-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
File:  aesop.txt
Rev.:  1.1
Date:  19 September 1995
Note:  For update, check OmniMedia's archive ("How to Contact the Publisher")  
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------



-------------------------
1.  Electronic Book Title
-------------------------


                              AESOP'S FABLES

              translated by George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900)

                      (C) Copyright 1994 by OmniMedia


    ***** An Electronic Book Produced and Published By OmniMedia *****

     This Electronic Book can be freely distributed over all electronic
     networks provided it is not altered in any manner and all the files
     are included.  See the section "Copyright Notice and Other Terms"
     for more specific information.



---------------------
2.  Table of Contents
---------------------

This information file is divided into the following sections:

 1.  Electronic Book Title  (presented above)
 2.  Table of Contents  (this section)
 3.  Introduction
 4.  About the Translation and This Electronic Book
 5.  System Requirements
 6.  Files That Must Be Included in the Distribution Package
 7.  How to Obtain This Electronic Book  (if some of the files are missing)
 8.  Viewing/Installation Instructions
 9.  How to Use This Electronic Book and Some Useful Features
10.  Copyright Notice and Terms  (which you should read carefully)
11.  How to Contact the Publisher



----------------
3.  Introduction
----------------

This OmniMedia electronic book is a hypertext conversion, using the
outstanding Microsoft Windows 3.1 Help engine ("WinHelp"), of the classic
book "Aesop's Fables", translated by George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900).

All Windows 3.1 systems can read this electronic book without any need for
special software other than what is already included with this electronic
book.  Although this electronic book is readable at VGA resolution, using a
higher resolution (e.g., 800x600 or 1024x768) is *highly* encouraged.

     =================================================================
     NOTE TO WINDOWS 95 USERS:  It has been reported by several users
     that this book is fully functional under the recently released
     Windows 95.  However, since OmniMedia has not yet tested this
     book under Windows 95, we cannot guarantee that it will work
     under Windows 95 as intended.
     =================================================================

This book is FREE, compliments of OmniMedia!  Do give it a try!



--------------------------------------------------
4.  About the Translation and This Electronic Book
--------------------------------------------------

The 312 Fables contained in this electronic book, "Aesop's Fables,"
translated by the Rev. George Fyler Townsend (1814-1900), came from a Public
Domain ASCII text file that is freely available on the Internet and other
electronic BBS.  Several minor textual errors, such as punctuation, spelling
and capitalization, were found in the ASCII text file and have been corrected
in this version.

For a recent book containing all the "Aesop's Fables" translated and published
by Rev. Townsend (a total of 350, 38 more than are found in this electronic
book version), the interested reader is referred to:

     "Aesop's Fables."  Based on the translation of George Fyler Townsend,
     with an introduction by Isaac Bashevis Singer, illustrated by Murray
     Tinkelman.  Doubleday, Garden City, New York, 1968, 215 pages.



-----------------------
5.  System Requirements
-----------------------

To view this electronic book, you must have an IBM-compatible PC (386 or
higher is recommended), with color VGA (or better) video resolution.  It must
have Microsoft Windows 3.1 installed (see the note about the recently
released Windows 95 in the section above entitled "Introduction").

This electronic book has been tested using the common color video resolutions
of VGA, 640x480x256, 800x600x256, and 1024x768x256.  For maximum clarity and
readability, it is recommended that you use as high of a video resolution as
your system allows, up to 1024x768x256, or even higher (however, resolutions
higher than 1024x768x256 have not been tested.)  For the very high video
resolutions, you should consider using large size fonts if that option is
available to you.  Consult your Windows documentation for how to increase your
resolution if that is possible for your particular video card and monitor
combination.  (If you feel the font size is too large, read the discussion
about window/font size in the section "How to Use This Electronic Book and
Some Useful Features.")

No guarantee is given that this electronic book will work properly on
succeeding versions of Windows (e.g., Windows 95, aka 'Chicago' and 'Windows
4.0'), or with Windows 3.1 emulators (such as Windows NT or OS/2).  Contact
OmniMedia for more information about upgrades for new versions of Windows
and possibly other platforms.

