search

Working with MODIFY and PowerPoint slides

Converting a PowerPoint presentation to a shell-based course or course modification

I don't see how to convert my PowerPoint presentation into screens that I can use with MODIFY™. How do you do it?

You have two options here.

If you're running in Windows95/98/NT you can run the PowerPoint presentation as is. Just copy the presentation to the course directory and use the "Run Application" command to run "PPVIEW32" (Parameter #1) for "xxxxxx.ppt" (your presentation).

Your other option is to save the PowerPoint Slides into the course directory as JPEG files and call them with the "Graphics" command. To save the slides, just go into PowerPoint, open your presentation and:

1. Check File>Page Setup to be sure you'll get the right screen resolution for your output files. It should be set to "Custom" with the width set to 6.6", and the height set to 5.0".

   (NOTE: To avoid distortions caused by resizing, it's best to create the slides with the above settings rather than resizing after they are created.)

2. Select File>Save As, then select "JPEG" or "JPG" as the file type. Set the save location as the course's directory. PowerPoint will name the files SLIDE1.JPG, SLIDE2.JPG... and so on.

JPEGs from PowerPoint display too large

I saved my PowerPoint slides as JPEG files and put them into the course Okay. But they look like they've blown up to huge size and I'm looking at a close-up of the upper left corner of the picture. Cool effect, but how do I get them to look right?

When you saved your slides as JPEGs, the Page Setup in PowerPoint was not set correctly. Do this:

1. Go into PowerPoint and open your presentation.
2. Check File>Page Setup to be sure you'll get the right screen resolution for your output files. It should be set to "Custom" with the width set to 6.6", and the height set to 5.0".

   (NOTE: To avoid distortions caused by resizing, it's best to create the slides with the above settings rather than resizing after they are created.)

3. Select File>Save As, then select "JPEG" or "JPG" as the file type. Set the save location as the course’s directory. PowerPoint will name the files SLIDE1.JPG, SLIDE2.JPG... and so on.

Working with MODIFY™and Course Shells

Expanding the number of lessons after Shell is made

I goofed! I ordered my Course Shell with four lessons, but it turns out that I really need another lesson. Now what?

No problem. But we'll have to fix it for you. Tell us the Course ID (the course's directory name ending with ".vid") and what you want to name the fifth lesson. We'll re-work the Shell and send it to you. E-mail us, or call 248-888-8420. If you're on the Extended Support Plan for MODIFY™ you'll just pay a shipping and handling fee, otherwise we'll have to charge a small fee for the fix.

Changing lesson titles after Shell is made

Darn it! I've got to change the title of one of my lessons in a Course Shell that's already done. I can't see where I can do that.

Not a biggy. You can fix this yourself, or we can do it for you.

Do-it-yourself

Careful here! Using the Windows Notepad, load the file named "modules.mnu" from the course's directory. Then being very careful not to add or delete any line returns, find the lesson title you want to change and make your correction. Make sure you save the file.

Have us fix it for you

Tell us the Course ID (the course's directory name ending with ".vid") and the old and new lesson title. We'll create a new modules.mnu file and send it to you. E-mail us, or call 248-888-8420. If you're on the Extended Support Plan for MODIFY™ you'll just pay a shipping and handling fee, otherwise we'll have to charge a small fee for the fix.

Removing the quiz for a lesson

I'm building a course from a MODIFY™ Shell and I'm using the first lesson as an introduction. I really don't want to give a quiz at the the end of the introduction, but the shell came with one and I can't delete it.

This is easy to fix, but you have to do it outside of MODIFY™. If during a course playback, the Runtime System finds a set of quiz files and a learning objectives file for a lesson, it automatically runs the quiz. To remove the quiz for a lesson, you must remove the files that trigger it. Deleting all the quiz questions in MODIFY™ does not accomplish this.

