Contents
AIR COMMANDERS: The Modern US Air Force

Copyright (c) 1995 Softkey Multimedia Inc., All Rights Reserved

Contents for Air Commanders Help:

Overview

The Toolbar

Search

Media

Troubleshooting

For Help on Help press F1


Introduction

Air Commanders: The Modern US Air Force is the complete guide to the most effective fighting force in military history.  From the collection of the world's foremost authorities in aviation publishing, Aerospace Publishing, Air Commanders: The Modern US Air Force contains over six hundred photographs linked to nearly an hour of videos and 3-D animation.


Credits

SoftKey Multimedia, Inc.

Robert Ellis, Publisher

Michael Bradshaw, Project Manager

R.A. Martone, Programming/Design

William H. Sudbrink Jr., Programming

Hugh Matlock, Programming

Todd Brannam, Programming

Sara LeGath, Text Production Coordinator

John Wendl, Graphics Designer

Chris Ewald, Video/Audio Editor

Catherine Manning, Video Production

Susette Rego, Quality Assurance Manager

Jennifer Muth, Graphics Assistant

Michael A. Morowitz, Technical Assistant

Frank Stascio, Narration

Penelope Lamers, Director of Marketing

Sharon McCormick, Creative Manager

Content supplied by Aerospace Publishing

Stan Morse, Publisher

Robert Hewson, Managing Editor/Producer

Editorial Team:  Bob Archer, David Donald, Robert F. Dorr, Jon Lake, Lindsay Peacock

Production Assistants:  Karen Leverington, Tim Senior

Robert Garrard, Art Director

Special Thanks to:  Robert F. Door, Randy Jolly/Aerographics, Hunjin Kim DDS,

Don Houghtaling - US DoD MMRC, Dave Wilderson - US DoD MMRC,

Lt. Col. Robert C. Edgerton - USIA Foreign Press Center

Graphics:

Packaging:  Reactor Act & Design Ltd.

Don Rosenfield, Copywriter

Photography:

Aerospace, Airshots, Bob Archer, Gilies Auliard, Jim Benson, Ted Carlson/Fotodynamics, Paul Carter, Andrews H. Cline, Joe Cupido, Regent Dansereau, Greg L. Davis, David Donald, Alec Fushi, Rene J. Francillion, Peter R. Foster, Mike Gapsky, Richard Gennis, Norris Graser, Robert B. Greby, Steve Hill/EMCS, Malcolm P. Hopper/Skyflash, Phillip Huston, Randy Jolly/Aerographics, Renato E.F. Jones, Ben Knowles, Nathan Leong, Stuart Lewis, Chirs Lofting, Mark Morgan, Carey Mavor, Chris Neil, Jeff Puzzullo, B. Redfern, Paul C. Ragusa, Graham Robson, Tony Saketos, Robbie Shaw, A.B. Ward, Peter Wilson, Joey A. Zerbe

Air Commanders (tm), The Modern U.S. Air Force

Copyright (c) 1995 SoftKey Multimedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Content Copyright (c) 1995 Aerospace Publishing Ltd. All Rights Reserved

(c) 1995 Qsound Labs, Inc. All Rights Reserved

SoftKey is a registered trademark and Air Commanders is a trademark of SoftKey Multimedia.  All other trademarks are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Microsoft, MS, MS-DOS, Windows and MS-DOS

Extensions are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corp.

Microsoft Video for Windows Runtime, from

Microsoft Video for Windows (c) 1992

Doceo Filter and Video Compression Sampler Software by Doceo Publishing, (c) 1993-1995.

The MPC Logo is a trademark of The Multimedia PC Marketing Council, Inc.


Navigation
Access the Contents of AIR COMMANDERS

Air Commanders is organized into seven main modules listed below.  These modules can be accessed through the use of graphical menus, or the toolbar at the bottom of your screen. The Go Up button on your toolbar allows you access to any section of the contents by returning you to the previous menu screen.

