The Startup section of the progress.ini file contains options that specify the following environment characteristics for graphical user interface clients:

  • Display attributes and multi-tasking capabilities
  • Default fonts used for displaying and printing alphanumeric data

The Startup section also contains OpenEdge environment variables that you can set for use with graphical user interface clients. See Specify environment variables for a list of environment variables you can set in the Startup section.

The Startup section contains the following options:

AlignFrameTitles
AlignFrameTitles=n

Lets you specify the alignment of frame titles in a graphical user interface. Valid settings include the following: 0 (left justified), 1 (centered), and 2 (right justified). The default is centered.

ButtonImageBorderMode
ButtonImageBorderMode=n

Use this setting if you want to change the default behavior of how OpenEdge draws borders on buttons with images. The border drawing behavior for image buttons depends on two factors:

  • The type of image button—single-image or dual-image. Dual-image buttons use two images (an "up" image and a "down" image). Single-image buttons use one image (an "up" image which is shifted slightly to mimic a "down" appearance for the button).
  • The presence of a manifest file. For more details on manifest files, see Windows manifest file.

The default behavior is:

  • For single-image buttons, OpenEdge creates a Windows-themed style border (with rounded corners and no 3D shadow) when the manifest file is used. It draws a Windows classic-style border (with angular corners and a 3D shadow) when the manifest file is not used.
  • For dual-image buttons, OpenEdge does not draw a border for the button, regardless of whether there is a manifest file. (Note that this is the default behavior. You can change the value of ButtonImageBorderMode to 2 if you want OpenEdge to draw a border for dual-image buttons.)

The following table describes OpenEdge's border drawing behavior, based on the value of the ButtonImageBorderMode setting. If you want to keep the default behavior, you do not need to add this setting to your progress.ini file.

Table 1. Image button border drawing behavior
Type of image button ButtonImageBorderMode value of n
1 (default) 2 3
Single-image button with manifest file Adds an XP-style border to the button Adds an XP-style border to the button Adds a classic-style border to the button
Single-image button without manifest file Adds a classic-style border to the button Adds a classic-style border to the button Adds a classic-style border to the button
Dual-image button with manifest file No border added Adds an XP-style border to the button No border added
Dual-image button without manifest file No border added Adds a classic-style border to the button No border added

Note that ButtonImageBorderMode affects clients running on XP with a manifest file and clients running on non-XP systems (or XP without a manifest file). The same setting is required for all clients.

CarefulPaint
CarefulPaint={ YES | NO }

Lets you set the accuracy with which OpenEdge repaints overlapping 3D widgets and frames. Set to YES for OpenEdge to repaint overlapping 3D widgets and frames slowly and carefully. Set to NO for OpenEdge to repaint overlapping 3D widgets and frames quickly (which might reduce the quality of the graphic). The default value is YES.

This option applies only when UseNative3D=NO.

ClientTimeOut
ClientTimeOut=n

Lets you specify the number of minutes a client session can remain inactive before the server disconnects the session.

The server process determines whether a client has been inactive for a specified period of time, and if so, the server disconnects the client and backs out any related active transactions.

DefaultFixedFont
DefaultFixedFont=typeface, [ size point-size, keyword, ...],
   [ script=scriptname]

Lets you specify the default fixed display font.

typeface
A valid typeface name, such as Times or Courier.
point-size

The size of the font, in points. If you omit the point size, OpenEdge uses the default point size as defined by the typeface.

keyword

You can specify the following keywords: bold, italic, underline, or strikeout.

scriptname

By default, OpenEdge uses the script (character set) of the Windows FixedSys font for all fonts specified in the environment. If you select a different script when editing a font using the font common dialog, OpenEdge writes the specified script name to the font entry.

DefaultFont
DefaultFont=typeface, [ size point-size, keyword, ...],
   [ script=scriptname]

Lets you specify the default display font.

typeface

A valid typeface name, such as Times or Courier.

point-size

The size of the font, in points. If you omit the point size, OpenEdge uses the default point size as defined by the typeface.

keyword

You can specify the following keywords: bold, italic, underline, or strikeout.

scriptname

By default, OpenEdge uses the script (character set) of the Windows FixedSys font for all fonts specified in the environment. If you select a different script when editing a font using the font common dialog, OpenEdge writes the specified script name to the font entry.

DefaultV6UpdateFont
DefaultV6UpdateFont=typeface, [ size point-size, keyword, ...],
   [ script=scriptname]

Lets you specify the Version 6 update font.

typeface

A valid typeface name, such as Times or Courier.

point-size

The size of the font, in points. If you omit the point size, OpenEdge uses the default point size as defined by the typeface.

keyword

You can specify the following keywords: bold, italic, underline, or strikeout.

scriptname

By default, OpenEdge uses the script (character set) of the Windows FixedSys font for all fonts specified in the environment. If you select a different script when editing a font using the font common dialog, OpenEdge writes the specified script name to the font entry.

