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BIBLE Verse of the Day
Version 4.10
User's Guide
MorriSoft
206 Attleboro Court
Meridianville, AL 35759-2244
BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
Introduction
Greetings, and welcome to BIBLEV 4.10! BIBLEV (short for
BIBLE Verse of the day) is a program that will display a
BIBLE Verse on your IBM PC or other MS-DOS compatible
computer. BIBLEV has many customizable options, allowing
you to tailor its operation to suit your personal taste,
with its primary goal being to give you a spiritual boost
periodically, as you use your computer.
Features
- Automated installation.
- Virtually unlimited verse capacity (up to 2 billion
verses).
- Verse file can be modified with any ASCII text editor.
- Choice of random or daily verse display. In daily
mode, the same verse will be displayed every time
BIBLEV is run on a specific date.
- A selection of favorite verses supplied, from the
Revised Standard Version (RSV).
- Current date and time display.
- Support for BIOS text, color text, and graphics display
modes.
- Colors are customizable in color text and graphics
display modes.
- Variety of attractive screen fonts available in graphic
display mode.
- Super VGA support for 800x600 and 1024x768 graphics
modes.
- User specified time-out allows unattended reboot, when
BIBLEV is executed from AUTOEXEC.BAT.
- Screen-reader compatible (in BIOS text mode), for the
visually impaired.
- Options that aid use by BBS sysops (i.e. can be
redirected to a DOS file or device).
System Requirements
- 8088, 80x86 or Pentium based PC.
- MS-DOS 3.1 or greater, PC-DOS 3.1 or later, DR DOS 5.0
or later.
- 360KB or greater floppy drive, although a hard disk is
strongly recommended.
- Any PC compatible video display.
- 512KB RAM.
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
Required Files
INSTALL.EXE - Install program for BIBLEV.
BIBLEV.EXE - The main program file.
BIBLEV.DAY - The verse file.
BIBLEV.CFG - The configuration file used to store
your color preferences, font choices,
etc.
SVGA16.BGI - Graphics device driver used for SVGA,
VGA and EGA graphics modes. CGA,
Hercules, and Text mode support are
built into the program file.
BIBLEV.DOC - This documentation file, in ASCII text
format.
REVISION.DOC - File listing changes to BIBLEV from
previous versions, in ASCII text format.
Look here to find what's new.
REGISTER.DOC - Registration form for BIBLEV, in ASCII
text format.
Installation
BIBLEV 4.10 is the first version of BIBLEV to ship with an
automated installation utility. To install BIBLEV, follow
one of the following two procedures:
1. If installing from a register BIBLEV floppy, simply
insert the floppy diskette into the appropriate
diskette drive, change to that drive letter, and type
"INSTALL". For example, if the BIBLEV installation
floppy is in drive A:, then you would type the
following:
C:\> A: [PRESS ENTER]
A:\> INSTALL [PRESS ENTER]
2. If you downloaded BIBLEV from a BBS or other electronic
service, you have obviously unzipped the distribution
file at this point. Simply change to the directory you
unzipped BIBLEV into, and type "INSTALL". For example,
if you unzipped the files into the directory C:\TEMP,
you would type:
C:\> CD \TEMP [PRESS ENTER]
C:\TEMP> INSTALL [PRESS ENTER]
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
INSTALL will walk you though installing BIBLEV. Simply read
and follow the directions on the screen. If in doubt, press
ENTER to take the default answer (if there is one), or refer
to the Options section of this document.
Configuration
BIBLEV has many user-configurable options. If you are
installing BIBLEV using the automated INSTALL program, then
BIBLEV Setup will be run automatically (with possible
exceptions on systems with limited free DOS memory). If you
are manually installing BIBLEV, or simply want to change the
original choices you made, you can invoke BIBLEV in Setup
mode by typing the following at the DOS prompt:
BIBLEV S
This will invoke BIBLEV in the 'Setup' mode. You will then
be prompted with a series of screens, allowing you to
customize the operation and appearance of BIBLEV. In most
cases, the on-screen text should be self-explanatory.
However, if you are unsure of what to do, please refer to
the next section: "OPTIONS". Please note that based on the
detected hardware on your system, and the decisions you
make, not all of these options may be available.
