VFP 9.0 Command Window moves VERY jerkily when moved in Vista

[Dan Musicant]

I don't remember seeing anything like this on my other machines but on
my new Vista Home Premium laptop, the command window moves VERY jerkily
when I drag it by the title bar. This is very irritating. No such
problem with windows of other applications. I just rebooted the machine
in hopes that it would act better, no help. Any clues here? Will things
go better with Windows 7? My XP machines don't have this problem.

Dan


Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Hi Dan,

First: If you're using Vista or Win7, make sure that you really have VFP9
with SP2 installed. (the current VFP9 is version 7423)

Second: That clumpsy window drawing is not only a VFP effect, I have seen it
on at least two other applications (which have not been written in VFP ;) ).
It occurs if Childwindows are defined with halfheight titlebars;
unfortunately that are toolbars as well as our IDE windows.

The only pragmatic way out is to start the VFP9.exe with the compatibilty
switch "Deactivate desktop themes" (or something like that, I'm translating
from my german "Dektopgestaltung daktivieren" checkbox).

You may also want to check the "Run in Administrator mode" checkbox, if
you're doing COM-server development with VFP.

You may also want to immediately upgrade your new (but already outdated)
Vista to Win7. Much more useful and streamlined.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*

[Dan Musicant]

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:21:56 +0100, Jürgen Wondzinski
<***@wondzinski.de> wrote:

:Hi Dan,
:
:First: If you're using Vista or Win7, make sure that you really have VFP9
:with SP2 installed. (the current VFP9 is version 7423)

VERSION(1)=
Visual FoxPro 09.00.0000.5815 for Windows [Oct 15 2007 09:11:06] Product
ID 76683-335-4715666-18492

Says SP2 in the About window. Is that not current? How do I get current?
:
:Second: That clumpsy window drawing is not only a VFP effect, I have seen it
:on at least two other applications (which have not been written in VFP ;) ).
:It occurs if Childwindows are defined with halfheight titlebars;
:unfortunately that are toolbars as well as our IDE windows.
:
:The only pragmatic way out is to start the VFP9.exe with the compatibilty
:switch "Deactivate desktop themes" (or something like that, I'm translating
:from my german "Dektopgestaltung daktivieren" checkbox).
:
:You may also want to check the "Run in Administrator mode" checkbox, if
:you're doing COM-server development with VFP.
:
:You may also want to immediately upgrade your new (but already outdated)
:Vista to Win7. Much more useful and streamlined.

The upgrade should be coming in the mail pretty soon, free with my
machine bought August 16, 2009.

Dan



Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Dan Freeman]

Dan,

Understand up front that VFP9 SP2 was one of the most botched product
releases in the history of Foxpro (and it's right up there in the history of
Microsoft). The original relase of SP2 was so bad even the splash screen was
screwed up.

To make sure you have the "good" SP2, you must start by completely
uninstalling Foxpro. Blow it all away. Then:

* Install Foxpro (no SP, or SP1 only)
* Download the *current* SP2 installer and install it

Then go here and get the THREE hotfixes:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vfoxpro/bb264582.aspx

Then go to vfpx.codeplex.com and get the community-correted help file to
regain the ability to search help.

Then you're good to go.

Dan

Post by Dan Musicant
On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 07:21:56 +0100, Jürgen Wondzinski
:Hi Dan,
:First: If you're using Vista or Win7, make sure that you really have VFP9
:with SP2 installed. (the current VFP9 is version 7423)
VERSION(1)=
Visual FoxPro 09.00.0000.5815 for Windows [Oct 15 2007 09:11:06] Product
ID 76683-335-4715666-18492
Says SP2 in the About window. Is that not current? How do I get current?
:Second: That clumpsy window drawing is not only a VFP effect, I have seen it
:on at least two other applications (which have not been written in VFP ;) ).
:It occurs if Childwindows are defined with halfheight titlebars;
:unfortunately that are toolbars as well as our IDE windows.
:The only pragmatic way out is to start the VFP9.exe with the compatibilty
:switch "Deactivate desktop themes" (or something like that, I'm translating
:from my german "Dektopgestaltung daktivieren" checkbox).
:You may also want to check the "Run in Administrator mode" checkbox, if
:you're doing COM-server development with VFP.
:You may also want to immediately upgrade your new (but already outdated)
:Vista to Win7. Much more useful and streamlined.
The upgrade should be coming in the mail pretty soon, free with my
machine bought August 16, 2009.
Dan
Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Olaf Doschke]

Hi Dan,

after all that still the command window does move "jerky". The only thing
that really helped is, what wOOdy told: In the start menu right click on
VFP, choose properties and check the "Deactivate desktop themes" or whatever
the real english caption of that option is.

