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Scholastic Keys Technical Support
FAQs | Updates and Patches | System Requirements | Tech Notes
Q: What is the current version of Scholastic Keys?
A: The current version of Scholastic Keys is 1.4.6. This version corrects a toolbar problem that can cause multiple unwanted toolbars to spring up at the launch of Microsoft Word. This CD can be used to upgrade existing installations of Scholastic Keys. However, if you are upgrading from Scholastic Keys 1.3 or earlier and wish to preserve any changes that you have made to the program’s configuration settings (such as Users & Groups settings) you will need to download our Scholastic Keys 1.4 Configuration Update tool, available from the Updates & Patches section below. You can confirm your installed version of Scholastic Keys from the Help menu of any of the three Keys programs, by selecting the “About…”, or by consulting the version number printed on your Scholastic Keys installation CD. If you wish to upgrade to the latest version of Scholastic Keys, please gather your purchase information and call our customer service department at 1-800-342-0236 and we will be happy to send you out a free update CD.
Please note that Scholastic Keys is not designed for use with Microsoft Office 2007. If you have Microsoft Office 2007, please consider our related product, Scholastic Keys 2007.
Q: How do I update my version of Microsoft® Office to the required Service Pack so I can run Scholastic Keys?
A: There are two methods for installing the required Microsoft® Office service packs.
Very Important
To implement the Office upgrade process it is essential that you are logged onto your PC as an Administrator and that you have the original Microsoft Office installation CD on hand that was used to install Office to your computer. During the upgrade process, you may be asked to insert this installation CD and if the CD cannot be provided at this point you could damage your Office installation. It is important that you use the exact CD that was used to install Office to your computer because a mismatch could result in an error. (If Office was not installed from a CD, but from a share-point on your network, then this pathway and share-point must still be valid.)
Method 1: Using Scholastic Keys to update Office
You can install and run Scholastic Keys versions 1.3 and higher without the required Service Packs but you will get a reminder message every time you try to launch the program. This is particularly useful if you do not have an Internet connection to download updates directly from the Microsoft website. The reminder message asks: “Do you want to update Microsoft Office now?” Click “Yes” to this and follow the on-screen instructions. Please remember that you must be logged onto your PC as an Administrator to update your Office installation.
Method 2: Update Office Online
You can also update your Office installation online by allowing Office to connect directly to the Microsoft webpage where it can download the latest service packs and hot fixes. If you have an Internet connection this is really the best option because Microsoft will scan your installation and offer you exactly what you need to fully update Office on your computer. Also, this method will ensure that you have the most up-to-date Office corrections.
- Launch Microsoft Word
- From the Help menu, choose Office on the Web (If a world map appears, click on your region.)
- Click “ Check for Updates” on the next 2 screens.
To obtain the latest Office 2003 updates from Microsoft, follow these steps:
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Launch Microsoft Word
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From the Help menu, choose Check for Updates.
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On the next screen, click Check for Updates again.
Microsoft will scan your computer for needed updates and initiate an Office update if necessary.
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Q: The Page Borders feature is not working in Max Write. How can I make it work?
A: If page borders do not work in Scholastic Keys it is likely that the art border feature was not included in your original installation of Microsoft Office. Please consult the Important Technical Tips entry below: "Verify that all Microsoft Office features have been fully installed to your computer."
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Q: : What can I do about Launch Failures?
A: Because Scholastic Keys rides on top of your existing MS Office installation and is not a self-contained program, there are several potential sources of difficulty to consider when diagnosing a launch failure. Launch errors covered in this FAQ may involve one, two or all three of the Scholastic Keys applications, and in some cases may even extend to the launch behavior of MS Office. Several conditions that could potentially lead to launch failures are discussed in the Important Technical Tips section at the bottom of this FAQs page. Below is a list of some of the more common causes of launching errors that can effect Keys and how to correct them.
Disabled Scholastic Keys Add-ins
Most launch errors in Scholastic Keys can be traced to a disabling of the Scholastic Keys add-in in Microsoft Office, which allows the two programs to integrate. Typically if the Office add-in has been disabled, any attempt to launch Scholastic Keys will only launch the underlying Office program, i.e. MS Word instead of MaxWrite, PowerPoint instead of MaxShow. (The exception to this pattern is MaxCount, which will usually bring the user back to the pc’s desktop if its required add-in has been disabled.) You may receive no error message, or you may see the Application Alert error message: “Could not perform the requested function”. This particular sort of error is application-specific, so it may not extend to all three Scholastic Keys programs. You should check each Scholastic Keys application in turn to determine the extent of your problem.
