Read Me for Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Nature, version 2.0Important: To improve video quality in this product we recommend that you set your display to use more than 256 colours. Refer to section 11 of this Read Me for more information.Due to the inclusion of a "Find Out More" panel in Nature 2.0, you will find it advantageous (particularly with larger monitors) to run the product at a screen resolution of 800 x 600 pixels. This will avoid the "Find Out More" panel partly obscuring the main Nature 2.0 window. Refer to section 9 of this Readme for more information. The product can, however, be run at 640 x 480 pixels, with the "Find Out More" panel positioned at whatever location on the screen you find most convenient. Refer to section 9 of this readme for instructions on how to change your screen resolution.Table of Contents1. Introduction2. Care of compact discs3. System requirements for running Nature 2.04. Installing Nature 2.05. Installing QuickTime¬ 2.56. Performance problems7. Running Nature 2.0 with low memory8. Sound problems9. Screen size and colour configuration10. Printing and copying11. Playing video12. Error messages13. Connecting to the Internet 1. IntroductionAbout Dorling KindersleyDK Multimedia titles are available wherever CD-ROMs are sold. New titles will be available on a regular basis. For more information, contact us at DK Multimedia, 9 Henrietta Street, London, WC2E 8PS.You may also visit us on the World Wide Web at:http://www.dk.comAbout this Read Me fileThis Read Me file is designed to address most of the problems you may encounter when using Eyewitness Encyclopedia of Nature 2.0 (Nature 2.0). Please take a look at the table of contents above to see if your particular problem is addressed.If you are still having problems or need further technical support on any Dorling Kindersley product, please call the Multimedia Helpline with details of the problem, including any error messages that were produced, and the full specification of your Macintosh. If possible, you should be beside your machine when you telephone.The numbers in London, United Kingdom are:Telephone: 0171 753 3488Fax: 0171 753 7575E-mail: DKMM@dkmm.co.ukThe numbers in New York, USA are:Telephone: 1-800 DKMM 575Fax: 212 213 5240E-mail: DKMM@phantom.com2. Care of Compact DiscsContrary to early reports, compact discs (CDs) are very easily damaged if treated carelessly. Such damage has a much greater effect on the digital data of a CD-ROM than on the information of a music CD. A dirty or damaged CD-ROM is quite likely to malfunction. With CD-ROM drives becoming ever faster and more disc-sensitive, this is an increasing problem.The surface of the disc can quickly gather dirt and is very easily scratched. To protect the data from scratches, fingerprints, dust particles, and smears, do not touch the readout side (unlabeled side) of the disc or place it face down on a hard surface.Should the CD become dirty, clean it with a soft cloth lightly moistened with CD cleaning fluid or ethyl alcohol, working from the centre to the edge. Do not use any type of solvent, such as benzine, lacquer thinner, anti-static agents, or LP record cleaners as they may damage the surface.Never leave the disc in a place subject to direct sunlight, high temperature, or high humidity. Recommended storage conditions are:Temperature: 10íC to 50íC (50íF to 122íF)Humidity: 10% to 80%3. System requirements for running Nature 2.0 The minimum computer specification required for running Nature 2.0 is as follows:An Apple Macintosh 68LC040 25MHz computer, or above, that supports a 640 x 480 pixel monitor (800 x 600 pixels preferred) displaying 256 colours, 12Mb RAM, a double-speed CD-ROM drive, and System 7.0 or later. The following Macintoshes have processors that fall below the base specification, and therefore are not supported:Ñ All Classic Macintosh SystemsÑ All Macintosh II SystemsÑ These Macintosh LC Systems: LC, LCII, LCIII, LCIII+, LC520, LC550, Macintosh TV.Ñ These Macintosh Performa Systems: 200, 250, 275, 400, 405, 410, 430, 450, 460, 466, 467, 520, 550, 560, 600, 600CDÑ These Portable Macintosh Systems: Macintosh Portable, 100 - 180c, Duo 210 - 270cNature 2.0 also requires a certain amount of free RAM in order to run. You can check the minimum amount of free RAM required by Nature 2.0 in the following way:1. Insert the Nature 2.0 CD into the CD-ROM drive.2. Double-click on the Nature 2.0 Folder, then click on the Nature 2.0 icon to highlight it.3. From the File menu, select Get Info.4. Under the memory requirements section, look for the figure in the Minimum Size box. This is the minimum amount of free RAM that Nature 2.0 needs in order to run.4. Installing