To report a problem with 3D Topicscape, please review the list below, the Known Issues list and the Bug List first. Then please start 3D Topicscape and, in the "Help" menu, select "Send error report. . .". If you cannot start 3D Topicscape, please try re-installing it. If 3D Topicscape still fails to start please let us know via the Contact Us link.
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You may narrow your search with a selection here:
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| Q 1: |
How do I delete topics in Topicscape? And what happens when I do? Answer
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| Q 2: |
(No longer applies) Answer
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| Q 3: |
Help! I've just deleted a useful topic that had many occurrences in it (files and other data)! Answer
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| Q 4: |
(no longer applies) Answer
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| Q 5: |
Why do small cones suddenly pop into view as I fly towards them or zoom in? Before that happened there was a smudged area on the screen in the same place. Answer
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| Q 7: |
OK, so what's a 'Scape? Answer
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| Q 8: |
I have selected 'Sort by name' but when I change the name of a topic in the 'Scape, the cone remains where it is even though it is now out of order alphabetically. Answer
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| Q 9: |
Why are some of the entries in the history list gray? Answer
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| Q 10: |
I just added some children to a topic (sub-topics), but nothing changed in the 'Scape. It didn't seem to work. Answer
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| Q 11: |
I just added some children to a topic (i.e. some sub-topics). Nothing changed where I added them, but they appeared somewhere else. What's going on? Answer
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| Q 12: |
Doesn't zooming in just make everything jagged and blocky-looking? Answer
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| Q 13: |
I'm trying to search for "IEEE" but it won't let me type it - why does the Topicscape Advanced Search panel force everything into the lower case "ieee". Answer
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| Q 14: |
Isn't the Topicscape Box just a fancy name for a folder? Answer
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| Q 15: |
I dragged a file into the Topicscape Box and it moved it there instead of copying it. Answer
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| Q 16: |
Why does the Topicscape Box icon sometimes look like a closed box and sometimes look like an open one? Answer
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| Q 17: |
I'm having trouble with Paste Special and 3D Topicscape [or the Topicscape Box]. One of the following happens: - I get an empty file;
- there is some information about the original file but no actual copied content;
- the copied text has a grey background;
- though I chose a linked object, not embedded, when I double-click to edit, the original file does not open; or
- I get a Windows message saying "Word cannot edit the Microsoft Word Document."
Why did any of these happen? Answer
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| Q 18: |
I tried to drag a URL icon straight from the browser address bar to the TSB Icon on my desktop. It doesn't work- I just see the prohibited sign. The same thing happens if I try to drag an email straight from my Outlook Express window, or a selected portion of a Word or Excel document. Answer
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| Q 20: |
I read that 3D Topicscape is written in Java. I have Java 1.5 (1.4 or 1.2, etc.) installed on my computer, is 3D Topicscape compatible with that? Will 3D Topicscape interfere with my Java installation? Answer
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| Q 22: |
I'm interested in the technicalities. What is the specification for a computer to run 3D Topicscape? Answer
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| Q 23: |
At present I use other software for mind mapping but it only works in 2D. Can I import the 2D mindmap diagrams from that so that I can work with them in 3D in Topicscape? Answer
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| Q 24: |
Can I have a Topicscape as an occurrence in a Topicscape? Answer
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| Q 25: |
Can I have a specific topic in another Topicscape as an occurrence in a Topicscape, so that it opens with that topic being the current one when I double-click on the 3DT occurrence? Answer
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| Q 26: |
Why don't the shortcuts Ctrl+& and Alt-& work? Answer
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| Q 28: |
I have a problem with Paste Special. I made an Excel file MySpreadsheet.xls and saved it. I made a Word file MyDocument.doc and saved it. Then I copied a range of cells from MySpreadsheet and used Paste Special, with the 'Linked' option, to place it in MyDocument. I saved the Word file. Then in MyDocument, I selected the range of cells just pasted there, and copied it. It was on the clipboard because it could be pasted as a second copy in the Word file. In 3D Topicscape, I went into the Topic Centre and right clicked on the occurrences list. The Paste and Paste Special items on the pop-up menu were grayed out and inactive and the Edit | Paste Special said "no OLE on clipboard". Answer