1. Using Windows Explorer, go into the shell's course directory. It's in the "\video" directory and is named according the the course's code followed by ".vid".
2. Find the two question files and the module's learning objective file that trigger the quiz. The lessons are designated simply as "a", "b", etc. If your "Introduction" lesson is the first lesson, then it is lesson "a". You should delete these files:
   • aques
   • aques.aud
   • modobja

"Program Error: integer divide by zero" at end of quiz

I'm testing my MODIFY™ Shell course and I get a "Program Error: integer divide by zero" at the end of the quiz after answering the last question. Everything looks fine in the Question folder in MODIFY for the last question. What's wrong?

You have one or more learning objectives that are untested. That is, one or more learning objectives for this lesson do not have at least one question linked to it. Correct the problem by linking a question to the unlinked objective(s) or delete the objective if it is not tested.

Working with MODIFY™– general questions

Where's the manual?

I can't find my manual! How do I get one? Is it expensive? Will I have to wait very long for it? Will it cost our environment another tree?

Take it easy. You've got the User Guide right at your finger tips. Go into the "Tools" folder of MODIFY™ and click the "User Guide" button. You can either display it on your screen or print it. All our software systems will soon have electronic manuals. We want to be environmentally responsible plus we've found that electronic versions of manuals ensure that a manual will always be just a mouse click away. Never frantically search for it again. Be at peace with nature.

Added new version/language, but later changes effected main course, not alternate version

Maybe I'm crazy, but I'm sure I created an alternate language in the "Tools" folder, then I made the language changes to my questions in the "Questions" folder. When I played the regular version of the course, the questions were in the alternate language. When I played the alternate language version, the questions were in English! ...Arrgh!

You missed a step. Sounds like you created the alternate language folder, but then didn't return to the MODIFY™ Welcome Screen to select the new alternate version as the active course version before making your changes to the questions. It'll be a little ticklish fixing this, but at least you won't have to start all over.

You will have to swap all the question files between the two versions. If you changed audio narration timing triggers, you'll have to swap the .aud files too. Let's say your alternate language version is called "espanol" and your original course ID is "csentmpg" so we can give you an example to work from here. Windows doesn't have a "Swap Files" function in Windows Explorer or File Manager so we'll have to use a temporary directory to store the files during the swap. We'll call the temporary directory "temp". Here are the steps:

1. Create a "temp" directory in c:\video\csentmpg.vid\ giving you c:\video\csentmpg.vid\temp\.
2. Move all the question files (that are now in Spanish) to c:\video\csentmpg.vid\temp\. All question files start with the lesson letter (a, b , c ...) followed by "ques". The question audio narration triggers end with the filename extension of ".aud". Make sure you get them all.
3. Move all the question files (that remained in English) from c:\video\csentmpg.vid\espanol\ to the original course directory c:\video\csentmpg.vid\.
4. Move all the Spanish question files from c:\video\csentmpg.vid\temp to c:\video\csentmpg.vid\espanol\.

Working with the "Advanced" options in Training Manager

How do I use the check box options for the "Advanced" button in the General folder of Training Manager?

Use these check boxes for special support for some MPEG players (hardware and software). If you are experiencing problems with MPEG audio or graphics display while audio is running, click on the "Advanced" button in the General Folder of Training Manager.

Some MPEG playback drivers handle audio and video files differently than the norm. We've added three radio-button controls under Advanced Options to avoid these problems. You may have to experiment with the settings for some players, but here are the settings for the five we've tested: (X means turn the setting on).

	SoftPEG	Mediamatics Arcade	Active Movie	Xing	Jazz Jakarta
Open/Close MCI driver for each MPEG video file	X	X	X	X	X
Open/Close MCI driver for each MPEG audio file	X	X	X	X	X
Special MCI timing instructions	X

Working with Software MPEG decoders (codecs)

Microprocessor requirements

How fast does my computer need to be to run software MPEG instead of running it with an MPEG card?

There are two answers here. The answer depends on whether you're using standard bitrate courses (typical cd-rom rates) or low bitrate courses.

If you're playing low bitrate course files, a 386/33 or faster computer will work fine for 128Kb files. A 486/25 or faster computer will work fine for the 256Kb files.

