The Ideas Library v. 3
This software is compatible with Windows® 98, 2000, and XP®. It is also compatible with Macintosh OS 9.2 and 10.2.6 or higher.
Q. How can I tell if my computer meets the system requirements listed on this software?
A. PC: There are several things you can tell by right-clicking on the My Computer icon on your desktop and choosing Properties. The resulting screen will show you what kind of computer you have, which version of Windows you are running, and how much RAM you have installed.
If you double-click on My Computer and then right-click on the drive you would like to install the software on and finally choose Properties, the resulting screen will tell you if you have enough hard drive space available.
Mac: There are several things you can tell by going to the Apple menu and choose About this Computer. On the resulting screen, you will see the OS that you are running as well as how much memory you have installed. Other information is also available.
Q. I have the Ideas Library Version 1 or Version 2. How can I upgrade?
A. Please contact Zondervan ChurchSource at 800-727-3480 or thinkzcs@zondervan.com. The upgrade from version 1 is $49.99 because you would be adding the ideas from three new books, plus 90 ideas not found in any books. The upgrade from version 2 is $29.99 because you would be adding the ideas from one book, plus 90 ideas not found in any books.
Q. What's new in the Ideas Library v. 3?
A. The new version of the Ideas Library has been redesigned and packed with new content from the latest Ideas Library print books, as well as Ideas never published in the print series. An updated look, along with enhanced features, will give you quicker and easier access to finding just the right idea you need, when you need it. Specifically:
- The Quick Search, previously on the Home Page, has been renamed Keyword Search and is now under the Ideas Menu and the Advanced Search.
- Handouts and Illustrations related to specific ideas now are opened in a separate, resizable window that's much more manageable.
- The Funnel Search is now called the Ideas Menu.
- The Advanced Search is easier to navigate, with alphabetically grouped topics and Scripture references in biblical order.
- Sound effects have been added to make your experience more fun.
Q. What is the difference between the three searches?
A. The Ideas Menu is set up like the print versions of the Ideas Library. For instance, you look through the games "book" and find a list of types of games. Once you locate the type of game you want, you flip through the selected titles and game contents to choose the game that works for you. The Ideas Menu give you ideas that other youth workers have tried and found to work with their kids.
- The Advanced Search lets you pick any combination of idea, topic, and/or Bible reference. Once you're familiar with the Ideas Library, the Advanced Search may be the most efficient way to find the idea you have in mind.
- The Keyword Search lets you type a word or phrase (don't surround a phrase with quotation marks, as you would in a web search), and you'll get a list of every idea in which that word (or phrase) occurs, regardless of the type of idea. Hint: Try a word or phrase you think may be in the title or content of the idea you may have in mind. This is the least controlled of the searches - and can result in a huge list of results. (This search may take a little longer because it searches all the ideas on the CD-ROM.)
Q. How can I search for exact Idea titles?
A. Click on Keyword Search and type in the exact title - or a keyword from the title. Using the exact title should pull up only one result. Using a keyword will pull up any idea title or content in which that word appears.
Q. How do I best use the pull-down lists?
A. In the Advanced Search, you're the brains behind the search-engine brawn. The pull-down list contains way more entries than you want to scroll through. So just let your mind wander through types of ideas you might want - announcements, Bible lessons, camps and retreats, crazy skits, holiday ideas, discussion and lesson starters, fundraising, managing a youth ministry, and so on.
Then think of the topic (or Bible reference) that further defines what you're looking for. The pull-down list for topics is too long to list - it includes things such as advertising ethics, the body of Christ, communication, values, reconciliation, and making a difference. Select a word or phrase that describes the topic of the idea you're looking for, click Search, and see what happens. If you get no hits after a few tries, you're better off locating your idea through the Ideas Menu. Once you get the drift of how to find topics in the Ideas Library, try the Advanced Search again.
Q. How do I copy material from the Ideas Library to my word processor?
A. Most of the standard editing shortcuts work, but here's a list of all the shortcuts for using the Ideas Library.
Anywhere in the Ideas Library:
- COMMAND/CONTROL + Q or ESCAPE or OPTION/ALT = F4 = Quit
- COMMAND/CONTROL + M to mute sound effects.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + M to turn sound back on
- Ideas Page:
- COMMAND/CONTROL + P = Print current Idea
- Search Results List (click in list to make it the active windows):
- HOME/END = Scroll to beginning/end of search results list.
- PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN = Scroll to previous/next page in search results list.
