Ziptales Technical Support

If you are having trouble using the Ziptales website, please check that you comply with the specifications listed below. If you are still unable to access the site properly please have your ICT Technician check your system.

System Requirements The Ziptales website can be accessed by any computer with an Internet connection. You will need to be running Internet Explorer 6 (or above), 7 (or above), or Safari and have the latest version of Flash Player installed. Our recommended requirements are:

PC Macintosh Intel® Pentium® II 450MHz or faster PowerPC® G3 500MHz or faster processor (or equivalent) recommended processor RAM – a minimum of 128 Mb Intel Core™ Duo 1.83GHz or faster recommended processor Operating system – Windows 98, ME, RAM – a minimum of 128 Mb 2000, XP, Vista recommended Operating system – MAC OSXv10.1 or above recommended

For those running older operating systems, such as MAC OS9. Flash Player 7 is the most up to date version you can run. Suitable version browsers are Internet Explorer 5x, Mozilla 1x (http://www.mozilla.org/releases/mozilla1.0.2.html) or Netscape 7x (http://browser.netscape.com/releases) and possibly Firefox (http://support.mozilla.com/en-US/kb/Installing+Firefox+on+Mac).

Connectivity While Ziptales can be accessed on any connection, a connection speed of 56kpbs or higher is recommended. Ideally Ziptales is designed for a broadband connection, since it uses ‘high end’ images and voice files.

Web browsers Ziptales has been developed so that you can view it in the latest versions of Safari (http://www.apple.com/safari/download), Mozilla Firefox (http://www.mozilla-europe.org/en/firefox/), Google Chrome (http://www.google.com/chrome) or Internet Explorer (not IE for Mac unless you are using OS9). There are known issues between IE7 and Flash Player so we do recommend using a different browser. However if you wish to keep using IE, possible fixes are at the end of this document.

Flash The latest version of Flash Player is required to use the site. If you do not have it installed on your computer it can be downloaded free. Go to www.adobe.com. To check what version of Flash Player you have installed, go to: http://www.adobe.com/products/flash/about/. To see the system requirements for Flash Player go to: http://www.adobe.com/products/flashplayer/productinfo/systemreqs

Caching If the factors above have been checked, and newer versions of the software installed as part of this troubleshooting exercise, we ask you to CLEAR THE COMPUTER'S 'CACHE' MEMORY! This is to remove error messages and conflicts that have been stored there (which may otherwise continue to interfere with smooth running of Ziptales. To clear cache, open INTERNET EXPLORER in any website other than Ziptales, choose TOOLS, then INTERNET OPTIONS, and then clear both COOKIES and INTERNET FILES. Other browsers have similar tools for clearing cache. This effectively means that you will now be opening Ziptales as if for the very first time.

There can be some persistent files that aren’t clearing through the caching procedure. In this case, clear the cache and then click on the following link http://www.ziptales.com/swf/newhome.swf this should force your browser to load the content as if for the first time. There should be no more problems.

Server Caching To minimise downloads, and for faster access to the site, we recommend that the schools proxy server be configured to cache Ziptales. The file types that are used on the site beside standard HTML and PHP are, swf, xml, res, mp3 and flv. Depending on your system and how it is set up you may need to set up mime types for these files and “force” caching of file types other than HTML.

Log in problems If you are having problems logging in try the following: o First check that you do not accidentally have Caps Lock on, as the logins are case sensitive. o Are you using your current username and password – they are changed every 12 months o Make sure you are going to www.ziptales.com and not at one of our international sites o Check the time and date setting on your computer. If the time is more than 3 hours ahead of the actual time your session cookie will expire immediately thus ending your login session. This means you will immediately be brought back to the login screen without any error message.

If you have checked the above, but are still having problems, try the following:

Go to Google (or another website) and clear both COOKIES and INTERNET FILES, then go to: http://www.ziptales.com/cookies/newlogin.swf

Type in your Username and deliberately misspell it. When you click login, a red box should appear saying "username incorrect". If it does, this means, the database is being correctly accessed.

Next use the correct the Username and make a deliberate mistake in the password. Another red box should appear saying "password incorrect".

Last use the correct Username and Password and click login. It should give you a 404 page not found error.

Cookies In order for you to be able to log in successfully cookies must be accepted by your browser.

In Internet Explorer, go to Tools > Internet Options. This will open a small window with various tabs at the top.

First click on the Privacy tab and see what setting you have the slider set on. We suggest 'Medium' or 'Medium High'. Then click on the 'Sites' button. This will open another little pop-up window. In the section 'Managed websites' see if ziptales.com is on the list, and if the setting says 'Always allow' or 'Always block'. If it is in there with 'Always block' then click on the ziptales.com listing and click the remove button. If it's in there and says 'Always allow' that's fine. If it's not in there at all then type the address www.ziptales.com into the 'Address of website' box and click 'Allow. Then click OK to close that window.

Next, in the Privacy tab, click Advanced to see if Internal and Third Party cookies are accepted. They need to be. Unless the ‘Override automatic cookie handling’ box is checked these options will be greyed out.

