INTRODUCTION: If your personal computer runs Microsoft Windows 3.1 (or any other operating system that can view Windows 3.1 Help files such as OS/2 2.x and Windows NT), then you may be interested in this hypertext Book, "Aesop's Fables". This information file describes the contents of "Aesop's Fables", summarizes the terms regarding copyright and distribution, and gives technical information on how to view and install this book. *** UPLOAD THIS BOOK ONTO YOUR FAVORITE BBS OR ONLINE SERVICE *** *** SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES *** *** IT'S FREE!!! NO PURCHASE OR REGISTRATION REQUIRED *** (Be sure to read this file before uploading or redistributing.) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE PAGE: AESOP'S FABLES Translated by George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900) Edited and Converted to Windows 3.1 Help Format by Jon E. Noring Revision 1.2 December 27, 1993 (C) Copyright 1993 by Jon E. Noring ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ABSTRACT OF THE BOOK CONTENTS: "Aesop's Fables" contains 312 fables attributed to Aesop, an ancient Greek writer and scholar born approximately 620 B.C. The fables contained in this document were originally translated by the Rev. George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900). Although many today view fables as being more for children than for adults, this viewpoint is the exception rather than the rule. Throughout history, "Aesop's Fables" have been regarded as the finest of that genre and were much studied in scholarly circles. I encourage the reader to approach these fables with an open mind; not only will they be quite enjoyable, they will also be quite enlightening as to how the wisdom contained applies as much today as it did over 2500 years ago. The text for this document came from a Public Domain source freely available on the Internet. However, this Windows 3.1 Help file publication of "Aesop's Fables" is protected by copyright. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUMMARY OF THE COPYRIGHT AND DISTRIBUTION NOTICE: This copyrighted Windows 3.1 Help format document can be freely duplicated and distributed on any electronic media. However, when distributed, all the files must be included as received with no modification of any kind made to any of them (the list of files you should have received is given below). For FULL INFORMATION regarding the copyright, distribution and other terms, which include important ones not listed here, refer to the section (or topic) in the Help file entitled "Notice to the User" (hereafter termed the "Notice"), which must be read in its entirety if you intend to read any part of "Aesop's Fables". No purchase or registration of this document is necessary. The copyright holder would like to get feedback on any aspect of this document that you wish to comment upon. You can contact him at: Jon Noring 1312 Carlton Place Livermore, CA 94550 USA Phone: (510) 294-8153; (510) 447-1771 (fax) Internet e-mail address: noring@netcom.com ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILES THAT SHOULD BE INCLUDED IN THE DISTRIBUTION PACKAGE: aesop.hlp -- The "colorized" Windows 3.1 Help file of "Aesop's Fables" aesopnc.hlp -- The "no color" or colorless version book.ico -- A "book" icon that can be used for permanent installation readthis.txt -- This file ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: All Microsoft Windows 3.1 (and not 3.0!) installations should be able to view this Help file (instructions below). It's been tested using the common color video resolutions of EGA, VGA, 800x600, and 1024x768, and so should work for them. For maximum clarity and readability, it is recommended that you use as high of a video resolution as your system allows, up to 1024x768x256. Higher resolutions, which should be even better for reading the Help file, have not been tested. Consult your Windows documentation for how to change your resolution if that is possible for your particular video card and monitor combination. In addition, some other operating systems may also be able to view the Help file including OS/2 2.x using a Windows shell, Microsoft Windows NT, and possibly others (I would like to receive feedback regarding any other platforms/operating systems which can view the Help file, possibly with the assistance of specialized software). Since I have not tested the Help file on these other operating systems, I cannot guarantee that they will work as designed, particularly with regard to font attributes. My preliminary feedback has been quite favorable for OS/2 2.* and Windows NT -- please let me know your experiences if you view the Help files using these or other operating systems. All further technical details mentioned below are specific to Windows 3.1 installations. