Support for
Common Plants of Eaton Canyon
and the San Gabriel Foothills

Field Guide on CD
Version: 1.1

How to Use this Field Guide on CD

How do I start this guide?

This guide is designed to start automatically after you put it into your CD-ROM drive. Please wait several seconds (up to 20) for it to start.

The first screen that you see will be the Nature-at-Hand Screen with the title and a photograph (Eaton Canyon with bridge). This screen uses your normal Internet browser (Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator or Safari). To get to the Field Guide on CD’s Home Page, click on the photograph.

You can also start it manually (Windows):

• Click on the "Start" button, typically, on the lower left corner of your screen.
• Select "Run" on the Start Menu that pops up.
• In the "Open:" input area of the Run box, type - "D:Start.htm" and press Enter.
• If your CD player is not your "D-drive", substitute the correct drive letter. For example, if your CD player is your "F-drive", type "F:\Start.htm" and press Enter.
• When the Nature-at-Hand screen appears, click on the photograph to begin the Field Guide on CD.

You can also start it manually (Mac):

• When the CD icon appears on your Desktop, double-click on it to see the CD files.
• Double-click on the "Start.htm" file.
• When the Nature-at-Hand screen appears, click on the photograph to begin the Field Guide on CD.
  
  or

• When the CD icon appears on your Desktop, double-click on it to see the CD files.
• Click and drag the :Start.htm" file to the browser icon on your desktop.
• When the Nature-at-Hand screen appears, click on the photograph to begin the Field Guide on CD.

You can also start it directly from your Internet browser:

• With your Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator started, place your cursor in the Address Bar.
• Type "file:D:\Start.htm" and press Enter.
• If your CD player is not your "D-drive", substitute the correct drive letter. For example, if your CD player is your "F-drive", type "file:F:\Start.htm" and press Enter.
• When the Nature-at-Hand screen appears, click on the photograph to begin the Field Guide on CD.

How do I use this guide?

This Field Guide on CD uses Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. Its operation feels like using the Internet.

The first page that you see after the Nature-at-Hand screen is the Home Page, with information how to get started and use the different features of this Field Guide on CD. You can return to the Home Page from anywhere in the Field Guide on CD by clicking on the Home button at the bottom-right corner of the screen.

How do I know what to do next?

All pages of this application have some information on what to do, such as "Click a photo for a larger view" or "Click here for more information". Some will have a line on the screen that says "Click here for Help on ...". When you click on that line, another window will open with specific instructions on how to use that portion of this Field Guide. In addition, you can always click on the "Help" button at the bottom of the screen to see this Help file.

How can I see the plants?

The plants are shown in Plant Pages, with one plant per page and multiple photographs per plant. You get to the Plant Pages by making a choice in the box in the upper-left corner of the screen. The list of your choice will appear in the lower-left panel. You can click on a plant name in that list to show the Plant Page for that plant.

How can I see the photographs better?

To enlarge a photograph and see better detail, click on the Photo.

When you want to return to the overall Plant Page, click on the enlarged photo.

You can view the other photographs of the same plant by clicking on the Next Photo or Prev Photo buttons.

You can move on to the next plant without returning to the plant page: just click on the Next button, or on another plant name.

How can I know what the photo shows?

When a Plant Page is shown, with its multiple photos, you can get information about what a photo contains by moving your mouse pointer over the photo and pausing for about one second. A little window will appear with the information. You can also click on the photo to see a larger view of the same photo. The same information will show on the Photo Page, in larger text.

Note that if you have another window, such as a plant description or Glossary window, on top of the main window the little pop-ups will not show.

How can I page through the plants as with a book?

Whenever plants are listed in the left side panel, clicking on the Next or Prev buttons will move you forward or backward through the list of plants, much like paging through a book, starting from the currently displayed plant.

What about displaying the plant pages automatically?