The seven main modules are:

Aircraft	(Selected from each of the six aircraft on the main screen) A collection of full-color, full-screen, photographs of every U.S. Air Force aircraft.  The photographs are linked to mission briefings, videos, technical illustrations, and colorful descriptions of the aircraft in action.  These links are accessed through the aircraft toolbar at the right of the aircraft screen.
Weapons	(Selected from the missile in the lower-left corner of the main screen) Every weapon used by the U.S. Air Force with supplemental analysis of capability and combat use.
Briefing	(Selected from the left star-point on the main screen) A hypertext overview of the USAF's current capabilities, missions, trends, and recent changes.
Commands	(Selected from the right star-point on the main screen) A hypertext introduction to the organization of the USAF, including the national command structure down to the squadron level, and linked to comprehensive wing histories with images of the wing's insignia.
Air Bases	(Selected from the top-center star-point on the main screen) Colorful maps showing the locale of USAF air bases around the world with information about each base's history and tenant wings.
Exit	(Selected from the lower-left star-point on the main screen) Exit Air Commanders
About	(Selected from the lower-right star-point on the main screen) More information about SoftKey Multimedia, Inc.

See Also:

The Toolbar

The Aircraft Toolbar


System Requirements

To get the best overall performance while running Air Commanders, you need a Multimedia PC (MPC) or equivalent computer which meets the following minimum system requirements:

486SX microprocessor or higher

4 MB of RAM (8 MB highly recommended)

1 MB of hard disk space

MPC compliant Double Spin CD-ROM drive

Microsoft CD-ROM extensions (MSCDEX) version 2.2 or later

Video card capable of displaying at least 256 simultaneous colors.

Windows compatible audio board (16-bit playback highly recommended)

Headphones or speakers attached to the audio board (not the CD-ROM drive)


Memory Requirements and Hints

In general, every time you open a window or application under Windows, it is placed in your system's memory or in a temporary Windows swap file on your hard drive.  The windows and/or applications reside in their assigned memory location until you close them.

Air Commanders requires at least 4 MB of RAM to function properly (although, we highly recommend 8 MB to run smoothly).  If you are experiencing some slowness when opening windows in the program or receive an "Out of Memory" error message, you may be experiencing a low memory situation.  The following hints may help you avoid running out of system memory:

Check to ensure that you have at least 4 MB of RAM on your system.  To check your system's memory using DOS 5.0 (or higher), exit Windows and go to DOS.  At the DOS prompt, type MEM and press [ENTER].  If you do not have 4 MB of high memory, you will not be able to open many windows in the program, although it will run.  The only solution to low memory (less than 4 MB) problems is to close windows whenever possible or to add more memory to your computer.

If you are running Windows in standard mode, try switching to 386 enhanced mode. This will optimize the Windows environment for best overall performance on a 386 computer.  Review your Windows documentation or read the Windows Control Panel help screens for information about 386 enhanced mode.

If you are already running Windows in "enhanced mode," try creating a permanent Windows swap file on your hard drive.  Windows usually creates a temporary swap file, but if your hard disk is full or fragmented, this file may be unavailable.  The size of the permanent swap file should be more than 5 MB.  Review your Windows documentation or read the Windows Control Panel help screens for instructions about changing your swap files.

Defragment your hard drive.  If you cannot run Windows in enhanced mode, or if you cannot create a permanent swap file, try defragmenting ("cleaning up") your hard drive. This will ensure that Windows has access to it's temporary swap file.  Disk defragmentation utilities, such as Norton SpeedDisk, are available from most software resellers.

Close some windows!  If you have many windows open in Air Commanders , and/or you have other applications running, you may have exceeded your memory limitations and should close down some windows, or exit other programs which may be running.


CD-ROM Drive Reqirements and Hints
CD-ROM Drive Requirements and Hints

MPC Compliance

You need an MPC compliant Double-speed CD-ROM drive to run all program features optimally, especially videos.  If you do not have an MPC compliant CD player, Air Commanders  may experience long pauses when trying to access data off the CD and the videos may appear jerky and too slow.  If you are not sure if your CD-ROM drive is MPC compliant, check the documentation that came with your drive, or contact the drive's manufacturer.