- ARROW UP/ARROW DOWN = Open previous/next Idea in search results list
- Ideas Text (click on Idea page to make it the active window):
- COMMAND/CONTROL + P = Print current Idea.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + A = Select all text of current Idea (this is incorrect in the FAQs on the CD).
- COMMAND/CONTROL + Z = Undo editing of current Idea.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + X = Cut selected text from current Idea.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + C = Copy selected text of current Idea.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + V = Paste clipboard selection into current Idea. (Note: pasted text will not be saved.)
- HOME/END = Scroll to beginning/end of Idea text box.
- PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN = Scroll to previous/next page of Idea text box.
- ARROW UP/ARROW DOWN/ARROW LEFT/ARROW RIGHT - Moves cursor within Idea text box.
- Any other keyboard input will be interpreted as text input.
- Note: Any changes you make in the text of an Idea are temporary. You can print the Idea with the changes you've made, but as soon as you move to a different Idea or close the Ideas Library, the text reverts back to the original. To save your revisions, you must copy the text to a word processor document
- PDF Window:
- HOME/END = Scroll to beginning/end of PDF.
- PAGEUP/PAGEDOWN = Scroll to previous/next page of PDF.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + W = Close PDF window.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + P = Print PDF.
- COMMAND/CONTROL + S = Save PDF.
- CONTROL + A = Select all text in PDF. (This was incorrect in the FAQs on the CD.)
- COMMAND/CONTROL + C = Copy selected text to clipboard.
- Note: COMMAND/CONTROL key combinations above represent MAC/WINDOWS keyboards. Macintosh computers have COMMAND keys. Windows have CONTROL keys.
Note: You cannot change fonts or apply bolds or italics within the Ideas Library screen. (But if you select the whole Idea and copy and paste it into your own word processor, you'll have all of the regular formatting options.)
Q. Why can't I highlight the Keyword search text?
A. The Keyword Search field is basically a text box layered over a graphic where text is entered. To highlight just the word you've searched for, make sure you lift your finger from your mouse button before you leave this text box - this will be right at the edge of the text on the left side of the entry. If your mouse button is still pressed down when you leave the text box, your highlighting may disappear. You can also click once before the word, hold down your shift key, and click again at the end of the word to highlight the whole word.
Q. Why won't the Enter button start my search?
A. If you're trying to return to a search that's still entered in the search field, make sure your cursor is active behind the text when you hit the Enter key. If you haven't just typed the search text, hitting the Enter or Return key will do nothing.
Q. Why can't I select all the text in a PDF to copy to my word processor in Mac OS 9.2 or X?
A. You can, but you need to use the text select tool and click and drag to select text. The shortcut key (COMMAND + A) does not work in the handout's window. However, you can launch Adobe Reader (COMMAND + L) and use the Text Select Tool to select specific text, or use COMMAND + A to select all of the text.
Note that when you paste text from a handout file into a word processor document, a paragraph return appears at the end of each line, not just at the end of each paragraph. Also, when copying text from the handout directly from the Ideas Library, text formatting like italics and bold are lost. Use Adobe Reader when you need formatted text.
Q. How can I hide the Ideas Library so I can see my desktop?
A. Windows users can minimize the program by right-clicking on Ideas in the task bar located at the bottom of the screen. Then select Minimize to hide the program. To bring the program back, right-click on Ideas Library again and select Restore.
Mac OS 9 users can navigate to the Application Manager and select Hide Others to hide the program entirely.
Mac OS X users can navigate to the Ideas Library 3 menu and select Hide Others to hide the program entirely. Or you can hit OPTION + click on the desktop to quickly hide the program. You can also use OPTION + COMMAND + H to quickly hide the program. To restore the program after hiding, simply click on the application icon that appears in the Dock.
Q. Can I search for keywords in reproducible worksheets or in drama scripts?
A. No, but if it truly is a key word, then it's a good bet that word will also show up in the Idea title or the short description the reproducible worksheet or script goes with. The best bet, though, is switching to the Ideas Menu. Your keyword may well show up as a topic related to that Idea and lead you to your desired script or worksheet.
To search the handouts themselves, you first have to launch an associated program. On a PC and on Mac OS 9, you'll open the script or worksheet in Adobe Reader or the full version of Acrobat. On Mac OS X, you can use Adobe Reader, Acrobat or the Preview application. Use CONTROL + L on a PC, or COMMAND + L on a Mac to launch the associated program.
