QuickTime
Movies
Apple computer company makes the software known as QuickTime. Currently in version 4, this software allows you to view movies or video clips on your computer. To download the free software click here.
We chose to format all of our video clips in the Quicktime format as both Apple and PC computers can play these types of files. (The standard windows video format is AVI, which cannot be played on most Apple computers).
Additionally, the Quicktime format allows for streaming video. Streaming video allows you to start to view the video before the entire file is downloaded (which saves time!). The Quicktime format also allows for good compression (for a complete discussion on compression, see the section on ZIP files below), which shrinks the size of the video file, allowing faster download times. Warning! video files are very large, even with good compression.
PDF Files
A little background on PDF
PDF or .pdf files is an acronym meaning Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format. PDF files have the ability to be viewed and printed, using Adobe Acrobat Reader (which is a free software program). The benefit of .pdf files comes from their usability on virtually any system (PC, Apple, Unix), while retaining the formatting of the original document. If set up correctly .pdf files can also be navigated much like a web page, point and click (not all .pdf documents are structured in this way).
Adobe has recognized that not everyone uses the same software, or even the same version of a software package. By 'writing' a .pdf file, anyone can view the document you created, while retaining all the formatting. The printed version of a .pdf file should look identical to the printed version from the software the file was created in.
Viewing PDF files
When you come across a .pdf file on a web site, and click on it, three things might happen:
1 Your click will load the Acrobat Reader Plug-In for your browser (a plug in is a piece of software that extends the capabilities of your browser - sort of like a accessory package for your car, such as power windows & locks). You can navigate and print this document.
2 Your click will bring up a dialog box that asks you to save the .pdf file to your hard disk drive. After you save the file to your hard drive, you can view and print it by double clicking (or single clicking - depending on how you have your machine set up). If you get a message that your operating system does not recognize the file, then you need to download the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.
3 If you find that clicking on the link does not load the plug in, chances are you do not have the plug in installed, or set up correctly. Follow this link to get Adobe Acrobat Reader (free!).
Sometimes is saves the file, sometimes it load the plug in - Why?
Different browsers interpret a click on a hyperlink in different ways. Generally, a single right click on a .pdf hyperlinked file will first attempt to load the plug in, second, save the file. If you would like to automatically save the file (for viewing or printing later) you can hold down the SHIFT key (in Netscape browsers) or a right click -"save target as" (in Microsoft browsers). (Apple users can email me the direct save as command, and I can include it here!)
If you have other PDF questions, please email me, and I can include your questions and answers on this page!
ZIP Files
Computers have zippers too!
A file with an extension .zip (or .hqx on an apple) are files that have been 'compressed' to take up a smaller amount of space on the storage medium (hard drive, floppy diskette etc.). Because they are compressed, they take less time to download, but cannot be read or accessed until you 'unzip' them. Getting dressed has never been so technical!
There have been many many different programs that 'compress' files, probably the most popular being PKZIP and WINZIP. Both of these programs can compress files, and uncompress files.
Why bother compressing a file?
If you peer into a computer file stored on your hard disk, you will see lots of letters, numbers and characters. (For you technical readers, we are looking at the file in ASCII mode). What you will also notice is lots and lots of repeated characters or spaces. "Zipping" a file, removes all these repeats, thus shrinking the file. For example "rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr" might be replaced with "25r" (this is an oversimplification!). By compressing a file, you can shrink it 10% - 90% in size. This can significantly reduce the time it takes to download from the internet, or fit more on a diskette.
Using ZIP'ed files
To download a zip file, simply click on the link to the file you want. Your browser will prompt you to specify the location you want to save this file to on your hard disk. After the file is saved on your hard drive, you will need to 'unzip' the file before you can use it. If you have WINZIP, or another compression program or utility installed, simply clicking on the file will start the program, and let you unzip the contents of the .zip file. (If you need WINZIP or any other compression program, go here). After the extraction (unzipping) process, you then use the file (or files - .zip files can contain many individual files). Of course, you will need to have the program that the file was made for, such as Microsoft Word (if it is a .doc file, .wpd file requires Corel WordPerfect).
Questions or comments, please email me!
Forms
At the CNTC we have posted several forms on the web site to assist you with various tasks. To use a form, you will first have to download the form to your own computer, simply click on the link to the form. Then start the program for which that form was designed for. We generally supply forms for Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect. The web page link will specify which program you will need to use the form.Click here to go to your Files & Forms section.
Questions or comments, please email me!