Anchek Multimedia Solving Problems and Frequently Asked Questions

Scroll down for help on different programs.

NetColorz

I really like the Anchek NetColorz program but how do I stop it from launching when Windows starts up.

This issue has been resolved in version 2.1. Simply go to the About and Options box and deselect “Place into Windows startup.” To regain this option, simply reselect it.

However, to manually do this (as given in both the previous version’s readme and help file) simply go to your Windows Start|Programs|StartUp menu and click on the NetColorz icon with the right mouse button. Select “Delete” from the menu to remove the icon. This only removes the icon from the StartUp menu which in turn ensures the program will no longer launch when Windows boots up. To access the program, click on its icon through the Programs menu. The default place for the standard NetColorz icon to be is in your Windows|Start|Programs|Anchek Multimedia|NetColorz menu. To later restore it to this setting, just place a shortcut to the program in the StartUp menu.

If you have an older version of Windows95 you may need to instead go to Start|Settings|Taskbar then click on the Start Menu|Programs tab and click the Advanced button. From there you should click on the Programs folder to bring its contents up into the right-hand list and then the double click on the StartUp folder. There you will see the NetColorz shortcut. Delete it and you’re done.

I don’t like the feature of starting when Windows starts.
Why did you do it?

We hear you. Feedback from version 1.0 indicated that many folks preferred the program as a tray icon program. To make sure everyone knew the feature was now available we had the installation program add an extra icon in the StartUp menu. This was removed as an installation default with the latest version. As to why — at the time we felt that having given instructions to remove this feature in both the help file and readme.txt file, plus being so simple to remove, it was the best way to show off this new feature.

TipTap

We provide you here with the most frequently asked questions about TipTap. Choose the question that best describe your problem in particular, by clicking with your mouse on it. If you are a novice with computers, just simply scrolls down until the question number matches the answer with the same number at the bottom of this screen.

I am installing the the retail version and am
having problems.
I downloaded the the shareware version between January 2, 2000 and February 5, 2000 and the program hangs on the first screen after starting up.
I installed TipTap and the keyboard does not
seem right?
When installing the registered version, how do
I delete the old fonts?
How many words can I add at any time?
Can I record my own voice, rather than using
your text-to-speech module?
How do I add my own sentences in the
sentence mode?
I wish to add my own words using the built-in
text-to-speech module. What is the procedure
for doing so?
I noticed the program comes with a typing tutor
and how does it work?
How does the phonics section works?
Why does the shareware version comes with
only 2 phonics words?

TipTap Answers

1: I am installing the retail version and am having problems.

There may be several problems that happen if the installation was not completed properly or you paused and went backwards through the installation or restarted installation. Such problems as the program will not start or it reports not being able to find the serial number or unable to locate a file or folder usually derive from this.

Reinstalling the program is the best way to correct these problems.

Uninstall the program or simply delete the directory where you installed TipTap
Go to you Windows directory and find the file tt30am.ini and delete it
Reboot the computer
Reinstall TipTap without pausing and using the back button during the installation process
Reboot the computer after installation

The program should now be properly installed and the problems resolved. If you are installing from the CD and have problems during installation you may try first going into the TipTap directory on the CD and then copying the t3retail.exe file to a temporary directory on your hard drive and installing from there. If the installation program does not start, you may need to reboot your computer before proceeding.

2: I downloaded the shareware version between January 2, 2000 and February 5, 2000 and the program hangs on the first screen after starting up.

When we repackaged the shareware version for the year 2000 we placed the wrong configuration file ( ini file ) in the setup. This is easily fixed without redownloading by going into your Windows directory and opening the file tt30am.ini with Windows Notepad. There are two sections that need to be changed to read exactly as follows:

[speech fonts]
Male English 11kHz 8-bit=TT311K8

[default dictionary]
TT311K8=TT30_EN.DIC

If these read 22kHz 16-bit or show something other than TT311K8, you should change it to read as shown above. After making these changes (if this is the case) then restart TipTap and it should then run properly. This has now been corrected and all further downloads should not have such a problem. This does not effect the retail version. We apologize for any inconvenience.

3: I installed TipTap and the keyboard does not seem right?

You are probably running an older version of TipTap on Windows95 and you need to delete the old Tiptap fonts. See Question 4 below. The latest versions install fonts correctly so this should only affect older versions of the program.

4: When installing the retail version, how do I delete the old fonts?

The uninstall program will do this automatically. This is no longer an issue. But if you want to uninstall them manually, please follow the instructions below.

If you have Windows95 you have to:

Uninstall the program
Go to control panel and click on FONTS
Delete the following TipTap fonts: TipTap Gothic,
TipTap Gothic Light, TipTap Keyboard and TipTap Symbols.
Reboot the computer and you are ready to install
the new version.

5: How many words can I add at any time?

You may add an UNLIMITED number of your own words and sentences by creating separate lists using the included TipTap Data Editor program. The only limitation is that you each word list file can only hold up to 36 words at a time, but you can create innnumberable lists with different file names. Sentence lists are limited to 100 sentences. You probably do not want to teach more than this at one time.

6: Can I record my own voice, rather than using your text to speech module?

Definitely, you may use your own recordings that are saved in standard Windows wave (wav) file format. See Question 8 below for more details.

7: How do I add my own sentences in the sentence mode?

This has been simplified and made very easy with the TipTap Data Editor. Please download a copy of the free TipTap Program Guide for detailed instructions on how to do this.

8: I wish to add my own words using the built-in text-to-speech module. What is the procedure for doing so?

It is very simple with the latest version using the TipTap Data Editor. This is a separate program that is included with TipTap. With it, teachers and parents can create word and sentence lists. These lists run automatically in the main TipTap program in the Word Discovery, Matching Game, Spelling Bee and Sentence areas of the Teacher’s Section. By default the program uses the built in text-to-speech module to “say” the words. If you prefer to use your own voice instead, all you have to do is to record it with a sound recorder program. Such programs usually come bundled with your sound card as well as with the Windows operating system. Save these files into the standard Windows wave (wav) file format and place them into the TipTap|Wave directory. You can mix both text-to-speech and wave files within the same list. Please download the free TipTap Program Guide for detailed instructions on how to do this.

9: I noticed the program comes with a typing tutor. How does it work?

The typing tutor comes with an animated talking robot that teaches typing. The onscreen 3D keyboard is color coded. You may customize it with your own favorite colors. The program always encourages the child to improve with the drill practice, however, there are no negative remarks. There is a box onscreen marked by a red arrow displaying how many letters he/she missed. A green arrow points to the total of correctly typed letters. As skills increase, you may use the Sentence Section to add more difficult sentences to be read and typed in.

10: How does the Phonics section work?

Each PHONIC lesson has 5 parts:

Focus Word presents the lesson with animation and music. The animation (object) is linked to the word. The word is phonetically sounded out 2 to 3 times and the student is asked to spell the word.
Word Discovery presents the original focus word again with 8 additional words. It plays the 9 new showing how to spell and speak each word and lets the student practice typing the words.
Matching Game the student matches the square with the text that matches each of the 9 words.
Spelling Bee displays blank key and recites the word to be entered to test if the student has memorized how to spell the 9 words.
Sentence Section a sentence using the focus word and similar phonetic words is given to place it into grammatic perspective

11: Why does the demo version come with only 2 words from the teacher’s word list?

This is no longer true in the newest trial edition. Now you are allowed to experiment with full teacher/parent word and sentence lists. The retail version offers a total 180 prepackaged phonics words and 20 sentences. There is no limitation as to how many words and sentences of your own you can add.

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