From then on if you start VFP win bubble help will display something with
"Vista Basic Themes is now activated" or something similar.

The reason behind this and few other IDE quirks is, that the VFP Team got
limited budget to make the final fixes, also limited time budget. And so all
IDE internal quirks weren't adressed. You can move any normal VFP runtime
generated form smoothly in Vista and Win7, that's not a problem, not even
with dockable of half height caption forms. And with that switch turned off
for the VFP9.exe you only miss a few gadgets of Vista/Win7's cute forms only
during development anyway.

The frame VFP shows when you move the Command or Project manager window and
some other IDE windows, is drawn in a way, neither OS, nor hardware can
accelerate (anymore). While this doesn't matter in XP, some API call or GDI
capability may be lost or the overall graphical display changed since Vista
(except in Basic/XP theme mode) so that this really outdated way to have a
kind of shadow of the window you move draws super slow, even though it's
only two or three dotted lines per side anyway. Sounds stupid, looks stupid,
really is an annoyance, but it only affects the IDE. And you can turn themes
to basic to make that smoothe again.

Bye, Olaf.

[Olaf Doschke]

Hi again,

Post by Olaf Doschke
after all that still the command window does move "jerky". The only thing
that really helped is, what wOOdy told: In the start menu right click on
VFP, choose properties and check the "Deactivate desktop themes" or
whatever the real english caption of that option is.

I changed Vista dislpay language to english.
The exact option is under
VFP Start menu entry->Right click->Properties
Compatibility Tab->Settings group
check the "Disable desktop composition" option.

If that should apply for every user, use the button "Show settings for all
users" and check that option there.

When you start VFP then the bubble help display "The color scheme has been
changed to Windows Vista Basic", but this will only affect the VFP IDE
window (and it's child windows), not the whole desktop.

Bye, Olaf.

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Hi Dan,

Post by Dan Freeman
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vfoxpro/bb264582.aspx

You only need the latest one. Those are not cumulative patches which have to
get added sequencly, they just overwrite the old exe with a newer one. Thus
the latest hotfix always contains all others.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*

[Dan Freeman]

Since they're not dated, is it safe to alway say they're numbered
sequentially?

Dan

Post by Jürgen Wondzinski
Hi Dan,

Post by Dan Freeman
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vfoxpro/bb264582.aspx

You only need the latest one. Those are not cumulative patches which have
to get added sequencly, they just overwrite the old exe with a newer one.
Thus the latest hotfix always contains all others.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009
"*Žš)
ž.·Žž.·*Žš) ž.·*š)
(ž.·Ž. (ž.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(ž.·``··*

[Sergey Berezniker]

Don,

They're dated. See
http://www.berezniker.com/content/pages/visual-foxpro/vfp-90-versions

[Dan Freeman]

Thanks Sergoy,

We all appreciate your note-taking skills. You seem to indicate that not all
hotfixes are cumulative, which is contrary to other information in this
thread.

Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft would be so thorough? (I know, silly me!)

Dan

Post by Sergey Berezniker
Don,
They're dated. See
http://www.berezniker.com/content/pages/visual-foxpro/vfp-90-versions
--
--sb--
VFP MVP

Post by Dan Freeman
Since they're not dated, is it safe to alway say they're numbered
sequentially?
Dan

[Sergey Berezniker]

Post by Dan Freeman
Thanks Sergoy,
We all appreciate your note-taking skills. You seem to indicate that not all
hotfixes are cumulative, which is contrary to other information in this
thread.
Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft would be so thorough? (I know, silly me!)
Dan

Dan,

Can you point where in my article it indicates that hotfixes (besides
the 1st one) are not cumulative?
Obviously, it's not applicable to the first hotfix.

[Sergey Berezniker]

Post by Dan Freeman
Thanks Sergoy,
We all appreciate your note-taking skills. You seem to indicate that not all
hotfixes are cumulative, which is contrary to other information in this
thread.
Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft would be so thorough? (I know, silly me!)
Dan

Dan,

Can you point where in my article it indicates that hotfixes (besides
the 1st one) are not cumulative?
Obviously, it's not applicable to the first hotfix.

[Dan Freeman]

Thanks Sergoy,

We all appreciate your note-taking skills. You seem to indicate that not all
hotfixes are cumulative, which is contrary to other information in this
thread.