As for standard bitrate files, some MPEG software decoders work with 486/66 computers with a very fast video card. But the playback performance is usually very poor. We recommend that you have at least a 133MHz Pentium with a accelerated graphics card that has DirectDraw drivers.

Making it work

I'm running a software MPEG decoder. It's not working. How do I get it to work?

The first step to isolate a problem with any MPEG device driver is to get it to run with the Windows MediaPlayer. If it works there, using its MCI drivers, then it should work with our software. If you cannot get MPEG files, both files with .mpg and .mpa file name extensions, to play in MediaPlayer, then you do not have the MPEG card, its drivers, or your software driver properly installed. Check with your supplier of the MPEG card or software driver.

With all that said, there are times when we have trouble with some cards and software players. Not all MPEG decoding drivers (software and hardware) handle MPEG audio and video files the same way. We have programmed "work arounds" for the problems we have encountered in our tests of MPEG software and hardware drivers. See the section here on"Working with the 'Advanced' Options in Training Manager".

Improving picture quality

I'm running [any software MPEG player] with the standard bitrate (cd-rom) courses, and the picture quality is not as good as I expected. The motion isn't very smooth and I can see the dithering (pattern of a screen or mesh) of the colors in the picture. I know I've seen better picture quality from other computers that are the same speed as mine. How can I check to see if I'm getting the best picture possible from my system?

You need to make sure you have DirectDraw drivers installed for your video card and check your display settings for optimal screen resolution and adequate color depth.

Most video cards include a driver diskette that contains DirectX or DirectDraw drivers for it. DirectDraw is a component of DirectX. If you do not have your card's driver diskette, you can download and install DirectX free from Microsoft's website (www.microsoft.com), a generic DirectDraw driver is included. Installing the DirectDraw driver will allow your software MPEG player to make maximum use of your video card.

Your display settings also play an important role in delivering good video quality. However, you may have to experiment a little to find the setting that's best for your system. Most video cards will give the best MPEG playback results if they are set for 640 X 480 resolution with 16 bit color, others may work best when set at 640 X 480 resolution with 24 bit color. By the way, this advice also applies to the low bitrate courses.

Most people think that the processor speed is the biggest factor in MPEG video playback quality. Not necessarily so. The speed of your video card is usually the biggest factor in video playback quality. If you have at least a 133MHz Pentium processor and can't get the video to playback smoothly, try a new video card that is faster. It's a cheaper solution than a new PC.

If you have a machine that is very slow (processor or video card is slow), you may have to switch into quarter-screen mode to play acceptable video. Go into the General Folder of Training Manager and change the "Digital Video" option to "Quarter-Screen".

MPEG video smaller than full-screen

The MPEG video and course screens only cover a portion of my screen. The course screens are displayed in the upper left corner. I have the "Digital Video" option set to "Full-Screen" in the General Folder of Training Manager but that doesn't fix it. What's wrong?

It's your screen resolution. You have your screen display set to a resolution greater than 640 X 480. Go into your display settings control and select 640 X 480 as the display resolution. The graphics and MPEG videos will now be full-screen.

To change your monitor's screen display dimensions (resolution) in Windows 95/98/NT follow this procedure:

1. Right click on any blank area of your desktop.
2. Click on "Properties" on the selection box that appears.
3. Click on the 'Settings" tab on the "Display Properties" window that appears.
4. In the section labeled "Desktop Area" click and drag the slider bar to its left-most position or until the setting reads 640 x 480.
5. Click on "Apply".

Error message: "RT-302 Error [264] opening MCI file".

I'm running ActiveMovie and sometimes the system just locks up and I get this message. How do I fix this?

You need to use the Advanced options in the Training Manager's General Folder to fix this. Here's the procedure:

1. Click on the "Start" button
2. Then choose "Programs"
3. Then choose "Training Administration"
4. Now choose "Training Manager"
5. Click on "OK" for working drive.
6. This should take you to the "General" folder. In the lower right corner there is a button labeled "Advanced". Click on this button.
7. Place a check mark in the first two boxes. Click on the OK button and exit the Training Manager.
8. Re-boot your computer.

