User & Troubleshooting Tips

OPERATING AND TROUBLESHOOTING TIPS

15 September 2013

This material supports both the WILDFLOWERS OF ARIZONA and WILDFLOWERS OF THE SONORAN DESERT products.

A. WILDFLOWERS OF ARIZONA SECTION (V4)

System Requirements & Basic Instructions:

Wildflowers of Arizona v. 4.0

System Requirements:

Windows, Linux, or MacIntosh Computers* (with Intel chip processors).

Most associated popular browsers.

633 MHz or faster processors (available since about 2008).

USB Memory-Stick input port.

All images 1920 x 1440 pixels.

*Windows and Macintosh are registered trademarks of the Microsoft and Apple Corporations in the United States and other countries.

Operating Procedures (detailed instructions inside package)

For faster performance, copy all files (about 3 GB) from the USB flash drive onto your desktop or elsewhere on your hard drive, with all files in the same folder. Start the wildflower program by double left-clicking on the STARTUP file or STARTUP.htm file, whichever is shown in your system. The home page shows a list of functions to choose from, such as Slideshow or Wildflower Search Tool, with detailed instructions on how to use them. The software may also be run directly from the USB flash drive by inserting it into the USB port as follows:

Windows PC:

Within a few seconds after inserting the USB flash drive into the USB port, a window appears with several options. Choose ‘Open folder to view files,’ then double click on the Wildflowers folder. You should then see the list, including STARTUP or STARTUP.htm, and proceed as above. If the options window does not appear, go to the Start menu and left-click on ‘My Computer.’ Double left-click on the drive icon titled ‘Wildflowers,’ then on the ‘Wildflowers of Arizona’ folder, and proceed as above.

MacIntosh or Linux PC:

Open the USB flash drive file and the ‘Wildflowers of Arizona’ folder.

Double left-click on the STARTUP or STARTUP.htm file to start the first page of the ‘website’ residing on the USB flash drive.

Detailed Instructions:

1. Just before using this product for the 1st time, re-start your computer to refresh your computer's software.

2. Turn off your Internet access, any automatic computer backup devices, and both computer and security 'automatic update services,' to avoid surprising slowdowns they may randomly introduce during product operation or installation without alerting you. Without such interruptions, this product works well, and runs fast on about any fairly recent computer. With interruptions like automatic update downloads, Wildflower installation and operation can slow to a "crawl," because most of your computer's resources are automatically diverted to the update or other download tasks.

3. The software runs well off the USB flash drive; just plug it in and use it that way if that is what you prefer...but keep reading please...

4. Nevertheless, operation will normally be faster if an USB flash drive's contents are copied onto your computer. The software and photographic images occupy 2.4 GB of memory, so if you want to copy it onto your computer, you should have at least 3 GB of free space. USB flash drives as a general rule are slower than internal computer memory. While it varies with computer make and model, and flash drive characteristics, expect loading the 2.4 GB onto your computer to take 15-30 minutes. If you load it to your computer, the USB flash drive makes a perfect backup device.

5. The contents have been assigned 'Read and Execute Only' status in the folder's PROPERTIES. If at some future time you decide to remove the contents, you may need to select the software at the highest level (the Wildflowers of Arizona folder) and change it's PROPERTIES status back to un-restricted. It has been set Read and Execute Only to help avoid inadvertent changes to the material, to help preserve software and image integrity over time.

6. For best results, on a PC, change your Windows Explorer advanced settings (left-click on tools, then the advanced tab, and scroll down to find them, and check the boxes to "Allow active content from CDs to run on my computer" and "Allow active content to run in files on my computer," and your use of the search tool will be much simplified." The search tool has active software that enables it to do its job. Anyone that has used our ‘Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert CD’ has already used this tool. When finished with the wildflowers, you can always disable active content before using the Internet.

7. FINALLY, remove the USB flash drive from the packaging.

8. Rotate the unit from underneath the attached cover.

9. Insert it into the computer's USB port, connector "space" up.

10. Watch for a window to open on your computer's desktop, address: 'Disk Drive symbol' or 'name' > Wildflowers (E:) or maybe with a letter other than E displayed; then double left-click on Wildflowers (E:). Next, double left-click on the “Wildflowers of Arizona” folder.

11. Double left-click the STARTUP, or STARTUP.htm (if file extensions like .htm and .JPG are displayed by your computer). Don't click on the 'STARTUP_files' folder; that won't start the program. The Wildflowers of Arizona "home page" should open, providing a website-like functionality to help you easily navigate through all the photos and related information and tools. Observe the 9 additional webpage links down the page left-side column that will link you to 9 more pages with further instructions and links to photography and other materials.

