Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!mcsun!unido!gmdzi!icking
From: icking@gmdzi.UUCP (Werner Icking)
Newsgroups: comp.windows.ms
Subject: Re: Windows 3 and the default directory?
Keywords: Windows 3 and the default directory?
Message-ID: <3297@gmdzi.UUCP>
Date: 5 Sep 90 09:12:01 GMT
References: <5534@minyos.xx.rmit.oz>
Distribution: comp.windows.ms
Organization: GMD, Sankt Augustin, F. R. Germany
Lines: 27

rxcob@minyos.xx.rmit.oz (Owen Baker) writes:

>Why does Windows 3 not allow you to specify the default current directory
>that an application uses to save or retrieve user files? If you start an
>application from the command line (ie. "WIN PM") then in most cases you
>will find that the application will look for user files in the directory 
>you started from, just what you want! BUT when you start an application 
>any other way it defaults to the Windows directory.

As far as I understand your problem you may use PIF-files to solve it. With
PIFEDIT you may specify a starting directory for a program. After having
created  pgm.PIF  you should not call  pgm.exe (or .com or .bat or .btm ...)
but pgm.PIF. But then you may run into the next problem.  If you have bound
files to an application via a line like  ZIP=SHEZ.PIF ^.ZIP in the [Extensions]
part of win.ini and specified a starting directory  in the PIF-File Windows 3
will (try to) honor both.

My solution for this is having two PIF-Files one for entering an application
from the program-manager which defines a starting directory and one for the
special case without a starting directory. The latter is then bound to the
file-type: ZIP=SHEZONE.PIF ^.ZIP

Hope this helps
-- 
Werner Icking          icking@gmdzi.gmd.de          (+49 2241) 14-2443
Gesellschaft fuer Mathematik und Datenverarbeitung mbH (GMD)
Schloss Birlinghoven, P.O.Box 1240, D-5205 Sankt Augustin 1, FRGermany