Next click on the Security tab. Then click on the 'Trusted sites' icon. Click on the 'Sites' button, this will bring up a little pop up window. Type the http://www.ziptales.com into the 'Add this website to the zone' box and click 'Add'. Then click 'Close'.

When you next try to login, check that cookies are now being accepted, by going to Tools > Internet Options > General tab. In the 'Temporary Internet Files' part (the same spot where you delete cookies and internet files) and click on the 'Setting' button. This will open a little pop up window, and click on the 'View files' button. This will open a new window, with a list (possibly quite long) of all temporary internet files. You can tell which ones are cookies because in the Internet Address column it will start with 'Cookie:". The Ziptales ones, if they are there, would probably be near the bottom of the page. The names should be 'detect/' and the other one will be called something like 'Cookie:[email protected]/'.

Sound If you cannot hear the voice overs for the stories, please ensure that sound is turned on in the grey pop out menu bar on the left of the Ziptales page and that the speakers are turned on and sound is enabled on your system. The voice overs for the stories in the Main Library are MP3 files and some web filtering software can block MP3s from being downloaded – you will need to see your technician about this.

PDF files — viewing and printing PDF files can be viewed, saved and printed but not altered. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader installed to read these files. We recommend using the latest version. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your computer it can be downloaded from the Adobe website (www.adobe.com).

Problems with viewing and printing PDFs You might encounter a problem when you try to open a PDF file online through your Web browser. For example, when you click on a link to a PDF file, it doesn’t open, and all you see is a red “X” in the browser window or a placeholder icon.

There are a several ways to solve this problem. The first is a quick workaround: Save the PDF file to your hard drive (right-click the file link, choose Save Target As, select a location in the Save As dialog box, and click Save) and then try opening it through Windows Explorer.

Another option is to check Reader’s settings to make sure it can display a PDF file in your browser. If this setting is enabled, the PDF will open in your browser window and you won’t even see Reader.

To enable this setting in Reader, open the Edit menu and choose Preferences. Next, select either Options or Internet (the two options will be different depending on your version of Reader). Make sure the Display PDF In Browser option is selected. Close Reader and try to open the PDF file again.

At the same time, trying to display a PDF file through your browser could be the problem. To determine if this is the case, open Reader, uncheck the Display PDF In Browser option mentioned above, close Reader, and try to view the PDF file this way. This is a good option if, for instance, the PDF file you’re trying to view was created with a security feature that an older version of Reader can’t handle. Viewing the PDF file through Reader instead of your browser may solve the problem.

If you are using Internet Explorer, problems could be in your IE security settings. If you are running Windows XP Service Pack 2, you can open Internet Explorer and select Manage Add-ons from the Tools menu. From the Show drop-down menu, choose Add-ons That Have Been Used By Internet Explorer. You should see Adobe Acrobat Control (listed as pdf.ocx in the File column). Make sure this add-on is Enabled in the Status column. If it’s Disabled, highlight the Adobe Acrobat Control entry, select the Enable radio button, and click OK.

Update Acrobat Reader Older versions of Reader usually can read PDF files created in a newer version of Adobe programs. You don’t have to immediately update Reader every time a new version is available.

However, sometimes PDF files simply won’t display in older versions of Reader. For instance, a copy of Reader 5.0 will display most of the PDF files you try to open, but it doesn’t display all PDF files. Plus, if they do open, the PDF files are not always fully displayed. When this happens, you see a notice that states, “This file may contain newer information than this viewer can support.”

If you often see this message when using Reader, it’s time to update. The Adobe Web site has a link for the newest version on their home page. If you're running an earlier version of Windows (ie not XP), you can choose the appropriate version of Reader—for example, version 6.0.1 for Windows 2000.

Printing Problems Perhaps the problems you encounter with PDF files are not when you’re trying to view them but when trying to print them.

If a PDF file won’t print, first do a test to see if the problem is with the file - it could be damaged or corrupted - not a problem with Reader or your system. You can test print a page from another PDF file or print one page from Reader’s Help menu. If another PDF file displays and prints OK, the problem is probably to do with the PDF file in question, not Reader or your system.

The first thing we suggest trying is to save the PDF to your hard drive. Then open the file directly through Reader instead of through your browser.

Another solution is to print the problem PDF file as a bitmap image (a pixel-based image). If you’re using Reader 6.0 or above, choose File > Print, and click the Advanced button. Click the Print As Image option and click OK twice. If you’re using Reader 5.x, select File > Print > Print As Image, and click OK. This workaround won’t find the cause of the problem, but it solves many of the problems between PDF files and printers. If the PDF file is long, try printing it in small batches, no more than five to 10 pages at a time. It’s possible that only a small portion of the file - even one page - is the source of the problem due to an image or special font used. A large PDF file can also cause memory problems with your printer, so printing in batches will resolve this issue. In addition, Adobe suggests keeping the free space on your hard drive at least three to five times the size of the file you’re attempting to print.

