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Click on one of the following questions for more information:
Question 1. There are several browsers available. Which one do you suggest I use?
Question 2. How do I set up my browser so that each activity page appears completely on the screen?
Question 3. How do I set up my browser so that it always starts at the PlaneMath home page?
Question 4. I tried to get to one of your pages and the computer responded with a message that started, "Netscape's network connection was refused by the server:..."
Question 5. Loading the graphics make the program run very slowly. How can I stop the graphics from loading?
Question 6. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a lesson, I want to go back to the home page for that lesson without having to finish the lesson. How do I do this?
Question 7. What is Shockwave? And how do I set it up so that my students can use the new interactive activities?
Question 8. I'm having trouble with my computer crashing when I look at the movies on Pioneer Plane. How can I prevent this from happening?
If you have students who are disabled, we also have a page on Making PlaneMath Accessible, which includes tips on configuring your browser to take advantage of our accessibility features. These tips are also available in a document format, which you can download and print out.
1. There are several browsers available. Which one do you suggest I use?
We strongly recommend using the most current version of either Netscape Navigator or Microsoft Internet Explorer with PlaneMath. To take full advantage of our Shockwave pages, you will need at least Netscape Navigator 3.0 or Internet Explorer 4.0. Mac users will find Netscape 3.0 and above more stable for viewing Shockwave movies; Windows users can use either browser.
To download the most current version of Netscape Navigator, please visit the Netscape Home Page.
To download the most current version of Microsoft Internet Explorer, please visit the Microsoft Internet Explorer Home Page.
2. How do I set up my browser so that each activity page appears completely on the screen?
The PlaneMath activity pages are designed to fit on a 640x480 monitor. You may want to resize your window so that you can see both ends of the following line without using the horizontal scrollbar:
To maximize the accessibility features of PlaneMath and make each page appear completely on the screen, we recommend using the following settings:
In Netscape:
- Go to the Options menu and select "General Preferences."
- Colors: Make sure Colors are set to "Let Document Override."
- Fonts: Set both the Fixed and Proportional font sizes to 18 pt.
In Internet Explorer:
- Go to the View menu and uncheck "Address Bar", "Favorites Bar", and "Explorer Bar".
- Go to the Edit menu and select "Preferences."
- In Broswer Display, set the Text Size to "Largest".
- In Web Content: Make sure that "Allow page to specify colors" and "Allow page to specify fonts" is on.
3. How do I set up my browser so that it always starts at the PlaneMath home page?
The URL, or address, for PlaneMath is:
http://www.planemath.com/
In Netscape, select "General Preferences" from the Options menu. Click on the "Appearance" tab. Under the "Browser Starts With:" option, select "Home Page Location:" and, in the blank box, type the address for PlaneMath shown above.
In Internet Explorer, select "Preferences" from the Edit menu. Click on "Home/Search" option, and in the box for "Home page", type in the address for PlaneMath shown above.
Be careful to make sure that spelling is correct and that no letters are capitalized.
If you don't want your browser to start you at the PlaneMath home page but you want to be able to get to this page (or any other page within PlaneMath) quickly, go to the page you want to access.
In Netscape, pull down the "Bookmarks" menu and select "Add Bookmark".
In Internet Explorer, pull down the "Favorites" menu and select "Add Page to Favorites".
4. I tried to get to one of your pages and the computer responded with a message that started, "The network connection was refused by the server:..."
This is like calling a phone number and getting a message that says, "All circuits are busy." Wait a few minutes and try again.
5. Loading the graphics make the program run very slowly. How can I stop the graphics from loading?
In Netscape, pull down the Options menu and make sure there is not a checkmark next to "Auto Load Images." If there is a checkmark, select "Auto Load Images" and the checkmark will be gone the next time you pull down the Options menu. If you want to make sure that "Auto Load Images" is always turned off, select "Save Options" from the Options menu.
In Internet Explorer, go to "Preferences" under the Edit menu. Select "Web Content", and uncheck the box next to "Show Pictures." Click OK to save this setting.
With images turned off, all graphics will appear as a small icon with a circle, a square, and a triangle. InfoUse, like many other Web developers, is committed to using ALT text with all graphics. When "Auto Load Images" is turned off, any ALT text appears as a label or a description of the graphic to the immediate right of the circle-square-triangle icon. This permits people who cannot or choose not to view graphics to get a sense of what the graphic is or what information it contains.
If you want to see a graphic, click on the circle-square-triangle icon and the graphic will load.
6. Sometimes when I'm in the middle of a lesson, I want to go back to the home page for that lesson without having to finish the lesson. How do I do this?
In the upper right corner of every lesson page is the name of that lesson. Clicking on this name takes you back to the home page of the lesson. (Unfortunately, if you want to go back to the lesson, you will need to start at the beginning; there is no way to jump back to where you left the lesson.)
In addition, the home page for each lesson and all other pages have a button that takes you back to the PlaneMath home page. This way, if you're at the beginning of a lesson and want to consult this Help page, you can click on the PlaneMath Home Page button and then click on the Help button.
7. What is Shockwave? And how do I set it up so that my students can use the new interactive activities?
Shockwave is a "plug-in" that expands the capabilities of your web browser to display movies or interactive activities. Shockwave works with both Netscape and Internet Explorer, but has some system requirements beyond the basic ones for using your browser.
Note to users with a screen-reader: The content of these Shockwave movies is entirely graphically based, with some audio providing narration. There are text-only pages which provide the scripts for the voice narrations, but the remainder of the content will be inaccessible to visually impaired students.
Requirements for Windows:
- IBM Compatible PC with 486/25 or greater. Pentium preferred.
- Windows 3.1, Windows 95, Windows NT 3.51 or Windows NT 4
- VGA with 8-bit color (256 colors) or greater.
- 8 MB RAM/ 6 MB free disk space
- Netscape Navigator: 2.x or 3.0 (or compatible) or Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0
- Streaming audio requires a 486 with an FPU or a Pentium
Requirements for Macintosh
- MacOS Compatible computer with a 68040 CPU. PowerPC preferred.
- MacOS System 7.1.2 or greater
- 8-bit (256) colors or greater
- 16 MB RAM/ 6 MB free disk space
- Netscape Navigator: 2.x or 3.0 (or compatible) or Microsoft Internet Explorer 2.1 or 3.0
- Streaming audio requires a Power Macintosh or 68040 Macintosh with an FPU
If you need to download Shockwave, please visit Macromedia's Shockwave Download page.
If you've never installed a plug-in before, you may want to print out these directions or come back to the PlaneMath Help page before installing Shockwave.
8. I'm having trouble with my computer crashing when I look at the movies on Pioneer Plane. How can I prevent this from happening?
Shockwave is very memory intensive. To avoid problems when running the Shockwave movies in Pioneer Plane, try one or all of the following:
- Allocate 15-20MB RAM to your web browser. (On the Mac, select "Get Info" when your browser application is highlighted, and change the number under Preferred Size to read 15000 or higher.)
- Make sure you have the latest version of Shockwave.
- If you are running an older version of Internet Explorer (3.0 or below) or Netscape (2.0 or below), try upgrading to the latest version.
- Read the Plug-In Troubleshooting guides at Macromedia's website.
If you have tried all of these things and still cannot view our Shockwave movies, you can write us at planemath@infouse.com and we'll try to answer your questions.
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