Error Message -- "Cannot Find Air Commanders"

If Air Commanders cannot find the data files it needs to start the program, it will display the message -- "Cannot find Air Commanders  -- Insert Disc."  To correct this problem, try the following:

1.	Make sure the Air Commanders compact disc is correctly inserted into the CD-ROM player.

2.	Check to make sure your CD-ROM drive is plugged in, connected to your computer, and powered on.

3.	Make sure the CD-ROM drive letter is active.  To ensure the drive letter is active, use the File Manager and select the letter of your CD-ROM drive.  If you cannot access the CD-ROM drive from the File Manager, try leaving Windows and rebooting your computer.


Screen Modes and Video Cards

Air Commanders is designed to run in 256 colors.  To display 256 colors, you need a graphics card with at least 512 kilobytes of video RAM (i.e. VGA+, SVGA, 8514, TGA, XGA, etc.).

You must also have installed your specific video card's device driver, which allows Windows to display screens in 256 colors.  To install this device driver, read your video card documentation and the Windows Set-Up documentation.

Please note that video device drivers which support 256 colors are not included in Air Commanders.  If you did not receive Windows device drivers for your specific video card when you purchased your computer or your separately installed video board, you must obtain the device drivers directly from the manufacturer.


Sound Board Problems and Hints

Problem:  No Sound

This program makes use of special audio compression routines that are included with Microsoft Video for Windows 1.1.  Try re-installing Video for Windows 1.1 or greater.

Other applications that play sounds may interrupt audio in Air Commanders  because your computer cannot play two sounds at the same time.  Typically, this is a temporary problem and will correct itself once all applications have been shut down.

If you are running a screen saver that contains audio, you may need to de-activate the screen saver's sound in order to play audio in Air Commanders.

Make sure your sound board is MPC compatible.

Your speakers must be connected to your sound board and not your CD-ROM player. Air Commanders does not run with the PC's internal speaker driver, nor does it route sound through the CD-ROM player.

Make sure that you have properly installed the Windows device drivers that specifically came with your sound board.  If you are not sure if your sound board is properly installed, review your sound card documentation.  If you are not sure if you have the latest Windows device drivers, contact your sound board's manufacturer.

Adjust the audio card volume control to the mid-range position.  Make sure the sound board's software settings are also set at an audible level.  You may also have to adjust the volume control dial located on your speakers.

Problem:  Sound Is Distorted or Choppy

If you have lower quality speakers, you may experience some distortion.  If you want to raise the volume but don't want to hear the distortion, one solution is to lower the audio card volume control and use an external amplifier.

Make sure your speaker cables are moved away from the power supply.  This will prevent background static and noise.

Your software settings for your sound board may be causing distortion.  Air Commanders  uses "Wave" audio files.  If your sound board's software option for "Wave file input" is set at its maximum, you may hear static and amplified distortion.  To change your sound board settings and achieve maximum performance, read the documentation that came with your sound board.

You may not have the latest audio device drivers for your sound board.  Contact the manufacturer of your sound board to obtain the latest Windows device drivers.

You must have an MPC compliant CD-ROM drive to ensure that the audio does not sound choppy.  If you do not have an MPC compliant CD-ROM player, Air Commanders  may experience long pauses when trying to access data off the disc.  This may cause the audio to sound choppy and out of sync with the video.

Please note that sound device drivers are not included in Air Commanders, nor does the program alter your sound board's device drivers in any way during installation.  If you did not receive Windows device drivers for your sound card when you purchased that board, you must obtain the device drivers directly from the manufacturer.

If you have tried all the above options, the problem may be the result of activating a Qsound video with an 8-bit sound card.  We recommend that you use a 16-bit sound card with Air Commanders, although it is not required.


Video Playback Hints

Problem:  No Video Playback

Air Commanders uses Microsoft's Video for Windows 1.1 to play video clips in the program.  If you do

not have Video for Windows 1.1  already installed on your hard drive, Air Commanders  will detect this

and install it automatically.

If you cannot open any video files or are receiving error messages regarding playback, you should try re-installing Video for Windows directly from the Air Commanders compact disc.  To install Video for Windows directly from the disc:

1. Go into the File Manager and click on the letter of your CD-ROM drive.

2. Select the directory DISK1.

3. Once inside the DISK1 directory, double-click on the file "setup.exe."  This will start the Video for Windows installation.

