Contents
TestDrive 5.0 Help Contents

The following TestDrive 5.0 Help Topics are available:

Getting Around in the TestDrive 5.0 CD

Buying Products

Trying Products

Free Products

Technical Support

Product Buttons

About TestDrive

For Help on using Help, Press F1


 About TestDrive

Located in California's "Silicon Valley", TestDrive Corporation has brought together the diverse skills and experience of many talented individuals. It is our desire to provide every computer user, whether novice or professional, innovative products combining the latest computer technology with the logical needs of consumers.

Every effort has been made by every staff member at TestDrive to make this CD-ROM useful and entertaining for you. We hope we have succeeded. If not, we're sure you'll let us know!

President and Chief Executive Officer:

Edward V. Lauing

The Development Team:

Software Architecture & Programming  -  Warren Stringer

Systems Design & Programming  -  George Rikker, Myvan Quoc

Art & Animation Director  -  Dave Kettmann

Graphic Artists - Oliver Woehrmann, Gabriel Garcia

Production Manager - Eric Wolf

Software Quality Assurance Manager  - Diana Real

Project Coordinator - Gary Gregg

MIS / Telecommunications Manager  -  Larry Keffer

Technical Support  - Dawn Seavey

Voice Talent - Stephanie Woehrmann, Eric Wolf

The Sales / Marketing Team:

Mike Conran  -  VP and General Manager

Keith Chreston  -  Chief Financial Officer

Ken Winters - Accounting Manager

Jay Adams  -  Distribution Sales

Where to reach us:

TestDrive Corporation

2933 Bunker Hill Lane  Suite 101

Santa Clara, CA  95054-1124

Phone:  408-496-0555

Fax:  408-496-6810

Visit our World Wide Web Site at Http://www.testdrive.com


Add To Cart

Add a product to your list of desired products by selecting one,  then clicking on Add To Cart at the bottom of the screen.  To see your list of products select Show Cart.


Bargain Basement Screen

The Bargain Basement Screen displays a list of products.  For each product, the reduced price is on the right of the product name and on the left is a button labeled Info.

You can purchase any of the products listed in the Bargain Basement by selecting the product and clicking on the Buy button.

Besides getting information on each of the listed products, you can access the Browse Screen, the Finder Screen, the Purchase Screen, Help, the Main Menu and the Exit.


Box Shots

The Box Shot is a digitized picture of the product box and can be viewed from the Browse Screen and the Info Screen.


Browse Screen

The Browse Screen offers an intuitive way of scanning through products contained on this CD.  The product boxes are initially displayed in alphabetical order by the product name.  You can use the Filter on the left to show only products from specific publishers or products belonging to certain categories.

From the Browse Screen you have access to the Finder Screen, the Purchase Screen, the Bargain Basement, the Main Menu, Help and Exit.


Buy Button

The Buy Button is located at the bottom of most screens.  After selecting a product, click on the Buy Button to go to the Purchase Screen.  You can also reach the Purchase Screen from any other screen in TestDrive.  From the Purchase Screen, you will have the option of clicking on a second Buy Button to purchase software.  If the product is Tryable, clicking on the Buy Button will generate a Product Identification Code.  At this time you can call an operator to place your order and the product will be Unlocked.  If the product is not a Try, the product will be mailed to you, but it cannot be Unlocked.


Buying Products

When you have selected a product you would like to purchase, click on the Buy Button at the bottom of the screen to go right to the Purchase Screen   or click on the Add To Cart   button to add the product to your Shopping Cart   for purchase later.

The Buy Button , Add to Cart Button    and Show Cart Button   will become available when a product is selected.


Checklists

Checklists are available from the Info Screen for those products which are Tryable.  Because the Tryable products do not include manuals, Checklists have been provided to get you started.  It is recommended that you read through the Checklist or print it out before exploring a Tryable product.


Counters

Those products which are Tryable are available for use on a limited basis.  The limitations on use are governed by Counters.  These may take the form of time limits or a predetermined number of tries.

From the Info Screen you will see a Product Button   on the left of the screen.  If this is a Try Me! Button you will also see an indication of the remaining Counters.  If this Counter is in the form of a time limit, the number of minutes remaining for that product will be displayed.  If the counter is in the form of a limited number of Trys, you will see the number of Trys remaining.

When you click on a Try Me! button the product will launch.  However, your counters will not decrement unless there is activity in the program.  For example, if you launch a Tryable product which has a time limit of twenty minutes, but only look at the initial screen without interacting with the program, when you go back to TestDrive, you will see you still have twenty minutes left on the product.

If you have no time nor trials remaining, you will not be able to enter the Tryable product again.


Demonstrations

Some publishers have provided demonstrations of their products.  These will show some of the characteristics of the products but will not be the full-featured versions.


Exit

The Exit button will allow you to exit TestDrive and return to Windows.


Facts

The Fact Sheet contains information on a selected product and is available from the Info Screen.  This sheet is particularly valuable because it lists system requirements and contact information for the publisher of the product.


