

     In the name of the Lord, the everlasting God (Genesis 21,33)


     M T R   T o r a h   F r e e w a r e  --  Hebrew Legal Classics

     http://www.mechon-mamre.org/mtrpromo.htm  mtr@mechon-mamre.org

     Topics in this MTR info file:
     - Overview:   (copyright, vendor info, package contents)
     - Updates:    (new releases schedule)
     - Size of package
     - Intended audience
     - Contents:   (MTR's texts)
     - Software:   (search engine, Hebrew screen-fonts)
     - Language:   (format of MTR's text files, software interfaces)
     - Program versions:  ("stand-alone"/TSR, Hebrew/English)
     - Manuals
     - Features:   (screen modes, copy-and-paste support, search facility)
     - New in this release
     - Hardware and Operating System requirements
     - Installation:  (requirements and instructions)
     - MTR files and directories:  (file list and descriptions, caveats)
     - Printing the manuals:  (recommendations for different printers)
     - Installation disks:    (no longer available from the Machon)
     - Our email and Web address, and MTR download sites


     Overview:  MTR (version Elul 5762 Copyright 2002 by Mechon Mamre,
     12 Hayyim Vital St., Jerusalem, Israel (972-2-652-1906):  Includes
     Mishneh Torah, Tanach, Targum, Mishnah, Tosefta, Yerushalmi, and
     Bavli.  MTR is copyrighted freeware:  You need not pay or register to
     use MTR, but you are most earnestly asked to report any problems you
     may have with the program and any errors that you may find in our
     texts or documentation.  We also gratefully accept contributions of
     cash or checks (ordinary personal checks are fine), if you can afford
     to help us cover some of the costs of supplying this freeware.  We
     encourage you to share the program with others, and to upload its
     ZIP files and this README.TXT to BBSs and Web sites for downloading
     Freeware, so long as you update regularly.

     Updates:  New versions were previously released twice yearly (before
     Passover and before the Jewish New Year); but this is the last regular
     update for this DOS version.  Occasional updates may be available from
     time to time, however.  The next regular version is intended to be a
     version for 32-bit Windows (Win9x or NT-Win2000-XP).

     Size of package:  The ZIP files (about 10M) expand to about 28M.

     Intended audience:  MTR should be of interest to readers of Hebrew who
     study Jewish texts, and Bible scholars who wish to study the original
     Hebrew text of the Bible.

     Contents:  The Bible (Tanach) in two versions--the text of the Kether
     Aram Tsovah manuscript, and the same text in modern, easy-to-read,
     full-style spelling; Jewish rabinical classics--the Rambam's Code
     (Mishneh Torah) reproduced from the Yemenite manuscripts, the Mishnah
     reproduced from the manuscript attributed to the Rambam, and Tosefta,
     Jerusalem Talmud, and Babylonian Talmud reproduced from popular
     printed editions.  Additional works are in preparation and will be
     added in future MTR updates.

     Despite the modest scope of the texts compared with larger Torah
     packages on CD-ROM, users of such packages will still benefit from
     MTR due to the high quality of MTR's texts.

     Software:  In addition to the Torah texts, MTR includes software for
     browsing and searching the texts, and Hebrew-English EGA/VGA
     screen-fonts for DOS.  The software is DOS-based but can be run from
     Windows, and is Windows-aware.

     Language:  All texts are in Hebrew only.  They are stored in
     unencrypted plain-text files (in IBM-standard, ASCII-Hebrew for DOS).
     Text layout within the files is in logical (left-to-right) ordering.
     The bundled software comes in two versions providing either an English
     or a Hebrew interface (menus, messages, and help screens).

     Program versions:  There are two versions of the main MTR program:  a
     TSR (memory-resident) version, and a "stand-alone" (i.e. non-resident)
     version (which is transient-loading, the norm for ordinary DOS and
     Windows programs).  Their differences are listed below.  In addition,
     the stand-alone version is available in either Hebrew or English
     language-versions.  Both language versions work identically; they
     differ only in the language of the user interface (menus, messages,
     and help).  Both include extensive on-line help.  The TSR version is
     available only with a Hebrew interface.

     Manuals:  The package also includes printable manuals in both English
     and Hebrew.  The 40 page English manual contains no Hebrew and will
     print on any printer.  The 20 page Hebrew manual can be printed on a
     printer equipped with a Hebrew font.  (See below for printing
     instructions.)

