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1997-03-24
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Microsoft Scenes Version 2.00
=============================
This document contains information that supplements
Microsoft Scenes Help and Quick Reference Card.
CONTENTS
========
1 System Requirements/Overview
2 Troubleshooting Tips
> If there is insufficient disk space to install
Scenes
> If not enough memory is available to run Scenes
> If you have problems printing when Scenes is
running
> If the screen saver doesn't cancel immediately
> If the screen saver pictures do not appear to
change
> Displaying non-standard JPEG files
> If an application's password dialog box loses
focus when you start Windows
> If you cannot see part of the captions,
wallpaper or Picture Information window.
3 Software Compatibility
> Converting Scenes 1.0 collections to 2.0
> Running multiple screen savers
> Starting the Scenes screen saver from the
Windows Control Panel
> MS-DOS, version 6.0 or Central Point
Software's PC Tools Delete Protection
> DOS sessions
> Communications activity
> Desktop shells
> Wallpaper color quality
4 Hardware Compatibility
> ATI display drivers
> Number 9 GXE video display adapter
> Diamond Stealth 64Bit display adapter
> Laptop computers with desktop docking
stations
============================================
1. System Requirements/Overview
============================================
The minimum requirements for Microsoft Scenes are a
386SX running Windows 3.1 and a VGA display, 3
megabytes (MB) of available disk space and 2 MB of
available random-access memory (RAM).
For the best-looking pictures, make sure your display
adapter, driver and monitor support 256 colors or
more. Scenes will also display on 16-color VGA
displays; however, the colors will be noticeably
limited and will not match the original colors of the
pictures.
To display pictures at full screen size (up to 1024 x
768 pixels), select the Enlarge pictures to full
screen size option in the Screen Saver Settings
dialog.
Scenes utilizes image compression and palette fitting
technology to produce very high quality images--even
on systems with relatively modest hardware
configurations. Palette fitting is a process that
selects the best mix of colors for each image on a 256
color (8Bit) display. Depending on the speed of your
computer, these operations can take anywhere from a
few seconds to 5 minutes. Enlarging pictures to full
screen size in high resolution video modes requires
even more time. To display pictures as quickly as
possible, set your display to more than 256 colors and
disable the Enlarge picture to full screen size
option.
Assuming you accepted the default Setup options, the
following Scenes 2.0 files can be found in these
directories:
FILE DIRECTORY
SCENES.EXE C:\SCENES
SCENES.HLP C:\SCENES
MSSWIZ.DLL C:\SCENES
README.TXT C:\SCENES
MSSCMN.DLL C:\WINDOWS
MSSCENES.SCR C:\WINDOWS
SCENES2.INI C:\WINDOWS
PCDLIB.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM (shared resource
file)
CTL3DV2.DLL C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM (shared resource
file)
COLLECTN.SAC C:\SCENES\PICSETS\<COLLECTION>
*.JPG C:\SCENES\PICSETS\<COLLECTION>
*.THM C:\SCENES\PICSETS\<COLLECTION>
*.NFO C:\SCENES\PICSETS\<COLLECTION>
NOTE: The PCDLIB.DLL & CTL3D2.DLL files may be
required by applications other than Scenes 2.0. Please
use discretion when deleting any Windows shared
resource file.
=============================================
2. Troubleshooting Tips
=============================================
This section supplements the Troubleshooting section
of Microsoft Scenes 2.0 Help.
Insufficient disk space to install Scenes
-----------------------------------------
If there is insufficient disk space to install the
Scenes software and images, a "Not Enough Space on
Drive [drive]:" dialog is displayed. Since Scenes does
not support component level setup, selecting the
Change Options button simply returns Setup to the main
Installation dialog. To solve this problem, free up
disk space.
If you are installing multiple Scenes Collections, you
can save disk space by specifying the existing Scenes
directory when installing a new collection. In this
way, you will require just enough disk space to store
and display the new images, and only one copy of the
Scenes screen saver software will reside on your
system.
If not enough memory is available to run Scenes
-----------------------------------------------
For proper operation, Scenes requires 2 MB of
available memory. You may be able to free up some
memory by closing other applications. If you are
running Scenes on a system with disk compression and
you get a message saying not enough memory is
available to run the Scenes screen saver, the About
Program Manager dialog box may still indicate that you
have more than 2 MB of memory available. Choose the
About command from the Scenes Control menu to see the
available memory that Scenes can actually use.