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| Q 29: |
If I fly backwards for a while, I eventually reach a point when flight backwards stops. And if I zoom backwards instead, I hit a point where I start climbing instead. Answer
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| Q 30: |
I see references to 'noisewords' on buttons and in menus. What's this about? Answer
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| Q 31: |
How can I find all the MS Excel files that are in my Topicscape as occurrences? Answer
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| Q 32: |
I use two screens at the same time on my PC and have the 3D Topicscape window on one screen. 3D Topicscape messages sometimes appear on the wrong screen and the graphics are really slow some of the time, especially editing text. Answer
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| Q 33: |
Why does a small square follow the cursor on the 3D Hit and History lists and sometimes on the pop-up menus when the mouse cursor passes over them? Occasionally the cursor disappears, too. Answer
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| Q 35: |
I have noticed that if I drag in a folder with many files [including cases where sub-folders have many files] the operation of my whole computer becomes very slow. I chose to 'Move' the files into Topicscape, and I'm using Windows 98SE. Answer
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| Q 36: |
I changed a topic's name from Africa to Zanzibar. The 'Scape was set to show topics in alphabetical order at the time but after this change why didn't the renamed topic move down to the bottom right hand corner of the Scape? Answer
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| Q 37: |
I've noticed that some of my topics now have so many occurrences that I can't find my way around them any more. Have I outgrown 3D Topicscape? Answer
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| Q 38: |
When I drag a file to the Topicscape Box (TSB) icon on the desktop, I see the little + that shows the file is being copied not moved. Why does it then actually move it instead? Answer
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| Q 39: |
Why does TSB accept only moves? When I drag something into the Topicscape Box (TSB), it always gets moved, even if I hold down the Ctrl key. Why doesn't it copy it, the way Windows does? Answer
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| Q 40: |
I dragged a file from Windows Explorer to the occurrence list of a Topic Centre. When I look at the file's name at the foot of the details panel, I can see that it has changed. It used to be "Agenda.doc" and now it is "Agenda'22'.doc". The occurrence is called Agenda, though. Why did it change? Answer
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| Q 41: |
I can't seem to drag cones or pyramids around in the 'Scape. Is it possible to do this, or are they "fixed" in the positions the program places them in? I'd like to be able to set up a layout and see it next time I came to this part of the Topicscape. Answer
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| Q 42: |
I'm using Windows XP. If I use encryption to protect my Topicscapes, won't it slow Topicscape down? Answer
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| Q 43: |
Why are some of the entries in the history list green? Answer
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| Q 44: |
I can't 'paste special' embedded in Topicscape with Word - Topicscape makes an automatic RTF file for me with information about the extract of a Word document that I'm trying to paste, but it doesn't save the extract of the original Word document that I want there. An extract of an Excel spreadsheet can be embedded with paste special, though. What has gone wrong? Answer
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| Q 45: |
Can I move my Topicscape folders (directories) around, or will it break all the links between occurrences and their files? Answer
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| Q 46: |
Why can't we import to create a new Topicscape from the front screen when first opening? (You have to open an existing Topicscape) Answer
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| Q 47: |
Help! My screen has turned upside down. Answer
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| Q 48: |
Why can't I select items on the search hit list or the history list? Selection of a topic cone is also a problem! I am using an Intel graphics display. [Another problem related to this: The Topicscape scene appears outside the Topicscape window.] Answer
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| Q 49: |
I'm thinking of buying Topicscape Pro. What happens when you upgrade? Will the upgrade be free? Answer
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| Q 50: |
Where's my license? I paid for Topicscape [or TopicCrunch] but I've heard nothing from you. Answer
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| Q 51: |
When I open the license file, I just see a load of junk. How do I copy it into Topicscape? Answer
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| Q 52: |
There appears to be a problem with the license file that you emailed me. When I rename it license.dat and add it to the bin folder (C:\Program Files\Topicscape\bin), Topicscape won't open. I can see Topicscape.exe briefly in the Task Manager but it disappears from there after a few seconds and no Topicscape windows or buttons ever appear on the desktop. Removing the file and trying to start Topicscape generates an error message that files are missing or corrupt. Removing the file from the bin directory and reinstalling repairs the program but puts it back in trial mode. [Some customers reported that they saw the message "Failed to load core DLLs." etc. instead.] Answer
