One of the first steps in setting up an APPX installation is to specify information for a special set of files called the system administration files. These files act as a master reference point for all other APPX applications that are run or developed at your installation. Before you can enter information that describes your installation, you need to perform the one-time task of creating the files. The screen you see after selecting the System Administration File Management option from the System Setup menu is shown in Figure 2-7 below.
Figure 2-7. System Administration File Management Menu
A summary of the options available on the System Administration File Management menu is presented below. With the exception of Reorganize SYSDIR and Update SYSDIR, similar options are offered for data files on the Database Management menu and are described in detail there. Also see the discussion on differences in treatment of files outlined in the next section and in the overview to Database Management.
· File Selection allows you to identify which files you want to work on.
· File Specifications allows you to enter information about each file, including the estimated number of records in each one. Note that these record counts are not used in actually sizing files (except on the DEC/VAX which is no longer supported). Instead, APPX creates files as small as possible and then allocates disk space dynamically as records are added. However, if you enter a value of 0 (zero), APPX will not create the file when you select the Create Files option.
· Create Files actually creates the files (unless the estimated number of records is zero).
· Initialize Files sets up selected files with no records by scratching and recreating the files.
· Scratch Files deletes selected files, eliminating them from the system directory.
· Import Files and Export Files allow you to transfer files between two different types of computers.
· Reorganize SYSDIR will create a new System Directory file called data/0SA/Data/SYSDIRRC.* which should be used to replace the active SYSDIR.* file when all users have exited APPX. Records in the System Directory that are no longer applicable are discarded, as well as references to applications and/or databases that no longer exist.
· Update SYSDIR will update the System Directory file with applications records and database records. The most common use for this job is updating the System Directory after adding the application and database information for newly installed applications.
· Verify Files Menu contains utilities used to verify the structure and integrity of APPX files.