SIMPOL Documentation

Preparing Our Environment

Before we start actually developing any programs, it might be a good idea to start out by preparing our development environment. There isn't much to do, and it isn't absolutely essential, but it will save time and aggravation later, especially if you are using the Windows Vista operating system or a later version. That is because it is very difficult, bordering on impossible to manage projects as a sub-directory below the Program Files directory. There is a special level of additional protection that prevents applications from writing to that directory, even if you have administrative rights. As such, it is a good idea to get in the habit of locating your projects somewhere else, such as your home directory. In Windows XP and earlier that is normally the C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents directory. In Vista, it has been changed to C:\Users\username and even more importantly, the actual home directory is more usable than it was in XP.

In the SIMPOL IDE select ToolsOptions.... In that dialog window, in the edit control for the Working Project Directory, enter a path name or click on the next to the field and select the path from the directory selection tool. The dialog window can be seen here:

The IDE Application Options dialog

The IDE Application Options dialog.