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| Q 53: |
I downloaded the Skins - how do I install them? Answer
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| Q 54: |
Topicscape Pro won't start. I don't even see the blue logo Topicscape splash panel. Topicscape Lite runs fine. Answer
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| Q 55: |
I just installed Outlook 2007, and Topicscape stopped making live connections to items like tasks and calendar entries in Outlook. What happened? Answer
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| Q 56: |
When I export a Topicscape or part of a Topicscape to OPML and click on the XML file, I get a message saying "This file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action." (or "Windows cannot open this file"). Answer
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| Q 57: |
I've exported a large Topicscape to OPML but when I open it in the browser, it is very slow. Answer
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| Q 58: |
I installed my license.dat file and now I can't start Topicscape. I get a message "Failed to load Core DLLs. Please re-install Topicscape". What should I do? Answer
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| Q 59: |
I am using the Topicscape Pro trial [the answer would apply to Lite, and a fully licensed version of Pro as well] and I would like to try the Beta version. Are there any complications? Answer
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| Q 60: |
I bought Topicscape and believe there is a Beta account set up for me, but I have not used a Beta version before. How can I find out my password? Answer
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| Q 61: |
I get a message "Failed to load Core DLLs. Please re-install Topicscape". I have read the answers to Q 52 and Q 58 but I know my license.dat file is not set to read-only, and I have not put my license.dat in the Program FilesTopicscape Betabin – I'm not even running the Topicscape Beta version. What can I do about this? Answer
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| Q 62: |
How does the program address external drives, thumb-drives and network shares? Answer
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| Q 63: |
Since I only browse with FireFox, I find it annoying that saved web pages have to be viewed in Explorer. My request is for an option to save web pages in a FireFox format, so they can be viewed in FireFox. Answer
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| Q 1: |
How do I delete topics in Topicscape? And what happens when I do?
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| A 1: |
If you right click on a topic, a menu pops up and you can choose one of the delete items from this. There are several kinds of deletion.
You can use Topicscape Orphans - a place to hide things away that you think you have finished with but which you do not wish to delete irretrievably. You can restore topics and occurrences from Topicscape Orphans into the main, active part of the Topicscape. T.O. is not equivalent to the Windows® Recycle Bin because nothing will ever disappear from T.O. unless you delete it yourself.
Or you can delete topics. This means that you can't recover the topics (unless you undo before closing Topicscape) but you won't lose the files that were previously part of an occurrence because they stay in the Topicscape's folder until you show stray files and then delete them. The files become invisible to Topicscape, but can be access normally with Windows Explorer.
There's another apparent level of deletion: deletion by breaking associations. This is not really deletion at all as a topic can have as many associations as you like. But it can make a topic disappear from the 'Scape and thus appear to be deleted. Once a topic has no remaining associations that connect it directly or indirectly to the Home topic (the first one made in this Topicscape), it will be attached to Topicscape Islands. If you do not suppress deletion reports, you will receive a warning when this happens. Even topics under Topicscape Islands appear in a search, so they are not lost. You can also view all island topics by making Topicscape Islands current.
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| Q 3: |
Help! I've just deleted a useful topic that had many occurrences in it (files and other data)!
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| A 3: |
Don't worry, you can undo any action in Topicscape, and you can keep undoing back through many past actions in this run most of the time. Ctrl+Z will do the trick. Or use the main menu item Edit | Undo.
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| Q 5: |
Why do small cones suddenly pop into view as I fly towards them or zoom in? Before that happened there was a smudged area on the screen in the same place.
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| A 5: |
To allow a very large 'Scape to work smoothly on the screen and allow you to fly quickly, we suppress the detailed presentation (rendering) of very small cones in 3D. In their place, we have a small flat image of a cone - this is much quicker to show on the screen and if there are hundreds visible it can make a big difference to the speed. Whenever you get close to a group of these, Topicscape will start to render them in full 3D detail.