4. Follow the instructions that appear on your screen.

Problem:  Video Frames Look Grainy

Since Video for Windows is designed to run in 256 colors or better, you should check to make sure your video card has at least 512 kilobytes of video RAM.  If your card supports 256 colors, make sure you have installed the proper video device driver for your specific card.

Please note that video device drivers which support 256 colors are not included in Air Commanders.  If you did not receive Windows device drivers for your specific video card when you purchased your computer or your separately installed video board, you must obtain the device drivers directly from the manufacturer.

Problem:  Jerky Motion During Video Playback

You must have an MPC compliant CD-ROM player to play videos.   If you do not have an MPC compliant CD-ROM player, Air Commanders may experience long pauses when trying to access data off the CD, and the videos may appear jerky and too slow.

If you are not sure if your CD-ROM drive is MPC compliant, copy a video from Air Commanders  to your hard drive.  Videos have the .AVI file extensions.  Once copied, use the Windows Media Player (mplayer.exe) to play the video off your hard drive.  If the video plays smoothly off the hard drive, it is likely that your CD-ROM drive is not MPC compliant.  You can also check the documentation that came with your drive, or contact the drive's manufacturer for more information.

If you have an MPC Compliant CD-ROM drive, the problem may be the result of activating a Qsound video with an 8-bit sound card.  We recommend that you use a 16-bit sound card with Air Commanders, although it is not required.

Problem:  Error Message While Video is Playing

If you encounter any type of error message while you are playing a video, for example any error containing the word "IR32.DLL", you must shut down the program and reinstall Video for Windows 1.1 (instructions for this are at the top of this help topic).


User Support

If you have any questions about the Air Commanders  that are not answered in the User's Guide or these Help files, you may call us Monday through Friday during the hours of 9 AM to 6 PM Eastern Standard Time at 404-428-0008 to get help from our technical department. To better assist you, we ask that you call while at your computer.

On-line support is available to CompuServe members in the SoftKey forum (GO SOFTKEY).

Also, please read the PRODUCT LICENSE AND WARRANTY for procedures for returning a disc you believe may be defective.  Please do not return any disc until you have spoken with a technical support representative.  We can usually solve the problem.

In order to receive user support, you MUST be a registered user. Be sure to mail the user registration card as soon as you open the package!


Back
Go Back [ESC]

To move back to the previous window.


Go Up
Go Up [Ctrl + Up Arrow Key]

To return to the previous menu screen to select a new topic.


Previous
Previous [<] [Ctrl + Left Arrow Key]

To move to the previous item on a list menu.  If you select an article on a list and wish to page back to the article that precedes it on the list, click on [<].  [<] also allows you to move to the previous graphical menu or the previous hotspot on the menu.  If you are on the first item on a list or on the main menu screen, [<] will not be active.


Next
Next [>] [Ctrl + Right Arrow Key]

To move to the next item on a list menu.  If you select an article on a list and wish to page forward to the article that follows it on the list, click on [>].  [>] also allows you to move to the next graphical menu or the next hotspot on the menu.  If you are on the last item on the list, [>] will not be active.


Using Search

The Search feature is a tool to help you find specific articles and graphics. Instead of browsing through Air Commanders looking for them, you can enter specific words that describe the information for which you are looking.  There are two ways to search Air Commanders: The Easy mode is a completely graphical search interface that allows you to find a word or combination of words contained in articles or graphics. It allows finds for adjacent words, such as Air Force, B-2 Bomber, or close air support. The Advanced mode allows you to restrict your searches using connecting words to get more precise results.  The "Results..." button brings back your last search results list and allows opening and saving search results lists.

Easy Search

1.	Click on SEARCH on the Toolbar to open the Easy search dialog box.

2.	Type your search words in the search word box. You may enter up to nine words separating each with a space.

3.	After you have entered the search words you want, click on OK or press [ENTER].  A list of your search results appears.

4.	If you are satisfied with the number of entries you have found, you can view an item by clicking on its title or using the [Up/Down] arrow keys to highlight the entry and pressing [ENTER]. Selecting a title takes you to the first occurrence in that entry of the first search word. The word appears highlighted.

