Copyright: Copyright )1995 AOMC.
Citation: Copyright )1995 AOMC.


About World Vista
About World Vista II

All maps, flags, text and statistical data are the copyrighted property of Rand McNally & Co. and are provided under license to Applied Optical Media Corporation. All music is the copyrighted property of the Smithsonian Institution, Folkways Collection, and is provided under license.  Photographs are provided under license from Photri, Inc. Language samples are the copyrighted property of Applied Optical Media Corporation and Inlingua International as provided under license. All rights of the owners of these materials are reserved.


Copyright information
    The materials on this disc are copyrighted. Copying (except for personal archives), modifying or transferring of the materials is prohibited and a violation of copyright law.

©Copyright 1995, Applied Optical Media Corporation


SuperMac Technology

215 Moffett Park Drive

Sunnyvale, CA  94089

Phone: (408) 541-6100

Facsimile: (408) 541-6150

Cinepak video compression is SuperMac's advanced software video CODEC technology that enables each video frame to occupy a fraction of the usual storage space, while retaining highly accurate colors and excellent image quality.


John Brown
Paul Dellevigne
Gail Smith
Joe Pezzimenti
Carrie Jenkins Martin
Michelle Hornbach
Laura Roderer
Nicki Baker

Kris Vollrath


Country Button from the Main Menu
Country PickList

Choose a country from the list displayed.

You will then enter the Country Record Screen where you can see, hear, and read country specific information.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Countries Record Screen from the Main Menu
Country Screen

Once a country is chosen, you will go to the country record screen where you can see, hear, and read country specific information. The buttons on the left side will display the objects in the center window; the buttons on the right side will take you to country specific data screens.  The items which are ghosted out (gray) are not available for that country.

For example...

to see the detail map of the country, press the Country map button.

to see the detail map(s) of cities in the country, press the City map(s) button.

to hear a music sample from the country, press the Music button.

to see the flag of the country, press the Flag button.

to see pictures from the country, press the Picture(s) button.

to see a list of the places and owned, governed or assisted by the country, press the Places and possessions  button.

to hear phrases spoken in the country's native languages, press the Languages button.

to see and compare data on the people of the country with other countries, press the People data button.

to see and compare the political data of the country with other countries, press the Political data button.

to see and compare the economic data of the country with other countries, press the Economic data button.

to see and compare the data on the land of the country with other countries, press the Land data button.

to read a description of the People, Economy & Land, and History & Politics of the country, press the Description button.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


When this button is pressed, a locator map will appear in the center window showing you the country and its bordering countries.  A Detail map button will appear at the bottom of the center window.  Pressing the Detail map button will load a detailed country map which you can move around using the window scroll bars.

To return, click anywhere.


When this button is pressed, a list of available city maps is displayed.  Choose one and a detailed city map is loaded which you can move around using the window scroll bars.

If there is only one city map available for that country, that map will be immediately loaded, bypassing the list.

To return, click anywhere.


When this button is pressed, a description of the country's music sample is displayed in the center window and Play/Pause and Stop buttons appear at the bottom of the window.  Press the Play button [ [image]] to start the music and, if you wish, press the Stop button [ [image]] to end the music. The Play button becomes a Pause button [ [image]] once the music starts.

To return, click anywhere.


When this button is pressed, the flag of the country is displayed in the center window.

To return, click anywhere.


When this button is pressed, pictures from the country are displayed in the center window.  At the bottom of the window are Previous and Next buttons and a box showing which picture you are viewing and how many are available.

To return, click anywhere.


When this button is pressed, a list of places and possessions owned, governed, or assisted by the country is displayed.

To return, click anywhere.


Languages Screen

This screen allows you to select a specific language and hear any one of 25 different phrases spoken in that language by a native speaker.

The screen has three sections...

In the top-left section you choose either a country or a specific language.  To select a country, press the Country button at the top of the window.  To select a language, press the Language button at the top of the window.

