Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

Release Notes for

SuccessMaker 5.4

26-13861-100 (12/00)

The CCC logo, Math Investigations, and SuccessMaker are registered trademarks and Computer Curriculum Corporation, First Adventures Bookshelf, SOLO, and Writer’s Studio are trademarks of Computer Curriculum Corporation.

Other trademarks are property of the respective trademark owners.

Copyright © 2000 Computer Curriculum Corporation. All rights reserved.

RN SM54 P 12/00

Release Notes for

SuccessMaker 5.4

26-13861-100 (12/00)

The CCC logo, Math Investigations, and SuccessMaker are registered trademarks and Computer Curriculum Corporation, First Adventures Bookshelf, SOLO, and Writer’s Studio are trademarks of Computer Curriculum Corporation.

Other trademarks are property of the respective trademark owners.

Copyright © 2000 Computer Curriculum Corporation. All rights reserved.

RN SM54 P 12/00

Contents

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Graphic Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Writer’s Studio (V1.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Windows-Based Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

General Courseware Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Writer’s Studio (V1.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows Operating System Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows 2000 Professional Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows NT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

iii

iv Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

Contents

Macintosh Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Graphic Reports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Writer’s Studio (V1.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Windows-Based Systems. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

QuickTime . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

General Courseware Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Writer’s Studio (V1.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows Operating System Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows 2000 Professional Workstation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows NT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

Windows ME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

iii

iv Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

Macintosh and Windows Platforms

This document contains information that will help you avoid problems when you are installing or configuring the Computer Curriculum Corporation™ (CCC) courseware, are using the Management System, or are using a CCC course. The information is intended for technical users who have experience that includes installing and configuring software and changing program settings.

If you are installing or upgrading the CCC courseware, review the information in the list below, then follow the instructions in the installation manual for your configuration (SOLO™, peer-to-peer, or server-based).

• If you are using a Macintosh® system, see “Macintosh Systems,” on page 1.

• If you are using a Windows®-based system, see “Windows-Based Systems,” on page 2.

• If you are using Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, see “Windows 2000 Professional Workstation,” on page 5.

• If you are using Microsoft Windows NT® Workstation, see “Windows NT,” on page 5.

• If you are using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME), see “Windows ME,” on page 6.

Macintosh SystemsIf you are using the CCC courseware on a Macintosh, please note the following information.

QuickTimeIf your learning station is configured for full-motion video, SuccessMaker® 5.4 requires QuickTime® 4.1.2. The QuickTime 4.1.2 installation CD is included in the CCC Installation Kit.

On some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when you use the CCC courseware with QuickTime:

• In some courses, the audio plays only in the left channel when you are playing MPEG clips using QuickTime.

• In some courses, a video frame or partial graphics remain on the screen after the video has stopped.

Macintosh Systems 1

Graphic ReportsGraphic reports require Excel 5.0, which is not supported by MAC OS 8.6 or later. Support for later versions of Excel will be available in a later release of SuccessMaker.

Writer’s Studio (V1.1)• For current information about the system requirements for the

Writer’s Studio™ course, refer to the System Requirements link on the CCC Web site www.ccclearn.com/support.

• If you have installed AppleWorks®, you must remove ClarisWorks® in order to successfully launch AppleWorks from the Writer’s Studio course.

Windows-Based SystemsIf you are using the CCC courseware on a Windows-based system, please note the following information. For operating system information about Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation, or Microsoft Windows ME, see “Windows Operating System Notes,” on page 5.

QuickTimeIf your learning station is configured for full-motion video, SuccessMaker 5.4 requires QuickTime for Windows 4.1.2. The QuickTime 4.1.2 installation CD is included in the CCC Installation Kit.

If you have not installed QuickTime 4.1.2 and you have an earlier version installed on your station, uninstall the earlier version before you install 4.1.2. If you are uninstalling QuickTime 2.1.2, you also need to delete the following remaining QuickTime files:

Qtinstal.exeQtw16del.exeQtw.iniQt32inst.exeQtw32del.exe

Safe ModeCCC strongly recommends turning on Safe Mode in the QuickTime Control Panel to prevent the following problems, which may occur on some systems:

• QuickTime for Windows displays flashing video and static in the audio.

• The mouse pointer behaves erratically while playing video.

• The QuickTime for Windows video controls flash when you click the Stop button.

