Craftsman Structure Show 2009 - Visual Report

I tried out the "click n spin" feature in the Jan/Feb issue, but the structures rotate so fast that it is hard to see details.  Is there any way to slow down the spin?

Russ,

I think if you drag SLOWLY to the left or right it will rotate slowly.  If not maybe your cursor tracking is set a bit to fast?

I tried out the "click n spin" feature in the Jan/Feb issue, but the structures rotate so fast that it is hard to see details.  Is there any way to slow down the spin?

When reporting a problem, please tell us which edition you're using. Is this the Standard or Embedded edition? The solution depends greatly on which it is ...

My guess is this is the Standard Edition. Try dragging across the image slowly with your mouse to control the spin rate. Or scroll down to the bottom and click the Quicktime version link. The Quicktime version spins more slowly than the Flash version.

I downloaded the standard version.  Is the embedded version the one with more "bells & whistles?"  MRH has enough different versions now that sometimes I have trouble keeping track of which one I want to download!

Yes, Embedded has more bells and whistles - if you have a PC and a broadband connection, we recommend the Embedded edition for the best reading experience.

You can also get the Embedded edition to work on a Mac if you're willing to download the Adobe reader bloatware to read it. However, you need to be a savvy enough Mac user that you know what you're doing or you could end up with all PDFs opening in Adobe Reader instead of the much leaner Preview app on Macs.

We've received enough "fan mail" from angry Mac users about Adobe reader that we no longer recommend anything except the Standard edition for Mac users. However, the Embedded edition also works on Macs, but try it at your own risk!

I am unable to get the 3D spin function to work. If I click on it, I get sent to a Quicktime download page that seems only to be geared for Mac users. I don't have a Tiger or Leopard system...

This has happened since day 1 with the premier issue. I have simply put up with it, but I realize I am missing out on part of the MRH experience. I would like to join in.

Dave Beidle

Dave,

Download the standard edition, it is what MRH recommends for the MAC.  Content like the click and spins will open in a browser window.

Dave:

It helps to know what you do have. If you have a Mac older than OS 10.4, it's time to upgrade.

If you have PC, then what version of Windows? Windows XP works great, Windows Vista does pretty good, and Windows 7 is rather untried still. The one redeeming grace with Win 7 is it has an XP compatibility mode, which should work great.

If you're using Linux, that's something of a mixed bag. I'll let our Linux tech guy Jeff chime in on how well things work on Linux.

Can you get this click-n-spin to work?

Then I deleted the standard edition.  I just tried the "click n spin" on the structures and received a pop up saying that I needed a media player to make that feature work with a link to "get media player."  I hit the button to get the media player and received a pop up from Adobe that there was no media player available for my application.  I'm using a pc with Vista and adobe reader 9.

WOW I haven't had anything go wrong but when I clicked this latest link from Joe to Click and see if the click and spin works , so for fun I clicked and when I moused over the SP engine it spun like a top that is until I held down the left mouse button and TOOK complete control of the spin speed. So just hold down the left mouse button to control the speed from inching to high speed blur.

Dan

I've got SuSE 11.2 with the Packman bells and whistles, so I gave the Embedded version a try. I can get the flash videos to play in Acrobat 9, but not the Quicktime stuff. I am able to view the Click N Spin of Joe's SP locomotive referenced above, which is a Flash version of a Click N Spin. So Standard Mode is definitely your best choice here.

If anyone thinks that Microsoft dislikes Linux... they're not a patch on Apple, as far as I can see.

Last note - I was just going through the online version, and it works pretty well in Linux. I have not been able to get the Stoney Creek panoramics to work in either Windows 7 or Linux. In Linux it turned into a pretty green bar...

I have a PC with Windows XP, 1.5 gig speed. The spin of the SP loco you asked me to try worked just fine (although a bit fast).

I have Adobe Reader v9.2 (Adobe says that's the latest). When I click on any embedded MRH spin feature, I get a pop-up saying I need another feature. When I follow that link, it takes me to the download for Apple Quicktime. That is where I run into the Tiger/Leopard problem. It does not show a Windows OS choice.

Dave

Dan:

If you deliberately Google Quicktime download Windows, you get:

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

This is the download link for Quicktime for Windows ... Google is your friend!

Also, if you type http://model-railroad-hobbyist.com/help - you'll discover all kinds of little tips and insights - including a section on Quicktime.