12. If the home page didn't appear within 5-10 seconds, the following alternate procedure will get you started.

a. Double left-click on "My Computer" or "Computer" depending on your make or model.

b. Double left-click on the USB flash drive icon (example: Wildflowers (E:)) to open the list of files on the USB flash drive.

c. Double left-click the STARTUP, or STARTUP.htm (if file extensions like .htm and .JPG are displayed by your computer). Don't click on the 'STARTUP_files' folder; that won't start the program. The Wildflowers of Arizona "home page" should open, providing a website type functionality to help you easily navigate through all the photos and related information and tools. Observe the 9 additional webpage links down the page left-side column that will link you to 9 more pages with further instructions and links to photography and other materials.

OPERATION & TROUBLE SHOOTING TIPS:

‘Wildflowers of Arizona’ has been designed to be easy to launch and easy to use. ‘Wildflowers of Arizona’ is available both on DVD and on USB Flash Memory ‘thumb drives.’

The USB and DVD packaging provides both Basic and Detailed instructions’ for getting started, and ‘operating instructions’ are provided on many of the product’s ‘website’ pages.

In the event you run into operating problems, or have trouble just getting started, or would just like to see some helpful tips, some of the material below may be helpful.

Operation Tips

1. DOES YOUR PC NEED TO BE ON-LINE TO THE INTERNET TO USE ‘Wildflowers of Arizona?’ – No. It is ‘self contained,’ and does not utilize the internet in any way.

2. WINDOWS IMAGE AND FAX VIEWER - If your PC has Windows Image and Fax Viewer software, such as on a Windows XP PC, it is very excellent for viewing the wildflower images.

3. MAXIMIZING IMAGE SIZE - When directly accessing ‘Flowers’ sub-folders, and opening images, IE (Internet Explorer) will automatically adjust the flower image size to fit the size the active browser window is set to. Generally, ‘maximize’ your active window (at upper right corner of browser window – left-click on the little square button between the little ‘_’ button and the little ‘X’ button) for best results.

4. WHERE WAS THE PICTURE TAKEN? - To see a flower image’s ‘shoot location,’ or camera settings information, once you are in a sub-folder within the ‘Flowers’ folder, RIGHT-CLICK’ on any wildflower image ‘thumbnail,’ then ‘LEFT-CLICK’ on PROPERTIES, then ‘LEFT-CLICK’ on the SUMMARY Tab, and the ’locality’ where the image was shot (most locations within a quarter mile) is provided, along with the dimensions of the image in pixels, and the date the image was taken. The specific locations of three wildflower pictures which also show rocks with ancient petroglyphs have been purposely omitted in an effort to help protect these sites. ‘LEFT-CLICK’ on the ADVANCED button on the SUMMARY page to access a long list of the camera’s settings for a picture. If your browser will not access location information, left-click to access the ‘Where are they found,’ then on the ‘Link to Directory of Locations by Photo’ to access a location directory for all the photos.

5. MORE SLIDESHOWS - When directly accessing ‘Flowers’ sub-folders, which all contain .JPG images, if you wish, you may select any folders you chose, and then initiate your own slideshows, using the image-viewing software of your choice.

6. AUTOMATIC IMAGE SIZING - When using ‘Wildflowers of Arizona’s built-in slideshows, the software autosizes to fit the open window you are using.

7. ‘F11’ IMAGE IMPACT - On many PCs, while running slideshows, pressing ‘F11’ hides all but one IE toolbar, potentially providing additional wildflower image display height. Press ‘F11’ again when you are finished to restore the IE toolbar display to the previous configuration.

8. SEARCH TIME – If your computer is older and slower, please be patient while the WildflowerFinder™ Search Tool is searching the data base of image characteristics. The speed of the search depends upon a number of variables, including but not limited to the speed of the PC’s clock and the nature of the characteristics entered. With a 900 MHz Pentium III searching on a color, for example, the search time will vary from 5 – 30 (or more) seconds depending on the details. For example, the search time, searching 1^st choice only, will be around 5 - 10 seconds for brown or green wildflowers (small number of images output), to 30 or more seconds for cream/yellow (many more images output). With faster or slow PCs, the time will decrease or increase respectively. With a computer manufactured within the past 2-3 years, search time will be very short unless automatic updates (security software) or system update type downloads come on and interfere.

