AOLeave
Please note;
I am quite confident that these tools will not in any way damage your system or your data. BUT I DON'T GUARANTEE THAT THEY WON'T. If for some inexplicable reason they do, I AM VERY, VERY SORRY! Proceed at your own risk!
First things first. These tools are written in Java. This means you will need the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) to use them. The JRE can be downloaded from Sun's website. It is a pretty big download (5,280,200 bytes). If you are a programmer, alternatively you can download the Java Delopment Kit (JDK) which is an even bigger download (20,449,862 bytes). Here are the links....
Download the Java Runtime Environment (~5MB)
Download the Java Development Kit (~20MB)
Please note: The location of the Java binaries must be in the path for the utilies to work. You will need to add this location to the path statement in your autoexec.bat file. Typically, the path to the JRE binaries is C:\PROGRA~1\JAVASOFT\JRE\1.2\BIN
The path to the SDK binaries is typically C:\JDK1.2.2\BIN
If you did not install to these locations substitute your actual path. You will need to reboot after modifying autoexec.bat to make the change effective.
A further note: It is possible that a software application on your system has initialized an environment variable named CLASSPATH.
If so java may have difficulties and might generate 'NoClassDefFoundError" errors.
If this is the case, clear the variable by issuing the DOS command;
set CLASSPATH=
Thanks to Nancy Passalacqua for her help, and patience with my stumblings, in getting to the bottom of this problem.
Once you have the tools available to run a Java program, you can download the AOLeave tools. The Address Book and Favorite Places tools are currently available. I am working on the Personal Folders tool. It can only be classed as 'alpha' quality. If you are interested in trying it is available on the MailBox page. Once I have completed it, I will design a graphical interface and package the entire application including the JRE.
What to do if you have a problem.
I hope this works for you 'right out of the box', but I don't guarantee it will. If it doesn't - I'm sorry. This is a work in progress and the tools will get easier to use as I add to them, but...
I will try and help if there is a problem. I will not answer questions about downloading and installing the JRE or SDK. There is plenty of info available at Sun's site. I have tested the programs under Win95/98 with AOL v4 and v5 address books and favorites. I would not anticipate any problems under NT. It is almost certainly not useful for other versions/platforms.
A note about the newly released version 6.0
I have done no testing with AOL6.
I would not be surprised if AOL have changed the format of their files and (at least temporarily) rendered my utilities useless. So, if you are considering changing ISP's at some time in the future, you would be well advised not to upgrade to 6.0.
If you have a question or problem address it to
and I will reply as soon as practical (I am very busy). I will be interested in uncovering and fixing any (inevitable) bugs, but... DO NOT send me any files. I do not want my email choking due to large attachments. If you want me to look at your data, YOU tell me where and how to download it.
When I have completed all the tools I will package them all together with a graphical interface, and the JRE. At that point the whole process will be much simplified. So... stay tuned.