COLLABRA SHARE 2.2 EVALUATION SOFTWARE - README
April 10, 1996
INTRODUCTION
Thank you for your interest in Collabra Share. Using the Collabra Share 2.2
Workgroup Edition evaluation software is an excellent way to learn more about
the product and determine the impact it could have at your organization. In
fact, half of Collabra's current customers report that "trying the product
in-house" influenced their decision to buy the product the most.
The evaluation software is very easy to set up and can be installed on almost
any file server. Installing the software on a file server typically takes
about 15 minutes and then a few minutes for each user to run a setup program
that is placed on the server.
The Collabra Share Workgroup Edition has an identical user interface as the
Client/Server Edition. So you can evaluate the end user and administrative
features even if you are interested in the Client/Server Edition.
The Collabra Share Workgroup Edition normally is installed from six diskettes.
For downloading convenience, all of the disks have been combined into a single
self extracting EXE file.
WHAT'S NEW IN 2.2?
The 2.2 Release adds Personal Replication which allows end users to copy
Collabra forums to their laptops and then keep them synchronized with
server-based forums. This allows users to read documents and post new
documents off-line, without being connected to a server. Personal Replication
adds two basic operations which can be done in the office or on the road:
1) Create Personal Copy (of a forum)
2) Synchronize Personal Copies (with server-based forums)
Both of these operations appear under the "File" menu and can be performed
when a user is connected to the LAN (in the office) or dialed-in to the LAN
using a modem (on the road).
IMPORTANT!!!: Creating a personal copy of a forum or synchronizing personal
copies with the Workgroup Edition via a modem connection is not recommended.
The Workgroup Edition communicates with the Server via network file I/O which
is very slow over a modem connection. The Client/Server Edition is optimized
for remote performance and should be used whenever modem connections will be
used.
For more information on what's new in the 2.2 Release please consult the
"What's New in 2.2" document on the Collabra Web site.
REQUIREMENTS FOR DOWNLOADING
1. You have completed the evaluation form on the Collabra Web site. (The
form is at http://www.collabra.com/products/trial.htm)
2. You have disk space to store the downloaded files, in addition to the
space they will take as they are unzipped.
THE FILES
File File Name Size (bytes)
------------------------------------------- ---------- ------------
Collabra Share Workgroup Edition cswe.exe 5840274
This readme.txt file readme.txt 8242
IMPORTANT NOTE: If you have a connection slower than 56kb, you MUST get the
individual files from the "slowlink" subdirectory. The large file here will
time-out at slow speeds! Each file in the "slowlink" directory contains the
contents of one of the six install disks. You can place them all in the same
directory, and expand them with a command like "disk1.exe".
DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
Steps 1 through 5 below describe how to get the files using a simple FTP
client. If you are using a WWW browser, simply point at the URL
ftp://ftp.netscape.com/collabra/windows, and retrieve the files.
1. FTP to ftp.netscape.com. The user name is "anonymous". Provide your
e-mail address as a password.
2. Set binary download mode: "binary"
3. Change to the directory containing the software:
"cd /collabra/windows"
4. Get the files: "get cswe.exe" and "get readme.txt"
5. Exit FTP: "quit"
6. Place the file in its own empty directory.
7. Execute the self extracting EXE: for example, "cswe.exe".
NOTE FOR NOVELL GROUPWISE USERS
In order for Collabra Share 2.2 to operate with Groupwise, you must have the
correct version of MAPI.DLL. If you get an error similar to "Unknown mail
program error - Ref 8." when you attempt to start Collabra Share, get the
version of MAPI.DLL from the ftp://ftp.collabra.com/pub/novell directory.
Read the readme.txt file in that directory for instructions.
NETWORK INSTALLATION
The installation of the evaluation software involves two steps:
1. install on a file server ("network installation")
2. install for each user
To do the network install, run the setup program ("setup.exe") in the
directory you created. Normally Collabra Share must be installed on a file
server, but it can be setup on a single machine for testing and evaluation
purposes. To do this, run the setup program with "*allowlocal" as a
parameter: "setup *allowlocal". This will limit Collabra Share to only
operating on the machine that is doing the install, so installing on a file
server is better if you have one available.
The first dialog that comes up in the setup program has a HELP button on the
bottom. Click on it for detailed setup instructions. The basic steps are as
follows:
1. Choose whether this is an end-user install or a network install.
==> choose "Network"
2. Choose whether this is the first installation of Collabra Share or
connected to other installations.
==> choose "First"
3. Select the directory location on a file server where you want to place the
network files. You can individually select locations for the network
executables, forums, and registry. If you want to install into "G:\COLLABRA"
then click on "network executables" and enter "G:\COLLABRA\BIN". The other
paths will automatically be set.
4. Select the type of installation
==> choose "Lowest Administration"
5. Select the site name and administrator password. You should also select to
install sample forums so that users will immediately be able to see what an
active forum looks like. Once you have completed the installation, you can
view the on-line help for Collabra Share administrators by launching
"wsadmin.hlp" in the BIN directory.
END USER INSTALLATION
The easiest way to get end users installed is to send an e-mail to the users
that you want to involve in the evaluation with the directory location of the
end-user setup program (i.e., "G:\COLLABRA\BIN\SETUP.EXE").
GETTING STARTED
The easiest way for end users to quickly learn about the product is to browse
the "Learning Forum." The Learning Forum describes each capability of the
product with simple language and graphics. When end users launch Collabra
Share 2.2 for the first time, they should use Get Forum on the File menu to
get the Learning Forum as an icon in their library. Users can double click on
it to begin learning about Collabra Share 2.2.
USAGE OF THE EVALUATION SOFTWARE
You are encouraged to use the Collabra Share 2.2 evaluation software with as
many users as possible and can freely distribute the software around your
organization to other workgroups. You are not allowed to use the evaluation
software with any of the Collabra Share Agents without permission from
Collabra.
EXPIRATION
This software can be used for evaluation purposes for up to 90 days.
IF YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE...
If you decide to purchase the Collabra Share 2.2 Workgroup Edition or
Client/Server Edition, all of the forums that you created during the
evaluation can be preserved.
To convert to the licensed version of Collabra Share without interruption you
should initiate the purchase process at least one week prior to the expiration
of the evaluation period. This will allow adequate time for order processing,
shipping, and installation.
OTHER PRODUCTS
Collabra has a number of other products including the Collabra Share
Client/Server Edition, the Collabra Share Macintosh Edition, the Collabra
Share Replication Agent, the Collabra Share Mail Agent, the Collabra Share
Agent for Lotus Notes, and the Collabra Share Internet Newsgroup Agent.
Contact Collabra if you are interested in any of these products.