About the initialization file
PB.INI is a text file that contains variables that specify your
PowerBuilder preferences. These preferences include information such
as the last workspace you used and your startup preferences. When you
perform certain actions in PowerBuilder, PowerBuilder writes your
preferences to PB.INI automatically.
Format of INI files
PB.INI uses the Windows INI file format. It has three types of
elements:
-
Section names, which are enclosed in square brackets
-
Keywords, which are the names of preference settings
-
Values, which are numeric or text strings, assigned as the
value of the associated keyword
A variable can be listed with no value specified, in which case
the default is used.
Some sections are always present by default, but others are
created only when you specify different preferences. If you specify
preferences for another painter or tool, PowerBuilder creates a new
section for it at the end of the file.
Specifying preferences
Normally, you do not need to edit PB.INI. You can specify all
your preferences by taking an action, such as resizing a window or
opening a new application, or by selecting Design>Options from one
of the painters. If a variable does not appear by default in the
options sheet for the painter, you can use a text editor to modify the
variable in the appropriate section of PB.INI.
Editing the initialization file
Do not use a text editor to edit PB.INI or any preferences
file accessed by Profile functions while PowerBuilder or your
application is running. PowerBuilder caches the contents of
initialization files in memory and overwrites your edited PB.INI
when it exits, ignoring changes.
Where the initialization file is
kept
PB.INI is installed in the same directory as the PowerBuilder
executable file, but is copied to the
C:UsersuserNameAppDataLocalAppeonPowerBuilder 17.0 for each
PowerBuilder user the first time the user opens PowerBuilder.
PowerBuilder subsequently uses the PB.INI copy each time the same user
starts an instance of PowerBuilder IDE.
Telling PowerBuilder where your
initialization file is
You can keep PB.INI in another location and tell PowerBuilder
where to find it by specifying the location in the System Options
dialog box. You may want to do this if you use more than one version
of PowerBuilder or if you are running PowerBuilder over a
network.
To record your initialization path
-
Select Tools>System Options from the menu bar.
-
On the General tab page, enter the path of your
initialization file in the Initialization Path text box.PowerBuilder records the path in the Windows
registry.
How PowerBuilder finds the initialization
file
PowerBuilder looks in the Windows Registry for a path to the
initialization file, and then looks for the file in the directory
where PowerBuilder is installed. If PowerBuilder cannot find PB.INI
using the path in the Registry, it clears the path value.
If the initialization file is
missing
If PowerBuilder does not find PB.INI when it starts up, it
recreates it. However, if you want to retain any preferences you have
set, such as database profiles, keep a backup copy of PB.INI. The
recreated file has the default preferences.