Installing "TDbf 6.4.8 - released 2006-04-29" in Borland C++ Builder 4 (and
possibly others).

Compiled by Troy A. Dalton 09/11/2006 12:00

Please do not get aggravated and give up on TDbf.  If you have gone through the
trouble of finding and downloading this program, you obviously need it.  I have
spent many hours searching the WEB for a good local (non-BDE) database program,
and am delighted I found TDbf.  It is well worth spending a little time to get
it functioning properly (and very easy if you follow these instructions).  All
of us who use and enjoy TDbf owe Micha Nelissen and Burov Dmitry a debt of
gratitude.

With that said, I cannot help you with the Package Options.  I am using BCB’s
default settings until I find a need to change them.  My program is far from
finished, and I will attend to these details when it is closer to its release.

Do not try to install the component using 'tdbf_c4.bpk'.  As Mr. Nelissen says
in the forum, he does not have BCB 4, so he cannot test the installation.  I
have included my project package “TDbf.bpk,” for your convenience; if you have
this file, try it first.  If you do not have it or are having trouble with it,
please follow the instructions below.

These directions are much easier to follow when printed.


Following are the steps necessary to install TDbf in BCB 4:

*  Install the TDbf 6.4.8 package.

*  In the BCB IDE, choose: ‘File->New’.

*  In ‘New' tab of the ‘New Items’ dialog box, double click 'Package’.

*  A dialog box titled ‘Package – Package1.cpp’ will display.

*  In the ‘Package – Package1.cpp’ dialog box, right click ‘Package1.cpp’ and
   choose ‘Save as…’.

*  Navigate to the directory where you installed ‘TDbf 6.4.8’, and in the ‘Save
   Package1 As’ dialog box, enter ‘TDbf.bpk’ in the ‘File name:’ text box.

*  Make sure ‘C++Builder package (*.bpk)’ is selected in the drop down list box
   under ‘Save as type:’.

*  Click on the ‘Save’ button – the ‘Package’ dialog box and the ‘.cpp’ file
   under ‘Contains’ should now display ‘TDbf.cpp’.  This is the new name of the
   package.

*  Double click ‘TDbf.cpp’ under ‘Contains’ in the ‘Files’ section of the
   ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box.  This will open the BCB IDE code editor.

*  Under ‘USEPACKAGE("vcl40.bpi");’ insert a blank line and enter 
   ‘USEPACKAGE(“vcldb40.bpi”);’ – without the single quotes.

*  Close the BCB IDE code editor.  It does not need to be saved.

*  Click  ‘Add’ in the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box and select the ‘Browse’
   button in the ‘Add’ dialog box that appears.

*  If not there, navigate to the directory where you installed ‘TDbf 6.4.8’.

*  Select ‘Pascal unit (*.pas)’ in the ‘Files of type:’ drop down list box of
   the ‘Unit file name’ dialog box.

*  Click once on ‘dbf.pas’ (this should be the first file in the list).

*  Hold down the ‘Shift’ key and click once on ‘dbf_wtil.pas’ (this should be
   the third to last file in the list).  Now every file in the list should be
   selected except ‘tdbf_l.pas’ and ‘tdbf_ld.pas’.

*  Click on the ‘Open’ button in the ‘Unit file name’ dialog box, then the ‘OK’
   button in the ‘Add’ dialog box.

*  The ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box should now be populated with all the
   files you just selected in the ‘Unit file name’ dialog box.

*  Enlarge the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box so you can see all of the files
   included in the ‘Files’ list.

*  The ‘Files’ list includes a number of language files; all but one must be
   removed.  The file ‘dbf_str.pas’ is for English, the other files use the
   following convention: ‘dbf_str_XX.pas’, where XX is for the language used.
   Decide which language file you need and remove all others by clicking on the
   file and choosing ‘Remove’ at the top of the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box

*  In the ‘File’ section of the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box, under
   ‘Contains’, you should have 19 ‘.pas’ files, 'dbf.dcr', and ‘TDbf.cpp’.  
   Under ‘Requires’, you should have ‘vcl40.bpi’.

*  If you followed my directions precisely, you are now ready to compile.  Do
   this by selecting ‘Compile’ at the top of the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog
   box.

*  If the package complied without errors, select the ‘OK’ button in the
   ‘Compiling’ dialog box.  If you encountered errors, close all files and
   start over – it is much easier that way.

*  If you have made it to this step, you are ready to install the package.
   Choose ‘Install’ at the top of the ‘Package – TDbf.cpp’ dialog box.

*  Read the 'Information' dialog box, then select its 'OK' button.

*  Verify the installation by looking in your ‘Data Access’ tab of your
   component list.  The last item should be the ‘TDBF’ component.  If not,
   sorry, I cannot help.

*  Close the BDE or select 'File-Close All' saving changes when asked.

*  Congratulations!  You can now start using TDbf 6.4.8.  Download the demo
   (which is the tutorial) and have fun!

If you would like to send me your praises for my effort or actually have a
question, you can do so at trasd@msn.com.