The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective

This program runs in DOS mode. To ensure that the program will work properly, be sure to exit out of any open Windows applications before running it.

I. BRIEF OVERVIEW OF STRUCTURE AND CONTENT:

The Civil War: A Newspaper Perspective is a database containing the full text of over 11,000 articles published in The Charleston Mercury, The New York Herald, and The Richmond Enquirer between November 1, 1860 and April 30, 1865. The database is fully searchable and contains over 700 graphic images of battlefield maps and illustrations. By providing accounts of major events from both Union and Confederate newspapers, this archive allows the user to compare Northern and Southern perspectives on the Civil War.

II. STARTING UP THE CIVIL WAR:

Place the CD-ROM in the computer's CD carrier (press the button outside of the CD-ROM drive to open and close it). Double-click on the My Computer icon on the desktop. From the window that opens, double click on the icon for the CD drive. From the new window, double-click on the civilwar.exe icon. If you have any trouble starting up the program, please ask a staff member for assistance.

III. USING THE CIVIL WAR:

Searching:

The Civil War newspaper archive comes with moderately-sophisticated search-and-display software, providing for database searches, image display and image printing, a basic overview for which comes up on the first screen.

To enter Search mode, press the Space key. This calls up a three-window screen: the upper-left window contains a concordance of all words in the database; the upper-right window displays search results; and the long, lower window is where one enters the search parameters. The software provides the following boolean operators:

Command	Key	Explanation
AND	Space	Displays all articles containing both search strings.
OR	/	Displays all articles containing either search string or both.
EXCLUSIVE OR	~	Displays all articles containing either search string but not both.
NOT	^	Displays all articles containing the first search string but not the second.

In addition, you can:

• dictate an exact sequence of words by placing quote marks around the string;

• search for two words in sequence within a set proximity by enclosing the two words within quote marks and following them immediately with a number indicating desired proximity in numbers or words;

• search for two words in or out of sequence within a set proximity by enclosing the two words within quote marks and following them immediately with an @ [at sign] and a number indicating desired proximity in numbers or words;

• search within a predefined subject by typing Ctrl-G.

Moving Around:

While in a window, you can move:

• one character or line using the arrow keys;

• one page using the Page Up or Page Down keys;

• one article using the Tab key.

Additionally, Ctrl-B will allow you to block a section of text.

Hypertext Links:

Within The Civil War archived articles are hypertext links to related articles and images. Icons indicate these text links and image links. Clicking the cursor on one of these icons calls up the linked materials.

Image Viewing:

You can move around an image or zoom in/out using the following commands:

Command	Action
F1	Zoom in
Ctrl-F1	Zoom in, larger steps
F2	Zoom out
Ctrl-F2	Zoom out, larger steps
PageUp/Down	Scroll up or down
Ctrl-PageUp/Down	Scroll up or down, larger steps
Esc	Exit image

Saving and Printing:

While viewing an article, typing Ctrl+PrintScreen will call up the print menu, which offers the options of printing the text within the window, the entire article, or a blocked selection of text.

While viewing an image, pressing P will send the image to print.

IV. EXITING THE CIVIL WAR AND REMOVING THE CD-ROM:

To exit the program, select Exit from the File menu. You should find yourself back at the Windows desktop. Remove the CD from the computer by pressing the button beneath the CD carrier. Please place the CD back in its case and return it to a member of the Etext Center staff.