>>This is a =very= bad idea. PIF file formats vary between different operating systems, and feature support even for DOS applications via a PIF file is not uniform. If you're launching a DOS-based app, especially a .BAT file, this is almost certain to cause problems in mixed OS environments; the console's CLI (Command Line Interpreter) isn't even named the same between different OS versions - Win9x uses COMMAND.COM, while WinNT/2K use CMD.EXE - and the memory management settings and VDM options are not identical between the two environments.
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>>PIF files should be a purely local item; it's proper technique to store all PIF files in a Windows SpecialFolder, which has different security and even physical existance in different environments.
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>Really? Then why is the FOXRUN.PIF supplied with VFP if it differs so greatly between OS's?

There are some common minimal behaviors for VDMs which are supported on a cross-platform basis, but it's a bad idea, and just because MS does it does not make it the right thing to do. The PIF file format actually consists of at least 15 different internal formats; there's a book, "Undocumented Windows File Formats" from NoStartch Press, that covers 5 or 6 of them. The problem that arises is that if you modify the PIF under one OS, and then try to use it from another, and any OS-platform-specific behavior is set up, Windows will not know how to deal with it.