GL_Guy

:?) http://www.semerc.com :?)

You obviously confuse me with someone who is concerned with what others "accept" Geoff. I have been in this game for far to long to concern myself with what others think. To suggest I "masquerade" would imply that I am pretending to be something I am not. If this was the case then I wouldn't have mentioned who I work for. For me to accurately recreate everyone's working environment would be impossible, so to see how GL's products work within real live environments is a real boon for me and pays dividens when attending development meetings for future products. I don't want anyone to stop slating the products I support - On the contrary - If people are in difficulty then they should ask for help. If soeone can show me where a product is poorly written or bug riddled, then this is useful feedback for me to feed back up the chain to the development team. I don't visit this forum on a daily basis, as I have a job to do which takes up a great deal of my actual working day (not that I am trying to suggest that anyone spends all of their working day on here, whilst skiving). I don't visit during my free time unless I'm bored (wife's out, no footy on and I can't be bothered dragging my motorbike out), so the chances of me seeing a new thread which is about one of my company's products and being able to respond quickly are less than slim. If an administrator is "diametrically opposed" to what I do on this forum, then they are free to banish me from it.

Hi Tony, I'd rather not if it all the same - Not because I am unhelpful, and not because I am going to try to sell stuff. If people just come to me for a fix becuase of where I work, then it negates my reason for being here. I like to see how our software works in the real world and the issues it creates for real users - And I especially like to see how you all work around the issues you get. I prefer not to interject with a workaround straight away, and when I do, I always try to offer a free solution - After all, I do support, not sales.

But considering what I have just said above, why would I do that?

I'm not outsourced support - I have been a Granada Learning employee since August 2005. I know it's not ideal, but things are improving. We have new owners who seem to be injecting new life and energy into GL and are very forward thinking. The main reason for me not updating knowledgebase articles is because we are currently considering a new support tool - This doesn't mean that knowledgebase articles aren't being collated - As I said, I support over 1700 applications at the moment, so as you can imagine, I have loads of knowledgebase articles ready for importation into whichever support tool we use, with loads more stuck in my head because I don't have the time to get them into print... The more I can get into the support tool, the more "self service" hits it gets, the more time I will have to run over our new products and prep more knowledgebase articles for our customers.

Almost forgot - Craig, I sent you a PM

I don't do books, I don't do websites - They are the responsibility of someone else within GL. I have only written one section of a manual in my two years employment, which was the installation guide for NFER Nelson's Dyslexia Screener. What I do is make software work. I provide solutions, and where there are no solutions available I try my best to provide a workaround. I report bugs back to the development team and await an update or patch. If I get a patch, I upload it to http://priorityone.granada-learning.com along with a description. I collate feature requests fro future releases. To be frank, the quality of response depends entirely on the quality of query. over 90% of the work I get in involves an immediate response to the customer for additional information because their initial "Fresco don't work on my class computer" doesn't really give me anything to go on, and I can't honestly remember the last time a ticket came through that had ALL of the information I needed without me having to ask. They miss off flash version, or just put "latest one", thay mail with print issues, but don't tell me their printer memory, or connection method, they don't include the version of the app they have issue with etc etc. I am home based, and have a full test rig in my office, as most of the time I have to replicate as accurately as I can, my customer's operating environment in order to find a solution. I support over 1700 Granada Learning applications on all Windows operating systems from 98 upwards, and Apple Mac OS9 upwards - As you must be able to appreciate, I am quite busy for most of my day, which is one reason why our online help may not feature information on the application you are looking for. We have used this ticket logging system since Sept 2005, and I am the administrator of it - Having just ran off a report, I can tell you that the oldest ticket pertaining to GL CD based software that was in a state of "solution suggested" was in fact only five days old, although it is getting late and I may not have ran the report correctly. If you could give me a ticket number or account name, I can check Please bear in mind that I cannot use this forum as a replacement for GL tech support - Support is what I do and I am unfortunately not currently in a position that I can afford to have Granada Support dwindle to such an extent that my services are no longer required

