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The Linguist's Shoebox

Integrated data management and analysis for the field linguist

Installing Shoebox for Windows 3.1

The Shoebox Setup program is available both as a single file and as multiple files for the creation of installation diskettes:

Version Shoebox Setup files
Compact disc ShSetup.exe
Diskette Setup.exe (Setup.w02, etc.)

When you run Shoebox Setup, it affects only three folders on your hard disk (therefore, removing Shoebox is easy). The following table lists Setup actions in these folders for two situations:

  1. The first time you install Shoebox
  2. If you have already installed a major version of Shoebox (includes reinstalling)

Folder Default name Setup action
Shoebox C:\Shoebox
  1. Adds the Shoebox folder
  2. Adds new program files and sample folders
    Replaces existing ones (you get to confirm the installation to the existing folder)
User settings C:\MyShSet
  1. Adds the user settings folder (if you change its default location, do not put it in the Shoebox folder or any of its subfolders)
  2. Adds new settings files
    Leaves most existing files; replaces only the following:
    • MDF files (but only if MDF.typ does not exist)
    • Some standard settings files
Windows C:\Windows
  1. Adds Shoebox.ini
  2. Updates Shoebox.ini

Setup also changes your Windows system in the following ways:

Backing up your files

We strongly encourage you to back up your Shoebox data and settings files

Shoebox folder

In addition to program files, the Shoebox folder contains several subfolders:

Subfolder Contents
Anthro Anthropology Field Notes and Analysis databases
Doc Documentation
Ling Linguistic Field Manual and Grammar Outline databases
MDF Multi-Dictionary Formatter
Samples Several levels of subfolders containing sample data
  • some that you can use with the Tutorial
  • others that introduce you to advanced topics (not documented elsewhere)
Sh2Conv Program for converting files from Shoebox for MS-DOS
Std_Set Master copies of standard settings files
Text Files for preparing and using text databases (including interlinear text)

Important: Do not put your data and settings files in the Shoebox folder or any of its subfolders.

Multi-Dictionary Formatter

Shoebox Setup can copy MDF files to the user settings folder so that you can customize them for your lexical data. (This is in addition to the master set of MDF files that are installed in the MDF subfolder in the Shoebox folder.)

It copies the MDF files to the user settings folder if

Note: When you reinstall MDF, Setup always replaces essential Consistent Change table .cct files for MDF in the user settings folder.

For more information: In Shoebox Help, search for Multi-Dictionary Formatter. If you have installed previous versions of Shoebox and MDF, see MDF Release Notes.

Converting settings files

When new features are added to Shoebox, the format of its settings files changes (sometimes only slightly, sometimes more substantially). When you open an existing project in a different version of the program, Shoebox converts the settings files. You get the opportunity to confirm the conversion. For more information, choose Help in the confirmation dialog box.

Converting older settings files

Newer versions of Shoebox can convert older settings files without loss of information. If you have upgraded to a new version of Shoebox, let it convert older settings files in your existing projects when you open them.

Converting newer settings files

Older versions of Shoebox obviously can't know about all the features that might be contained in newer settings files, therefore you might lose valuable information if you allow the conversion.
  1. If you share data and settings files with others and frequently copy those files to and from multiple computers, arrange to use the same version and to install upgrades at the same time.
  2. To avoid the risk of losing settings information, remove older versions of Shoebox from your computer.
  3. However, if you are a computer consultant for multiple researchers who use different versions of Shoebox, be sure to use the appropriate versions of Shoebox to open their projects.

Replacing standard settings files

Because the original Shoebox 3 versions of some standard settings files had problems or limitations, Setup replaces these files with improved versions. Standard settings files can be installed in two folders: the user settings folder and the Std_Set subfolder (in the Shoebox folder).

Language encodings

Setup will install these to the Std_Set subfolder. They are also added to the user settings folder if missing there. If upgrading, you must copy them from the Std_Set subfolder to the user settings folder if you wish to use the improved versions. If you are upgrading and have modified old versions of any of the files for your work, you should copy them to a different folder before you install a new version of Shoebox. After the new files have been installed, compare them to the copies of your old modified files. Decide whether to use the new files, the old files, or hybrid versions.

Consistent Change Tables for importing text files

Setup also replaces existing versions of the following change tables in the Text subfolder. If you are upgrading, you must copy them from the Text subfolder to the user settings folder if you wish to use the improved versions. For more information: In Shoebox Help, search for TextPrep.cct or ScrPrep.cct.

Moving files from the old Shoebox Settings folder

If you used version 3 of Shoebox, you might be keeping your settings files in the Settings subfolder (in the Shoebox folder).

If Setup finds the old Settings folder, it automatically

  1. copies the existing settings files to the new user settings folder (exception: it doesn't copy MDF.typ and ShAff.typ, because the old versions are obsolete)
  2. replaces some standard settings files with improved versions in the new folder
  3. renames the old Settings folder Old_set

Shoebox.ini

Shoebox.ini is a small file that remembers the following information:

Replacing (reinstalling) the samples

There is a Samples folder in the Shoebox folder. It contains several levels of subfolders containing sample data that go with the Tutorial or introduce advanced topics (not documented elsewhere). If you want to repeat the procedures in a section of the Tutorial, you should replace (reinstall) the sample files.

To replace the sample files:

  1. Run Shoebox Setup.
  2. In the Select Destination Folder dialog box, enter the same name and location of the Shoebox folder that you selected the first time you installed the program.
  3. In the Components to Install dialog box, select only the Samples check box.

Removing Shoebox

By default, Shoebox Setup replaces an existing release version of Shoebox when you upgrade. For example, Setup for Shoebox 5 automatically replaces existing Shoebox 4 files. However, if you are upgrading from a test version, you will probably need to remove the test version's Shoebox folder yourself.

To remove Shoebox from your computer:

  1. Remove the Shoebox folder (by default, C:\Shoebox).
  2. Remove the user settings folder (by default, C:\MyShSet).
  3. Remove Shoebox.ini from the Windows folder.
  4. Remove the Shoebox 5.0 group in Program Manager.
  5. Remove the association between the .prj file name extension and the Shoebox program.
  6. If you used Shoebox to create any data files that you no longer want, you can remove them too.
  7. If you had created icons for any files that you have removed, remove the icons.