2 Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

• The system crashes when closing the video window in some courses or when Storyteller in First Adventures Bookshelf™ has finished.

• The system crashes when you initially install QuickTime for Windows and then play a movie sample.

• Exiting the Writer’s Studio course while a QuickTime video is playing causes the system to crash.

To activate Safe Mode for QuickTime for Windows, complete the following steps:

1. At the desktop, click Start.

2. Point to Settings; then click Control Panel.

3. At the Control Panel window, double-click QuickTime.

4. At the QuickTime Settings window, choose Video Settings from the pull-down menu.

5. Select Safe Mode (GDI Only).

6. Close the Control Panel window.

Using QuickTime with Writer’s StudioIf you are using QuickTime for Windows with the Writer’s Studio course and you lose the audio for the video that is playing, follow the steps below to restore the audio.




4. At the QuickTime Settings window, select Sound Out.

5. From the pull-down menu, choose the waveOut selection for your sound card.


Using QuickTime with DirectSoundOn some system configurations, the audio for the video clip plays at the wrong speed. Completing the following steps may restore the audio:


2. At the Start menu, click Run.

3. In the Open field of the Run window, type msinfo32; then click OK.

4. At the window that appears, select the Sound tab.

5. At the Sound tab, clear the Audio Acceleration check box.

Windows-Based Systems 3

Other QuickTime IssuesOn some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when you use CCC courseware with QuickTime for Windows 4.1.2:

• The slider bar that indicates progress while a video is playing does not function correctly.

• The video background changes to white while the video is playing.

• Multiple clicks are necessary in order to get a response from the Step Backward and Step Forward buttons. In some cases, these buttons may appear to be nonfunctional.

• The video restarts from the beginning after it has been paused and restarted using the Pause button.


• In First Adventures Bookshelf, the volume control is nonfunctional.

General Courseware IssuesOn some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when using the CCC courseware:

• In some courses, playing back the student’s recordings using the playback icon causes a General Protection Fault or a system crash.

• For some courses on a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, the recording continues for the full amount of time specified by the course, even though the student has finished speaking.

• If you observe missing graphics or flashing video in a course, complete the following steps:

a. Close all open applications.

b. At the desktop, click Start.

c. Point to Settings; then click Control Panel.

d. At the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon.

e. At the System Properties window, select the Performance tab; then click the Graphics button.

f. At the Advanced Graphics Settings window, set the Hardware Acceleration slider to None; then click OK.

g. At the System Properties window, with the Performance tab selected, click the Close button.

h. Restart the system.


Writer’s Studio (V1.1)For current information about the system requirements for Writer’s Studio, refer to the System Requirements link on the CCC Web site www.ccclearn.com/support.

If you are installing third-party applications (as resources) with Writer’s Studio, note the following:

• Writer’s Studio was written to use version 4.0 of the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD). To run version 5.0 of the AHD, add the following line to the WSENV.CCC file, located in C:\WINDOWS\CCC:

DICTIONARY=C:\Program Files\Compton’s Home Library\ahtd.exe

where C:\Program Files\Compton’s Home Library specifies the directory where AHD 5.0 was installed.

• To launch Microsoft Encarta™ 2001 from Writer’s Studio, copy the following files from C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Reference 2001 into the folder named C:\LOCALCAI\BIN:

MVBK53N.DLLMVCL53N.DLLMVJK53N.DLLMVMC53N.DLLMVMG53N.DLLMVPS53N.DLLMVTL53N.DLLMVUT53N.DLLSHRL30.DLLSHRPNL10.DLL

This information is specific to the Encarta 2001 release.

Windows Operating System Notes

Windows 2000 Professional WorkstationPlease note that SuccessMaker 5.4 does not support Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Workstation for a SOLO station or a peer-to-peer learning station.

Windows NTPlease note that SuccessMaker 5.4 does not support Microsoft Windows NT for a SOLO station or a peer-to-peer learning station.

Windows Operating System Notes 5

Windows MEIf you install SuccessMaker 5.4 on a learning station that is using Microsoft Windows ME, please note the following information.

Only One Channel of Audio for MPEG ClipIf only one channel of audio is available when an MPEG video clip is playing, complete these two procedures to restore audio to both channels.