Wouldn't it be nice if Microsoft would be so thorough? (I know, silly me!)

Dan

Post by Sergey Berezniker
Don,
They're dated. See
http://www.berezniker.com/content/pages/visual-foxpro/vfp-90-versions
--
--sb--
VFP MVP

Post by Dan Freeman
Since they're not dated, is it safe to alway say they're numbered
sequentially?
Dan

[Sergey Berezniker]

Don,

They're dated. See
http://www.berezniker.com/content/pages/visual-foxpro/vfp-90-versions

[Dan Freeman]

Since they're not dated, is it safe to alway say they're numbered
sequentially?

Dan

Post by Jürgen Wondzinski
Hi Dan,

Post by Dan Freeman
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vfoxpro/bb264582.aspx

You only need the latest one. Those are not cumulative patches which have
to get added sequencly, they just overwrite the old exe with a newer one.
Thus the latest hotfix always contains all others.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009
"*Žš)
ž.·Žž.·*Žš) ž.·*š)
(ž.·Ž. (ž.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(ž.·``··*

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Hi Dan,

Post by Dan Freeman
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/vfoxpro/bb264582.aspx

You only need the latest one. Those are not cumulative patches which have to
get added sequencly, they just overwrite the old exe with a newer one. Thus
the latest hotfix always contains all others.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*

[Gregory]

RightClick in the command window's caption
Uncheck Dockable
--
Gregory
__

Post by Dan Musicant
I don't remember seeing anything like this on my other machines but on
my new Vista Home Premium laptop, the command window moves VERY jerkily
when I drag it by the title bar. This is very irritating. No such
problem with windows of other applications. I just rebooted the machine
in hopes that it would act better, no help. Any clues here? Will things
go better with Windows 7? My XP machines don't have this problem.
Dan
Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Dan Musicant]

On Mon, 26 Oct 2009 08:37:09 +0100, "Gregory" <***@nowhere.com>
wrote:

:RightClick in the command window's caption
:Uncheck Dockable

Thanks! Much better.

Dan



Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Post by Dan Musicant
:Uncheck Dockable
Thanks! Much better.

But then you can't dock anymore.
OTOH, I rarely move the commandwindow around either, I have it docked on top
(4 lines high), and all other dev-windows tab-docked to the right.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*

[Dan Musicant]

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:23:48 +0100, Jürgen Wondzinski
<***@wondzinski.de> wrote:

:> :Uncheck Dockable
:> Thanks! Much better.
:
:But then you can't dock anymore.
:OTOH, I rarely move the commandwindow around either, I have it docked on top
:(4 lines high), and all other dev-windows tab-docked to the right.

It didn't used to bother me. IIRC, the Command Window used to disappear
when browsing a table or editing a PRG in the FoxPro editor. But in
recent versions, the Command Window is there, obscuring my view and I
need to make it smaller or make it disappear entirely, and this is where
the rough redraws are a problem. You don't have problems with your
_permanently_ docked Command Window?

Dan



Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Hi Dan,

Post by Dan Musicant
You don't have problems with your
_permanently_ docked Command Window?

Nope.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Technologieberater
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 bis 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*

[Dan Musicant]

On Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:23:48 +0100, Jürgen Wondzinski
<***@wondzinski.de> wrote:

:> :Uncheck Dockable
:> Thanks! Much better.
:
:But then you can't dock anymore.
:OTOH, I rarely move the commandwindow around either, I have it docked on top
:(4 lines high), and all other dev-windows tab-docked to the right.

It didn't used to bother me. IIRC, the Command Window used to disappear
when browsing a table or editing a PRG in the FoxPro editor. But in
recent versions, the Command Window is there, obscuring my view and I
need to make it smaller or make it disappear entirely, and this is where
the rough redraws are a problem. You don't have problems with your
_permanently_ docked Command Window?

Dan



Email: dmusicant at pacbell dot net

[Jürgen Wondzinski]

Post by Dan Musicant
:Uncheck Dockable
Thanks! Much better.

But then you can't dock anymore.
OTOH, I rarely move the commandwindow around either, I have it docked on top
(4 lines high), and all other dev-windows tab-docked to the right.
--
wOOdy
Visual FoxPro Evangelist
Microsoft "Most Valuable Professional" 1996 to 2009



"*´¨)
¸.·´¸.·*´¨) ¸.·*¨)
(¸.·´. (¸.·` *
..·`.Visual FoxPro: It's magic !
(¸.·``··*