FLOWER MASTER CD "READ ME"
(Version 1.0 -- 12.07.02)
CONTENTS OF THIS README FILE
1. What is the Flower Master CD?
2. Why should you register this CD?
3. What are the system requirements?
4. How do you get started?
5. How do you use the Online Help feature?
6. Why read the "How To" Information?
7. What is the Copyright Information for this CD?
8. How can you contact Instructional Design Associates?
1. WHAT IS THE FLOWER MASTER CD?
The Flower Master CD is a unique tool to help you select the most suitable plants
for your flower garden. It has two main modules: FLOWERS and ZONES.
You use the FLOWERS module to quickly access the Flower Master database containing photographs and important details for over two hundred flowers. You do this by performing either a "simple" search or a "filtered" search. To perform a SIMPLE search, you merely type the common name (or portion thereof) for a specific flower, and a list of results matching your request is displayed for you. To perform a FILTERED search, you specify one or more criteria. In this way, you can find those plants that meet very specific needs. For example, you might want to find all yellow annual flowers that bloom in spring and that are used in paths or walkways. Or, or you might want to search for all red and maroon flowers that are suitable for use in floral bouquets. As you become familiar with using the filtered search feature, you will be able to find matches for literally hundreds of specific needs.
You use the ZONES module to quickly determine: 1) the average minimum temperatures,
and 2) the average frost dates (last spring frost and first fall frost) for
specific areas near where you live. The United States Department of Agriculture
(USDA) has divided the country into several hardiness zones. The lower the zone
number, the colder the average annual minimum temperature for that zone. Remember,
however that the USDA Hardiness Map is a tool to be used only as a general guideline,
because temperatures can vary widely within the same geographical area due to
altitude and other factors such as exposure to wind and sun, and type of water
drainage. Your own back yard can very significantly in terms of hardiness, so
you will want to match flowers to those areas most suited to their preferred
environments.
2. WHY SHOULD YOU REGISTER THIS CD?
By registering your copy of the Flower Master CD, you become eligible for receiving
update and other useful information. To register your copy of the Flower Master
CD, you can either click on the "Register CD" button from the Autorun
screen when you first launch this CD; or click on the "Registration Form"
option from this CD's Main Menu Page.
3. WHAT ARE THE SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS?
To run this Flower Master CD, you need to have a browser installed (like Microsoft
Explorer or Netscape Navigator), a monitor with at least a 800x600 resolution,
and one of the following computer platforms with a CD-ROM drive:
-Microsoft Windows 95 or higher
-Macintosh OSX
-Other Linux and Java-enabled platforms
Based on your version of this CD, you may also need to use Apple's QuickTime(R)
plugin and Adobe's Acrobat Reader(R) plugin, for some additional multimedia
resources on this CD. Both plugins are free and should already be installed
on your computer. (If not, you are given links to their respective web addresses
so you can install them.)
4. HOW DO YOU GET STARTED?
To start using this CD, first install the software:
Windows Platforms: Insert the CD into your computer CD-ROM drive. On
most Windows platforms, the program will automatically launch after several
seconds. (Otherwise, open the "launcher.exe" file on this CD. The
Autorun screen appears. Click on the "Install" button and follow the
instructions.)
Mac-OSX Platforms: Click on the "launcher" (or "launcher.app")
file on the CD. The Autorun screen appears. Click on the "Install"
button and follow the instructions.
LINUX Platforms: Click on the "launcher.sh" file on the CD. The Autorun screen appears. Click on the "Install" button and follow the instructions.
Once installed, you can go to the CD's Main Menu to learn how to use this CD. To do this, click on the "Main Menu" button from the Autorun screen.
5. HOW DO YOU USE THE ONLINE HELP FEATURE?
The Flower Master software program has an ONLINE HELP feature which you can
access by pressing the green HELP button located towards the top left of the
screen. This will bring up a Help window that is separate from the Flower Master's
main windows. Once the HELP window is opened, you can search from an index of
topics, or for any word or phrase to find HELP files containing the exact text
for which you are searching.
6. WHY READ THE "HOW TO" USER INFORMATION?
From this CD's Main Menu Page, you will see several "How To" topics,
all of which can be printed out, such as:
-How to Install the Flower Master Software
-How to Use the Flowers Module
-How to Perform a Filter Search
-How to Use the Zones Module
7. WHAT IS THE COPYRIGHT INFORMATION FOR THIS CD?
The information on this CD is copyrighted and may not be copied or distributed
by any means for any purpose, without first obtaining expressed written permission
from the indicated copyright holders, including but not limited to Instructional
Design Associates, LLC, and others listed below. Contact Instructional Design
Associates, LLC regarding and questions of copyright or usage.
Copyright notices for resources used on this CD include:
-Images copyright (c) Dave's Garden, Inc., used with permission.
-This product includes Hypersonic SQL.
-This product may include certain reporting features by JasperReports: Copyright
(c) 2001-2002 Teodor Danciu (teodord@hotmail.com). All rights reserved.
-This product includes software developed by the Apache Software Foundation
(http://www.apache.org/).
-All other information, software, and resources: Copyright (c) 2001-2002 Instructional
Design Associates, LLC (fm@idea1.com). All rights reserved.
8. HOW CAN YOU CONTACT ACR WITH COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS?
-Visit our website at: http://www.acrllc.com
-E-mail us at: techsupport@acrllc.com
-Fax us at:(801)
229-1123
-Write to us at:
ACR
International, LLC
2255 Univ. Pkwy. Ste. 15 #227
Provo, UT 84604-7506
Thank you for selecting the FLOWER MASTER CD!