Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary &Thesaurus

Merriam-Webster’s
Medical Dictionary
HTML Edition for Windows NT

System Administrator Information


Table of Contents

System Requirements

Program Installation Instructions

Permissions
Installing: Step 1
Installing: Step 2
Setting the Path to the Program Files
Running the Program for the First Time

Installing, Setting Up, and Using M-W Link
Font Questions
Installing Program Components on Clients
Troubleshooting the NT Version
Technical Support
Using Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus or Medical Dictionary

 

Program Installation and System Requirements

Windows NT System Requirements:

UNIX HTML or Command Line System Requirements:

Windows NT HTML Installation Instructions:
These instructions pertain only to the HTML version of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary for Windows NT servers. This CD-ROM also includes HTML and command line interface versions for UNIX servers and native versions for Windows (3.x, 95 and NT) and Macintosh servers. Information on installing the UNIX versions of the program are included later in this document. For information about the other versions of the program on this CD-ROM, consult the README files and documentation in the appropriate folder on the CD.

Before Beginning the Installation of the Windows NT Version:
Before beginning the installation of the NT HTML version, ensure that you know how the directory and permissions structures of your server are organized. Specifically, you need to know the location of three main structural units in your directory hierarchy: 1) the directory where cgi scripts and programs should be installed, 2) the directory where HTML pages should be installed, and 3) the directory where data files are stored. (NOTE: For this program to operate correctly, the program data files must be installed in a different directory from the cgi script; it also cannot be in a subdirectory of the one containing the cgi script.) If you do not know the location of these directories, you can use the Microsoft Internet Service Manager to help you locate them; consult your NT documentation for more details on using Internet Service Manager.

Before Installing:
The dictionary was originally created using the following directory structure; you may find that it is simplest to re-create this directory structure on your server, but you can use an alternate structure more suited to your own server organization if you prefer. The following information will help you to re-create the original directory structure used for the program.

Data Files:
In the default configuration, data files are stored in a directory named MWDictionary; each reference (i.e., dictionary, thesaurus, and/or medical dictionary) should have a subdirectory within MWDictionary. The data files for a reference (e.g., the *.cmp and *.ndx files) are stored in the appropriate subdirectory. The default subdirectory for the Collegiate Dictionary is C10, for the Collegiate Thesaurus is Cthes, and for the Medical Dictionary is Med.   In the default configuration, MWDictionary is a subdirectory in the path /InetPub/wwwroot/ .

Sample directory path to Collegiate Dictionary data:
/InetPub/wwwroot/MWDictionary/C10/c10.cmp

Sample directory path to Medical Dictionary data:
/InetPub/wwwroot/Med/med.cmp

Shared Files:
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesuarus and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary are designed to share certain files that are used by both programs. During installation, you will be prompted to provide a path where these shared files should be installed on your server. An Art subdirectory will be created in whichever directory you specify for shared files. All of the art and table files (art.ndx, art.cmp, table.ndx, and table.cmp, as well as selected *.GIF and *.HTM files from the NT/Shared/Art directory on the CD-ROM) should be installed in the Art subdirectory. In the default configuration, Art is a subdirectory of MWDictionary. (Note that if you install both the Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus and the Medical Dictionary, all of the art for both programs will be stored in the same Art subdirectory.)

Sample directory path to art files:
/InetPub/wwwroot//MWDictionary/Art/dental.gif

Executable Files:
The default location for the executable file for this program is a directory named scripts; the executable itself is stored in a subdirectory named cgi-bin. In the default configuration, scripts directory is a subdirectory of InetPub.  The executable file for the Collegiate Dictionary & Thesuarus is named dictionary.exe and the executable file for the Medical Dictionary is named medical.exe.

Sample directory path to Collegiate Dictionary executable:
/InetPub/scripts/cgi-bin/dictionary.exe

Sample directory path to Medical Dictionary executable:
/InetPub/scripts/cgi-bin/medical.exe

HTML Pages:
In the default configuration, the HTML pages are stored in a directory named mwcollegiate or mwmedical, depending upon which reference you are installing. The mwcollegiate or mwmedical will be created in the HTML-page directory you specify during installation; in the default configuration, it is a subdirectory in the path /InetPub/wwwroot. Mwcollegiate or mwmedical will contain the HTML pages for the search and results pages (e.g., dictionary.htm, medical.htm), the HELP files, and the program header graphics.

