How to use ToolBox - Troubleshooting
Most of the troubleshooting you will need to do for ToolBox will need you to change the XML
configuration files. We recommend that you are familiar with XML's basic concepts, although you don't need to
be an XML expert to do this job. The XML configuration files are in the 'settings' folder under the
ToolBox
installation directory.
For example: c:\apps\toolbox\settings
Configuration Files
Below is an XML toolbox configuration file, which contains one shortcut to a drive in position 1,1.
<?xml version="1.0" encoding="ISO-8859-1" standalone="yes" ?>
<toolbox name="ToolBox 0" rows="2" columns="4" left="474" top="361" stayontop="0">
<tile width="36" height="36" cellspacing="0"/>
<border spacing="0" type="3"/>
<font name="MS Sans Serif" color="16777215" size="8" shadow="-1"/>
<hint show="-1" color="8404992" background="15511180"/>
<background color="65408" type="2" effect="3" opacity="40">
<filename></filename>
</background>
<shortcuts>
<shortcut row="1" column="1">
<filename>explorer.exe C:\</filename>
<hint>Drive C:</hint>
<startin></startin>
<icon name="c:\apps\tbox2\toolbox.dll" index="13"/>
<drive>3</drive>
</shortcut>
</shortcuts>
</toolbox>
There is no *.DTD associated with toolbox configuration files yet. You can ommit any of the attributes and nodes of the XML file. ToolBox is clever enough to use defaults in any case. A configuration file like the one below, is actually the minimum configuration file for ToolBox:
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes" ?>
<toolbox>
...
</toolbox>
... although it is recommended that you least specify a name, like this:
<?xml version="1.0" standalone="yes" ?>
<toolbox name="My ToolBox" >
...
</toolbox>
Proper Troubleshooting
Undeleting Toolboxes
If you accidentally delete a toolbox using the Control Panel's delete command, you can go to the settings menu and find the corresponding XML file. The file will have been renamed from 'toolbox99.xml' to 'toolbox99.~xml'. You can rename this file back to what it was, or give it a better name if you like, as long as you make the extension '.xml'. If any file has a .XML extension in this folder, next time ToolBox starts, it will pick it up and use it as a proper toolbox.
Troubleshooting FAQ
I get an error that ToolBox cannot write the configuration file
In case ToolBox cannot save the configuration file of a toolbox, it is very likely that something fatal has occured (most likely a locked file or something else). Go to the settings folder and check whether the file is existing, accessible and has any contents. If any of these is false, while ToolBox is running you have the chance to save your configuration; simply choose Duplicate ToolBox from the ToolBox Control Panel. Close the application, restart it again, and if you get two duplicate boxes delete one. It is most likely that you are going to get only one.
I get an error message every time ToolBox starts...
...that a configuration file is invalid. If ToolBox cannot read a configuration file
it will probably ignore it. This means that everyt time you start ToolBox you will get the same
error
message. If a file has been corrupted, then simply go to the 'settings' directory and delete it.
It could be however, a wrong character in the XML file. In this case you may fix the error just by editing the
XML file and deleting the wrong characters or changing the XML encoding attribute. You can then make sure
that this won't happen again, if you set the default XML character
encoding from the ToolBox control panel.