>Is there a clear article or case study discribing VFP installation process?
>
>I am trying to figure out the best method of application distribution in network environment. Application will run on a server and setup will install it there, regestering dlls and ocx on the server( let's say NT, to keep it simple). What tools should be used to install and register dlls on workstations? Is it possible to run VFP exe on NT without a local copy of VFP*.dll, other dll and ActiveX on a workstation?

There's no need to install and register the OCXs and DLLs on the server unless the server is actually running the application, not just hosting the data.

The easiest thing to do is to create a minimal runtime install with the setup wizard, and use that to install the VFP runtime support files, OCXs and associated .DLLs locally on each station. The maion program can reside on each station or on the server, at your option. You'll need to write enough of an install to create a shortcut to start the application in the appropriate location (this can be done with a Post Setup executable written in VFP if necessary, or a wrapper written with another tool like InstallShield, that can create shortcuts for you. George Tasker has posted a class that permits creation and modification of shortcuts here on UT if you decide to use a Post Setup executable to create your shortcuts.

It's possible to register the common .DLLs and OCXs for the application in a singler location on the network; you'll take a performance hit, and there are other risks associated with doing so, such as ambiguities if something goes to update a registry entry referencing one of the shared network components when the network is not available. Install the VFP*.DLL set, and the support .DLLs and OCXs, to each local workstation; you'll have tremendously fewer headaches.