1. Windows ME is shipped with three versions of the Microsoft Media player. The single-channel audio problem has been identified with Windows Media Player version 6.4. To work around the single-channel audio problem, you need to select a different video player, specifically MPlayer2.exe, as the default player. MPlayer2.exe is the only one of the three available player versions that supports a user-selectable Mono setting, which will restore audio to both channels. To change the default player version, complete the following steps:

a. At the desktop, click Start.

b. At the Start menu, click Run.

c. In the Open field of the Run window, type sysedit.exe; then click OK.

d. At the System Configuration Editor window, select the C:\Windows\WIN.INI file from the cascaded open windows.

e. Under the section heading “[mci extensions]”, modify the WIN.INI file, as follows:

mpg=MPEGVideo2

f. Remove any other statements under the section heading for MCI extensions that start with the letters “mpg” (not “mpeg”).

g. At the System Configuration Editor window, choose Save from the File menu; then choose Exit from the File menu.

h. When prompted to Save Current Changes to WIN.INI, click Yes.

2. For functional audio playback, complete the following steps to select the Mono setting. This procedure requires a CD that contains MPEG movie files (.mpg), such as the CCC Math Investigations® Video C disc.



c. In the Open field of the Run window, type mplayer2.exe; then click OK.

d. From the File menu, choose Open; then open an MPEG movie file (.mpg) from one of the CCC courseware video CDs.

e. The playback window opens, displaying the initial movie frame.


f. Right-click in the video window; then choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

g. At the Windows Media Player Properties window, select the Advanced tab.

h. At the Windows Media Player Properties Advanced tab, select MPEG Audio Decoder; then click Properties.

i. In the Sound Channels area, select Mono; then click the Set As Default button.

j. Click OK; then click Close.

k. To test the audio out for both channels, play an MPEG movie file (.mpg) from one of the CCC courseware video CDs.

Installing the MCI CD Audio Driver on SOLO and Peer-to-Peer StationsSOLO and peer-to-peer learning stations require the installation of the Microsoft MCI CD audio driver to use CCC courseware CDs. This driver might not be installed on your Windows ME system. To install this audio driver, complete the steps that follow before running the CCC Setup program to install the courseware.



3. At the Control Panel window, double-click Add New Hardware.

Messages appear advising you that the system is searching first for new plug-and-play hardware devices and then for hardware that is not plug-and-play compatible. Also, you are asked if you want Windows to search for your new hardware.

4. Click the check box beside No, I Want To Select The Hardware From The List.

5. From the Hardware Types list, double-click Sound, Video, And Game Controllers.

6. From the list of Manufacturers, select Microsoft MCI.

7. In the Models window, select CD Audio Device (Media Control).

8. Click Next and follow the prompts.

9. If Windows asks you to insert the Windows ME CD, insert it now.

10. Restart the station.

This completes the installation of the MCI CD audio driver on the learning station.


Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4

Macintosh and Windows Platforms

This document contains information that will help you avoid problems when you are installing or configuring the Computer Curriculum Corporation™ (CCC) courseware, are using the Management System, or are using a CCC course. The information is intended for technical users who have experience that includes installing and configuring software and changing program settings.

If you are installing or upgrading the CCC courseware, review the information in the list below, then follow the instructions in the installation manual for your configuration (SOLO™, peer-to-peer, or server-based).

• If you are using a Macintosh® system, see “Macintosh Systems,” on page 1.

• If you are using a Windows®-based system, see “Windows-Based Systems,” on page 2.

• If you are using Microsoft® Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, see “Windows 2000 Professional Workstation,” on page 5.

• If you are using Microsoft Windows NT® Workstation, see “Windows NT,” on page 5.

• If you are using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (ME), see “Windows ME,” on page 6.

Macintosh SystemsIf you are using the CCC courseware on a Macintosh, please note the following information.

QuickTimeIf your learning station is configured for full-motion video, SuccessMaker® 5.4 requires QuickTime® 4.1.2. The QuickTime 4.1.2 installation CD is included in the CCC Installation Kit.

On some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when you use the CCC courseware with QuickTime:

• In some courses, the audio plays only in the left channel when you are playing MPEG clips using QuickTime.


Macintosh Systems 1

Graphic ReportsGraphic reports require Excel 5.0, which is not supported by MAC OS 8.6 or later. Support for later versions of Excel will be available in a later release of SuccessMaker.