OK Blackcat Supertools - An easy one for me as you have picked my best subject - Granada Learning Software! Suite of 8 applications... Fresco - Latest version 1.3 from the Supertools 1.3 CD - Available as a FREE upgrade if you have issues with earlier versions of Fresco such as the lack of undo feature. Logo - Latest version 1.3 from the Supertools 1.3 CD - Available as a FREE upgrade if you have issues with earlier versions of Logo such as unrecognised "command?" errors. Numberbox 2 - Latest version 1.3 from the Supertools 1.3 CD. Known errors are the CSV importation and usage of autofill function which do not perform as adequately as they could do. Information Workshop 2000 - Latest Version 2.1.4 from Supertools 1.3CD - Known to produce really large print files which can be bothersome to locally installed and/or shared laser printers with less than 128Mb memory. Pawprints - 2 patches available at http://supportcenteronline.com/ics/support/DLRedirect.asp?fileID=33610 - PawprintsUpdate fixes error caused when the copy buffer fills, and PawprintsUpdate2 fixes the error caused as a result of resizing stamp. Slideshow - Latest version 1.2.0.0 on the Supertools 1.3CD - No known errors, so no patches available. Decisions3 - Latest Version 1.1.0.8 on the Supertools 1.3CD - No known errors, so no patches available. Write Away! - Still on V1.0 on the Supertools 1.3 CD - Only patch is for print and print server improvements at http://supportcenteronline.com/ics/support/DLRedirect.asp?fileID=33601 does not support long filenames as it was originally written for Windows 3.1. Rule of thumb for ALL blackcat titles: After installation, check your "My Documents" folder for a hidden folder of the same name as the app you have installed - Delete it, start the app, press CTRL+T and ensure that both temp and save paths point to an area, locally or on your network, that restrictive accounts have full control of. Any available patches for Granada Learning titles are at http://priorityone.granada-learning.com To summarise: If you assume that I sit in judgement, then it is only because I am in a position to do so - I AM GRANADA LEARNING SUPPORT - I am THE person you assume does not know where the patches are - There is ONLY me providing support for GL CD based media, therefore, I am THE person you judged in your earlier statement. Do not judge lest you be judged yourself...

Not an entirely pointless remark Witch. I have seen people post in this section of the forum who are struggling to make old versions of applications work within their operating environment when there are free upgrades available which resolve issues they are whinging on about, if only they had common sense to contact the publisher and ask.

Why the hell are you looking on skillsite? The URL I gave you was for skillsfactory Best url to have for things Granada Learning, SkillsFactory, Blackcat, SEMERC, Anglia MM etc is The Granada Learning Support Page Just do a search in the box top left for the application you need help with

Have you thought of phoning them for an upgrade?

If you have Supertools 1.3, then ensure that you have installed the latest print drivers from the manufacturers website and that you close the History and Command windows under the ‘View’ menu before trying to print.

It's 75 years for the songwriter - 50 years for the singer

Aimed at nobody in particular... This application is approximately 9 years old - Why don't you just bite the bullet and upgrade if you are having issues? Dazzle '03 is brilliant and works flawlessly on XP...

The latest version of Supertools is 1.3. 1.3 was released to fix issues discovered in 1.2, and a free update is available from Granada Learning (if purchased directly from them) by contacting Customer Services on 0161 827 2927. If not purchased through GL direct, you must go back to your supplier.

If you gave all students the ability to run this programme then you would not be using it the way it was intended to be used. It was not designed to be run "en masse", and it was not designed to be run as a "money generation" tool by schools that may or may not receive additional funding from their respective LEA's depending on the number of children successfully screened for Dyslexia and Dyscalculia. It was purposely designed not to be run from restrictive accounts. It was designed to be run 1 on 1 in a monitored environment between SENCO and student, so the SENCO needs to have local admin on the workstation to be used, and the SENCO needs to be the initial logon on that workstation. Although I understand that the teaching environment has changed in recent years, you must understand that it was written at a time when most schools and colleges did not even have a network, never mind group policy. At this time, there are no plans to modernise it, but I am of the opinion that future revisions may include either a proper network installation method, or it may even be totally replaced by an online, subscription-based version instead.