In the top-right section a language (s) (when Country is chosen in the top-left window) is displayed or the country where the language is spoken (when Language is chosen in the top-left window) is displayed.

the bottom section is where you choose a phrase to hear it spoken in a specific language.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


                   Available Phrases

Yes No Please Thank You Hello Good Bye Good Morning Good Night How are you? Fine Where is the bathroom/toilet? What would you like to drink? What time is it?	My name is... This is my home. Mother Father Sister Brother Daughter Son Grandmother Grandfather Uncle Aunt
To return, click anywhere.


Data Screen

This area of the program is a group of screens which display data on a specific country.

To see what data is available and how to compare it to that of other countries, choose one of the following data topics...

People data screen

Political data screen

Economic data screen

Land data screen

Some data buttons take you to a data comparison screen and others take you to a data-in-common comparison screen.  Choose one of the above topics to see how each data button works.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


People Data

The following are buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data comparison screen:

Population Population density Urbanization Literacy Life Expectancy -  Males/Females	number of people in the country number of people per square kilometer percentage of country considered urban percentage of people who are literate how long males/females are expected to live
The following are groups of buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data-in-common comparison screen:

Languages Religions Ethnic Groups	recognized languages of the country recognized religions of the country recognized ethnic groups of the country


Political Data

The following are information fields:

Capital Parties Subdivisions	Location of the capital political groups within the country areas of delineation
The following are buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data comparison screen:

Government Suffrage	type of government who can vote and at what age
The following are groups of buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data-in-common comparison screen:

Memberships	global organizations to which the country belongs
For additional information about membership organizations, please click on organizations.


                   Membership Organizations

AL ASEAN CIS CW EC NATO OECD OAU OAS OPEC UN	Arab League Association of South East Asian Nations Commonwealth of Independent States Commonwealth of Nations European Community North Altantic Treaty Organization Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development Organization of African Unity Organization of American States Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries United Nations
To return, click anywhere.


Economic Data

The following is an information field:

Monetary unit	name of the legal currency used by the country
The following are buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data comparison screen:

GDP Per capita	Gross Domestic Product (in U.S. dollars) average amount of money made per person (in U.S. dollars)
The following are groups of buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data-in-common comparison screen:

Trade partners Imports Exports	recognized partners in trade major items which are bought from other countries major items which are sold to other countries


Land Data

The following are information fields:

Highest point Lowest point	the highest point of land structure the lowest point of land structure
The following are buttons, which, when pressed, take you to a data comparison screen:

Land description Area	area or region of the world total area in square kilometers


Description Screen

This screen allows you to read about three different country specific topics; People, Economy & Land, and History & Politics.

To read the information , choose a topic by pressing one of the topic buttons at left.  The information is displayed in the window to the right.  Use the Up and Down arrows to move through the pages.  The current page and number of total pages in shown in the box at bottom-left.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Data Comparrison Screen
Data Comparison Screen

This screen is used to show data in a comparative way.  For example, if you chose Literacy in the previous screen, the country which you were viewing is now located among the countries of the world. The order is sorted by country name as default and can be changed to be sorted by the data by pressing the data button at the top of the window; in this example, you would press Literacy.

Choosing any of the countries in this list will take you to the record screen for that particular country.  For example, using the previous example, if you came from Germany and you choose Poland, you would go to Poland's record screen.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Data-in-Common Screen

This screen is used to show data in a comparative way, but only for countries which share common data.  For example, if you chose Memberships - UN in the previous screen, the Memberships would be listed at left, with UN marked by an asterisk (*). On the right are all countries which share this particular membership (in this case the UN or United Nations).