Finder Screen

The Finder Screen is a convenient way of searching for a product by title.  You can use the Filter on the far left to search by Publisher or Category.  To the left of the product title you will see buttons labeled Try Me, Demo, Info, Video,  Magazine and Free. Click on one of these buttons to try a full-featured product, view a demonstration, get information on a product and install free software to your system.

From the Finder Screen you can access the Browse Screen, the Purchase Screen, the Bargain Basement, the Main Menu, Help and the Exit.  You can also Buy Products, Add Products to your Shopping Cart and Show Items in the Shopping Cart.


Free Products

To find the Free Products, go to the Browse Screen   and look for the boxes with Free written across the top.  You can also find the Free Products by going to the Finder Screen and looking along the left side of the screen for any button that says Free!

When you select a Free Product you will see the Information Screen.  From this screen you will have the option of clicking on the Install Button to install the Free Product to your system.


Getting Around in the TestDrive 5.0 CD

Getting around in the TestDrive 5.0 CD is easy.  Buttons for moving from one area to the next are located on every screen.  Then, depending on your screen location, you can click on Product Buttons to try products, get product information, see demos, or install free products.

For information on screen locations, see the following:

Main Menu Screen

Browse Screen

Finder Screen

Purchase Screen

Bargain Basement Screen


Help

Select the Help Button to view this Help File.


Information

All products have an Information Screen.  This screen will appear when any of the Product Buttons are selected.  If the Product Button says Try Me!, you will be able to go on to try the product or, in the case of the Demo Button, see a Demonstration.  However, if the Product Button says Info, you can get only information on the product.

In the center of the Information Screen you will see the name of the product and the price followed by a brief description and a photograph on the box.

On the left side of the Information Screen are buttons used to access Box Shots, Fact Sheets, Product Buttons, and a Go Back Button which can be used to return to the previous screen.  If the Product Button says Try Me!   there will also be a Checklist Button.

At the bottom of the Information Screen you will see a Print Button, Buy Button, Add To Cart Button, Show Cart Button and a Cart Total window which shows the total for all products in your Shopping Cart.  These buttons will be active, save for the Print Button which will become active when you view the Checklist or Fact Sheet.

From the Information Screen you can access the Browse Screen, Finder Screen, Purchase Screen, Main Menu Screen, Help, Exit or the Bargain Basement Screen.


Magazines

You can buy subscriptions to Magazines on the TestDrive 5.0 CD.  When you select this particular Product Button, you will get information on subscription costs and telephone numbers to call.


Main Menu Screen

The Main Menu will appear on your screen when you have clicked on the OK button to get started.  The Main Menu is also accessible from every other screen in TestDrive; just click on the Main Menu button in the upper right corner.  From the Main Menu there will be eight options:

At the bottom and on the right of this screen are four buttons, Sound, Register,  Help, and Exit.

The three numbered selections in this menu will take you to the Browse Screen, Finder Screen and Purchase Screen respectively.

In the lower left corner of this Main Menu Screen you will see a Bargain Basement Button.  Click on it to see special deals.


Print Button

Choose the Print Button to print out instructions or information contained in Checklists and Fact Sheets.


Product Buttons

There are six Product Buttons:

Try Me   Demo    Info

Video    Magazines    Free


Product ID

When you purchase a Tryable Product, you can have the product Unlocked for unlimited use.  When the Buy Button is selected the computer will generate a Product Identification Number.  This is a code which is given to the operator who will then give a counter-code which will unlock the product.

The Product Identification Number changes.  Every time you select Buy to generate a Product Identification Number, a new number will be generated.  Consequently, you will never see the same Unlock Code.  This means that you must be at your computer while talking with the operator to unlock a product and the same Unlock Code cannot be used to unlock a product on two different computer systems.


Purchase Screen

When you select a product and click on the Buy Button , you will go to the Purchase Screen.  The initial Purchase Screen will display your Shopping Cart and all of the products you have placed in the cart.  To the left of each item in your Shopping Cart you will see a Buy Button.  Press the Buy Button then call 1-800-788-8055 to order the selected product.

If the Buy Button next to the selected product includes a picture of a lock, the product may be Unlocked while on the phone with the operator.

From the Purchase Screen you can access the Browse Screen, the Finder Screen, the Bargain Basement, the Main Menu, Help and the Exit.


Register

The Register Button, found in The Main Menu Screen, will allow you to register yourself as a user of TestDrive.  If you skipped the User Registration screen when first launching TestDrive, you can click on the Register Button to register any time.


Remove From Cart

While viewing the Shopping Cart, select a product, then click on the  Remove From Cart Button to take it off the list.


Reset

Use the Reset Button to prepare your system for an installation of a product once it arrives in the mail.

When you Unlock a Product, its icon will be added to the TestDrive Program Group in Windows.  You will have unlimited access to that product by way of the Program Manager.  However, the product is still stored on the TestDrive CD.  To launch this product, you will have to place the CD in your drive.  When the product arrives in the mail, you will install it onto your system.  To do this you must first click on the Reset Button which will replace the Try Me! Product Button.