All further technical details mentioned in this file are specific to Windows
3.1 installations.

Three final and important notes:

First, this electronic book is written using the Arial TrueType font, which
is part of the normal installation for all Windows 3.1 systems.  If you have
removed this font from your system, for whatever reason, the file will not
appear as it was authored (though it may look similar or at least readable.)
It is recommended that you reinstall the Arial TrueType font if you have
removed it from your system (refer to your Windows documentation.)

Second, a very small number of Windows users have experienced some
difficulties in properly reading all of the special text characters for
reasons that are not completely understood, though evidence points to bugs in
a very early release of Windows 3.1 (most Windows users don't have this early
release, if you do, consider upgrading to version 3.11.)  The most common
difficulties encountered have been left and right single and double quotes
not being reproduced properly, as well as other characters not being
reproduced properly such as the copyright and trademark symbols, bullets and
em/en-dashes.  Do contact OmniMedia if you observe any anomalies regarding
characters and/or fonts that you believe are not due to running an early
release of Windows 3.1.

Third, the background, foreground (text), and hypertext colors have been
hard-coded in this WinHelp format file.  If you have color vision
disabilities which make it difficult to read all or part of this electronic
book, contact OmniMedia and special instructions to bypass this color
eard-coding will be sent to you.



-----------------------------------------------------------
6.  Files That Must Be Included in the Distribution Package
-----------------------------------------------------------

To properly use this electronic book, the following files must be included in
the distribution package.

aesop.hlp    --  The WinHelp file of "Aesop's Fables"
aesop.txt    --  This file
read1st.txt  --  How to get started
book.ico     --  A book icon that can be used for permanent installation



--------------------------------------
7.  How to Obtain This Electronic Book
--------------------------------------

This section will outline four ways by which you can obtain this electronic
book if some or all of the required files are missing or corrupted.  The
electronic book will be packaged as a single archive file, most likely a ZIP
file ('aesop11.zip' or something similar), which requires a dearchiver to
extract the required files, such as PKUNZIP.

It is probable that other ways to obtain this and other electronic books from
OmniMedia will be implemented in the future.  Contact OmniMedia for more
updated information.

(Note:  If you will obtain this electronic book in ZIP format (the most
        likely archive format), you will need to use an "unzipper."  If you
        don't have one already, we recommend that you use the authentic DOS
        shareware utility called PKZIP (version 2.04g), by PKWARE, Inc.
        There also exist several other "clone" unzip utilities (shareware and
        freeware) for both DOS and Windows, obtainable from many BBS and
        Internet sites.


Here are the four ways you can presently obtain this electronic book:

1)  Via the World Wide Web

    http://www.awa.com/library/omnimedia


2)  Via Mail Server from OmniMedia's Archive.

    It is possible to access OmniMedia's archive via e-mail.  This is a good
    method for those who have e-mail access to the Internet but don't have
    FTP or WWW (Web) access (see number 3 below for information about
    OmniMedia's anonymous FTP archive.)

    In order to use the mail server, you must have a uudecoder, since the
    binary ZIP file will be uuencoded into an ASCII format suitable for
    e-mail.  Most Unix sites have a uudecode utility available, but nearly
    all other operating systems do not.  Obviously, you cannot obtain a
    uudecoder for your platform via this e-mail server (since it is a binary
    executable), so you have to find one elsewhere, probably by downloading
    it from a local BBS (uudecoders for DOS/Windows do exist, but are not
    found at all BBS sites.)

    For more information on this option, send e-mail to omnimedia@netcom.com
    and request the file describing how to access Netcom's FTP mail server.


3)  From the Internet Via Anonymous FTP.

    OmniMedia maintains an anonymous FTP archive at

    ftp.awa.com  /pub/softlock/pc/products/OmniMedia

    In order to directly download the files from this archive, you need to
    have access to an Internet site with FTP capability.

    If you don't know how to use anonymous FTP, consult with someone who does
    or study the helpfile or manual at your site.  Be sure to type "binary"
    before issuing the "get" or "mget" command.