     Features:  The normal display mode of the stand-alone MTR program is a
     text-mode screen of 25 lines.  It can also display text-mode screens of
     up to 60 lines of text on VGA monitors or better.  It is Windows aware;
     it can send blocks of text to the clipboard for pasting to other
     Windows applications (with options for Word-style or Dagesh-style
     handling of parentheses).  Hebrew Windows is not required.  All you
     need is a Hebrew word processor such as Dagesh or Qtext, which have
     Hebrew support built in and will work under any version of Windows.
     NOTE:  NT-Windows2000-XP do not support clipboard in DOS applications
     like MTR.  Under those systems, you will not be able to copy and paste
     from MTR at all; this is a "feature" of those systems, and not a bug
     in our program.

     The TSR version can operate either in full-screen mode of 25 text
     lines, or, on VGA monitors, in a split-screen mode of 50 text lines.
     In full-screen mode, the user can switch back and forth between the
     TSR and a text-mode, DOS word-processor, running concurrently, both
     programs occupying the entire screen.  In split-screen mode, both
     programs are visible at once, each occupying half the screen.
     The TSR can send blocks of text to DOS word processors.

     The search engine can search for a multi-word string of up to 75
     characters, supports boolean expressions (a AND b, a OR b, a NOT b)
     in any combination, and lets you allow or disallow prefixes, suffixes,
     or both.

     New in this release:
     - Hundreds of refinements and corrections in texts, particularly in
       Mishneh Torah and the Yerushalmi.
     - A few refinements to the spelling and punctuation of the Bible and
       Targum Onqelos.

     Hardware and Operating-system requirements:
     - VGA or EGA video-card (or MONO or CGA card with a Hebrew-font ROM).
     - 28MB free on the destination disk (more is required on large-
       capacity disks and on compressed disks).
     - DOS 3.3 or later.  This version is Win9x compatible.  MTR runs in
       a full DOS screen under NT and OS/2, but cannot send texts to the
       clipboard under those systems.  MTR also runs under Linux's DOSEMU;
       if you have difficulties setting up the Hebrew fonts under Linux,
       you can write us for help (we will refer you to one of our Linux
       users, for we still just run DOS and Win9x ourselves).

     Installation:

     - Old versions of MTR should be completely deleted before installing
       a newer version.  Versions prior to Adar A' 5757 must be deleted
       by MTRFDEL, which is available at the download sites for MTRL.
       Versions dated 5757 onwards can be deleted by typing:  DELTREE \MTR
       (in DOS 6 or later) or by using the usual Windows file managing
       programs.

     - MTR may be installed on any local or network drive from C: to Z:
       It need not be installed in a first-level directory (directly below
       the root), but it is recommended to install to c:\ for best
       performance and ease of setup.

     - To install MTRL, download the MTRL000.zip and unzip with the -d
       option, as shown below.

       To install MTR in x:\MTR (where x is any drive), use:

       PKUNZIP  -d  [path\]MTRL000.ZIP  x:\

     - [path\] is the directory containing the .ZIP file.
     - x is the drive letter of the disk you are installing to.
       If you are currently in the directory  x:\  this may be omitted.
     - Note:  some UNZIPs do not properly interpret the x:\ at the end
       of this command; so if your UNZIP is not from PK, change to the
       target drive and directory (type x: then cd \) before unzipping
       with the -d option.  If you do not, you may get an error message,
       or MTR may be installed in an unintended location.

     WinZip installs MTR just fine, but we recommend you "extract to"
     c:\  for best performance and ease of setup.  Make sure you have
     checked the option to restore original directory structure.

     MTR Files and directories:

     The installation writes the following files in the directory \MTR (or
     in an MTR subdirectory below whatever directory you extracted to).

        Program files:
     MTR.COM       Stand-alone search engine with Hebrew interface.
     MTRE.COM      Stand-alone search engine with English interface.
     MTRTSR.COM    TSR search engine, with Hebrew interface.
     MTRFONTS.COM  Hebrew font support (loads as stand-alone or as a TSR).

        Ancillary files used by MTR programs:
     MTR.DAT       MTR's internal data file.
     MTRE.DAT      MTRE's internal data file.
     MTRTSR.DAT    MTRTSR's internal data file.
     MTR.HST       MTR's search history file.
     MTRE.HST      MTRE's search history file.
     MTRTSR.HST    MTRTSR's search history file.

     MTR.ICO       Icon for Windows

        Documentation:
     HAMACHON.COM  Hebrew documentation on Mechon Mamre and MTR's creation.
     AZHAROT.COM   Hebrew documentation on MTR and limitations on its use.
     BAT.COM       Hebrew documentation on loading MTR via batch files.
     KETIV.COM     Hebrew documentation on our spelling.
     PISSUQ.COM    Hebrew documentation on our punctuation.
     HADPES.OTI    Hebrew manual (Printable on printers with Hebrew font).
     PRINTME.ENG   English-only manual, printable on any printer.
     README.TXT    This standard Readme file, required by Simtel.

