Generations Millennium Version 7 Readme File 12/15/99 [ To read this file, select Edit/Word Wrap from the menu above ] *********************************************************************** About This Document: Thank you for purchasing Generations Millennium. This document contains last-minute information about Generations Millennium and other information about the program not found in the Help Files. This README file includes information that pertains to general problems and questions you may have concerning this software or your computer. Should you experience any problems with Generations Millennium, please refer to this file for additional help on answering questions about the program and solving technical difficulties. *********************************************************************** TABLE OF CONTENTS I. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS II. STARTING OUT III. GENERAL PROGRAM ISSUES IV. CONTACTING SIERRA I. MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS ----------------------- Windows 95 or 98 Pentium 100 or higher (Preferred Pentium 166 or higher) 16MB RAM (24MB RAM) 4X CD-ROM Drive (24X CD-ROM drive) 30 MB free hard drive space (More space may be needed to save files and/or install SnapShot Express and Generations Heritage Quest Viewer.) SVGA 640x480@256 colors 800x600 @16-bit high color Windows compatible mouse Windows compatible printer For Internet Options: 14.4 BPS Modem (33.6 BPS Modem) 32-Bit Internet Service Provider Note: Though the program will run properly at 640x480 and 256 color resolution, it is highly recommemded that the display be set to 800x600 @ 16-bit color in order to properly view the launch screens in Generations. II. STARTING OUT ---------------- A) Installation B) STARTING Generations Millennium C) What's in Generations Millennium D) Accessing Internet Links A) Installation --------------- Installation for Windows(r) 95 & 98 with AutoPlay activated: 1. Start your computer system so that Windows(r) 95/98 has launched. 2. Insert Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive. 3. If you have AutoPlay activated, just select the install option and follow the on-screen prompts. Installation for Windows(r) 95 & 98 without AutoPlay activated: 1. Start your computer system so that Windows(r) 95/98 has launched. 2. Insert Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive. 3. From the START menu select RUN. 4. In the RUN window, browse to or type D:\SETUP and click OK. This assumes that your CD-ROM drive is D. Please substitute the appropriate drive letter. 5. Follow the on-screen prompts to install Generations Millennium to your hard drive. B) STARTING Generations Millennium ------------------------------------ To start Generations Millennium under Windows(r) 95/98, insert the Generations CD#1 into your CD-ROM drive, and select the RUN option when Autorun appears. Without AutoPlay activated, click on the START button and select Programs. Select the SIERRA option, then Generations Millennium. Click the Generations Millennium icon to open to the Generations Millennium launch screen. C) What's in Generations Millennium ------------------------------------- Generations Millennium consists of two programs, eleven databases, an Ellis Island Collection, and one CD-ROM of heritage- and family-related art. The contents of the CD-ROMs are as follows: CD 1 EasyTree, EasyChart, and Names Glossary. CD 2 SnapShot Express. CD 3 Civil War Muster Rolls. CD 4-5 Social Security Death Index CD 6-12 Generations World Name Index, fondly referred to as GWNI. CD 13-15 Heritage Quest 1800 Census records from New York, Charleston, and Philadelphia. CD 16 Generations Historic Records. CD 17 Heritage Quest Marriage Records. CD 18 Heritage Quest Land Records. CD 19 Heritage Quest Immigration Ships Records and Catalog. CD 20 Ellis Island Collection. CD 21 Family Tree Art. D) Accessing Internet Links --------------------------- Generations can take advantage of a web browser to give you direct access to the Web for such activities as downloading additional data, product information, and on-line shopping. In order to access the Web from within Generations just click on the "Internet Center" button. A number of Genealogy related websites are available. You must have a browser installed and be registered with an Internet Service Provider. If your internet browser cannot find the links from within the Generations program, each site is listed in the Generations Help file with it's web URL for you to copy and paste into your browser. You may also