How to Avoid CardFile Extensions "Still needs the card"

One of the Newton 2.x OS Q&As
Copyright © 1997 Newton, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Newton, Newton Technology, Newton Works, the Newton, Inc. logo, the Newton Technology logo, the Light Bulb logo and MessagePad are trademarks of Newton, Inc. and may be registered in the U.S.A. and other countries. Windows is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. All other trademarks and company names are the intellectual property of their respective owners.


For the most recent version of the Q&As on the World Wide Web, check the URL: http://www.newton-inc.com/dev/techinfo/qa/qa.htm
If you've copied this file locally, click here to go to the main Newton Q&A page.
This document was exported on 7/23/97.

How to Avoid CardFile Extensions "Still needs the card" (5/9/96)

Q: I have a package that registers a data definition and view definition for a new card type for the Names application. If the package is installed on a card and the card is removed, the user gets the following error message:

"The package <The package name> still needs the card you removed. Please insert it now, or information on the card may be damaged."

How can I avoid this problem?

A: Currently, the cardfile AddLayout method requires that the symbol in the layout is internal. This bug will be fixed in a future ROM. To work around this, do the following:

local newLayout := {_proto: GetLayout("A Test Layout")};
newLayout.symbol := EnsureInternal (newLayout.symbol);
GetRoot().cardfile:AddLayout(newLayout);

For more information about issues for applications running from a PCMCIA card, see the article "The Newton Still Needs the Card You Removed"