A sign that the Scholastic Keys add-in has been disabled in Office is that you will see no Scholastic Keys “launch” icon in the toolbar of the base Office program. In a healthy installation of Scholastic Keys, this icon will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the base Office program. If you do see this Scholastic Keys launch icon in your base Office application, then you have a different kind of problem. It may still be possible to launch Keys from this icon, but if this does not work, please contact Technical Support at 1-800-342-0236.
If you are using Office XP or Office 2003, then follow these steps to re-enable the Scholastic Keys add-in.
- Open the base Office program (Word, PowerPoint or Excel) for the Keys application which will not launch (MaxWrite, MaxShow or MaxCount).
- In the Menu bar, click “Help” and then click “About Microsoft (Word/PowerPoint/Excel)”.
- In the About box, click the “Disabled Items” button.
- Look in the Disabled Items list for any add-in that includes the words “Scholastic Keys” in its name.
- Select this add-in and click the Enable button.
- Close the Disabled Items list, click OK in the About box and exit out of the Office application.
- Re-launch the Office application and look for a Scholastic Keys link in the Office toolbar. Click the Keys icon and verify that your Scholastic Keys program launches correctly.
If you are working with Office 2000, there are no Disabled Items listed, or the problem comes back persistently after re-enabling the add-in, consider the following other potential sources of this kind of error behavior.
Running other Office applications (esp. Outlook) while launching Keys
It is best if Scholastic Keys is launched when no other Office programs are running (unless, of course, you are launching Keys from the toolbar shortcut in Word, PowerPoint or Excel.) In particular, avoid launching MaxWrite while Microsoft Outlook is open, if Outlook is set to use Word as its email editor. If a MaxWrite launch failure only comes up when Outlook is open, or if your launch error originated when MaxWrite was launched with Outlook open, you have run into this problem. If the problem persists after Outlook has been closed, re-enabling the MaxWrite add-in should fix the problem, but avoid launching Keys and Outlook in the future. If you wish, you can change the Outlook email editor in Outlook’s Options dialog.
User authentication at the launch of MS Office
The first time a Windows user account launches MS Office on a particular workstation, Office must authenticate that user, setting up special folders and registry entries. In certain cases this process has preceded launch errors which may persist in subsequent launch attempts even after the user has been authenticated by Office. We recommend that you pre-authenticate your user accounts by having them launch MS Office just once prior to attempting to launch Scholastic Keys. You should only need to do this once, and not once per logon session.
Potential Bluetooth conflict
In a minority of cases, Scholastic Keys launch errors have been traced to a conflict with certain Bluetooth software packages. The launch error manifests as the disabled add-in problem, described above, but there will be no disabled items listed in the disabled items list. This kind of error may trigger the Application Alert message, “Could not perform the requested function”. If this describes your situation, then uninstalling any Bluetooth software listed in the Add & Remove Programs control panel list may correct your problem.
Missing Office features (e.g. Office Assistant)
Some launch errors have been traced to Office installations which have been set up so that the Office Assistant feature is not set to “run from My Computer”. This feature may have been set instead to “Not Available” or “Install on First Use”. The usual message associated with this sort of problem is the Application Alert message, “Unknown error”, but it is also possible that this message will not come up. Setting the Office Assistant to “Run from My Computer” should fix this problem. We recommend that you set all Office features to Run from My Computer. This procedure is outlined below in the Important Technical Tips section.
Runtime Error messages at launch
A variety of “runtime errors” may come up when Scholastic Keys fails to launch. This suggests that your PC’s system font has been set to 120dpi. Scholastic Keys is not supportable under this system font setting. We recommend setting your system font to 96dpi to correct these runtime errors. This procedure is outlined below in the Important Technical Tips section.
