Software Vault: The Gold Collection

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BIBL ■══════════════════════════════════════ release 8.40 (c) 1991-93, GMUtant Software Clyde W. Grotophorst Route 1, Box 296 Hamilton, Virginia 22068 U.S.A. This documentation covers both the SHAREWARE and REGISTERED versions of the package. Non-registered users of this software are granted a limited license to make an evaluation copy for trial use on a private, non-commercial basis, for the express purpose of determining whether BIBL meets their needs. At the end of this trial period, (30 days) you should either register your copy or discontinue use. Registration licenses you to use the product on a regular basis. Registration also provides you with access to the GMUtant Online BBS ((703) 993-2219) as a registered user--where you may receive support, leave questions, requests for enhancements, or download the latest release of the program. The registered version offers expanded capabilities. Registering BIBL will also allow you to download special programs from the GMUtant OnLine BBS--for example, BIBL286 is a version of BIBL using machine code for the 80286 or 80386 processor. This allows BIBL to take better advantage of these CPUs and creates a slightly smaller BIBL.EXE file. BIBLPCX enables you to seamlessly view a PCX image file that is linked to a BIBL records. The registration fee for BIBL is $ 39.00. Once you have registered, you will be given a registration number. You may 'upgrade' your SHAREWARE version to REGISTERED by entering that number into BIBL (via CONVERT on the maintenance menu). By using this method, you may instantly upgrade any subsequent release without having to call our BBS to download the file. If you have registered a previous version of BIBL, you are also a registered user of any subsequent version. You may upgrade at any time by sending $ 10.00 to the address below. The latest version will be sent by return 1st Class mail (specify disk size). Send your name, address and registration payment to: Clyde W. Grotophorst Route 1, Box 296 Hamilton, VA 22068 USA CREDIT CARD ORDERS You may also order the registered version of BIBL from Public (software) Library with your MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover Card by calling 800-2424-PSL or 713-524-6394 or by FAX to 713-524-6398, or by CompuServe to 71355,470 or by mail to PsL, P.O. Box 35705, Houston, Texas 77235-5705. These numbers are for ordering only. The cost is $ 39.00 which includes a copy of the latest registered version to you by return 1st class mail. We've included sample records with BIBL for demonstration purposes--a database named DEMO (DEMO.DAT and DEMO.IX). Type BIBLDEMO at the DOS prompt to extract these files. You may delete DEMO.DAT and DEMO.IX when you are ready to begin entering information you want to keep. To see the sorts of things included in the sample file, and to study how you might use the fields in a BIBL record, activate BIBL then press L, the last record in the file will display. Press [B] to move backward through the file. BIBL Features [SHAREWARE and REGISTERED]: - an unlimited number of databases are supported. - move records from one database to another - menu-driven. - mouse-support for most areas of the program. - easily understood user interface - five indexes are maintained (in a single file) for fast retrieval and sorted extracts (author, author/title, title, subject, and keyword) - up to 9 keywords for each record are indexed. - produces bibliographies in several forms (brief, annotated, full (and with registered version, labelled) based on information in any field. Each bibliography is sorted by author, then within author, by title. Registered version also supports searching *anywhere* in a record for matches. - user-selected fields for output (soft return option available). - link text files to records in your database...then view them with a single keystroke. - when no match is made on an indexed search, BIBL displays where in the index your query would have appeared (near misses). - produces a wide variety of lists (in ASCII form) which may be printed or edited with any word processor that accepts ASCII files for input. - use WordPerfect or other large program as your external editor/viewer/printing program. BIBL's memory management routines to enable even WordPerfect to run as a 'child' process. - if desired, BIBL will run in a 'read-only' mode. This allows copies of your database to be accessed by the public but protects against editing, deleting or otherwise modifying the file. - BIBL supports cloning of records during data entry (carry forward). - BIBL offers a built-in ASCII file viewer that supports a mouse and can view files of any size. - Index progress graph displays during reindexing. - ability to print or save to disk any record. - main menu screen always reports active database and number of records in that file. - verification of subject and keywords during data entry (if desired) - BIBL shells out to PKZIP, LHA or ARJ to create compressed backup copies of your database. BIBL will find the compression utility if it exists ANYWHERE on your DOS path. - Boolean AND, OR, NOT searching supported for ALL fields. Up to four terms may be used. May also limit search to descriptor field. - Selected reports (list of subjects, list of titles, etc.) may be viewed onscreen and/or sent to disk. - BIBL can export a comma-delimited verison of data. - any ASCII file may be used for display when I (INFORMATION) is pressed on the main menu. - Shell to DOS with heap compression. REGISTERED version adds these features: BIBL will store index data in EMS (Expanded Memory) if it is available on your system...otherwise, a 40% of available RAM (after BIBL loads) is devoted to in-memory index storage. BIBL will allocate up to 33% of available EMS to index storage. EMS speeds retrieval and cut reindexing time for larger databases. In tests on systems without disk caching, we found an average improvement of 33%. Support for PCX image files included. You can use a PCX file as your linked file and BIBL will display it using the utility BIBLPCX.EXE - included on the registered version distribution diskette. You can use other IMAGE formats, if you provide the viewing program. Using the "LABELLED" output option under BIBLIOGRAPHIES, you may create an ASCII file of records suitable for import to other databases via the ASCII Import option on the Maintenance menu. Using this method you also have the option of deleting exported records from your original file as they transfer. Bibliographies (option D under EXPORT) as well as other reports may be created in 'word-processing' form (this will put soft returns in your file within a given citation, hard returns between them). Makes it much easier to edit the file with a word processor. Rename Author, Title, Publisher, Keyword, Location and Subject fields to any name you choose for individual databases. BIBL will refer to these new field names throughout the program. You may also change ANY field's label on the display, add and/or edit screens. Bibliographies. Registered version supports export of records based on ANY field in the record, not just