Under low memory conditions, Scenes will make every
attempt to display images. For example, when there is
not enough memory to enlarge an image to full screen
size, Scenes will display the image without enlarging
it. Scenes adapts dynamically to changes in available
memory, so some images may appear enlarged and others
may not, depending upon available memory and the
memory requirements of a particular image.
Attempting to display very large graphics files will
also result in "Out of Memory" errors. Scenes cannot
display images larger than 16MB uncompressed.
Running out of memory on a regular basis may be a
result of how your system is set up. For more
information on potential solutions, see "If not enough
memory is available" in the Troubleshooting section of
the Microsoft Scenes Help.
If you have problems printing when Scenes is running
----------------------------------------------------
If printing appears to stop, the printer you are using
may be shared on a network in which the server is
running Scenes. To correct this in Windows version
3.1, open Print Manager, and, from the Options menu,
choose High Priority. In Windows for Workgroups, open
Print Manager, choose Background Printing from the
Options menu, and then select High for the Printing
Priority.
If the screen saver doesn't cancel immediately
----------------------------------------------
Running other applications while using Microsoft
Scenes can occasionally slow the process of displaying
pictures or the time Scenes takes to start and stop
the screen saver. Compilers or
communications-intensive applications are particularly
likely to affect the performance of Scenes.
Increasing the time between picture transitions will
reduce the likelihood of a delay when canceling the
screen saver and returning to Windows. To increase the
transition time, set the Change picture every [n]
minutes setting to a larger number.
If the screen-saver pictures do not appear to change
----------------------------------------------------
You may have selected a personal picture set that
contains just one picture as your screen saver. If
this is the case, Microsoft Scenes "changes" from the
current picture to the same picture. In this
situation, you will not be able to see the transition
effects because the image remains unchanged. To avoid
this, select a picture set with more than one picture,
such as a Microsoft Scenes collection, or select more
than one collection for display in the Screen Saver
Settings dialog.
Displaying non-standard JPEG files
----------------------------------
Certain graphics applications are capable of saving
JPEG files that contain extensions to the standard
JPEG file format. Some of the products from Adobe,
Altimera and Fauve are examples of such applications.
These images may not display properly in Scenes. In
some cases Scenes will not be able to open the file,
in others, the colors in the image will not display
properly. If you are having problems displaying a JPEG
file, it is likely that the application that generated
the file did not conform to the JPEG standard. You may
be able to correct this problem by opening the JPEG
file in the original application, turning off all
non-standard JPEG options, and saving to JPEG again.
If an application's password dialog box loses focus
when you start Windows
------------------------------------------------------
Starting Windows automatically starts all applications
with icons in the StartUp group, beginning with the
icon in the top-left corner of the group. If an
application with a password dialog box, such as
Microsoft Mail or Microsoft Schedule+, has an icon
before the Scenes icon in the StartUp group, you may
have to activate the application's Sign In dialog box
before you can type your password. To correct this,
move the Scenes icon to the top-left corner of the
StartUp group.
If you cannot see part of the captions, wallpaper, or
Picture Information window
------------------------------------------------------
Check to see that the vertical and horizontal
alignment on your monitor are set properly. If you are
using a high-resolution "virtual" display, you may
need to pan up to see the captions or pan down and
right to see the Picture Information window. To
display your wallpaper correctly, pan until the
wallpaper is centered on your screen.
=============================================
3. Software Compatibility Issues
=============================================
Converting Scenes 1.0 collections to 2.0
----------------------------------------
To convert Scenes 1.0 collections, install Scenes 2.0
and use the 'Add a collection to Scenes' Wizard. Your
1.0 collection will be converted to the 2.0 format.
After conversion, the collection can be viewed with
either Scenes 1.0 or Scenes 2.0. Scenes 2.0
collections are not compatible with the Scenes 1.0
software.
Running multiple screen savers
------------------------------
If more than one screen saver is running at a time,
unpredictable things can happen. Before starting
another screen saver, make sure you exit Scenes.
Starting the Scenes screen saver from the Windows
Control Panel
------------------------------------------------------
You can run Scenes 2.0 from the Windows Control
Panel's Desktop applet. This is a convenient way to
take advantage of many of the screen saver features
and at the same time utilize minimum system resources.
