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Europa Knowledgebase
This page refers to the offline Knowledgebase that runs on your computer with or without Internet assess.
To search the online Knowledgebase, visit the Online Europa Knowledgebase
Database contains 93,745 records. Last updated : 10/9/2009 4:10:01 AM
Tips for running on: 64 bit Windows Vista - Google Desktop - Unix/Wine - Mac VirtualPC
Program Links:
- Download the KnowledgeBase V3.3 Full Installation File with database updated 6/22/09. (86 Megabytes)
- Contains an online-updatable 91,021 message database. - Updated 6/22/09 at 11:58 AM.
- Download the database containing all messages through 9/13/09 at 7:28 AM (93,096 messages). (58 Megabytes)
- To replace a damaged or corrupt database.
- Download and unzip the file to your c:\Program Files\Europa KnowledgeBase directory.
- Knowledgebase V3.3 Maintenance Upgrade (164 Kbytes) - For upgrading previous versions.
- Stop any running Knowledgebase. Download this file to your c:\Program Files\Europa KnowledgeBase directory. Replaces the existing file.
- Register to receive program update notices.
- Report bugs or suggest changes.
-  Order the free CD.
Notes:
- The compressed installation file is 72 Megabytes in size.
- Dial-up users should expect a 4 to 8 hour download.
- You should order the CD. It's free, and I'll even pay the shipping.
- Europa KnowledgeBase runs in a Windows environment.
About Europa KnowledgeBase
The Europa KnowledgeBase project began when members of our Yahoo group expressed frustration with the way a search of all messages on the Yahoo site is done. A search of all messages must be done several hundred at a time. With over 80,000 messages available it is a real chore to find a specific message or all messages about a specific subject.
Early in February 2004 I began to formulate a plan for an offline searchable database of all lotuseuropa Yahoo messages. The first order of business was to download all messages and create a database. I spent most of the months of February and March downloading messages, formatting them for the database and creating a database containing 39,019 messages.
Next I created a program to search the database by subject, author, or body and display the message. I also added the ability to view the original message on the Yahoo server. Since Yahoo suppresses the actual email address of list members, the only way to reply to a message is to view it at Yahoo and reply using their interface. On March 15, 2004 I released beta version 1.5.0 of the "Europa KnowledgeBase" to beta testing.
Since the release of beta version 1.5.0, I have added the ability to update the database via the Internet and have changed the user interface based on suggestions from beta testers. I want to especially thank Clark Boydston, whose suggestions and encouragements have been invaluable to me.
I released the KnowledgeBase to all lotuseuropa members on April 3, 2004. It is available free on CD and online as my way of saying thanks for the shared knowledge. Since my development tools are limited to Windows applications, Europa KnowledgeBase will only run in a Windows environment. I extend my apologies to folks using other operating systems.
Update 12/1/08 - Phil Anderson has the Knowledgebase running under the 64 bit version of Windows Vista. Here's how he did it:Update 9/15/06 - Russ Turner is using Google Desktop to search the Knowledgebase files. In a recent email he explained how it's done:
"Jerry,
I thought you might be interested in my experiment with Google Desktop:
Google Desktop (GD) is a free utility from Google that indexes your PC files just like Google indexes Internet files. All of the search
features of Google are then available for your local files, hard drive or network. You select which drives and which file types.
I stripped the messages out of your Access database, back to the individual files (65,000+!). Google indexed them automatically as soon
as they appeared.
If you do a regular Google search (e.g., steering rack pinion), a new line appears at the top of the Google Web page noting the number of
local matches. The rest of the Google page is the standard list of Internet matches. Or you can ask Google to just search locally. The
interface is entirely browser based.
The local search takes less than 1/2 second. It includes all of the yahoo group messages, as well as the rest of my documents, including my
email. This is nice, since sometimes I have the information I need stored, from previous correspondence or web searches. If I want to
limit it to the Yahoo group I can just add Yahoo to the search criteria.
It is searching subject, body, date, and address together.
I have not done any search comparison testing with the KB, but I did try one test. In the KB I searched steering+rack+pinion. I got 81 hits
because Access apparently includes substrings. This causes opinion to match pinion and crack to match rack. With Google I got 19 matches in
the yahoo group files.
