Support for
Plants of the San Gabriel Mountains:
Foothills and Canyons

Interpretive Guide on CD
Versions: 1.0 and 2.0

Troubleshooting Information

• The application doesn't start automatically.
• When I insert the CD, I get a small window titled "AutoPlay".
• The application starts, but is unformatted or I get an error message.
• I have a tabbed browser and the glossary and plant descriptions open in separate tabs.
• Things don't seem to fit on the screen properly.
• The photos have funny colors.
• When I click on the Speaker icon, I don’t hear anything or I get an error message.
• Nothing happens when I click on Help or Glossary or on an underlined word.
• When I go to the Internet, I don't have toolbars at the top.
• When I close this application, some of its windows stay open.
• The CD used to work, but now it doesn't.
• I have a different problem. What can I do?

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The application doesn't start automatically.

On a Windows PC, if this interpretive guide does not start automatically, it may be that your operating system has the Autostart function disabled. You can either enable the function or use an alternate method to start it. On a Mac, it cannot start automatically, because of security restrictions in the operating system. Please see "How do I start this interpretive guide".

When I insert the CD, I get a small window titled "AutoPlay".

This can occur on computers running Windows 7. The window says "DVD RW Drive (D:) SGFPlants2" at the top and a highlighted option "Run ShelExec.exe. Publisher not specified" in the middle. This is a new level of protection introduced in Windows 7. ShelExec.exe is the small program from the CD that causes the application to start automatically, when it is allowed. You can press Enter or click on "Run ShelExec.exe" to start the application. If you wish, you can click on the check box near the top that says "Always do this for software and games:". From then on, you will not get this AutoPlay window.

The application starts, but is unformatted or I get an error message.

Some versions of Microsoft's Internet Explorer, by default, have restricted browser-based applications, such as this interpretive guide, that run directly from the CD-ROM drive. For example, you may see a message window that says "Active content can harm your computer or disclose personal information. Are you sure that you want to allow CDs to run acive content on your computer?". Or you may get a bar at the top of the browser window that say "To help protect your security, Internet Explorer has restriced this webpage from running scripts or ActiveX controls that could access your computer. Click here for options...". The screen will probably have a white background and some unformatted text, but no images. Rest assured that this interpretive guide will not store any information onto your computer or read anything from it. A minor change will allow the interpretive guide to operate properly. The approach will depend on the details of your computer system.

• If the error message asks "Are you sure that you want to allow CDs to run active content on your computer?", you can just click on the YES box. If there is also a box that says "In the future, do not show this message.", click there before you click on YES. This interpretive guide should run correctly from then on.

• With Internet Explorer version 7, you may get a message at the top of the screen that says "Intranet settings are now turned off by default. Intranet settings are less secure than Internet settings. Click for options...". Click on the message bar and select the option that says "Enable Intranet Settings". This interpretive guide should run properly.

• With Internet Explorer, if the message says "Active content can harm your computer or disclose personal information. Are you sure that you want to allow CDs to run acive content on your computer?", click on the word "Tools" at the very top of the screen. In the drop-down menu that appears, click on "Internet Options...". A separate Internet Options window will open. You will see a number of tabs across the top of the window (like file tabs in a filing cabinet). Click on the one that says "Advanced". You will see a list of options, some checked and others unchecked. Scroll down until you see the section labeled "Security". Near the top of that section, there will be an option that says "Allow active content from CDs to run on My Computer". Click in that box to place a check mark there and then click "OK". Close the browser and start this interpretive guide again.

When the application starts and I click to use it, I get the message "The webpage is not responding".

We have seen that, sometimes with Internet Explorer on a laptop, you will see a narrow window at the bottom of the screen that says "The webpage is not responding" and has a button titled "Recover webpage". We have not figured out why this happens. Our experience is that, after a minute or so, the message goes away and Internet Explorer functions normally again. If you have this problem, you may want to move the entire application to your computer's hard drive. Because the hard drive is much faster than the CD drive, this will also improve the application's speed. To move the application to the hard drive, please see "Can I run this guide from my hard drive, instead of the CD?".

I have a tabbed browser and the glossary and plant descriptions open in separate tabs.

Some new browsers, such as Safari, Firefox, and Internet Explorer version 7, are "tabbed browsers", allowing multiple web pages to be opened in the same copy of the browser. You can select the page that you want to interact with by clicking on the appropriate tab at the top of the screen. In some cases, the various windows of this interpretive guide may be opened as separate tabs, instead of separate windows. The browser will probably have an option to open them in separate windows.