Choosing any of the countries presented in the list on the right will take you to the record screen for that particular country.  For example, using the previous example, if you came from Germany and you choose Poland, you would go to Poland's record screen.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Detail Map

Once a detailed map is loaded, you can move around the map using the window scroll bars at the right and at the bottom.  When moving around the map, there will be times when the program pauses to load new portions of the map.  These maps are very large and only a small piece is loaded at any one time.  As new pieces are loaded from the CD-ROM, the program pauses.  This pause is primarily based on the speed of your CD-ROM drive; the faster the drive, the shorter the pause.  To reduce the number of pauses, you can click on and grab the scroll bar boxes (small, square boxes in between the arrows) and move them to another location.  Thus, instead of moving small amounts at a time, you can jump to a section of the map quickly.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Main Menu
    World Vista II

Overview of World Vista II                                                               What is new in this version?

The Main Menu

     Countries Button

     Maps Button

     World Topics Button

     Principal Locations Button

Help on the Navigation Bar

Questions and Answers concerning common problems.


Program Navigation

World Vista II Atlas uses a navigation bar at the top of each screen which allows you to move either from screen to screen or from object to object.

For example...

selecting the Main button takes you to the Main Menu from any point in the program.

- at the Main Menu, the Main button turns into an Exit button.

selecting the Back button takes you to the Previous screen.

the center of the navigation bar has either information about where you are in the program, or the name of the country whose information is currently being shown.  When you are at the country screen, Up/Down arrows and a list rank box will also appear in the center area.  Use the arrows to navigate from country to country.  The list rank number will change as you go.

selecting the Options button displays the options dialog box.

selecting the  Help button puts you in the area of the help system that is specific to where you are in the program.


Options Button

To learn about a specific option, click on the button.

The options dialog box has four option buttons; Print, Clipboard, Quick Jump, and History.

For example...

  the Print button allows you to send the program's information to your printer.

  the Clipboard button allows you to send the program's information to the Windows clipboard

  the Quick Jump button allows you to quickly jump to any country to view its specific information.

  the History button allows you to return to recently viewed information.


Retreiving clipboard materials
  Retrieving text is relatively straight forward - from within your word processor or text editor, choose it's Paste function and the text will be inserted into the currently open document.

  Retrieving images (image or video objects) is a little trickier...your word processor or text editor needs to support the insertion of images from the clipboard. This is usually implemented with the Paste Special edit function of the program; using this function, the text will be inserted into the currently open document. This may not always be the case, so check your (word processor) manual/help system to see if you can use bitmapped images. In the case of video objects, both an image and the video's script will be sent to the clipboard. When you use Paste Special, both of these objects will appear in a list; choose either and the object will be inserted into the currently open document.

  To see the Paste Special edit function used, execute the Windows Write program after printing an image object to the clipboard and retrieve it using Edit-Paste Special and choose Bitmap.


This is a list of the items available for printing. This list will change based on where you are in the program.

To return, click anywhere.


This option allows you to send the program information to your printer. What will be printed is based on where you are in the program and what is being viewed at the time. For example, if you are looking at a picture in Switzerland, then that picture will be printed.

To return, click anywhere.


This option allows you to send the program information to the Windows clipboard. What will be printed depends on where you are in the program and what is being viewed at the time. For example, if you are looking at a picture in Switzerland, then that picture will be sent.

To return, click anywhere.


A reminder that if you send certain objects to the clipboard, you may need to retrieve them using the Paste Special edit function from your word processor. You may also paste an image into an image editing program or paint package; in this case, it may be possible to use the Paste edit function.

To return, click anywhere.


Options - Search Button

To learn about a specific area or button, click on it.

This option allows you to quickly Jump to anywhere in the program; hence the name Quick Jump. You can find and view information quickly by using the Quick Jump button from the Options dialog box.

For example...

  by choosing display options at the right, the countries which match these options will be displayed at the left.

  after selecting the display options, choose a country from the country list and select the OK button to jump to that country.

  when entering Quick Jump, the All countries display option is default.  By choosing options other than the default, you can narrow down the list of countries.  For example, if you would like to view all countries which have pictures. You would check the Pictures box and choose the first country in the list (or any country) and press the OK button. You are now viewing only those countries which have pictures.  Likewise, you could check Pictures AND Music sample and only those countries match these two options will be displayed.


Choose All countries to list all available countries
                                         - or -
choose one or more of these display options to narrow or limit the country list.

