ATTENTION UPGRADING USERS: The Bdexx configuration file format has been
changed, due to the many new features in this version. You *must* run
BDINSTAL.EXE before running Bdexx.


Bdexx is a hypertext system and search engine. Bdexx has many
attractive features:

o Allows up to 65535 files or 65535 screens of text in a single
library (somewhere around 100 megabytes. However, some operating
systems limit you to 32 megabytes on any single disk partition.)
If you have a very large application, please contact the author
about a custom version of Bdexx. The 65535 screen limit could
easily be exceeded at the expense of an increase in index file
size.

o Hypertext links to other screens, graphics, sound files, and
executable programs.

o Can use direct screen writes (for maximum speed) or ANSI control
sequences (for maximum compatibility or remote access.)

o Supports skipping forward and backward any number of pages (true
random access to any page.)

o Will write pages of text or entire documents to an external file,
which can then be imported into another document.

o Has a powerful Boolean search language with wildcarding.

o Will work in either local mode (using the local screen for all
input and output) or remote mode (using a serial port and remote
terminal for input and output.) Bdexx uses the normal popup menu
interface for ANSI users, and also provides an alternate user
interface for remote use by standard ASCII terminals. Bdexx works
very well as a "door" program for bulletin board systems.

o Has a "bookmark" feature. When you exit a Bdexx library, your
current page number is saved. You'll be returned to the same
screen the next time you access that library. In addition, if
you've used the search command, your search set will also be saved.
You can continue examining your search results the next time you
use the library.




HOW TO INSTALL THE BDEXX SYSTEM

Installing Bdexx is simple. Make a new subdirectory and place all
the Bdexx files in it, along with any Bdexx libraries you have. Then
edit your PATH environment variable to include the Bdexx directory (see
your DOS manual for information on how to do this). The supplied file
MUSIC.EXE *must* be on your PATH to use the musical selections in the
tutorial.


Now you need to run BDINSTAL.EXE. This program is used to set the
screen colors used by the Bdexx text retrieval utility. It is also used to
configure directories for file extraction, temporary files, etc.. You *must*
run Bdinstal before using Bdexx.


To run Bdinstal, simply type:

BDINSTAL

at the DOS prompt and answer the questions. You must be in the same directory
where the Bdexx program and libraries are located. If you have multiple
copies of Bdexx in different directories, you must run Bdinstal in each
directory.

Now, type:

BDEXX

at the DOS prompt to run the program. Use your arrow keys to select the
Bdexx Quick Tutorial library, then hit . For a brief help menu, hit F1
or ? while you're in any library. After finishing the Tutorial, you can read
the Bdexx Documentation library for full information on available commands.


There are a couple of known problems with Bdexx on certain machines.
Workarounds for these problems are detailed below.



STACK FAILURE


Some early versions of DOS do not provide a sufficient number of
stacks for proper operation of Bdexx. The default is 8, meaning that only 8
interrupts (keyboard, communications port, clock, etc.) can occur
simultaneously. If you lean on the keyboard while Bdexx is accessing the
disk, your machine may have a stack failure and force you to power-cycle
to regain control. If you experience this problem, bump up the number of
stacks to 16 by putting the statement:

STACKS=16,256

in your CONFIG.SYS file. You should also have

FILES=20

(or more) and

BUFFERS=40

(or more)

in the CONFIG.SYS file for maximum performance of the Bdexx software.


DOS 5.0


There is a bug in the DOS 5.0 .EXE loading code that prevents
proper operation of the Bdexx software. It is very similar to the problem
with loading EXEPACKED files, and the fix is the same. If the Bdexx programs
lock up when you try to load them, prefix the program name with LOADFIX
and try again. For example, to run BDINSTAL.EXE, you'd use the command:

LOADFIX BDINSTAL

This bug doesn't occur on every machine. I think it may have something to
do with the particular DOS sub-version (or subversion) in question;
Microsoft is famous for making "silent" bug fixes. It also appears to be
more common on 286 machines than on 8088 or 386[SD]X machines. Try running
the programs as they are first, though. LOADFIX reduces the memory
available to the Bdexx programs, so only use it if you must. You can
set up batch files to automatically run the programs with LOADFIX if you
wish.