Author, Publisher, Subject, or Descriptor. Even *anywhere* in the record. Produce list of titles sorted by keyword. When running a BOOLEAN search, you may send matching records to disk if desired. BIBL offers two formats for output (BIX or unlabelled). Selecting BIX format enables you to move the matching data to another BIBL database. Store Datafiles and Indexes (*.DAT and *.IX) on another drive or in another subdirectory. This enables you to use BIBL on remote disks if desired (e.g., on a LAN). Global Find & Replace for text in ANY field, across the database. I N S T A L L A T I O N Place diskette in drive (or copy contents to a subdirectory on a hard disk) and type INSTALL. Make sure your CONFIG.SYS file has the following minimum values: FILES=20 BUFFERS=15 To find out whether your machine has a CONFIG.SYS file, issue the following commands: PROMPT $P$G [press return]. You may already be using this prompt string, but if not, at least from here on out you will know what drive and directory you are defaulting to. C: [press return...we want to log onto the C: drive] CD\ [press return], this should put us in the root directory a 'C:\>' prompt should appear. If so, type the following command: DIR C*.SYS [press return] If you do not see a file named CONFIG.SYS in the newly displayed text, you can safely assume that one does not exist. To Create CONFIG.SYS: Issue the following commands at C:\> prompt (to be a bit more technical, while logged onto the root directory of the boot drive (typically C:) of your system): Copy Con: CONFIG.SYS [press return] FILES=20 [press return] BUFFERS=20 [press F6] You should receive a '1 file copied.' message. Reboot your computer. The CONFIG.SYS file is read only during initial boot of your system. Questions? Check your DOS manual. S Y S T E M O V E R V I E W BIBL (rhymes with nibble) is a simple to use online catalog for your personal library. Written in Pascal and assembler BIBL is fast, and efficient. Menu-driven, BIBL can be used to track your book collection, article reprints, index your vertical file, manage a small office library, and so on... In most areas bounce-bar menus are used. To select a particular option, move the bar via the cursor until your desired operation is highlighted, then press RETURN. If you're a touch typist, you might prefer pressing the highlighted letter within (or just to the left of) the choice you wish to make (e.g., Press S to activate SEARCH on the main menu). On single line menus (e.g., when displaying matches), you may hit the highlighted letter to execute the command, or move between them via the TAB key. Clicking a mouse on your menu choice will also activate it. Command Line Switches (Name /p /m /v /d) [/d] Database selection. Put the name (DAT extension unnecessary) of the database you want to use on the command line if desired. This will bypass the selection menu if you have more than one database (*.DAT and *.IX file combination) in the same subdirectory. For example: BIBL DEMO /m [RETURN] at the DOS prompt would activate BIBL in monochrome mode and open the database named DEMO. [/m] Monochrome operation. BIBL attempts to identify your display hardware...switching to color or monochrome color schemes as required. If you find the program is difficult to use on your hardware, try forcing a monochrome display with the /m command line argument (e.g., BIBL /m [return]. [/p] OPAC (Online Public Access Catalog) operation. If you want to have others use your BIBL database but don't want them adding, deleting, or editing records, begin BIBL with the /p switch. This activates OPAC mode, disabling the Add function and Maintenance Menu. [Registered version also supports setting this value via the OPAC=True statement in BIBL.INI] [/v] 43/50 lines. REGISTERED ONLY. Use this switch if you run BIBL under DesqView...it will force BIBL into a 43 or 50 line display mode (great for putting in a small window). You may use any combination of command line arguments, in any order--with the exception that FILENAME if it appears must be the first one. When you type BIBL at the DOS prompt, several things happen... 1) the program checks to see if it is running under Windows 3.x. If so, then the SAVE function is converted to the CLIP function and the system initialization message changes from "Initializing..." to "Initializing with Windows Clipboard support...". 2) Memory is allocated for storage of index buffers. The SHAREWARE version sets aside 20K, the REGISTERED version uses either 2K conventional memory and up to 300K of EMS or up to 40% of available RAM). Clearly, the registered version running on a machine with EMS memory available yields the fastest operation (since for many databases, the entire index is loaded into memory). 3) if you are using the SHAREWARE version, a reminder to register screen appears (actually appears about 50% of the time). 4) the program next checks your disk to see how many *.DAT files can be found... a) One, BIBL opens that database. b) More than one, a pick-list appears. Select the file you want to use by moving the light bar with the cursor arrows until desired file is highlighted--then press RETURN (or double-click mouse on desired file). 4) the main menu appears. Main Menu Options L List items in the database. This option allows you to move through the database a record at a time. The records appear in the order in which they were entered into the system. Pressing L on the main menu takes you to the last record in the file (the assumption being that you are probably more interested in the more recent records). You may move about the file via the J (Jump) command--which 'jumps' you to the record number you enter. A Add an item to the file. Use for entering data into a database. Is disabled with /p (OPAC) switch at startup. S Search a database. Supports a variety of searches. E Export data. Enables user to produce a variety of reports, including bibliographies. V View ASCII file(s). Allows user to look at an ASCII file. If you have installed a word processing program as your external viewer, then that program is used for viewing, otherwise, BIBL uses a built-in file browsing function. BIBL's built-in viewer can browse files of any size. Main Menu Functions (continued) M Maintenance functions. This function provides a variety of support operations (rebuilding indexes, creating new databases, deleting databases, Shell to DOS, backup, etc.). Disabled if OPAC=true statement appears in BIBL.INI or if the /p (read-only) switch is used at startup (e.g., BIBL /p [return]). D Database selection. Once you have created a second database, this function allows you to move between database files. I Information on BIBL. Pressing I on the Main Menu causes the file BIBL.HLP to display in a window on your screen. To create your own help file, make an ASCII file and name it BIBL.HLP. You do not have to worry about page breaks or other formatting. Q Quit to DOS. Closes all files, halts program and exits. DATABASES BIBL can manage an unlimited number of databases (any combination of a *.DAT and *.IX file is considered a database). While the structure of each database is the same, you may have several--enabling you to separate out records that belong together. You