Windows NT issues

Can't get SoftPEG to work

I'm running WindowsNT and SoftPEG. I can't get SoftPEG to work. Can you make it work?

Nope. Your only choice is to scrap SoftPEG and load ActiveMovie instead. You can download ActiveMovie here.

New installation, Training Manager not in Start Programs menu

I just installed the first Mastery course to my system. I'm running WindowsNT. I looked in the Training Administration program group of the Start Programs menu for Training Manager, but it's not there. What happened? Where is Training Manager?

It's on your system. The Runtime version of the first course you installed must have been among the two or three releases of the Runtime that failed to create Program Items for Training Manager and Install Mastery Products in the Training Administration program group of NT desktops.

This problem is easily remedied. Here's the procedure:

1. Right mouse click on the Task Bar.
2. Select "Properties" from the dialog box that is displayed.
3. Click on the "Start Menu Programs" tab of the Taskbar Properties window.
4. Click on "Add".
5. Browse to the \VIDEO directory and click on the TMGR.EXE file, then click "Open", then "Next" to select the Training Manager program.
6. Click on the "Training Administration" program group as the place to put the Training Manager program item and icon.
7. Enter the name you want to give this entry. Use "Training Manager".
8. Click "Finish".

Repeat this same procedure to place the Program Item "Install Mastery Products" in the Training Administration Program Group. Link this item to the LOAD.EXE program in the \VIDEO directory.

Working with student record files

Archiving and purging old learner records

My database files are getting very large and I want to purge the records from prior years, but I still want to save the old records in case I need them again. Oh yeah, and I don't want to have to enroll everyone again. ...One more thing, I don't want to lose the records for training that we've already done during this new year. How can I do that?

No problem. The procedure is safe and short, but it's still is a little too long for this page. Click here to get the step-by-step procedure.

Working with DOS student record files (fixing problems)

Converting DOS records to Windows

How do I convert my old DOS learner records to the new Windows database structure?

From the DOS prompt, here's the procedure:

1. Back up the existing DOS learner records. Use the Backup option from the utilities menu of STARS (DOS Version). This process takes awhile if there are a lot of learner records.
2. Make sure \VIDEO is the current directory, enter this command: CD \VIDEO
3. Run the data file conversion program. This process will create Windows format learner record files in the \VIDEO\RECORDS directory. This process will also delete all DOS learner records. Enter this command: GEN2TO4.EXE

If you deliberately or inadvertently run the DOS version of the Runtime after the learner files have been converted, the additional DOS records can be appended (added) to the Windows learner database by repeating the three steps above.

Repairing DOS Learner Record errors

The system reports errors in my DOS learner records. How do I repair them?

If one or more learner records (DOS system only) exhibit errors, such as during the conversion of DOS to WINDOWS (gen2to4.exe) run the following diagnostic program to repair all possible files.

1. In (DOS) the \VIDEO directory, type "TRACK /D".This command enters you into the (DOS) STARS program.
2. From the "Utilities" menu, select "Diagnostics". The diagnostic program lists all repair options. Type in the repair code you wish to run against the learner records files. The repair codes are listed here:

   <100> Reset SHF Transferred to 0 (NO)

   Enter this option to reset the transfer flags of all SHF (student history files) from "1", which means the files have been transferred to a floppy or another drive, to "0", which means the files have not been transferred.

   <101> Prints SHF and SS#

   Enter this code to print a list of all student history files and the NAME number associated with each.

   <102> Rebuild corrupted SHF

   This option actually rebuilds a student history file (.SHF) for a file containing corrupted information due to hardware malfunctions. The rebuilt file will only contain information that is physically present in the corrupted file or is in a form that can be reconstructed.

   <103> Stamp date for each lesson in .CUR/.PRE

   Repairs the date in a lesson file. The system will use the current system date to replace the date value in each lesson record.