reach the Generations dedicated Web site directly at the following address: http://www.sierra.com/sierrahome/familytree/ III. GENERAL PROGRAM ISSUES --------------------------- A) Manual Changes B) EasyTree C) EasyChart D) Font Issues E) General Issues F) Heritage Quest Archives A) Manual Changes ----------------- Program changes may have been made to the product after the User Manual was printed. However, the online help file within the product is very complete and up to date. If you encounter a problem that doesn't seem to match (or be addressed by) the manual, please refer to the online help file for more up-to-date information. One difference that you will notice between the manual and the program: The Trash Bin in the EasyTree program is refered to as the Recycle Bin throughout the manual and on-line help. Where ever you see the term Recycle Bin in the manual or help, please note that it is refering to the Trash Bin in the EasyTree program. B) EasyTree ----------- Issue: Family file: Rebuilding the index takes time -- especially with large files. Solution: Generations only rebuilds the index if the application doesn't close properly. If you don't want to wait for this, hold down the shift key while opening a file to avoid building an index. Issue: Date feasibility checking doesn't understand a date format of straight numbers -- 010484, for example. Solution: This is one date format that Generations won't be able to read. However, the manual dedicates 10 pages to dates, date formats, and custom dates. Please refer to the manual and or On-line help to make sure you're using the correct date formats. Issue: HTML reports can be quite large Solution: When you transfer any file to HTML format, the size of the HTML file is going to be 1.5 times more then the original file because HTML adds tags and markup frames to the text. You should be aware of this before posting to the web if you have space limitations on your web site. Issue: Copied document is truncated after 60 characters in the Memo field. Solution: You can type in more than 60 characters into the memo field. You can also cut and paste, but you must do so line-by-line. If you try to cut and paste a full multi-line text, it will be truncated after 60 characters. C) EasyChart ------------ Issue: Chart prints as blocks of black, or an entire page of black. Solution: Change the settings of the printer to Vector instead of Raster graphics. For more information on making changes to your printer settings, check your documentation or help files. Issue: The boxes in EasyChart only display one line of text after editing the text. Solution: If you edit the text in a 'Person Box' in EasyChart, do not use two carriage returns to create a blank line. Any line after the second carriage return is disregarded, but can still be seen when editing the box. Issue: The boxes in EasyChart are very long and thin after editing the text. Solution: If you fill the 'Person Box' with text without hitting Enter and registering a carriage return the Box becomes one long sentence. After specific information such as a Name, Date, or Location, use the Enter key to start a new line of text. Issue: When choosing to Tile multiple charts, some redraw with oversized, garbled text. Solution: Click on the chart(s) with the garbled text to select it. This will cause the chart to redraw correctly. Issue: Copy/Paste or saving a chart as a graphic causes text in boxes to overflow the boundaries of the box. Solution: This occurs when using small sized fonts. Change the Font size of the Chart text to 12pt or larger, and then save as a graphic or copy and paste. D) Font Issues -------------- Issue: In EasyChart, fonts over 36 characters get clipped in timeline charts. Solution: There are some font styles that don't size well in timeline charts. If you are encountering this problem, simply try a different font style. This should resolve your problem. Issue: Changing the font in "EasyChart" changes the format of the tree and boxes. Solution: EasyChart needs to make adjustments to accommodate larger point size fonts as well as styles. Experiment with larger font styles and sizes prior to making major changes to your layout. Issue: You can make the text too large for the boxes, which, in some cases, will print outside of the text box borders or print off the edge of the chart. Solution: We've tried to accommodate as many font and text sizes as possible. The more information you enlarge, the more likely you won't see everything displayed. Try enlarging the chart by right