                       AdScan32 version 1.1           				
                  Copyright (c) 2004 Edwardsoft
                    http://www.edwardsoft.com 
                 E-Mail: adscan32@edwardsoft.com
             
CONCEPT
-------
AdScan32 is a powerful and yet easy-to-use text search and retrieval 
tool for Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP. Using AdScan32 you can quickly and 
efficiently extract from the bulk of text-file-based materials
exactly what you are seeking for.

AdScan32 searches within an ad collection - the group of ads (text 
units) organized by the user as the entire files or their parts.

While a traditional, but offering unprecedented performance and 
usability, full text search is the right tool AdScan32 puts at your
hands for searching within ads of no regular structure.

Unique among features of other search utilities, extracting custom 
data items by distinguishable text fragments, such as retrieving 
field data from messages with data fields, is another right feature 
AdScan32 provides for searching within ads having regular structured
elements.

These custom data items are assigned textual, numerical, date/time, 
or currency data type. Search results are presented as a list of ads 
found, in a tabular form with custom data items as columns, allowing:

 * sorting by columns 
 * multicolumn filtering

Multicolumn filtering intersects filtering conditions for individual 
columns. Filtering criteria for textual columns are keyword-based, 
criteria for numerical, date/time and currency columns are based on 
values of the respective data types making it possible to filter 
values by ranges.

Additionally, there are several predefined columns holding general 
information about searched ads, such as the file last modified time 
or ad size, and one column that virtually represents an ad's full 
text providing with the full text search capability. Predefined 
columns, as well as custom, can participate in multicolumn filtering.

FEATURES
--------

 (a) manipulating ad collections and data presentation
 -----------------------------------------------------
 * Classical three-paned Explorer-like interface with ablity to 
   easily browse for folders, switch between hierarchically arranged 
   ad collections, view a list of ads and read individual ads at the 
   same time.

 * Manipulating ad collections is as easy as usual files (copying, 
   moving, deleting, etc.)

 * Tabular data presentation for the list of ads including both 
   predefined and custom columns with the ability to sort them in 
   ascending or descending order

 * Flexible file scope - defines the text source for an ad collection, 
   including setting up directories, file masks and date/time filters

 * Flexible ad formation - defines an ad either as an entire file or 
   just as its fragment with boundaries determined by regular 
   structured elements

 * Predefined columns - hold information about the name of the file 
   a given ad is contained in, the file's last modified time and ad 
   size. Yet another predefined column virtually represents an ad's 
   full text providing with the full text search capability

 * The ability to define an unlimited number of custom columns of 
   textual, numerical, date/time or currency data types using regular 
   expression scripts - new way of composing regular expressions 
   which makes the task much more easier than ever!

 * Building an ad collection is fast and easy

 * Optional automatic rebuilding an ad collection on its first open

 (b) searching
 -------------
 * AdScan32 efficiently searches even the bulky ad collections with the 
   total volume of hundreds of Mb, whether ads are of the similar 
   regular structure or not

 * Easy creation and storing with an ad collection an unlimited number 
   of multicolumn filters intersecting filtering conditions for 
   individual columns, either custom or predefined

 * Keyword-based filtering criteria for textual columns (including 
   full text search) and criteria based on values of the respective 
   data types for numerical, date/time and currency columns - 
   possibility for the latters to filter out values by their ranges

 * (New!!!) Saving search results to a tab-delimited text file to be
   able to further process the data with spreadsheet or database 
   applications such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Access

 * Customizable localized word-formative character sets with ability 
   to include or exclude certain categories of characters such as 
   letters, digits or additional punctuation and turn on or off the 
   case sensitivity

 * Extremely fast multicolumn filtering (including full text search) 
   based on the built-in powerful indexing and search engine  - 
   enables instant switching between filters to examine various 
   aspects of an ad collection contents

 * Managing column indexes is fully automated - no need to bother 
   about creating or manipulating them!

 * Extremely fast building column indexes - perhaps, the fastest in 
   the industry!

 * Highlighting and navigation in the ad pane by keywords found

 * Word-based and string-based incremental search while in the ad 
   or common definition panes

 (c) regular expression scripts
 ------------------------------
 * Innovative script approach to writing regular expressions that 
   are extensively used throughout the application. The task of 
   composing a regular expression is now dramatically simplified by 
   using meaningful names and the bulk of predefined commonly used 
   definitions!

 * Open architecture of regular expression scripts gives the user 
   the ability to add his/her own common definitions according to 
   his/her current or future needs

 * Convenient interface for working with regular expression scripts: 
   immediate finding the definition of the variable at cursor, the 
   history of recently found definitons, the text to try with the 
   current script and more!

 (d) locale-specific features
 ----------------------------
 * Adscan32 is supplied with more than 50 localized versions of ready-
   to-use common definitions scripts taking into account regional 
   differences in the character sets and formats of numerical, date/
   time and currency values for countries and languages of the 
   following language groups:

    * Western
    * Eastern European
    * Baltic
    * Cyrillic
    * Greek
    * Turkish

 * The ability to adjust locale dependent parameters of the common 
   definitions scripts from within GUI - useful for fine tuning an 
   existing locale or when defining a new one

 (e) other features
 ------------------
 * Separately customizable fonts for the ad text, highlighted 
   keywords, scripts and trial text

 * Context-sensitive on-line help system

 (f) limitations of this version
 -------------------------------
 * No other kinds of ad storages, except pure ANSI text files, are 
   currently supported

 * Phrases in keyword-based filtering criteria are not currently
   supported 

 * This version of AdScan32 doesn't work under Windows 3x/95 and 
   NT earlier than 4.0. Working on Windows NT 4.0 requires 
   Service Pack 6.

INSTALLATION
------------

Start AdScan32Install.exe and follow instructions.

UNINSTALLATION
--------------

 1. Go to the Control Panel -> Add/Remove Programs.
    This will open the "Add/Remove Programs Properties" dialog box.

 2. Select AdScan32 item in the list, then click "Add/Remove" button.
    This will launch the AdScan32 uninstall program. 

Note that uninstall does not remove files that have been created after
installation such as user's ad collections and several automatically
created files like AdScan32.cfg or AdScan32.rc. These should be removed 
manually.

REGISTRATION
------------
AdScan32 is installed as full functional trial version. You can freely 
use it during the evaluation period of 15 days since its first launch,
after which the software will stop functioning. To continue using it,
you must register it.

A single user license costs $39 USD. In case of more than one user 
wish to use AdScan32, a separate license is needed for each individual 
user.

If you decided to buy AdScan32:

 1. Start AdScan32. Nag-screen will open. Click the "Buy and get 
    registration key" button, or if AdScan32 is already running,
    on the Help menu, click Registration | Get registration key.
    This will bring you to the Web site of AdScan32 reseller. Follow 
    instructions presented there. 

 2. You get your registration key by e-mail after payment.

 3. On the Help menu, click Registration | Activate registration key. 
    This will display the "Registration of AdScan32" dialog box.

 4. Enter your registration key by copying it from the letter body, 
    and then pasting it in the respective pane of the dialog box.

 5. Press OK and restart AdScan32 to put the registration key into 
    action.
 
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                   Thank you for choosing AdScan32!
