Hacker’s Guide to Visual FoxPro
An irreverent look at how Visual FoxPro really works. Tells you the inside scoop on every command, function, property, event and method of Visual FoxPro.
_TaskList, _FoxTask
These system variables, new in VFP 7, reference the Task List manager application and the Task List table, respectively.
Usage
_TASKLIST = cTaskListApplication
cTaskListApplication = _TASKLIST
_FOXTASK = cTaskTable
cTaskTable = _FOXTASK
|
Parameter |
Value |
Meaning |
|
cTaskListApplication |
Character |
The filename, including path, of the application that manages the task list. By default, HOME() + "TaskList.APP". |
|
cTaskTable |
Character |
The filename, including path, of the table containing tasks. By default, "FoxTask.DBF" in the user's Visual FoxPro profile directory. (In Windows 2000, "C:\Documents and Settings\<user name>\Application Data\Microsoft\Visual FoxPro".) |
The task list provides an easy mechanism for managing a “to do” list in VFP. You can add items, called shortcuts, to it from any code-editing window. The Task List manager application, accessed by choosing Tools | Task List from the menu, provides an interface for the data.
As with so many other components of VFP, the Task List manager application is written in VFP. The _TASKLIST variable allows you to replace the application provided with one of your own. The source code is provided as part of the XSource.ZIP file, installed by default in the HOME()+”Tools\XSource” directory.
You can run the Task List application by issuing DO (_TASKLIST) or by selecting Tools | Task List from the development menu. As far as we can tell, you can even include the Task List manager in your own applications; we can’t find any evidence to suggest that it’s among the restricted files. However, the initial version of the tool is somewhat quirky and, of course, your users can’t use VFP’s built-in shortcut functionality. On the whole, you might be better off using the code as a guide to creating your own task list, better suited to your application’s needs. Even better, you can use Automation to control Outlook or another application that already has task-list functionality.
_FOXTASK lets you store the task list data where you prefer, rather than the default location. The table you specify must exist before you can change _FOXTASK. It also must contain at least one record, with the first record containing version data. The easiest way to create such a table is to copy the default task list table, and get rid of any extraneous records.
If _FOXTASK is empty when you start the Task List application, a new task list table is created in the VFP home directory (and named FoxTask.DBF).
Example
_FOXTASK = HOME() + "Tasks.DBF"
DO (_TASKLIST)