        Batch files:
     M.BAT         Loads Hebrew font and runs MTR.
     MP.BAT        Ditto (installs font suitable for laptop LCD screens).
     M2.BAT        Loads MTR + MTRTSR for study of dual texts concurrently.
     M2P.BAT       Ditto (installs font suitable for laptop LCD screens).
     MW.BAT        Loads MTRTSR and runs WP.BAT to load your DOS word
                     processor for concurrent usage.  (You supply WP.BAT!)
     MWP.BAT       Ditto (installs font suitable for laptop LCD screens).

     Warning:  MTRE.COM may be deleted or renamed, but the other .COM
     files must not be deleted or altered in any way or MTR will stop
     functioning.  The other files can be deleted to save disk space, but
     MTR will regenerate .DAT and .HST files, if necessary (provided you
     have write access to the disk).

     The six .BAT files are provided as example files.  They assume MTR
     is being run from the directory they are in.  If MTR is installed on
     another drive or in another directory, they will need to be modified
     to use the correct pathname.

     Run MTR, MTRE, MTRTSR, and MTRFONTS with the /? option, to see a list
     of command-line options available for each program.  You may wish to
     incorporate some of these options in the batch files.

     The following subdirectories under MTR\ contain the Hebrew text files
     of the works included in this version.  (Sizes shown are approximate.)

     MTR    4.6M    Mishneh Torah
     TNK    2.0M    Tanach in easy-to-read spelling
     TNX    2.0M    Tanach in masoretic spelling
     ONQ    0.5M    Targum Onqelos
     MSH    1.1M    Mishnah
     TSF    1.6M    Tosefta
     YER    4.5M    Yerushalmi
     BVL   10.0M    Bavli

     Do not delete or alter these files in any way or MTR will stop
     functioning for the book changed and onward.

     If you need to free up disk space, you may delete entire directories
     and their contents (e.g. deleting all the BVL files will save over
     10Mb), but if you do this, you should do so from the bottom up,
     according to the order in which they are listed here.  This is because
     MTR requires the presence of all earlier listed components in order to
     make use of any component appearing subsequently in this list.  Thus,
     the absence of the MSH files will cause the Tosefta, Yerushalmi and
     Bavli to become unusable even if their files are intact.  Similarly,
     erasing the TNK files will disable use of all but Mishneh Torah.

     To uninstall, type:  DELTREE \MTR at the DOS prompt or use one of the
     many file managers.  MTR does not create or change any files outside
     its \MTR directory.

     Printing the Manuals:

     The files containing the manuals include page breaks and may be
     printed directly from DOS using the PRINT or COPY commands.  e.g.

        PRINT \MTR\PRINTME.ENG
        COPY  \MTR\HADPES.OTI  PRN

     The number of lines-per-page has been limited to 58 to accommodate
     those printers that can only print 58 to 60 lines per page on 11 inch
     paper and cannot print on the first and last half inch of the sheet.

     If you use continuous paper on a dot matrix printer which prints along
     the entire length of the paper, roll the first sheet up about half an
     inch before printing to have the pages vertically centered on the
     paper.

     If your printer prints only from Windows, select a monospace font
     (e.g. Courier New), not a proportional font, when loading the file
     into your Windows word processor for printing.

     Installation disks:  MTR is no longer available on diskettes.  MTR on
     CDROM may be available soon; write us, if you are interested.  You can
     get the Zip file from Simtel.Net on CDROM, too.

     Our email and Web address, and MTR download sites:

     For additional help, you may email us at:   mtr@mechon-mamre.org
     but, please, do try consulting the documentation first.  Visit our Web
     site at http://www.mechon-mamre.org for additional information, HTML
     versions of all of MTR's texts (and more, including voweled and even
     cantillated versions of the Bible in masoretic spelling), and some of
     MTR's texts converted for the Palm Pilot.  If you perfer to telephone,
     we are at 972-2-652-1906 (in Jerusalem, Israel).  We can give support
     only in Hebrew and English.

     The main Internet sites from which MTR may be downloaded are linked
     to on http://www.mechon-mamre.org/mtrpromo.htm.  There are many
     other sites for downloading MTR, but most are not updated regularly
     like those linked to on our mtrpromo.htm page.  Some are as old as 7
     or 8 versions ago; though we do try to get those download sites to
     update, some site managers are just too lazy to do so.  So stick with
     our recommended Simtel sites!