Search Dialog Box

Use the Search Dialog Box located in the Browse and Finder Screens, to search through the TestDrive 5.0 database using keywords to locate a specific product.  If you were looking for the product Telecards for example, and could not remeber the exact name of this product, you could enter the letters TEL and hit search.  Our search engine would then return a list of products that contain those letter combinations.  Its a fast an easy way to narrow down your product search.


Shopping Cart

The Shopping Cart is a list of all products you would like to purchase.  You can place new items in the Shopping Cart by selecting them, then clicking on Add To Cart.  You can remove items by selecting one from the Shopping Cart and clicking on Remove From Cart.  The Shopping Cart keeps a running total of all products selected.  This total is displayed at the bottom right of the Shopping Cart screen.

To return to the screen from which you accessed the Shopping Cart, simply click on the Hide Cart Button.

From the Shopping Cart Screen, you have the option of going to the Browse Screen, Finder Screen, Purchase Screen, Bargain Basement Screen, Help, Main Menu or Exit.


Show Cart

Clicking on Show Cart will display all the contents in the Shopping Cart.  From the Shopping Cart, click on Hide Cart to discontinue displaying the Shopping Cart.


Sounds

The Sound Button, accessible from The Main Menu Screen, will allow you to activate or deactivate the button sounds and the voice narration.


Technical Support

For help with ANY problem you may have with the TestDrive 5.0 CD, please call (408) 565-0660.

Technical Support is available from 8:30am to 5:30pm Pacific Time.

Any call placed during our regular hours should connect you directly with a live support person.  If you get a recorded message at that time, our staff is on other calls.  However, THEY WILL GET BACK TO YOU RIGHT AWAY if you leave a message.

If you cannot call during the regular hours, call anyway and leave a message for us to get back to you the next day.

IF YOU ARE NOT SURE YOU REALLY WANT TO CALL. . . Do not worry - our technical support staff is actually friendly and courteous.  No call is too simple or too small.  We're here to help.

Some things to try first:

If you are having trouble upon launching TestDrive you might want to try some of the following things:

Close all other applications:  By limiting the number of things running in the background, you decrease the chance that something will conflict in memory with TestDrive.  Try closing Screen Savers, Virus Checkers, Uninstall Programs, Fax Programs or anything else taking up memory resources, then launch or reinstall TestDrive.

Sometimes memory is not released when an application is closed. Free locked memory by closing down your system and rebooting.

If you do not hear any sound, check the MIDI Control Volume from your Program Manager.


The Filter

The Filter is used to show only the products in which you are interested.  The Filter menu consists of Product Title, Publisher, and Category.  This menu is found on the left side of the following screens: Browse, Finder, and Bargain Basement.

Select Product Title to display a list of products in alphabetical order, sorted by name.

Select Publisher then choose a publisher from the pull-down list.  Only those products produced by the selected publisher will be displayed.

Select Category then choose a category from the pull-down list.  Only those products belonging to the selected category will be displayed.


Try Button

The Try Button is one of six Product Buttons.  Selecting a Try Button will allow you to try a full featured product as if it were installed on your system.


Trying Products

When you see a Try Button next to any product, the full featured product may be tried a limited number of times or for a limited length of time.  Any product with a Try Button may also be unlocked over the phone for unlimited use when the product is purchased.

When you Try a product, it launches as if it had been installed on your hard drive.  Unlike a Demo, all the features of the software will be fully operational.  Because none of the products include manuals, use the Checklist to get a list of things to try.  The Checklists are intended to get you started using products and offer suggestions on things to do to appreciate some of their capabilities.

Not all products are Tryable, hence, not all products can be unlocked.


Unlocking Products

On TestDrive 5.0 there are many products which are Tryable.  The full featured products may be used and evaluated.  However, they can be used only a limited number times or for a limited length of time.  If the product is purchased, it will be available for unlimited use.

To unlock a product for unlimited use, add a Tryable product to your Shopping Cart then go to the Purchase Screen.  Click on the Buy Button   to purchase and unlock the product.  When the Buy Button is pressed, the computer will generate a Product Identification Number.  Call the toll free number at the top of the Purchase Screen to speak with an operator.  When you purchase the product the operator will give you an Unlock Code.  Enter this number into the Unlock field and select OK.  The product will be unlocked and available for unlimited use from the Program Manager in Windows.

When you purchase a Tryable product, the product will be unlocked and a packaged version will be mailed to you.  When the software arrives in the mail, you will prepare you system for its installation by Resetting the Tryable product to its former condition.  You can then install the packaged software without fear that it will conflict with the unlocked TestDrive program.


Video Presentations

Some products have short Video presentations which explain some of their features.  These products will have Video written across their Box Shots in the Browse Screen, and will have a button labeled Video in the Finder Screen.