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                 The Resource Compiler ASSOCTABLE Statement
 
ASSOCTABLE assoctable-id [load-option] [mem-option]
BEGIN
association-name, file-match-string[, extended-attribute-flag]
    [, icon-filename]
    .
    .
    .
END
 
The ASSOCTABLE statement defines a file-association table for an
application. This table associates the data files that an application
creates with the application's executable file. When the user selects one of
these data files from File Manager, the associated application begins
executing.
 
A file-association table can also associate icons with the data files that
an application creates. File Manager uses these icons to identify the data
files graphically. Because a file-association table associates icons by file
type, all data files having the same file type have the same icon.
 
You can provide any number of ASSOCTABLE statements in a resource-definition
file, but each statement must specify a unique assoctable-id value. The
file-association tables are written not only to the resources within your
executable file, but also to the .ASSOC extended attribute. However, only
the last file-association table specified in the resource-definition file is
actually written to the extended attribute.
 
Field                    Description
────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
 
assoctable-id            Specifies the association-table identifier. This
                         value must be an integer in the range 0 through
                         65,535, or a simple expression that evaluates to a
                         value in that range.
 
load-option              Specifies when the system loads the resource from
                         the executable file into memory. This value must be
                         one of the following:
 
                         Value       Meaning
                         ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
                         PRELOAD     System loads the resource when the
                                     application starts.
 
                         LOADONCALL  System loads the resource when the
                                     application calls the DosGetResource or
                                     DosGetResource2 function. This is the
                                     default value.
 
mem-option               Specifies how the system manages the resource when
                         it is in memory. This value must be one of the
                         following:
 
                         Value        Meaning
                         ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
                         FIXED        System keeps the resource at a fixed
                                      memory location.
 
                         MOVEABLE     System moves the resource as necessary
                                      to compact memory. This is the default
                                      value.
 
                         DISCARDABLE  System discards the resource if it is
                                      no longer needed.
 
association-name         Specifies the name of the file type the application
                         recognizes. This field must contain zero or more
                         characters enclosed in double quotation marks.
                         Character values must be in the range 1 through
                         255. If a double quotation mark is required in the
                         name, you must include the double quotation mark
                         twice.
 
file-match-string        Specifies the file-matching string of a particular
                         type of data file that the application creates.
                         This field must contain zero or more characters
                         enclosed in double quotation marks. You can only
                         use characters that are valid in MS OS/2 filenames
                         and extensions and the MS OS/2 wildcard characters
                         question mark (?) and asterisk (*).
 
extended-attribute-flag  Specifies the extended-attribute options. This
                         value can be a combination of the following:
 
                         Value             Meaning
                         ───────────────────────────────────────────────────
                         EAF_DEFAULTOWNER  Specifies that the application
                                           containing the file-association
                                           table starts when the user
                                           selects any file matching the
                                           file-match-string field from File
                                           Manager.
 
                         EAF_REUSEICON     Specifies that the icon defined
                                           in the previous entry of the
                                           file-association table is used as
                                           the icon for the current
                                           data-file type.
 
                         EAF_UNCHANGEABLE  Specifies that the entry should
                                           not be edited.
 
icon-filename            Specifies the name of the file containing an icon.
                         File Manager uses this icon to represent all
                         application-created data files matching the
                         file-match-string field. The file must be in the
                         current directory.
 
Example
 
This example defines a file-association table with an identifier of 5. The
table associates application-created data files that have the .xls file
extension with the Microsoft Excel Worksheet file type. File Manager will
use the icon contained in excelspr.ico to identify all data files that have
the .xls file extension.
 
ASSOCTABLE 5
BEGIN
    "Microsoft Excel Worksheet", "*.xls", EAF_DEFAULTOWNER, excelspr.ico
END
 
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