Launch errors relating to installation problems in Scholastic Keys
In some cases, Scholastic Keys launch errors have been traced back to errors that occurred during the installation of the product. It is possible that file corruption within the installation directory is the source of launch errors on a particular PC. To check for this possibility, start by uninstalling the product. If an error comes up during the uninstallation process, record it and contact TSP Technical Support for further assistance. If Scholastic Keys uninstalls correctly, you should navigate to the Program Files directory and delete the Scholastic Keys directory that remains on your hard drive (C:\Program Files\Scholastic Keys\). This will ensure that no corrupt files remain to hinder the reinstallation of the product. Finally, reinstall Scholastic Keys and check to see if the problem has gone away.
Launch errors relating to installation problems in MS Office
Scholastic Keys can only be as reliable as the Office installation that it is installed to. If Keys is failing to launch, this could relate to a problem within your MS Office installation. This can potentially be the case even if there are no obviously detectable problems in your Office installation. Running an Office Repair (from within the Add & Remove Programs control panel) may correct such problems, but if not it may be necessary to completely remove and then reinstall Microsoft Office. If you are going to go to the effort to implement this potential fix, we recommend removing Scholastic Keys at the same time, as described above.
Launch errors caused by multiple versions of Office installed to the computer
If you have more than one version of Microsoft Office appearing in your Add & Remove Programs control panel, this can potentially confuse Scholastic Keys, resulting in launch errors. If this turns out to be the case for you, a good place to start would be uninstalling the unwanted version of Microsoft Office.
Launch errors that occur only in restricted user accounts
If administrative user accounts are able to launch Scholastic Keys, but restricted user accounts cannot, and receive a message starting with, “ErrorHandler.LogError”, then you are probably using an older version of Keys and need a free update. Please see the first FAQ in this section, “What is the current version of Scholastic Keys?”.
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Q: After Using Scholastic Keys, the toolbar in my Microsoft application looks different. How do I fix that?
A: The Toolbars Reset tool may be used to repair the Microsoft Office toolbars. This may occur if Office performs an illegal operation and the application does not exit properly, and causes the toolbars to be come invisible or the icons to remain large. The toolbars can be reset individually for the Microsoft Office applications - Word, Excel, and PowerPoint - or for all Microsoft Office toolbars.
To reset the toolbars
- Make sure all Microsoft Office applications are closed.
- Select Start, Programs, Scholastic Keys, Tools, Toolbars Reset.
- The Toolbars Reset dialog box will be displayed.
- Click the appropriate reset button. A progress bar wil be displayed while the toolbars are being reset.
- Click Close when completed.
There is an additional behavior that can happen in Office toolbars if an error occurs in Keys or in Office while Keys is running. We have had reports from customers of MS Word launching with every toolbar displayed, so that the floating toolbars cover up much of the document view. This error that causes this behavior in Word seems to relate to running a Scholastic Keys session and an MS Office application session simultaneously, so this practice should be avoided. The only workaround for this situation is to close all of the MS Office toolbars that you do not wish to have displayed. Toolbars can be selected or deselected from within Word’s View menu. The next time that you launch Word, you should only see the toolbars selected in your last Word session.
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Q: Can you have a version of MS Word and Max Write open at the same time?
A: No — it is designed for only a single document open at any one time to cater to younger children. All documents are native Microsoft Office documents and therefore can be opened later in Word, Excel or PowerPoint. If you open Word after Scholastic Keys, you will need to quit Scholastic Keys before you can quit Word.
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Q: If children want to email a document created in Scholastic Keys to their parents, will it open?
A: Yes, if the parents have Microsoft Office, or programs that can open MS Office files. All files in Scholastic Keys are saved with MS Office file extensions. For example, MaxWrite files are saved with a .doc file extension. Scholastic Keys applications can also open MS Office files.
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Q: How does Scholastic Keys use the network?
A: The Scholastic Keys applications run on local hard drives, not on the network because MS Office is almost always located on local hard drives. However, Configuration files can be set up on a network to allow users to save to specific network locations by default. This location will store documents and newly created clip art and sounds. The configuration files also store individual user settings so students can log in on any machine and they can run a customized version of Keys. This feature also allows teachers to easily “push out” files to students using the “Distribution Wizard” and the “Content Wizard”.
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Q: Can I browse to other graphic files from the Insert Art dialog?
