Re: Re Portable XyWrite

["Patricia M. Godfrey" priscamg@xxxxxxxx]

Robert Holmgren wrote:
If you rename it to VISIBLE.DFL (or any name other
than SETTINGS.DFL), and you explicitly LOAD VISIBLE.DFL in
STARTUP.INT, then VISIBLE will be read, the settings within it
will be absorbed and used, **but** VISIBLE.DFL will NOT be
"remembered" as the source file for your settings. In other
words, VA $DL will respond "(none)".
Aha! As indeed it does. I suspected that renamed .dfl file
was the spanner in the works. Thanks for confirming it--and
explaining in depth.

All of the initialization files in PortableXy4 are called MY.*
and you should have, in your Portable installation, a MY.PRN
which is the same as HP4-PLUS.PRN.

'Tisn't there.
If, before you ran
PORTBILD.PM, "VA/NV $PR" returned HP4-PLUS.PRN, then that
PRiNter file will be loaded by PortableXy4. If it wasn't, then
it won't.
Not quite sure WHY it didn't work, but it's always possible
I simply mistyped something (esp. with this ruddy keyboard
whose space bar requires a herculean thump before it will
insert a space; have to clean up the replacement one I got
at a yard sale, but dabbing a keyboards with Qtips is NOT my
idea of productive time).

Creates it, then discards it. The warning is intended to convey
that if you have a *pre-existing* subdirectory called
.\PORTABLE, it will be trashed. This warning applies to 1 in a
million, i.e. to nobody.

I suspected that, but wanted to make assurance double sure.

Oh, overlooked this:
is it intended to avoid the use of settings.dfl altogether, given
the tendency to hard code paths in that (which, I understand, is what
must be avoided)

Well, hard-coded paths in DFL can be ignored, because the
PortableXy4 STARTUP.INT overrides them anyway after DFL is
LOADed.

Good to know. I'm trying to weed them out.

> I know it's confusing, but it's important to remember
> that SETTINGS.DFL is IN FACT a PRiNter file!

Yes, I do remember that.
Try to build again... Then, when you have a PortableXy4.exe
that you like, make a Xy4Net.exe. That's the true
launch-anywhere run-anywhere file that you can put on a remote
machine or carry around on a memory key...
As I have no remote machines, nor anything but dialup over
antiquated phone lines, the net option isn't of much
interest. But the memory key one certainly is. Let me reread
your original docs: I had thought the setup created by
PortableXy4.exe WAS the one you could carry about on a flash
drive, but you say Xy4net.exe can be used that way too?

Again, thanks.
--
Patricia M. Godfrey
PriscaMG@xxxxxxxx