Database > Paradox NET-file directory

Paradox fall back vs. per session location of the NET-file

Paradox, basic access algoritm

For detailed Paradox multi user access - please see Paradox locks

Paradox BDE fall back NET-file location

The default design of Paradox applications is to rely on the default NET-file location specified by the BDE Administrator/Config-file.
If this location points to some default local position, e.g. on the local C-drive, other computers won't have access to that location, and multiuser access to network located data will be preventet by the BDE access monitoring.
To make such applications work on the same data, the config file on each computer must be adjustet to point to the same location of a common NET-file.

If on a network just one application erroneously pointing to a local NET-file gains access before other users, this will prevent all successive users access to the same data.
This way, having multi user applications to rely on properly coordinated config-settings on each cooperating network computers may be a highly impractical design.

Paradox applications design:
Per session specified NET-file vs. relying on locally specified default NET-file location
A more prudent design is to have the application, not to rely on the default Net-file location, but to dynamically point to an ad hoc per session NET-file location. This way, an application is not bound to the BDE default fall back location of the NET-file, and the NET-file location may be chosen to always point to the currently accessed database directory independent of the BDE Admin config-file settings on the individual computer.

PdxEditor using per session NET-file location

This per session design is the one used by PdxEditor, at any time capable of creating a NET-file when and where needed.

Selecting Paradox Session NET-file directory

As explained under the BDE and Windows settings the location of the Paradox NET-file is important for the functionality of any Paradox based application.

If needed, you can at any time change the current pointer for the Paradox per session location of this NET-file directory via the menu
[Database] \ [Session NET-file Directory ...].

If any possibility of more than one application or application session accessing the same data, you should choose the same directory as the currently accessed database directory.

Display currently active Paradox per Session NET-file directory

At any time the currently active Paradox session NET-file directory can be seen when selecting the [Help]\[Location] menu item.