How to Get Online 1996 Spring/HOW2GON.ISO/mac/Desktop Folder/How To Get Online/HTML/SEARCH/readme.txt

Text File | 1996-03-03 | 13.1 KB | 335 lines | [TEXT/ttxt]

                          SEARCH.EXE VERSION 1.30A06

Written By Robert Thivierge



   SEARCH.EXE is a freeware Windows 3.1 program that produces HTML Web
   pages consisting of small in-line GIF images. These images can be
   clicked on in a Web browser (like Netscape or Mosaic) to see the full
   sized JPEG picture. The output can be customized to suit your tastes.

     _________________________________________________________________

   Note: After you have read the legal stuff, downloaded the ZIP File,
   installed the program, and run it, please take the time to tell me
   how it worked out.  Contact me at

     [e-mail] or [e-mail]

Table of Contents



     * SEARCH.EXE News
     * Current Features
     * Planned Features
     * Program Stability
     * Obtaining the Program
     * Legal Issues and Credits
          + Ownership
          + Freeware Status
          + Credits
          + Disclaimer
     * System Requirements
     * Installation Procedures
     * A Picture of SEARCH.EXE
     * Known Bugs
     * Contacting the Author



SEARCH.EXE News



   Version 1.3 of Search means that all the features of Search can now be
   accessed with user friendly dialog boxes. Within a dialog box you can
   now change any of the descriptive text that is to appear on outputted
   web pages. You can attach meaningful descriptive text to individual
   pictures. You can use pre-defined or user-defined fields to describe
   pictures. For instance if your site consists of pictures of people,
   you can have the name of the subject and/or photographer appear next
   to the picture.

   The information on pictures can easily be layed out in an infinate
   number of ways, such as in tables (which is the default layout). And
   you can group pictures however you wish, to make them easy for people
   to find the one(s) their interested in, and not feel the need to
   download everything, wasting bandwidth.

   Also, the informative text you attach to pictures is not only shown
   next to the picture on the web page, but is contained inside the JPEG
   file. So someone downloading pictures from your site can view the
   descriptive text before and after they download the pictures that
   interest them.

Current Features



  WEB FEATURES
     * For every JPEG file in your site, it creates a smaller GIF
       version.
     * It generates one or more HTML files which contain links to these
       pictures. If you choose to have a sophisticated multi-page site
       (which you don't have to) a browser of your site will be able to
       traverse through all the pages by following links.
     * Your site can have one more pages in any directory and any number
       (zero, one, or many) sub-directories and any level of
       sub-directories.
     * You can have SEARCH.EXE organize pictures in different pages based
       on their file names. You can use this feature in combination with
       sub-directories or without sub-directories.
     * You can have SEARCH.EXE automatically generate a layout for your
       pictures with the "AutoOrg" button. It recognizes repeated file
       name patterns (ie. cc01.jpg, cc02.jpg, etc...), and groups them
       for you. Optionally you can edit this default layout.
     * All text outputted in pages can be changed. You can make changes
       globally that effect all pages, make changes that effect a certain
       type of page, make changes that effect only a particular
       directory, or effect only a particular page. You can also specify
       certain text to go next to individual pictures. For instance, next
       to the photo you can have the name of the subject and a
       description. People using text-only browsers will especially
       appreciate this. The text you specify may contain any HTML tags
       you wish. Pretty much, anything that can be done in HTML can be
       done with SEARCH.EXE.
     * You can have any number of pictures appear on a row in a table.
     * You can control the display width and height of images. SEARCH.EXE
       (by default) uses the WIDTH and HEIGHT tag to tell the browser the
       dimensions of a picture. This speeds up the display of your page
       for browser users.
     * As an optional alternative to having the Directory Index Pages
       link directly to the anchor image, you can have them link to a
       picture Detail Page. This detail page can optionally show the full
       sized image or the reduced size image. Typically this page will
       show additional information about the picture.
     * You can choose from a pre-defined list of sample layouts.
     * Support for the new progressive-JPEG file format. Progressive-JPEG
       files take less disk space and have a fade in effect when viewed
       by Netscape. You can also convert old JPEG files to the new
       format.
     * Customizable file extensions for HTML Web Page files produced.
     * New! - You can use the Configure Layout dialog box to specify
       descriptive text to appear on pages and next to pictures.
       Information describing a picture (such as subject name, etc...) is
       stored in the JPEG file, and can be accessed by a browser user
       before and after downloading the file.



   If there's anything you can't get SEARCH.EXE to do when making Web
   Pages, please let me know.

  OTHER FEATURES
     * Inside SEARCH.EXE, if you click on a particular JPEG file you will
       see the image dimensions of the file shown.
     * SEARCH.EXE can be used to produce a listing of all files matching
       a pattern in a directory and its sub-directories. You can limit
       the listing to files that contain a string inside them. Of course
       this includes comments inside of JPEG files.
     * SEARCH.EXE will decode JPEG files from saved uuencoded articles
       off the UseNet. Unlike most decoders SEARCH.EXE will read
       information such as the "Subject" line and will store this
       information in the JPEG file. This information can be used to have
       SEARCH.EXE organize your pictures into logical groups.
     * Without running another program, you can preview GIF images inside
       of SEARCH.EXE. As well, you can double click on any file and
       launch the associated program to view/edit that file.

