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Customizing Operating System Parameters

This chapter describes how to customize your SQL*Plus configuration by changing the SQLPATH parameter in the registry.

Specific topics discussed are:

• Using the Registry

• SQLPLUS Environment Variable

  Warning: Microsoft does not recommend modifying the registry. Editing the registry may affect your operating system and software installation. Only advanced users should edit the registry. Oracle takes no responsibility for problems arising from editing the Windows registry.

Using the Registry

When you install Oracle products for Windows, Oracle Universal Installer adds relevant parameters to the Windows registry.

The following table indicates which registry version(s), REGEDT32.EXE or REGEDIT.EXE, you can use for your particular Windows platform:

Windows Platform	REGEDT32.EXE	REGEDIT.EXE
Windows 2000	YES	YES
Windows NT 4.0	YES	YES
Windows 98	NO	YES
Windows 95	NO	YES

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE subkey contains the Oracle parameters.

See the Registry Editor's help system for instructions on how to edit the registry entries defining Oracle parameters.

If you change the value of an Oracle parameter or add a parameter to the registry, the change will take effect whenever SQL*Plus executes a procedure that uses the parameter.

SQLPATH Parameter Description

The SQLPATH parameter specifies the location of SQL scripts. It is defined in the SQLPATH registry entry. SQL*Plus searches for SQL scripts in the current directory and then in the directories specified by the SQLPATH parameter.

The HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\HOME0 registry subkey contains the SQLPATH registry entry. SQLPATH is created with a default value of \ORACLE\ORA90\DBS. You can specify any directories on any drive as valid values for SQLPATH.

When setting the SQLPATH parameter, you can concatenate directories with a semicolon (;). For example:

C:\ORACLE\ORA90\DATABASE;C:\ORACLE\ORA90\DBS

See the Registry Editor's help system for instructions on how to edit the SQLPATH registry entry.

SQLPLUS_FONT Parameter Description

The SQLPLUS_FONT registry entry defines the font face used in the SQL*Plus Windows GUI. It is located in the registry subkey, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\HOME0. If the SQLPLUS_FONT entry is not created, or if it has an invalid name or value, the default face, Fixedsys, is used.

See "To Change the Windows GUI Font and Font Size" for details on how to create the SQLPLUS_FONT registry entry and set the font face. See the Registry Editor's help system for instructions on how to edit the SQLPATH registry entry.

SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE Parameter Description

The SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE registry entry defines the font size used in the SQL*Plus Windows GUI. It is located in the registry subkey, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\HOME0. If the SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE entry is not created, or if it has an invalid name or value, the default size, 16, is used.

See "Changing the GUI Font and Font Size" for details on how to create the SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE registry entry and set the font size. See the Registry Editor's help system for instructions on how to edit the SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE registry entry.

SQLPLUS Environment Variable

The SQLPLUS environment variable specifies the location of SQL*Plus message files. This environment variable is set during installation and has a default value of

%ORACLE_HOME%/SQLPLUS/MESG

You should not modify or set this environment variable.