  A User's Guide to the Microsoft Knowledge Base on CompuServe
                        February 10, 1992
      Microsoft Product Support Services, Developer Support

This user's guide will help you understand how to use the
Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB) on CompuServe and includes
optimal searching techniques, tips on how to find articles
quickly, an explanation of the various menu items in the
Microsoft Knowledge Base (MSKB), and a description of the
"Expert" search mode.

Much of this information is also contained in the online help
associated with the MSKB.

WELCOME TO THE MICROSOFT KNOWLEDGE BASE
=======================================

The Knowledge Base is a database that will enhance your Microsoft
products by providing you with access to information previously
available only to Microsoft support engineers. The Knowledge Base
contains helpful articles on all kinds of subjects regarding
various Microsoft Products. Using the Microsoft Knowledge Base is
like having a Microsoft support engineer available to you day and
night and only a few keystrokes away. With access to the support
files, you can quickly obtain answers to your software questions,
which is a necessity when your productivity counts on it.

Finding the Answer
------------------

When you elect to search the Knowledge Base, you will find a
generous array of options by which you can locate answers to your
questions. Whether you are searching for general information on
your product or just trying to find new developments that are on
the way, you can use options that allow you to search by product
name, version, or category. Once you specify a search term, the
Knowledge Base will go to work for you, collecting all of the
documents it can find related to the criteria you supplied.

By entering the product name, you can determine if there are
further product developments or related articles on the product.
If you want to check on current publications, supplying the
publication date will locate documents published during the time
frames you have specified.

The most notable feature of the Knowledge Base is its ability to
quickly perform a search of the full text of all documents
contained within the Knowledge Base. With this full-text search
feature, you can find specific answers to your questions. If the
subject of your question is mentioned in the over 25,000
documents on file within the Knowledge Base, this feature will
locate these documents for your review. Nowhere else can you find
such a feature that will give you the ability to receive
immediate responses to your questions with such a minimal amount
of work. Once you have tried the full-text search option, you
will wonder how you were able to survive without it.

Software Library
----------------

Many Knowledge Base articles also refer to additional related
files that are contained in the software library (GO MSL). The
files are referenced by an S number (such as S12345). You can
download these files by downloading the S number with a ZIP
extension attached to it (S12345.ZIP, for example). A description
of the Software Library can be found below in the section titled
"The Microsoft Software Library."

In addition, you may also choose to communicate directly with
Microsoft by sending an "electronic message" to its help desk.
Leave comments on items you would like to see in future versions
of Microsoft products to aid Microsoft in its development of
products suited to your needs.

Use the Knowledge Base on a regular basis and we are sure that
you will find that you can use your Microsoft product more
effectively and to a level that you thought was never before
attainable.

HOW TO ACCESS THE MSKB ON COMPUSERVE
====================================

To begin using the Knowledge Base on CompuServe, type GO MSKB at
any CompuServe"!" prompt. From there, you'll see the following
menu:

   Knowledge Base             MSKB

   Welcome to The Microsoft Knowledge Base
   Copyright (c) 1990 Microsoft Corporation

    1 What's New in the Knowledge Base
    2 Description of Database
    3 Online User's Guide
    4 The Knowledge Base Suggestion Box
    5 Search the Knowledge Base

The first three selections contain help screens that describe the
Knowledge Base, as well as provide information on searching for
articles in the Knowledge Base. Most of the information in these
help screens is also contained in this users guide. The fourth
selection, "The Knowledge Base Suggestion Box," is an area where
you can provide feedback to Microsoft about the MSKB. To begin
searching for articles, select option 5.


SEARCHING FOR ARTICLES
======================

After selecting option 5 "Search the Knowledge Base" above, the
following menu will be presented:

   Knowledge Base

   SELECT documents by searching for:
    1 Words or phrases occurring anywhere in Documents
    2 Words or phrases occurring anywhere in Document Titles only
    3 Product Name
    4 Product Version
    5 Publication Date
    6 Document Identification Number
    7 Operating Environment of Product
    8 Bugs, Fixes, and Documentation Errors
    9 Press Releases
   10 Expert Mode

Articles in the Knowledge Base can be searched for by selecting
any of the menu items. The following is a description of each
menu item, and how it can be used to find articles:

 1. Words or Phrases Occurring Anywhere in Documents - This is
    the full-text search option that is the "most powerful"
    search available. You may enter an entire word or phrase that
    you want to locate. Once you have entered your searching
    criteria, the full text of each article is searched to locate
    all occurrences of your criteria. Choose this method when you
    need the broadest searching capability. Be aware that you may
    locate articles that do not directly relate to your interest.
    This search is not case sensitive, so don't worry about the
    case of your query.