can create new databases from the Maintenance menu. Once created, you may select (that is, make it the active database) a particular database via the Database Selection option on the main menu. The entire program operates on only 1 active database at a time. I. ADDING RECORDS TO A DATABASE Each database is limited to 5 million records although you'll run out of disk space long before that becomes an issue. To begin working toward that 5 million, press A as the main menu displays. A blank record appears on the screen. Enter data in the highlighted fields. If you want to skip a field, just press RETURN when the cursor is inside that field's highlighted box. If you are using a mouse, you may click on the field you want to edit. If text is already in a field, clicking on a particular position in the field moves the cursor to that point. Several command keys are active during the ADD function: F1 Help ALT-V Checks Subject and Keywords you have entered against those already in the database. This helps maintain a controlled vocabulary of keywords. ESC Done. To add a note (up to 700 characters), hit return when the cursor is on the note symbol (or click it). A text-editor pops up allowing you to write your note...when finished, press ESC. To finish adding to the record, press ESC again. BIBL will then offer a prompt line at the bottom of the screen, asking to file the record. If you answer yes, you'll then receive a prompt asking if you want to add another record. Press "Y" to add another record. Press "C" to clone the record you're looking at. BIBL will copy all information from this record to a new one, then position the cursor in the first field of the new record. Edit this as necessary. Press "N" to abandon the data entry function. BIBL INDEXING Four indexes are maintained in the single file: 1) the first 15 characters of the author field, 15 characters of the TITLE field, each word (something with a space before and after it) of the keyword field (must be more than a single character), and a fourth index used to create temporary sorts (by call number, author/title, etc.). By putting all four indexes in a single file, performance is improved over systems that put each index in its own file--DOS does not need to allocate a large number of file handles for BIBL's use. Information is stored in upper case in the index file and your query is converted to upper case before a search begins--thus you don't have to worry about capitalization (although the way you enter data is the way it will display and appear in any ASCII file created by BIBL. FIELDS (Subject vs Keyword) Most fields are obvious, but you might not be familiar with the distinction we're making between subject and keyword. Remember that the Keyword field is indexed while the subject is not...as your database grows, retrieval via keyword will always be faster than retrieval by subject. If you have a term that requires more than 20 characters to describe (the limit for a single keyword entry) then place that term in the subject field. EVERY word (anything between spaces) in the keyword field is individually indexed. Caution: No term in the keyword field can be longer than 20 characters (or it will be truncated to 20 characters in the index). The indexing algorithm considers a word to be anything between two blank spaces. If you have a compound term, include a '-' between the words so they'll be considered a single term (e.g., 'World-War-II' is considered 1 term while 'World War II' is three.). Up to 9 words in any one Keys: field will be indexed. A single letter WILL NOT be indexed. LOCATION: You may use the location field for either a classification number (if your organization system is that evolved) or simply where you have stored the physical item referenced in the BIBL record. II. SEARCHING THE DATABASE To search, press S at the main menu, then via the light bar select which field you wish to search (Author, Title, Subject, etc.). Once you have selected the field you wish to search, a 'QUERY' box will appear. Enter the text you wish to locate in this box, at the 'Query >>' prompt. You may search text in ANY field of a BIBL record. Matches are made using your input as a stem; that is, if you enter SMI and SMITH exists, you'll get a match (it's called implied truncation). Note that while retrieval on indexed fields is very fast, searching non-indexed fields (e.g., line 3 of the note field) is slower. You may abort a non-indexed search by pressing any key to interrupt. On searches, BIBL first reads through the database collecting matching records, then shows them (e.g., Match 1 of 50). BIBL will collect only the first 1000 matches. If you have more than 1000 matches, you will receive a message noting that the match limit was exceeded. You should narrow your search. On indexed field searches, if BIBL can not find a match for your query, it will display several index entries that come before and after where your query would have fallen in the index. As your database grows, this becomes more useful. If you want to abandon searching after you have selected a particular field to search, press RETURN instead of entering a search statement at the 'Query >>' prompt. You will be returned to the main menu. BOOLEAN SEARCHING (AND / OR / NOT) Use BOOLEAN search to search for up to 4 terms in a record. You may search either the full record or limit the search to the keyword field. When the full record is searched, a high speed search algorithm (Boyer-Moore) is employed--this yields a significant performance improvement over searching just the keyword field--where BIBL uses a more traditional approach (reading each record and comparing the field to your input). Registered version supports dumping the results of a boolean search to disk. You may select either BIX format (for subsequent transfer to another database) or plain ASCII (no labels, formatted like QUERY.TXT entries). You give BIBL a name for the output file and based on your format choice, the extension (BIX or TXT) is automatically appended. LAN users: If you have directed BIBL to look on a remote drive for the database (via BIBLPATH.CFG), the BIX file will be put where BIBL.EXE resides, not where the database (*.DAT and *.IX file) resides. III. EDITING/DELETING RECORDS You may enter EDIT mode either via a search or by the LIST function (press E when the desired record displays). As you first enter EDIT mode, the author's name field will be highlighted. Make any changes you desire. See Appendix C for editing keystrokes that are supported by BIBL's editor. When you have finished making changes, press ESC. If you've made changes, you'll be prompted as to whether you want to replace the record in the database with this new version. Y - The index will be updated if changes were made. N - Changes will be discarded. Original redisplays. You may also enter EDIT mode via the 'List records in the database' option from the main menu. The only difference between editing from this menu choice instead of SEARCH is that BIBL will display all records in the database, beginning with the last record. IV. SYSTEM MAINTENANCE The MAINTENANCE function offers several options: - Convert Shareware to REGISTERED. - Rebuild Indexes - Call