Sometimes, one group of cones will be near enough to be rendered fully, while a group behind them will not, so don't be surprised if the small cones look different -- you will always be able to read them as you fly nearer.
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| Q 7: |
OK, so what's a 'Scape?
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| A 7: |
 Click here to enlarge It's short for 'landscape' - the field, mountains and sky. It's where the 3D representation of your information is shown. Topicscape has two windows: The 'Scape window and the Topic Centre window.
One Topicscape is a single database plus all the files and scraps of information you have decided to collect together in one place. Each database is collected around a 3DT file (3D Topicscape). That database records where the files are that you introduce to that Topicscape.
One 'Scape is a view of part of a Topicscape, centered around a Current Topic.
One Topic Centre is a view inside one Topic cone (or pyramid).
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| Q 8: |
I have selected 'Sort by name' but when I change the name of a topic in the 'Scape, the cone remains where it is even though it is now out of order alphabetically.
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| A 8: |
You need to refresh the display to see an updated 'Scape. Please press the function key F5.
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| Q 9: |
Why are some of the entries in the history list gray?
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| A 9: |
If you perform an action on a topic (like make it into the Current Topic, or enter its Topic Centre), it will appear in the History list. If you then delete that topic, the History list entry will remain but be displayed with gray lettering. This indicates that you can no longer do anything to that Topic.
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| Q 10: |
I just added some children to a topic (sub-topics), but nothing changed in the 'Scape. It didn't seem to work.
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| A 10: |
There are a couple of reasons why a topic may not appear when it is added. A Topicscape can be enormous. The 3D approach developed for Topicscape can show a large portion of such a database, much more than any other method we know of. But it will not always be able to show all of it. Cones that would be too tiny, are just not shown at all until you move the main point of focus (the Current Topic) closer to them. So if you add a child topic to a great-grandchild of the Current Topic, you won't see it until you, for example, make the great-grandchild into the Current Topic. There is another reason why you may not see a new entry: If Topicscape only occupies part of the screen on a normal sized computer monitor or LCD panel, the new topic may just be too small for the monitor to show it. Zooming in will let you see it.
At the other end of the scale, you will only see ancestors of the Current Topic up to the great-grandparent level. If you make a new parent of one of the biggest pyramids behind the Current Topic, a great-grandparent topic, you will not see it.
At the side of a 'Scape you will often see 'sibling' topics. These are topics on the same level as the Current Topic (they share one or more common parents). They are often useful places to look when the Current Topic's children and below do not yield what you are searching for. Their children are also shown (siblings' children), but that's as low as it goes. To see more, try making a sibling Current. In addition there is a customization feature that can limit to ten the number of children showing for any one sibling. To turn this off, please select Tools | Options | 'Scape | and uncheck the "Show at most 10 children of any sibling topics" checkbox. When that option is checked and a specific sibling has more than 10 children, you will see three dots floating in the air to show that there are more children that are not shown.
If you add topics to a sibling as children, and there are 10 or more already, you will not see the additions.
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| Q 11: |
I just added some children to a topic (i.e. some sub-topics). Nothing changed where I added them, but they appeared somewhere else. What's going on?
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| A 11: |
Some topics in the 'Scape are at the boundary of visibility. This means that to keep the 'Scape workable, items that are too far from the 'Current Topic' will not be displayed until you make a topic closer to them into the Current Topic. So if, say, you add a child to a sibling's child, you won't see it there, but if the same topic is also a child of the Current Topic, you will see it there. Just make the sibling into the Current Topic and you will see that the topics were added there after all.
One of the key advantages of 3D Topicscape is the way the same topic can appear more than once in a 'Scape - and it's not a copy, it is the same topic.
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| Q 12: |
Doesn't zooming in just make everything jagged and blocky-looking?
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| A 12: |
Not with 3D Topicscape. Using today's advanced 3D graphics technology, as you get closer, the detail shown improves. This is limited only by the quality of your screen . . . at least until you are so close that the image on the screen is not really useful - for example when a couple of letters fill the screen, say.
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| Q 13: |
I'm trying to search for "IEEE" but it won't let me type it - why does the Topicscape Advanced Search panel force everything into the lower case "ieee".
