Downloading and Installing BOG

BOG Current Versions - click here to determine which version you need

INSTALLATION Quick Jump

How and Where to Get BOG
System Requirements
Should I download the Basic or Full Version?
Installing the Basic and Full Distributions
Files and Folders Used by BOG

How and Where to Get BOG

BOG is available online at: http://www.boghome.com

The BOG program and documentation are distributed separately. You will need the following files (note that n.nn refers to the current version number):

Program: BOG_n.nn.zip OR BOG_n.nn_Full.zip (see below)

Documentation: BOG_Docs_n.nn.zip

GemCAD file for tutorial: BOGTUT.GEM

Obviously, if you are reading this document, you already have access to the BOG documentation.

System Requirements

BOG has been successfully tested and used on the following versions of Windows:

Windows 98
Windows NT
Windows XP
Windows 2000

There are no special system requirements. You will require a current copy of the DOS GemRay program (version 1.43 or later), which is available for free download at Robert Strickland's GemCAD site:

http://www.gemcad.com

Finally, BOG requires a couple of Microsoft standard system resource files. Some users will already have these on their computer, while others will have to run the BOG Setup program to install the necessary resources. See "Should I download the Basic or Full Version?"below.

Files and Folders Used by BOG

BOG attempts to have as little impact as possible on how you organize your work. When you install BOG and run it for the first time, it creates a subdirectory below itself entitled BOGWork and places a copy of the GemRay program there. BOG uses the BOGWork directory for temporary files, user preferences, images, etc. You should never have to look inside the BOGWork subdirectory. Nor should you delete it, however, since this will cause BOG to lose your preferences and other user information.

You don't need to re-organize your GemCAD (.GEM) files in order to work with BOG. In fact, when you load a GemCAD file, the BOG program works with a copy kept in the BOGWork directory. Under some circumstances, such as exporting images or saving the setup of Optimization parameters, BOG will prompt you for a file name and location. It makes sense to place these files with the original GemCAD files, although you are certainly not obligated to do so.

Should I download the Basic or Full version?

The BOG distribution comes in two types, basic and full. The basic distribution is quite compact (typically 120 kB), since it contains just the program. You can use the basic distribution if you already have some necessary support files installed on your system. The full distribution is considerably larger (approximately 2 MB). It contains a Setup program which scans your system resources and installs BOG and any necessary support files.

The necessary support files are:

MSVBVM60.DLL - This is a "dynamic link library" for Visual Basic 6.0 applications
COMDLG32.OCX - This contains support for some of the buttons and controls in BOG

Search for these files in your \Windows\System (or System32) directory. If they are both there, the basic distribution should work. If you cannot find them, or if you encounter difficulties running BOG, you should use the full distribution.

Note that these support files are standard Microsoft system resources, and you may very well have a newer version already installed. The Setup program will ask you whether you want to keep your current files. You should opt to keep your current configuration unless you experience problems with BOG, or unless your current files are obviously out of date.

Download links for both the basic and full distributions appear at the top of this page.

Installing the Basic and Full Distributions

The following panels will help you determine which distribution your should use, and they provide complete installation instructions.

Back to Main Page.

Documentation maintained by Tom Herbst. Last modified 02-Oct-2002