Waterbury/Duxbury Technology Blog

Our Waterbury/Duxbury blog server is now operational again, so this blog has moved to http://www2.wdsdvt.org/techfaq.

Several times recently I have received calls or messages about projectors not displaying properly when connected to iMacs, or the iMac display changing when a projector is connected. The solution is to adjust the display settings so that the two displays “match” resolutions.

Although the iMacs are pretty good at automatically sensing a projector when it is connected, sometimes they do not do this properly or may not detect the projector at all if it is connected or disconnected with the Mac asleep.

1) On all of our school Macs you should see the Displays icon (looks like a monitor) in the menu bar (upper-right) in Finder. If your resolution has been reduced you may need to minimize/hide programs in order to see it. The first thing to try if you are not getting a correct image is to choose “detect displays” from this menu. This will force the Mac to check what is connected.

2) The second item in the Displays menu should say “mirroring on. ” Mirroring means showing the same thing on screen and projector. Mirroring OFF will give you a spanned display: Think of an ultra-wide display showing across two monitors side-by-side, with the projector showing the right-hand monitor. There are times when this might be useful, like if you wanted to work on something on your screen while showing students a short video or website on the projector. If you ever see just your desktop background on the projector, it is likely that mirroring is off.

3) Sometimes connecting a projector will “dumb down” the iMac display, making everything larger or showing you a narrower screen. To fix this, start by changing “number of recent items” in the Displays menu to 5 (default is 3.) Next, scroll down the Displays menu to the lower section (iMac Display) and choose “1280 x 800.” This is the point at which the two displays “match” and show a good image on both.

What makes this whole thing a challenge is that the proportions are different: our projectors are designed for 4:3 and the iMacs are 16:9. This is also why Windows computers do not have these issues, since they are designed for 4:3 display.

Most people find the iPhoto and iTunes applications an easy way to view organize pictures and music, and iPhoto has great slideshow, printing and editing features as well. One drawback of both programs, however, is that they “hide” your files from you, making them difficult to find or manage on your own. Because both programs use a database to help organize your files there can also be times when the program “loses” your files, making you think all is lost.

So where ARE your picture and music files? iPhoto stores everything in the iPhoto library, located in the Home –> Pictures folder. Although this looks like a single file, ctrl-clicking on it and choosing “show package contents” will show you a folder that includes many database files and a folder called “originals” that has your actual JPEG images. This understanding can be particularly helpful if your database becomes corrupted: you can pull out the “originals” folder, rename or delete the iPhoto Library and re-import them.

iTunes works in a very similar way, however the “iTunes Music” folder containing all of your actual files is not hidden: it is located in Home –> Music –> iTunes.

Symptom: you click on a web link to a PDF file and a new tab opens up in Firefox but it is a blank white page with a “Done” message in the lower left corner.

Our school Macs use a Firefox extension called Firefox PDF plugin which opens PDF files in Firefox instead of downloading them or opening in Preview. Unfortunately plugins like this often stop functioning properly when Firefox is updated. The solution is usually simple:

1) In Firefox, choose “Tools –> Add-ons”

2) Click on “extensions” and scroll down to find the Firefox PDF plugin for OSX.

3) Click “Disable”, restart Firefox, then go back to that menu and click “enable”

Alternate solution: If you ever wish to download/save PDFs for viewing offline, right-click (or ctrl-click) on the link and choose “Save Link As,” then choose a name and location to save the PDF file.

When we build our Mac computers we create shortcuts (“aliases” in Mac speak) for quick connection to network folders. When these shortcuts are created, they include the username of the person who made them (usually Eric). To re-create these with your own name filled in:

1) If you are currently connected to the network, log off by dragging the “Network” icon to the trash.

2) Delete the existing shortcut. If it is “locked”, use File –> Get Info (or Apple-I) and uncheck the “locked” box first.

3) Use “Go –> Connect to Server” (or Apple-K) in Finder to connect to our server. The server address should be automatically filled in – click “OK” and enter your own username and password.

4) Once connected, click on the “Network” icon (TBPS) or “Staff” icon (CBMS) and use “File –> Make Alias” (or Apple-L) to make an alias. Rename it as you like (I call it “Network Folders”).

5) Lock the shortcut by checking the box in the Info window (see #1). This prevents you from accidentally deleting the alias.

Firefox bookmarks “live” on one computer, but can be backed up any time and moved to other computers as needed. This process is recommended in preparation for summer computer maintenance, during which all information will be erased.