Writer’s Studio (V1.1)• For current information about the system requirements for the

Writer’s Studio™ course, refer to the System Requirements link on the CCC Web site www.ccclearn.com/support.

• If you have installed AppleWorks®, you must remove ClarisWorks® in order to successfully launch AppleWorks from the Writer’s Studio course.

Windows-Based SystemsIf you are using the CCC courseware on a Windows-based system, please note the following information. For operating system information about Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, Microsoft Windows NT Workstation, or Microsoft Windows ME, see “Windows Operating System Notes,” on page 5.

QuickTimeIf your learning station is configured for full-motion video, SuccessMaker 5.4 requires QuickTime for Windows 4.1.2. The QuickTime 4.1.2 installation CD is included in the CCC Installation Kit.

If you have not installed QuickTime 4.1.2 and you have an earlier version installed on your station, uninstall the earlier version before you install 4.1.2. If you are uninstalling QuickTime 2.1.2, you also need to delete the following remaining QuickTime files:

Qtinstal.exeQtw16del.exeQtw.iniQt32inst.exeQtw32del.exe

Safe ModeCCC strongly recommends turning on Safe Mode in the QuickTime Control Panel to prevent the following problems, which may occur on some systems:

• QuickTime for Windows displays flashing video and static in the audio.

• The mouse pointer behaves erratically while playing video.

• The QuickTime for Windows video controls flash when you click the Stop button.


• The system crashes when closing the video window in some courses or when Storyteller in First Adventures Bookshelf™ has finished.

• The system crashes when you initially install QuickTime for Windows and then play a movie sample.

• Exiting the Writer’s Studio course while a QuickTime video is playing causes the system to crash.

To activate Safe Mode for QuickTime for Windows, complete the following steps:




4. At the QuickTime Settings window, choose Video Settings from the pull-down menu.

5. Select Safe Mode (GDI Only).


Using QuickTime with Writer’s StudioIf you are using QuickTime for Windows with the Writer’s Studio course and you lose the audio for the video that is playing, follow the steps below to restore the audio.




4. At the QuickTime Settings window, select Sound Out.

5. From the pull-down menu, choose the waveOut selection for your sound card.


Using QuickTime with DirectSoundOn some system configurations, the audio for the video clip plays at the wrong speed. Completing the following steps may restore the audio:


2. At the Start menu, click Run.

3. In the Open field of the Run window, type msinfo32; then click OK.

4. At the window that appears, select the Sound tab.

5. At the Sound tab, clear the Audio Acceleration check box.

Windows-Based Systems 3

Other QuickTime IssuesOn some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when you use CCC courseware with QuickTime for Windows 4.1.2:

• The slider bar that indicates progress while a video is playing does not function correctly.

• The video background changes to white while the video is playing.

• Multiple clicks are necessary in order to get a response from the Step Backward and Step Forward buttons. In some cases, these buttons may appear to be nonfunctional.

• The video restarts from the beginning after it has been paused and restarted using the Pause button.


• In First Adventures Bookshelf, the volume control is nonfunctional.

General Courseware IssuesOn some configurations, you may encounter one or more of the following problems when using the CCC courseware:

• In some courses, playing back the student’s recordings using the playback icon causes a General Protection Fault or a system crash.

• For some courses on a Windows 2000 Professional Workstation, the recording continues for the full amount of time specified by the course, even though the student has finished speaking.

• If you observe missing graphics or flashing video in a course, complete the following steps:

a. Close all open applications.

b. At the desktop, click Start.

c. Point to Settings; then click Control Panel.

d. At the Control Panel window, double-click the System icon.

e. At the System Properties window, select the Performance tab; then click the Graphics button.

f. At the Advanced Graphics Settings window, set the Hardware Acceleration slider to None; then click OK.

g. At the System Properties window, with the Performance tab selected, click the Close button.

h. Restart the system.


Writer’s Studio (V1.1)For current information about the system requirements for Writer’s Studio, refer to the System Requirements link on the CCC Web site www.ccclearn.com/support.

If you are installing third-party applications (as resources) with Writer’s Studio, note the following:

• Writer’s Studio was written to use version 4.0 of the American Heritage Dictionary (AHD). To run version 5.0 of the AHD, add the following line to the WSENV.CCC file, located in C:\WINDOWS\CCC:

DICTIONARY=C:\Program Files\Compton’s Home Library\ahtd.exe

where C:\Program Files\Compton’s Home Library specifies the directory where AHD 5.0 was installed.