9. WHEN I SEARCH ON YELLOW FLOWERS, WHY ARE ORANGE AND WHITE FLOWERS ALSO DISPLAYED IN THE CHARACTERISTICS OUTPUT SUMMARY? – Color variations are found in the desert for some species. Such is the case for the Desert Mariposa. This flower is found in the desert in both brilliant yellow and brilliant orange. It is the orange variety representing that species in this product when doing a search, both are featured in the Desert Mariposa subfolder.

10. WANT TO BROWSE THE FLOWERS YOUR WAY? – The ‘Browse the Flowers’ section provides quick access to all species subfolders which are organized alphabetically by common name.

TROUBLESHOOTING

1. INSTALLATION? - There is no ‘installation’ required in contrast to many software tools and applications. For best and fastest operation, copy all the software onto your computer’s hard drive and use it from there. Operation is still fast operating directly off the USB Flash Drive (thumb drive) but a lot slower if operating off the DVD. Also please note that DVD drive reliability may deteriorate with time, so best to load the software onto your computer and make a backup on another hard drive if available.

2. BROWSER REQUIREMENTS - See System Requirements above.

3. OPERATING SYSTEMS - See System Requirements above.

5. AUTORUN DIDN’T WORK? - Not all PCs running Windows have Autorun capability. In addition, some PCs have Autorun capability but it has been disabled by the ‘System Administrator. The ‘robust’ Autorun feature used in the DVD version will get around many of these issues, but not all. If you are having problems:

a. If you are not the System Administrator for your computer, and you think Autorun may be disabled, you may want to ask the System Administrator if Autorun can be enabled for you on your PC.

b. In any case, if you insert the DVD into your drive, and Autorun doesn’t start your DVD within around 60 – 120 seconds, try the simple alternate procedure provided on the back of or inside the DVD Front cover. This will normally take care of startup if IE is your default browser.

c. If the alternate ‘backup’ procedure doesn’t work, a second, backup, alternate procedure, for starting your DVD with Internet Explorer (especially helpful on a PC where the ‘default’ browser is not Internet Explorer) is as follows:

i. Left-click on START.

ii. Left-click on 'My Computer'.

iii. Right-click on your DVD-Drive icon (has a name - like 'D' Drive, or it may have ‘Wildflowers (D:)’ displayed) to open the DVD dialog box.

iv. Left-click on 'Explore' in the dialog box.

v. The DVD Directory will be displayed to you as a list, a group of icons, or another standard form (depending on your system settings).

vi. Right-click on the STARTUP (or STARTUP.htm file if your system is set to allow file extensions displayed for known file types).

vii. Left-click on ‘Open with’.

viii. Left-click on Internet Explorer. If Internet Explorer is not visible, Left-click on ‘Choose program,’ find Internet explorer in the lists, and left-click on it, then click the dialog box OK button.

ix. If ‘Internet Explorer’ isn’t there, it apparently isn’t on your PC and needs to be installed.

x. The 1st page of the 'website' on the DVD will be displayed. Navigate through the pages and link to the options just as you would on an internet website.

6. PC CLOCK SPEED - On PCs running with less than a 633 MHz clock speed, a minimum ‘Delay’ time of 3 seconds and probably much more will be needed between slideshow images to avoid ‘unsightly’ display of images (where part of the image is displayed with part of the screen blank, for example, before the image is finally fully ‘painted’ onto your monitor screen the show moves on. While a ‘2 second’ delay or even ‘1 second’ delay works well on a typical 900 MHZ or faster Pentium, slower PCs will need longer delays for best results. You can experiment to determine what the slowest speed is for satisfactory results for running these slideshows on your PC. Entering and setting a delay less than a 1 second between images will ‘hang up’ the slideshow software and you may need to re-start the CD.

7. HAVE A FREQUENT NEED TO RE-STARTUP THE SOFTWARE? –Closing product ‘web’ pages by left-clicking on the ‘window-closing’ little ‘X’ in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window closes the product. If the user does this a lot, this results in the annoying requirement to frequently re-STARTUP. This can easily be avoided. Just use ‘Back arrow,’ and the web-page navigation ‘Back button,’ and other built-in page-to-page navigation between ‘pages’ to return somewhere to easily eliminate this inconvenience. Don’t use the little ‘X’ in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window until you wish to close the software.

8. CAN’T START THE SLIDESHOW? - Clicking a slideshow link launches the show and displays the first image, but doesn’t start the slideshow running/playing. If you can’t see ‘Play/Stop’ controls at the bottom of the slideshow opening image, just scroll to the bottom of the flower slideshow first image until you see the ‘Delay’ window and slideshow ‘Play/Stop’ controls. Once there, simply click on ‘Play’ to start the slideshow running. The slideshow page provides procedures to change the delay between image displays if you prefer a delay other than 3 seconds.

