OS/2 Professional/OS2PRO194.ISO/os2/wps/progs/os2bible/os2bible.inf

OS/2 Help File | 1993-05-25 | 25KB | 542 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Introduction ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Welcome to the OS/2 Study Bible .

This product was developed to allow the users of OS/2 the ability to study the
Bible.

This demo version is fully functional as of its distribution date. The program
will be further developed and due to the nature of bulletin boards and the
advent of the CD-ROM this version could be quite out-dated by the time you read
this.

This version is to be distributed freely and may be distributed as long as it
is done for free except for the cost of shipping and handling.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Why a demo? ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This product is distributed on the basis that if you like it then you will
support it. If there is no support then the motivation for furthering its
development will suffer.

By distributing it through bulletin boards it is very cheap as there is no
advertisement budget. But bulletin boards do not reach everyone. One reason for
distributing it as a free product is to test to see if there is a market for
this and future OS/2 products.

But BBSs have there faults. How do you know if the product is of any use? How
many times have you downloaded a program and have found it to be of poor
quality? So the size of the demo had to be restricted so that people would be
willing to spend a little on their phone bill in order to see if they can use
the program. So the demo only contains the New Testament. And the version used
is in the public domain. So it is not necessary for me to keep track of how
many people are using it for royalties sake.

Since most people still have 2400 baud modems it may still be cost prohibitive
to download this on a long distance call. This release would take about 40
minutes at 2400 baud. So those of you with high speed modems, after you have
downloaded this, why not upload it to a local BBS in your area?


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Installation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The OS/2 Study Bible was originally uploaded as two files.

study1.zip

  read.me - containing an overview of the product

  study.inf - this information file

study2.zip

  os2bible.exe - the executable

  os2bible.prf - contains your prior

  kjv.dat - the King James new testament

  kjv.inx - an index to kjv.dat

  kjvconc.dat - the concordance

  kjvconc.inx - an index to the

  kjv.ico - the icon for the KJV.

It was divided into two parts so that you would have the ability to download
the readme file first to see what the product was all about before you decided
whether you wanted to run up your phone bill or not.

To install the program create a directory and unzip the two files into the
directory. It is assumed that you already have figured out how to unzip files.
Otherwise you would not be reading this. For the demo version all files used
for the program must be kept in the same directory as the .EXE file.

To create an icon on your desktop you need to run the file MAKICON.CMD. This
file is a Rexx command file. You must have Rexx installed on your system for
this to work properly. Otherwise you need to create an icon using the Templates
folder. See the operating system help files for more information.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Other Translations Available ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The OS/2 Study Bible Demo June 1993 is currently using the New Testament of the
King James Version. It only uses the NT in order to keep the download time to a
minimum and uses the KJV so that it can be legal. The KJV is still a popular
version.

Other versions such as NA, NAS, RSV, NRSV, and especially the NIV require
2000-10000 dollar payments to have rights to use the text and require from 7.5%
of the net up to a fee of $10 per bible. So currently I have to stick to public
domain texts in order to remain legal.

During the beta testing phase I found out that everyone wants it when it is
free and about 15% of the people will pay. The demo version will help me get a
grip on how many people I can count on to buy a particular translation before I
commit significant dollars.

If you want this program to go further then drop me a postcard with your name
and address stating where you got the program and which translation you would
be willing to purchase. List any translations you wish even if not listed
above. Use the address located in the How to Contact section.

Based on the NIV which requires a $10,000 up front liscence fee and a $10 per
bible royalty you can estimate how many responses that translation would
require in order for me to just break even. Let's say that people are willing
to spend $40 for the NIV. Subtract the royalty fee of $10 and the costs of
disks, mailers, etc.. of $5 and you have $25 to apply towards the liscence fee.
So 10000 divided by 25 equals 400. I need 400 people that would say, YES I am
willing to purchase the NIV.

I am not setting up the final pricing structure yet. But based on what I
currently know the NIV could be priced at $40 each and all other translations
at $30 each. The more people that send in a post card on the NIV the cheaper it
gets.