Error "Could not start print job" occurs when you print from a browser (Acrobat and Adobe Reader 6.0 on Windows)

When you attempt to print a PDF file from a Web browser, Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader returns the error "Could not start print job" and the file does not print. This happens when URL associated with the PDF file is longer than 261 characters. There are 2 ways to solve this – either save the files to your hard drive and print it or update the version of Adobe Reader you have installed.

Finally, an outdated printer driver could be the source of the printing conflict. Go to the website of your printer’s manufacturer to see if you need to download and install a newer driver for your printer.

Internet Explorer issues There are various potential issues between IE7 (and sometimes 6), and Flash Player that can effect your ability to view the Ziptales website (and others). This is often characterised by getting a blank white screen when you try to access the Ziptales website. There are also several possible solutions that we have found, some of which are quite complicated, so only get someone who is confident with their IT skills to do these.

1. Upgrading to IE7 can corrupt the currently installed version of Flash Player on your computer. Simply reinstalling or upgrading Flash Player will not solve the problem. You will need to uninstall and reinstall Flash Player. To do this:

1. Quit all open programs. This step is important because other programs may be using the Flash Player, and if they are, the uninstaller will fail silently.

2. Run the Player Uninstaller. (http://www.adobe.com/cfusion/knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=tn_14157)

3. Reinstall your Flash player. (http://www.adobe.com/go/getflashplayer)

2. If this doesn’t solve your problem then try the next possible solution.

1. Open IE7

2. Go to Tools > Internet Options

3. Click on the Security tab

4. Click on Trusted sites (with the green tick) then the ‘Sites’ button

5. Enter the Ziptales web address (http://www.ziptales.com) into the ‘Add this website to the zone’ box 6. Make sure the 'Require server verification for all sites in this zone' is unchecked, then click Add.

7. Next click on the Advanced tab. Make sure the ‘Allow active content to run in files on My Computer' box is checked.

8. Click ‘Apply’ and close Internet Options

Then try restarting your computer.

For more technical information this link will take you to the Microsoft website. http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934366/en-us

3. Another possible solution is:

1. Go to - My Computer – On Menu bar select Tools: From drop down menu select Folder Options | File Types

2. Click NEW

3. Create New Extension window appears

4. Type FLV (not case sensitive) into the File extension box.

5. Click Advanced.

6. Associated File Type window appears.

7. Scroll down and associate as (Click on) "Shockwave Flash Object". Click OK.

8. Stay on File Types window. Click Change

9. A box will appear with choices ‘What do you want to do?’- Check mark next to: Select the program from the list. Click OK.

10. A list of programs appears. Select Internet Explorer.

11. Click Apply or OK. Close windows.

12. Open Internet Explorer.

13. On the Internet Explorer menu bar go to Tools, From drop down menu select Internet Options | Advanced tab

14. Scroll down and unselect check mark next to "Allow Active Content to Play in Files on My Computer"

15. Click Apply

16. Restart Internet Explorer.

17. Ziptales should now load and play correctly

4. If the error you’re getting is:

Warning message when you upgrade Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer 7 on a Windows Vista-based computer: "This program will open outside of Protected mode"

To resolve this problem, install the most current cumulative security update for Internet Explorer. To do this visit http://www.windowsupdate.com/

For more information follow the link below: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/934282/en-us

5. If none of the above solutions have worked for you, then try installing the .NET Framework, and the mentioned updates from Microsoft. Make sure you include the latest cumulative security update for Internet Explorer 7.

First download and install the .NET Framework version 1.1 from the Microsoft website. It can be found at this link: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=262D25E3-F589-4842- 8157-034D1E7CF3A3&displaylang=en

Download the file (dotnetfx.exe) to your hard drive. Make sure you take note of where you save it. The desktop could be the safest place. Then double click on the dotnetfx.exe file and follow the installation instructions. Then go to Windows Updates: http://update.microsoft.com/windowsupdate/v6/default.aspx?ln=en-us

Click on the ‘Custom’ button (just below the ‘Express’ button) and select all updates related to the .NET Framework (check the names). These are optional updates so the ‘Express’ button won’t work because it only installs high priority updates, not optional ones.

Then reinstall IE.

This entire process will require you to reboot the computer a total of 3 to 4 times.

Specific updates you should download include, but may not be limited to:

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Automatic (KB928090) Updates

Automatic Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB929969) Updates

February 2007 CardSpace Update for Windows XP (KB925720) Windows Update

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0 (KB922770) Windows Update

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 2.0 (KB917283) Windows Update

Security Update for Microsoft .NET Framework, Version 1.1 Service Pack Windows Update 1 (KB886903)

Root Certificates Update Windows Update Windows Genuine Advantage Notification (KB905474) Windows Update

Cumulative Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP Windows Update (KB928090)

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0: x86 (KB928416) Windows Update

Security Update for Internet Explorer 7 for Windows XP (KB929969) Windows Update

Update for Windows XP (KB920342) Windows Update

Update for Windows XP (KB904942) Windows Update

Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0: x86 (KB829019) Windows Update

Microsoft .NET Framework 1.1 Service Pack 1 Windows Update

Microsoft .NET Framework version 1.1 Windows Update

To see what updates you have installed, click on the ‘Review your updates history’ button on the left hand menu of the Microsoft updates page.