9. MANUAL REMOVAL OF THE DVD – Refer to your PC support documentation for the recommended approach to ejecting (removing) a DVD manually from your PC when the button on the door or software controls won’t ‘eject’ it. If you don’t have such PC support materials, for some PCs, the manufacturer recommended procedure is to gently insert a straightened paper clip wire into the small round hole (holding the wire perpendicular to the surface with the little hole) on the CD Drive door, and gently press in to unlatch and open the door. It’s best to check your PC support materials for the recommended approach for your PC and use the manufacturer’s recommended method.

Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

B. WILDFLOWERS OF THE SONORAN DESERT “CD” SECTION

The ‘Wildflowers of the Sonoran Desert’ CD was designed to be easy to launch and use.

The CD’s case inserts provide ‘launch instructions’ (inside the case front cover) for getting started, and ‘operating instructions’ are provided on many of the CD’s ‘website’ pages.

In the event you run into operating problems, or have trouble just getting started, or would just like to see some helpful tips, some of the material below may be helpful.

Where there are differences between CD Version 2.0, and CD Version 1.0, the 1^st item given, like a number, is for CD Version 2.0, and the Version 1.0 ‘equivalent’ follows in brackets, for example; the total number of CD pictures is 1528 [1286].

CD Operation Tips

1. DOES YOUR PC NEED TO BE ON-LINE TO THE INTERNET TO USE THIS CD? – No. All versions are self contained, and none utilize the internet in any way.

2. WINDOWS IMAGE AND FAX VIEWER - If your PC has Windows Image and Fax Viewer software, such as on a Windows XP PC, it is very excellent for viewing this CD’s wildflower images.

5. MORE SLIDESHOWS - When directly accessing ‘Flowers’ sub-folders, if you wish, you may select any folders you chose, and then initiate your own slideshows, using the image-viewing software of your choice.

6. AUTOMATIC IMAGE SIZING - When using the CD’s built-in slideshows, the software determines your monitor’s screen size, and then opens a slideshow window on your screen using one of five (5) standard monitor image sizes. If your system has yet another size monitor, the ‘default’ size of 1024 X 768 pixels is automatically used in Version 1.0 and Version 2.0 CD software. Version 2.1 and 3.0 autosize to fit the window you are using this product within.

10. WANT TO BROWSE THE FLOWERS YOUR WAY? – The ‘Browse the Flowers’ section provides quick access to all species subfolders which are organized alphabetically by common name.

11. CRITTERS? - There is a 326^th subfolder, “morecritters,” with 23 critter shots, in the Version 2.0, 2.1 and 3.0 Flowers folder.

TROUBLESHOOTING

1. CD INSTALLATION? - There is no ‘installation’ required in contrast to many software tools and applications. This product is self contained and designed to deliver full functionality while running in your computer’s CD-ROM drive. And, no internet access is required. Just insert it into a CD drive and access functionality, photographic images and supporting materials via the ‘navigation’ provided within the CD’s on-board ‘website.’

2. BROWSER REQUIREMENTS - Only IE (Internet Explorer) is fully supported in the VERSION 1.0 and VERSION 2.0 CD releases. Netscape, Mozilla Firefox, Opera, and other browsers may happen to work in part, but the CD has not been customized for their full use, so best results will be obtained using IE.

3. OPERATING SYSTEMS - The Windows 98, 2000, NT, Me, XP, and Vista operating systems are supported with both CD Versions 1.0 and 2.0 CDs. Note that if your Windows 98 or 2000 or Me PC has a low CPU speed (Under 633 HZ), or a relatively small RAM (Random Access Memory), or both, searches and slideshows may take a considerable longer time than on faster systems, and for slideshows, you will need to set a much longer delay between images (much longer than 3 seconds). A 900 MHZ Pentium III with 512 Meg RAM will handle 1 – 2 second delays between images very satisfactorily. You will need to experiment with your PC to find the shortest delay time which works in a satisfactory manner for your system. Just try a long delay, like 20 seconds, and if it works, subtract a couple seconds and try it again. Repeat the process until you find the delay for which you don’t like effects related to how the images are being displayed (like in pieces over several seconds) or you notice images are skipped. Then, stay above that delay.