 2. Words or Phrases Occurring Anywhere In Document Titles Only -
    As is stated in this menu choice, the search is limited to
    document titles only. Your search criteria may contain as
    many or few letters or words as you desire. This search
    method allows you to limit the search to a particular field
    of interest without the need for input of specific search
    criteria.

 3. Product Name - This choice leads to a menu of product
    categories. After you select a category, a menu of specific
    product names will appear.

 4. Product Version - The prompt for version number is divided
    into two prompts: one for the major number and one for the
    minor number. The version 3.2 contains the major number 3 and
    the minor number 2. This allows for some flexibility of
    input. To receive all minor numbers of a specific major
    number, enter a carriage return (CR) at the minor number
    prompt. Note: Be explicit in specifying minor version
    numbers. For example, a minor version number of "0" is NOT
    the same as "00".

 5. Publication Date - The menu choice for publication date
    allows a specific date to be entered, and provides the choice
    of receiving articles published BEFORE or AFTER the date
    entered.

 6. Document Identification Number - This document number is
    unique for each article and is assigned by Microsoft. This
    number is sometimes referred to as the "Q" number of an
    article (Q75223, for example).

 7. Operating Environment of Product - You may enter the
    operating system in which you are interested from a menu of
    valid operating systems.

 8. Bugs, Fixes, and Documentation Errors - All articles relating
    to known bugs, fixes for known bugs, and documentation errors
    can be located with this selection.

 9. Press Releases - A list of press releases is available by
    selecting this option. All Microsoft press releases are now
    posted to the Microsoft Knowledge Base instead of the "What's
    New at Microsoft" menu option in the Microsoft Connection
    area.

10. Expert Mode - This method of searching allows more
    experienced users to input their search criteria independent
    of the menu searches. Valid search terms and operators may by
    obtained by typing /HELP or /H at the Expert mode prompt. An
    explanation of Expert mode is also contained below under the
    heading "Searching with Expert Mode."


Article Searching Tips
----------------------

The following tips will help you to quickly find what you are
looking for, and will give you hints about what to do if you
cannot find an article. These tips have been provided by support
engineers at Microsoft who use the Knowledge Base daily.

 - Use the full-text search feature whenever possible. This is
   the most powerful of the search options, but it also has the
   possibility of providing you with the most number of articles.
   Provide as many appropriate keywords as possible in a single
   search. If the resulting list of articles does not contain
   what you are looking for, try eliminating one or more keywords
   and search again. Remember that in the full-text search mode,
   the articles must contain at least one of every keyword you
   list in order for them to be found.

 - Try different combinations of words and phrases. The Knowledge
   Base does not compensate for plural words, words with
   different endings, and so on. If the word you search on is not
   contained in the article verbatim, your search will not find
   it. For instance, if you are searching on "bitmap" and you
   don't find anything, try "bitmaps". If "scroll" doesn't work,
   try "scrolls" or "scrolling" or "scrolled".

 - Narrow your searches using the product name. If the subject
   you are searching on is generating a large number of articles
   (for instance, "file" is one of those topics), you need to
   narrow your search. Begin by first selecting the correct
   product name, then narrow your search using the full-text
   search feature (or, if you are using Expert mode searching,
   you can select product and text search in one command). This
   will eliminate all the articles that pertain to other
   Microsoft products.

THE MICROSOFT SOFTWARE LIBRARY
==============================

The Microsoft Software Library contains many of the files
available for downloading by CompuServe users. These are the
official files currently available from Microsoft Product Support
Services. These Microsoft files include printer drivers for MS
Word, Works, and Windows; various patches; demos; application
notes; sample code and programs; and utilities. All new Microsoft
files will be posted here.

