ictfacilitator
05-08-2008, 09:39 AM
I have extracted and tidied these from previous thread as I think it will be of benefit to all.. well done June, Kathy etc. Add thoughts/debate and I will collate!
Setup Improvements
Change in Preferences
1. Flipchart Objects “Background color to use when editing text object” set to Page Color
2. Linked File Hosting: Turn off Web, Shockwave, Video, Show Sound Controller and PDF Documents (
3. Profile and Resources: Change Shared Docs to the group shared folder on the network if you have a common area you are posting shared resources to (I also make sure every teacher has a good set of files in the default shared so they can use them off-site)
4. The default tool when the Mac software is opened is set to be the Pen Tool. For those used to having the Marquee Select Tool when the software launched, this can be frustrating.
5. Tools: I would set the Dice Speed to something near the right side of the slider - but not all the way. At the default dice speed, the dice roll very sloooooooooooooowly. If you set it all the way to the right, they don't roll at all; they just appear.
6. Design Mode: Check all of the boxes except (perhaps) Ignore Grid snapping. I leave this one unchecked because I want to see the effects of Grid snapping in Design mode, and you can override grid snapping by moving the object with the freely move handle (the one with the cross).
7. Flipchart:
⁃ If your users are working on widescreen laptops, you may want to change the Default Page Preferences to Page Size of 1024 x 768. This is the size of the board
⁃ Show new flipchart when Activstudio starts. (It's easy to click on the show/hide flipchart button in the Main Toolbox, which opens a new flipchart if there isn't one already open.)
- Pagescale.. "Height Fit" so that most imported flipcharts open at a sensible size
8. General
⁃ Uncheck Show Object Tags. If this box is checked, every time the mouse (or pen) hovers over any object on the flipchart page, the object's name will be displayed. This can be very annoying.
⁃ Save Autorecovery every: ... If you're working on a large flipchart, the Autorecovery can also be very annoying, as it can take quite a while. Of course, if your users aren't in the habit of frequently saving, they can lose their work if Activstudio crashes.
Other
1. Hit the show/hide menu bar icon so the menu bar shows.
Best ways to customise your toolbox
Why not send in your snapshots to get some thinking going in this area also
Setup Improvements
Change in Preferences
1. Flipchart Objects “Background color to use when editing text object” set to Page Color
2. Linked File Hosting: Turn off Web, Shockwave, Video, Show Sound Controller and PDF Documents (
3. Profile and Resources: Change Shared Docs to the group shared folder on the network if you have a common area you are posting shared resources to (I also make sure every teacher has a good set of files in the default shared so they can use them off-site)
4. The default tool when the Mac software is opened is set to be the Pen Tool. For those used to having the Marquee Select Tool when the software launched, this can be frustrating.
5. Tools: I would set the Dice Speed to something near the right side of the slider - but not all the way. At the default dice speed, the dice roll very sloooooooooooooowly. If you set it all the way to the right, they don't roll at all; they just appear.
6. Design Mode: Check all of the boxes except (perhaps) Ignore Grid snapping. I leave this one unchecked because I want to see the effects of Grid snapping in Design mode, and you can override grid snapping by moving the object with the freely move handle (the one with the cross).
7. Flipchart:
⁃ If your users are working on widescreen laptops, you may want to change the Default Page Preferences to Page Size of 1024 x 768. This is the size of the board
⁃ Show new flipchart when Activstudio starts. (It's easy to click on the show/hide flipchart button in the Main Toolbox, which opens a new flipchart if there isn't one already open.)
- Pagescale.. "Height Fit" so that most imported flipcharts open at a sensible size
8. General
⁃ Uncheck Show Object Tags. If this box is checked, every time the mouse (or pen) hovers over any object on the flipchart page, the object's name will be displayed. This can be very annoying.
⁃ Save Autorecovery every: ... If you're working on a large flipchart, the Autorecovery can also be very annoying, as it can take quite a while. Of course, if your users aren't in the habit of frequently saving, they can lose their work if Activstudio crashes.
Other
1. Hit the show/hide menu bar icon so the menu bar shows.
Best ways to customise your toolbox
Why not send in your snapshots to get some thinking going in this area also