   <104> Checks for ElapsedTime < 0 and recalcs

   Enter this code to check Elapsed Time calculation in the student history file. If necessary, the program recalculates the total course elapsed time from the time information in the lesson records and properly stores it in the SHF.

   <105> Repair .CUR/.PRE all courses for one learner

   This code repairs a corrupted post test (.CUR) or pre-test (.PRE) learner file. This code adjusts all courses for the specified learner.

   <106> Repair .CUR/.PRE one course for one learner

   This code repairs a corrupted posttest (.CUR) or pretest (.PRE) learner file. 106 only repairs the course specified in the diagnostic reporting an error.

   <107> Check learner file headers

   Use the option to run the full diagnostic program against the learner records and return a full list of individual learner record errors. The list of errors will provide descriptions of the errors which will help you locate the repair code (from this list) that will repair code the errors.

   <108> Fix SHF for ID MISMATCH only

   Used for a specific error, 108 fixes the student history file linked to an altered ID number.

   <109> Fix .CUR/.PRE for NAME MISMATCH only

   Used for a specific error, 108 fixes the current scores file (CUR) and pretest scores (PRE) linked to an altered NAME number.

Here are some common error messages you might see, along with the appropriate code used to repair the file. These examples refer to "S1" which represents the "student" number assigned to each record. Use this number when the system prompts you to enter the <learner #>.

If you see this error message	Use this repair code
INVALID DATE (start): S1.SHF	102
INVALID DATE (recent): S1.SHF	102
INVALID ELAP TIME: File needs repair: S1.SHF	104
INVALID ELAP TIME: File needs repair: S1.CUR	105 or 106
INVALID ELAP TIME: File needs repair: S1.PRE	105 or 106
INVALID LESSON: S1.CUR	105 or 106
INVALID LESSON: S1.PRE	105 or 106
INVALID DATE: S1.CUR	105 or 106
INVALID DATE: S1.PRE	105 or 106
NOTE: File Missing	105 or 106
ID MISMATCH: S1.SHF	108
NUM MISMATCH: S1.SHF	108
ID MISMATCH: File needs repair: S1.SHF	108
ID MISMATCH: File needs repair: S1.CUR	109
ID MISMATCH: File needs repair: S1.PRE	109
ID MISMATCH: S1.CUR	109
NUM MISMATCH: S1.PRE	109
ID MISMATCH: S1.CUR	109
NUM MISMATCH: S1.PRE	109
COURSE ID MISMATCH: S1.PRE	call Mastery
COURSE DATA MISSING: CourseID	load course answer key

Running courses (general)

Audio cuts out early

Sometimes (especially on quiz questions) the sound stops before the narrator finishes a sentence. Why? Can I fix it?

It's an error in the MPEG audio decoder (player). Some versions of older software players miscalculate the end of the MPEG audio file and end the playback prematurely for audio-only MPEG files (.MPA files). If the latest version of your MPEG player does not solve the problem here's what to do:

1. If you are using software-only playback, change the player for all MPEG files to one that works correctly for both MPG and MPA files. We recommend ActiveMovie for Windows95 and SoftPEG Release 2.1 for Windows 3.x machines.
2. If you are using an MPEG decoder card like Jazz Jakarta or a REALMagic PCMCIA card with your notebook computer, change the player for MPA files to a player that works correctly for MPA files. This solution will preserve the superior picture quality of your MPEG player card while fixing the audio problem. To implement this solution:
   1. Install a second MPEG decoder program, ActiveMovie (Win95) or Xing—something other than the one that's giving you trouble.
   2. Run SYSEDIT and go into the [mci] section of the SYSTEM.INI file. Make a note of the alias given to the MPEG driver you just installed. For example the installation program may have given your ActiveMovie driver the alias name “ActiveMovie”. The actual entry would be: ActiveMovie=mciqtz.drv
   3. While still in the SYSEDIT window, go into the [mci extensions] section of the WIN.INI file and change the association for the MPA file extension to the new driver's alias name that you noted in step b. For example “ActiveMovie”. The actual entry would be changed to: mpa=ActiveMovie
   4. Save the SYSTEM.INI and WIN.INI files and restart Windows.