1) In Firefox, choose “Organize Bookmarks” from the Bookmarks menu

2) Click the star icon at the top of the Bookmarks window (Mac) or the “Import and Backup” drop-down (Windows) and choose “Backup.” Save the file to a network location for future use.

To restore your bookmarks to another computer, follow the same process but choose “Restore” instead of “Backup,” then browse to the saved file.

I have fielded several questions about online video recently, so here is a brief summary of options:

1) Both schools subscribe to Discovery Streaming service, which has thousands of titles that can be viewed by chapter. Signing up for an account is quick and easy – please contact myself, Jen or Nancy for information and assistance.

2) YouTube is a good source for some content, but the page includes other “busy” content and occasionally inappropriate comments. For a cleaner page and teacher-selected resources try teachertube.com. Another way to avoid distracting and offensive content in YouTube is to use safeshare.tv, which puts a “mask” around the YouTube video as well as allowing you to crop it.

3) Other content-specific media sites can be found at http://sites.google.com/a/wdsdvt.net/www/medialinks

Regardless of the source, if it is possible to download video in advance that will always be a “sure thing” vs. relying on an Internet stream. Add the Download Helper to Firefox by visiting http://www.downloadhelper.net/, making sure files keep their “.flv” extension. These will play on any of our computers in VLC player. PLEASE do not save video into your network folder: keep them on your computer or use the Media Storage folders on our networks.

As always, please contact me with questions or for assistance with any of these sites or applications.

Eric

People often ask where downloads from the Internet (including email attachments) GO to when they are saved. The answer depends on how the browser (usually Firefox on school computers) is set up, and whether you are using a Mac of Windows computer.

Previously we had always set Firefox to save to the desktop so files could be found easily. However the default preference for Firefox is to save attachments to the “Downloads” folder in the Home folder on your computer (Mac) or in the My Documents folder (Windows).

To get to this folder on a Mac, use the “Go” menu in Finder and click “Home” (as in “Go –> Home”). You will see the Downloads folder in the resulting list, as well as a Movies folder that iMovie uses and Music and Pictures folders used by iTunes and iPhoto.

To make an alias (shortcut) of this or any other folder on your desktop, click once on the Downloads folder to select it and choose “File –> Make Alias” (or Apple-L) and drag the alias to the desktop.

On Windows computers you can find the Downloads folder in Start –> Documents –> My Documents. Right-click on the folder and choose “Send To –> Desktop” to create a desktop shortcut to that folder.

If you would like to set the Firefox preference to save on the Desktop or any other folder, open Firefox and choose “Preferences” from the Firefox menu and look in the “Main” tab.

Often when we are troubleshooting web issues of one sort or another we will ask users to “empty the cache” of their web browser. This removes any information your browser has saved from previous visits to a particular web site.

What is Cache? Web browsers store copies of pages or parts of pages (images, links) when you visit them, to help pages load faster the next time you visit. Unfortunately there are times when information has changed but the browser does not retrieve the most recent information from a site. Sometimes information related to logged in “sessions” is also saved, which can cause login issues.

Emptying your browser’s cache assures that you are getting “fresh” information from a site, and does more than simply refreshing a web page. Here’s how:

Firefox (Mac): In Firefox click on Tools –> Clear Private Data (or Clear Recent History in some versions). There is a drop-down menu for “Details: Make sure teh “cache” box is checked, and that the drop-down menu for Time Range has “everything” chosen (This window looks slightly different in different versions). Click “Clear Now”, then restart Firefox.

Firefox (Windows): In Firefox click on Tools –> Clear Private Data, make sure “cache” is checked, and click “Clear Private Data Now.” Restart Firefox.

Safari (Mac or Windows): Choose “Empty Cache” from the Safari menu (Mac), or in Windows use the “Gears” menu (far right) and choose Reset Safari. Restart Safari.

Internet Explorer (Windows): Choose “Tools –> Delete Browsing History”, make sure the first box (“Preserve Favorites Website Data”) is UNchecked, then click Delete. Restart Explorer.

What do you do when you have computer issues? Is picking up the phone your first inclination? What if tech staff are not available by phone?

As technology use increases in our schools it is becoming increasingly challenging for technology staff to be available to answer everyone’s questions as well as building and maintaining our systems. Before you pick up the phone, it would help us tremendously if you could perform a few troubleshooting steps and get as much information as possible about the issue.

This troubleshooting questionnaire includes tips and suggestions of things to try and information to gather before seeking support by phone.

If you have a specific “How do I do this….” question, try the program’s Help menu or even a quick Google search with keywords related to what you want to do. You may be surprised at how easy some answers are to find online!