External Editor/Call Up Any ASCII files - Shell to DOS - Install Editor/Viewer - UnInstall Editor/Viewer - Make a new database - Delete a database - ASCII Import (Read BIX files) - Global Change - Backup database (create archive) - Check linked files - Total Value field for database A. CONVERT SHAREWARE to REGISTERED. When you register, you will receive by return mail a registration number. Select option C under the Maintenance sub-menu, then enter the number EXACTLY as it appears. BIBL will verify that it is a valid number (we do some check-digit math in case you're interested in such things) and will then create an ASCII file (BIBL.REG) which stores that number. From then on, when BIBL activates from the DOS prompt, it will read that file, verify the number, and present you the user with a registered version of the program. The real value is that forever more you can upgrade any SHAREWARE release to REGISTERED, just by entering your secret number. Actually, as long as you leave BIBL.REG in your BIBL sub-directory, the upgrade process will be automatic. You won't have to check our BBS for the latest registered version or have to send us a disk or pay the extra $ 10.00 to receive one by return mail. If you see a newer shareware version on a BBS or CompuServe, download it and immediately have the benefits of an upgraded registered version. B. REBUILDING INDEXES BIBL includes an index rebuild function to create new indexes from the database file on demand. You may never need this function but if you have to rebuild your file using BRX (which does not do a complete job of indexing your file ), or wish to physically purge deleted records from your file, this option will perform the task. C. CALL EXTERNAL EDITOR/VIEW ASCII FILE You may view your savefile (QUERY.TXT) or any other ASCII file from within BIBL. The viewer built into BIBL is quite powerful and can view ASCII files of any size. It responds to a mouse, if you have one installed. Viewer Commands: PgDn = move down one screen PgUp = move up one screen Control-PgUp = go to top of file Control-PgDn = go to bottom of file Escape (or) RightMouse button = Exit viewer External viewer. If you have an external program linked to BIBL, that program is called and passed the name of the file you want to view. D. SHELL TO DOS BIBL allows you to drop out of the program momentarily and return to your DOS prompt. This option allows you to delete files, use a program like LIST to view a file, check disk space, or do other DOS-type things. All but 47K of your RAM is returned to the system for the DOS prompt. When you type EXIT, BIBL will reactivate and check to see that the operating system is still defaulting to the sub-directory where your BIBL files are kept. If not, BIBL will change to that drive and directory before continuing. If BIBL is unable to change to the original sub-directory, you will receive a message to that effect...so you can manually issue the command (e.g., CD\BIBL <cr>) from the DOS prompt. E. INSTALL EDITOR/VIEWER BIBL allows you to specify some program other than BIBL to handle viewing of your save file or other text files as well as editing and printing of reports. The program you use must be capable of accepting an ASCII file as a command line argument (e.g., WP filename <cr>). BIBL will send the name of your external program (drive, path, program name and extension) to DOS as well as the name of the file (drive, path, filename, and extension). This allows you to access an external program on another drive if desired. BIBL uses a simple configuration file (BIBL.INI) to store various system defaults. To install an external editor/viewer (in this example, WordPerfect 5.1), the following line is added to that file: EDIT=C:\WP51\WP.EXE To uninstall the editor, either install a different program via the Install routine under Maintenance, or simply delete the EDIT= line from BIBL.INI BIBL swaps most of itself out to disk (or EMS if available), freeing up more system memory for your editor/viewer. EMS will be automatically used if available, next XMS is tried, then finally to disk. While the program normally requires 477K or more to run, after compressing itself and swapping out, a 45-50K kernel of BIBL remains in memory--enabling you to use a very large program (e.g., WordPerfect) as your editor/viewer. When the external program finishes, BIBL returns! Once installed, the name of the viewing program (no extension) appears on the BIBL main menu in the VIEW option bar. F. MAKE A NEW DATABASE. To create a new, empty database, press M on the maintenance menu, then enter a name for the database file. You may enter up to 8 letters for your database name. You should try to give the file a name that will later give some indication of the file's contents. TIP: When creating databases, give your most popular file a name that sorts first. The Database Selection option on the main menu sorts the various *.DAT files before displaying them. The first file in the list will be highlighted when the list displays. If it is the file you want, just press RETURN (or ESC). Note that you can also specify a database on the command line when activating BIBL from the DOS prompt (e.g., BIBL Myfile). G. DELETE A DATABASE. You may use this function to delete a database and it's associated index file. You may also delete a database and index simple using the DOS delete command while at the DOS prompt. BIBL dynamically determines your databases by scanning the directory where BIBL.EXE resides for files ending with the *.DAT extension. You may NOT DELETE the database you are currently using. You should not use the DAT extension for any export files you create, nor should you have any file with a DAT extension (that's not a BIBL database) in your BIBL subdirectory...if you do, BIBL will assume it's a database and present the file as a valid choice. H. ASCII Import Using the ASCII import option enables you to read any labelled ASCII file into the currently active BIBL database. The file separated with **'s and each line is labelled. The labelled option under the Export Menu creates this format as does the Transfer option when displaying an individual record. If you want to experiment with ASCII import (say you're trying to import an ASCII file from some other source--like bibliographic data downloaded from a CD-ROM), you should follow these steps: 1. Use MAKE A NEW DATABASE option on maintenance menu to create a database called something like TEST 2. Use DATABASE SELECTION on the main menu to select the TEST database. 3. Run ASCII import from the maintenance menu. You BIX file must be in the same subdirectory where BIBL.EXE resides. 