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- TWO VERSIONS OF "AESOP'S FABLES" SUPPLIED -- WHICH TO USE, WITH A DISCUSSION OF COLOR SETTINGS: If you haven't noticed yet, two Help files (*.hlp) are included in this distribution (if they haven't, let me know right away). Each one contains the identical and complete text of "Aesop's Fables", but there are differences between the two as well. The first Help file, 'aesop.hlp', has pre-set the background color to white and the font color to primarily black (with judicious use of other colors to aid readability). These color settings will override whatever default has been set on the user's Windows 3.1 installation (detailed below). Unless you have color vision difficulties, such as color-blindness, or prefer to set your own background and font colors (for example, a dark background with light text), it is recommended that you use this file. The other Help file, 'aesopnc.hlp', has been specially compiled to remove all color references (except for bitmap images) so it will follow the user's own color settings (the ending 'nc' refers to "no color"). The user can set the colors by going to the Control Panel and selecting the Color icon (shown by crayons); the pertinent fields to modify are the 'Window Background' and the 'Window Text' fields. (Note: the Windows 3.1 installation default for these colors are white for the 'Window Background' and black for the 'Window Text', which are those used in the Help file 'aesop.hlp'.) For those who prefer light text on a dark background, one often-used color scheme is dark blue for the background and cyan for the text. I use this quite attractive color scheme for the non-scrolling titles in 'aesop.hlp'. Both of these Help files, however, use the default hypertext jump/popup color of dark green. To change this color (which may be especially necessary if you use your own background/font color scheme with 'aesopnc.hlp' where the dark green does not contrast well with the background), requires a little more effort than with the background and font color settings. One way is to edit the win.ini file and reboot (e-mail me if you'd like this information). However, it is *highly* recommended that you instead use the Shareware program called HelpColr (presently version 2.0) to do this quickly, reliably, and painlessly. If you can't find it at your local BBS or on the Internet, contact the author of HelpColr, Chad Oftedal, either at chado@microsoft.com (Internet e-mail address) or at 70162,176 (Compuserve e-mail address). If you can't contact him, then by all means contact me and I'll help you in any way I can to locate a copy of HelpColr. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- HOW TO VIEW/INSTALL THE HELP FILES IN WINDOWS 3.1 There are several ways to view, and if desired, install the "Aesop's Fables" Help file on your Windows 3.1 system. I'll give two below. If you are not very familiar with Windows, I recommend you print this section out for easy referral as you work within Windows to view or install "Aesop's Fables". 1) If you just want to view the appropriate Help file for evaluation purposes (either 'aesop.hlp' or 'aesopnc.hlp'), place it anywhere on your system. Then, from File Manager within Windows, locate that file and click on it. The Windows Help file viewer, winhelp.exe, will automatically be executed and will display that Help file. 2) For a more permanent installation with an application icon, it is advisable to first create a special directory on your disk and copy the desired *.hlp file and the file 'book.ico' to that directory. As an example, which will be used for the explanation below, this directory path could be named 'c:\windows\books' and the files 'aesop.hlp' and 'book.ico' will be placed into it. (Of course, you can also copy these files into an already existing directory, but a special directory makes it easier to keep track of the files). The next step is to either select or create the program group into which you will place "Aesop's Fables". To create a new program group which could be called, for example, "WinHelp Books", simply go to the 'File' menu of your Program Manager, select 'New', 'Program Group', 'OK', and then in the box labeled 'Description', enter the string "WinHelp Books" (or whatever else you want to call the program group), then press 'OK' (leave empty the 'Group File' box). Once the program group, whether old or new, is selected, then from Program Manager select 'File', 'New', 'Program Item', 'OK'. At this point, you have three text boxes to fill. For the 'Description' box enter "Aesop's Fables" (or whatever you want the application icon to be called); for the 'Command Line' box enter "c:\windows\winhelp.exe aesop.hlp"; for the 'Working Directory' box enter "c:\windows\books". Then to select the icon, click on 'Change Icon' and attach 'book.ico' from the directory 'c:\windows\books' to this application using 'Browse' to locate it. Then 'OK' twice to finish. Now, your selected program group should contain an icon of a book with the name "Aesop's Fables" underneath it. Just click on the book icon whenever you want to read "Aesop's Fables"! Enjoy "Aesop's Fables"! ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Windows, Windows 3.1, and Windows NT are registered trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation. OS/2 is a registered trademark of IBM. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- *** UPLOAD THIS BOOK ONTO YOUR FAVORITE BBS OR ONLINE SERVICE *** *** SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND ACQUAINTANCES *** *** IT'S FREE!!! NO PURCHASE OR REGISTRATION REQUIRED *** (Be sure to read this file before uploading or redistributing.)