The Software Library uses exactly the same file commands used in
the regular forum data libraries. The keyword list for each file
includes the "S" number (or filename) given in the Knowledge Base
article that refers to it. Every file has a Knowledge Base
article pointing to it. These are exactly the same files that are
available by mail from Microsoft Product Support Services. The
easiest way to access the Software Library is by typing GO MSL at
any CompuServe "!" prompt.

If you know that something is in the Software Library but don't
know the "S" number or filename, the quickest way to find it is
to look in the Knowledge Base for the article that refers to it.
Query on topics relating to the file, and include the keyword
"softlib". Most of the pointer articles for the Software Library
files contain the keyword "software library" or "softlib". For
instance, if you know that there is a file in the Software
Library containing information about performing an ILS landing
using Flight Simulator 4.0, you might query on "ils landing
software library", and from this query, find an article that
lists filename S12634 as containing additional information. Then,
you can GO MSL, and download file S12634.ZIP.


SEARCHING WITH EXPERT MODE
==========================

The Expert search mode is a powerful method that you can use to
quickly find articles in the Knowledge Base without selecting
multiple menu items to set up your search. This mode is named
"Expert" because it requires knowledge of the query language and
search fields used in the database.

The Expert mode of the Knowledge Base allows you to search the
following "fields":

   TEXT        "Full text search" on all words in the articles
   TITLEKEY    Article titles only
   PCODE       Product name
   VER         Version number
   PDATE       Publication date
   DOCID       Microsoft document identifier
   OPSYST      Operating system
   DOCTYPE     Document type

The following relational operators/logicals are valid:

   Type of Search   Valid Relational Operators
   ----------------------------------------------
   Numeric          EQ, NE, BEG, GT, GE, LT, LE
   Term(s)          EQ, NE, BEG
   Phrase           EQ, NE

Where EQ = equal to, NE = not equal to, BEG = begins with, GT =
greater than, GE = greater than or equal to, LT = less than, LE =
less than or equal to. In addition, you may use the logical
operators "AND" and "OR" to specify exactly which articles you
want to locate. Parentheses can be used to group expressions.

To set up your search, combine a keyword from above with a
logical operator, then a value. If your value contains more than
one word or any special characters, enclose it in single
quotation marks. Acceptable values for each of the fields change
from time-to-time, and can be found online on CompuServe by
typing /HELP once you are in Expert search mode. Another method
of learning the Expert Mode commands and field names is to
perform your search using the standard menu interface, and notice
the query string that is generated by the system. The valid field
names, as well as some sample values, are listed below:

   Key Field   Sample Values
   -----------------------------------------------------------

   TITLEKEY    Any text in the article title or "PR" for
               Microsoft press releases
   TEXT        Any text in the entire article
   PCODE       WINSDK    Windows Software Development Kit
               EXCEL     Microsoft Excel
               WINWORD   Microsoft Word for Windows
   VER         3.0, 2.11, 1.12, 3.1
   PDATE       Dec 1 1991, Jan 4 1992
   DOCID       Q82843, Q00234, Q11734
   OPSYST      MSDOS, OS2, MACINTOSH, WINDOWS
   DOCTYPE     BUGLIST   Articles listing known bugs
               FIXLIST   Articles listing fixes to known bugs
               DOCERR    Articles listing documentation errors


Sample Expert Mode Search Expressions
-------------------------------------

Note: Search values containing spaces or special characters must
be enclosed in single quotation marks. If you do not specify a
"search field" (that is, TEXT, PROD, TITLE, and so on), TEXT will
be assumed. Furthermore, a relational operator of EQ is assumed
unless otherwise specified.

User Enters         Search Performed
--------------------------------------------------------------

apple and printer   (text eq apple) and (text eq printer)

'apple and printer' text eq 'apple and printer'

text eq basic interpreter
                    (text eq basic) or (text eq interpreter)

pcode eq winsdk and text eq printer
                    (pcode eq winsdk) and (text eq printer)

doctype eq docerr and pcode eq excel
                    (doctype eq docerr) and (pcode eq excel)

pdate ge 'apr 12 1989' and ver '2.5'
                    (pdate ge 'apr 12 1989') and (ver ge '2.5')

docid eq q11736     docid eq q11736

