How to Install and Run your CD-ROM Disc of "THE INVESTIGATION OF THE ASSASSINATION OF JFK" from your Hard Drive. by Bradford Morse *********************************************** ** ** ** Investigation of the Assassination of JFK ** ** L.M.P. Systems ** ** 10420 Plano Road ** ** Suite 101 ** ** Dallas, TX 75238 ** ** Voice (214) 343-8338 Fax (214) 383-8348 ** ** ** ********************************************** ================================================== As originally configured, this CD-ROM uses no Hard Disk Space. You simply change to your CD-ROM drive and type "JFK" to begin using this excellent resource material. However, by now you may have noticed that any changes you make to the configuration of the program, such as printer settings, or temporary file paths, must be reset each and every time you run the software. This is because you cannot save the configuration file (PREVIEWS.CFG) back onto the CD-ROM. The program will allow you to save the configuration file to your hard drive, however there appears to be no way to use that file the next time you start the JFK program. By creating a Directory on your hard drive and copying a few small files (a total of 288K) into it, you can start this CD-ROM program from your hard drive and it will retain your customized configuration information. To setup the JFK CD-ROM on your hard drive, follow these few simple steps: SETUP THE PROGRAM ON YOUR HARD DRIVE ==================================== A) Create a new directory on your hard drive, lets call it "JFKCD". Type: CD C:\JFKCD B) Type the following lines to copy 5 files from the CD-ROM Drive (I'll use the drive letter D:, you should use whatever drive letter designates your CD-ROM drive) into the new JFKCD Directory on your hard drive: COPY D:\JFK\PREVIEWS.CFG C:\JFKCD COPY D:\JFK\JFKI.COM C:\JFKCD COPY D:\JFK\JFKI.EXE C:\JFKCD COPY D:\JFK\VIEWER.EXE C:\JFKCD COPY D:\JFK\PREVIEWS.PTR C:\JFKCD C) Type the following lines to create a new JFK.BAT file which will start the program from your hard drive: COPY CON C:\JFKCD\JFK.BAT @ECHO OFF CD D:\JFK D:\JFK\JFKI D:\JFK\JFK.NFO Now press the F6 key then press the ENTER or RETURN key. This will display an ^Z character, followed by the "1 File(s) copied" message. CHANGE MAIN CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ================================= Once you have setup the JFK program to start from your hard drive you should make a few changes to it's configuration. To do this, start the program by changing to your new JFKCD directory and typing JFK. When you arrive at the main menu, press + the letter O for options. Make any changes you wish, colors, etc. Now you MUST change the last line on the screen, which reads "SAVE SETTINGS TO". Change the path (usually F:\) to read: "C:\JFKCD\" don't forget that last "\" at the end! When you press the program will save your new settings to the PREVIEWS.CFG file on your hard drive. Even if you do not change anything else, you MUST change the "SAVE SETTINGS TO" line! CHANGE PRINTER INSTALLATION OPTIONS =================================== Next press and the letter "F" to get the FILE menu. Press the letter "R" to get the PRINTER CONTROL menu. Use the DOWN ARROW once and press to select the "INSTALL PRINTER" option. Use the DOWN ARROW key to find your printer or a compatible printer from the listing displayed. Press and you will be at another box. Press the key until you get to the "SAVE SETTINGS TO" line and again type "C:\JFKCD\". Now press and your printer settings will be saved in the configuration file on your hard drive. CHANGE PRINTER CONFIGURATION OPTIONS ==================================== Now you will want to change the printer configuration options. This will set your margins, etc. Press the and "F" key followed by "R" for printer control. Now press to get to the PRINTER SETUP menu. Using the and DOWN ARROW keys, select and change any of the options displayed on the screen. Then go to the last option which again reads "SAVE SETTINGS TO" and change it to read "C:\JFKCD\" and press this will save your settings to the hard drive. YOU ARE READY TO GO =================== From this point on, all you need to do to run the JFK program is insert the CD-ROM Disc into your drive, change to your new JFKCD Directory on the hard drive, and type JFK and press . The program will start and run normally, except that all your custom configuration changes will still be in effect. OTHER NOTES =========== Printer Paths There is one possible "bug" or "odd feature" I have noticed. If you do not change the "TEMPORARY FILE PATH" on the , menu (options) to the C:\JFKCD\ directory, the printer options for "REDIRECT DOCUMENT TO" and "SAVE SETTINGS TO" will not be saved properly. All other settings, such as printer type and margins WILL be saved, but those paths just keep going back to F:\ The Picture Viewer After using the JFK program for a while, I have developed a distinct dislike for the VIEWER.EXE program which displays the many photos and graphics included with this software. The program blows-up all the pictures to the largest possible size in order to fill the screen. Most pictures more than fill the screen and you can use the ARROW keys to move around. The problem with this viewer is that some (actually most) of these pictures look much better when shown less than full screen, in their actual scanned size. If you have a favorite graphics viewer capable of showing PCX graphics files you can setup the JFK program to use that viewer instead of the VIEWER.EXE program that comes with the CD-ROM Disc. The only requirement is that your viewer must be able to use the command line syntax: progname graphic.pcx For example, I prefer the program PICEM.EXE which can be downloaded from CompuServe. To view a graphics file named MYDOG.PCX I would type the command line: PICEM MYDOG.PCX You can force the JFK program to use this PICEM viewer or any other viewer using the same command syntax, by simply copying the new viewer into the JFKCD directory on your hard drive and giving it the name "VIEWER.EXE". In my case, the command line would look like this: COPY PICEM.EXE C:\JFKCD\VIEWER.TXT From now on, everytime you select a picture (exhibit) to be viewed in the JFK program, your new viewer will be used instead of the original viewer. Although I have no connection with the PICEM program, I suggest you download it and try it for yourself. See which viewer you prefer. You can always go back to the original viewer by typing the line (assuming your CD-ROM drive is designated as drive D: COPY D:\JFK\VIEWER.EXE C:\JFKCD This will copy the original viewer from the CD-ROM back onto your hard drive. A FINAL WORD ============ None of the procedures discribed in this article can permanently affect your original CD-ROM Disc. Except for melting, scratching, or bending, you absolutely cannot erase, overwrite, or in any way damage information on a CD-ROM. That is the reason we want to start the JFK program from the hard drive in the first place, so we can save the new configuration files. If you have problems with the procedures outlined above, or simply wish to change back to the original configuration, all you need to do is change to the CD-ROM drive and type JFK instead of changing to the Hard Drive Directory "JFKCD". In other words, start the program as originally intended. Good Luck