The MantaDB FAQ

[01.01] How about a summary of what MantaDB does?
[01.02] Please, please give me a gushy marketing type overview of MantaDB.
[01.03] How about a bullet point list of what MantaDB does?
[01.04] Why was MantaDB written?
[01.05] How can I contact the author of the MantaDB?

Questions about Licensing and Warranty

[02.01] What is the MantaDB license?
[02.02] Are commercial site licenses available?
[02.03] What is the MantaDB warranty?
[02.04] Why is MantaDB priced/licensed as it is?
[02.05] If MantaDB is free, why ask for contributions?
[02.06] Can I distribute MantaDB as part of a compilation of shareware/freeware on a CD or on a disk on the front cover of a magazine?
[02.07] Can I place MantaDB up on my web site for download?
[02.08] As an commercial user what kind of support do I get?
[02.09] As a non-commercial user what kind of support do I get?
[02.10] Do people really pay for MantaDB even though they don't have to?

Installation/Upgrade Questions

[03.01] How do I start MantaDB?
[03.02] How do activate MantaDB within Internet Explorer?
[03.03] I cannot see a MantaDB item in the Internet Explorer Toolbar Menu.
[03.04] Do I always get free upgrades?
[03.05] How do I upgrade?
[03.06] Will an upgrade wipe out my current database?
[03.07] Will an upgrade wipe out my customized settings?
[03.08] Can I skip to the highest version of an upgrade or do I need to install each one?
[03.09] I want to give MantaDB to a friend. Can I just copy my installed MantaDB files?
[03.10] What Files/DLL's does MantaDB place in system directories?
[03.11] What VB or MFC runtime libraries does MantaDB require?

Version and Operating System Questions

[04.01] What is the current release version of MantaDB?
[04.02] Will MantaDB work under Windows 2000?
[04.03] Will MantaDB work with Internet Explorer version 3 or version 4?
[04.04] How come there is no Netscape Navigator Support?
[04.05] Will you support other browsers?
[04.06] Will you support other software products?
[04.07] Would you write a custom app for my business using the techniques used in MantaDB?

Bugs and Future Feature Questions

[05.01] Can you give me a list of features that should be in place in the near future?
[05.02] Can you give me a list of features that should be in place in the more distant future?
[05.03] I have an idea for a new/better feature - do you want to hear about it?
[05.04] Why does the MantaDB toolbar sometimes appear to be blank?
[05.05] What does the "An error occurred, check debug window" message mean?
[05.06] What is the DBVerify.exe utility used for?

'How do I' and 'Can I' Type Questions

[06.01] How big will the MantaDB database get?
[06.02] Can I put the MantaDB Database on a Network Drive?
[06.03] Can I share my database with other users?
[06.04] Can I index the files in the Internet Explorer Cache?
[06.05] I indexed the cache from my Internet Explorer a while ago - can I do it again?
[06.06] Can I index files on my drive?
[06.07] What is the "Allow index of these upper ASCII characters" configuration option all about?
[06.08] How do I remove items from the MantaDB database?
[06.09] Should I use the autoindexing feature?
[06.10] I know I have seen a page, yet I cannot find it using MantaDB search.

Technical Questions

[07.01] What kind of programming tools did you use to build MantaDB?
[07.02] How does MantaDB do what it does?
[07.03] How long did it take to write MantaDB?
[07.04] Does a new copy of MantaDB start for every Internet Explorer session?

[01.01]. How about a summary of what MantaDB does?

Indexes the words on the web pages you view and provides a useful search facility for them.

Can stop annoying pop-up advertisements appearing.

MantaDB is the essential web utility for the discerning net citizen of today! You cannot bookmark everything you see - now you will always be able to find a web page you know you have once seen. MantaDB integrates seamlessly with Internet Explorer version 5 and indexes the words on the pages as they appear in your Internet Explorer Browser. If you ever need to return to a previously seen page simply type a few keywords into the search screen and an itemized list of the pages matching your search will appear in seconds. All results are returned ranked by relevance and are presented with page summaries and hyperlinks. And that's not all... Stop those annoying site advertisement windows dead in their tracks with the MantaDB Pop-Up Killer feature.

MantaDB integrates into the Internet Explorer browser toolbar and presents itself as a series of easy to use and convenient buttons. (more info)

The search facility is simple to use, powerful and _very_ fast. (more info)

MantaDB can index the words in the web pages in your Internet Explorer browser's cache - but does not depend on it. MantaDB will retain the indexed information long after the cached pages have been recycled. (more info)

MantaDB can autoindex the words on each page in the Internet Explorer browser as they appear. You do not need to take any action to prompt this. Even if you have autoindexing turned off; specific pages you wish to retain can still be indexed at the press of a button. (more info)

Up to eight keywords can be specified to refine the search. The results of the search are returned in order ranked by relevance. You can even exclude pages that contain certain words. (more info)

Search results are presented in the Internet Explorer Browser in a search engine like format complete with hyperlinks, first and last access times and a page summary. (more info)

MantaDB can index the .htm and .txt files on your disk/directories and offers blindingly fast search and retrieval of their contents.

