This program is offered "as is" as a no-frills alternative to some of the excellent Bible study software that is available. At present, it can only handle the provided translation of the Bible, and you must get your spelling right! Future versions might have the option of including a commentary in the search, and might also have a greater tolerance of minor typos. USING THE PROGRAM ===== === ======= Start the program, either from the shortcut on your desktop, or from the Start->Programs menu. Then type in the word or phrase you wish to search for, and click on "Search". Verses which include the word/phrase you chose will be identified on the screen as the search progresses. If the word or phrase you chose has been found, you will be given a chance to view it using the "wordpad" accessory. If you choose not to avail yourself of this opportunity, you can either copy the list of verses to your wordprocessor via the clipboard, or use the Start->Programs menu if you come back later. If you click on "Options" at the top left of the screen, you can choose between displaying a whole chapter or just the relevant verses. You can also turn off the automatic inclusion of the dictionary defintions. This Help file is accessible from the "Help" option of the program. Error Messages ===== ======== Most of the error messages you are likely to receive are self-explanatory, such as "Nothing Found". On starting, the program does a check that it hasn't been damaged or tampered with. If you receive any of the following messages, it is possible that something nasty has got into your system. Before you go complaining to the software author, make sure your protection is up-to-date against viruses and other such nasty creatures. Message: "Bad CRC: Patch utility needs to be run. Contact program author." Response: You shouldn't get this one, contact the sotware author. While you're waiting for a response, check your system for viruses. Message: "Unable to do self-check: file not found or unable to open" or: "Bad CRC: Error in self check: Unable to open file" Response: Check if some other software hasn't locked you out and that your system isn't infected by a virus. Message: "Bad CRC: Program may have been tampered with." or: "Invalid CRC: Program may have been tampered with." Response: Check your system for viruses before reinstalling this software, and, whatever you do, be careful of software which shrinks the size of executables: the selfcheck in this package doesn't know anything about such tricks to save disk space. Message: "Error with self-check: file date error" Response: Check your system for viruses. Re-install if necessary. Message: "Error in self-check: file size error" Response: Check your computer for viruses. Re-install if necessary. System Requirements ====== ============ CPU: 80386, equivalent, or better (required) OS: Windows 95/98, equivalent, or better (as long as its Win32) (Due to programmer laziness, the "wordpad" utility is assumed to be in folder \Program Files\Accessories - you can always use the Start->Programs menu to collect the results of your most recent search if necessary) Bug reports and suggestions === ======= === =========== This program is a no-frills package, and should reach you in a usable state, free from viruses and the like. Please report bugs to the author @ r_voogd@xtra.co.nz Updates ======= The latest version, which will take on-board bug reports and polite suggestions, can be found at http://www.geocities.com/rj_voogd/software.html which also includes instructions on being notified of updates. Copying this program ======= ==== ======= Feel free to copy this package. All we ask is that you leave in the material that identifies (a) where you downloaded the software from and (b) the developers of the installation program. Removing this program ======== ==== ======= Use the "uninstall" utility provided where possible. As this program makes no changes to the system registry, it should be safe to delete the folders and files directly. Credits: ======== The etext of the Bible was derived from a Project Gutenberg etext - the exact www reference eludes me for the moment. Depending on where you received this software from, the installer will have been created with the help of Install Maker from www.clickteam.com or with the help of Tarma Installer, available from www.tarma.com The program itself was developed with the help of version 3 of Borland's C++Builder. For more information visit www.borland.com Program Background ======= ========== The first program I wrote for helping people study the Bible was for an 80286 based MS-DOS machine which "expired" and went to "PC Heaven" (if such a place exists - the local rubbish dump is more likely) back in the year 2000. It was, in essence, a simple catalog program that derived its information from the user typing in brief study notes for a particular chapter or verse, and later coming back to search the database for a word or phrase. The source and executables for that software is long lost from my personal disk library. Aah, the folly of not making backups! My next effort was again aimed more at MS-DOS though I'd since upgraded to a beast running Windoze 98. The final incarnation of that is available through assorted places on the 'net, including my website at Yahoo's Geocities. It can search the KJV of the Bible, with tolerance of minor typos, and can also search Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary. This attempt isn't flash, but is better than nothing... The info you are reading now is part of my efforts to use the Windows platform to achieve the goal of software that is both easy to use and uncomplicated by having too many bells and whistles. HISTORY ======= File Version 1.3.2.0: Addressed "program exception" issue that could occur when "Include dictionary defintions" wasn't selected. File Version 1.3.1.1: Added Windows help file File Version 1.3.1.0: Fixed bug relating to spurious inclusion of words in the dictionary when "Include complete chapter" not selected. Minor, barely noticable change (unless you were looking for it) when search in progress. File Version 1.3.0.0: Added dictionary File Version 1.1.0.0: Self checks against virus infection expanded, messages rewritten. New option added to choose between the display of the found verses only, or to place them in the context of a complete chapter. File Version 1.0.1.2: Searches the KJV translation of the Bible, identifies the verses found on-screen, and allows the viewing of the complete text. In the interests of not propogating viruses and other nasties, does a self-check. File version 1.0.0.0: A complete rewrite from scratch of an earlier program, this one intended for the Win32 (Windows) enviornment