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| A 13: |
Topicscape does not distinguish between capital and lower case letters. It forces whatever is typed in the Advanced Search box to lower case to remind users of that.
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| Q 14: |
Isn't the Topicscape Box just a fancy name for a folder?
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| A 14: |
No. Although it includes a folder that is also called "Topicscape Box", the Topicscape Box is computer software with several time-saving functions. Please see the Help entry in Topicscape or Topicscape Box.
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| Q 15: |
I dragged a file into the Topicscape Box and it moved it there instead of copying it.
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| A 15: |
Yes, TSB has been designed as just a point along the way for files that are going into 3D Topicscape itself. When you drag something from TSB to 3D Topicscape it will move at that time, as well.
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| Q 16: |
Why does the Topicscape Box icon sometimes look like a closed box and sometimes look like an open one?
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| A 16: |
The icon indicates whether the TSB is open or not.
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| Q 17: |
I'm having trouble with Paste Special and 3D Topicscape [or the Topicscape Box]. One of the following happens: - I get an empty file;
- there is some information about the original file but no actual copied content;
- the copied text has a grey background;
- though I chose a linked object, not embedded, when I double-click to edit, the original file does not open; or
- I get a Windows message saying "Word cannot edit the Microsoft Word Document."
Why did any of these happen?
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| A 17: |
For the Windows© paste special function to work with an OLE object, it has to know where to look for it and that means there has to be a file, properly saved. After you have selected the portion of text and pasted it, please save the file you just copied from, even if you have made no changes to the file. Then try again, and it should work.
In the Paste Special panel, please ensure that you selected "Microsoft Word Document" and "Link", or you will not be able to edit the original document by double-clicking the text in your new file.
These same requirements are likely to apply to other OLE-enable software.
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| Q 18: |
I tried to drag a URL icon straight from the browser address bar to the TSB Icon on my desktop. It doesn't work- I just see the prohibited sign. The same thing happens if I try to drag an email straight from my Outlook Express window, or a selected portion of a Word or Excel document.
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| A 18: |
When the TSB is open, you can drag all of these things to the TSB. It will make a file to hold the dragged item for you and save it in the TSB. You can't drag a URL, Outlook Express email or an OLE object onto the TSB icon, it is forbidden by Windows (because the program is not running at the time). For these functions to work, the application has to be open so that it can take control and make a file for you, then store it inside the box.
You can drag a file, and drop it on the desktop TSB icon, though.
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| Q 20: |
I read that 3D Topicscape is written in Java. I have Java 1.5 (1.4 or 1.2, etc.) installed on my computer, is 3D Topicscape compatible with that? Will 3D Topicscape interfere with my Java installation?
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| A 20: |
3D Topicscape is compiled to 'native code'. It does not use a Java runtime.
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| Q 22: |
I'm interested in the technicalities. What is the specification for a computer to run 3D Topicscape?
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| A 22: |
3D Topicscape should be used on a computer with . . .
- 256MB of RAM or more (desirable),
- at least a 1GHz processor (desirable),
- a good graphics adapter purchased in the last year or so is a key requirement as Topicscape works in 3D.
- Your graphics adapter must support 3D (essential);
- it should have a minimum of 32MB RAM on board and
- it must have a driver installed that supports at least OpenGL '1.2 with s3tc extensions' (this is equivalent to OpenGL 1.3) (essential). 3D Topicscape will not work with OpenGL 1.1 or 1.2 (i.e. without extensions).
- a screen displaying a resolution of at least 1024 x 768 (3D Topicscape takes full advantage of higher resolutions if available.)
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| Q 23: |
At present I use other software for mind mapping but it only works in 2D. Can I import the 2D mindmap diagrams from that so that I can work with them in 3D in Topicscape?
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| A 23: |
Although 3D Topicscape does not read 2D diagrams directly, some of that type of software has an export facility that will produce an outline-format text file. 3D Topicscape can read such a text file and build a new Topicscape that reflects the structure of the diagram. Please search here or in the Topicscape Help system for the phrase "Converting from other software".
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| Q 24: |
Can I have a Topicscape as an occurrence in a Topicscape?