The "Stop PopUps" button (when activated) disables those annoying popup advertising windows that some web sites insist on displaying. (more info)

Because I wanted it. Find out more in the Why MantaDB section of the manual.

E-Mail Dale Edgar at MantaDB@MantaDB.com. Please read this FAQ and also see section [02.08] of this FAQ before asking for support.

A summary of the MantaDB license is:

The MantaDB software is the copyrighted property of Net 2000 Ltd. MantaDB is free for non-commercial use. Commercial users may install and use MantaDB for a trial period of 30 days. After this period commercial users must purchase a licensed copy from Net 2000 Ltd. Purchasing information is located at: http://www.mantadb.com/register.htm. The cost is ú2.50 (approx. $4.00 US).

If you like MantaDB and feel you would like to contribute to its development you can voluntarily make a ú2.50 payment via the MantaDB online payment page.

The above text is a summary only. The full text in the License and Warranty section of the manual contains the full details.

Sure they are - and very reasonable they are too, email MantaDB@MantaDB.com for more information.

A summary of the MantaDB warranty is:

There is no warranty - you use MantaDB entirely at your own risk. Net 2000 Ltd. does not warrant MantaDBs suitability for any purpose, does not guarantee MantaDBs uninterrupted functionality, or even its functionality. Net 2000 Ltd. is not liable for any damage or loss that may occur to you, your computer or the things that your computer is controlling.

The above text is a summary only. The full text in the License and Warranty section of the manual contains even more disclaimers and caveats.

I personally view the exchange and distribution of information on the Internet as being one of the most positive forces on the planet and thought I'd do my bit to help out.

For the money.

Yes, no problem - as long as you offer the entire distribution zip file without adding or removing any bits.

Yes you can as long as you offer the entire distribution zip file without adding or removing any bits. A link to the MantaDB home page would, however, probably be more appropriate. This would give your readers access to the latest version with no maintenance effort on your part.

The same support as a non-commercial user. I will try to reply to your emails and help you out. Maybe I will be successful, maybe not. I make no promises. I am unable to provide telephone support. When I go on holiday (assuming I ever get one) it might be weeks before you get a reply.

If you do write in for support please help me out by finding out as much as you can about the problem. When, where and how does it occur? Is it reproducible? Is there an URL you can give me that consistently shows this problem? The more detailed the information you can provide the more likely it is that I will be able to help you.

The same support as an commercial user. Please see section [02.08]

Yes, they do, thank you very much. Actually, MantaDB is kind of a pet project of mine. I was only joking when I wrote FAQ section [02.05]. I'm motivated more by the desire to do neat stuff with MantaDB than for financial gain. Writing something that people are willing to pay for even though they already have it for free is the ultimate in quantifiable coolness metrics. [See Also]

You install it. Once installed it becomes part of Internet Explorer 5 and starts when IE5 starts and stops when it stops. To make the MantaDB toolbar visible you need to select it from the Internet Explorer View/Toolbars menus. The manual discusses this in more detail and Section [03.02] of this FAQ has a summary. In particular, please note the discussion surrounding the duplicate Radio Item issue in Section [03.02].

The first time MantaDB is installed it will be present but not active in your Internet Explorer browser. To activate MantaDB you enable it like any other toolbar. The manual has a full description. A summary is given below:

Start up an Internet Explorer browser session.

Click on the View menu.

From the View menu select the Toolbars submenu.

In the Toolbars submenu you should see a MantaDB item. Select the MantaDB item so that a check mark appears beside it.

The MantaDB toolbar should now appear in a new section alongside Internet Explorers toolbars.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Due to a bug in some versions of Internet Explorer, the Internet Explorer Toolbar menu might display the MantaDB item as a second Radio item. I'm very sorry about this. It is an issue I can do nothing about (other than deleting the real Radio toolbar). MantaDB will still work normally. Just select the second Radio item and the MantaDB toolbar should appear as expected. The manual discusses this in more detail.

If the installation software indicates that it completed successfully then this is probably due to the duplicate Radio item bug in Internet Explorer. Section [03.02] of this FAQ has a summary and a more detailed discussion is in the manual

At the moment I plan to issue all upgrades free - this includes major enhancements in functionality. You can just download and install them. However, I do reserve the right to charge for upgrades if I want to. I also reserve the right to change the licensing terms for future versions if I want to (i.e. make MantaDB commercialware, shareware, or advertisingware) . Bug fix and update releases will always be free.

In summary, the upgrade steps are:

Retrieve the latest version.