Options
Two user selectable modes of operation:
"Daily Verse" mode
When in this mode, BIBLEV will use the DOS date on your
PC to determine the verse to use, and then will
display that verse from the BIBLEV.DAY verse file. The
verse will be the same each time run that day. After
using all of the verses in BIBLEV.DAY, the program
will cycle back to the beginning of the verse file.
"Random Verse" mode
In random mode BIBLEV will randomly select one of the
verses in the verse file. Since verse selection is
entirely random, and not based on date, the verse will
be different each time run, even on the same day
(unless the same verse is randomly selected twice!).
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
User selectable time-out value:
After displaying a verse, BIBLEV normally waits for a
key to be pressed before exiting. Also, if a verse is
longer than one screen, a "MORE" prompt is displayed,
and the program waits for the user to press a key. The
user can specify the number of minutes and seconds to
wait for a key press, or even specify that BIBLEV wait
forever (by entering '0:0'). This option is useful if
you use BIBLEV in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file, and want the
computer to be able to boot up without you being there
to press a key.
Three different user selectable output modes:
Standard Text (BIOS) output:
This mode of output uses the standard BIOS routines
built into your computer to perform text screen output.
The colors in effect at the DOS prompt when BIBLEV is
invoked will be used. This output mode should be used
if you are redirecting the output of BIBLEV to a file
or printer. Also use this mode if you are using a
"screen reader" program of some type, such as those
used by vision impaired members of the computing
community, or if you intend to use BIBLEV in
conjunction with a BBS. For use in this mode of
operation is the command line parameter "N" (No Title),
which will suppress the program title and copyright
display. Also available is the "D" (Don't Wait)
option, which will suppress the "More" and "Press any
key" prompts.
Color Text (Direct Video) output:
This mode of output requires 100% IBM compatible video
hardware, and utilizes direct video writes to provide
color text screen output. This mode is available for
Monochrome displays, but will only provide black and
white output. The primary users of this mode will
probably by the owners of CGA displays and adapters.
Owners of higher resolution Super VGA, VGA, EGA and
Hercules display adapters will probably want to use
the Graphics output mode. Date and time display is
provided in this mode.
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
Graphics output:
BIBLEV provides an optional graphics-based interface!
If you select this option, you will be provided with a
menu of nine attractive vector screen fonts, with user
configurable size and color. An on-screen menu and
sample output assist you in making a selection.
Support is provided for Super VGA, VGA, EGA, Hercules
MGA, and CGA display adapters. With the exception of
Super VGA, the display type is automatically detected
by BIBLEV. If you do not desire to use this feature,
simply choose one of the text mode display options when
in the configuration menus. Date and time display is
provided in this mode.
NOTE: The graphics mode fonts were designed for
optimum appearance on a high resolution video
display. Some fonts may be unreadable on a
CGA adapter. Due to the limited pixels on a
CGA display, the parameter "N" can be used to
suppress Title and Copyright Display.
Verse File Modification
All verses are contained in the file BIBLEV.DAY (for BIBLE
Verse of the Day). This file is simply an ASCII text file,
and can be edited with any ASCII text editor (almost any
text editor or word processor for the PC can edit ASCII
files). Just make sure that you save the file again in
ASCII format - if in some other strange format, BIBLEV will
NOT work properly!
Each verse in the file MUST be marked, or tagged, with an
asterisk (*) if you want it to be used by BIBLEV. The file
is very freeform, and has no strict format. Verses can be
as long as you desire, as BIBLEV will pause when a verse is
longer than one screen. I would recommend not setting the
margins wider than 80 if you are using text mode. If you
are using graphics mode, automatic word-wrap has been
implemented, so margins won't matter as much.
BIBLEV now automatically detects changes in the size of the
Verse file! After adding new verses, or deleting old verses,
the next time BIBLEV is run, it will go into an automatic
setup mode to count the number of verses in the verse file.
The program will then proceed to run normally.