The permissions issues surrounding this app are mainly to do with writing temp files and such in order to generate the reports etc. I know it's a bit long, but here's the latest installation guide: I hope it helps Installation Before installing the Screener, it is necessary to understand that the software will not run if the profile of the initial person logging into the workstation does not have local administrative privileges. This application was only envisaged and designed to run within a controlled environment, and you are best advised to seek advice from the person responsible for the system or network before installation. There are three installation methods available, but in each instance it is necessary for the application to be locally installed on each workstation to be used. 1. On a single workstation Single installation allows the screening of students one at a time, and is the default installation procedure. 2. On more than one workstation Student information will be stored and held separately, but it is possible to create group reports. 3. From a single workstation across a network* Not to be confused with a server installation, this method allows a multiple testing environment but is dependant on the capacity of your network and will only work if drives are mapped. Installation Procedure In each of the above instances, the following procedure (Single Workstation Installation) must be performed. Before installation commences, please ensure that you have your licence key. 1. Place the Screener disk into the CD-ROM drive of your workstation. After a few moments, and if you have the autorun feature enabled, the installation will begin automatically. Please note, on slower workstations, there can be a considerable pause between the insertion of the disk, and the autorun feature beginning. If nothing happens after a minute or so, you know that the autorun feature is disabled. If this is the case, you will need to browse to your CD-ROM drive. One method is to open ‘my computer’ by double clicking the icon on the Windows desktop. Double click the icon for your CD-ROM drive, and then double click the file named ‘setup’ to begin the installation. 2.First you will need to ‘Choose Destination Location’, that is choose the destination folder the Screener will be installed to on the workstation. By default it is installed to C:\Program Files\Dyslexia Screener. This option is changeable by clicking the ‘Browse’ button. This opens the ‘Select directory to install Dyslexia Screener’ window. Browse to select the directory* where you wish to install the Screener. 3. Within this window there is also the option to ‘Select Components’. Please ensure that all three boxes are ticked. 4. Click ‘Install’. 5. You will see a window that prompts you to read the licence agreement, which is also supplied within the packaging for this application, and must be read before installation takes place. 6. Once you have read the licence agreement, click ‘Agree’ to continue with the installation. Clicking ‘Disagree’ will terminate the installation of this application at this point. 7. The next screen contains copyright information for the product. 8. Click ‘Next’. This stage may take a few moments 9. You must enter the organisation name, expiry date and licence key exactly as provided by NferNelson otherwise the licence key will not work. Each licence key is only valid for the organisation for which it was created, and is non-transferrable. Should your licence key not work, please contact NferNelson directly on 0845 602 1937 and select Option 1 for NferNelson products. 10. Click the ‘Submit’ button. 11. Once the installation has completed, you will get the ‘Installation Complete’ message. Please click ‘OK’. 12. A window will be open onscreen with shortcuts to the three components installed: a. ‘Dyslexia Screener’ – The application b. ‘Uninstall Dyslexia Screener’ – Completely removes the application from your screener. c. ‘User Guide’ – This contains this chapter of the manual, ‘Using the Screener’. It is now possible to customise your installation method to one that closest represents your desired operating environment as stated previously in this section. Option 2 – On more than one workstation Please note, that after completing installation on each of the workstations, the administrator will need to create a username and password for each test-taker to be screened on each workstation. The difference in option 2 is that, once testing is finished, the administrator needs to collate the results using the method below. 1. In order to export the results, go to each workstation and insert a floppy disk or pen drive. 2. Log into the screener as ‘admin’. 3. In the ‘User List’ window, select the user whose results you wish to save. 4. Click the ‘export’ button, which will open the ‘Export Results’ window. From here, you can browse to the floppy drive or select the appropriate drive letter for your pen drive. 5. Click ‘Export’ to export the results. Please note that, in each instance, the file name is automatically named ‘user-results.drd’ and saving multiple results to the same location is only possible if the file is renamed e.g. user-results1.drd, user-results2.drd etc. Failure to rename multiple exports to the same location will result in the existing file being overwritten. 6. Once repeated on each workstation that has results, log into the administrator’s workstation, log into the screener as ‘Admin’ and insert the floppy or pen drive. 7. Click on the ‘Import’ button, then browse to the location of the saved files on your floppy or pen drive and highlight a file to import. 8. An import window displays messages about the import. Click ‘OK’ to close this window. 9. Once the results have been imported, they will appear on the user list. Option 3 – From a central workstation across a network If this product is to be utilised using this method, than a mapped drive letter is required. Please liase with your network administrator for more information if necessary. This installation method assumes that installation has taken place on the workstations that test-takers will be using, and should only be performed after this has been completed. 1. Follow the same installation method for a single workstation. Please consider carefully where to install the application on the central workstation, as test-takers will need to have full control to this directory. 2. After installation on the central workstation, share the installation folder and give full control to everyone. 3. From each workstation, map a drive to the share you have just created. 4. Double click on the file ‘CreateNewShortcut’. This will open the ‘Short-Cut Creation’ Window which requests confirmation that this is the correct location. 5. If this is not the location of the screener, click ’No’ and it will give you the option to browse to the location of the installation. Please note, that you should browse to the location of the central workstation installation. 6. If this is the correct location, then click ‘Yes’. A message box will appear once the short-cuts are created. Click ‘OK’. Please note, that it may be necessary for the account logging into test-taking workstations to have a mapped drive letter directed to the Dyslexia Screener installation folder on the central workstation. If anyone would prefer this to be mailed to them in Word format, my mail address is [email protected]