Q. Will the keyword search let me look for phrases like my Internet browser does?
A. Well, you can’t do "and," "or," "not," or "+" searches. But if you type in a phrase without quotation marks around it, you'll get a list of ideas whose titles or content contain that exact phrase.
Q. I'm new to the Ideas Library. What's the best way to get to the Ideas I want?
A. Begin with the Ideas Menu. The screens walk you from the type of idea you're looking for to a more defined group of Ideas, and finally to a list of Idea titles you can browse through.
Q. How do I exit the Ideas Library?
A. Use the Quit button located at the bottom left corner of the screen.
Q. How do I restart the Ideas Library once the CD-Rom is already in my drive?
A. Mac users can simply double click on the CD. Windows users, double click on your My Computer icon, find your CD-ROM drive and double click on it.
Q. I like to customize my color settings to get the best look on the software I use. What works best with the Ideas Library?
A. The Ideas Library is designed with a 32-bit color setting in mind, but made to run with 16-bit color. It also requires a minimum screen resolution of 800x600. If you monitor is set lower than this, the Ideas Library will change this for you before you begin working with the program.
Q. Why is the last word some times missing from an Idea title?
A. If you're a Mac user, we don't know. If you are a Windows user, you have Large Fonts selected in your Display Settings. If you want to change this setting, first quit the Ideas Library. Now, right-click anywhere on your desktop and select Properties from the pop-up list. You can now select the Settings tab and change Font Size to Small Fonts. In Windows XP, after selecting Properties in the pop-up menu, click on the Appearance tab and change font size to Normal. You will then have to restart your computer.
Q. Why can't I scroll to the next page in the handout?
A. When viewing the handouts or PDF files, you are unable to scroll to the next page if the View is set to Fit Page. The scroll bar is used only to indicate that there are multiple pages. If a handout is only one page, the scroll bar will not appear. Use the Next/Previous page buttons in the upper left corner of the window to view multiple page handouts. You can also use the keyboard's PAGE UP/PAGE DOWN or HOME/END keys to navigate the file. For continuous scrolling change your view to Fit Width or Fit Actual or zoom in with the magnifying glass button.
Q. How can I turn off the sound effect?
A. Press COMMAND + M if you're on a Mac or CONTROL + M if you're on Windows. To turn the sound on, COMMAND/CONTROL + M again.
Q. Can I run this in the Classic environment on Mac OS X?
A. We've spent a lot of time customizing the Ideas Library so it will run natively in the latest version of Mac OS X and OS 9.2. It is optimized to run in 9.2 or 10.2.6, but not in Classic.
Q. Any suggestions for problems printing PDFs?
A. When trying to print the handouts, certain printers have problems. Here are some suggestions and a valid "work around":
1. Try pressing COMMAND/CONTROL + P instead of pressing the Print icon.
2. Make sure you have the latest driver installed on your system for your printer. Check the printer manufacturer's Web site for updates.
3. On Mac OS 9, you can also try running on virtual memory. Go to the Apple Menu and select Control Panels > Memory and press the On button next to Virtual Memory. You must then restart your computer.
4. Increase the RAM allocated to your print driver to 32 MB or higher. Refer to the documentation that came with your printer to learn how to do this or contact the manufacturer. (Mac OS 9, only).
5. Turn off background printing. Refer to the documentation that came with your printer to learn how to do this or contact the manufacturer.
6. If the above options do not work, try launching the PDF file in Adobe Reader by pressing COMMAND/CONTROL + L and print the handout from that application. (If you do not have Adobe Reader by pressing COMMAND/CONTROL + L and print the handout from that application. (If you do not have Adobe Reader installed, go to www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html to download it now.)
Q. How can I uninstall the Ideas Library from my hard drive?
A. Unlike most applications that run on Windows operating systems, where you use the Control Panel's Add/Remove Program utility to remove programs, simply navigate to the location on your hard drive where you saved the Ideas Library during installation. (The default location is on your C drive.) Select the Ideas Library 3 folder that contains the program and press the Delete key or move it to the Recycle Bin. (If you can't remember where it is located, you can right-click on the shortcut to the program and select Properties. Under the shortcut tab, you'll find the path to the program listed under Target.)
To make sure all references are off your system, remember to delete the shortcut from your desktop as well as the one in your Start menu. (To remove the one in your Start menu in Windows 98, 2000 or XP, simply right-click the item in the Start menu and select Delete.)
Q. How do I register this software?
A. You can register your software right here online.
Q. My question hasn't been answered. Now what?
A. Please click here technical support form and choose Software Technical Support from the first drop down menu.