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| A 24: |
Yes. A few functions have been limited to avoid unexpected damage to a Topicscape, though. For example, you cannot move or copy a Topicscape to bring it under the control of another Topicscape as there may be many files associated with it in addition to its database (the 3DT file). It will stay in its original location and have a 'point to' occurrence.
And if you delete an occurrence that happens to be a Topicscape, it will not actually delete the 3DT file or its associated files, just the occurrence itself.
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| Q 25: |
Can I have a specific topic in another Topicscape as an occurrence in a Topicscape, so that it opens with that topic being the current one when I double-click on the 3DT occurrence?
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| A 25: |
Not yet, but we do plan to introduce that facility in a later version.
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| Q 26: |
Why don't the shortcuts Ctrl+& and Alt-& work?
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| A 26: |
Bear in mind that to get an '&' you have to hold down the Shift key, so Ctrl+& is actually keyed as Shift+Ctrl+7 and Alt+& is Shift+Alt+7.
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| Q 28: |
I have a problem with Paste Special. I made an Excel file MySpreadsheet.xls and saved it. I made a Word file MyDocument.doc and saved it. Then I copied a range of cells from MySpreadsheet and used Paste Special, with the 'Linked' option, to place it in MyDocument. I saved the Word file. Then in MyDocument, I selected the range of cells just pasted there, and copied it. It was on the clipboard because it could be pasted as a second copy in the Word file. In 3D Topicscape, I went into the Topic Centre and right clicked on the occurrences list. The Paste and Paste Special items on the pop-up menu were grayed out and inactive and the Edit | Paste Special said "no OLE on clipboard".
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| A 28: |
Ouch! This sounds pretty complicated. What it means is that you've put a piece of document One in document Two and you want to copy it from Two and paste it somewhere else. Windows doesn't identify the range of cells in the MyDocument Word file as a standard OLE object when copied again. It is what Microsoft calls an "Excel Object". We suggest you open the original Excel doc, select the range of cells there and try again - then it will be a standard Paste Special. As the original Paste Special was a 'link', you only have to double click on it to open the original document.
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| Q 29: |
If I fly backwards for a while, I eventually reach a point when flight backwards stops. And if I zoom backwards instead, I hit a point where I start climbing instead.
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| A 29: |
For technical reasons, the whole of a Topicscape is built in a 'bounding' box. You can't fly outside that and you should never need to for normal use of Topicscape. The same thing stops you flying through the field.
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| Q 30: |
I see references to 'noisewords' on buttons and in menus. What's this about?
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| A 30: |
3D Topicscape's Advanced Search generally ignores common words and characters such as "a", "the" and "an", as well as single digits, because including them slows down the search without improving the results. We call these "noisewords". Some people call them 'Stop words'. If you include words like this, 3D Topicscape will tell you and give you an option (by a checkbox) that allows you to have them included anyway. If you're looking for an item about "The Who", you will probably want to include noisewords in your search - or just remove the definition of "who" as a noiseword.
We provide a comprehensive list of what we consider to be noisewords when 3D Topicscape is installed. The noisewords list can be added to or cut down, as you wish. The noisewords list in 3D Topicscape can be exported, and someone else's noiseword list can be imported. All this can be done from the Advanced Search panel, using the "Maintain Noisewords" button. To bring up the Advanced Search panel, when 3D Topicscape is running, press the space bar.
Noisewords maintenance can also be started from the Tools menu in the main toolbar.
Acceptable noiseword text file format:
A noiseword file consists of a plain text file with one line per word and the word starting in the first character of the line. Noisewords defined in the file can contain punctuation or similar characters and can be no longer than 25 letters or numbers.
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| Q 31: |
How can I find all the MS Excel files that are in my Topicscape as occurrences?
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| A 31: |
First, type an '*'.
This will bring up the Advanced Search panel, with * in the search string.- Uncheck the topic name checkbox.
- Check "These file types" and click on the drop-down arrow to the right of "(all file types)".
- Scroll down the list if necessary and click on the xls checkbox.
- Press Enter.
To give a more focused example: To find all xls files in all topics containing the word 'budget', in their names or descriptions.
