Search Programs

In addition to providing several ways to browse the data in this ACIP release, we have included our particular favorite search tool called Gofer, locating in the “06_Search_Programs” directory and described below.

The Gofer Search Program for Windows, Mac OS, Unix, and DOS

The Gofer search program (not to be confused with Gopher, the obsolete internet tool) is a powerful utility which is still one of the best search programs ever written; many ACIP users, in fact, still prefer to run the nimble old DOS version of this program and search the data with it.

The ACIP DVD includes two major versions of Gofer: the old DOS version and a new version which runs on all modern operating systems:

Gofer for Windows: To install Gofer, open the Gofer\Windows directory under “06_Search_Programs” and double-click on the installer. For instructions on using Gofer, please refer to the instruction file Gofer.pdf, in the installation directory.

Gofer for Mac OS X:

  1. Locate Gofer.zip in the Gofer/MacOSX directory under “06_Search_Programs”
  2. Drag a copy of Gofer.zip from the ACIP DVD onto your hard drive
  3. Double-click on Gofer.zip to unzip it.
  4. Drag the Gofer folder into your Applications folder, and double-click on the file “Gofer” to run it. For instructions on using Gofer, please refer to the instruction file Gofer.pdf, in the installation directory.

Gofer for DOS: The program can be found under the subdirectory “Gofer” in the “06_Search_Programs” directory of the DVD. To start the DOS version of the program, go to the “Gofer” directory and type “GF", then the “ENTER” key. Follow the various menu items presented.

To call up the Gofer program from another program, once it has already been put in memory, simply press ALT-G. The Boolean search operators in Gofer are very powerful and quick, and the “Directory” option allows you to quickly search whole collections of texts immediately. For those running even very old computers, Gofer can be an excellent way to utilize ACIP data.

Gofer for Unix: We have included source code for Gofer in the Gofer/Unix directory. Binaries and source files are also available online at the the Gofer project page at SourceForge.net.