5.	Your search result dialog box will remain on the screen until you click the Close button or select an article from the list when the pushpin button is in the "out" position.  If the pushpin button is in the "in" position, the search results dialog box will remain open until you click the Close button.

6.	You can also save your search results out as a separate file for later use.  Click the floppy disk icon button, and a standard Save As... window appears with the filename AIRWAR.SCH as the default.  To open a search file, simply click the Open button in the search results window, and select the file.  The saved search file will become the new search results list.

See Also:

The Toolbar

The Search Dialog

Advanced Search

The Word List

Search Hints


Review

Review is a record of your travel through the contents. A list of each menu and file that you already opened in Air Commanders is displayed in the Review dialog box. By clicking on an item in the list, you return to that item. Review will remain open until you select the Close button or an item on the list.  If the pushpin button is in the "in" position, Review will remain open until the Close button is selected.

Review holds the last 100 items you have opened.

See Also:

The Toolbar


Copy

The Copy button on the Toolbar allows you to copy contents of articles and graphics to the Windows Clipboard.

To Copy Text

1. Open the article to be copied.

2. Click on the Copy button on the Toolbar.

3. The text is copied to the Windows Clipboard.

To Copy Graphics

1. Open the chart, cover, map, photo, or video that you would like to copy to the Clipboard.

2. Click on the Copy button in the Toolbar.

3. The graphic is copied to the Windows Clipboard.

4. When you use copy on a video, the current frame of the video is copied.

See Also:

The Toolbar


Print

Any article or graphic may be printed directly from Air Commanders  by clicking on the Print button on the Toolbar. If your printer cannot print graphics, the Print command is disabled when the active window contains a graphic.

If you want to print an entire article, but the article is contained in a pop-up window with scroll bars, you must first maximize the article by using the maximize button [image].

If you try to print an article in a pop-up, your printer will only print the section of the article that you can see on the screen.  If the article does not have a maximize button, and you still want to print the entire article, you may search for the article and access it for the search results list as a full-screen article, and then click PRINT.

All articles will be printed with the appropriate copyright notice for Air Commanders which must be included in any further use of the material. If you neglect to include copyright notices, you could be guilty of plagiarism or copyright violation.

NOTE: Videos and animation print the current frame when you choose PRINT..

See Also:

The Toolbar


Mark

The Mark feature allows you to place "bookmarks" on articles and graphics and organize them into personal folders.  Files can be stored directly in the main bookmark collection, or in any folder that you create.

Open the Mark dialog box by clicking on the Mark toolbar button.  The Mark dialog has five buttons along the bottom:

Go To	Open a previously marked file.
Add...	Add a file to your Mark collection or a folder, or create a new folder.
Delete	Delete the item or folder.  When you delete a folder, you also delete all of the Marks within that folder.
Close	Close the Mark dialog box.
Help	Opens this help file.

The "In" box at the top of the Mark box tells you whether you are in the top Mark level, or in one of your folders.  To return to the top Mark level from a folder, click the go-up button next to the "In" box (folder with an up-arrow).

When the pushpin icon in the upper right corner of the Mark box is "pushed in", the Mark dialog box will stay open until you select the "Close" button.  When the pushpin is in the "out" position, the Mark dialog box will close when you "Go To" a file.

Adding an Item to Your Mark Collection

The Mark toolbar button is active when you are viewing an article or graphic that can be marked.  To add an item to your Mark Collection,  click on the Mark toolbar button, then click on the "Add..." button.  Click on "Add Mark" to add the item to your collection.  Notice that the title of the item is automatically placed in the item name box.  You can change the name by simply typing a new name in the space provided.

Adding an Item to a Folder

To add the item to a folder, go to the Mark dialog box, then double-click on the folder to open it.  Select the "Add..." button and use, "Add Mark" to add the file to the folder you selected.

Adding Folders to Your Mark Collection

You can create new folders by selecting the "Add..." button, then typing the name of the folder in the space provided.  Select the "Add Folder" button.   When you return to the Mark dialog box,  the new folder is visible.

