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Customizing Operating System Parameters

This chapter describes how to customize your SQL*Plus configuration by setting Windows registry entries and by changing the SQLPATH environment variable..

Specific topics discussed are:

• Using the Registry
  
  
• SQLPATH Registry Entry
  
  
• SQLPLUS_FONT Registry Entry
  
  
• SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE Registry Entry
  
  
• SQLPLUS_FONT_CHARSET Registry Entry
  
  
• iSQL*Plus Extension for Windows Registry Entries
  
  
• 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 XP Pro	YES	YES
Windows 2000	YES	YES
Windows NT 4.0	YES	YES
Windows 98	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 related registry entry or add a registry entry, the change takes effect when SQL*Plus executes a procedure that uses the registry entry.

SQLPATH Registry Entry

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

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 registry entry, 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 Registry Entry

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 SQLPLUS_FONT registry entry.

SQLPLUS_FONT_SIZE Registry Entry

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_FONT_CHARSET Registry Entry

The SQLPLUS_FONT_CHARSET registry entry only affects the font subset used in the SQL*Plus Windows GUI on Windows NT/98 where Microsoft font support has been separarately installed.

The SQLPLUS_FONT_CHARSET registry entry defines the font subset used in the SQL*Plus Windows GUI. It allows special characters to be displayed in the correct subset of the given font. It is located in the registry subkey, HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\HOME0. If the SQLPLUS_FONT_CHARSET entry is not created, or if it has an invalid name or value, the default font subset is used.

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

iSQL*Plus Extension for Windows Registry Entries

The iSQL*Plus Extension for Windows is installed, and associated registry entries created, as part of an Oracle9i installation. If you have installed Oracle9i Server, the following registry entries are created:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers\Server00 
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers\Server01

If you have installed Oracle9i Client, only the following registry entry is created:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus contains a ServerCount variable which counts the number of configured iSQL*Plus Servers. Each time you configure another iSQL*Plus Server, another registry entry is created to represent that entry and the ServerCount variable is incremented by one.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers is a container for the two iSQL*Plus Servers configured in an Oracle9i Server installation, or it is created when you configure an iSQL*Plus Server in an Oracle9i Client installation.

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers\Server00 is the first iSQL*Plus Server configured during an Oracle9i Server installation. It has a URL of the form:

http://machine_name.domain:port/isqlplus 

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\ORACLE\iSQLPlus\Servers\Server01 is the second iSQL*Plus Server configured during an Oracle9i Server installation. It has the DBA user URL of the form:

http://machine_name.domain:port/isqlplusdba 

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.