Sample directory path to Collegiate Dictionary search screen:
/InetPub/wwwroot/mwcollegiate/dictionary.htm

Sample directory path to Medical Dictionary search screen:
/InetPub/wwwroot/mwmedical/medical.htm

Permissions:
Before running the program for the first time, ensure that all of the dictionary directories you installed (e.g., cgi-bin, MWDictionary, mwmedical) have read permission for all domain users and for IUSR_machinename. You should also ensure the IUSR_machinename has read permission for the subdirectories system and system32 in the winnt or winnt35 directory to allow access to .dll files stored in those locations.

How to Install the NT HTML Version
Step 1:
To install the program files, follow these steps:

1. Insert the CD-ROM in the drive on the server.
2. From the Start menu, select Run.
3. Type [DRIVE]:\Setup.exe, where [DRIVE] is the letter name of CD-ROM drive.
4. Press ENTER and follow the instructions that appear on the monitor.

During installation, you will be prompted to install the data files, shared files, HTML pages, and executable file into the appropriate directories. Install the cgi executable into the directory where your web server expects executables, the HTML files into a directory or subdirectory where your web server expects web pages, and the data files in any directory except the cgi directory or a subdirectory of the cgi. When you press ENTER, the program files will be installed in the directories you have specified.

Step 2:
After you have installed the program files, you will need to run a second setup program to set the Windows NT registry values correctly. To set the registry values, follow these steps:

1. From the Start menu, select Run.
2. Medical Dictionary: Type [DRIVE]:\MedSetup.exe, where [DRIVE] is the letter name
   of CD-ROM drive.
   Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus: Type [DRIVE]:\C10Setup.exe, where [DRIVE] is
    the letter name of CD-ROM drive.
3. Press ENTER and follow the instructions that appear on the monitor.

A dialog box will appear prompting you to set the paths to the HTML files, the shared files, and the data files.  Set the paths as indicated in the dialog boxes.  When this step is complete, the Windows NT registry paths should be correctly set.

Setting the Path to the Program Files:
Before running the Collegiate Dictionary or Medical Dictionary, you will need to add your server name and/or domain name to the program path in the HTML source of the search screen. The search screen for Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus will be installed in the mwcollegiate directory and it is named Dictionary.htm. The search screen for the Medical Dictionary will be installed in the mwmedical directory and it is named Medical.htm.

To set the path to the executable file in the HTML source, open the search screen page in a text editor such as Notepad. You will need to modify one of the following lines (depending on the program you are installing):

<form method=post action=http:/scripts/cgi-bin/dictionary.exe>

<form method=post action=http:/scripts/cgi-bin/medical.exe>

Add the name of your server and/or domain to show the correct path on your machine. If you installed the executable file in a location other than the default directory, you may also need to modify other portions of the path in the appropriate line above.

The following example shows how the path was modified for the Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus on a server named "company" with the domain "first" with the executable file installed in the default directories:

<form method=post action=http://company.first.com/scripts/cgi-bin/dictionary.exe>

Running the Program for the First Time:
The first time you try to execute a search using the web page, the program will prompt you to type the path to the shared files and the data files on your server.  The information you type will be used to set those paths in the Windows NT registry.  When you run the first search using the program, a page will appear asking you to type the relative path to the Art files. You should not need to type the full path to these files.  For example, in the default configuration the shared files are stored in the path d:\inetpub\wwwroot\mwdictionary\art.  You should be able to set the path to the shared files simply by typing mwdictionary .  You do not need to type /art in the path. 

After you have set the relative path to the shared files, press ENTER and the program will notify you when the path is successfully set.

After setting the path to the shared files, return to the search screen and run a new search. This time, you will be prompted to type the absolute path to the data files (e.g., the med.cmp, med.ndx, c10.cmp, c10.ndx, cthes.cmp, cthes.ndx files) on your server. Type the full path, including drive designations, to the data.  For example, in the default configuration, the path to the data files for the Medical Dictionary would be d:\inetpub\wwwroot\mwdictionary\med. After you have set the absolute path to the data files, press ENTER and the program will notify you when the path is successfully set. 

UNIX Program Installation Instructions:
This CD-ROM includes an HTML and a command line interface for Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus for UNIX servers, an HTML version for Windows NT servers, and native versions for Windows 3.x, 95, and NT servers and Macintosh servers. These instructions pertain only to the HTML and command line versions of the product for UNIX and NT servers; for information about the native Windows and Macintosh versions, consult the file named guide.rtf on this CD-ROM.

How to Install the UNIX HTMLVersion:
The program and data are on the CD-ROM in this package in a TAR file in a folder named UNIX. To install the Dictionary and Thesaurus, you must first extract the TAR file and copy the files to a directory on your server, maintaining the relative directory structure used on the CD-ROM. The recommended directory for the program files is /mw.