Please mail your postcards in by August 1, 1993. Once I have the numbers
tallied I will mail a response on a postcard stating the final pricing
structure. The KJV full translation and other public domain translations will
be available much earlier. I will post a notice on Compuserve and Prodigy
stating the details on June 1.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. How to Contact ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Since this product is being used as a test market there is no way to justify
the expense of a full time person that just answers the phone regarding your
questions. So the following places are available to you for questions.

Compuserve 72020,613

Prodigy HJXK78A

The OS/2 Bible BBS [phone] This is only temporary.

U.S. Mail

Rick Fortier

8532 N Executive Hills Blvd. Suite 137

Kansas City, MO 64154


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.5. Future Plans ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If enough responses are obtained then the OS/2 Study Bible will be further
developed and additional translations will be made available. All future
versions are free. But all full bible translations will be charged for. It has
not yet been determined what the pricing structure or time of availability will
be.

Alot depends on the responses that I get. The only thing that will ever be
uploaded to bulletin boards will be the demo version with a New Testament
translation attached to it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Menus ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are four menus in the OS/2 Study Bible , the main menu , the translation
menu, the button menu, and the search results menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Main Menu Selections ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The main menu has two selections, File and Exit. It  is located just under the
button menu.

File

The File option on the main menu will allow you to open and close translations,
open and close output text files and obtain product information.

Exit

The Exit option on the main menu will allow you to end the program. When you
end the program, the current session 's window placements, the current verse
for each translation window, and the contents of the search results window are
saved. These items are restored when the program is restarted. Any information
that is not saved in the folder is discarded.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Translation Menu Selections ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

A copy of the Translation Menu is located on each translation window. The top
level choices are Edit , Navigate , Search and Folder .

Edit

The items in the Edit menu will allow you to copy verses to the clipboard, add
selected verses to the folder, write selected verses to the output file, and
select a font for the translation window.

The three export functions copy, add and write use the verses that are
selected. To see how to selected a range of verses go to selecting verse
ranges.

Navigate

The items in the  Navigate menu will allow you to change the location of where
you are currently reading.

If you wish to jump directly to a specific verse then select Jump To a
reference.

If you want to navigate using the search results that you have found then
select Next Verse in Search Results or Prev Verse in Search Results. Most
people find it easier to use the  button menu for this operation.

Search

The only item in the search menu is Search for Text. See Searching for more
information.

Folder

In the Folder menu you may open an existing folder or view the existing folder.
Be careful and save the contents of the existing folder before you open a new
one.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Button Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The button menu allows you to perform the most common tasks with a single click
of the mouse. It is the same as selecting the option from the main menu or from
a translation menu.

  Open a new translation

  Open an output file

  Write selected verses to the output file from a translation window

  Copy selected verses to the clipboard from a translation window

  Add selected verses to the folder from a translation window

  Retrieve an existing  folder from disk.

  View the contents of the folder.

  Search for text.

  Jump to the previous verse in Search Results.

  Jump to the next verse in Search Results.

  Jump to a specific location in the current translation window.

  Select a new font for the current window type.

Please note that the question mark button, which represents help does not work
yet. This information file which you are now reading will be added as context
sensitive help in a future version.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are various windows in the OS/2 Study Bible , the translation window, the
search results window, the folder dialog box, the search concordance dialog
box, and the jump to dialog box.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. The Translation Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The translation window contains the bible text, the menu, the minimize button,
the maximize button, and the vertical scroll bar.

The bible text appears with the name of the verse preceding each verse. The
text can be selected to form a search criteria list, or to form a range of
verses.

The minimize button will minimize the window and place it an the bottom of the
main window appearing as an icon. The maximize button will cause the
translation window to fill the entire inner portion of the main window.

The vertical scroll bar will allow you to move a verse at a time, a screen at a
time, or allow you to move blindly move to another place in the bible. Earlier
test versions included a popup window which informed you where you would jump
to when you released the slider. It could be added in the future if there was
overwhelming demand for it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Search Results window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The search results window is the main reason for having a computer based bible
in the first place. It saves the tedious time it would have normally taken had
you had to look them up manually.

