1. System requirements
The International Data Base (IDB) requires the following minimum hardware and software:
- IBM PC or compatible microcomputer
- 1 MB of memory
- 75 MB available on a hard drive
2. Transfer the IDBZIP.EXE file to your PC
You can copy the The International Data Base to your PC by clicking here to tranfer the IDBZIP.EXE file (8MB).
This will copy the IDBZIP.EXE to your hard drive. Since it is such a large file, this transfer may take a long time. Your software should prompt you for a filename and location. For best results, copy to an empty directory (e.g. C:\TEMP).
3. Run IDBZIP.EXE on your PC to prepare for installation
The file IDBZIP.EXE is a self-extracting archive (ZIP), which contains the files necessary for installing the actual International Data Base (IDB). Suppose that you have placed IDBZIP.EXE in a subdirectory called C:\TEMP, enter the following commands:
In Windows:
- From the Start menu, select Run...
- Click on the Browse button and locate the IDBZIP.EXE file in the directory you saved it to (e.g. C:\TEMP).
- Click "Open" then "OK."
You can also locate the IDBZIP.EXE using Windows Explorer and double-click on the file.
In DOS (Command Prompt or cmd.exe):
- C:
- CD C:\TEMP
- IDBZIP
In Windows or DOS:
Using either method, a series of files will be decompressed into this subdirectory. Some of these will be other zipped files. Another will be the install program, called IDBINST.BAT. These are all necessary for installation.
4. Install International Data Base (IDB) on your PC
The IDBINST program requires you to install from the directory which contains the files IDB.ZIP and IDBINST.BAT. The general format of the installation command is:
IDBINST d directory
where d is the destination drive letter WITHOUT the colon, (e.g. C or D).
The default is C. directory is the directory under which the IDB subdirectory will be installed, (e.g. \username\ or \MYIDB\). BE SURE THERE IS A SPACE BETWEEN THE DRIVE LETTER AND THE DIRECTORY. If you do not specify the directory, the \IDB\ directory will be used.
In Windows:
- From the Start menu, select Run...
- Since you will be running the install program from the same location, you can either replace "idbzip.exe" with "IDBINST.BAT" or click on the Browse button and locate the IDBINST.BAT file in the directory where you saved the IDBZIP.EXE file (e.g. C:\TEMP) and click "Open."
- If you want to install to the default location (C:\IDB) then click "OK."
You can also locate the IDBINST.BAT using Windows Explorer and double-click on the file to install in the default location.
If you are installing from C:\TEMP and want to install the database on drive F: in the directory \MYIDB\, then the entry should look like this:
C:\TEMP\IDBINST.BAT F \MYDATA\
In DOS (Command Prompt or cmd.exe):
- C:
- CD \TEMP
- IDBINST F \MYIDB\
In Windows or DOS:
- Note that there is no colon (:) after the drive, there is a space after the drive letter, and that there is a back slash (\) before and after the directory name.
5. Run the International Data Base (IDB)
The installation process automatically creates the file IDB.BAT in the root directory of the drive where the IDB was installed. The installation procedure will attempt to start the IDB program using that batch file.
The first time the IDB is run you will be asked if you want to create the indexes. Answering "Yes" will complete the initial IDB installation process, and the IDB should be ready for use.
After installation, you can run the IDB program using the following steps.
In Windows:
- From the Start menu, select Run...
- Enter C:\IDB.BAT in the dialogue box and click "OK."
You can also locate C:\IDB.BAT using Windows Explorer and double-click on the file.
In DOS (Command Prompt or cmd.exe):
To run the database, change to the root directory and type IDB. For example, if you installed the IDB on drive C:, type:
- C:
- CD \
- IDB
For easy access to the IDB program, the IDB.BAT file can be moved to a directory in your path. In Windows or DOS: If the installation cannot create the IDB.BAT file in the root directory, you can run the IDB program using the IDBGO.BAT file in the directory where you installed the IDB.
6. Documentation
The subdirectory DOC under the directory where you installed the IDB contains further documentation for installation and use of the IDB (in Word Perfect format).Note: Data updated 6-18-2008 (Release notes). Latest U.S. projections not included.