Saving Your Mark Collection

Each time you exit the program, your Mark Collection is automatically saved.  The default Mark collection is called airwar.bmk and it is saved in the airwar directory.  To save your Mark Collection in another directory or use another filename, click on the disk icon in the Mark dialog box.  You can use up to eight characters plus the .bmk extension to name the Mark Collection.

Opening a Saved Mark Collection

Air Commanders automatically opens the most current version of your Mark Collection each time you use the program.  To open another Mark Collection, click on the open folder icon in the Mark dialog box, and locate the Mark Collection you saved previously.  If you saved your Marks in another directory, or on another drive (such as your floppy drive), you must change the directory and/or drive letter in the dialog box.

See Also:

The Toolbar


Note

The Note button on the Toolbar allows you to create notes to accompany articles. This feature is helpful if you want to record any references to other articles or graphics or copy a bibliographical reference, or save a quotation.

Articles that contain a note will display a red marker on the Note button on the toolbar.

Adding Notes

1. Click the Note button on the Toolbar.

2. In the Note dialog box, type your note. Use [BACKSPACE] to correct any mistakes.

3. When you have finished typing your note, select the Save button.

Viewing Notes

When you have annotated an article, a red marker will appear on the Note button on the toolbar.  To view your note, open the article and click the Note button.

Copying Notes

You can copy a Note and paste text as a Note to another article.

1. Open the article that contains the note you want to copy.

2. Open the note by clicking on the NOTE button on the toolbar.

3. Select the COPY button.

4. The note is now copied to the Windows Clipboard.

5. Press the CANCEL button to remove the Note dialog box from the screen.

6. Open the article to which you would like to add the note.

7. Click on the NOTE button on the Toolbar.

8. Select the PASTE button.

9. Select the SAVE button.

Deleting Notes

1. Open the article from which you would like to delete the Note.

2. Click on the NOTE button on the Toolbar.

3. Select the DELETE button in the Note dialog box.

See Also:

The Toolbar


Help

Activates this on-line help file.


Toolbar

The Toolbar appears at the bottom of the screen.  It provides easy mouse access to content areas as well as navigation and utility functions.  To select a toolbar button, click on it once with the left mouse button.

See Also:

The Aircraft Toolbar


Toolbar Menu
Toolbar Help Menu

Click a topic for help:

The Toolbar

Show

Review

Search

Mark

Note

Copy

Print

Go Up

< Previous

> Next

Back

Help

The Aircraft Toolbar


Search Menu
Search Help Menu

Click a topic for help:

Using Search

The Search Dialog

Advanced Search

The Word List

Search Hints


Troubleshooting Menu

Click a topic for help:

System Requirements

Memory Requirements and Hints

CD-ROM Drive Requirements and Hints

Screen Modes and Video Cards

Sound Board Problems and Hints

Video Playback Hints

Troubleshooting the IBM ThinkPad 755 CD

User Support


Articles and Videos Menu
Media Menu

Click a topic for help:

About Articles

Playing Videos


Overview

Click a topic for help:

Introduction to Air Commanders

Credits

Accessing the Contents of Air Commanders

Using the Toolbar


Advanced Search

Along with Easy Search, Air Commanders includes Advanced Search, a utility which enables you to conduct more precise searches.  Follow these steps to conduct an advanced search:

1.	Click on SEARCH on the Toolbar to open the Easy search dialog box.

2.	Click on the Advanced button to switch to the Advanced search dialog box.

3.	The lower portion of the Advanced search dialog box, lists the rules for searching.  You may limit your search  by connecting several words. NOTE: You do NOT need to use quotation marks around your terms.

a. Connect search words with "and", "or", or "not."

Examples:

Type "fighter and bomber" to find all items in the database that contain both fighter and bomber.

Type "attack or strike" to find all items that contain either attack or strike.

Type "Boeing and not fighter" to find all items that contain Boeing but do not contain fighter.

b. Group connected words with parentheses to connect to another search word.

Example:

Type "(Boeing or McDonnell) and fighter" to find items that contain either Boeing and fighter or McDonnell and fighter.

c. Limit searches to a media type by using "in" and the name of the media type; photo, video, text, base, wing.

