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The Story of Civilization, by Will and Ariel Durant

Please note: this CD only works with IBM-compatible computers.


I. A Brief Overview:

The Story of Civilization is a CD-ROM version of Will and Ariel Durant's 11 volume The Story of Civilization. It includes over 800 illustrations, photos and maps, plus a documentary of the Durants. In addition, all of the texts are searchable by word, phrase and date.

II. Getting Started:

  1. Insert the Story of Civilization CD-ROM into the CD-ROM (d:) drive.
  2. Windows: From the Start menu at the bottom left corner of the screen, select:

    • Programs
    • World Library CD-ROMs
    • The Story of Civilization

  3. A screen with a globe should appear. Press any key to continue.
  4. Now you should see the startup menu from which you can access all texts, images and videos, and exit.

    Please ask a staff member for assistance if you have trouble starting the CD-ROM

III. Using The Story of Civilization:

Some options function consistently throughout the CD-ROM:

  • The Return option functions much like the "Back" button in Internet browsers; it returns you to the previous screen visited.
  • The Help option offers context-sensitive help.
  • Print offers various print options, such as printing a list, the contents of a selection, or the contents of a list. You can also print to a file.
  • Description describes the selected work and/or author.
  • Summary lists your searches up to that point.
  • Read Text provides the full text of your selection. When you see the full text, you will also see a smaller menu with more options:

    • AutoScroll automatically scrolls the text; you can stop it by clicking on the text with the mouse.
    • Bookmark places markers in the text (and notes, if you like), which you can access from the Go To Bookmark button on the Main Menu.
    • Hypertext allows you to search for a word or phrase.

Other Main Menu Options:

  • Titles: Search texts by title. You can access a document by highlighting it and clicking on Read Text or by double-clicking on the title of the document. To see the table of contents for a particular volume, click on Expand TOC.
  • Authors: Search texts by author. Click on an author to see a list of that author's works.
  • Words: Search texts for specific words or phrases.
  • Video: Access clips of the Durant documentary.

Additional buttons...

  • Go To Bookmark: Access bookmarked pages
  • Illustrations: View selected illustrations, maps and photos.
  • Multimedia: View a list of the Durant documentary clips as well as audio prefaces for each section.
  • Summary: Displays a summary of the search criteria currently selected.
  • Clear Strategy: Clears any titles or words you have chosen for a search.
  • Options: Lets you alter the program configurations.

IV. Exiting and removing the CD-ROM:

  1. Click the Return button until you return to the Main Menu.
  2. Click the Exit button. Confirm that you would like to exit the program.
  3. After you have exited the program, remove the CD-ROM from the d: drive.