clicking on the small black box and dragging the chart either left to right or top to bottom. The black box can easily be found at the bottom of the chart. Change the view to 10:1. Issue: In EasyTree, data gets cutoff if Windows is set to use Large Fonts Solution: Although we've worked hard to support large fonts in many fields, there may be some places where text appears to be cutoff. The information is still there. Switching to small fonts will correct this problem. Otherwise click on More Info to bring up a dialog screen with entire information or you many need to resize the boxes or scroll back and forth within the text box, title box or field itself. Issue: Type 1 (Adobe) PostScript fonts are not showing up in my list of display fonts to choose; only TrueType (TT) fonts. Solution: Generations doesn't support Type 1 Adobe PostScript fonts. E) General Issues ----------------- Issue: The Windows Task Bar hides the bottom of the Launch screen and Research Center. Solution: If the Windows Task Bar is set to Always on Top, and the display settings are at 640x480, part of the Generations launch screens may be hidden. To hide the Windows Task Bar, right click on it and choose Properties. Check the Auto Hide option in the Task Bar Properties. Issue: The Launch screen and Research Center colors do not display well in 256 colors. Solution: Though EasyTree and EasyChart have no visible differences when run in 256 colors, the Launch Screens display best in 16-bit colors. The screens are still usable in 256 color mode, as is the rest of the Generations program. For best results, change your display to 16-bit color in the Windows Display Properties. Issue: Generations Social Security Index does not accept surnames longer than 12 characters, first names longer than 10 characters, or middle names. Solution: The information in the Social Security Indes is from the database of the Social Security Administration. The Social Security Administration does not collect middle names, so there is no option to search with a middle name. Issue: Tabbing through the fields in the Images window causes the Preferred Images checkboxes to be filled with checks. People end up with more than one image checked as preferred. Solution: Click on the boxes to uncheck the images that are not preferred. Issue: When running the Ellis Island video in RealPlayer, an Unknown Data Format error occurs. Solution: View the video file statlibe.avi using Windows Media Player or the Active Movie Control in Windows. F) Heritage Quest Archives -------------------------- Note: The Heritage Quest Viewer and Archive software work best when run at 800x600 and small font display. Issue: When viewing images from the Ship or Land Records, the horizontal scroll bar sometimes does not go all the way to the right. Solution: This occurs when searching with two or more criteria. The horizontal scroll bar will work correctly with one search criteria Issue: Only one Family Quest database is loaded when the viewer is installed. Solution: In order to view databases from other CDs, you must add the database to the viewer when prompted with the 'Get Database' dialog. Click the 'Add' button and follow the prompts to add additional databases to the viewer. This will work with the Marriage, Land, and Ship records. Issue: Choosing to search from the Family Quest Archive Viewer without clicking on a search criteria causes the search option in the Search menu to become disabled. Solution: To reenable the menu option, close and restart the program. If you do not wish to close the program, use the keyboard shortcut, Alt+S, to search. Issue: After canceling the Open Database dialog, the Print, Save To, and Copy commands are disabled in the File menu. Solution: To reenable the menu options, close and restart the program. If you do not wish to close the program, use the keyboard shortcuts to perform the functions. Issue: Searching using Exclude seems to cause the program to stop responding or lock up. Solution: When the search reaches 99%, there is no wait cursor as the results begin to display. The program has not locked up, but it may take a few moments for the results to appear. Issue: Opening multiple copies of the Family Quest Archive Viewer causes numerous error messages. Solution: Only one instance of the Family Quest Archive Viewer can be run at a time. Trying to run multiple copies will cause errors with the software. Issue: Once the Heritage Quest Catalog is viewed in full screen in Adobe, there is no way to close Adobe. Solution: In Windows, End Task on