>What are the advantages and disadvantages of setting resource=off?

Faster start, slightly faster operation (doesn't save windows positions etc), fewer problems of the kind you have in the title.

The advantage is that it would keep some MRU lists and window positions, browse settings etc - which is more development oriented and not really useful at runtime. It won't save the positions of your forms anyway, you already have to roll your own; it's only for its own windows (modify memo, command etc, VFP toolbars, DE window, Document View, PEM window) and file types (prg, scx, vcx...).

So at runtime I don't see much use for it. One thing it's useful for is the print preview toolbar - you provide your own version of foxuser.dbf with the print preview toolbar in the state you want it (i.e. without the print button) so the users can't print from preview, if that's a requirement.