Uninstall the current version.

Reboot your computer.

Re-install the latest version.

Or, in other words: Get the latest version from http://www.mantadb.com/download.shtml and unzip it to a temporary directory. Click on uninstall.exe to uninstall. Then Restart your computer (this _IS_ important). Then re-install using install.exe.

No. If you re-install into the same directory MantaDB will detect the existence of the database files and will not overwrite them. If you have MantaDB configured to use a database in another directory, MantaDB will detect this and the same database will be used in the upgraded version.

No. Your settings will be preserved.

MantaDB upgrades are not incremental. You can always upgrade to the latest version no matter what your previous version might be.

No. Do not do this. MantaDB requires registry settings that the installer creates. Give your friends the ZIP archive distribution file or better yet tell them to get the latest version from http://www.mantadb.com/download.shtml.

None. All of the DLL's and executables used by MantaDB are placed in the install directory you specify. MantaDB does not overwrite any files supplied by Windows or install any of its own files with the same names. MantaDB does use various system DLL's and libraries. The ones that are already present on your system with Internet Explorer 5 are perfectly satisfactory.

None. Everything MantaDB needs is either contained in its zip distribution archive or is already on your system because Internet Explorer 5 is installed.

The current release of the MantaDB is v01.02 as of Dec 05 1999. If this date is more than a few weeks old it's likely that a newer version has been released. Check the download page for the latest version. You can always press the Upgrade Information button in the tools panel of the MantaDB configuration menu to obtain a summarized list of all features added to versions of MantaDB newer than the one you are using.

Should do. It works with the beta version. Windows 2000 also seems to get rid of the duplicate Radio item issue.

No. MantaDB cannot work with IE3. I could maybe have made it work with IE4 but it would not have been possible to integrate the buttons into the Internet Explorer toolbar. There are also a number of issues surrounding versions of the common control libraries installed with IE4 that complicate things quite a bit. In summary, supporting earlier versions is a real headache and since the upgrade to IE5 is free it is also fairly pointless.

Well there was at one time... Actually a Netscape version preceded the IE5 version. However, the Navigator browser does not really provide any way to get at the contents of the page displayed on the browser. Event notifications (such as page changes etc) were also quite minimal. I was reduced to parsing the cache to get at the page contents - a very hit and miss affair. The whole package was unreliable and would frequently fail to index incoming pages. Each workaround I put in to cope with the various issues turned it into an ever more depressing and unsophisticated pile of hackery. Eventually I just stopped work on it. If a future Netscape version provides some sort of API access I will look at supporting it again.

You mean like Mozilla or Opera? If they provide anything like a reasonable way of getting at the contents of the page on display and some sort of event notices then I will add support for them. If you are a technical programmer type of person and have fairly specific and detailed knowledge of this sort of thing feel free to email me at MantaDB@MantaDB.com.

You mean: "Will I rework MantaDB so that it can index the information displayed or consumed by your commercial application. Thus providing for free a nice little bolt on utility that enhances your sales". OK, why not. My criteria for being willing to do this are (in order of importance):

Would I personally find it useful?

Would it be interesting to do?

Would enough other people find it useful?

Sure. I make my living as a freelance programmer/DBA. "You got the money, honey, I got the time".

Index pdf files.

Index mp3 files (they have text tags in them).

Multiple databases.

A series of useful utilities. Batch downloads, dead link checkers, link read aheads, cookie browsers etc.

Multi-user-access (i.e. networked) databases.

Index usenet messages.

Index email messages.

For sure I do. Please check sections [05.01] and [05.02] to see whether the idea is already listed. If not, E-mail MantaDB@MantaDB.com.

This seems to be a bug in Internet Explorer (I must admit I am not absolutely certain about this). For some reason when IE launches into a new window the new window always starts up smaller than the original. If the position of the MantaDB toolbar in the original IE session is such that it will be off the edge of the smaller new one then the new MantaDB toolbar will not appear properly.

I am attempting to find a resolution this problem. Until I do, a temporary solution is to use the mouse drag the MantaDB toolbar more into the center area in the original IE session. I have my MantaDB toolbar placed up on the menu area just after the "Help" menu item. It always starts ok in that position.

If the Debug Window is started MantaDB will attempt to provide additional information about errors. If you see this message and you wish to obtain further information you should start the Debug Window and repeat the action. Depending on the severity of the problem you may wish to clip out the contents of the Debug Window and paste it in an E-Mail to MantaDB@MantaDB.com for support.

Databases (of any type) are notoriously delicate and fickle things. They can become corrupt if not shutdown properly, if they are interrupted by a power off or software crash while writing or if they suddenly decide that they just don't like you. I have designed MantaDB's databases to be as robust as I can. However, the reality of it is that things can go wrong.