the application. Press the CTRL+ALT+DEL keys on the keyboard. From the Close Programs window, click once on Adobe Acrobat Reader. Click the End Task button to close the software. IV.CONTACTING SIERRA ------------------- A) Customer Service, Support, and Sales B) Technical Support C) Legal Information A) Customer Service, Support, and Sales --------------------------------------- United States U.S.A. Sales Phone: (800) 757-7707 Hours: 24 hours a day, 7 days a week International Sales: (425) 746-5771 Hours: Monday-Friday 8 AM to 4 PM PST FAX: (916) 939-1010 Sierra Direct P O Box 629001 El Dorado Hills, CA 95762-9972 Email: customer.support@sierra.com http://www.sierra.com United Kingdom Havas Interactive Main: (0118) 920-9111 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fax: (0118) 987-5603 Disk/CD replacements in the U.K. are £6.00, or £7.00 outside the UK. Add "ATTN.: Returns." 2 Beacontree Plaza, Gillette Way, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0BS United Kingdom France Havas Interactive Téléphone: 01-46-01-46-50 Lundi au Jeudi de 10h à 19h Vendredi de 10h à 18h Fax: 01-46-30-00-65 Parc Tertiaire de Meudon Immeuble "Le Newton" 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier 92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex France Germany Havas Interactive Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-40 Montag bis Freitag von 9h - 19Uhr Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35 Robert-Bosh-Str. 32 D-63303 Dreieich Germany On-Line Sales CompuServe United Kingdom:GO UKSIERRA CompuServe France: GO FRSIERRA CompuServe Germany: GO DESIERRA Internet USA: http://www.sierra.com Internet United Kingdom: http://www.sierra-online.co.uk Internet France: http://www.sierra.fr Internet Germany: http://www.sierra.de Disk and or Manual Replacement: Product Returns*: Havas Interactive Sierra On-Line Returns 4100 West 190th Street Torrance, CA 90504 Havas Interactive Sierra On-Line CD/Doco Replacement 4100 West 190th Street Torrance, CA 90504 NOTE: To replace your cd(s) please send only the damaged cd and copy of your dated Receipt, if less then 90 days. After 90 days please include a $10.00 handling fee along with the cd(s). For Documentation replacement, please include a $5.00 handling fee and a photocopy ONLY of either your disk or cd. Payment should be made at the time of your request. Sorry, no credit cards. * Returns to this address valid in North America only. B) TECHNICAL SUPPORT -------------------- North America Sierra On-Line offers a 24-hour automated technical support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (425) 644-4343, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Web site. Sierra On-Line Technical Support P.O. Box 85006 Bellevue, WA 98015-8506 Main: (425) 644-4343 Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m.- 4:45 p.m. PST Fax: (425) 644-7697 http://www.sierra.com support@sierra.com United Kingdom Havas Interactive offers a 24-hour Automated Technical Support line with recorded answers to the most frequently asked technical questions. To access this service, call (0118) 920-9111, and follow the recorded instructions to find your specific topic and resolve the issue. If this fails to solve your problem, you may still write, or fax us with your questions, or contact us via our Internet or CompuServe sites. Havas Interactive 2 Beacontree Plaza, Gillette Way, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0BS United Kingdom Main: (0118) 920-9111 Monday-Friday, 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. Fax: (0118) 987-5603 http://www.sierra-online.co.uk France Havas Interactive Parc Tertiaire de Meudon Immeuble "Le Newton" 25 rue Jeanne Braconnier 92366 Meudon La Forêt Cedex France Téléphone: 01-46-01-46-50 Lundi au Jeudi de 10h à 19h Vendredi de 10h à 18h Fax: 01-46-30-00-65 http://www.sierra.fr Germany Havas Interactive Robert-Bosh-Str. 32 D-63303 Dreieich Deutschland Tel: (0) 6103-99-40-40 Montag bis Freitag von 9 - 19Uhr Fax: (0) 6103-99-40-35 Mailbox: (0) 6103-99-40-35 http://www.sierra.de Spain Havas Interactive Avenida de Burgos 9 1º-OF2 28036 Madrid Spain Teléfono: (01) 383-2623 Lunes a Viernes de 9h30 a 14h y de 15h a 18h30 Fax: (01) 381-2437 Italy Contattare il vostro distribotore. C) Sierra Warranty & Legal Information -------------------------------------- Sierra's end user license agreement, limited warranty and return policy is set forth in the EULA.txt, found on the CD, and is also available during the install of the product. Copyright (1999 Sierra On-Line, Inc.)