When V6Display=YES, the font specified by the DefaultV6UpdateFont setting is used when a fill-in is in update mode. The default value for DefaultV6UpdateFont is a version of the system default fixed font with underlines (fixedsys, underline).

The DefaultFixedFont and the DefaultV6UpdateFont should be the same base font. If you change them, make sure that the font is fixed and that the DefaultV6UpdateFont has the underline attribute. OpenEdge does not automatically add the underline attribute to the DefaultV6UpdateFont setting.

EndMsgTitle EndMsgText
EndMsgTitle=title-text
EndMsgText=message-text

Lets you specify the title and text for the Windows shutdown message box.

When Windows shuts down, a dialog box prompts the user to verify the shutdown. If the user answers YES, OpenEdge closes and the Windows Exit procedure continues. If the user answers NO, the Windows Exit procedure terminates and Windows remains active.

EndMsgTitle can be up to 80 characters long. Its default value is "OpenEdge." EndMsgText can be up to 80 characters long. Its default value is "Windows is exiting. Is this OK?".

FrameSpacing
FrameSpacing=n

Lets you specify how the OpenEdge layout processor spaces frames.

Setting the value to -1 places the frame at the next character unit boundary. Setting the value to 0 places frames one half of a character unit apart. Setting the value greater than 0 spaces the frames by the specified number of pixels.

ImmediateDisplay
ImmediateDisplay={ YES | NO }

Lets you redisplay the screen at predefined intervals.

If you do not set this option, some Version 6 applications will not draw the screen correctly. Set this option for applications with existing code that you do not want to modify. The default setting is NO.

You can also use the IMMEDIATE-DISPLAY attribute with the SESSION system handle to surround the offending code. This is the preferred technique.

For more information about the IMMEDIATE-DISPLAY attribute and the SESSION system handle, see ABL Reference.

Keep3DfillinBorder
Keep3DfillinBorder={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to display a disabled fill-in field with a border. Set to NO to display a disabled fill-in field without a border. The default value is NO.

MultitaskingInterval
MultitaskingInterval=n

Lets you specify how the OpenEdge session interacts with a Windows cooperative multi-tasking environment. Its value determines how often OpenEdge filters events or messages between itself and other Windows applications. As OpenEdge filters these events more often, it executes procedures less efficiently but allows other Windows applications more opportunity to execute. Adjusting the internal event filter is particularly useful during background processing, such as report generation.

To maximize performance during batch-mode processing, set the value to 9999 (the maximum value allowed). If you want to run another application while you run OpenEdge in batch mode, set the value to 1000. If you set the value to 0 (the default), the internal loop never executes. Although this results in high performance, interoperability with other Windows applications is poor. The lower the number, the more often the loop executes, resulting in better interoperability. Set this option for applications with existing code that you do not want to modify.

You can also use the MULTITASKING-INTERVAL attribute with the SESSION system handle to control how OpenEdge interacts with Windows cooperative multi-tasking by surrounding long ABL processing loops with this attribute.

See ABL Reference for more information about the MULTITASKING-INTERVAL attribute and the SESSION system handle.

NoSplash
NoSplash={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to turn off display of the splash screen. By default, the OpenEdge GUI client and the WebClient display a splash screen during startup. The screen, which is a blue rectangle with the words "Powered by Progress Software," disappears when the OpenEdge application starts.

NoZGrouping
NoZGrouping={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to disable the grouping of ABL windows at startup. By default, the AVM groups all ABL windows created in a session such that when an ABL window is brought to the foreground all other ABL windows move to the foreground with it. Grouping is automatically disabled when an application displays a .NET form.

Opsys
Opsys=character-string

Lets you specify the value used by the OPSYS preprocessor directive or the value returned by the OPSYS function. Valid settings include any character string.

PopupAppOverridesSys
PopupAppOverridesSys={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to display the system-default pop-up menu only if a user-defined pop-up menu is not available. Set to NO to display the system-default pop-up menu regardless of a user-defined pop-up menu. If a user-defined pop-up menu is available, it is displayed after the system pop-up menu is closed. The default value is YES.

Note: The system-default pop-up menu is displayed when you click the right mouse button on a fill-in field or an editor widget and a user-defined pop-up menu is not available.
PopupNoSysDefault
PopupNoSysDefault={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to suppress the system-default pop-up menu. Only the user-defined pop-up menu is displayed. The default value is NO.

