There are actually two ways you can find this out: on the login screen, the version number is displayed (e.g., ABLE Library 7.0), or by choosing About ABLE from the Help menu, the version number should be displayed in the resulting dialog box (e.g., ABLE Library 7.0).

If you are having trouble connecting to HFGroup NE ABLE server, you may need your IT department to allow TCP 80 and TCP 9000.  

Specifying text in the title composition’s title text area as ‘variable’ text in ABLE 7.0  you hit the F8 key and the text will be blue variable (non stamping).  To revert to black text (that does stamp) hit the F5 key.

In ABLE 7.0, if you want to be able to do a quick search to retrieve a list of records, you need the Key field to be in Title Text, Enter an A, and hit Enter, you will see a list of all your A titles.  Or you can enter AM, and see a list of all titles beginning with AM. 

Another (not so simple) possibility is that a certain file cannot be found, one that is needed to display the ZLink window. To see if this is the case, type the following at an MS-DOS command prompt:

set | more

You should see a line similar to the following (but maybe not exactly like it):

CLASSPATH=c:\swing\swing.jar;c:\swing\windows.jar;c:\swing\zlink.jar

If your line doesn’t include these three files

c:\swing\swing.jar

c:\swing\windows.jar

c:\swing\zlink.jar

then you need to edit your c:\autoexec.bat file and let us know at able_support@programmingconcepts.com. But, to do this, open c:\autoexec.bat for editing (e.g., with Notepad), and find the line that looks like

set CLASSPATH=…

(where … is some text).

Change this line to

set CLASSPATH=c:\swing\swing.jar;c:\swing\windows.jar;c:\swing\zlink.jar

apply the changes, and then restart your machine.

Note: We have had some reports where the win command was present in the c:\autoexec.bat file; in particular, occurring before the set CLASSPATH command. Note that the win command is not necessary for Windows 95, 98, or NT, but if you still want to include in this file, make sure it appears after the set CLASSPATH command.

Pretty Name
Host
Port
Database

Pretty Name can be any name that you want to refer to this database as. Host can be the domain name (or IP address) of the Z39.50 server that you want to connect with. Port is the port number used with the host specified, and Database is the name of the database to search over with the host specified.

For example, for testing, you can try the Library of Congress LC Voyager Z39.50 test server, which means you would enter the following parameters for a new database (with Pretty Name set to any name you want):

Host ilssun2.loc.gov
Port 7090
Database Voyager

(You also have the option of entering the IP address 140.147.127.13 for Host if you prefer.) The above data was obtained at http://lcweb.loc.gov/z3950/lcserver.html.

A good resource for finding other Z39.50 servers to connect with can be found at http://www.indexdata.dk/targettest/targetstat.shtml (this is like an A to Z compilation).

Are the Parameters Entered for the Database Correct?

Make sure the data you entered when creating the database in the ZLink window is correct. You could try the most recent Library of Congress test server to see if this is the problem (see ZLink Databases).

Is the Machine Connected to the Internet?

Make sure that you establish an Internet connection before attempting to use ZLink (ZLink will not attempt to make this initial connection for you). You could check that you are ‘online’ by using your web browser to check out a remote web site, e.g., http://www.programmingconcepts.com/able/.

Is it a Domain Name Server (DNS) Problem?

If you entered a domain name for Host when specifying the database, make sure your DNS isn’t causing problems. You can avoid DNS services by specifying the IP address instead of the domain name (e.g., 140.147.127.13 versus ilssun2.loc.gov).

Is the Host Alive?

It’s possible that the host may be down. In order to see if this is the case, type the following at an MS-DOS prompt:

ping -n 3 hostaddress

(where hostaddress is the domain name or IP address of the host you’re trying to connect to). If the host is alive and routing is correct, you should see something like the listing below (the result of pinging IP address 140.147.254.1).

Pinging 140.147.254.1 with 32 bytes of data:

Reply from 140.147.254.1: bytes=32 time=80ms TTL=47

Reply from 140.147.254.1: bytes=32 time=70ms TTL=47

Reply from 140.147.254.1: bytes=32 time=71ms TTL=47

Is the Port Number Correct?

It’s also possible that you have the incorrect port number specified in the database entry you created in the ZLink window. To see if anybody is even listening at that port, launch telnet, and choose Remote System… from the Connect menu. Enter the following parameters:

Host Name hostaddress
Port portnumber
Term Type ansi

(where hostaddress is the host you’re trying to connect with, with port number portnumber). If the port number is correct, you should be able to connect (in which case, you can choose Disconnectfrom the Connect menu).

Why Still Can’t I Connect?

At this point, you should contact us at able_support@programmingconcepts.com!

Phase I

As stated in the File Maintenance reference guide, operations are done in the following order (see further below for post-Phase I release information):

1. MARC field is placed into ABLE field according to Editing parameter (e.g., Insert); If the MARC field is unavailable, the ABLE field is used as it is.
2. Any truncation is then performed on field resulting from (1).
3. Any uppercase conversion is performed on above result from (2).
4. Any substitution (of spaces) is performed on above result from (3).

This gives (4) as the final result. So, depending upon which data is actually imported and how you have your catalog system mapping table set up, you may get results you didn’t expect. A few examples follow below (for insertion editing, truncating on spaces).

Example 1

ABLE Call field: DEF

MARC data: ABC 123

Step 1 (Editing): ABC 123DEF

Step 2 (Truncation): ABC

Result: ABC

Example 2

ABLEä Call field: DEF

MARC data: ABC-123

Step 1 (Editing): ABC-123DEF

Step 2 (Truncation): ABC-123DEF

Result: ABC-123DEF

Phase II (and Beyond)

But, the above only applies to Phase I. In Phase I, the order of operations has been changed to:

1. The MARC field is obtained (if unavailable, an empty string is used).
2. Any truncation is then performed on field resulting from (1).
3. Any uppercase conversion is performed on above result from (2).
4. Any substitution (of spaces) is performed on above result from (3).
5. Result from (4) is placed into ABLE field according to Editing parameter (e.g., Insert).

The examples now become as shown below (with insertion editing, and truncating on spaces).

Example 1

ABLE Call field: DEF

MARC data: ABC 123

Step 1 (Extraction): ABC 123

Step 2 (Truncation): ABC

Step 5 (Editing): ABCDEF

Result: ABCDEF

Example 2

ABLE Call field: DEF

MARC data: ABC-123

Step 1 (Extraction): ABC-123

Step 2 (Truncation): ABC-123

Step 5 (Editing): ABC-123DEF

Result: ABC-123DEF

This is simply by design.