Creating USERDATA.SYS

USERDATA.SYS contains information about your user interface settings. The file is created by running the USERDATA utility.

To run USERDATA:

1. You can run USERDATA from its icon in the start menu. Usually it is better to use the Run Command, or start it from a command promopt: this will allow you to supply the -saa or -windows command tail to USERDATA (or any of the other command tails accepted by this program as documented here).
   
   
2. Select the USERDATA type from the list displayed, by typing the corresponding letter

The DP4 install program installs a userdata.sys created with this command:
userdata -saa -reset -type c
or, from 4.619:
userdata -windows -reset -type c

• A: Windows using DOS Font
• B: Windows using System fixed font
• C: Windows using System variable font
• D: Windows using ANSI fixed font
• E: Windows using ANSI variable font
• F: Windows using font specified in the DP4 configuration file

Type A will maintain compatibility of accented characters for DP4 between MS-DOS and Windows. However for compatibility with other Windows software you should use one of the other fonts. (Types B through E all use the native Windows character set). Type B will give the best results for DP4 systems that were originally text based.

As soon as you select the font type userdata.sys is created in the current directory, unless you choose type F in which case you first must choose one of the other fonts available on your system using the usual Windows Font Picker Dialog.

It is possible for the DP4 configuration file to completely over-ride the font specified in userdata.sys file, even when one of types A through E is chosen, using the forcefont setting. (The DP4 Configuration file is explained in the Guide to DP4 Configuration. From release 4.623 you can also give DP4 programs their own private copies of the userdata.sys file to allow them to use custom settings.

Selecting the font type results in the automatic creation of USERDATA.SYS in the directory specified as the working directory for USERDATA. If you allowed the install program to create the "DP4" group, the working directory is the directory in which you installed the DP4 Windows programs, for example: C:\DP4\WIN. To see the working directory check the properties of the USERDATA short-cut.

On start up, DP4 attempts to locate a USERDATA.SYS file by searching directories in this order:

• The DP4 program's working directory
• The directory in which the DP4 licence file resides