Pendragon Forms Distribution Toolbox

Answers to Common Problems

I have installed my custom PRC file on the handheld, but when I tap on the icon, I don't see my forms.

Just as with the standard version of Pendragon Forms, the initial designs are stored in your database.  Until synchronization is successful, no form designs will appear on the handheld. 

Do you see an "Ok Your Application" in the HotSync log?

If not, then your conduit may not be installed.  Try restarting the HotSync Manager.

If you see an "Ok Your Application" message in the HotSync Log, then you may not have added the Palm device name to a user group with the form design.

When I synchronize my application, the HotSync log displays the following error: "Missing DatabaseName and ConnectString values".

Pendragon Forms and your Toolbox Application stores the name of the configuration database in the System Registry.  The complete database specification requires a DatabaseName (a file path) or a ConnectString (ODBC connect string).  Typically, the ConnectString is empty, and the DatabaseName is the pathname to your Access database file.

When the Distribution Toolbox generates a default .REG file for your application, the DatabaseName value is commented out in the .REG file.  This is because you generally won't know the location of the .REG file until your application is installed on your end-user's PC.  Most developers will set this parameter in their installation program based on the path in which the end-user has chosen to install the software.  In InstallShield Express, the .REG file is applied after any user settings, so if the DatabaseName entry is not commented out of the .REG file, it will override any custom setting you make for this parameter in InstallShield Express.

If you receive the error message above, it means that both the Database Name and ConnectString value in the registry are non-existent or blank.  For testing purposes, you can use REGEDIT to set the value manually.  The registry key is:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Pendragon Software Corporation\ABCD1

where ABCD is your creator code, the value is called DatabaseName and it is a string value.

If you want to set this parameter via your .REG file, you need to:

1. Remove the semicolon at the start of the line to uncomment the DatabaseName value

2. Be sure to double the backslashes in the pathname you enter.  In a .REG file, backslashes indicate escape sequences, so you will need to use two of them in any pathname value, e.g., "DatabaseName"="C:\\Program Files\\My Application\\MyDB.MDB"

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