When the files have been copied from the CD-ROM, run the following script or move the files yourself according to the structure shown below the script.

#************Installation Script************
# To run this script, you must have authority to write to the
# cgi-bin and htdocs directory. Also, be sure that after installation,
# these files are readable by your local httpd server.
#
#!/bin/sh

# ------------------------------------------------------
# -------------- Configuration Variables ----------------
#
# -- Change the following variables to point to the
# appropriate areas for your installation.
#
# Directory where MW dictionary image was installed from the CD tar
SRC_DIR=/mw

# Directory where the executable programs will be installed.
BIN_DIR=/usr/local/etc/httpd/cgi-bin

# Directory where documents, images, and html files will be installed.
DOCS_DIR=/usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs

#
# ---------- End of Configuration Variables -------------
# ------------------------------------------------------

# ------------------------------------------------------
# You should not need to modify anything below this line
#

echo " -- Installing Binary programs into $BIN_DIR ... "

cp $SRC_DIR/mweb $BIN_DIR
cp $SRC_DIR/Dictionary.htm $BIN_DIR
cp $SRC_DIR/Thesaurus.htm $BIN_DIR
#
ln -s $SRC_DIR/c10 $BIN_DIR/c10
ln -s $SRC_DIR/cthes $BIN_DIR/cthes
ln -s $BIN_DIR/mweb $BIN_DIR/Dictionary
ln -s $BIN_DIR/mweb $BIN_DIR/Thesaurus

#
# Change /usr/local/etc/httpd/htdocs to your htdocs directory, if different
#
echo " -- installing documents and images into $HTDOCS_DIR ... "
cp $SRC_DIR/*.htm $DOCS_DIR
cp $SRC_DIR/*.html $DOCS_DIR
cp $SRC_DIR/*.jpg $DOCS_DIR
ln -s $SRC_DIR/art $DOCS_DIR
ln -s $SRC_DIR/table $DOCS_DIR

ln -s $DOCS_DIR/Dictionary.htm $DOCS_DIR/index.html

echo "Done"
# ************End of Installation Script************

When you have finished the installation, your file structure for the Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus should look like the following, where -> is a symbolic link. If your http server (i.e., httpd) is in a different location, your structure may be slightly different, but the relative directory levels should match those shown below. The structure for the Medical Dictionary will be basically the same, but without the Thesaurus and with Medical.htm in place of Dictionary.htm and the directory med in place of the directory c10. The Medical Dictionary does not include art.

The sample structure shown here assumes that all of the files and their subdirectories from the CD-ROM were initially copied into the directory /mw.

/usr/local/etc/httpd/
|
| --htdocs/--mw/
| |
| | --Dictionary.htm
| | --art/ -> /mw/art/
| | --table/ -> /mw/table/
| | --help.htm
| | --copyright.htm
| | --mweb.gif
| | --Thesaurus.htm
| --cgi-bin/
| --mweb
| --c10/ -> /mw/c10/
| --cthes/ -> /mw/cthes
| --Dictionary.htm
| --Thesaurus.htm
| --Dictionary -> mweb
| --Thesaurus -> mweb

The data will be in the following directory structure or in a similar structure

../mw/
| ----c10/
| |
| | --c10.cmp
| | --c10.ndx
| | --art.cmp
| | --art.ndx
| | --table.cmp
| | --table.ndx
| ----cthes/
| | --cthes.cmp
| | --cthes.ndx
| ----art/ (lots of *.gif's and *.htm's for captions)
| ----table/ (lots of *.htm files for HTML tables)

How to Install the UNIX Command LineVersion:
The program and data are on the CD-ROM in this package in TAR file a folder named UNIX. To install the Dictionary and Thesaurus, you must first extract the TAR file and copy the files to a directory on your server, maintaining the relative directory structure used on the CD-ROM. The recommended directory for the program files is /mw.

When the files have been copied from the CD-ROM, run the following script or move the files yourself according to the structure shown below the script.

#************Installation Script************

# To run this script, you must have authority to write to the
# local bin directory. Also, be sure that these files,
# after being installed, are readable by your users.

#
# Change /usr/local/bin to your local bin directory, if different
#
cp mweb /usr/local/bin
cp mwebhelp.txt /usr/local/bin
ln -s c10 /usr/local/bin
ln -s cthes /usr/local/bin
#************End of Installation Script************

 

Installing, Setting Up, and Using M-W Link™
M-W Link™ is a small companion program that runs on Windows or Macintosh clients and allows users to quickly look up words in the dictionary or thesaurus from their other Windows or Macintosh programs. The link software must be installed and running in the background on each client from which it will be used. Network drives on the client must be mapped so they are always accessible from the same path on startup for M-W Link to work correctly.

