The NGAkids site uses Shockwave, Flash, QuickTime, and Acrobat (PDF). If you're using a recent browser you're probably familiar with these popular plug-ins. Let's see if you're ready to explore the more interactive parts of our site. Near the top of this page, just under the words "Test your plug-ins," you should see a box. Inside, if you have the necessary software, you'll see animated QuickTime, Shockwave, and Flash icons.

Please note: Many computers have Flash pre-installed, but you will need to install Shockwave to use the interactive features in the NGAkids Art Zone. Most modern Mac and Windows browsers support Shockwave–if yours does not accept the plug-in, try another browser. For the Mac, try Safari or Firefox.  For Windows, use Internet Explorer or Firefox. Some Macintosh OS 10.5 users may experience display or printing problems with Firefox 3, which has some known incompatibilities with certain Flash and Shockwave content.  If you notice the Firefox browser window is blank or portions of the interactive content seem  to be "breaking apart" into puzzle pieces or disappearing, try resizing the browser window by dragging the lower right hand corner to reset the screen display. 

The Art Zone interactives require the Shockwave player. Without it, interactives such as Brushster will appear blank. After downloading the plug-in, follow the installation directions. After Shockwave is installed, quit your browser and relaunch it, then come back to NGAkids

IMPORTANT NOTE: To run Shockwave Player natively on Intel-based Macintosh computers or on Vista-based PCs, please upgrade to Shockwave Player version 11.5. If you experience any problems with the latest version (for example, if you have difficulty printing), Shockwave 10 also works on Intel Macs. To install version 10, you must first set Safari or Firefox to run in Rosetta mode, then follow the standard installation. Here's how.

Applications like both Safari and Firefox default to running in native mode on the new Intel-based Macs and therefore you must follow a few simple steps to instead have then run in Rosetta emulation mode:

1. Quit out of the browser.
2. Go to your Applications folder and control-click on the browser application bundle.
3. In the context menu that appears select Get Info.
4. Under the General heading of the Info dialog select "Open using Rosetta".
5. Close the Info dialog box.

After completing the above steps the browser will now run in Rosetta emulation mode thus allowing you to install and use the Shockwave Player.

For additional information on downloading, installing, and using Shockwave on an Intel-based Macs, read the Adobe tech note titled Using Shockwave Player on an Intel-based Macintosh.

PRINTING PROBLEMS? 

Shockwave 11 introduced some incompatibilities with the "xtra" that is required to print interactive content. Printing works on most Windows computers, and many Macintoshes.  If you cannot print by clicking the PRINT BUTTON, an easy workaround is to take a screenshot and then print the saved file. Here's how. 

SUGGESTED BROWSERS

We suggest  that you use Safari or Firefox 2 on Macintosh computers, and Internet Explorer or Firefox on Windows-based PCs.  Firefox 3 has introduced several Flash and Shockwave display errors on some systems. Many of these problems have been resolved with the most recent Firefox 3 update. Shockwave 11.5 addresses some of these issues as well, but some Mac users'  screens still become blank after the Shockwave module has loaded. In other instances, clicking on the background of the Web page that contains the module will make the interactive "disappear."  The easy way to fix the problem is to resize the browser window by dragging the lower right corner of the browser window. The interactive should reappear and be fully functional after resizing. We hope the browser developers will address this problem in the next Firefox update.

Adobe has additional tech support information that may be useful if you are getting other "shockwave errors" or if you're having trouble updating the plug-in.  Please read their SHOCKWAVE HELP page. You may need to adjust download permissions or security settings on your computer before installing the player. If you do not have administrative access to install plug-ins, your Windows-based browser may send an error message. HINT: In most cases, the program will work correctly, even though an error message was generated at launch. Give it a few seconds and see if the program loads normally after the error message is dismissed.

If you are running Windows Vista, you should update your Shockwave player to version 11.5. 

PLUG IN DOWNLOADS

Use the following links to download Shockwave Player, QuickTime, Flash, and Acrobat.

 

PRINTING/SAVING SCREEN SHOTS

Click the print button at the top right of the interactive to send the picture to the printer.
Do not use the browser's print menu -- if you do the print out will be blank.

To save a version of your art on your computer, take a screen shot. Here's how:

Macintosh users: hold down the APPLE KEY (COMMAND) + SHIFT KEY + 3 and a screen shot will be saved automatically. In OS X a PDF file named "Picture #" will appear on your Desktop. In OS 9 a PICT file (named "Picture #") will be saved on your hard drive. To save part of the screen image, hold down the APPLE KEY (COMMAND) + SHIFT KEY + 4 with one hand (HINT: use your thumb + pinkie + index/pointer finger at the same time). CLICK and HOLD DOWN the mouse button with your other hand, then DRAG/SELECT the area you wish to save or print.

PC/Windows users: click the PRINT SCREEN key (it's usually located near the F12 key), then open any word processor or graphics program and create a new document. Use the PASTE menu command to insert the "remembered" screenshot into your new document. NAME and SAVE the new file, then PRINT it.

If you have a picture editing program on your computer, you can CROP the screenshot, RESIZE it, or make other adjustments before printing.  If you don't have graphics software, just print out the full screen shot and then cut out the part of the screen shot you'd like to save.

Remember, use the print button in the interactive itself. If you try to print directly from the Web browser's PRINT MENU, the page you're printing will be blank.

TROUBLESHOOTING POP UP WINDOWS
If links don't seem to be working, or if you keep getting redirected to the top of a page you're already viewing, that simply means that your browser is not reading javascript pop-up window links properly. Check your preferences to make sure javascript is enabled and that pop-ups are not being blocked. The "low tech" version of the NGAkids splash page contains conventional (non-javascript) HTML links.