• To launch Microsoft Encarta™ 2001 from Writer’s Studio, copy the following files from C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Reference 2001 into the folder named C:\LOCALCAI\BIN:

MVBK53N.DLLMVCL53N.DLLMVJK53N.DLLMVMC53N.DLLMVMG53N.DLLMVPS53N.DLLMVTL53N.DLLMVUT53N.DLLSHRL30.DLLSHRPNL10.DLL

This information is specific to the Encarta 2001 release.

Windows Operating System Notes

Windows 2000 Professional WorkstationPlease note that SuccessMaker 5.4 does not support Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional Workstation for a SOLO station or a peer-to-peer learning station.

Windows NTPlease note that SuccessMaker 5.4 does not support Microsoft Windows NT for a SOLO station or a peer-to-peer learning station.


Windows MEIf you install SuccessMaker 5.4 on a learning station that is using Microsoft Windows ME, please note the following information.

Only One Channel of Audio for MPEG ClipIf only one channel of audio is available when an MPEG video clip is playing, complete these two procedures to restore audio to both channels.

1. Windows ME is shipped with three versions of the Microsoft Media player. The single-channel audio problem has been identified with Windows Media Player version 6.4. To work around the single-channel audio problem, you need to select a different video player, specifically MPlayer2.exe, as the default player. MPlayer2.exe is the only one of the three available player versions that supports a user-selectable Mono setting, which will restore audio to both channels. To change the default player version, complete the following steps:



c. In the Open field of the Run window, type sysedit.exe; then click OK.

d. At the System Configuration Editor window, select the C:\Windows\WIN.INI file from the cascaded open windows.

e. Under the section heading “[mci extensions]”, modify the WIN.INI file, as follows:

mpg=MPEGVideo2

f. Remove any other statements under the section heading for MCI extensions that start with the letters “mpg” (not “mpeg”).

g. At the System Configuration Editor window, choose Save from the File menu; then choose Exit from the File menu.

h. When prompted to Save Current Changes to WIN.INI, click Yes.

2. For functional audio playback, complete the following steps to select the Mono setting. This procedure requires a CD that contains MPEG movie files (.mpg), such as the CCC Math Investigations® Video C disc.



c. In the Open field of the Run window, type mplayer2.exe; then click OK.

d. From the File menu, choose Open; then open an MPEG movie file (.mpg) from one of the CCC courseware video CDs.

e. The playback window opens, displaying the initial movie frame.


f. Right-click in the video window; then choose Properties from the pop-up menu.

g. At the Windows Media Player Properties window, select the Advanced tab.

h. At the Windows Media Player Properties Advanced tab, select MPEG Audio Decoder; then click Properties.

i. In the Sound Channels area, select Mono; then click the Set As Default button.

j. Click OK; then click Close.

k. To test the audio out for both channels, play an MPEG movie file (.mpg) from one of the CCC courseware video CDs.

Installing the MCI CD Audio Driver on SOLO and Peer-to-Peer StationsSOLO and peer-to-peer learning stations require the installation of the Microsoft MCI CD audio driver to use CCC courseware CDs. This driver might not be installed on your Windows ME system. To install this audio driver, complete the steps that follow before running the CCC Setup program to install the courseware.



3. At the Control Panel window, double-click Add New Hardware.

Messages appear advising you that the system is searching first for new plug-and-play hardware devices and then for hardware that is not plug-and-play compatible. Also, you are asked if you want Windows to search for your new hardware.

4. Click the check box beside No, I Want To Select The Hardware From The List.

5. From the Hardware Types list, double-click Sound, Video, And Game Controllers.

6. From the list of Manufacturers, select Microsoft MCI.

7. In the Models window, select CD Audio Device (Media Control).

8. Click Next and follow the prompts.

9. If Windows asks you to insert the Windows ME CD, insert it now.

10. Restart the station.

This completes the installation of the MCI CD audio driver on the learning station.


Printed in the U.S.A.

10 Upgrading the CCC Version 5 Software

Printed in the U.S.A.

10 Upgrading the CCC Version 5 Software

Documents

Release Notes for SuccessMaker 5.4