Nature 2.0 Nature 2.0 may be run directly from the CD simply by double-clicking on the Nature 2.0 icon.For improved performance, you can install Nature 2.0 on your hard disk. To do this, drag the folder called Nature 2.0 Folder to your desktop or a folder on your hard disk.5. Installing QuickTime¬ 2.5Even if you already have QuickTime¬ installed on your system, you should run the QuickTime¬ Installer provided on the Nature 2.0 CD-ROM. The Installer automatically detects which, if any, of the system components on your Macintosh require updating.1. Locate the QuickTime¬ 2.5 Installer folder on the Nature 2.0 CD-ROM, then double-click to open it.2. Double-click on the Install QuickTime¬ icon, then follow the instructions that appear on your screen6. Performance problemsIf Nature 2.0 runs slowly or sound output is interrupted, try the following suggestions:Ñ Running Nature 2.0 with your Macintosh in Virtual Memory mode may cause sound break-up, particularly on older Macs. In Virtual Memory mode, your Macintosh uses a section of its hard drive to emulate RAM. Although this increases the free RAM available to Nature 2.0, access to that RAM can be slow. For best performance, use the Memory control panel to turn Virtual Memory off and then restart your Macintosh. However, if you are low on memory you may have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on. Ñ An old or slow CD-ROM drive will impair the program's performance. The only solution to this problem is to upgrade your CD-ROM drive.Ñ Running Nature 2.0 with less than the minimum amount of free RAM can cause problems (see section 3, System Requirements for running Nature 2.0.) You can check to see if there is any free RAM available by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu in the Finder. If there is free RAM available you can set the program to take advantage of this. First install the program on your hard disk (see section 4, Installing Nature 2.0), then select the Nature 2.0 icon and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to increase the amount of memory set aside for Nature 2.0. Allocating more memory to the program can improve performance.Ñ Go to the Options menu in Nature 2.0 and turn off Nature music, narrations and transitions.Ñ SCSI termination problems can affect your CD-ROM drive. Your CD-ROM drive must be either internally or externally terminated. Consult your Macintosh documentation for more information on SCSI termination.Some performance problems may be caused by low memory conditions. Try reading the following chapter on running Nature 2.0 with low memory.7. Running Nature 2.0 with low memoryNature 2.0 requires a minimum amount of free RAM to run. You can check how much free RAM is required by doing the following:1. Insert the Nature 2.0 CD into the CD-ROM drive.2. Double-click on the Nature 2.0 folder to open it, then click once to highlight the Nature 2.0 icon.3. From the File menu, select Get Info.4. Under the Memory Requirements section, look for the figure in the Minimum Size box. This is the minimum amount of free RAM that Nature 2.0 requires in order to run.You can then check how much free RAM is available by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu in the Finder. To free up additional RAM, try the following:Ñ Make sure you have only one application running at a time.Ñ If you still have less than the minimum amount of free RAM, you can allocate some hard disk space to work as Virtual Memory. You can set your Macintosh to use Virtual Memory by using the Memory control panel, found in the Control Panels folder within your System folder, then restart your Macintosh. However, using Virtual Memory may slow your Macintosh's access time to RAM causing sound and video break-up, so only switch it on if it is really necessary.Ñ You may be able to reduce the amount of memory used by your system software by removing unused Apple menu items, fonts, extensions, sounds, etc. from your system folder. These items can occupy considerable amounts of memory and their removal may allow Nature 2.0 enough RAM to run efficiently. Consult your Macintosh documentation for more information on how to remove these items. Ñ If your Macintosh is set to more than 256 colours you can reduce the amount of memory Nature 2.0 uses by setting the monitor control panel to 256 colours. To do this, select Control Panels from the Apple menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor you should choose 256 colours.