- Type 'budget*' in the search string. Looking for 'budget' only will not find 'budgets', but looking for 'budget*' will find budget, budgets, budgeted and budgeting.
- Check the 'all topic details' checkbox.
- Uncheck occurrence and file name (because you don't want to exclude a file called 'Sales2004-05.xls' if it's in a topic called 'Sales Budgets'.
- Select xls in drop down box for file types.
- Press Enter.
If you are looking for all xls files containing the word 'budget', in their filename, occurrence name or descriptions you would do this:
- Type 'budget*' in the search string.
- Check the 'all occurrence and file details' checkbox.
- Uncheck topic name and all topic details (because you don't want to exclude a file called 'Sales Budget 2004-05.xls' if it's in a topic called 'Sales Planning'.
- Select xls in drop down box for file types.
- Press Enter.
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| Q 32: |
I use two screens at the same time on my PC and have the 3D Topicscape window on one screen. 3D Topicscape messages sometimes appear on the wrong screen and the graphics are really slow some of the time, especially editing text.
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| A 32: |
We are aware of these problems. They are caused by some advanced graphics hardware when operating under Windows and the OpenGL graphics driver. We also have reports of satisfactory operation on two displays, but if you experience this, please disable one screen when using 3D Topicscape.
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| Q 33: |
Why does a small square follow the cursor on the 3D Hit and History lists and sometimes on the pop-up menus when the mouse cursor passes over them? Occasionally the cursor disappears, too.
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| A 33: |
You have probably switched on the mousetrails feature, which is not properly handled by OpenGL graphics rendering. Please turn this off as follows: Start | [Settings in Windows 98] | Control Panel | Mouse | Motion tab or Pointer Options | Cursor Trails or Pointer Trails or Mouse Trails: uncheck to disable.
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| Q 35: |
I have noticed that if I drag in a folder with many files [including cases where sub-folders have many files] the operation of my whole computer becomes very slow. I chose to 'Move' the files into Topicscape, and I'm using Windows 98SE.
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| A 35: |
In our experience, this is true with any operation involving the deletion of a large number of files in Windows Explorer. We think you were probably moving from one drive letter to another (e.g. D: to C:). After each move, Windows will delete the file from its origin, and once the number of files involved reaches 100 or so (it varies), a similar move using Windows Explorer itself will often give the same problem.
If you are using Windows 98 and you plan to move a very large number of files into Topicscape, we suggest you restart Windows beforehand. And if importing from another drive with the "move" option, we suggest you restart it afterwards.
This should not be a problem for the commoner kind of Topicscape operation where just a few files are involved.
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| Q 36: |
I changed a topic's name from Africa to Zanzibar. The 'Scape was set to show topics in alphabetical order at the time but after this change why didn't the renamed topic move down to the bottom right hand corner of the Scape?
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| A 36: |
Sort-order changes are resolved on the next refresh only. The new sequence will be seen if you press the refresh button in the toolbar, press the F5 key, or double-right-click the Current Topic.
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| Q 37: |
I've noticed that some of my topics now have so many occurrences that I can't find my way around them any more. Have I outgrown 3D Topicscape?
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| A 37: |
No, this is a natural part of the process of collecting information about a topic. You have a few web pages and a document, you dig deeper and soon the references in that topic build up and the number of items could easily be divided into sub-topics. There is a feature of 3D Topicscape designed to help you with exactly that need.
- Decide on how you will break the topic down into a finer level of classification. You can do this in several ways: by more subtle divisions of category or by organizing occurrences according to their status (drafts / current / historical / discarded), for example. There are as many other approaches as people with ideas. This is a good way to make a sub-topic:
- Hold down the Ctrl key and click on all the occurrences that fit into the first sub-category you have decided on.
- Release the Ctrl key, right-click one of the selected occurrences and on the pop-up menu that appears, select 'Create sub-topic with selected occurrences'.
- Then you will see the Create sub-topic panel. This takes the name of the first occurrence you clicked on as a suggested name, but you can change that. You can use the usual Hint facility for new topics here as well.
- Then move on to the next sub-topic that you've decided on if there are more.
