To print the ReadMe file, open it in Notepad or a
nother word processor, and then use the Print command on the File menu.
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CONTENTS
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1. INSTALLATION NOTES
1.1 System Requirements
1.2 What's New in this Release
1.3 Installing the Driver
1.4 Adding a Data Source
1.5 Help Files
1.6 Naming Conventions
2. Supported Areas
2.1 Language Support
2.2 ODBC 3.5 Compliance
2.3 Referential Integrity
2.4 Thread Support
2.5 dBase(r) Support
2.6 International Support
3. UnSupported Areas
4. Known Issues
5. Troubleshooting
6. Books

1.1 System Requirements

========================
To install the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver, you need:
* Windows NT 4 (or later. Service Pack 5, recommended),
Windows 95, or Windows 98 (or later).
* 2 megabytes disk space.
Important: Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver is a 32-bit driver only. Windows 3.1 and W
indows for Workgroups platforms are not supported.
1.2 What's New in this Release
=========================
* The initial setting for SET REPROCESS is changed to 5 so that Visual FoxPro t
ries to lock a record for a limited number of times. If the attempted lock fails
, Visual FoxPro generates an error.

1.3 Installing the Driver

=========================
To install the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver, run SETUP.EXE.
Note: The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver installation updates the ODBC components to
ODBC 3.51 compliance if necessary. See the ODREADME.TXT file in your Windows sy
stem directory for additional information on enhancements or features of the ODB
C 3.51 components.

1.4 Adding a Data Source

=========================
After installing, define a data source:
1. In Control Panel, double-click the 32-bit ODBC icon.
2. Click Add.
3. Select Microsoft Visual FoxPro Driver.
4. In the ODBC Visual FoxPro Setup dialog box, enter a data source name.
5. Select either Visual FoxPro database (.DBC) or Free Table directory.
6. Enter the name of the database or the path to the free table, or click Browse
.
7. Click OK, and then click Close.

1.5 Help Files

==========================
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver comes with two help files, located in the SYSTEM d
irectory on Windows 95 or the SYSTEM32 directory on Windows NT:
* ODBCINST.HLP - General ODBC information which contains information on:
* The ODBC Driver dialog box
* The options that can be set in the drivers dialog box in the Control Panel
* DRVVFP.HLP Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver Help file which provides information on:
* Installing and Configuring
* Using the Visual FoxPro Driver
* Technical Reference
* ODBC API
* Visual FoxPro Language Reference
* Error Messages

1.6 Naming Conventions

==========================
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver names columns based on expressions. For example, i
f you execute the following statement:
SELECT MIN (customer_id) FROM customers
the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver returns min_customerid as the name of the column i
n the result set.
If you would like to control the resulting field name, use the AS clause, as in
this example:
SELECT MIN(customer_id) AS minimum_custid FROM customers
==========================
2. Supported Areas
==========================
The following section describes areas of particular support by the Visual FoxPro
ODBC Driver.
2.1 Language Support
==========================
Supported Versions of FoxBase+ and FoxPro Tables
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver gives you access to Microsoft(r) FoxBase+(r), FoxP
ro 1.x, FoxPro 2.x and Visual FoxPro tables. Also, the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver
allows you to access tables that are in a Visual FoxPro database container (.DB
C file).
Note The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver only allows transactions on tables within a
Visual FoxPro database (.DBC file), not free tables.

2.2 ODBC 3.51 Compliance

==========================
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver is ODBC Level 1 API compliant and also implements
several Level 2 APIs. All supported APIs have been implemented at this time. Ple
ase report any problems you find regarding the APIs. The Help file, DRVVFP.HLP,
documents supported functions and acceptable input parameters. In addition, Visu
al FoxPro SQL extends the SQL functionality available through the driver. See th
e Visual FoxPro Language Reference for the extended grammar.

2.3 Referential Integrity Support

==========================
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver supports Visual FoxPro rules, triggers, and defaul
t values, provided they contain functions that are supported by the driver. See
the Help file, DRVVFP.HLP, for details on which Visual FoxPro
language elements are supported.

2.4 Thread Support

==========================
The driver is thread-safe. The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver can process queries in
the background. However, you should disable this feature if the driver is being
called by a multi-threaded application. For more information, see the "ODBC Visu
al FoxPro Setup Dialog Box" Help topic.
Remote Views and Parameterized Views
Any time SQLTables( ) is called, remote and parameterized views are excluded fro
m the list. Local views based on parameterized views are not excluded, but will
generate errors if you use them. If you call SQLTables( ) with a unique table na
me, however, you will find views (if they are present) so you can check for name
conflicts.