You can install M-W Link on your Windows and Macintosh clients by using the Client Setup installation that can be found in either Windows/Macintosh installation files on this CD-ROM. Choose the Client setup appropriate for the type of client that will be using M-W Link to access the dictionary. Instructions for installing client-based components can be found in the README file (readme.txt) of the Windows and Macintosh installation documentation, which can be found in a separate directory on this CD-ROM.

Setting up M-W Link:
M-W Link comes with preconfigured shortcut key combinations that must be entered into the Windows Registry or the Macintosh Preferences folder on client machines to function properly. This information should set up automatically when you double-click on the icon for the link software the first time.

You can examine the default paths for M-W Link by opening the program, selecting the name of the reference you want, and clicking on the Advanced button.

The M-W Link Control Panel:
The M-W Link control panel allows you to set the shortcut keys that will be used to launch the dictionary program, or to set the path from client machines to the location of the appropriate Merriam-Webster electronic reference on the server. The M-W Link control panel includes the following options.

Application Name:
Type the name of the program you want to open with M-W Link.

Application Location:
Use Browse to find the executable (application) file for the program you want to open with M-W Link.

Application startup commands:
Type keystrokes representing the sequence of commands you want M-W Link to perform automatically once the new program (i.e., the dictionary) is open (e.g., clear the screen, bring up the dictionary search screen, paste in a word highlighted in a document).

Text sent to application:
Contains the command {PASTE} or a URL plus {PASTE} and instructs the program to paste highlighted text into the dictionary (or other application opened by M-W Link).

The preconfigured Application Name, Application Startup Commands, and Text Sent to Application settings should not need to be adjusted on most Windows or Macintosh clients. However, you may need to adjust the Application Location setting to reflect the path from the client machine to the appropriate Merriam-Webster reference on the server.

To set a new path to the application, follow these steps:

  1. Open M-W Link and select the appropriate application from the Application Name list.
  2. Click on the Advanced button.
  3. Place the cursor in the Application Location field.
  4. Click the Browse button and navigate to the executable file for the dictionary.
  5. Double-click on the executable file name. The correct path should then appear in the Application Location window of the M-W Link control panel.
  6. Click Apply to save your changes.

After the path has been changed, Windows users should minimize the M-W Link window; Macintosh users can close the window.

Windows users can set M-W Link to open automatically on startup by adding a shortcut to M-W Link in the Windows StartUp menu.

After it has been set up, the M-W Link extension will load automatically at startup.

More Help Using M-W Link
You can find more information about setting up and using M-W Link in the on-line Help that is included within the link software.

Font Questions for Windows NT HTML Version:
The HTML versions of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary for Windows NT servers do not use any special fonts to display pronunciation characters or other special symbols. You do not need to install any special fonts on either the server or the client machines.

Font Questions for UNIX HTML and Command Line Versions:
The HTML versions of Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus and Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary for UNIX servers do not use any special fonts to display pronunciation characters or other special symbols. You do not need to install any special fonts on either the server or the client machines. All characters are displayed in basic ASCII for the Command Line version.

Installing Program Components on Clients
The CD-ROM for Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary includes setup files called client16.exe (for Windows 3.x clients), client.exe (for Windows 95 or NT clients), and Setup (for Macintosh clients). These setup files install selected program files on a client to improve text display and performance speed for the native Windows and Macintosh versions. These client options also install M-W Link on client machines. Each client install requires approximately 500 KB of space on the hard drive of the client. Note that client installs are not required for the Windows NT or UNIX HTML versions or the Command Line version; you only need to install client components if you intend to use M-W Link from Windows or Macintosh clients.

Troubleshooting the NT Version:
If you receive a CGI error indicating that the dictionary program did not return a complete set of HTTP headers, check the permissions of the system and system32 subdirectories of the winnt or winnt35 directory. Merriam-Webster's programs require access to selected *.dll files in those subdirectories. Giving IUSR_machinename read permission should correct this problem.

Technical Support
If you need technical support for this product, please E-mail our technical support staff at techsupport@m-w.com or fax us at (413) 827-7262, Attention: Technical Support.


Using the Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus or Medical Dictionary
For more information on the features of the HTML versions of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary & Thesaurus or Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary for Windows NT servers, consult the Help that is included with the program.

 

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