MapInfo Pro

In my organisation, I write MBX scripts for other users.

These users run MBX files from a folder on our file server.

On occasion, I need to update an MBX script, but I cannot over-write the MBX file because it is locked by a user who has it open.

I am wondering, can an MBX script be run from a folder with read-only permissions?
That would solve my issue. I assume that a MBX file in a read-only folder could not get "locked" by a user.

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Nick Lawrence
Senior Spatial Science Officer
Department of Transport and Main Roads (QLD)
Brisbane QLD
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I tested an MBX for "last accessed" and it doesn't register that it's being used, just the last time it was updated, but they are locked for editing as you observe. I presume MI locks them when the MBX is loaded into its memory as edits on the fly would cause problems. I tend to have a beta version to work on and update the user version at the end of the day (after asking that they close MI when they're done).

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Steve Oram
Biodiversity Officer
PTES
London
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Hey Nick

I don't think running the MBX from a read-only folder will make any difference, as Steve also mentioned.

One way to overcome this problem is to create a loader MBX. The loader has only one job: It copies the actual MBX to a local path and loads it into MapInfo Pro from the local path. In this way, the centralized version of the MBX is only copied and never loaded into MapInfo Pro. This would allow you always to update the file.

Of course, this gets trickier if you have many tools or if your tool has dependencies, such as images or configuration files that also need to get copied to the local path.

I wonder if MapInfo Pro could load the MBX into memory and then release the file again? That would require a change in MapInfo Pro. Feel free to post a suggestion to Precisely Ideas to capture this idea.

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Peter Horsbøll Møller
Principal Presales Consultant | Distinguished Engineer
Precisely | Trust in Data
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