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Free Technical Support
Essential Tools for Teachers Technical Support
FAQs | Updates and Patches | System Requirements | Tech Notes
Q: What's the current version of Essential Tools for Teachers? Could an upgrade help me?
A: Essential Tools for Teachers is now sold as a “Classroom Suite”, combining the titles previously sold as separate CDs. Here are the current versions for each of the titles on the “Classroom Suite” CD.
Essential Word Worksheets 1.2
Essential Math Worksheets 1.2
Essential Crosswords 1.2
Essential Cloze Maker 1.0
Essential Bingo 1.0
Essential Puzzles 2.2
If you purchased your Essential Tools as individual CDs, compare these versions to the version numbers listed on the silkscreen of your CD to see if you could use an update. The previous version was known to run into a launching problem on Windows 2000 and Windows XP and would give the message " No Default Printer was found ". If you are in need of an upgrade, please see Upgrades and Patches and download the appropriate patch to upgrade your product.
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Q: What can I do about network printer problems on Windows 2000 and Windows XP?
A: Some customers have reported errors when printing from Windows 2000 and Windows XP workstations to network printers . Typical printing errors that have been reported to us include blank or partial printouts, or no printouts at all. In the unlikely event that you encounter such a problem, here are some workaround approaches that you can try:
- Verify that your version is up-to-date. See the FAQ: “What's the current version of Essential Tools for Teachers?”
- Check on the web page of your printer's manufacturer to see if there have been any recent updates to the print driver for your printer model on your operating system. For the Essentials we recommend Post Script print drivers over PCL print drivers. If your printer supports Post Script drivers as an option, try one.
- Set up your computer to print directly to the network printer's IP address, as described below. To set this up, you will first need to know the IP address for your network printer.
Setup for Windows 2000 :
- Go to Start , Settings , and choose Printers .
- Choose Add Printer and click Next .
- Select Local Printer and deselect the option Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer .
- Click Next .
- Select Create a New Port and use the dropdown to choose a Standard TCP/IP port type.
- Click Next .
- Click Next to the opening screen of the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard .
- Enter the IP address for your network printer in the Printer name or IP address field.
- Click Next .
- You will then step through the printer wizard as usual, selecting a print driver based on your printer's manufacturer and model or with a supplied disk. (Please note that it is still advisable to use a Post Script print driver if you have the option.)
Setup for Windows XP :
- Go to Start and choose Printers and Faxes .
- Choose Add a Printer and click Next .
- Select Local Printer and deselect the option Automatically detect and install my Plug and Play printer .
- Click Next .
- Click Next .
- Select Create a New Port and use the dropdown to choose a Standard TCP/IP port type.
- Click Next .
- Click Next to the opening screen of the Add Standard TCP/IP Printer Port Wizard .
- Enter the IP address in the Printer name or IP address field. (The port name should generate automatically.)
- Click Next .
- You will then step through the printer wizard as usual, selecting a print driver based on your printer's manufacturer and model or with a supplied disk. (Please note that it is still advisable to use a Post Script print driver if you have the option.)
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Q: The text identifying the buttons within my Essential Tools program is too large fit inside the buttons. ( Windows )
A: In a situation like this, the “Layout” button might appear as “ayou”, and “Puzzle Options” might appear as “uzzle Option”. If you are encountering this sort of behavior then your System Font may be set too large for the program to accommodate. Here's how to fix the problem.
- Right-click on your desktop and choose “Properties” to open the Display Properties control panel.
- Select the Settings tab and then click on the Advanced button.
- In the Display section of the next panel, use the dropdown to switch from Large Fonts (120 dpi) to Normal Fonts (96 dpi).
- Click OK to the two open dialogs. You will need to restart your computer before the changes will take effect.
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Q: In the Math Quotes section of Essential Puzzles , my students have difficulty filling in the numbered blanks with the intended letter because the program sometimes assigns more than one letter to the same numeric answer from the problem sets below.
A: This is a known program error that can happen on both the Macintosh and Windows platforms. It occurs when two or more math problems result in the same numeric value, but correspond to different letters in the quote. For example, the letter “A” could correspond to the problem “5+3” and the letter “G” could correspond to the problem “4+4” so that both “A” and “G” correspond to the number “8”. The student will then have to decide which of these letters to use in the quote for blank spaces represented by the number “8”. It should be noted that this problem is unlikely to come up if you are using the default settings because the range of potential answers is vast, making it unusual to see two problems with the same answer. The problem will become apparent, however, as you use the “Objectives” button to limit the scope of the problems for younger students. For this reason, you may consider dispensing with the Math Quotes section for your younger students to avoid this problem.
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Q: My Essentials program does not fill my screen. How can I enlarge the display?
A: The Essential Tools for Teachers series was designed for a display resolution of 640X480 . If the program does not fill your screen, you can correct this by reducing your display resolution to 640X480 , using the following instructions. If at a later time you wish to return to your original resolution, follow these steps and switch from 640X480 to your earlier settings.
On a Mac of OS 8 or 9 , you can set your screen resolution through the Apple Menu , under the Control Panels list.
- Open the Monitors control panel.
- Your current resolution setting will be listed to the right of the Monitors control panel. Make a note of this current setting for future reference.
- Select the 640X480 resolution option in the list on the right hand side.
- Close the Monitors control panel.
On a Mac OS 10 system, running the program in Classic Mode, set your screen resolution in the OS X environment, prior to launching the application, and it should carry through into Classic.
- From the Apple Menu , click System Preferences .
- Click the Displays icon, listed in the Hardware subsection.
- To the left, in the Resolutions field, make a note of your current setting and select 640X480 . Your screen should automatically resize at this point.
- Close System Preferences and launch your classic application.
On a PC running Windows 95, 98 or 2000 , you can set your screen resolution through your Display control panel.
- Right-click on the desktop and choose ‘ properties' to open the Display Control Panel.
- Click the Settings tab. Your resolution setting will be displayed to the left. Make a note of it for future reference.
- Use the slider bar to select a screen resolution of 640X480 and click OK .
- Agree to accept the changes in the verification prompt that follows.
On a Windows XP computer, you cannot set your global resolution to 640x480 . To view the program in this resolution you will need to adjust the application's properties. Here's how.
- In the Start Menu 's All Programs list, right-click on the shortcut for the Essentials product that you are working with.
- Choose ‘ properties ' from the menu that appears.
- Click the ‘ Compatibility ' tab.
- Put a check in the box for “ Run in 640x480 screen resolution .”
- Click OK to close the dialog.
The next time you launch the application, your display will resize to 640X480 and it will return to its previous settings when the program closes.
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Q: How do I access the printable Teachers Guide?
A: The Teachers Guide cannot be accessed from within the Essentials products. It is a separate document on the CD, in the form of an Adobe Acrobat “.pdf” file. You will find the Teachers Guide on the root of the CD for all of the Essentials titles, with the exception of Essential Bingo and Essential Clozemaker. For these two titles you will find the teacher's guide on the CD in a folder named “Teachers Guide”. Double-clicking on the Teachers Guide should open it up in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed on your system, you will find an installer for this program, also on your Essentials CD, in a folder named “Acrobat”.
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Updates and Patches
Essential Crosswords 1.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Crosswords application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000. 78K
Essential Math Worksheets 1.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Math Worksheets application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000. 87K
Essential Puzzles 2.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Puzzles application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000. 79K
Essential Teacher Tools 1.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Teacher Tools application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000. 90K
Essential Word Worksheets 1.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Word Worksheets application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000.134K
Essential Worksheets 2.2 (Windows)
This update replaces the Essential Worksheets application. It fixes a printing problem found in Windows 2000. 84K
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