I have had very few reports of database corruption. Rather than leave you out on a limb should the worst happen I wrote DBVerify to try to patch things up. MantaDB will complain loudly and offer to start DBVerify when appropriate. You can also launch DBVerify.exe out of the MantaDB home directory or use the Tools button in the configuration menu. If DBVerify doesn't fix the problem then email MantaDB@MantaDB.com.

You will find that the database will initially grow very quickly. After a number of pages have been added the growth rate slows considerably. The MantaDB database is designed to be very efficient both in storage and in search speed and never stores the same word twice. It grows very quickly as it indexes new words. Once a word is stored, MantaDB does not require additional storage for it ever again. The initial overhead seen as MantaDB begins to acquire words is soon compensated by the efficiency of the storage method.

A typical MantaDB database is about 5Mb in size. I have seen them go as high as 10Mb. Basically the number of unique words you view determines the size of the database.

A comment I often hear is that people think 5Mb-10Mb is rather large. But is it really? Lets think about what it has to do. MantaDB has to remember every word you ever see on every single web page. That takes space, no matter what. Then MantaDB also has to remember which page each and every word came from. After that, it has to be able to find a way to quickly eliminate pages based on your search words and also figure out how many occurrences of that word appeared on the page so that it can rank the page for your search results display. All of this information and the relationships between them add up to disk space.

Or you can skip the technical justification and just consider this: You probably have a hard drive measured in many thousands of Mb. If a tiny percentage of it is used to make your life easier then what do you care?

You can, but it is not recommended. I know of people that do this. It all depends on how fast your network is. If your network is slow then MantaDB will be slow. Don't forget it's not just the search speed that matters. MantaDB has to index the pages as you view them and if the database access is slow then the pages will take longer to display. No matter how fast your network is - it will always be slower than a hard disk.

Not at the same time. MantaDB purely single user at the moment. I have all kinds of plans for multi-user facilities though.

Yes, MantaDB has a facility specifically for this. See the manual for more information.

Yes. The MantaDB index database does not store duplicate entries so it will not hurt to activate the Index Explorer Cache button again in the future (perhaps to pick up a web page you forgot to manually index). MantaDB will just add the pages in the cache that are not already in the database and ignore the rest. If most of the cache consists of already indexed entries the indexing process should be a lot faster.

Yes, MantaDB has a facility specifically for this. See the manual for more information.

Most of the Latin based languages in the world use letters outside of the English character set. These characters are represented in an extended version of the base (ASCII) characters and are known as the upper ASCII characters.

MantaDB does not ordinarily index words containing these letters. You will appreciate this feature if you ever view a page in Korean, Japanese or Chinese with autoindexing turned on. Such pages would appear (to MantaDB) to be full of short words containing a multitude of random upper ASCII characters. Indexing these words would occupy quite a bit of space in the database. If you commonly view pages in languages that use upper ASCII characters you can use this option to override the default indexing behavior and specify valid upper ASCII characters.

Ahhh... you can't just yet. This feature will be implemented - but it will be a number of releases away. The architecture of the database is highly optimized around select and insert speed. Delete and updates are complicated and slow. Then of course there is the issue of tracking the released space and making sure it gets re-used.

But think about it. Do you really want to mess about maintaining databases? Its a process both tedious and fraught with danger - I should know, I do it for a living.

The other side to this question is "should I just hit Index Now button when I see a page I like". It's a matter of personal choice really. If you view a lot of junk pages you know you will never wish to return to or if you are building a database on a specific topic and do not want to clutter things up then probably "Index Now" is a good option. I personally find that I can never predict which pages I will want to find again and just leave "Autoindexing" on. Once the database has been running for a while it will already have acquired nearly all the words on most pages so each new page doesn't add that much space. My feeling is that having the page in the database could just pay off in a big way when I need it.

Are you sure you indexed it? MantaDB uses its index database to return the results of the query and does not automatically index every page unless you have the autoindexing feature enabled. However, the page might still be in your Internet Explorer Cache. You could try using the Index Explorer Cache feature to load your entire Internet Explorer web page cache into the index database.

Microsoft Visual C++ Version 6. No MFC, a whole lotta C++ with a dash of COM and a pinch of MIDL to glue things together.

Microsoft provides a number of mechanisms by which external applications can interface with Internet Explorer 5. MantaDB registers itself and talks to the IE5 object using COM to retrieve the words on the pages being viewed via the document object model. MantaDB also hooks into IE5 to display its toolbar buttons and get notification of events happening in the IE5 browser (pages changing, new browsers launching etc). Please note that none of the techniques used in MantaDB are undocumented or secret in any way. They are all public information and papers discussing them are readily available on the Microsoft Developer Network Web site.

A year.

No. One copy of MantaDB starts with the first Internet Explorer session. Each additional session only requires a tiny amount of interface code (roughly 20K).