4. After reviewing the results (the records added to TEST), select the database you want to use and run ASCII import again. When finished, you can delete TEST.DAT and TEST.IX via Delete a Database (on the maintenance submenu). For downloads from ERIC, ABI/Inform, PsycInfo, Medline and/or NOTIS get MAKEBIX...from the GMUtant BBS or Compuserve (IBM APPS). Note: It comes with the registered version of BIBL. I. GLOBAL CHANGE You may make global changes ('find & replace') to text in any record across your database. The unregistered version is limited to making these global changes on the Subject and/or location fields. The registered version of BIBL allows you to change the text in any field of all records for a given database. To make a global find and replacement, select the field you want to modify (the database will be the currently active file--the database that displays on the status bar at the bottom of your screen). After selecting the field to modify, you must next enter the original text (what's currently in the record(s)) and then the new text. You may instruct BIBL to ignore case when attempting to match or to consider a match valid only when the case is the same. TIP: Be advised that the substitution you instruct BIBL to make will occur anywhere BIBL finds a match for your 'change' text. Without a bit of thought on your part, this can quickly become a nightmare. If you elect to change a short word--one that also appears as part of a larger word in the same field--you can have problems. For example, changing NETWORK to LAN can (if you also have NETWORKING in the field) lead to LANING... V. EXPORT (REPORTS / BIBLIOGRAPHIES) While BIBL offers only limited print support, it will dump your database to disk in an ASCII file--which you can then edit and print using your favorite word processor. Where you are given the option of naming the file, you should use a *.TXT extension when possible. This will allow you to see all available export files under the CALL EXTERNAL EDITOR function which has a *.TXT mask. The registered version also supports LABELLED output of bibliographies. Using this feature and the ASCII Import option on the Maintenance menu, you can select out records from one database based on text that appears in a given field, then use ASCII Import to read those records into another database. This gives you an 'automatic' means of moving records from one database to another. Registered version supports bibliography creation on ANY field in the record. The registered version of BIBL also provides the option to create output files using soft returns instead of hard ASCII returns) after each line. This greatly simplifies subsequent editing if using a word processor that supports scalable fonts. Annotated form will produce a listing with author, title, publisher and the notes fields. Brief includes only the author, title and publisher field. You assign the name for the bibliography output file. If the name is already in use, BIBL asks you to use another name. Note that using the Word Processing [WP] format option will produce a citation where fields follow one another on a line. A hard return follows the PUBL field. Smart Punctuation. As BIBL creates your bibliography, it will check to see if each field ends with punctuation. If so, the existing punctuation will be written to your file. If not, BIBL will add periods after each field. This saves you having to use end-of-field punctuation in your BIBL database entry. DELIMITED FORMAT Delimited format is used when you want to move your BIBL database to dBASE or some other database system (why?). The next few paragraphs point out a few things you should be aware of: Note that in delimited format BIBL will change any quotation mark that appears in the Title, Keyword or Note fields to a single quote--to preserve the exported data's integrity. If any double quotes were to appear in the exported data (that is, anywhere other thanbetween the fields), the importing program might not process the data correctly. For example, if you have: Jones is author of the article, "This is My Life's Work." in your note field, under delimited format, BIBL will export: "Jones is author of the article, 'This is My Life's Work.'" A CR/LF appears at the end of each record. dBASE will accept this for input if you first set up a dBASE file with the proper structure. Multi-line fields (e.g., author, title, publisher but not note) are combined into single comma-quote delimited strings. You can calculate the maximum length by consulting the record format at the end of this documentation (for example, a author field can be up to 140 characters long -- since it is composed of two 70 character lines). LIST SUBJECTS/LIST KEYWORDS You should use these export functions periodically to check the uniformity of your subject headings and descriptor fields. For example, if your list shows you have ten items under computer and one under computers, you should edit the COMPUTERS entry (changing it to COMPUTER). Note that there is an entry in the list for each heading in a record (if you have 10 records with the subject BASEBALL, you'll get 10 entries for BASEBALL in the SUBRIEF.TXT file). KEYWORD.TXT - this option lists all terms used in the keyword field of your database. With each term, the number of times it appears is also listed. This list can be a big help in eliminating redundant terms and consolidating similar terms to yield a stronger database. Titles/Keys. The registered version of BIBL supports an additional export function--listing all titles in a database sorted by keyword. Here's an example using the demo database included with BIBL (the titles have been truncated for this example): INFORMATION-CENTERS Electronic Information Delivery Systems: Reports INFORMATION-RETRIEVA A Priori Analysis of Natural Language Queries. Alphabetical Searching in an Online Catalog. Prospects for Knowledge-Based Customization of The Organization of Free Text Databases. INFORMATION-STORAGE Optical Storage and OCR - Key Components of Processing Truncated Terms in Document Retrieval Note that the term "INFORMATION RETRIEVA" is the first 20 characters of the term INFORMATION-RETRIEVAL. Remember that BIBL truncates any keyword at twenty characters...so where you've used a longer term in your database, it will be shortened in this export file. You will have to edit the resulting export file with your word processor to restore the truncated characters. Related Topics Send To Disk. Beyond creating large reports, during any search you may elect to send a copy of a single record to an ASCII file (QUERY.TXT). Each time you press 'S' a copy is appended to this file. When you are finished with the file, delete it (via DOS) or rename it. Then when you next send a record to disk, BIBL will create a new copy of QUERY.TXT. When running under Windows 3.1, the 'Send' command becomes 'Clip'. Data is sent to the Windows clipboard (see Appendix D at the end of the documentation). Transfer: Any time an individual record is displayed, you have the option of copying it to a transfer file (TRANSFER.BIX). Pressing T (or clicking on the word 'Transfer' will add the record to TRANSFER.BIX. To move the records in TRANSFER.BIX use ASCII import on the maintenance menu. Be sure to delete any existing TRANSFER.BIX file if you want to make a file of new records...if TRANSFER.BIX exists on your disk, transferred records will be appended to it. If it is missing when 'T' is pressed, BIBL will create a new copy of it. Registered users can also transfer records in groups, based on text occurring in any field. Select Bibliographies/Transfer on the Export menu, then proceed as you would when creating a bibliography. When prompted for output format, select Labelled. You will next be asked if you want