Packafied FAQ 0.5

Platform Specific

Other


Platform Specific Problems

Windows 95/NT

Actions running console programs

When an Action runs a console application (a text-based application that displays in an MS DOS window normally), its window never shows up, but Packafied still waits.

This is a known problem with running console applications within Java. Actually, this is a feature that allows Java Applications to read the output of any program run from it. This has the unfortunate side-effect of not displaying the output to the user. To fix this problem, you will have to change how the program is run. I get different results from Windows 95 and Windows NT, so experimentation is the key.

For Windows 95, run command.com with the /c parameter. This should cause the window to be displayed for most programs. For example, if the Program File field contained
d:\windows\command\edit.com
change it to
d:\windows\command.com d:\windows\command\edit.com
and it should work! You don't have to specify the full path to command.com.

For Windows NT, run the program cmd with the /c parameter. Follow the instructions above except use cmd instead of command.

I've come across one or two programs that still don't work despite the additions in Windows 95, yet they seemed to work perfectly in Windows NT.

Rewrite command and Microsoft's JVM

My current version of Microsoft's Java Virtual Machine (version 5.00.3158) does not sort the list in the Rewrite dialog. It works in Sun's Java version 1.1.3 and version 1.2, so my guess it is a bug in Microsoft's JVM.


Other

Restoring Configuration and Associations

If your configuration or associations ever become corrupted, you can delete the files packafied.cfg and associations.dat in your Packafied directory. When Packafied is next run, you will get some error messages, and your configuration and associations will be reset. This is extremely useful if you have turned down the resolution of your screen and Packafied remembers its position right off the screen.

packafied.cfg is a simple text file so before you wipe your configuration, try to edit a few settings with your favourite text editor first.

Cursor Problems

During many operations, the mouse pointer will not change to an hourglass. This seems to be a problem with some versions of the Java AWT. The problem is much larger in version Java 1.1.3 than Java 1.1.6, so get the latest version. At time of writing, Java 1.1.7 is available for Windows 95/NT and Solaris.

Descent 3 HOG files

If you modify or create a HOG file for Descent 3, you must make sure that all file names are in alphabetical order. Otherwise, they will not be loaded properly in the game.

To put the files in order, use the Rewrite command on the Tools menu and select to sort by file name in ascending order.

Funny messages in the console window

I use those messages for debugging purposes! If you don't want to see the console window every time you start Packafied, there is something you can do.

Most versions of Java have two different programs for executing class files. When you start up Packafied (from a shortcut or batch file or whatever) you will see a program such as jre.exe or java.exe executing PackafiedApp.class. On most platforms, you can add a 'w' to the end of the program executing the class and this will hide the console window. So, if you are using jre.exe try jrew.exe instead.

If you understand some of those messages, they can help when you send me a bug report! For instance, when an association doesn't get executed properly, the console will happily print out a page worth of (mostly useless :-}) debug information.