Q: Can I make slide shows for playback from CD-ROM ?
A: Yes. you can make slide shows for playback from CD-ROM. Simply create catalogs of the images you want to playback, and burn the catalog, along with the images (your artwork) and a copy of iView onto the CD-ROM. That's it. Distribute your CD's for everyone to enjoy.
NOTE: iView catalogs contain full pathnames, therefore the folder structure of your catalogs must be maintained for CDROM playback.
Q: How many images can be in a catalog ?
A: Right now, 8000 images can be browsed with iView. This may increase in the future.
Q: I have some EPS images that iView didn't read.
A: QuickTime doesn't support the EPS and TIFF formats.
iView will read them if you have Claris' XTND system installed (usually found in most Macs with a Claris program such as ClarisWorks, Filemaker) and you also have the EPS and TIFF translators installed. iView will also use any other graphic converter that is in the Claris:Translators folder.
With the XTND system you can view additional formats, without the need of updating the interface, and without MacLink conversion. Claris translators can be found on the Net. iView is therefore open-ended.
If the XTND system is not enabled (you can check this in the "About
iView" option) TIFF/EPS files (or folders that contain them) will not activate iView's drag and drop action. Also XTND can be enabled/disabled in the preferences.
Q: Sometimes when i reopen a catalog iView will display the thumbnail but not the full size image. Also there is a message in the top right corner that says the 'Image is not mounted!'. What does this mean?
A: iView does not keep the full image in its catalog file for good reason. Some images can be 80 megs or more in size and if iView saved all that info in the catalog then you could end up with a very big file with only a few images.
The way iView works is by keeping a path (the address or location) of a file and a thumbnail representation of the image in its database. It also keeps any comments and keywords you may add to the image but it does not save the whole file in the catalog. When you click on an image it goes out and reads the file located at that location to dislplay the image. If the original file is moved, deleted or offline (the hard disk or CD is not mounted) then iView can only display the thumbnail but not the image view. When iView does not find the file the message 'Image is not mounted!' appears at the top right.
Its simple to correct this. Just insert the missing CD, hard disk, floppy or move the missing file back to its original location. As
soon as the image is available again iView will display it.
Q: Where can I get the Claris XTND System?
A: Most Claris products, such as ClarisWorks, ship with and install the Claris XTND system. We include it with iView.
Q: Where can I get additional translators?
The translators that we've found to work well with iView are 'TIFF', 'EPSF, PFLT, 'Movie' and our own versions of 'StartupScreen' and 'Picture Clipping'. If you've got XTND you've probably already got the first 3 (watch out for buggy 'EPS' variations).
Q: How do I install XTND?
To activate the XTND system you need to have a folder called "Claris" in your System Folder. This folder should contain the file "Claris XTND System" and a folder called "Claris Translators" with all translators. If you are using a PowerPC system you should also have the file "XTND Power Enabler" in the Extensions folder (or in the iView folder).NOTE: "XTND Power Enabler" is not an extension. It is a code library and therefore does not cause any conflicts.
Q: iView pretty much dominates the CPU when cataloging a folder on a server - be it AppleShare or Netware. It seems better (I'm not sure if that's due to changes in iView, or the fact that I'm now running a System 8 seed version) but it still doesn't let me do any real work while iView is cataloging in the background.
A: Currently all files imported via the XTND system (EPS, TIFF, BMP, etc - see About dialog) have to be read entirely in order to get dimensions, depth, thumbnail, etc. This will be fixed as soon as these importers are incorporated in QuickTime, or become native within iView. QuickTime 3 expected this summer is expected to open more file formats and that will improve iView.
For the time being, if you have lots of these files,
a) check the "always create previews" in the preferences dialog
b) do a drop of the volumes just before you have a lunch break
c) rearrange and save images when you come back
Q: iView seems to be something I might use but cannot seem to get it to work. (I have placed it on my desk top and dragged and dropped Pagemaker Clip Art on it many times, no results. I can only assume that I am doing something wrong.
iView's application icon accepts any file/folder dropped. If it doesn't you need to rebuild your desktop (hold down: option-command when the machine starts up). Also iView's list window accepts dropped files of types registered by the installed QuickTime and XTND system. I assume that Pagemaker Clip Art contains EPS/TIFF files only, and you don't have the XTND system installed. Install XTND to read the EPS/TIFF files.
Q: When I try to print an image with a resolution of say 2048x1600 it prints full size and as a result I only get part of the image on the page. Is there a setting to make the image print to fit on the page?
A: Choose the "Page Preview" option from the file menu, to organise how you want images to be printed. Option "Stretch image to fit" will enlarge/reduce an image to fit the designated area. The "Print Preview" dialog will also let you choose the rows/columns, header and other info that will print in your image report. Note that the diagram shown in the dialog is indicative of the areas used, based on the current page setup and selected printer.
Q: When I need to transfer the images to video tape, I am unable to get the images to stay in focus. I engage 'make movie,' choosing highest compression from the right hand button menu, and 1 frame per second.
A: We're guessing that the movie you created has scaled down images. When creating a movie, iView picks the dimensions from the first image in your list. If that's a small image and scaling is enabled (see 'output' options in 'make movie' dialog) all other images will appear dithered. Use dimensions of the largest image, or disable scaling.
Q: Is iView scriptable?
A: Yes, iView 2.5i does support the 4 core apple events:
(a) open -- runs application
(b) open file -- opens a catalog,volume, or file
(c) print -- is there but does nothing
(d) quit -- quits
you therefore could run an apple script like:
tell application "iView 2.5i"
open file "HD500:My Catalog"
end tell
to open iView with a catalog file,
and then run another apple script like:
tell application "iView 2.5i"
open file "HD500:"
end tell
to scan the disk and add all files into "My Catalog"
of course all this is pretty basic, as iView will not save, or reset the filter box, as images are scanned in. maybe in the next version. also iView doesn't have a dictionary, therefore users can't see which apple events it supports.
We hope to add more apple events in future versions.