to delete transferred records from your original file. You may want to run this option once before you go back and ask BIBL to delete copied records (just to verify that you did retrieve the records you wanted AND to insure that you were able to import them to another database successfully). IMPORTANT Once you ask BIBL to delete these records, they will be gone...deleted from the original database which will then be packed and re-indexed before returning to the Main Menu! USAGE NOTES / TIPS A. Here are some of the ways we've heard BIBL is used: - as an online index to a personal book collection. - tracking magazine articles. - a videotape collection for a large university is cataloged using BIBL/NET. The network version of BIBL is used so that simultaneous access is provided even as the library staff add records. - indexing a vertical file (for non-library types, a vertical file is usually a filing cabinet of clippings, brochures, etc.). - using BIBL instead of 3x5 cards for research. - tracking reserve reading materials in a corporate library. - with /p (OPAC) switch set, running BIBL as a DOOR on a BBS to provide users an online catalog. - Managing an office library. - A computer center uses BIBL to track documentation - A public service agency has 50+ copies of BIBL. The home office creates databases and sends them out to branches. With OPAC mode set, the integrity of the files is preserved. B. Using WordPerfect (5.0 or 5.1) as your external editor (or viewer or printer) with BIBL While BIBL does not possess a direct interface to WordPerfect it does work particularly well with version 5.1 of that software. Follow the sequence below to install WordPerfect as your editor/viewer: Note: the sequence is the same for any word-processor...just be sure that the program accepts a filename to edit on the command line (e.g., WP MYFILE [RETURN] on the DOS command line will start WordPerfect and load a file named MYFILE). WordStar also behaves this way as do other programs. 1. Select MAINTENANCE from the BIBL main menu (press M) 2. Press I (Install Editor/Viewer). 3. Enter the full path name to your copy of WP.EXE (e.g., C:\WP51\WP.EXE). Now, when you select CALL UP ASCII FILE under the MAINTENANCE option, BIBL will load WordPerfect and pass along the name of the file you want to view, edit or print. When you are finished with the document, press F7 to save and then exit WordPerfect...you will be returned to BIBL. The file you worked on is stored on the drive and sub-directory where BIBL.EXE resides. C. Remote Drives / LAN usage (registered version only). You may store your database and index files on a drive/sub-directory other than were the BIBL.EXE file is kept. This will allow you to use BIBL on a LAN or in an environment where disk drives are shared between users. While this version of BIBL is a single user product (BIBL/NET is also available) you can store your database and index on the server disk. IMPORTANT: BIBL databases MUST reside in a subdirectory, not the root directory, of any remote drive you use. For example, say you want to put a BIBL database and index (*.DAT and *.IX) file on a RAM disk. Be sure to create a subdirectory on your RAM drive and move the files there. Do not simply create a drive (e.g., D:) and copy the files there. If you try to run BIBL using a root directory, you'll get a error about locked databases and the system won't operate! To point BIBL to some location other than the drive/directory where BIBL.EXE resides, you must add the PATH= statement to BIBL.INI PATH=X:\XXXXX where X:\XXXXX is the full pathname of the subdirectory you want to use for storing the database & index file. D. Using BIBL's [WP] format with WordPefect. Here's how you create a WordPerfect-ready version of your database, (printing author, title and publisher fields), sorted by Author, then title: 1. Press E on the BIBL main menu (EXPORT). 2. Press M (user-selects). 3. Answer 'Y' that you want to continue. 4. Enter 123 and press return (to indicate that you want fields one (author), two (title) and three (publisher). 5. Enter 'Y' to indicate that you're satisfied with fields. 6. Enter 1 to indicate that sort should be on author (it will actually be on author, then title within author). 7. Enter 'E' to indicate that you want [WP] format. 8. Enter the name you want to give your output file. If you are using WordPerfect as your external editor, once BIBL finishes making your file and returns to the main menu, press M (for Maintenance), then press C to 'CALL External Editor, enter the name you gave the file in step 8 (or just hit return and pick from the *.TXT files displayed), then sit back as BIBL compresses itself, then loads WordPerfect (passing along the name of your file). If you need to reset your margins (because the text is wrapping around incorrectly), go to the top of the document and press SHIFT-F8, then L (for Line), then M for margins. E. Modifying HELP display (INFORMATION on the main menu). BIBL displays the file BIBL.HLP when 'I' is pressed on the Main Menu. If you want to change the help display file, just rename any ASCII file to BIBL.HLP and BIBL will display it... F. BACKUP? Many users have found that using the LABELLED option under Export provides a space-saving means of making a backup copy of your database(s). Since only the data from your database is exported (not the empty spaces inside each record), the resulting file is usually about 40% smaller than your database. With ASCII Import (on Maintenance menu), you can read this file back into BIBL should you ever need to reconstitute your database. Another backup option exists for users of PKZIP, LHA or ARJ (archive utilities). You may use BIBL to 'drive' any one of three third-party archiving utility programs (LHA.EXE - .LZH files; PKZIP.EXE - .ZIP files, and ARJ.EXE - .ARJ files). The archiving program *MUST* be either in your BIBL subdirectory or in a sub-directory that is included in your DOS path statement. If one of the supported archiving programs is not found, BIBL will ignore the request. If it is found, BIBL compresses itself in memory (down to about 57K), then launches the archiving program. When it is finished, BIBL re-expands in memory and continues running. If you have EMS memory, BIBL will swap itself to EMS during this process (otherwise, it swaps to disk). Both the data file (*.DAT) and the index file (*.IX) are combined in the archive you create. Since BIBL always initializes both records and index entries with 0's before use, these programs achieve a compression of 85 - 90%! Thus, you can probably fit a 2,000 record database (and index) on a 360K floppy. Technical Specs: 1. Memory required. The shareware version of BIBL requires at minimum 480K free RAM at the DOS prompt when it loads. The registered version requires 480K (286/386/486 version) or 482K (8088 version). If you have EMS memory available and are using the registered 286/386/486 version, then BIBL requires 470K RAM to run. 2. Pascal Record Structure bookrec = RECORD recordstatus : longint; link : string[30]; {linked files} value : string[6]; {value/cost field} author1 : string[70]; author2 : string[70]; Title1 : string[70]; title2 : string[70]; title3 : string[70]; publ : string[70]; publ2 : string[70]; class : string[40]; subject1 : string[30]; subject2 : string[70]; {descriptor field} flag1 : char; {Used by BIBL/NET} flag2 : char; { " " " } flag3 : char; { " " " } createdate : string[7]; {creation date} note1 : string[70]; note2 : string[70]; note3 : string[70]; note4 : string[70]; note5 : string[70]; note6 : string[70]; note7 : string[70]; note8 : string[70]; note9 : string[70]; note10 : string[70]; end; Indexes (the following keys are maintained in each .IX file): Author first 15 characters of field Title first 15 characters of the field Keys each word of the field is extracted Up to 20 characters of each 'word' is indexed.Up to 9 words from any one line are indexed. If you have 10 words on the line, the ninth is ignored. IMPORTANT: place a '-' between words you want BIBL to index together. A fourth index is reserved for 'on-the-fly' reports (bibliographies, sort on publisher or location field, etc). Data stored in this index is compressed (to allow larger text values to be represented. The key length is 15 characters although with data compression, 20 characters are used to build the key). During bibliography production (Option D on Export Menu), the key value for this fifth index is: author (14 characters)+title (6 characters) which yields an author/title sort. During User-Defined output (Option M on Export Menu), with a sort on the location field (field #4), the sort key is location (15 characters)+author (5 characters), to yield a location/author sort. If publisher field sort is selected for Option M, then 20 characters of the publisher field are used to generate the key. File extensions used by BIBL: .DAT - a datafile .IX - the index to a DAT datafile. .HLP - Help file (displays when I is pressed on Main Menu) .SAV - temporary file, used during index rebuild/purge. .DBL - ASCII file used to store display text modifications for a particular database. .INI - As in BIBL.INI, an ASCII text file used for configuration data The *.DAT and *.IX files together form 'a database.' You must have the same name on both you .DAT and .IX files--usually taken care of by BIBL but if you rename a database via DOS (for example, renaming DEMO.DAT to MYFILE.DAT, be sure to rename DEMO.IX to MYFILE.IX too!). If you modify the labels, this 'database' will also include a *.DBL file. .TXT - any ASCII file. .BIX - BIBL Import/Export. A labelled ASCII file. This file uses a specific format where each field is labelled (e.g., A1:, A2: for the 2 author fields, T1: T2: T3: for the title fields, and so on. Each record in the file is separated by '**'. The ASCII import function on the Maintenance Menu will read a BIX file and write the information to BIBL records. You can use this facility for backing up your database or moving records from one database to another. TIP. Many users find BIX files are great for doing massive edits across a database (assuming you have an ASCII editor or know how to save an ASCII file from within your favorite word-processor). Just export your database as a BIX file, then use your editor to make global changes across the file. When you're finished, save it back as a plain ASCII file (e.g., CTRL-F5,Text,Save in WordPerfect). Create a new database structure within BIBL to hold this new data (we don't want to import it into the same database we used to get the BIX file or we'll have duplicates). Import it into the new database via Maintenance. When you're convinced it all worked correctly, just delete the older version of the database. BIBL.EXE has been compressed with PKLITE version 1.15 Questions, comments, complaints, encouragement??? Clyde W. Grotophorst, Route 1, Box 296, Hamilton, Virginia 22068 voice: (703) 993-2239 or call the GMUtant OnLine BBS (703) 993-2219, and leave a comment for the Sysop. You may also reach the author via Compuserve (70404,3376), or via the internet (wallyg@fen1.gmu.edu). Appendix A Modifying field display text Beginning with release 7.1, it is possible to modify the way BIBL refers to certain fields in a particular database. Note: this functionality is restricted to modifying the LOCATION field in the SHAREWARE version. A BIBL record defaults to the following field labels (not all the note field is shown for brevity sake): Auth: : Title: : : Publ: : Locn: Date: Subj: Value: Desc: Note: : It is possible to modify these labels on the record display screen, the data entry screen and the edit screen. To do so, you must create an ASCII file similar to the one shown below. In the sample below, we want to modify the Location field (uses the label Locn: in the above example) to show Class: (as in classification). First, with an ASCII editor create a file with the same filename as the database you want to perform this modification on...but give the file a DBL extension. For example, say you wanted to modify the DEMO.DAT database that comes with BIBL, you'd create a file named DEMO.DBL Using the convention established with BIX files (where each field is labelled), you'd enter the following line in the file: CL=Class: CLMENU=Call Nmbr The CL= line governs what label BIBL will use for that field when displaying a record. The CLMENU= line governs how BIBL will refer to the field on the SEARCH and EXPORT menu screens. Limitations: The label text can be no more than 6 characters. The menu text can not exceed 9 characters. Any field you do not modify in your *.DBL file will retain the BIBL default value. Here's a complete sample file for a database that's being used not as a book catalog but as a faculty directory: A1= Name: A2=Phone: T1=Membr: PB= Dept: P2= Schl: CL= Rank: SU=Rsrch: DE= Desc: N1= Note: VL= Cost: AUMENU=Professor TIMENU=Membrship DEMENU=Descrptor PBMENU=Affiliate SUMENU=Research CLMENU=Rank With these 13 lines (and yes, each entry must occupy a single line and begin in the first position of the left margin), we change the look of this one database...all other BIBL databases (unless they too have a corresponding DBL file) will use the BIBL book-oriented defaults. Any BIBL field label can be modified. Six fields may be renamed throughout the program: Author, Title, Publisher, Keywords, Location and Subject. When you delete a database that has an associated DBL file, BIBL will ask if you want that label file removed as well. Leaving it causes no problems other than consuming a few hundred bytes of disk space. You may use WordPerfect to create a label configuration file but be sure to save the file using CTRL-F5 (text out). If you want a database to revert to the original default labels and field names, just delete the associated *.DBL file for that database. ** IMPORTANT ** The operation of the program is not changed by these modifications.If, for example, you do as we've shown in the sample above and divide the author field into 2 fields (one for name and one for phone), BIBL will still treat them as an entity when producing reports -- which in this case would concatenate (or join) them. Finally, when assigning values to AUMENU, TIMENU, CLMENU and SUMENU, be sure that you *DO NOT* have the same letter beginning more than one values--or use the same first letter as is used by one of the fields that you can not change (e.g., D for