The easiest way to use DP4, at least until you are familiar with the various programs, is via the DP4 menu utility. For all the supported operating systems, you can run the DP4 menu by typing:
DP4Provided that your environment is set up correctly, the DP4 menu utility will ask you to log on. On a new system, you can log in as the default user: DP4. This user has the highest Access Level available from within the DP4 menu systme. No password is initially required with this user name. (You will want to change this on a live installation to prevent unauthorised access). A DP4 System can be set up to have many different menus, each appropriate for a different type of user. Logging onto DP4 and using the DP4 menu is described in more detail in the Getting Started section of the DP4 Developers's Manual.
You can include the DP4 command in a startup file (e.g. AUTOEXEC.BAT). Make sure the menu is correctly set up before you do this, or you could become 'trapped' in a non-functional menu : in many cases DP4 will not allow you to escape from it - this is a deliberate feature as DP4 menus are often used in "turn key" systems.
If you log on as DP4 (or DATAFIT), the menu provided with the system allows access to most DP4 utilities, from building a new database to running a finished system. You can set up your own specialised menus for the users on the system using the MENUEDIT utility.
You can run non-DP4 software from within the DP4 environment, either by using the 'Run Program ' option on the DP4 menu, or by setting up a menu option that calls the non-DP4 program.