This edition of the BeOS User's Guide accompanies the BeOS Preview Release. This guide teaches you the basics of working with the BeOS on a BeBox or a Power Macintosh-compatible computer. It shows you how to work with the Be user interface, how to use the Be applications, and how to connect your BeOS system to a network or to the Internet.

The BeOS User's Guide is provided on-line in HTML format, so you can read it in the BeOS using NetPositive. The BeOS User's Guide is also available in Adobe Acrobat format, so you can read and print it in other operating systems.

This release of the BeOS User's Guide is also browsable via the Be web site. It's divided into chapters, which you can reach by following the links below:

• Table of Contents
• Copyrights and Trademarks
• BeOS Support Information
• Introduction
• 1: Installing the BeOS Preview Release
• 2: Learning BeOS Basics
• 3: Learning BeOS Application Basics
• 4: Connecting the BeOS to the Internet
• 5: Using Internet Services
• 6: Customizing the BeOS
• 7: Working With the Mac OS
• Appendix A: Using the BeOS Command Line
• Appendix B: BeOS Directory Structure
• Index

Installing and Reading the BeOS User's Guide in the BeOS

If you're running the BeOS on a BeBox or a Power Macintosh and you are connected to the Internet, follow these instructions to download, install, and read the HTML edition of the BeOS User's Guide:

• Start the Terminal application by double-clicking its icon in the /apps folder
• In the Terminal window, enter cd /boot/beos/documentation
• Enter ftp ftp.be.com to connect to the Be ftp server
• At the ftp user prompt, enter anonymous
• At the ftp password prompt, simply press Return
• Enter cd /pub/docs/PR/UsersGuide
• Enter get BeOSUsersGuide.zip to download the BeOS User's Guide archive
• Enter quit to disconnect from the Be ftp server
• Enter unzip -o BeOSUsersGuide.zip to uncompress the archive and extract the HTML edition of the BeOS User's Guide from the archive (this installs or replaces the BeOS User's Guide folder in the /beos/documentation folder)
• Enter rm BeOSUsersGuide.zip to delete the archive file
• Choose Quit from Terminal's main menu
• Double-click the /documentation/User's Guide/00_contents.html file to open the table of contents to the BeOS User's Guide

Downloading Versions of the BeOS User's Guide for Other Platforms

You can download an archive of the BeOS User's Guide, last updated on July 14, 1997:

• In HTML as a self-extracting Macintosh archive (4.5 Mb)
• In HTML as a compressed zip archive (2.1 Mb)
• In Adobe Acrobat format (1.7 Mb)