March 19, 2012

Where can I download Visual FoxPro?

By Mike Lewis

This is one of the most common questions in FoxPro forums and discussion groups. Clearly, a lot of people have heard of Visual FoxPro (VFP), and would like to get their hands on a copy. So they ask where they can download it - the implication being that they want to obtain it for free.

The answer is simple: It can't be done.

There are many fine free-of-charge developer tools available, either open-source, public-domain or shareware. But FoxPro isn't one of them. VFP is a commercial product, owned and developed by Microsoft. It's a professional tool, and it commands a price that a professional would expect to pay.

If you are serious about using VFP, then you should head to your favorite software supplier and purchase a copy. It really is a superb product, and if you plan to use it a lot, it will soon repay the cost. But there is no free version, not even an evaluation copy.

That said, there are many add-ons, components, samples and documentation files for Visual FoxPro that can be downloaded for free. Here are some examples:

In addition, you can browse the Visual FoxPro articles here on Hex Central, as well as hundreds of other websites and blogs generously maintained by the VFP community.


No comments:

Post a Comment