Next, move the mouse cursor over to the second button just slightly to the right. This button is still in the "Save As" dialog box. It looks like a little yellow file folder with a tiny star burst coming out of the upper right corner of the folder. Clicking once on that button will create a new directory, or folder as it is called in Windows 95. The cursor will move down a bit and you will be able to enter the name you want for the new directory. First, wipe out the name of the directory that is automatically suggested to you (usually the word New Folder is there) by pressing the backspace key. You can also use the cursor keys and delete keys. Just do whatever you like to blank out the suggested directory name and position the cursor to the left of the input space.

With the cursor positioned left most in the little name entry box, type in the new directory name. Elite suggests that you simply repeat the filename displayed below, but drop the".exe". So if you had selected to download RHVAC for Windows, the filename in the "File Name:" entry below would read rhvacw.exe. So for the new directory name you would just type "rhvacw" and press the enter key. The name will then appear highlighted in blue. Press the enter key again and the directory name should appear in the "Save In:" input box above. At this point, you are finally ready to click on the rectangular "Save" button that appears in the lower right corner of the "Save As" dialog box. Clicking on that button starts the download process, removes the "Save As" box, and pops up a new box that continually shows you the status of the download process. When the download is complete, the status box disappears and you are ready for the next step. Skip to the Download Time section if you are a Windows 95 user.

How do I find a file on my hard drive?

1. Click the Start button on the task bar below.
2. Point to Find, and then select Files or Folders.
3. In the "Named" box, type the name of the file you want to find. Example: type chvacpt.exe for the CHVAC Patch Program you downloaded.
4. In the "Look in" box, type or select C:\ (or another hard drive you want to search).
5. Check the "Include subfolders" box.
6. Click the Find Now button.
7. Double-click the file you were looking for - the name and location should be shown.

Most of Elite Software's programs require 32 bit versions of Windows, so they will not run on Windows 3.11 or older.

The total time needed to download a file is mainly dependent on the baud  rate of your connection. It is also dependent on the quality of your phone connection and whether the Elite Software web site is busy or not. The busiest time for our website is in the middle of the afternoon, Monday through Friday. In general, downloading with a 14.4k modem takes about 12-15 minutes per meg (1,000K) of file size. Therefore, downloading something like RHVAC for Windows which is nearly 4 meg (3,971K) should take a little less than an hour. Using a 28.8k modem connection would take roughly half that time. A 56K modem would be even faster. Be sensible about what you attempt to download in the time you have available and be aware of your local prevailing weather conditions. A glitch in the phone line during a thunderstorm would likely require the download process to be completely restarted.

After a Successful Download

After you downloaded an ".exe" type file then you must run that file to extract all the various individual files needed. You can run the file in many ways. If using Windows 95 or later, you can use Explorer to locate the file and then double click on it. Alternately, the fastest way to run it, would be to click on the "Start" button in the lower lefthand corner of the screen. This pops up a menu where the selection "Run" is shown second from the bottom. Clicking on "Run" opens a dialog box and puts the cursor in the "Open:" input box. There may be some program name already appearing there, if so, use the backspace key to blank it out. Next, type in the drive letter, directory name, and program name that you want to run. In the previously mentioned example with RHVAC for Windows, you would type the following:

c:\rhvacw\rhvacw

Note that the directory name is the same as the program name. Be sure to include the "\" characters where indicated and make sure there are no blank spaces between any of the letters. Pressing the enter key starts the file extraction and decompression process. A status box appears displaying the progress. After the process is complete, the status box remains onscreen, but you can remove it by double clicking on the upper left hand corner of the box. 

Installing Windows Based Software

If the program you had selected to download was a Windows based program (this is indicated in the second column ofthe Demonstration Software table. All Elite Programs are Windows9x, NT and 2000 compatible) then you must next perform the Windows setup operation. So continue here only if you are sure you that you have downloaded a Windows program, otherwise skip to the "Installing DOS Based Software" section below.

Continuing with the example of downloading and installing RHVAC for Windows, the next step after the extraction process is to run the RHVAC setup program. If using Windows 95, the easiest way to do this is to click on the "Start" button in the lower left hand corner of the screen. This pops up a menu where the selection "Run" is shown second from the bottom. Clicking on "Run" opens a dialog box and puts the cursor in the "Open:" input box. There may be some program name already appearing there; if so, use the backspace key to blank it out. Next, type in the drive letter, directory name, and the word "setup". In the example of RHVAC for Windows, you would type the command below and press the enter key. 

c:\rhvacw\setup

After the setup process begins, there will be a few questions to respond to. Just accept the default responses by clicking on "OK" and the process will soon be complete. Once setup ends, if using Windows 95, there will be a new Elite folder created in the programs section that is accessed under the "Start" button. Use the same procedure to obtain any of Elite's Windows programs. 

Installing DOS Based Software

If the program you had selected to download was a DOS program (this is indicated in the second column of the Demonstration Software table) then the completion of the extraction process is also the completion of the installation process. If for example, you had downloaded the RHVAC for DOS program, you could then start the "rhvac", or you could use the program manager "File" and "Run" selection. With program manager, you would type "C:\rhvac504\rhvac" and press the enter key to run the program. 

Functional Demos with User Manuals

Traditionally, Elite has sold functional demos of its software with complete user manuals for $35 per program (plus $7 shipping). And that option is still available to this day. With the advent of Internet, Elite now offers these functional demos at no cost for you to download. The only disadvantage to obtaining a functional demo from Elite Software's web site is that user manuals are not included.

The user manual of a typical Elite program has between 250-350 pages. These user manuals contain tutorials, detailed input explanations, master input data sheets, sample reports, complete methodology discussions, program verification procedures, and lots of sample screens and graphics. They are much too large and graphic to be made available for downloading. Most of Elite Software's programs can be easily used without a user manual just by relying on the built-in help of the program. However, there are some programs that deal with very complex applications, and a user manual is almost essential in those cases. Whether you need a user manual or not to run any of these demo programs, is also largely dependent on your technical background and computer experience. Even for an experienced user, the four programs that you are most likely to need the user manual with are EZDOE, HEAVENT, HSYM, and PSYCHART.