Ñ Nature 2.0 can be set to run in less than the recommended amount of RAM. To do this, first install the program to your hard disk (see section 4, Installing Nature 2.0.) Select the Nature 2.0 icon and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to decrease the amount of minimum and preferred memory set aside for Nature 2.0. Allocating less memory to the program may allow the program to run, but will also affect the program's performance, and may cause the program to crash.Ñ Do not set the preferred memory size to more than or equal to the amount of free RAM on your system as this may cause problems. If Nature 2.0 crashes, or freezes up, the most likely cause is a problem with the disc. You should try the following solutions:1. If you are stuck in the product and cannot exit, press OPTION (Alt) + COMMAND (APPLE) + ESC to force Nature 2.0 to shut down. Do this only if the application has truly crashed; we do not recommend you try this with other applications.2. You should try cleaning the disc before trying to run Nature 2.0 again.3. If this does not work, use the Monitors control panel to reduce the amount of colours used by your monitor to 256 colours.4. If you are still having problems with crashes and freezes, from the Apple menu choose Control Panels, then Memory. In the Memory control panel, make sure that the Modern Memory Manager is set to Off (if this is present on your machine). DO NOT click Use Defaults. Now restart your computer and try to run Nature 2.0 again.8. Sound problemsIf Nature 2.0 produces no sound at all, check the following points:Ñ Use the Sound control panel to check that the sound volume level on your machine is turned up.Ñ If you have external speakers, check that they are on and that their volume control is turned up.Ñ If you wish to use either the internal or external speakers, make sure that you have not left headphones plugged in.If Nature 2.0 produces interrupted or distorted sound, check the following points:Ñ If the sound volume level in the Sound control panel is set at maximum volume, it may cause sound to distort. The same problem may occur with external speakers set at maximum volume. Experiment with different volume levels until you find a comfortable sound level.Ñ Running your Macintosh in Virtual Memory mode may cause sound break-up. In Virtual Memory mode your Macintosh uses a section of its hard drive as RAM. Although this increases the free RAM available to Nature 2.0, access to sounds stored in that RAM can be slow. For best performance, use the Memory control panel to turn Virtual Memory off, and then restart your Macintosh. However, users who are low on memory may have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on. Ñ The built-in speakers supplied with Macintosh computers vary in quality depending on the age and model of the machine. A poor quality speaker may cause distorted sound, especially at high volume levels.Ñ Nature 2.0 requires the Macintosh to have some spare memory available to generate the sounds. For this reason, do not allocate quite all the available memory to Nature 2.0 when you start it up. See section 7, on Running Nature 2.0 with low memory for more details on how to set the memory allocation.9. Screen size and colour configurationNature 2.0 will run on any colour monitor with a resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, or more, and that supports 256 colours or more. The program will work on a greyscale monitor, but is not designed to work in black and white.Nature 2.0 is not designed to run on multiple monitors. If you have such a setup, the program will run on your primary monitor only.Setting your display to use more than 256 colours will improve the quality of videos in Nature 2.0 (if your computer is capable of this.) Select Control Panels from the Apple Menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor, you should choose Thousands. If performance is adversely affected we suggest that you revert to 256 colours.Most DK Multimedia products have been designed to look their best with a screen resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, which results in the product's application window completely filling the screen. With Nature 2.0, however, you will find that at a screen resolution of 640 x 480 pixels, the Nature 2.0 screen will be partly obscured by the product's "Find Out More" panel. If your monitor and display adapter support a screen resolution of higher than 640 x 480 (such as 832 x 624), we recommend that you use the higher resolution for running the product, particularly if you have a large monitor. The higher resolution results in a smaller Nature 2.0 screen, but allows the "Find Out More" panel to be positioned to the side of the main window.10. Printing and copyingScreens in Nature 2.0 are stored and displayed as colour pictures. They are optimised for screen rather than print reproduction. Screen images can be printed, however, and