To return, click anywhere.


This box is a list of countries which match the display options.  The number of countries in the list is at the bottom of the box. Selecting a country from this list and pressing OK will take you to that country. Once there, you may move up and down these countries using the arrows in the Navigation bar.

To return, click anywhere.


Options - History Button

To learn about a specific area or button, click on it.

This option allows you to return to areas of the program where you already have been.


This is a list of the areas in the program which you have visited. There is room for 50 items. Items are kept and listed until you exit the program.

To return, click anywhere.


After choosing from the list, press this button to take you there.

To return, click anywhere.


Choose this button to close this window without doing anything.

To return, click anywhere.


Choose this button to take you to help for this specific situation.

To return, click anywhere.


Program Overview

World Vista II Atlas is broken into four separate sections, each covering a specific subject.

For example...

selecting Countries allows you to view a country's map, flag, facts, culture, and images, and to hear its music and languages.

selecting Maps allows you to explore the countries of the world through their national maps and city maps, where applicable.

selecting World Topics allows you to view narrated animations and video presentations illustrating global issues.

selecting Principal Locations allows you to view the principal bodies of water, cities, mountains, and rivers of the world.

selecting the Options button on the Navigation Bar from almost anywhere in the program, will allow you to send information to the printer/clipboard or access Quick Jump.

selecting the Help button on the Navigation Bar from almost anywhere in the program gives assistance with or an explanation of any of the programs subjects.


What's new...
Here's what's new...

Here's a list of the additions you asked for...

Information can now be sent to your printer or the Windows clipboard.

New program graphics.

New navigational methods; get to a country's information screen from virtually anywhere in the program.

Buttons not available at certain times are ghosted (gray).

Country and city detail maps are in 256 colors; they're now easier to read.

Certain actions in the program have been mapped to the keyboard. Below is a table showing the keyboard mapping.

Key(s)                      Action

F1	Invoke context sensitive help
F2	Invoke World Vista II Options dialog
Home	Return to Main Menu
Backspace	Return to previous screen visited
(up arrow)	Move back one place in list
(down arrow)	Move forward one place in list
Page Up	Page up through list
Page Down	Page down through list
A - Z	Jump to first item in list that begins with the letter you entered


Principle Locations Menu from the Main Menu
Principal Locations Menu

There are five principal topics...

BODIES OF WATER - a listing of the world's bodies of water ranked by area (in square miles)

CITIES - a listing of the world's largest cities ranked by population (in millions)

ISLANDS - a listing of the world's largest islands ranked by area (in square miles)

MOUNTAINS - a listing of the world's highest mountains ranked by elevation (in feet)

RIVERS - a listing of the world's longest rivers ranked by length (in miles)

Choose one of the topics and you will get a list of the principals

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Principle Locations Pick List
Principal Locations Pick List

Here, you are presented with a list of the principal locations based on the topic you chose.  The left side shows the rank; the middle, the location; and the right, the size.  By selecting any of the locations, you are taken to that location on a detail map.  The location is identified by a pointer [ [image]], which disappears if you scroll the map.  The lists can be sorted by either topic or size, as selected using the buttons at the top of the window.

You can move around the map using the window scroll bars at the right and at the bottom.  When moving around the map, there will be times when the program pauses to load new portions of the map.  These maps are very large and only a small piece is loaded at any one time.  As new pieces are loaded from the CD-ROM, the program pauses.  This pause is primarily based on the speed of your CD-ROM drive; the faster the drive, the shorter the pause.  To reduce the number of pauses, you can click on and grab the scroll bar boxes (small, square boxes in between the arrows) and move them to another location.  Thus, instead of moving small distances with the arrows, you are moving large distances in one motion.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Principle Locations Screen
Principal Locations Screen

Once the detailed map is loaded, the principal location you have chosen is identified by a pointer [ [image]].