What you have to take into consideration is that Dazzle is just over 9 years old, and that because XP wasn't invented nobody could forcast it's compatibility. It was patched after XP testing as a quick fix until the release of Dazzle 03 , which is compatible with XP - The release of Vista will produce testing of another 1700 GL applications...

Development is based in Chiswick, but support is based in Manchester (until the New Year). Unfortunately, non admin functionality cannot be added as it would take a rewrite. When originally developed, it was only envisaged that it would run in a monitored environment, 1 on 1 between SENCO or teacher and student. It will run on a network, but not from a server, and we only ever tested it on 5 workstations at once. I know that some establishments require that it be installed on a whole suite and test a class at a time, but it was never intended to be run that way. I can post my installation guide if it will help anyone...

Mark, Trust Me - I wrote the installation guide which appear in the latest manuals: Installation Before installing the Screener, it is necessary to understand that the software will not run if the profile of the initial person logging into the workstation does not have local administrative privileges. This application was only envisaged and designed to run within a controlled environment, and you are best advised to seek advice from the person responsible for the system or network before installation. There are three installation methods available, but in each instance it is necessary for the application to be locally installed on each workstation to be used. 1. On a single workstation Single installation allows the screening of students one at a time, and is the default installation procedure. 2. On more than one workstation Student information will be stored and held separately, but it is possible to create group reports. 3. From a single workstation across a network* Not to be confused with a server installation, this method allows a multiple testing environment but is dependant on the capacity of your network and will only work if drives are mapped. Installation Procedure In each of the above instances, the following procedure (Single Workstation Installation) must be performed.

Dazzle requires a patch for it to work on Windows XP - It is called win2k_xp service pack.zip, and is available for download from http://skillsfactory.com/updates

The hidden folders are all on the local machine, in the My Documents folder of the profile that installed the application. You should only set save paths from an administrative account, as restrictive profiles may not have the needed permissions to modify the settings file located within the installation folder.

The application will only work if the initial person logging into the workstation has local admin rights. It will not work any other way unfortunately. It was not designed to be run by restrictive accounts.

Most Blackcat errors are attributable to the fact that during installation there is a hidden folder created in the Admin's My Documents folder. This hidden folder contains settings which the programme references upon startup. Problems arise when a restricted account tries to read the settings file within the admin profile, as it does not have access. Best thing to do is delete this hidden folder as soon as you can after initial installation - That way the program will access the settings file within the installation folder. All 3 applications you mention in your last reply have hidden folders. There are also 2 patches available for Pawprints - One of which resolves an MFC error caused by the programme having a small copy buffer (so if you copy/paste several times it will error) and the second fixes an error caused by resizing the stamp. Other potential issues concentrate around the teacher settings area. CTRL+T accesses this, and most problems concerned with this are due to save and temporary path locations, or more the fact that restrictive accounts may not have full control to the paths specified in this area.

"Fresco unable to locate your teacher settings. Please contact your network administrator" is normally attributable not to IE7 but profile. The issue is normally resolved if you log in as admin, delete the hidden Fresco folder, start the programme, press CTRL+T to access the teacher settings, and ensure that all users have full control to the save paths (or browse for an area they can save work in that they do have full control of). You should now be able to run the programme from a restrictive account without issue. The Pawprints issue is normally resolved by installing the two patches that are available for download from the GL PriorityOne website, and again ensuring that all users have full control save paths. The URL is http://priorityone.granada-learning.com - Just perform a search for Pawprints. V1.3 of Supertools included MSI's and fixed issues found in 1.2 - You may be best speaking with Granada Learning Customer Services on 0161 827 2927 who may be able to send out the latest version FOC. Hope this helps G