Example:

Type "b-2 in video" to find videos about b-2s

d. Search for adjacent words by typing the names without connecting words. You may connect two phrases.

Example:

Type "air attack" to find items in which air and attack appear directly next to each other. This search will NOT find air force attack.  Type "Air Force Attack" to find all three names together.

e.  Search for words that are near each other, but not adjacent, by typing the letter "w" and a number between two search words.  Proximity may be defined within 9 words.

Example:

Type "air w2 base" to find items in which air base or air force base appear.

f.  Search for single words that have variant endings by typing the first part of the word followed by an asterisk.  The asterisk is called a wildcard.

Example:

Type "aero*" to find aerospace, aerodynamics, OR aeronautic.

NOTE: Wildcard searches may not be used in proximity searches.

4.	Click on OK or press [Enter] to search for the complete string of connected words.

5.	Saving and opening search list files works the same with Advanced Search as in Easy Search

See Also:

Using Search

The Search Dialog

The Word List

Search Hints


The Search Dialog

Click on the search dialog box for a description of each feature:

See Also:

Using Search

Advanced Search

The Word List

Search Hints


Search Hints

The more search words you use, the more accurate your search results will be.  Entering only one word in the Search word box can result in an unusually long list of items.  Many may simply contain your search word but have little to do with your topic of interest.

If the entries do not provide the information you are looking for, you can change the search words and repeat the process until you find what you want.

If your search results in no entries, review those words not found and check them against the Word List.

If the words you enter are too vague or general, Search may yield a much greater number of items than you want to look through. The scope of the search can be further reduced by deselecting items from the include section of the search dialog box.

Using Advanced search produces the most precise results. Connecting words with "and," "or," or "not" limits the number of items found in the search.  You may search for words within 2-9 words of each other.  Right-hand truncation of words can be used in single word advanced searches.

See Also:

Using Search

The Search Dialog

Advanced Search

The Word List


The Word List

The Word List contains every word that occurs in the contents of Air Commanders . If you type a word, and you're not sure if the word is in the database or if you want to check its spelling, the Word List will automatically display the closest word that matches alphabetically .

1.	To replace the word you typed with a word from the Word List, press [TAB] or click on the Word List box, then scroll through the list using the [Up/Down] or [PgUp/PgDn] arrows or the mouse.  As you scroll through the Word List, the program automatically replaces the word you typed with the highlighted word.

2.	When you are ready to make your selection, press [SHIFT]+[TAB] to return to the Search word line (or click there with the mouse).

3.	At this point you can add more search words or select the OK button to begin your Search.

See Also:

Using Search

The Search Dialog

Advanced Search

Search Hints


Show

The Show button on the toolbar brings you to a menu where you can access the contents of Air Commanders directly.  The Show menu is divided into three columns:

Videos	A complete menu of every video found in Air Commanders.

Airplanes	A complete menu of every airplane found on the main menu in Air Commanders.

Units	A complete menu of every unit / wing screen found in Air Commanders' hypertext links.

Show is useful if you are attempting to access one particular piece of Air Commanders without having to navigate menus or search.

See Also:

The Toolbar


Show Button
Show

Access a menu of Air Commanders' aircraft, units, and videos. more


Review Button
Review [Ctrl + H]

View a record of your travel through the contents. more


Search Button
Search [Ctrl + S]

Look for specific articles and graphics that contain words entered in the search dialog box. more


Mark Button
Mark [Ctrl + M]
Mark any screen, article or graphic for later viewing. more


Note Button
Note [Ctrl + N]

Make, view or delete notes on articles and graphics. more


Copy Button
Copy [Ctrl + C]

Copy text or graphics to the clipboard. more


Print Button
Print [Ctrl + P]

Print an entire article or graphic, and change printer settings. more


Go Up Button
Go Up [Ctrl + up arrow]

Return to the previous menu screen to select a new topic.


Go Back Button
Go Back [ESC]

Return to the previous window.


Next Button
Next [Ctrl + right arrow key]

Move to the next menu or item on a list. more


Previous Button
Previous [Ctrl + left arrow key]

Move to the previous menu or item on a list. more


Help Button
Help [F1]

Get Help (This File).