The search results window will appear once the search has been completed by the
search concordance dialog box.

The search results window consists of the following elements: the menu, the
search string, the listbox, and the OK, Cancel , Prev, and More push buttons.

The menu allows you to copy the search results to the clipboard, add the
results to the folder, and write the results to an output text file.

The listbox contains the names of the verses which match the search criteria
and a portion of the verse text. Depending on a number of things the word
actually searched for may not be visible in the listbox. If the window is
enlarged, it will appear. It is suggested that you use a small font for the
search results window.

When the OK button is pressed, the currently highlighted verse will appear in
the most recently active translation window. This action is also performed if
you double-click on the verse in the listbox.

The Prev and More buttons are used when the search results produce an extremely
large number of matches. When that occurs, the More button will be activated.
When the More button is pressed, the next section of the results will be placed
into the listbox and the Prev button will be activated.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. The Folder Dialog Box ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Folder Dialog.

The folder dialog allows you to view and manipulate the contents of the folder.

The list box displays the range of verses in each item and which translation it
was imported from.

Underneath the list box is the verse viewer window. This displays the first
verse of the item of which the dotted 'cursor' is in the listbox. This is
useful when you want to delete items from the listbox.

The export buttons allow you to copy the verses in the folder to the clipboard,
or write the verses to a text file. The text file must be opened in order to
perform the write.

The edit buttons allow you to clear the contents of the folder or selectively
delete items from the listbox. This is a useful tool when you have added verses
from the  search results window to the folder and want to eliminate irrelevant
verses from your list before you export them.

The two buttons on the bottom of the folder dialog box allow you to hide and
save the folder. Hiding the folder does not clear it. It allows you to resume
working with the other windows. Saving the folder saves the items in the
listbox to a disk file. You must give the file a name that conforms with your
file system.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Search Concordance Dialog Box ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The search concordance dialog box is used to enter your search criteria and
parameters and to perform the search.

If the search criteria list is not empty then its contents will be moved into
the "Words" entryfield when the search concordance dialog box is opened.

There are two types of search methods. An AND search and an OR search. The type
of search is selected by clicking on the appropriate radio button in the Method
group.

The AND search will find the verses in which all of the words in the search
criteria list reside. The OR search will find the verses in which any of the
words reside.

In order to confine the search area in which your results will lie you can
enter the range limitations. The first entryfield will be where the search will
start, and the second entryfield will be where the search will end. The method
of entering the verse is the same as in the upper portion of the Jump To dialog
box.

The most common range delimiters is to search in just the Old Testament or
search in just the New Testament. The demo version of the OS/2 Study Bible only
contains the New Testament, so this feature is irrelevant at this point.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Jump To Dialog Box ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Jump To dialog box lets you jump directly to a verse. You have two methods
to do so. You may type in the reference or may select it using the listbox and
spin buttons.

In order to select which method you must select the appropriate radio button at
the top of the dialog box. The choices are: type it, or select it.

If you want to type it then you may type in the full reference (i.e. Psa 16e.
Psa 16), or just the book (i.e. Psa). The portions left blank are assumed that
you what the first verse or chapter. One special thing to note is that you may
omit the colon and just type in a space instead (i.e. Psa 16 3). If you type in
a chapter or verse number that is larger than exists it will not jump anywhere.

If you wish to select the verse you wish to jump to then select the book,
chapter and verse from the dialog controls. You may optionally view the books
in alphabetic or book order by checking or unchecking the box.

Once you have typed or selected the verse, press the OK button.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Processes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are several processes in the OS/2 Study Bible, searching, navigating,
selecting a range of verses, and selecting a font.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Searching - An Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can initiate a search by clicking on the search button located in the
button menu or by selecting search from a translation menu.

Before you begin your search it is easiest to select words in a translation
window and add them to your search criteria list. See Creating Search Criteria.

After you have initiated a search the Search Concordance dialog box will appear
and the contents of the search criteria list will be placed in the Words
entryfield.

