Test by @Macarlo
(Screenshots by Namo Capture)

 Hi All.
We just tested here on our server NT4 SP6 the most recent version of Companion, this innovative web tool. We downloaded CompanionSetup (15.9MB) from the developers web site and installed it without any problem. Companion started smooth and quickly for the first time, as you can see in the photo below.

Companion is the first component-based HTML editor, site manager and script manager in one. Companion extends the principle of code reusability beyond the level of templates. Its innovative component-based solution allows you to reuse every segment of code (HTML, ASP, VBScript, JavaScript, and so on) in the most flexible way. Companion is the perfect tool for medium to large corporate intranet and internet sites. Companion users are professionals experienced in both web development and scripting.

System requirements

As system requirements for optimum Companion performance, we recommend:

200MHz Pentium (133MHz Pentium minimum)30MB free disk space (15MB minimum)32 MB RAM (16MB minimum) Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 or later (minimum Windows 95, or later) Companion does not require a specific web server type.

Photo above shows Companion 2.0 being installed on @Macarlo's Windows NT4 SP6 server

Installation

Before installing Companion 2.0, make sure that your computer meets the minimum hardware and software requirements as stated above and you have administrator rights (on Windows NT systems). Make sure that you quit all running applications before installing Companion 2.0 (including  Microsoft Outlook).

Run setup.exe (from cd) or CompanionSetup.exe (downloaded from the Web).
After installation you will have to reboot  your computer to complete the installation process.

Technical support and feedback

Free online support:
 
Companion Newsgroup: news.companion.nl The Companion Newsgroup is the forum for Companion users, the Companion Technical Staff and other web developers and programmers. Here you'll find questions and answers, tips and suggestions, as well as ongoing discussions about the ins and outs of Companion.

FAQ (http://www.companion.nl, go to Support)The questions in this section are arranged in several categories. We update them regularly. Questions can be sent to support@companion.nl.

We spent a lot of time and effort to make Companion as it is now and we hope that you enjoy working with it. Please feel free to send us what you think by sending e-mail to feedback@companion.nl.

Photo above shows the animated  and  interactive Drink O'Toole web site made by Companion

Drink O'Toole Sample Web Site

Together with this application comes a sample web site of a fictional company called Drink O'Toole. You can open this project in Companion. It is located in the directory Samples in the application directory. Also included is a published Drink O'Toole site. This can be viewed in Internet Explorer 4/5 or Netscape Navigator 4.x. Simply open the file index.htm located in <application directory>/Samples/DrinkOToole.

Manual

The manual for Companion 2.0 is included as an Acrobat document. You can open this document in Adobe Acrobat Reader and print the document.

Adobe Acrobat Reader

On the cd you can find a setup for Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you got Companion from the web, you can download it from http://www.adobe.com/prodindex/acrobat/readstep.html.

Microsoft Personal Web Server

Microsoft Personal Web Server can be found at:
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/pws/default.htm.

The origin of Companion 2.0

 Why we first developed Companion
Companion is developed by Companion BV, a subsidiary of Informaat, the Dutch company specializing in information disclosure. One of the core activities of Informaat is development and management of intranet and internet sites. Companion found standard web development tools and HTML editors failing in supporting efficient site maintenance. Therefore we developed an in-house tool, Companion. The four main reasons were:

Most of the Informaat web developers have a background as programmer and want to follow their programming skills and methods when building web sites. Companion needed a tool to build and manage web sites in a structured, systematical way, so time-consuming redundant tasks and numb coding would not be part of the job anymore.
Companion wanted to include database content in static files, so content can be separated from layout, to improve the manageability of both.
Companion were tired of link-checking and wanted Automatic Link Management, so when pages are moved or removed links will be updated automatically.
The entire web development department suffered from the copy-and-paste syndrome. It was so bad that one team member expressed it in verse:

Managing web sites
is managing files.

So you copy and paste
and find and replace
and hope and pray
it works out fine.

Well, as you may understand, most of the time it didn't. And that's exactly why Companion developed component-based Companion.

 
...and how the in-house-Companion led to Companion 2.0
Soon it was obvious that Companion had far more potential than serving Informaat only. Companion's web developers swear by it. For every site they develop - whether it contains static documents or the most complex ASP-scripts - Companion is their first choice.

Companion decided to form a team of software engineers, web developers, marketing people, and technical editors. The goal of the Companion 2.0 team: develop a sophisticated product for the professional web developer that will result in a drastic improvement of web site maintainability and content management.

And we did it. Companion 2.0 is now available. Download the trial version and get familiar with the benefits and qualities of Companion 2.0!

- Of course, Companion are constantly looking for improvements. Therefore we invite you to report bugs and suggest new features. Every month a free copy of Companion will be awarded among all of you who mailed us suggestions that will help us improve Companion. - says Companion.
 

CONTACT AUTHOR

Companion BV
http://www.companion.nl

@Macarlo, Inc.
@Macarlo's Shareware & Web
OS/2
Java Lobby Member
Java Site Accredited

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