Descriptor). In several instances during operation, BIBL will accept the initial letter of the strings you assign as the hot key. If two begin with the same letter, pressing that letter will always activate the first term (for example, don't have AUMENU=Editor and SUMENU=Edition -- both begin with an E). Appendix B. Value field Beginning with release 7.4, BIBL will now track a value for each item in a database. Many users have requested this field (to help with insurance valuations of their collections). The value field is limited to 6 spaces (so you can store between 0 - 999.99 for a given item). Should you have an item worth more than 999.99 you can omit the decimal and track values up to 999999. When BIBL computes the total value for a database, it will treat 999999 as 999999.00. The value field label may be changed (using VL= in the *.DBL file). Value appears only in the BIX file (label VL=) or under the USER-SELECTS option under export. It can be read into a BIBL record when using ASCII import. Do not include a $ in your value for an item (e.g., don't enter $ 5.00 -- use 5.00 instead). BIBL will replace any $'s found with 0's. Appendix C. Editing keystrokes supported (use during ADD and/or EDIT): If you know WordStar (or use one of the Borland editors), you'll find most of BIBL's edit commands perform as you'd expect ( ^ = Control key): ^F or CTRL -> word right ^S - character left ^A or CTRL <- word left ^D - character right ^T - delete word right ^Y - delete line ^E - up one line ^X - down a line ^H - backspace ^ENTER or ^KD same as pressing ESCAPE. If you're using a mouse, you can click on a field to highlight it for subsequent editing. Clicking on a part of the field moves the cursor to that spot. When in the NOTE field, use ^B (Control-B) to reformat text. Appendix D. Windows 3.1 support BIBL now offers support for the Windows clipboard. When you're running BIBL under Windows, the 'Save' command that appears when an individual record is on the display becomes the 'Clip' command. Clicking on CLIP or pressing C will copy the current record to the Windows clipboard. The following fields of the record are copied: author, title, publisher, and note. We don't move the location, subject or keyword fields since we assume you want to move a bibliographic citation. Unlike the appending action of the SAVE command, when you send data to the Windows clipboard, it overwrites anything currently stored in the clipboard--so you have to move it from the clipboard to another application before sending a second record. BIBL will run in a Window. Use the PIF file included in the distribution archive. You can also use the .ICO file included if you want a BIBL icon... Note that sending data to the clipboard replaces whatever was already there. Appendix E. Linked file (Text/Image) support With release 8.0, we've added the ability to link files to BIBL records. A new field has been added to each BIBL record (shown as Link: on the add/edit screen). Any file you enter in that field (giving the full DOS pathname) will be called when you press L. The shareware version of BIBL supports linking text files, while the registered version adds support for PCX image files. How does it work? When you display a record (either via list or as the result of a search), BIBL checks the LINK field before displaying the record. If the field contains a file name, a 'marker' displays in the lower left corner of the record. The marker is either [T] for a text file or [I] for an image file. (Note: BIBL determines the file type based on the extension. Files ending in PCX, IMG, TIF, GIF or WPG are considered images, all other extensions default to text). If the record has a marker, then pressing 'L' (for Link) will activate the linked file. Image files (registered version only): BIBL shells out to DOS, executing the image file viewer listed in your BIBI.INI file. If you're using PCX images, and using the view utility included on your distribution diskette (BIBLPCX.EXE), then BIBLPCX is called and passed the name of the file in the LINK: field. You can scroll around the image file (PgUp, PgDn) and when finished viewing press ESCAPE. BIBLPCX exits and BIBL returns. If you are not using BIBLPCX, you must use a program that is capable of accepting a filename on the command line. Text files (registered and shareware) BIBL either passes the file name to its built-in viewer, or if you have an external editor defined (e.g., EDIT=xxxxx in your BIBL.INI file), then the program swaps out to EMS, XMS or disk (in that order) and calls your external editor/viewer program...passing along on the command line the name of the file in the LINK: field. When you finish viewing the file, BIBL returns. NOTE that support for these links between files and BIBL records is assisted by the CHECK LINKS function under maintenance. This function will run through a BIBL database and verify that any file listed in a record's LINK: field does in fact exist. If it can not be found, you'll be notified and offered the opportunity to break the link; that is, delete the data in the associated record's LINK: field. BIBL shows significant performance gains when used with a disk caching software package. At a minimum, if you're using DOS 5 (good), activate SmartDrive. If you have DR DOS 6 (better), use PCKWIK. There are many other disk caching packages available from various software vendors. As with any disk-intensive application, a defragmented disk is also a plus... BIBL REGISTRATION [Release 8.40a ::3/17/93] Name: Company Name: Address: City: State: Zip: Country: How (or where) did you obtain your copy of BIBL? _______________________ Comments on the program: Are you currently a user of GMUtant OnLine BBS? Yes ___ No ___. If not, when you first call, leave a comment to the Sysop. BBS#: 703-993-2219 When you register, you will be sent the latest release by return 1st class mail. You'll also receive a registration number which will enable you to 'upgrade' any subsequent SHAREWARE release to the REGISTERED version to unlock advanced features. Registration Fees: Registration (w/ diskette & access to BBS) $ 39.00 Site License (2-15 copies) $ 29.25 each (-25%) (16-50 copies) $ 19.50 each (-50%) (51+ copies) $ 11.70 each (-70%) Novell (2.x or later) version (1-50 users) $ 150.00 each Diskette: ___ 3.50" ____ 5.25" Total enclosed: $ __________ ** Checks must be in US Dollars from a US account with an ABA routing number, made payable to: Clyde W. Grotophorst Cash/Check or Site License: Credit Card Orders: Clyde W. Grotophorst Public Software Library Route 1, Box 296 PO Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705 Hamilton, VA 22068 USA 1-800-242-4775 Fax: 1-713-524-6398 BBS: (703) 993-2219 Info: 1-713-524-6394 You may also register BIBL via CompuServe (GO SWREG). If you go to the Shareware Registration forum, BIBL's Registration ID is 505 Canada? You may register by check or money order by sending $ 45.00 (Canadian, GST included) to: John Kerr, 200 Woolwich Street #203, Guelph, Ontario N1H 3V7. You will receive a diskette and registration number by return 1st class mail without any customs delay. To register by credit card, please use the Public (Software) Library 800 number shown above.