    In addition, OmniMedia will attempt to upload this electronic book to
    other anonymous FTP archives on the Internet, for example, the CICA
    archive (ftp.cica.indiana.edu).


4)  From Your Local BBS.

    There is no doubt that, over time, this electronic book will be
    distributed to many BBS and online services around the world.  And once
    you obtain this electronic book, feel free to upload it to your favorite
    BBS (be sure to include all the files listed in the section "Files That
    Must be Included in the Distribution Package.")
    


--------------------------------------
8.  Viewing/Installation Instructions
--------------------------------------

There are several ways to view, and if desired, install this WinHelp
formatted electronic book on your Windows 3.1 system (see the note on Windows
95 in the section entitled "Introduction").  Two will be given below.  If you
are not very familiar with Windows, it is recommended that you print out this
section for step-by-step instructions.  Of course, it is also recommended
that you consult your Windows manual should any questions arise or these
instructions don't work for you.  It is best not to rename the WinHelp
file itself ('aesop.hlp').

Now, to view this electronic book, following are two ways to do it (it is
assumed that you've already extracted the necessary files from the
distributed archive file, if that's how you obtained this electronic book --
see the section "How to Obtain This Electronic Book"):

*****************************************************************************
1) The Quick and Easy Way -- If you just want to view this electronic book
   without permanent installation (e.g., for evaluation purposes), place ALL
   the files (the list of necessary files is in the section "Files That Must
   Be Included in the Distribution Package"), into one directory anywhere on
   your hard disk (you should also be able to read it directly from a
   diskette but it will be noticeably slower.)  Then, from File Manager
   within Windows, locate the WinHelp file ('aesop.hlp') and click on it.
   The Windows Help file viewer, 'winhelp.exe', will automatically be
   executed and the electronic book will be displayed.  Enjoy!
*****************************************************************************

2) For a more permanent installation with a convenient icon, it is advisable
   to first create a special directory on your hard disk and copy all the
   files into that directory.  If you acquire more books from OmniMedia in
   the future and copy their files into the same special directory, you will
   save on disk space since several files are shared in common by all of
   OmniMedia's electronic books (for example, the DLL files, among others.)
   As an example, which will be used for the explanation below, this
   directory path could be named C:\WINDOWS\BOOKS .

   The next step is to either select or create the program group into which
   you will place the title AESOP'S FABLES (or whatever you want to call
   it -- it need not be in caps.)  If you don't already have a special
   program group for electronic books, you need to create one.  To create a
   new program group which could be called, for example, OMNIMEDIA BOOKS (it
   need not be all in caps), 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 OMNIMEDIA BOOKS (or whatever else you want
   to call the program group), then press OK (leave the GROUP FILE box
   empty.)

   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 else you want the application icon to be called -- it need
   not be in caps);  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 the file BOOK.ICO from the directory C:\WINDOWS\BOOKS to this
   application using BROWSE to locate it.  Then, click 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 it!  Enjoy!



-------------------------------------------------------------
9.  How to Use This Electronic Book and Some Useful Features
-------------------------------------------------------------

Using the WinHelp viewer is intuitive and very easy.  Once you are viewing
this electronic book on your computer, you can learn much of what you need to
know by simply experimenting with the toolbar buttons, menu commands, etc.
If you do need more help in reading and using this electronic book, refer to
"How to Use Help" which can be selected from the "Help" menu item found near
the top of the window when viewing this electronic book.

Some useful features of this electronic book include

1) Bookmark -- You can place one or more bookmarks at any location so you
               can later return to that location, even after exiting this
               book.  The Bookmark feature is found in the menu.

2) Annotate -- You can add notes and comments to any topic displayed in a
               window (excepting temporary pop-up windows.)  The Annotate
               feature is found in the menu under 'Edit'.

3) Topic Copy -- You can copy the entire text of a topic to the Windows
                 Clipboard, and from there it can be pasted into most
                 Windows-based word or text processors.  This feature is
                 done by holding down the 'Ctrl' button and pushing the
                 'Insert' button, i.e., 'Ctrl-Insert'.