To run Scenes from the Control Panel, exit Scenes.
Launch the Desktop applet from the Control Panel and
select Microsoft Scenes 2.0 as the screen saver.
Select the Settings button to change the Scenes screen
saver options.
MS-DOS, version 6.0 or Central Point Software's PC
Tools Delete Protection
-------------------------------------------------------
If you use the MS-DOS version 6.0 or if you use PC
Tools Undelete option and the Sentry Tracker option,
configure Data Sentry to exclude these files from
those that Data Sentry protects: MSSCENES.BMP, *.TMP,
*.BAK, *.BKJ, *.BKT, *.BKN, ~MSS*.BMP, and -*.TMP. For
details, consult your documentation for MS-DOS version
6.0 or PC Tools for Windows.
DOS sessions
------------
If you are running a DOS session full screen, the
Scenes screen saver will not start automatically and
the Keyboard QuickStart will not function. If you run
a DOS session window only the Mouse QuickStart will
function.
Communications activity
-----------------------
If you are downloading files from CompuServe or
anticipate other prolonged communications or
network-related activities, turn the screen saver
option off. This will ensure that your connections are
not interrupted unnecessarily when Scenes is running.
Desktop shells
--------------
If you are running a Windows desktop shell, do not
install Scenes from a virtual screen or run Scenes
maximized (i.e., full screen.)
If you are running from a shell, it might hide the
Scenes wallpaper title. Minimizing the desktop icon
may correct this problem. If you cannot see the title,
you can view a picture's title in the picture
description window by choosing Show picture
descriptions from the main Scenes dialog.
If you use Central Point PC Tools for Windows, do not
run utilities which run on a schedule, such as
Anti-Virus, while the Scenes screen saver is active.
If you are running Xerox Tabworks, you may encounter
errors when using the Scenes wizards. If this problem
persists, use a different shell, such as Windows
Program Manager.
Wallpaper color quality
-----------------------
When using any palette-intensive application while in
8Bit display mode, the palette for the Scenes
wallpaper may lose some of its colors, degrading the
quality of the wallpaper. This may occur when you
activate an application dialog or icon that is
currently utilizing many colors. For best wallpaper
quality, minimize palette-intensive applications and
change the focus to a non-palette application or
application icon such as Program Manager.
In 8Bit display mode, the active application window
will determine the colors needed for optimal display
of its graphics. Any other windows (and the wallpaper)
will then be forced to use this palette of colors. If
you frequently use 256 color applications and this
presents a problem for you, turn off the Scenes
wallpaper feature while you work.
============================================
4. Hardware Compatibility Issues
============================================
ATI Display Drivers
-------------------
The ATI Mach 32 FlexDesk driver build 2.2 may cause
intermittent problems while running Scenes. Please
contact your video display adapter manufacturer
regarding problems with your display driver.
If you are using a Mach 32 driver and you get a
message in Setup or the Microsoft Scenes dialog box
stating that you may be able to make your pictures
look better, open the Mach 32 Control Panel
(FlexDesk). Make sure that your screen resolution is
set to 256 colors or more and that the 256-color
palette has been turned on in the Advanced dialog box.
If you're using the Mach 32 driver in 640x480 mode,
select the Small Font option. This will make the
dialog boxes and Microsoft Scenes Online Help easier
to read.
If you are using any ATI driver with Crystal fonts, a
message will appear in Scenes stating that you could
make your pictures look better. To display Scenes with
256 colors, turn off Crystal fonts or select a driver
without Crystal fonts.
Number 9 GXE video display adapter
----------------------------------
This display adapter may exhibit minor screen
artifacts when using the Scenes In & Out Box
transition effects.
Diamond Stealth 64Bit display adapter
-------------------------------------
When running this adapter in 8Bit (256 color) mode,
certain Scenes transition effects may be very slow.
For optimal performance with this adapter, select a
video mode with more than 256 colors.
Laptop computers with desktop docking stations
----------------------------------------------
Some laptop computers that use desktop "docking
stations" may be able to use a video card attached to
the docking station. However, that card may offer
resolutions that are not available when the laptop is
used by itself. For example, when docked, your
computer may be able to display 256 colors; as a
laptop, the same computer may be limited to 16 colors.
Before removing the laptop from the docking station,
change your display driver to one that the laptop is
capable of using.