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
Command Reference
Running INSTALL:
The INSTALL program can be used to install BIBLEV into a
subdirectory on a computer's hard drive. To run INSTALL,
you must change to the directory or diskette containing the
BIBLEV distribution files, and type:
INSTALL [Press ENTER]
INSTALL will walk you though all of the steps of installing
BIBLEV into the hard disk directory of your choice. If a
previous version of BIBLEV is found, you will be asked
whether or not to save your old verse file (a must if you
have added your own verses). If there is sufficient system
memory, INSTALL will automatically invoke BIBLEV Setup for
you. And last of all, you will be asked if you want INSTALL
to add BIBLEV to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you are
upgrading from an earlier version of BIBLEV, this should not
be necessary.
Running BIBLEV:
The program can be run from the command prompt by typing
"BIBLEV", or can easily be added to a batch file. BIBLEV
must either be in the current directory, or in a directory
specified as part of the DOS path.
In a batch file, such as the AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you could
run BIBLEV in the following fashion. This example assumes
that you have installed all of the files for BIBLEV into a
directory called "C:\BIBLEV", but any directory can be used.
For example:
.
.
PATH = C:\;C:\DOS;C:\BIBLEV;C:\UTILITY
BIBLEV
.
.
By setting the DOS path to include the directory containing
the program, BIBLEV can now be run from any directory on
your hard disk.
Note that BIBLEV will search all directories in the DOS path
for its data files. Therefore, for fastest performance, if
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
you use a long PATH statement, try to place the directory
containing BIBLEV towards the beginning of the PATH.
NOTE: If you are replacing an older version of BIBLEV
(any version prior to 3.00), you will need to
delete the old 'BIBLEV.COM' program file before
you can use the new program.
Command Line Options:
S - <Setup> Starts BIBLEV in Setup mode.
N - <No Title> Runs BIBLEV in normal mode, and
suppresses the display of Title and Copyright
notices. Only valid if configured for Standard
Text output or if running Graphics mode on a CGA
display.
D - <Don't Wait> Runs BIBLEV in normal mode, and
suppresses the "More" and "Press any key"
messages, and ignores the time-out setting. The
program exits immediately, without pausing. This
option is only available in Standard (BIOS) Text
mode, and is intended primarily for use when
redirecting output to a DOS file or printer.
ND - Combine the "Don't Wait" and "No Title" options.
Trouble Shooting
It is highly unlikely that you will run into a problem with
BIBLEV. However, if you do, check the following items:
1. Make sure that you are you running MS-DOS 3.1, PC-DOS
3.1, DR DOS 5.0 or later.
2. Make sure that the FILES statement in your CONFIG.SYS
is set to at least 20. You may need more if you are
running BIBLEV under a multitasking environment (DR DOS
TaskMax, GeoWorks, Windows, OS/2, etc.).
3. Is the directory into which you installed BIBLEV listed
in your DOS PATH statement? If not, edit your
AUTOEXEC.BAT to add that directory to your PATH
statement, and reboot.
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BIBLE Verse of the Day Version 4.10 User's Guide
4. If having problems running BIBLEV from your
AUTOEXEC.BAT (when booting), make sure that the line
that executes the "BIBLEV" command is after the PATH
statement.
5. If you have selected Super VGA graphics, and the screen
is blank or unreadable (or otherwise messed up), try
reconfiguring BIBLEV (by executing "BIBLEV S"), and
either select a lower Super VGA resolution, or disable
Super VGA graphics support.
Technical Support
Questions, comments and suggestions concerning BIBLEV can be
sent to CompuServe address 73670,762 or via Internet mail to
73670.762@compuserve.com. If you have access to any of the
major commercial information networks, odds are that you
have Internet mail capabilities. If you do not have access
to any of these services, write to:
MorriSoft
206 Attleboro Court
Meridianville, AL 35759-2244
Closing Remarks
BIBLEV and its associated programs are written in C++, and
compiled with Borland's Turbo C++ Compiler for DOS, Version
3.0.
BIBLEV and all associated programs and data files are
provided 'as is' with no expressed warranty of any kind.
MorriSoft is in no way liable for any damages, real or
imagined, received thereof.
Lastly, ENJOY! I hope many people find this program of some
use, and that it helps you grow in the Word even while using
your computer!
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