From this page you can download the full version of OCCULT 4.2 (or upgrade to it if you have a previous version).

OCCULT is shareware, which means that you may download this software for evaluation. If you wish to continue to use it you are encouraged to send $20 Australian (or its approximate equivalent in any currency) to the author:

Send feedback to: heraldd@canberra.DIALix.oz.au

DOWNLOAD INFORMATION:

Please read the following instructions carefully before downloading any files.

OCCULT software is distributed as five self-extracting ZIP files, plus Install and Readme files:

• INSTALLING FOR THE FIRST TIME:

  Download and install all the files below. However, you do not need to download the file OCCULT5.EXE (which contains the full PPM catalogue) if you do not wish to compute occultations of stars by asteroids.

• UPGRADING FROM AN EXISTING VERSION OF OCCULT:
  
  You only need to download:
  

  
  
  • INSTALL.EXE
  • OCCULT2.EXE
  • OCCULT3.EXE
  
  You do not need OCCULT4.EXE which contains the file WATTS.DAT. You also do not need OCCULT5.EXE which contains the files for the PPM catalogue used in predicting occultations by asteroids. These files have not changed.

  If you choose to download the file OCCULT1.EXE be aware that it contains the following compressed files:

  
  
  • Defaults.dat
  • DeltaT.dat
  • Multisit.dat
  • Sites.dat
  • Cities.BIG, Cities.MED, and Cities.SML (Resident in the WATTS directory)
  
  

  These files are ones usually edited by the user to customize for their location. Updating OCCULT with the OCCULT1.EXE file will overwite these files, with a loss of any edited information. If downloading OCCULT1.EXE current users are STRONGLY ADVISED to first save their current files in an alternative location and then restore them once the installation process is complete.

  IMPORTANT NOTES:

  • Users updating from a version of OCCULT before 4.20, must read the README.DAT file located in the \OCCULT directory. This file is included with both the OCCULT1.EXE and OCCULT2.EXE files. Apart from advising of certain files that can be deleted, it advises of changes to the STARCAT.DAT file which MUST be made for the new version of OCCULT to run correctly.
    
    
  • Users of particularly old versions of OCCULT may need to first remove read-only attributes from all files in the \OCCULT directories. From DOS you can do this as follows:

    Change to the OCCULT directory

    Type: ATTRIB -R *.*/S and then press ENTER

  
  

INSTALLATION PROCEDURE:

You can download the files to any directory. When you have downloaded, run INSTALL.EXE to install OCCULT on the desired drive. (Use the TAB key to move around and the arrow keys to select options). OCCULT is installed in a root directory called \OCCULT on the drive you select . Full installation requires about 14Mb drive space; If OCCULT5 is not installed, drive space requirement is around 7.4MB.

To run OCCULT, from the OCCULT directory run the file OCCULT.EXE.

DOWNLOAD FILES:

INSTALL.EXE (149 KB)
OCCULT1.EXE (21 KB)
OCCULT2.EXE (1,240 KB)
OCCULT3.EXE (1,867 KB)
OCCULT4.EXE (1,661 KB)
OCCULT5.EXE (5.343 KB)
Readme.txt (3 KB) [Use: File --> Save As...]

OCCULT TIPS:

Remember that OCCULT is DOS-based software (deliberately so, to allow it to run on even old PCs). As such, users who are used to standard Windows functions might initially experience some small problems in navigation! Here are a couple of things to remember:

• You can escape from most screens by pressing F9. On some screens pressing Cursor UP (the UP arrow) will allow you to escape. (Windows junkies used to the ESC key will find this does not work within OCCULT). Be aware that there are some places in OCCULT where you will be required to complete the data entry process you have started before the software allows you to escape.
• When entering data you can usually progress to the next field by pressing ENTER.
• To navigate within the HELP facility use the Alt key and the highlighted letter of each Section name at the top of the screen. (E.g. Alt-X to Exit).
• OCCULT does come with its own graphics printing facility. However Windows users may find it more expedient to import OCCULT graphics directly into other software and print from there. You can do this as follows:
  • Capture the screen to be printed to the clipboard. (Use PrtScrn in Windows 95 or Alt-PrtScrn in Windows 3.1)
  • Open a suitable Paint program - e.g. Paint Shop Pro. (This is an excellent fully-featured shareware image manipulation program available from www.jasc.com)
  • Paste the clipboard as a new image
  • The image may now be manipulated (e.g. made into a negative image, reduced to black and white, or saved to any one of a variety of formats)
  • The image may be printed directly from your Paint program, or exported to another application such as Word or Excel.

[Top of Page][Return to Home Page]