Installing IBM Works on ArcaOS

Wikis > ArcaOS > Post-install Tips & Hints > Installing IBM Works on ArcaOS

IBM Works, distributed as part of the OS/2 Warp 4 BonusPak, includes:

  • lightweight word processor
  • lightweight spreadsheet
  • lightweight database
  • report writer
  • personal information manager

Still popular among many longtime OS/2 users, though no longer available from IBM, this suite of useful applications may be installed on ArcaOS fairly easily.

This wiki deals only with how to install IBM Works, not how to obtain it or unpack non-standard archives. Arca Noae does not condone nor provide support for software which has not legally been obtained. The following assumes that you have a legitimate, available license for IBM Works prior to beginning the installation. It also assumes that the original source media is a Warp 4 BonusPak CD or other suitable Feature Installer media with a standard directory structure (i.e., \FI\<something>\IBMWORKS). Arca Noae provides no support nor assumes any liability for the following procedure. Proceed at your own risk. No warranty, expressed or implied, is provided.

  1. Begin by downloading this package and unzipping to the root of a FAT16, FAT32, HPFS, or JFS volume. (The volume need not support long filenames or extended attributes.)
  2. Read the readme.txt.
  3. Edit the two variables in bpbase.rsp (SourceDrive and MediaDrive) to point to the drive letter where you extracted the package.
  4. Copy the content of the IBMWORKS directory on the Warp 4 BonusPak CD (or other media) to \FI\BONUSPAK\IBMWORKS.
  5. Run ibmworks.cmd to install IBM Works.
  6. Reboot the system (very important, as changes have been made to CONFIG.SYS).

This should properly run the Feature Installer to install IBM Works to %PROGRAMS%\IBMWORKS, register the templates, create the rest of the WPS objects, and add the inventory to the FI inventory folder. The IBM Works WPS folder will be found under Programs, in the Installed Software folder.

The install logs should be written to %LOGFILES%\ibmworks.l1 and .l2.

The IBM Works applications are fully WPS-aware. Fonts and colors may be dragged and dropped on them from the various palettes, and creating new documents may be made from within the applications or simply by dragging a template out onto the desktop and launching it.

The scheduler is fully functional, and alarms are triggered under ArcaOS. Telephone/fax dialing requires a configured voice/fax modem, however.

Some properties notebooks are not resizable, and some content may be clipped. Try dragging a smaller font to the dialog to make these easier to read.

To uninstall IBM Works:

  1. In the Computer WPS folder, open Install/Remove.
  2. Open Installed Features.
  3. Open Install Object – Inventory.
  4. Scroll down to OS2BONUSPAK – Inventory and expand it by clicking the “+” to the left.
  5. Click in the box next to BPIBMWORKS – Inventory to select the package for removal.
  6. Click the Uninstall button above the inventory list.
  7. Confirm the action in the dialog which follows.
  8. Click OK after reading the notification panel to dismiss it.
  9. Reboot the system to complete the uninstall process.

This entry last updated: by Lewis Rosenthal