
README_FIRST.txt  - Manifold Database Commander 

Version 1.01 - Issued 6 December 1999

Purpose: Manifold Database Commander is unified command and control console for creating, exploring, and maintaining almost any database file.  It includes seven major technical innovations to provide greater analytic power and ease of use.  See www.manifold.net for full information, journalists' reviews and cool screen shots.

Status: The Trial Edition of Database Commander is shareware - the product retains high function and is licensed for 14 days from the date of initial installation.  Although the product will not create new databases or save changes, it retains all analytic and viewing functions.  After 14 days, it will cease operating.  

Installation: Close all other applications.  Unzip the zipfile into any convenient directory and run setup.exe to launch a standard Windows installation session.

Documentation: Launch the product and click on Help for comprehensive documentation.

Requirements: Database Commander runs in Windows '95, '98, NT 4.0 (all versions) and Windows 2000 (all versions).  Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or greater must have been installed on the system at some time if you wish to use ActiveX scripting capability (see below).

Distribution: The Trial Edition may be freely redistributed by any shareware publisher who has received their distribution copy directly from manifold.net.  If you are a shareware distributor, please contact us at sales@manifold.net to get a current Trial Edition image.  We make this restriction to assure that the latest version gets published and to otherwise maintain control of the release.  Any installation is subject to the terms and conditions of the Manifold End User License Agreement accompanying the software.


TRIAL EDITION


This is the TRIAL EDITION of Database Commander.  It will run only 14 days from the date of installation.  Re-installing the Trial Edition will not re-start the clock.

The Trial Edition retains all analytic and browsing capability, but will open databases "read only" and will not export or save changes.  Purchase a fully-licensed edition for full function for only $145.

Manifold Technical Support does *not* support the Trial Edition via telephone or email.  Support is via the tips below and the Support pages on the www.manifold.net web site.

Installation problems are very rare, but usually arise from one of four problems:

1) You do not have a Microsoft IE browser on your system.  (See below).
2) You did not close *all* other running programs during installation.  This includes various graphics card "enhancement" programs, network snoopers, uninstallers, weird anti-virus or "security" programs, corporate big brother software that watches what you do, and various other programs that might be running in background.
3) In NT, you were not Administrator or did not later re-install Commander under each user name that will use it.  (This is an NT thing... not a Commander thing!)
4) Some previously-installed program broke or deformed your Windows operating system or key Windows components so that it is no longer in spec.   Manifold Database Commander installs perfectly and runs flawlessly on any combination of Microsoft Windows '95, '98, NT 4.0 or 2000 operating systems or other Microsoft products (a few hundred at last count).  

UPGRADING TO FULLY LICENSED EDITION

To upgrade to a fully licensed edition of Manifold Database Commander, visit the upgrade home page at http://www.manifold.net/commander.html for purchase links.

By default, the fully licensed edition installs to its own directory that is different from the Trial Edition folder.   If you like, you can leave both versions on your machine.  The Trial Edition will simply expire after 14 days.  

A better idea is to use the standard Windows uninstall to remove the Trial Edition once you install the fully licensed edition.


INTERNET EXPLORER REQUIRED

Before installing Database Commander, please verify that you have previously installed a Microsoft Internet browser (Internet Explorer version 4 or more recent) on your system.

Database Commander uses the ActiveX scripting components installed by Internet Explorer in order to provide scripting function in Formula Builder and Active Columns.  Any "minimum" IE4 or IE5 or greater installation will add these capabilities to your Windows system.  You can download and install a Microsoft browser free by visiting www.microsoft.com

You don't actually have to use Microsoft's browser as your default browser.  If you like, install and use AOL's Netscape, Mosaic, Opera, or whatever browser you like as your default Internet browser. Commander simply uses the IE installation as a vehicle to make sure your Windows system contains all necessary Windows ActiveX scripting facilities.

We exploit the IE installation for three reasons:

1) Many users already have IE installed.  For such users, this means we can reduce the Database Commander download by several megabytes... an important consideration for International customers who are downloading Commander via slow or expensive Internet connections.

2) ActiveX scripting using VBscript is technically difficult to accomplish in an error-free manner given the wide range of Microsoft operating releases from the earliest Windows '95 release to the latest Windows 2000 release.  Microsoft has spent vast sums to guarantee that the IE installation scripts correctly install the required components no matter what combination of previous Microsoft operating systems and .dll's have been installed.  By exploiting the IE install, we can make sure these important Windows operating system facilities will be installed in an error free way.

3) Future editions of IE will automatically incorporate Microsoft corrections and improvements to the scripting system.  This automatically will improve your Database Commander installation when new versions of IE are installed.  Since Microsoft checks new operating system versions against compatibility for previous IE installations, this also provides a higher likelihood that your Database Commander installation will continue to function within future Microsoft O/S releases without an update from us.

If you do not have IE4 or greater installed on your machine, Database Commander will nonetheless install and launch.  However, it will not be able to launch the scripting engine and so you will not be able to use Formula Builder or Active Columns.   Due to possible side effects, we do *not* provide technical support if IE4 or greater is not installed on your system.

Thanks for choosing Database Commander!

Manifold Net Ltd.
sales@manifold.net
800-556-5919

1945 North Carson St 700
Carson City, NV  89701  USA