Joe,

Thanks for including this report in the current MRH.  As one who like to scratchbuild in N scale, articles like this a great inspiration pieces.  I'd love to see a future articel or two on how one of the specific models was built.

Joe actually I think you may have meant Dave as I have every app and more that you suggest. Personally I have the embedded version and everything works perfect. It was only on your try the click and spin that the app went a little crazy. when I opened the embedded version again and played the two pages at the same time the click and spin still was fast unless you hold down the left mouse key while you move the mouse. The embedded version at the same time was total under control when I left click with a momentary left click and I control the spin with the roller ball function it may be my duel 3.4 quad core microprocessors because on my lap top with just a 2.0 duel core everything works the same but it just seamed strange that they perform differently, again it may be the differences of the embedded Vs the standard.

Dan

It's always useful and informative to see the best of any project.  These structures certainly are tops.  The click-n-spin works great on structures - better than on locos and cars.  The relationship between all the sides is more significant with structures.  I am impressed that you were able to get the photos necessary for spinning with so many structures.

Artarms

Joe,

I've been to that page, but it does not have a Windows download (at least one that is evident). Everything on that page seems to be for Mac.

I have "solved" the problem by downloading the standard edition in addition to the embedded version. The click-n-spin does work with the standard edition. I just prefer the full screen embedded version. Oh, well. (Insert joke here about having to pay for both versions)

Dave

Dave,

I'm not sure what's happening on your end, but when I go to the page Joe posted the link for, this is what I see.  I think those are quicktime downloads for windows there, are they not?

Blue,

Aha! Now we are getting somewhere... that IS NOT what I see while on the same link. Everything I get is geared to the Mac, not the PC! I wonder why?

Dave

Dave,

You are going to this link, as below?

http://www.apple.com/quicktime/download/

I see the tab at the top says MAC but the downloads are for windows.  If you are going to the identical link and are not seeing windows downloads on the page...then I am at a loss...?

Blue,

Aha! Success! I searched around on the site and entered Windows in the site search box.  After a bit of detective work I stumbled onto the correct download page.

The embedded version of MRH is working fine now. Thanks for your help - the screen shot really keyed everything for me.

Dave

Dave - hooray! We like success!

Me too!

Dave

Dave,

Glad you got it sorted!

I used the link posted and downloaded and installed the Quicktime media player, but the click-n-spin still tells me I need a media player and then when I click ok it takes me to an Adobe site that tells me no media player is available and none will be installed.  It doesn't give me the option of using the quicktime media player that I installed.  I'm running Windows Vista on a pc.

When I was running XP I had all of the rich media working at one point.  Then I installed an application that conflicted with something and it stopped working.  I reloaded things and got it working again, then I bought a new laptop and it has vista.  I have yet to get the 3D spins to work with vista.  That being said I am using software not meant for vista. some of which I had to use compatibility modes to install/run, so undoubtedly I have a conflict somewhere.

For the most part, I don't need the 3D click and spins so I download the embedded edition to archive, because one day I'll get the software sorted again and all will be well.  In the meantime if I want to see click and spins I'll look at them when I preview the standard edition during the pre-release beta stage.

It all comes down to the stuff works, it's just that some of us have issues that can be resolved but are sometimes difficult to pinpoint.  Oh the joys of computers and a Microsoft Operating System!

I did some of the click n spins on the structures with the standard edition.  I think I will try either to read it online or down load a temporary standard edition to see click n spins, and continue to archive the embedded edition for the day when Microsoft finally gets the bugs out of their software, approximately one week before they discontinue the current software and come out with a new and improved version full of fresh bugs!  I have the indows 7 upgrade, but a close frient who was an I.T. for a company until he quit a few weeks ago to do full time nurse's training for a carreer change, said that he has Windows 7 and has found enough bugs that he would not recommend changing the operating system until Microsoft comes out with a patch to fix it!

a close friend who was an I.T. for a company, said that he has Windows 7 and has found enough bugs that he would not recommend changing the operating system until Microsoft comes out with a patch to fix it!

Why does this sound familiar to me...? wink

It sounds familiar because they've been doing it this way ever since they came out with Windows version 1. You'ld have thought that they had figured it out by now. MS-DOS may have been a kluge but it wasn't anywhere near as troublesome as Windows has been over the years.

Irv

Out of 10,000 or so subscribers am I the only one this worked for?

I am running plain vanilla Windows XP home with just the additions that MRH has asked for to run the videos etc.  The embedded version of click n spin works great for me on the structures section. 

Artarms