Python Gutenberg E-text Project

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1. Introduction

PyGETS is a free cross-platform program for collecting information about e-text files available from Project Gutenberg and presenting that information to the user for browsing. Selected e-text files can then be downloaded from the Project Gutenberg site.

Users interact with the program through its graphical interface. This and accompanying documentation sections explain how various operations can be performed with the built-in controls found in PyGETS.

1.1. Quick Start

People who want to jump right in can follow these steps to begin downloading e-text files from Project Gutenberg. If you don't understand any step, check for more detailed descriptions given in later sections of this guide.

1. Start the PyGETS program (by either entering pygets.pyw on the command line or selecting PyGETS from the PyGE group of Windows Start).
2. Load the sample e-text information data file gutenberg.xml from the SampleData directory. Left click on File menu, click on Open..., select file from dialog window and click on the OK button.
3. Filter the entries shown by entering search strings (case is important) in the "Author" or "Title" text fields, or a year in the "Release Year" field, or pick a particular "File Type" to look for. Filtering will begin when the keyboard "Enter" key is pressed in a text input field, or when the Select button is clicked.
4. Select an entry from the display list to download by left clicking on it with the mouse.
5. Left click on the Download button to get a plain text file, or on the Download as Zip button to get a zipped text file.
6. Repeat steps 3-5 as needed until finished.

1.2. Notations

For this and all accompanying documentation sections for PyGETS, the following notational conventions will be observed.

1.2.1. Menu commands

Menu commands are invoked by selecting menu items from the menubar located at the top of application window. Menu items may be hierarchically arranged, with submenus under each menu item. Menu items may be selected by left clicking on an item with the mouse, or entering an optional keyboard accelerator key combination on the keyboard.

The top level menu commands are shown on the menubar. In PyGETS, the top level menu commands are: File, Edit, View, and Help. An example view of a PyGETS menubar is shown in the figure below.

Menu commands will be shown in this documentation as an italicized path, representing a series of menu commands. An example menu path is File->Exit, representing the sequential selection of the File menu item from the menubar and the Exit menu item from a submenu that appears underneath File when it is active.

1.2.2. Button commands

Buttons are another common graphical control used in PyGETS. They are activated by moving the mouse cursor on top and clicking with the left mouse button.

Button controls will be shown in this documentation as dark text (perhaps inside a gray box). An example button illustration is OK, representing a button often used for continuing an operation.

1.3. Basic Operations

This section describes the bare essential commands for starting and stopping the program; along with calling up help to explain how to perform other, more interesting, things.

1.3.1. Starting

PyGETS may be started in a variety of ways, depending on what is customary for other applications on the machine it is installed on and specific installation options. Common methods could include clicking on a desktop icon, picking from a Start program list, clicking on the executable file name within a file browser, or entering the executable path on a command line.

1.3.2. Stopping

Invoking the File->Exit menu command will halt the program and close its application window.

1.3.3. Help

Invoking the Help->Contents menu command will result in the display of a help viewing window containing usage documentation for the program.

1.3.4. About

Invoking the Help->About menu command will result in the display of a small informative message box containing a brief description of the program.