2.5 dBase(r) Support

==========================
Supported Versions of dBASE(r) IV Tables
The Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver gives you access to dBASE(r) 4 and earlier tables.
The dBASE(r) files are supported in the following manner:
* dBASE(r) v2.x and 3.x: The files are read without conversion.
* dBASE(r) v4.x and 5.x: If the files do not have memo fields and the table has
fewer than 255 columns, the files are read.
Caution If a dBASE(r) v4.x or 5.x file has associated index files (.MDX, .NDX)
, the Visual FoxPro ODBC Driver will not update the file properly and the indexe
s will be corrupted. These files should be accessed read-only.
* dBASE(r) v4.x and 5.x tables with memo fields: These files require conversion
in the full Visual FoxPro for Windows product before using them with the Visual
FoxPro ODBC Driver. The driver will not read or convert files.

2.6 International Support

==========================
* The driver is DBCS enabled.
* You can now set the collating sequence for index ordering. The list of support
ed collating sequences can be found in the description of SET COLLATE in the Vis
ual FoxPro Language Reference Help topic.
The default collating sequence is "MACHINE". The collating sequence can be chang
ed by executing either a SET COLLATE TO Language with the ODBC C API SQLExecDire
ct( ), by calling SQLPrepare( ) and SQLExec( ) (see the ODBC SDK Reference manua
l p. 42-44), or by selecting a different collating sequence from the driver opti
ons in the Data Source Setup dialog.
Note The FOXPRO.INT file is installed in the system directory. If it is remove
d, the collating sequences on Eastern European code page machines will not work.

==========================
3. Unsupported Areas
==========================
* Refresh is not supported in rules and triggers.
* The Help file describes the supported commands and functions and lists the uns
upported commands and functions. Any command or function not listed in the Help
file is not supported.
* Parameterized views work in a trigger only if the parameter has been assigned
a value before the view is opened. Interactive input of a parameter value is not
allowed in ODBC.
* Remote views to other ODBC data sources are not supported by the Visual FoxPro
ODBC driver; however, local views (non-parameterized) are fully supported.

==========================
4. Known Issues
==========================
* If you insert, delete, or update a Visual FoxPro table via the Visual FoxPro O
DBC Driver, you might get a "Trigger Failed" message. Check for unsupported comm
ands in the trigger.
* INDEX ON is not supported in this release.
* If a table is opened exclusively and the same table is accessed by another use
r with SET EXCLUSIVE OFF, then the error "Option Value Changed" is returned by V
isual FoxPro ODBC Driver instead of "File is in use by another."
* MSQuery returns a "Cannot Open File" error when creating a table with a field
name that starts with a number. For example, the field name "1995 Sales" is not
allowed. Visual FoxPro does not allow the creation of field names that begin wit
h a number, but MSQuery does.

==========================
5. Troubleshooting
==========================
If you have trouble installing the driver, try the following and then try to rei
nstall again:
1. Clean-boot the machine. For example, under Windows 95, start in Safe Mode.
2. Close all other applications, including virus software, third-party shells, o
r toolbars such as Microsoft Office Manager.
3. If the computer has video or system ROM shadowing, disable these options befo
re reinstalling.
4. Check that the .EXE file is not corrupted.
If you are still having problems:
* Make sure that you are running on a clean configuration when testing issues.
* Use the Microsoft ODBC Data Source Administrator control panel Tracing tab to
help determining the cause of problems.
* Check to see if the latest build of the driver is installed. To view the versi
on:
1. In the ODBC Data Source Administrator control Panel, double click the 32bit O
DBC icon.
2. Click on the ODBC Drivers tab.
* You can generate an ODBC Trace Log by using the ODBC Data Source Administrator
control Panel:
1. In the Control Panel, double click the 32bit ODBC icon.
2. Select the Tracing tab.
3. Specify a When to trace option.
4. Specify a log file name.
5. Click Start Tracing Now.
Now, when you execute your code, all the C ODBC API calls, their input parameter
s, and their output are written to the log file. The ODBC log file is ASCII text
that you can view in any standard ASCII text editor such as Word, Notepad, or W
ordPad. Occasionally, it might be necessary to include the trace log in a bug re
port. Since the ODBC trace log can be lengthy, copy only the last four or five f
unction calls and paste them into a separate document before sending the bug rep
ort.

==========================
6. Books
==========================
Microsoft ODBC 3.0 Programmer's Reference and SDK Guide (ISBN#: 1-57231-516-4 fr
om Microsoft Press) provides basic reference information.
Inside ODBC (ISBN#: 1-55615-815-7 from Microsoft Press) provides a good backgrou
nd on the development of the ODBC specifications and a CD with ODBC code example
s.
Database Developer's Guide with Visual C++ (ISBN#: 0-672-30613-1 from Sams Publi
shing) has several good C++ examples that use the ODBC API.

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