Photo Toolbar
Aircraft Toolbar

When you choose an aircraft from the main screen, the next screen you see will contain a full-color photo of the aircraft along with a new toolbar at the right of your screen.  This toolbar provides you with links to extensive information about the aircraft you selected.  For a short description of the functions of the aircraft toolbar, click on the buttons to the right. See Also: The Toolbar


Briefing

An overview of the aircraft's capabilities, history of development and other general information.


Mission Profile

An article detailing the configuration options used for the variety of missions the aircraft flies.


Variants

 A detailed list of the different models of the aircraft.


Specs

Specifications and statistics about the aircraft.


Operators

A list of USAF units that possess the aircraft.  Linked to graphical unit screens with hypertext.


Video

A video of the aircraft.


3-Views

The top, side and bottom views of the aircraft.


Photos

A menu of photographs of the aircraft.  Clicking on an image in the menu will open the photo full-screen.


View Caption

A caption to the current photograph.


About Articles

To move around an article with the mouse, click on the scroll bar to move up or down a page at a time or click on the up and down arrows above and below the scroll bar to move a line at a time.  With the keyboard, use the [Up/Down] arrows or [PgUp/PgDn] to advance the page.

To access a hypertext link to a related article, click on the blue text within the article.

To switch from a windowed article to a full-screen article click the [image] icon.

See Also:

Printing articles


Videos

Air Commanders contains video footage of actual US Air Force aircraft.

Video entries can be accessed from the Video button on the Aircraft Toolbar.

When you open a video, it will begin to play automatically.

To pause while the video is playing, click on the "stop" button [image].

To resume playing, click on the "play" button [image].

You can escape from a video at any time by pressing [ESC].

See Also:

Video Playback Hints

Screen Modes and Video Cards

Sound Board Problems and Hints


MPC Popup
You need an MPC Compliant double-speed CD-ROM drive to run all of Air COMMANDERS' features optimally, especially videos.  Specifically, your CD-ROM player must have a data transfer rate of 300 kilobytes per second or higher, a 390 ms (or better) data access rate (also called average seek time), and use less than 40% of your computer's CPU bandwidth.


nine words
up to 255 characters total


Qsound
Qsound 3D Virtual Audio is used in a few videos in Air Commanders. Qsound is a unique multi-dimentional sound placement technology that produces realistic three-dimensional sound effects.  Unfortunately, it does not work as smoothly with 8-bit sound cards.  A 16-bit sound card is highly recommended to view and hear the full 3-D effect of Qsound videos.


search ok
OK

Click this button to execute your search.


search cancel
Cancel

Click this button to close the search box without executing a search.


search advanced
Advanced...

Click this button to switch to the advanced search mode. more


search results
Results...

Click this button to open your last search results and/or open and save old search hit lists.


search help
Help

Click this button for on-line search help.


search word box
Word box

Enter your search words here.


search word list
Word list

Use this scrolling list to match your search words with words that appear in Air Commanders. more


Search For...

Use this section switch between words or phrases (words adjacent to each other).


Include...

Use this section to limit your search to specific media types by selecting or deselecting items.


Troubleshooting the IBM ThinkPad 755 CD

If you are using an IBM ThinkPad model 755 CD, you may be experiencing a scrambled display.  This is due to a problem with the Windows video drivers that come pre-installed on the ThinkPad.  To change to a different Windows video driver (already on your hard drive) follow these steps:

•	In Windows, double-click on the MAIN program group, and then double-click on WINDOWS SETUP in that program group.

•	Click on the OPTIONS menu and click on CHANGE SYSTEM SETTINGS in that menu.

•	Click on the down arrow at the far right of the "Display" line, then use the up arrow key to highlight the line: SVGA (WD90C24) 640x480 65536 colors and press ENTER.

•	Click on RESTART WINDOWS.

•	Everything should now be working properly. If it does not you can install a generic Windows driver which also comes with the IBM Thinkpad, located in the C:\WINDOWS\DRIVERS directory.  Please call IBM for further installation instructions.

NOTE:  For more information on the IBM ThinkPad and its pre-installed video drivers, call IBM at 1-800-772-2227.