will be of the same quality as a picture made with a screen-capture function.Black and white prints will be of poor quality. If you have a laser printer, better quality images will be achieved by using the colour/greyscale option.Both Print and Copy functions may be affected by low memory. Refer to section 7, Running Nature 2.0 with low memory.11. Playing VideoIf Nature 2.0 fails to play any video at all, the most likely reason is that the disc is dirty or damaged. You should try cleaning the disc (refer to section 2, Care of Compact Discs). If Nature 2.0 still fails to play any video at all, it may be that QuickTime¬ is not installed on your system, or that the wrong version of QuickTime¬ is installed. (QuickTime¬ is normally installed as part of System 7.5 or later, but even if your Macintosh is running System 7.5 or later, there is no guarantee that QuickTime¬ is available ╤ someone may have removed it from your Macintosh system.) If you suspect that QuickTime¬ is not installed see section 5, Installing QuickTime¬ 2.5.If the videos played in Nature 2.0 are slow or jumpy this may be due to Virtual Memory being turned "on" on your Macintosh. Use the Memory control panel to make sure that Virtual Memory is switched off, then restart your Macintosh. Users who are low on memory may have no choice but to leave Virtual Memory switched on. Networking can also cause a delay in access to video files. If your Macintosh is connected to a network, try disconnecting it by selecting Control Panels, then AppleTalk. From the AppleTalk control panel, choose Options, and set AppleTalk to Inactive. For more information, refer to your Macintosh documentation.If your Macintosh supports more than 256 colours you can improve the quality of videos in Nature 2.0 by setting the monitor control panel to thousands. To do this, select Control Panels from the Apple menu, and then select Monitors. From the list of settings for your selected monitor you should choose Thousands. If performance is adversely affected we suggest that you revert to 256 colours.12. Error MessagesIf the error message "Unable to increase the system memory allocation" is displayed whilst running Nature 2.0, or if the error message "The application Nature 2.0 could not be opened because QuickTimeLib could not be found" is displayed whilst starting Nature 2.0 then you should try the following:If you are a PowerPC user you should check that the QuickTime¬ Powerplug extension is turned on. Do this by selecting Control Panels from the Chooser and then selecting Extensions Manager. Make sure that the QuickTime¬ Powerplug extension is switched on and then restart your Macintosh and try to run Nature 2.0 again.If this does not work, or if you are not a PowerPC user, you should:Ñ Try turning on Virtual Memory from the Memory control panel. Restart your Macintosh and try to run Nature 2.0 again. Ñ If this does not work, copy the Nature 2.0 Folder onto your hard disk.Ñ Whilst no programs are running, find out the amount of free memory by opening the About This Macintosh dialog box from the Apple menu, and noting down the "Largest Unused Block"Set the preferred memory size of Nature 2.0 to the value of the Largest Unused Block minus 500K. To do this, select the Nature 2.0 icon on your hard disk, and choose Get Info from the File menu in the Finder. You can then use the Get Info dialog box to decrease the amount of preferred memory.This will allow the System Software to expand when it needs to.13. Connecting to the Internet Please note: If you would normally pay telephone charges to connect to your Internet Service Provider, or for the time that you use the Internet, these charges will continue to apply while you are using the Online feature in this product. You should always ask permission from the person who will pay the bill before you use the Online feature described below.If you are able to connect to the Internet from your computer, and if you have a Web Browser installed, then you can take advantage of a feature of Nature 2.0 that lets you connect to the Science Online Web site, and also lets you register your product online and access DK's Web site. If you do not have Internet access, or a Web browser, then you will NOT be able to make use of this feature.Warning: If you have already connected to the Internet and try to connect again, then a second, concurrent browser session will be started. Each subsequent attempt to connect to the Internet will start a new, concurrent browser session ╤ this is a feature of browsers. Running multiple sessions in this way may cause your computer to run out of memory and may result in your computer crashing. Therefore, we recommend that you run only one browser session at a time.Connecting to Science Online:1. Click on the online icon (globe) on the right-hand side of the screen.2. If an installed Web browser is detected on your machine you will see a dialog box listing the detected Web browsers, and with the following message:"You need to have a Web browser installed to connect to the Internet. Select a browser from the pop-up menu"