A: In version 1.1 you cannot navigate outside the Insert Art dialog. In version 1.2 you can click the button on the bottom of dialog which is called "Insert picture form file" to browse to any connected drive.
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Q: What program features and preferences can be customized for individuals/groups/district?
A: Q Application Features (such as the Spell Checker and Sound Recorder), Content (such as Clip Art and template files), and Printers can be turned on and off at the Global (School), Group or Individual Levels. To see these options, go to Start/Programs/Scholastic Keys/Tools/Configure Options.
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Q: I’m having difficulty registering Scholastic Keys.
A: Product registration can only be done from within an Administrator login. To register Scholastic Keys you will need the 20 digit serial number that comes with valid license agreements of Scholastic Keys. This serial number can be found on the Tyvek sleeve that the Scholastic Keys CD was shipped in. The serial number can be entered during product installation, or afterwards by following a prompt that comes up at the launch of an unregistered installation of Scholastic Keys. There are two areas of difficulty that customers have reported when registering Scholastic Keys.
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Mistyping the serial code. This is quite common. If the inputted serial code is off by even a single digit, the product will enter into a 45 day trial period, assuming that a trial period has not already elapsed on the workstation in question.
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Registering from a non-Administrative user account. This can happen when a non-administrative user follows the registration prompt at the launch of Keys. Once the serial number has been entered from a non-administrative account, the program will give an erroneous message stating “Product Registered”, but no registration will have happened. Product registration can only be done from within an Administrative account.
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Q: I am only able to print to my Windows default printer.
A: When Scholastic Keys is first installed, your students will only be able to send print jobs to the Windows default printer that has been set up for your PC. This is in keeping with Scholastic Keys being a “simplified” interface for Microsoft Office. However, you can set up Keys to print to any of the printers normally accessible to your students by using the Configure Options tool. This process is described in detail in the Users Guide on pages 49 and 50.
However, if you have already configured Scholastic Keys to print to multiple printers and are still only able to print from MaxShow to your Windows default printer, then you have encountered a bug in our program. In Scholastic Keys versions 1.3 and earlier, MaxShow print jobs will always be directed to your Windows default printer, regardless of what printer you select or what you have set up in Configure Options. Fortunately, we have this problem corrected in Scholastic Keys version 1.4 and updates are free for all license holders. To upgrade to version 1.4, please gather your purchase information and call our customer service department at 1-800-342-0236. We will be happy to send you out a free update CD. Please see the faq, “What is the current version of Scholastic Keys?” for more information on upgrading.
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Q: My hyperlinks aren’t working in MaxWrite.
A: You can create hyperlinks in MaxWrite using the Keyboard shortcut Ctrl + K, as described in the MaxWrite features section of the Keys User’s Guide. However, if Scholastic Keys is using Office XP or Office 2003 as its base, your hyperlink may appear at first not to work. This is because in these two versions of Office you need to hold down your Control key when you click a hyperlink to make it active. Simply clicking on the link will not take you where you want to go.
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Q: Which versions of Microsoft Office are required to run Scholastic Keys?
A: This information is listed in the Scholastic Keys system requirements chart, but it is worth elaborating on here. Scholastic Keys can interface with Office 2000, Office XP or Office 2003, on either the Windows 2000 or Windows XP operating system. If you have Microsoft Office 2007 installed, please consider our related product, Scholastic Keys 2007.
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Important Technical Tips – General Troubleshooting and Preventative Measures
Here are some general guidelines and principles which can help to avoid problems and allow Scholastic Keys run more smoothly.
Check for Office Updates Online
Scholastic Keys can only be as reliable as the Office installation that it relies upon. Therefore it is highly advisable that you make sure that you have all of the latest service packs and hot fixes available on the Microsoft webpage. Instructions to do this are posted in the Scholastic Keys faq covering installation of Required Service Packs, above. If there are any pre-existing issues with your Office installation, these should be resolved prior to the installation of Scholastic Keys.
Verify that all Microsoft Office features have been fully installed to your computer.
By default, Microsoft Office does not install itself completely onto a workstation. Often, some features are not available for immediate use, and this can result in problems when using Scholastic Keys. Therefore we recommend that you set all Office features to the “Run from My Computer” setting. To do this, you will first need to be logged onto your PC with local administrative rights and you will need to have your original Office installation CD inserted into your CD-ROM drive (Assuming that Office was installed from a CD). Then, take the following steps.
