Hi Eugen,

The manifest file is just a configuration settings object saved as XML.

If you use nfXml to parse it to vfp object , you can forget
about the "xml" part and see it as windows sees it - check the attached image.
( take in consideration nfXml can read/create xml but it's not yet case sensitive,
so you cannot use it to create or modify manifest files, at least not by now )

Windows uses it to know about your app, among other things:

-processor architecture ( 32 / 64 bit )
-windows version compatibility ( ie xp, vista, windows 7, windows 10..)
-trustinfo section, wich you can use to request elevated permissions.
-dependencies ( ocxs, other vfp dlls your app needs to run ) wich you can specify to be able to distribute "side by side ( just by copying on your app folder )
with your app so no need to install on client machine.
-the "dpiaware" setting needed to tell windows your app is "dpi aware"

Every exe has an embedded manifest; When you build your exe, Vfp looks for a manifest in your project folder with a same name as your app with .manifest extension,
and if it is found, will use it , if there's none, vfp embeds one with the basic settings.

Here you can find all about the different settings a manifest file can set:
https://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa374191%28v=vs.85%29.aspx?f=255&MSPPError=-2147217396

Marco Plaza
@vfp2nofox