How to Run any Visual FoxPro Application as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp

Visual FoxPro (VFP) is database-centric programming language created by Microsoft. Even though VFP was discontinued many years ago, applications created with VFP continue to operate well on modern versions of Windows.

To install your Visual FoxPro application as a Windows Service with AlwaysUp:

1. Download and install AlwaysUp, if necessary.

2. Start AlwaysUp.

3. Select Application > Add to open the Add Application window:

   

4. On the General tab:

   • In the Application field, enter the full path to your VFP application's executable file.

   • In the Start the application field, choose Automatically, but shortly after the computer boots. With this setting, your FoxPro app will start a couple of minutes after boot — after all your machine's critical services are up and running.

   • In the Name field, enter the name that you will call the application in AlwaysUp. We went with VFP App but feel free to specify something more meaningful in your situation.

   

5. Move to the Logon tab and enter the user name and password of the account where you plan to run your application.

   This isn't required for all applications (some will run fine in the default LocalSystem account) but specifying a normal user account here is the safer option.

   

6. We're done configuring the VFP program, so click the Save button to record your settings. In a couple of seconds, an application called VFP App (or whatever you called it) will show up in the AlwaysUp window. It is not yet running though and the state will be "Stopped":

   

7. To start your Visual FoxPro application, choose Application > Start "VFP App". The state should move to Running and clicking on the green circle will reveal details of the running process:

   

   Note that your VFP app will be running in background, in the isolated Session 0. You won't see it on your desktop.

   You can select Application > Restart "VFP App" in this session to temporarily stop the application and bring it onto your desktop where you can interact with it normally.

8. And that's it. Next time your computer boots, your legacy Visual FoxPro application will start up immediately, before anyone logs on.

   We encourage you to edit the Visual FoxPro entry in AlwaysUp and check out the many other settings that may be appropriate for your environment.

   Boost priority, send an email if your app crashes, and much more.

Visual FoxPro not working properly as a Windows Service?

• Consult the AlwaysUp Troubleshooter — our online tool that can help you resolve the most common problems encountered when running an application as a Windows Service.

• From AlwaysUp, select Application > Report Activity > Today to bring up an HTML report detailing the interaction between AlwaysUp and your Visual FoxPro application. The AlwaysUp Event Log Messages page explains what each message means.

• Browse the AlwaysUp FAQ for answers to commonly asked questions and troubleshooting tips.

• Contact us and we will be happy to help!