Creating askSam Databases for the Web

To create a database for use with the Web Publisher:

1. Create a new file using askSam 4.0 or askSam 4.0 Professional.

     (See chapter 3 in the askSam User's Guide.)

2. Import or type in the information you wish to publish. askSam can import from a wide range of formats including Word, WordPerfect, Text, HTML, RTF, dBASE, Microsoft Outlook, Eudora, Comma Separated Values (CSV), and more.

When askSam imports documents, it can automatically divide them into pieces. Rather than importing a 300 page Microsoft Word file as a single document, askSam can automatically divide it into sections. To divide a document into sections, select the DOCUMENT DELIMITER option in the IMPORT dialog.

     (For Importing see Importing Text, Documents, and Data.)

3. Format the information using the WYSIWYG word processing capabilities in askSam.

     (For details see Formatting Files for the Web.)

4. You may want to use the first document of the file as a Hypertext menu. You can define Hypertext links to specific documents or other databases. A Hypertext menu can be set up as a table of contents for your documents.

     (See Setting Hypertext Links.)

5. Make sure you pack your file before you place it on the Web server. Packing optimizes and compresses an askSam database.

6. To increase the speed of searches, the askSam Professional version lets you index files. The Web Publisher will automatically search using the index as long as your askSam file (*.ask) and the index files (*.dta, *.idx) are on the server.

NOTE: Detailed instructions for using askSam are in the askSam Getting Started Manual and the askSam User's Guide.

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