For example, this interpretive guides works well with Internet Explorer version 7, by default. However, browser options can force pop-ups into new tabs. If this is the case, on the initial screen of this application, select "Tools" at the top of the screen and click on "Internet Options" in the pull-down list. Then in the "Tabs" section of the "General" tab, click on "Settings". Where it says "When a pop-up is encountered:", select either "Let Internet Explorer decide how pop-ups should open" or "Always open pop-ups in a new window". Click Okay to close the options windows, then close the browser and restart this interpretive guide.

Things don't seem to fit on the screen properly.

If the text and photographs seem too large to fit in the four sections of the screen, you may be running with a screen resolution that is less than 800 x 600 pixels. Most PC monitors sold in the last several years are capable of this resolution or higher. You can easily reset the resolution. Please see "How do I change my screen resolution?".

If, on the other hand, some parts of the screen have ample space, but others don't, you may have accidentally moved the border between the sections. You can reset the screen by just clicking on the Home button.

The photos have funny colors.

If the photographs have funny-looking colors and patterns, your color settings may be set to only 256 colors. Nearly all PC monitors are capable of displaying 16 million colors or more. This interpretive guide requires the higher color setting to display the photographs properly. You can easily reset your monitor's colors setting. Please see "How do I change my monitor's color settings?".

When I click on the Speaker icon, I don’t hear anything or I get an error message.

There are a few possible causes of this problem.

• The sound on your computer may be muted or turned down too low, or speakers may be turned off or disconnected. If one of these possibilities is true, you will not hear other sounds, such as from a music player or Internet websites with sounds, either.

• If your browser is not Internet Explorer, you may not be connected to the Internet. Ensure that your broadband service (DSL or cable Internet service, for example) is connected and working. If you have dial-up Internet service, you can start that service and keep it connected while you use this interpretive guide.

• If your browser is not Internet Explorer, you need to have the Adobe Flash Player associated with your browser. The Flash Player is often preinstalled on many browsers. If it is not, you may get a messages that says "You have chosen to open a file, which is a SWF file. What should Firefox do with this file?" or "Windows cannot open this file: ....SWF. To open this file, Windows needs to know what program created it." You can download and install it the Adobe Flash Player free by going to the Adobe website, www.adobe.com.

Nothing happens when I click on Help or Glossary or on an underlined word.

If nothing happens or you get an error message when you click on the Help button or a Glossary link, your browser may have a option turned on to block pop-up windows. To function properly, this interpretive guide needs the browser to permit pop-up windows, at least while you are using the guide.

When I go to the Internet, I don't have toolbars at the top.

To maximize space on the screen for photographs, this interpretive guide turns off browser toolbars for its browser window. If you use the same window for Internet access, you will not have access to the browser’s Back button or other controls. This can happen if you click on an Internet link in an e-mail, for example. To avoid the problem, make sure that you start a standard browser window before clicking on the Internet link. This will not be a problem when you click on an Internet link from within this interpretive guide. You can use the Nature at Hand window of this interpretive guide for Internet access; it is not needed for this application after it is first started.

When I close this application, some of its windows stay open.

We have made an effort to make all windows of this application close nicely. However, there are many different browsers (e.g., Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari) and different versions of those browsers. They do not all operate the same way. In some cases, some windows may remain open after this application closes. To close them, just click on the "X" box in the upper-right corner (Windows) or the red Close button in the upper-left corner (Mac).

The CD used to work, but now it doesn't.

To help diagnose the problem, if possible, do one or both of the following:

• Try the CD on a different computer. If it works, then the problem is with the hardware or system software of the computer where it failed. If the CD doesn't work there, the problem is probably with this CD.
• Try a different CD on your computer. If it works, the problem is probably with this CD. If it doesn't work, the problem is with the CD drive or your system software.

If the problem is with this CD, look at the back side of the CD and see if there is a scratch, which can prevent the drive from reading it. If it is scratched, the only solution is to replace the CD. Please contact us for assistance.

Diagnosing problems with your CD drive or system software is beyond the scope of this Help file and will probably need to be taken up with the technical support people of your hardware or software provider. If you contact us, we will attempt to help you determine further where the problem is.

I have a different problem. What can I do?

If you have a problem that is not covered here, or the help given here does not resolve your problem, please contact us directly, for further assistance. Please see "Contact Us".

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