Multiple PIFs for Same MS-DOS Applications in Windows (84419)

SUMMARY

In Microsoft Windows operating system version 3.1, if a program information file (PIF) for an MS-DOS application already exists, a dialog box will appear and provide an option to create a new PIF, replace an existing PIF, or cancel the request.

In Windows 3.0, running the Set Up Applications command from the Windows Setup icon creates a new PIF for each MS-DOS application that it recognizes from the [PIF] section of the SETUP.INF file.

MORE INFORMATION

To set up MS-DOS applications to run in Windows 3.0 or 3.1, do the following:

From the Program Manager, choose the Windows Setup icon.
From the Options menu, choose Set Up Applications.

Windows searches the [PIF] section of the SETUP.INF for Windows 3.0 or the APPS.INF file for Windows 3.1 for MS-DOS applications and uses the related information to create the PIF.

The PIF filename conventions are as follows:

For Windows 3.1, the Set Up Applications program displays the following message when it encounters an existing PIF for an MS-DOS application:

A program information file (PIF) for <name of MS-DOS application> already exists: <PIF name>. The existing PIF may provide Windows with special instructions about running <name of DOS application>.

To preserve the existing PIF and set up an additional PIF for <name of DOS application>, choose Create. This also creates a new Program Manager icon for <name of DOS application> so you can run <name of DOS application> using the new PIF.

To replace <PIF name> with a new PIF, choose Replace. This creates a new Program Manager icon for <name of DOS application> and any existing Program Manager icons that refer to <PIF name> will use this new PIF.

To preserve the existing PIF without creating a new Program Manager icon, choose Cancel.

If you choose Create, Windows creates a new PIF and adds sequential numbers to the new filename. The list of PIFs will then look as follows:

WORD5.PIF
WORD500.PIF
WORD501.PIF

In Windows 3.0, a number is substituted for the last letter of the filename (not the extension). For example, several PIFs for WORD for MS-DOS would be created as follows:

WORD5.PIF
WORD0.PIF
WORD1.PIF
WORD2.PIF

In this example, Set Up Applications was invoked three times with the original PIF being WORD5.PIF. Windows also creates a new icon using the last PIF created. The original icons are not replaced. However, if the previous icon is deleted, it is also safe to delete the previous PIF.