Set the search type and range for your search and press the OK button.

When the search is complete the Search Results window will appear containing
the verses that matched your search parameters and criteria.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Navigation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

You can navigate by one of three methods. You can use the vertical scroll bar
located on the right side of each translation window, use the Navigate menu
option on the translation window, or use the accelerator short-cut keys.

You may move a verse at a time (up/down), move to an adjoining chapter (+/-),
move to an adjoining book (end/home), or move to the next or previous screen
(PageDn/PageUp).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Selecting a range of verses ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting a range of verses is accomplished by two events. The first verse in
the range must be marked, and the last verse in the range must be marked.

To mark the beginning of the range, click with mouse button 1 on the book,
chapter, verse part of the verse (i.e. Gen 1).

To mark the last verse of the range, double click with mouse button 1 on the
book, chapter, verse part of the verse (i.e. Gen 1).

The first verse of the range will have its header highlighted in bright blue
(i.e.  Gen 1). The last verse of the range will be highlighted in dark blue
(i.e. Gen 1 ).

Other methods could have been used but it was my personal preference not to use
the popular click and drag method. The main reason is that it quickly becomes
very tedious when you want to highlight large portions of text when using that
method. My method allows you to click on Matt 1  The other method does not or
will take too long to be useful.

Once you have selected a range of verses they may be copied to the clipboard,
added to the folder, or written to an output text file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. Selecting a font ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The font and help functions were the last features added to the program and
still need to be completed. They will be completed for the next release.

The font can be changed from two methods. You should experiment with both
methods to see which one is the most reliable. The first method in using the
Font Palette program that is a part of the OS/2 Operating System. The second
method is to select a font from the font dialog box.

The Font Palette is usually located in the OS /2 Sytem folder, in the System
Setup folder. You may want to move it to the desktop if you use this method.
Drag one of the fonts to  a translation window. All of the translation windows
will change to that font. This also will work with the search results window
but you need to experiment with it.

You may also change the font using the font icon on the button menu, or select
the Select a Font option from a translation window menu's Edit section. The
button menu method is the preferable of the two. When the button is pressed the
application determines which type of window is active (translation or search
results) and then change the fonts of that window type to the selected font.

Whichever method you choose, the font should be saved when you exit the
application. Sometimes it seems to lose it. It is a known bug.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Creating Search Criteria ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If the word that you want to search for is visible on a translation window,
then this feature will streamline the search process for you.

You create a search criteria list by clicking with mouse button 1 on a word in
a translation window. This word will become the first word in your search
criteria list. If there was a previous criteria list then it is erased first
before the new list is created.

To add words to the search criteria list, double click with mouse button 1 on
the additional word. This word will be appended to the search criteria list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Exporting ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are two ways to export text, the clipboard and the output text file in
the OS/2 Study Bible . The folder  also plays a key role in the gathering of
the text to be exported.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.7. Folder ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The folder is a collection of selected verses. It allows you to store them as a
group to disk for later retrieval. Verses can be added to the folder from a
translation window and from the search results window.

The verses in the folder can be copied to the clipboard or written to an output
text file. The  folder dialog box is used during these operations.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.8. Output File ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

One of the most important features of the OS/2 Study Bible is the ability to
export verses to a file. This file can then be printed or edited with a word
processor.

The first step that is necessary is that you must open a output file. This can
be accomplished by clicking on the open file icon from the button menu, or by
selecting it from a translation window menu.

Once you have an open file you can write verses to the output file. Verses can
be written to the output file from the translation window, the search results
window, and from the folder dialog box. Each window has its own distinct method
for accomplishing the export.

Any time you wish you may close the output file and open a new one. The only
place that you can close the output file is from a translation window menu.

The output file is automatically closed when the program is closed.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.9. The Clipboard ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The clipboard allows programs to exchange information. The OS/2 Study Bible
allows you to copy verses to the clipboard from a translation window, from the
search results window, and from the folder.

The clipboard has a size limitation. So it is not recommended that large
numbers of verses be copied to the clipboard.