4) Hypertext -- Hypertext is nothing mystical.  It is simply text which has
                been linked to text elsewhere in the electronic book.
                Clicking on hypertext will move you to the text the hypertext
                is linked with.  In this electronic book, much effort has
                been made to make it clear which text is hypertext.  To
                verify if a word or phrase is hypertext, the mouse pointer
                will switch from an arrow to a small hand with a pointing
                finger when placed on top of hypertext.


One note about scrolling should be mentioned for those newcomers who are
totally unfamiliar with the purpose and use of scroll bars.  You may notice
in this electronic book that for most windows (i.e., topics), there is a
scrollbar at the right-hand-side (and sometimes at the bottom) of the viewing
window.  The scroll bar is there because the text of the topic is too long or
too big to fit completely within the visible window.  By clicking your mouse
on various parts of the scroll bar, you can move ("scroll") either up or down
in the text.  Specifically, clicking on either the up or down arrows (which
are found at the top and bottom respectively of the scroll bar), will move
you either one line up or one line down in the text.  You can also scroll a
full window or page if you click anywhere in the scroll bar between the up or
down arrows and the slider (the slider is the plain rectangular "button" that
slides in the scroll bar, and indicates where the viewing window is
positioned with respect to the topic text.)

Another note concerns the aspect of font size.  If you are using VGA
(640x480) resolution, you may find the font size to be quite large,
especially on bigger monitors.  One solution is to maximize the window size,
done by clicking on the upper right-hand button, and read the window from
further away -- maximizing the window size (to fill the whole screen) will
also make the electronic book look better at the 640x480 resolution with
respect to the number of characters per line being similar to a typical book.
(One of the reasons why this larger font was selected was to insure that this
electronic book would be easily readable on laptop/notebook-sized screens --
WinHelp unfortunately does not yet allow variable font sizes depending on the
video parameters, though OmniMedia is working hard with programmers to be
able to do this.)  If you still feel the characters are too large for your
taste, consider going to a higher screen resolution if you can (since that
will tend to decrease the font size.)  You might even want to consider
testing the large/small font options for the higher resolutions if available
to you for your particular video card.




-------------------------------
10.  Copyright Notice and Terms
-------------------------------

This electronic book, "Aesop's Fables" (the "TITLE") is Copyright 1994, 1995
by OmniMedia and is fully protected by United States Copyright laws and
international treaty provisions.

This TITLE can be electronically duplicated and redistributed provided that
none of the associated files (see text file 'aesop.txt' for the complete
list) are omitted and/or altered in any manner.  You are highly encouraged to
redistribute this electronic book far and wide (such as to your favorite BBS)
so that many others can enjoy it.

This TITLE, is provided 'AS IS', that is, you use this title at your own
risk, without warranty of any kind.  This includes, but is not limited to,
defects/errors with the format of this TITLE as well as defects/errors in the
media used to distribute this TITLE to the supplier and/or purchaser.
OmniMedia further disclaims all implied warranties including, but not limited
to, merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

In no event shall OmniMedia and/or any suppliers of this TITLE be liable for
any damages whatsoever (including, without limitation, damages for lost
profits, business interruptions, loss of business information, or any other
pecuniary loss) arising from the use of or inability to use the TITLE, even
if OmniMedia and/or the suppliers of this TITLE have been advised of the
possibility of such damages.  Because some jurisdictions do not allow
exclusions or limitations of liability for consequential or incidental
damages, this limitation may not apply to you.



---------------------------------
11.  How to Contact the Publisher
---------------------------------

OmniMedia is devoted to producing only the highest quality electronic books.
For more information or advice about this electronic book or other offerings
from OmniMedia, contact

     OmniMedia
     c/o Jon E. Noring
     9671 South 1600 West Street
     South Jordan, UT 84095

     (801) 253-4037
     (801) 253-4036 (fax -- not always online)

     Internet:  omnimedia@netcom.com

OmniMedia's electronic books are available both via the Web and by
anonymous FTP:

WEB:  http://www.awa.com/library/omnimedia

FTP:  ftp.awa.com  /pub/softlock/pc/products/OmniMedia



...ENJOY!