Planned Features



   These are features I would like to implement if I get feedback on
   their usefullness.
     * Provide an easy built-in way to package files to be uploaded to a
       UNIX box.
     * Allow finer control over the size of GIF files created.
     * Let the user choose between GIF and JPEG format for in-line
       images.
     * Allow the user to use GIF files as anchor files.
     * Allow the user to group picture files onto different pages based
       on the values in user defined fields. Pictures with the same value
       in a given field would go on the same page.







Program Stability



   This program still has bugs that I am working out. However, it seems
   to work OK for me and other users. Remeber you are using my program at
   your own risk. There is no warranty.



Obtaining the Program



   If you are viewing this document on the Web, just load this anchor to
   disk and follow the installation procedures later in this file.
   Otherwise you should go to http://www.canuck.com/~thivier1/search.html
   to view the on-line version of this document or mail me at
   [e-mail] or [e-mail].



Legal Issues and Credits



  OWNERSHIP



   SEARCH(c) 1995
   The Picture Page Generator
   Written by Robert Thivierge
   All rights reserved by Robert Thivierge

   Any attempt by a person other than myself to reverse compile, sell, or
   to represent the program as their own is prohibited. You may give a
   copy of the the program to someone else free of charge, provided you
   include all the files you received yourself. They then should notify
   me of receipt of it.

   However, any person or organization may distribute my program as
   freeware. They may charge a fee for the service of distribution (such
   as on-line charges, charge for distribution media, etc...). An
   acceptable form of distribution is including my program on CD-ROMs
   containing freeware/shareware, where there is a charge for the CD-ROM.
   However, it must be understood that they are not selling my program.
   And absolutely nobody, but me, may imply or suggest that they authored
   this program or that it is their property. I must always be given full
   credit.

  FREEWARE STATUS



   This program is freeware. I do not require financial payment for use
   of this product. Since users benefit from my time I think its fair to
   ask for some feedback. I like to know everytime someone gets my
   software and every time someone uses it for the first time. I also
   like suggested improvements, and friendly constructive criticism. I
   also appreciate being sent the URLs of sites made with the program.
   There is a special form to collect user responses, located at
   http://www.canuck.com/~thivier1/survey.html. You are always encouraged
   to let me know by e-mail what you're doing with and how its going with
   my program at [e-mail] or [e-mail].
   Remember, one of my main rewards for making this program is seeing
   sites made with it.



  CREDITS



   I appologize to all the people who have helped with suggestions, for
   not taking the time to give individual credit where due. I hope to
   attempt to do so when I have some more time. Your help is very much
   appreciated.

     * This software is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG
       Group. They are kind enough to allow programmers to use their code
       library without financial charge.
     * The Graphics Interchange Format(C) is the Copyright property of
       CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(SM) is a Service Mark property of
       CompuServe Incorporated.
     * The actual compression method used in GIF is copywrited by Unisys
       Corporation. I thank them for allowing freeware authors to use
       their compression method without obtaining a license or paying
       royalties. See the Unisys FAQ on GIF for further details.
     * The tabbed dialogs in SEARCH.EXE were made with the source code
       for TabDlg.DLL. TabDlg.DLL is Copyright (c) 1994 Edward McCreary



  DISCLAIMER



   Use my program at your own risk. There are bugs I know of, there are
   bugs I don't know of. I assume no liability for any losses incurred by
   use of my program. I myself half accidently overwritten files and
   deleted files with SEARCH.EXE. So, if I can loose stuff, you can too.



System Requirements

     * Operating System: It was designed for Windows 3.1. Users have also
       run it on Windows 95 and Windows NT OK.
     * Memory: The amount required is semi-proportional to the size of
       the largest JPEG picture you wish to compress.



Installation Procedures

   To install, do the following:
    1. Make a directory for the program (such as C:\SEARCH). It is very
       important that you have a directory set aside exclusively for
       SEARCH.EXE. Never use the same directory for the program that you
       use for your Web Site.
    2. Copy the ZIP File into it.
    3. Unzip it with PKUNZIP or a compatible program.
    4. If you're upgrading, you may wish to keep your old *.txt files and
       SEARCH.INI file, in order to preserve your layout and settings.
       The only files that should always be updated is SEARCH.EXE and
       SEARCH.HLP.
    5. Make sure all the files are in the same directory, with no other
       files present. Never use this directory to put your pictures or
       HTML files in.
    6. Double click on SEARCH.EXE in the File Manager or create an icon
       for it in the Program Manager. To create an icon in the Program
       Manager, simply drag the file from the File Manager to the Program
       Manager.
    7. Click on the "Settings" button and make sure they are all as you
       wish.

A Picture of SEARCH.EXE



       If you are viewing this document on the web you can view a picture
       of SEARCH.EXE running.



Known Bugs



       Please tell me of any bugs not on this list.
         1. Periodically Search will cause a General Protection Fault. If
            this happens let me know all the details of how it happened.
         2. Although Search will now let you use the "html" file
            extension for output, it still can only read the old 8.3 file
            name format. So, it's best to have the "Always Purge HTML
            First" setting selected, in order to remove any long file
            names that may cause a problem.


Contacting the Author



       You are welcome to contact me with your comments, suggestions, and
       bug reports at either [e-mail] or
       [e-mail].



       Visit my Home Page at http://www.canuck.com/~thivier1