You can have the Field Guide on CD display the plants automatically, similar to a timed slide projector. When you have a plant list displayed on the screen, you just click on the Auto button at the bottom of the screen; it will rotate through the plants continuously, one every 8 seconds.

To stop Automatic Scrolling, you can click on the Stop button at the bottom of the screen, or click on any of your usual choices: a plant list in the START HERE box in the upper left corner; a plant name on the left side panel; or a photograph on a plant page.

You can change the length of time between plant pages. Please see "How do I change the Automatic Scrolling timer?".

How can I search for plants with specific characteristics?

On the START HERE box in the upper-left corner of the screen, click on Custom SEARCH. The Search screen contains a number of plant characteristics to search on: Flower Color, Flowering Month, Plant Community, Type, and Status. There also is a blank box to type in a (or portion of a) plant name. You can search one or more characteristics, and/or a name fragment. When you click on the Go Search button, the program will locate the plants that match ALL of the selected boxes, and list them in the left-hand panel of the screen. You can use that list the same as you would the other lists.

To select a characteristic, such as Plant Community, click the down-pointing arrow next to the box labeled "Select a Plant Community". A list of possible communities will drop down. Click on the one you want to search on. That community name will show in the box. To select additional characteristics, do the same for those characteristics.

To include a portion of a name, you can type a part of the name in the Name entry box. For example, if you enter "calif" in the Name box, you will get all plants that have "California", "Californica", "Californicus", and "Californicum" in the common or botanical names, unless you have restricted the search with other options.

The program will ignore any entry boxes that are blank. If they already have a value selected, you can remove them from consideration by making sure that they are set to blank. The program will also ignore the Name selections if that value is blank. You can make it blank by highlighting any letters in the box and pressing the backspace or delete keys.

If you want to modify your search parameters, you can click on the Custom Search option again. You will see the selection screen again with the prior values still there. Modify any that you wish and search again.

You can reset all search criteria (blank out all input boxes) by clicking on the Reset Values button.

How do I use the glossary?

The glossary contains brief definitions of the botanical terms and geographic locations used in this guide. There are two ways to access the glossary:

• Most terms are linked automatically to the glossary. These terms are underlined. A click on the underlined word opens a small glossary window right at the definition of the underlined word.
• There is a Glossary button at the bottom of the screen. You can click on this button to pop up a large glossary window.

In either window, you can then scroll up or down through the glossary to look at other terms. You can also move to a different part of the alphabet by typing a letter. The window will be positioned at the first word in the glossary beginning with that letter.

Should I close the text windows before moving to the next plant?

All text windows (More Information, Glossary, and Family Information) will close automatically when you click to get to another plant page.

You can move, enlarge, or close any of the text windows at any time.

May I print the photos or text?

Yes, you may print photographs or text from this guide, but only for your personal use and for education that you provide to others free of charge. The entire Field Guide on CD and its components are covered by copyright. All printed copies must include the copyright notice, © Copyright 2003 Gabi and Cliff McLean, or the notice at the bottom of the each individual photograph page. Information on how to print portions is included in "How do I print the photos?".

How to use Quiz Mode

You can begin Quiz Mode by clicking on the Quiz button at the bottom of the screen.

• On the left-hand panel, click on your choice of Quiz: Plant Pages with multiple photos on the page (easier), or Photo Pages with just one photo at a time (this is harder). The default is by Plant Page. You can change the level at any time during the Quiz.
• Click on the Q-Next button at the bottom of the screen. A randomly selected plant or photo page (depending on the option you selected) will appear. The name and family information will only show if you click on the field name (e.g. Common Name).
• If you would like a clue on the Plant Page, click on Plant Information to display additional hints (like flowering months and plant communities).
• To check yourself, click on any of the name fields. The correct name will appear.
• To see the plant description, click on the Click here for more information line.

If you are testing yourself on the individual photo pages, you can click on the photograph and it will take you to the plant page. You can continue your test with or without displaying the names.

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