You can move around the map using the window scroll bars at the right and at the bottom.  When moving around the map, there will be times when the program pauses to load new portions of the map.  These maps are very large and only a small piece is loaded at any one time.  As new pieces are loaded from the CD-ROM, the program pauses.  This pause is primarily based on the speed of your CD-ROM drive; the faster the drive, the shorter the pause.  To reduce the number of pauses, you can click on and grab the scroll bar boxes (small, square boxes in between the arrows) and move them to another location.  Thus, instead of moving small distances with the arrows, you are moving large distances in one motion.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Questions & Answers
about common problems

The following is a collection of situations and their remedies -

  I have the MediaVision Upgrade Kit, and...

when I try to install the program, I get an error like Can't read drive X.....

I get an error like Can't find one or more components.....

  I start the program and then I get the error Video for Windows 1.1 Runtime cannot be found.....

  I play the video in the program, and...

it plays to slow or it plays without the audio and video in sync.....


The Problem:  Returns error to Windows/Application stating file(s) cannot be found; Displays a directory of the root of a CD when in a subdirectory; Sporadic errors when viewing files on the CD

The Solution:  You need to have version 3.02 of the Trantor/MediaVision CD-ROM driver for single and double-speed NEC drives, 3.12 for the triple-speed NEC drives.

The Provider of the Solution:  You need to contact MediaVision Tech Support and have the driver sent to you or download the driver from their BBS.
  MediaVision Tech Support:  800.638.2807
  MediaVision BBS:	510.770.0527  or
510.770.0968
  Filenames:	302.EXE for driver version 3.02 (SE archive)
312.EXE for driver version 3.12 (SE archive)


The Problem:  The program tried to initialize Video for Windows 1.1 when it started and did not find the necessary software needed to run the program.

The Solution:  You need to install the Video for Windows 1.1 Runtime. This can be found on the CD-ROM in the RUNTIME directory. From Program Manager, or your program shell, choose File, then Run and enter D:\RUNTIME\SETUP and press Ok. (this assumes D: is your CD-ROM drive letter; if not, replace it with your letter)

The Provider of the Solution:  AOMC on the program CD-ROM.


The requirements for video to run on a computer are numerous.  Just because you have a fast processor, like a 80486 class, doesn't mean you will have smooth video playback.  Video cards, and their drivers, play a big role in video playback.  We have tried to provide video that will play back smoothly on the broadest base of computers, but there will always be some computers which will be insufficiently configured to play video.  If you need more assistance, please read the VFW.WRI file in the WINVIDEO directory of your hard drive.  This is Microsoft's knowledgebase on common problems and their solutions.


Maps from the Main Menu
World Map Screen

This area of the program allows you to geographically locate a country by first choosing a region of the world and then a country within that region.  This is helpful if you would like to investigate a specific area of the world and the countries within it.

For example...

choose a region by pressing the button associated with it.

You will then be taken to the Continent Map screen.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


Continent Map
Continent Map Screen

After you choose a region of the world, a continent map of that region will appear.  From here you can move the mouse pointer over the countries to highlight them.  At the same time, the country's name will appear in the navigation bar.  This area of the bar is also a button at this time.  To select a country, highlight it and either press the left mouse button within that country, or press the country name button in the navigation bar.  Another way to highlight countries is to use the up and down arrows in the navigation bar to cycle through the countries in alphabetical order.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar


World Topics from the Main Menu
World Topics

This area of the program is where the movies or stories are located.  There are topics ranging from general world information to specifics, like how many automobiles and telephones there are in the world.

For example...

choose one of the movies/stories from the list on the left.

press the play button [ [image]] to start the movie/story.

press the pause button [ [image]] to pause the movie/story; the play button will continue the movie/story from where it was paused.

press the Start Movie Over button to start the movie/story from the beginning, again.

To see the script for the currently chosen movie/story, press the Show Movie's Script button and it will be displayed in the movie/story list window.  To return to the movie/story list, press the Show Movie List button.

Use the up and down arrows to scroll the movie/story list or movie/story script.

For help with Printing and navigating, see...Navigation Bar