How to Install New Format Articles

Last Updated: 17 May 1996

Format articles are installed on your local system by first installing the files associated with the format on your local hard disk, and then updating GFF's configuration. This document describes the installation process.

To install a new format article, follow these steps:

Determine the "key name" for the format you wish to install.
The key name is listed on the download page for the format. The key name is simply a single, unique moniker for the format that is used internally by GFF. After you have installed the format, you will never have to think about it again.
Create a directory for the new format.
For ease of maintainance, we recommend that you use the key name for the format as the name of the directory and that you create the directory in the main GFF directory on your local hard disk.
Download the files associated with the format.
The names of these files are listed on the format's download page. Save them in the directory you just created using the same names that are given on the download page.
Exit from GFF.
If you are currently running GFF, exit. You can do this by exiting from the browser or explicitly exiting from the GFF application.
Edit the configuration file.
You can use any text editor that you wish to edit the file. Do not use a word processor (like WordPerfect or FrameMaker).
Under Windows, the configuration file is called gff.ini and is in the same directory as the GFF application.
On the Macintosh, the configuration file is called GFF Config and is in the same directory as the GFF application.
On UNIX, the configuration file is called gff.ini and is probably stored in the standard "local library" directory on your system. Usually /usr/local/lib. If you are not the system administrator and are installing these formats just for yourself, make a copy of gff.ini in your home directory and modify that file.
1. Edit [ format list ] section of the file
  In the format list section of the file, add a new line that associates the key name of the format with the format's complete name. For example,
```
        fbi=FBI Fingerprint
        
```
  for the FBI Fingerprint format. The format list is initially arranged alphabetically. You may find it convenient to maintain that arrangement. On the other hand, you may prefer to move commonly used formats to the top of the list.
2. Add a new [ "key name" ] section to the file.
  This section can occur anywhere in the file, but putting it after the [ format list ] section is recommended.
  The [ "key name" ] section should contain two lines: names and file. The names line lists all of the names of the format (it is used for searching). The file line should point to the index.htm you downloaded earlier.
  For example, if you downloaded the FBI format into the directory /usr/local/lib/gff/fbi, you would add the following section
```
        [ fbi ]
        Names=FBI Fingerprint
        File=/usr/local/lib/gff/fbi/index.htm
        
```
  Note that the filename must be fully qualified. On Windows, this means it must begin with "D:\" where D: is the drive you've installed the directory on and on the Macintosh, this means it must begin with "/VolName/" where VolName is the name of the volume that contains the GFF folder. (On the Macintosh, seperate folder names with slashes.)
Restart GFF.
You should now see the new formats in the format list on the Formats page.

Bugs and Workarounds

As Murphy's Law dictates, shortly after the last possible day on which bugs could be fixed, a bug was discovered in the installation procedure for formats.

It turns out that when locally installed formats are viewed, images are not referenced correctly. There will soon be a fix for this problem.

In the meantime, you can work around this problem by editing the index.htm files that you download and adjusting the image tags to point directly to the installed files.

Sorry for the inconvenience.