Before you begin with the EcoART download and installation, make note of the following requirements:

• a copy of Microsoft Access 97 or Access 2000* on your desktop
• a copy of Microsoft Word 97 or Word 2000* is needed if you want to run descriptive reports
• a password* to unzip EcoART  (check your listserv notification of this release)
• some basic ability to use Access 97
• at least 100 MB hard drive space
• Access 97 requires a minimum of 12 MB to run in Windows 95 and 16 MB to run on Windows NT Workstation, but additional RAM improves performance. To run the EcoART Word mail merges, which use a lot of memory, we recommend at least 32 MB of RAM.

• The copyright notice and citation included with EcoART must appear on all documents and reports
• All documents and reports created for use by parties other than Heritage/CDC, NatureServe (formerly called ABI), or TNC Ecology staff must exclusively include GENERAL CLASSIFICATION ("GC") types
• The EcoART database itself (including the password to download it) may not be distributed to parties other than Heritage/CDC, NatureServe, or TNC Ecology staff

For best results, use Internet Explorer 5.0 or higher.  Downloads from ftp sites are not as reliable with Netscape.

Click on the links to download either:
a. ecoart.exe    (contains everything you need; 26 MB)

or

• ecoart1.exe (20 MB --the data = ecoart data.mdb)
• ecoart2.exe (  7 MB --the interface = everything else)

NOTE:  If you already have EcoART, this refreshed ecoart data.mdb (ecoart1.exe) should work with your existing user-interface (ecoart working, etc.).  For a list of interface changes by date, see the updates page.

EXPANDED REFERENCE DATABASE:

The list of citations included in this release of EcoART includes the additional "non-referenced" citations that were formerly provided in SA.mdb. Therefore this extra download is no longer needed.

You may also download the manual separately (1.5 MB); no password is needed.  (Or view the manual online .)

The .exe file contains several databases and Word documents.  It is a self-extracting zip file, so you need only to double-click on the file to unzip.  You will be prompted for a directory and a password*.  Unzip all the files into the same directory (c:\ecoart is recommended, but not required).

For example, download the file(s) to c:\my download files, double-click on it in Windows Explorer, and enter c:\ecoart as the directory.

If you already have a copy of EcoART on your computer, back up your EcoART directory before overwriting any files, and see below.

*The password is distributed on the ecology, data manager, and coordinator listserves .  Please do not share with anyone except for NatureServe/Heritage/CDC folks and TNC ecologists.  Others may ask for special permission.

Step 1: Open "EcoArt working.mdb".   This is always the file to open when you want to use EcoArt.  NOTE:  The first time you open it you may see a cryptic error message about inability to read from a drive or find a file.  Don't worry, go to step 2.  Updating the links should fix the problem.

*If you are using Access2000, choose "convert database" the first time you open ecoart working.  You will need to save it with a different name.  Then, close it, delete the old ('97) ecoart working, and rename your 2000 version back to "ecoart working.mdb".  (You do not need to convert EcoART data.mdb.)

EcoART works fine using Microsoft Access 2000 and Word 2000, except that sometimes the automated Word mail merges don't work, and sometimes the convert italics utility doesn't show up.  If you experience either of these problems, you can get around them by following the instructions in EcoART:  Click the "Read these Instructions" button on the "Hierarchy-with- Descriptions Reports" page of the EcoART Switchboard, then click on "Manual Word merge reports" or "Converting ~ and $ to italics".  If you have encountered any other problems using EcoART in Office 2000, please let me know.

Step 2: Update the links between databases.  On the switchboard that opens up when you first open EcoArt working.mdb, click on "Update Links" and follow the instructions.

See the manual (EcoART manual.doc or EcoARTManul.pdf) for more information.  (Click here for on-line version.)

(See the manual for more information.)
a) If you haven't saved any custom lists or made any edits that you want to save, just overwrite all the files.

b) If you've saved any select lists or made some customized reports, queries, or tables that you want to continue to use, make a backup of your old EcoArt working.mdb (and any custom Word merges, etc.) to a new directory before extracting and overwriting. You can then import objects from your old version into the new. (Use File|Import, find your backup, select all the tables, queries, etc. you want to import, and click import. Note that this is much easier if you have named your custom objects in a standard way! See the manual for suggestions.)

Important notes on saved select lists & saved criteria:
Select lists and criteria are saved in "EcoART working". When you install a new copy of "EcoART working", your saved lists & criteria will be lost. If you still want to use them, import them from your backup into your new "EcoART working". Saved lists begin with "lst" or "lsa" (check tables and queries), and saved criteria are in the table "SelectCriteria".

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