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The Haldeman Diaries: A Basic Helpsheet

Note: This CD will no longer run on any of the computers in the Etext Center.

I. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT:

The Haldeman Diaries: Inside the Nixon White House is a multimedia CD-ROM containing material from the book of the same title by former White House Chief of Staff H.R. Haldeman, along with photographs and movie clips from the Watergate era, a search function, and an easy-to-navigate interface.

II. STARTING UP THE HALDEMAN DIARIES:

  1. Place The Haldeman Diaries disc into the CD-ROM tray of the PC.
  2. Click on the Start button (in the lower left-hand corner of the screen). Move to Programs, then move to The Haldeman Diaries, and click on The Haldeman Diaries icon. (Note: The list of available programs is alphabetized. Look under T for "The Haldeman Diaries" -- not under H, as one might expect.)

III. USING THE HALDEMAN DIARIES:

IIIa. The Main Screen:

The opening screen contains an image of a desk with seven distinct items on it, each one a button linked to an element of the database.


The options are as follows:

  1. Notebooks: Click here to display the Table of Contents window, which lists the different sections of the Diaries. In the Table of Contents, click the title of any section to go there immediately. You can go to the Table of Contents anytime by choosing it from the View menu.
  2. Diary: Click here to display the Diary window. Diary entries appear by date. Buttons along the bottom let you skip forward or back by day, month, or year, or print the entry. When a person's name is highlighted in a diary entry, you can click on the name to jump to a biography of that person. It has the same buttons as the Diary window. You can go to the Diary/Schedule window anytime by choosing Pres. Activities from the View menu.
  3. Appointment Book: Click here to display the Diary/Schedule window, a split window that lets you compare a Diary entry on the left to the President's schedule for that day on the right. It has the same buttons as the Diary window. You can go to the Diary/Schedule window anytime by choosing Pres. Activities from the View menu.
  4. Movie Camera: Click here to see a list of clips filmed by Haldeman while he was Chief of Staff. After you choose a clip, it appears in a play window with narrative text underneath. Press to play the clip. You can go to the list of clips anytime by choosing Movies from the View menu.
  5. Photo Album: Click here to see a list of photographs from the Haldeman scrapbooks and White House archives. After you choose a photo, it appears in a window with some descriptive text underneath. You can go to the list of photographs anytime by choosing Photos from the View menu.
  6. Magnifying Glass: Click here to begin a search for specific text. Type what you want to find--a name, location, or topic. The software reports the dates of any diary entries that include the text you typed. You can start a search anytime by choosing Search from the View menu.
  7. Biography Folders: Click here to see a list of names. After you choose a name, a brief biography of that person appears in a window with buttons that display text and visual references to that person. You can access biographies anytime by choosing Biographies from the View menu.

IIIb. Navigational Buttons:

In any area of the interface except the "desk" starting point, buttons along the bottom of the window allow easy navigation:

  • Main Menu: Returns you to the "desk" image.
  • Contents: Displays the Table of Contents window.
  • Back: Jumps back to the section you most recently left. For example, if you clicked a name highlighted in a Diary entry to jump to the Biography of that person, clicking Back would take you from the Biography section back to the Diary entry where you started.
  • Notes: Lets you write and name notes about what you've learned. Later you can access your notes by name, associate them with a diary entry, and print them if you like.
  • Search: Begins a search for the text you type. Same as choosing Search from the View menu.
  • Help: Displays detailed explanations of how to use the many features and options of The Haldeman Diaries. Same as choosing Help from the Help menu.
  • Exit: Quits the Haldeman Diaries. Same as choosing Exit from the File menu.

IV. EXITING THE HALDEMAN DIARIES AND REMOVING THE CD-ROM:

Exit the interface at any time by clicking the Exit navigation button or choosing Exit from the File menu. You will be returned to the Windows desktop. Please eject the disc (by pressing the button below the CD-ROM tray on the PC), place the disc back in its case, and hand it to an Etext Center assistant.