Buttons on the Control Bar get scrambled

The buttons on the Control Bar sometimes get messed up when a lesson is playing. How do I fix it?

This problem occurs with some video graphics adapters. The problem is a bug in the VGA driver. This problem only seems to occur with certain models of ATI cards when your display is set to a color depth greater than 16-bit (e.g. 24-bit or 32-bit). We can not work around this problem in the software. But you can. Set your display to a 16-bit color depth.

Garbled (distorted) audio

When I play the Spanish version of my course the sound is garbled. It sounds fine for the English version. Can it be fixed?

You may experience this problem if your .WAV output volume is set too high, or you have a bad driver for your sound card.

This is a known problem with Creative Labs Vibra-16 cards. Set the gain or volume control on your sound control panel to a lower value (down to "1" for the Creative Labs Vibra-16 card). If that doesn't correct the problem, download the newest driver for your sound card from the manufacturer's website. If you're using a Creative Labs Soundblaster card, go to www.soundblaster.com for your driver.

Asks for CD to be inserted but CD is already in the drive

The system keeps telling me to insert the CD-ROM for a course but the CD-ROM is already in the drive! It's label side up. The drive looks and sounds normal. Windows file manager even displays the contents of the CD. What am I missing?

Check the Training Manager program. Look in the “General” Folder. Is the entry for “CD-ROM Drive” correct? Probably not. Correcting this entry should solve your problem.

Course screen displays in upper left portion of screen, does not fill the screen

The course displays in a rectangular area in the upper left corner of my Windows desktop. It does not fill my screen. I want “full-screen video”. How do I make the picture fill the screen?

You need to put your display in 640x480 screen resolution. Your display is in a higher resolution, like 800x600 or 1024x768 which makes all items displayed on your screen look smaller. Change your monitor's screen display dimensions (resolution) in Windows 95/98/NT follow this procedure:

1. Right click on any blank area of your desktop.
2. Click on "Properties" on the selection box that appears.
3. Click on the "Setting" tab on the "Display Properties" window that appears.
4. In the section labeled "Desktop Area" click and drag the slider bar to its left-most position or until the setting reads 640 x 480.
5. Click on "Apply".

Error message: "RT-302 Error [259] opening MCI file"

I have a REALmagic card and I'm running under Windows95. When I try to run the course, I get this error message: MMSYSTEM 259. The command parameter used is not defined in MCI command set. Popup parent alias MOV. What is it? How do I fix it?

It's an error in the REALmagic installation program when used on a system with OEM release 2.0 of Windows95. Somehow the REALmagic installation program renames the "digitalvideo.mci" file to "digitalv.mci"+. The fix is simple. Rename the file. Here's how:

1. Using Windows Explorer, go to the "Windows\System" directory.
2. Click on the "digitalv.mci" file with the right mouse button.
3. Select the "Rename" option.
4. Change the file name to "digitalvideo.mci".

Video locks up (freezes)

I'm running the course from the hard drive (versus from the CD-ROM) with Windows95 and the video freezes in the middle of a video file. The lockup seems to be in the same place in the same file every time. The video plays fine from the CD-ROM. What's wrong?

The most likely video lock up problem is a hardware conflict. First look in the Device Manager to look for an "!" next to a device's icon. If you see one, there's a problem which is most often an interrupt (IRQ).

The second most likely cause is using multiple hard drives that are not using the same disk formatting scheme (FAT16 or FAT32) for both drives. NEVER MIX FORMATS! Check for this condition by looking under "My Computer" and right click on the drive, then select "Properties". For FAT16 drives it will show "FAT". For FAT32 drives it will show "FAT32".

Online Training

• Full-screen video
• Highly interactive
• Powerful reporting

Try it now