>We have finally completed developing our product. Phew! Now we are looking at creating a demo disk for distribution. Can anyone give me some suggestion on the best way to do this. What are the pitfalls with visual foxpro exe's? If any? Getting the burner and the hardware to do it isn't the problem. It is more of what do I need to get one running?
>
>Thanks,
>Mike

I have developed a rather crude 30 day limiter that I use, but maybe it will get you thinking about how you might want to do it. When the user installs the application, the program writes to a low-level file the info about the installation, such as date, time, etc. When the app cranks up, I generate a 10 digit random number. Each character in this string of random numbers has only one accurate response. When the user decides to register the software, I have them start the app (because the key is different on each startup) and I translate the key into an answer key, that they enter. The lowlevel file is erased and they have a registered copy. A few points of interest: If they run the application within the 30 day limit, they can bypass the registration/start screen. Also, the lowlevel file is written in the op system directory and has it's attribute set to hidden, and I usually place random characters in the file every 2nd or 3rd character, which I ignore when I read it in. The key translation is totally off the wall (such as if the 1st character is an 8, then the first two keys of the answer might be my first two initials backwards.) I must admit it is a sloppy process, but I have continued to refine it, rather than rewrite, so.... Anyway, I hope not to hear from any "purists" telling me how awful the system is... IT works, I sell software, the key is different each time so I don't have to worry about the user having time to try 10 million combinations. I freely admit that anyone that's sharp that wants to get around it could do so easily. However, if they are that sharp, then they probably would have developed the software themselves instead of buying it from me! (most of my clients and customers are from the retail grocery and C-store industry, not individuals, which means they are much too busy being competitive to try to break my ridiculous and cave-manish protection code!)

HTH,

Patric Ainsworth