3. If you select a Web browser from the list, then you should be automatically connected to the appropriate Web page. Your Web browser name will be stored so that subsequent connections will happen automatically. If you select 'Cancel', or if an installed Web browser was not detected on your machine, you will see a dialog box with the following message:"To use the Online features in this title, you need to have a Web browser installed on your computer. If you do have a Web browser, click on 'Locate' to find it.Otherwise, click on 'Cancel' and install a browser first.See 'Connecting to the Internet' in the Read Me file for more information."4. If you're thinking of clicking 'Cancel' because you're not sure where your Web browser is located, you can try looking for it as described next:a) Select 'Find' from the 'File' drop-down menu in the Finder.b) In the 'Find Items' box make sure that your Macintosh's hard disk is selected.c) The next two boxes should say 'name' and 'contains', respectively. In the blank box you should type 'netscape navigator' if your browser is Netscape¬ Navigator, or whatever the name of your Web browser application happens to be.d) Click the 'Find' button.e) The location of your browser will be displayed if it is found.5. If you still don't know where to locate your browser, but know that you have a working Internet connection, you should click 'Cancel, then exit Nature 2.0 and connect to the Internet in your usual way. When you restart Nature 2.0 and try to go online again, you will be presented with a dialog (shown in step 7), stating that this product's Internet address has been copied to the clipboard. If you choose 'Locate' you will see a 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box. You should locate and select the Web browser application that you wish to use, for example, Netscape¬ Navigator or Microsoft¿Internet Explorer¬.6. From the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box, if you choose 'Cancel', you will see a dialog box with the following message:"The Internet Web site address for this product has been copied to the clipboard.To use this address, connect to the Internet and run your Web browser software, then paste the Web site address into your browser's Internet address field .If you would prefer to run your Web browser software and locate this Web site automatically, please select the Nature 2.0 'Online Setup' button."If you wish you can then start your Internet connection in your usual way and paste the Science Online Internet address into your browser. In Online Setup you can configure Nature 2.0 to automatically open your Web browser and take you to the appropriate Web page when you click the online button in the future. From the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box, if you choose 'Open' you will see a dialog box with the following message:"You have selected [name of your selection] as your Web browser.If this does not work, use the Nature 2.0 'Online Setup' button to change the setting."7. If you choose the 'Back' option you will be returned to the 'Please locate your Web browser' dialog box. If you choose the 'Finish' option you should be connected to the Science Online Web page. The name of your Web browser selection will be stored for future sessions.If your connection is not successful check the following:Ñ That you can connect to the Internet and use your browser in the normal way. If you cannot do this, then there is a problem with your Internet connection. For example, make sure that your modem is correctly connected and switched on.Ñ Try starting your Internet connection and Web browser first, and then start up Nature 2.0 and try Online button.If you select the wrong application, or simply decide that you'd rather use a different browser from the one you selected, then you can select a different browser by clicking the Nature 2.0 'Online Setup' button. There are two of these buttons: one in 'Options' located on the left-hand side of the screen inside Nature 2.0, and one on the main menu as you start Nature 2.0.If your Macintosh is low on memory the Nature 2.0 program will be closed when your Web browser starts up. If this happens you will need to restart Nature 2.0 once you have finished using the Internet.Copyright ⌐ 1997, Dorling Kindersley.7th May 1997