- Launch the Add/Remove Programs control panel.
- To do this on Windows 98 & Windows 2000, click Start, Settings, Control Panel, and then click the Add/Remove Programs applet.
- On Windows XP, click Start, Control Panel, and then click Add or Remove Programs.
- Select Microsoft Office from the programs list and,
- for Windows 2000 & XP click the “Change” button.
- for Windows 98 click the “Add/Remove” button.
- On the next dialog, click the Add or Remove Features option and click Next.
- If your Office version is Office 2000 or Office XP, go on to step 5. If your Office version is Office 2003, put a checkmark in the box next to “Choose Advanced Customization of Applications” and then click Next.
- You should now see a list of all of Office's features. Click the icon to the right of the top entry, “Microsoft Office”, and from the pop-up list, select the “Run All from My Computer” option.
- Click “Update Now” and Office will install any features that are not currently installed.
Pre-authenticate your users for Office.
Whenever a new user launches Office for the first time on a workstation, the Office suite takes a moment to install certain files and set up registry keys that authenticate the user for Office. In the vast majority of cases, if this authentication process coincides with a launch of Scholastic Keys there will be no problem. However, in certain cases we have seen errors develop in Scholastic Keys when a user’s first launch of Keys happens also to have been their first time launching Office on a particular workstation. Therefore it is best practice to have your users launch one of the Office applications (it doesn’t matter which one) on any new workstations prior to launching Scholastic Keys.
Set the System Font to the Normal Size (96 dpi) setting.
Issue: Large Fonts setting introduces problems.
Description: A variety of problems have been detected on systems that have been set to use large fonts (120 dpi). These problems include difficulties inserting graphics, accessing the Help menu and launching errors, which may be accompanied by Runtime Error messages.
Solution: Setting the system to the normal (96 dpi) font setting fixes these problems. To check or change your system font, do the following:
- Right-click the desktop and click Properties.
- Click the Settings tab.
- Click the Advanced button.
- Your current font is displayed on the General tab of the following dialog.
- If you are currently using something other than the 96 dpi font setting, use the dropdown arrow to select this setting.
- Click OK to both open dialogs.
Installation Advice
Before installing Scholastic Keys it is strongly recommended that you shut down all running applications and disable any screen saver or virus protection programs that you have. As an added precaution, to ensure that Scholastic Keys fully integrates with Microsoft Office, we recommend restarting your computer at the end of the Scholastic Keys launch, and prior to any attempt to launch the program.
Uninstallation Advice When using Add & Remove Programs to uninstall Scholastic Keys, a small amount of configuration data remains behind in the installation directory. This is intended as a convenience should you wish to reinstall the program and use your previous configuration settings. In principle it should not pose any problems for future installations. However, if you are uninstalling Scholastic Keys as a troubleshooting measure for a problem you have encountered, it would be wise to delete the installation directory (C:\Program Files\Scholastic Keys) prior to reinstalling the program.
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Updates and Patches
Please note that Scholastic Keys is not designed for use with Microsoft Office 2007. If you have Microsoft Office 2007, please consider our related product, Scholastic Keys 2007.
Our current version of Scholastic Keys is too large for us to offer as a downloadable update patch. To update Keys you will need us to send you an updated version of the Scholastic Keys installation CD. Please refer to the first FAQ in this section, “What is the current version of Scholastic Keys?”.
Scholastic Keys 1.4 Configuration Update Tool
If you have Scholastic Keys v.1.3 or earlier installed on your PC and plan to update to the current version, you must first run the Configuration Update Tool, or any changes that you have made to the program’s configuration settings will be erased. (This includes changes such as Group Login setup, Save Locations, Feature options, etc.)
If you haven’t made any configuration changes, or if your current version of Keys is higher than version 1.3, then there will be no need for this Configuration Update tool.
For complete Scholastic Keys upgrade and configuration updating instructions click here to view the Scholastic Keys Upgrade Guide.
Please note that while this guide was written for Scholastic Keys, “Version 1.4”, the information contained within it regarding the Configuration Update Tool is still valid for all current and future versions of Scholastic Keys, assuming that you are upgrading from version 1.3 or earlier.
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