I don't see this as a replacement for the KB, but it is interesting to see the direction technology is going. I understand that the next
version of Windows is going to include a feature like Google Desktop.
Russ
'74 TCS 2776R"
Update 4/10/06 - Dave Anderson has the Knowledgebase running in a Unix environment and Mark Noakes has it running on a Mac. Here are the particulars:
Dave Anderson says:
"Jerry, this is amazing (perhaps you knew already).
I downloaded and installed the latest Windows Emulator for Linux, wine-0.9.2 from winehq.com onto my Linux PC running Fedora Core 4.
I used wine to install the knowledge base. On starting up the knowledge base it asked to install mozilla ActiveX (I said yes, it did
that).
The knowledgebase did not work, I got the error:
"The JETVBA file (VBAJET.dll for 16-bit versions, or VBAJET32.dll for 32-bit versions) failed to initialize when called. Try reinstalling
the application that returned the error." (and after that an error '91').
I googled VBAJET.dll and found http://www.nvtech.com/support/patchesupgr.html which had a version of that dll to download/install.
I did that.
Now the knowledgebase works on Linux!
I am stunned and happy.
And or course thanks for writing the knowledgebase.
David Anderson. 2037R (early TC)"
Update 7/7/07
Jerry,
I did a bit of work on wine and have made it basically work on the knowledgebase.
http://reality.sgiweb.org/davea/wine.html has all the details. While that page does not say so, I have let the maintainers of wine know (a few minutes ago) about this workaround for VB apps (yours is not the only app that has this particular problem, it is not your fault).
Regards,
David Anderson 2037R [Zetec conversion underway...]
And Mark Noakes says:
"By the way, I was successful getting the knowledgebase to run under virtualpc on a mac with no known glitches other than it was a little slow...to be expected. now just have to have time to sort thru the database and learn what's in there and how to get around in it.
Mark Noakes
3616R JPS168"
Knowledgebase V2.1.0 was released on 12/12/04 to correct some minor bugs in V2.0.
Knowledgebase V2.2.0 was released on 2/2/05. This version adds the "+" wildcard (* See V3.3 below) to allow searches on multiple search keys. Think of the "+" symbol as the word "AND" when you specify your search. For example, to find all messages that contain all of the words suspension, front, roll center and camber curve enter "suspension+front+roll center+camber curve". Please note that the "+" wildcard is limited to four search terms and that each search term slows the search time, so you should be careful with it's use.
Knowledgebase V2.2.1 was released on 4/12/05. Is has the same search engine as V2.2.0 and it includes a repaired database that removes some redundent data. The database in this version is updated through 4/12/05 at 8:00AM.
Knowledgebase V3.0 was released 3/4/06.
The update function will work on all versions of the Knowledgebase until there are approximately 62,000 messages, then versions before 3.0 will no longer update.
New features in V3.0
- Moved the Update KB button to the Options menu
- Moved the KB News button to the Help menu
- Added an "Edit Search History" function to the Edit menu
- Added "Page Setup" and "Print Preview" sub-menus to the File menu
- Increased max files from 65,534 to 999,999,999
- Increased the search results window to display more results without scrolling
- Changed the "GO" button to reflect search type
- Incorporated a full-function Web browser
- Added code to remember the last search type and pattern on restart
- Added buttons for one-click access to the Lotus-Europa home page, the Registry and Lotus Manuals
- The Help system is rewritten to dispay in the Web browser
- Automatic database updating (optional) every 15 minutes.
- Forced cache purge to clear old database update information in systems left running.
- Added option to minimize to an icon in the system tray.
- Added the ability to flag messages, delete them and compact the database.
Messages can be flagged individually or as a group after a successful search.
Knowledgebase V3.3 maintenance upgrade was released 5/6/07
- Abandoned the + wildcard. The search now works like a standard Google search, with space replacing the + wildcard.
- Fixed error that returned all messages when searching the subject area for "su" or "sub"
- Added "#" to display message number. Simply enter "#2345" to view message number 2345.
- Corrected a fatal error when searching for the ' character.
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