FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Getting Started/Installing
Q: Do I have to install all the LivePlay plugin?
The Dyncli32.exe file installs the plugin for you (see
Getting Started). You have to have the SmartForce Player to be able to use a course.
Q: The message "Netscape SmartDownload Unexpected error code (10110)" appears when I try to download the plugin for the CBT courses. What should I do?
Netscape has a feature which allows for automatic updates of the browser software over the Internet, whenever an upgrade is released. You can set this feature in the Netscape menu as follows: Edit>Preferences>Advanced>SmartUpdate. When this feature is enabled, it may cause problems if other software is downloaded from the Internet. Be sure the SmartUpdate feature is turned off before you start to download the SmartForce plugin.
Q: How much available space must I have on my hard disk to install the plugin?
The initial installation's executable file is about 4.6 MB. The subsequent installed subdirectories add nearly 7.5 MB. Don't forget, the installer can be trashed once the plugin is installed, but 20 MB of "elbow room" seems to be a minimum hard disk requirement for initial installation.
Q: How much available space must I have on my hard disk to "download" a course and run it from my hard disk?
Downloaded courses can consume as little as 5 MB of hard disk space and as much as 15 MB of hard disk space.
Q: Who is eligible to use the SIS Learning Center SmartForce Courseware?
SIS Learning Center SmartForce courses are available to Systems Integration Solutions, Inc. staff, and qualified consultants. Please consult the Qualification FAQ section on the Learning Center FAQ page.
Can I Use a Macintosh?
Currently, the SIS Learning Center courses run only on Windows 95, 98, or NT. The courses
will run on PowerMacs with Connectix's Virtual PC (version 2.1.1 or later) and Windows 95, 98, or NT.
Special note for Mac users: if you are looking for a place to take SmartForce courses on a Windows machine, read about our
Can I Run the SIS Learning Center SmartForce Courses with Windows 2000?
There is an incompatibility between the current Player (version 2.52) and Windows 2000 -- if you download the Player after installing Windows 2000. If, however, you upgrade to Windows 2000 with the Player already on your hard drive, you will be able to run the courses. SmartForce (formerly CBT Systems) is planning to release a Windows 2000-compatible Player soon.
We will post the Player at this Web site as soon as it is available. Check the What's New page for announcements.
About the SIS Learning Center SmartForce Courseware
Q: What courses are available?
How do I know which courses to take? Subject areas covered in the 400+ titles include: MS Office 97 and 2000 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access), Internet skills, Windows (95, 98, and NT) and UNIX operating systems, Oracle databases, Java and C++ programming. (To see the list, go to Course Info) Before taking a course, you will see a screen of information about the course itself. Once you have selected a course, you can take a test FastTrack Assessment Test to help you determine if you really want to take that particular course.
If you score well on the test, you may not need to take the course. A red checkmark will appear next to each unit for which you scored over 70%. At the end of your training, you can take the test again.
Q: Who wrote the courseware?
SIS's SmartForce courseware is provided by SmartForce (formerly CBT Systems), an international producer and distributor of interactive server-based training. SmartForce works with leading software companies, such as Microsoft, Netscape, Novell, and Oracle to develop vendor-specific training.
Q: I don't have a four-hour block of time to spend on a course. Can I do it a bit at a time?
Yes. If you need to stop, when you return to the course, use the on-line bookmark feature to go to the location where you left the course. Exiting a course automatically places a bookmark where you left off.
Hardware Requirements
Q: What do I need on my PC to run the SmartForce Courseware?
The minimum technical requirements to run the SmartForce courses can be found at the SIS Learning Center, getting started page.
Q: Can I take courses from home?
If you are dialing up through the SIS dial-up service, you can access the SIS Learning Center SmartForce server on the Web just like from in the office(s). However, unless you have a fast modem, access will be slow, especially for downloads. You may find it more convenient to download the course to a laptop computer or Zip disk while at the office, or request for a CD* copy to take home, install and then take the course at home.
*requires signing agreement to make no illegal copies and to uninstall upon completion.
Bookmarks
Q: How do I bookmark my place in a course?
Bookmarking occurs automatically when you exit a course, either by clicking an onscreen
"Exit" button or by clicking on the
X in the righthand corner of the screen. If you press
Bookmark at the Course Map screen, then move to another page, work there, and then exit, the bookmark will be where you last worked, not where you set it.
Navigating through the Courses
Q: How do you get back to the Course Map?
The
Step back button works a lot like Netscape's "Back" button within a topic. However, to go back (or forward) to another lesson, click the "Navigate" button and go to the Course Map (or main screen of a course). If you want the last screen of the topic, you'll have to work your way down to there. In summary, to go between topics, you need the Navigate button and Course Map.
Q: What are the yellow notes at the bottom of the screen?
Some screens have a small yellow note that looks like a sticky note in the lower, righthand corner. That is a Footnote. Click it to read its contents.
Printing SIS Learning Center SmartForce Course Screens
Q: How can I print out a screen in a SmartForce course?
The SIS Learning Center courses from SmartForce do not currently offer a printing feature. However, a simple way to print out what you see on the screen is to use the PrintScreen feature of a PC (Intel) computer running Windows.
Here's how you do it:
- While viewing the SmartForce course screen you'd like to print, hold down the Alt key on your keyboard and press the PrintScreen key. This places a copy of the course screen on your computer's clipboard.
- Without closing the SmartForce course, open a word processing program (e.g., Word or WordPad).
- From the Edit menu, select Paste. This puts a copy of the screen in the document.
- Note that if you want to print out several screens, you must repeat the steps above for each screen. Every time you press the PrintScreen button, the new screen image replaces the previous one on your computer's clipboard.
- Print out the document from your word processing program.
- You can then return to your SIS Learning Center SmartForce course and continue working.