Note: The system-default pop-up menu is displayed when you click the right mouse button on a fill-in field or an editor widget and a user-defined pop-up menu is not available.
PopupOnMouseDown
PopupOnMouseDown={ YES | NO }

Set to YES to display a pop-up menu when the right mouse button is depressed. Set to NO to display a pop-up menu when the right mouse button is released. The default value is NO.

Note: This option applies only to pop-up menus that are displayed with the right mouse button (that is, MENU-MOUSE = 3). Menus that are displayed with the left or middle mouse button are always displayed when the buttons are depressed.
PrinterFont
PrinterFont=typeface, [ size=screen-point-size]

Lets you specify the printer fonts OpenEdge uses with the OUTPUT TO PRINTER statement.

PrinterFontn
PrinterFontn=typeface, [ size=screen-point-size]

Lets you specify the printer font OpenEdge uses with the OUTPUT TO LPTn statement.

UseClipChildren
UseClipChildren={ YES | NO }

This option is set to YES by default and works with the Windows manifest file in drawing buttons. For more information on the manifest file, see Windows manifest file.

Do not change the default setting of the UseClipChildren option until you first talk with a Progress Software Technical Support representative.
UseNative3D
UseNative3D={ YES | NO }

This option is set to YES by default. It specifies to use Windows 3D drawing capabilities.

Set this option to NO to use OpenEdge's 3D drawing capabilities instead. If you set the UseNative3D option to NO, you must also remove the prowin32.exe.manifest file from your installation-path\bin\ directory. If you set this option to NO and you do not remove the manifest file, you will see inconsistencies in the appearance of your user interface.

Note: The 64-bit client ignores the UseNative3D=NO setting and continues to use Windows 3D drawing capabilities.
UseSourceEditor
UseSourceEditor={ YES | NO }

Set to YES if you want to use the Source Editor with advanced editing features. Set to NO if you want to use Rich Edit editor. Both editors are Unicode-enabled.

Use-3D-Size
Use-3D-Size={ YES | NO }

Lets you specify how OpenEdge calculates the height of a character unit.

If you set the value to YES, OpenEdge uses the height of a three-dimensional fill-in. If you set the value to NO, OpenEdge uses the height of a non-three-dimensional fill-in. The default setting is YES.

V6Display
V6Display={ YES | NO }

Lets you specify Progress Version 6 behavior.

When you compile a procedure in Windows, OpenEdge compiles the borders and fonts associated with user interface widgets into the screen layout by default. As a result, you might encounter compilation problems when you try to run a Version 6 application in a later version of OpenEdge on Windows. There might not be enough space on the display to accommodate the borders and default fonts that are automatically associated with user interface widgets of the Version 6 application.

To avoid this problem, set V6Display to YES to specify that you are running Version 6 code.

You can also set a session attribute to control the run-time setting of the V6Display state. The attribute is V6DISPLAY and has a Boolean value. Setting this attribute has the same effect as specifying the setting at startup; however, you must hide all existing windows.

When you set the V6Display option or session attribute:

  • The character unit height is recalculated to the height of the font specified by the DefaultV6UpdateFont option.
  • The character unit width is recalculated to the width of an average character in the font specified by the DefaultV6UpdateFont option.
  • The default font is automatically changed to use the font specified by the DefaultFixedFont option.
  • All OpenEdge fill-ins are created without a border.
  • OpenEdge fill-ins keep any trailing spaces.
  • All OpenEdge fill-ins that are enabled for update use the font specified by the DefaultV6UpdateFont option (by default, the default fixed font with underlines). This means that updateable fill-ins are drawn with underlines.
  • Frame titles are drawn so that the frame title height measures exactly one character unit.

The V6Display option or attribute does not enable support for PUT SCREEN. In addition, if you set the V6Display option, OpenEdge applications that have not been compiled with the V6Display option set to YES will draw screens incorrectly.

Note: The V6Display option is intended only for use with applications, not with the OpenEdge ADE. The ADE is not supported when V6Display is set to YES.

If you plan to use Version 6 user interface code with tools based on later OpenEdge releases, Progress Software Corporation recommends that you use the V6Frame option instead of V6Display.

V6FontNumber
V6FontNumber=n

Lets you specify the font for Version 6 frames.

By default, this option points to the font defined as font3 in the [Fonts] section. Font3 is the ADE character-mode font. If you change the V6FontNumber value, make sure you define the new font number in the [Fonts] section.

Note: Do not change the definition of font3 in the [Fonts] section. OpenEdge relies on that font definition for other purposes.
V6FrameBGC
V6FrameBGC=n

Lets you specify the default background color for all frames that use the V6FRAME option. Valid settings include any number that corresponds to a color in the OpenEdge color table.

WindowSystem
WindowSystem=character-string

Lets you specify the value used by the WINDOW-SYSTEM preprocessor directive. Valid settings include any character string.