4. DEFAULT BROWSER - If ‘Internet Explorer’ is not your PC’s default browser, but you have an “up-to-date” Internet Explorer browser on your computer, making IE your default browser will normally allow this CD’s Autorun (Automatic startup following insertion of CD into your CD Drive) to work, and all CD functionality will most conveniently be available for your use. Once you’ve made IE your default browser, if Autorun doesn’t work, use the alternate ‘STARTUP’ procedure provided on the back of the front cover of the CD insert to launch the CD. If that doesn’t work, there is a second (backup) procedure below.

5. AUTORUN DIDN’T WORK? - Not all PCs running Windows have Autorun capability. In addition, some PCs have Autorun capability but it has been disabled by the ‘System Administrator. The ‘robust’ Autorun feature used in this CD will get around many of these issues, but not all. If you are having problems:

a. If you are not the System Administrator for your computer, and you think Autorun may be disabled, you may want to ask the System Administrator if Autorun can be enabled for you on your PC.

b. In any case, if you insert the CD into your drive, and Autorun doesn’t start your CD within around 60 – 120 seconds, try the simple alternate procedure provided on the back of the CD Front cover. This will normally take care of startup if IE is your default browser.

c. If the alternate ‘backup’ procedure doesn’t work, a second, backup, alternate procedure, for starting your CD with Internet Explorer (especially helpful on a PC where the ‘default’ browser is not Internet Explorer) is as follows:

i. Left-click on START.

ii. Left-click on 'My Computer'.

iii. Right-click on your CD-Drive icon (has a name - like 'D' Drive, or it may have ‘Phoenix wildflowers (D:)’ displayed) to open the CD dialog box.

iv. Left-click on 'Explore' in the dialog box.

v. The CD Directory will be displayed to you as a list, a group of icons, or another standard form (depending on your system settings).

vi. Right-click on the STARTUP (or STARTUP.htm file if your system is set to allow file extensions displayed for known file types).

vii. Left-click on ‘Open with’.

ix. If ‘Internet Explorer’ isn’t there, it apparently isn’t on your PC and needs to be installed.

x. The 1st page of the 'website' on the CD will be displayed. Navigate through the pages and link to the options just as you would on an internet website.

6. PC CLOCK SPEED - On PCs running with less than a 633 MHz clock speed, a minimum ‘Delay’ time of 3 seconds and probably much more will be needed between slideshow images to avoid ‘unsightly’ display of images (where part of the image is displayed with part of the screen blank, for example, before the image is finally fully ‘painted’ onto your monitor screen. While a ‘2 second’ delay or even ‘1 second’ delay works well on a typical 900 MHZ or faster Pentium, slower PCs will need longer delays for best results. You can experiment to determine what the slowest speed is for satisfactory results for running these slideshows on your PC. Entering and setting a delay less than a 1 second between images will ‘hang up’ the slideshow software and you may need to re-start the CD.

7. HAVE A FREQUENT NEED TO RE-STARTUP THE CD? –Closing CD ‘web’ pages by left-clicking on the ‘window-closing’ little ‘X’ in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window closes the CD. If the user does this a lot, this results in the annoying requirement to frequently re-STARTUP the CD. This can easily be avoided. Just use ‘Back arrow,’ and the web-page navigation ‘Back button,’ and other built-in page-to-page navigation between CD ‘pages’ to return somewhere to easily eliminate this inconvenience. Don’t use the little ‘X’ in the upper right-hand corner of the browser window until you wish to close the CD.

8. CAN’T START THE SLIDESHOW? - Clicking a slideshow link launches the show and displays the first image, but doesn’t start the slideshow running/playing. If you can’t see ‘Play/Stop’ controls at the bottom of the slideshow opening image, just scroll to the bottom of the flower slideshow first image until you see the ‘Delay’ window and slideshow ‘Play/Stop’ controls. Once there, simply click on ‘Play’ to start the slideshow running. The CD slideshow page provides procedures to change the delay between image displays if you prefer a delay other than 3 seconds.

9. MANUAL REMOVAL OF THE CD – Refer to your PC support documentation for the recommended approach to removing a CD manually from your PC when the button on the door or software controls won’t ‘eject’ it. If you don’t have such PC support materials, for some PCs, the manufacturer recommended procedure is to gently insert a straightened paper clip wire into the small round hole (holding the wire perpendicular to the surface with the little hole) on or near the CD Drive door, and gently press in to unlatch and open the door. It’s best to check your PC support materials for the recommended approach for your PC and use the manufacturer’s recommended method.

Windows and Windows NT are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries.

________________________________