- If you come across an occurrence that you realize you should have put in one of the new
sub-topics after you have made it, you can drag from the occurrence list in one topic to one of its children visible in the Navigation Map. - Once you've finished, you can go back to the 'Scape and the sub-topics just made appear as normal.
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| Q 38: |
When I drag a file to the Topicscape Box (TSB) icon on the desktop, I see the little + that shows the file is being copied not moved. Why does it then actually move it instead?
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| A 38: |
Windows forces the + to appear when dropping file on an icon that starts a program but TSB accepts only moves.
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| Q 39: |
Why does TSB accept only moves? When I drag something into the Topicscape Box (TSB), it always gets moved, even if I hold down the Ctrl key. Why doesn't it copy it, the way Windows does?
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| A 39: |
3D Topicscape is, amongst other things, a reference organizer. There is a danger that if there is more than one copy of a reference file, one may be edited and the copies may drift apart. TSB therefore accepts only moves. Users can override this behavior by making a copy first and then they are more likely to remember that extra copy.
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| Q 40: |
I dragged a file from Windows Explorer to the occurrence list of a Topic Centre. When I look at the file's name at the foot of the details panel, I can see that it has changed. It used to be "Agenda.doc" and now it is "Agenda'22'.doc". The occurrence is called Agenda, though. Why did it change?
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| A 40: |
This is a normal function and results from the need to avoid duplicate filenames when files are stored in your Topicscape's folder. If you drag it out again, the name will be reset to the original one, "Agenda.doc" in this case.
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| Q 41: |
I can't seem to drag cones or pyramids around in the 'Scape. Is it possible to do this, or are they "fixed" in the positions the program places them in? I'd like to be able to set up a layout and see it next time I came to this part of the Topicscape.
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| A 41: |
If you mean pick up a cone and move it or slide it around, you can't do that because the cones are laid out to show their place in the hierarchy and maximize visibility of cones in the background. But they can be sorted in several ways, and that allows them to be re-organized to your personal needs. Using the sort function (main menu: View | Sorting in 'Scape), you can show cones sorted: - by name;
- by the date/time that the topic was created;
- by the date/time that the topic was last modified;
- by the date/time that the topic was last made current; In other words when it was made into the central topic (the one identified by a yellow glow) by a double right-click on it.
- by the number of occurrences inside each topic.
When there is a need to force a particular sequence, you can prefix numbers to the topic name as shown in the user story about the Topicscape used to plan an MBA paper http://www.topicscape.com/userstory_slide.php?caseid=9 and then choose to sort by name. In that case, the user numbered the topics according to the sections in his report, so sorting by name presented them in the order of numbering. It's a good idea if you do that starting at 01 instead of 1 or the numbers after 9 won't sort where you want them too.
Finally, adding new associations allows you to change the layout if you decide that a topic should be the child of another topic (in addition to, or instead of the present one). As you have probably found, if you try to drag a topic, a green dot appears and is dragged instead - this allows you to make (or break) associations.
The reason for the program-controlled layout is that any topic in the Topicscape can be the central, Current Topic. This would mean that Topicscape would potentially have to store thousands of layouts for one Topicscape. Worse, the user would have to specify these layouts and perhaps have additional work to do every time a topic was added.
We believe we understand what you want. We may try to think of ways of allowing it, but the underlying grid layout has to be followed to ensure space for the children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and so on. These are calculated in real-time whenever the user requires the Current Topic to be changed.
A final note: The immediate parents of the Current Topic - the elongated pyramids - are not sorted. There are deep technical problems in doing that because of the recursive logic used to lay out the 'Scape each time you pick a new topic to be the Current Topic.
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| Q 42: |
I'm using Windows XP. If I use encryption to protect my Topicscapes, won't it slow Topicscape down?
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| A 42: |
Yes. By how much it slows the operation down depends on the specification of your computer and what you encrypt. The best way to minimize the effect of encryption on speed of operation is to limit the encryption to specific occurrence files that contain sensitive data, rather than encrypting a whole Topicscape and everything it contains. You could make a new folder in My Documents, set it to be private and encrypted and move all the files to be protected to it before dragging them into 3D Topicscape. Then choose 'Link' when Topicscape presents the Move/Copy/Link choice.
If you encrypt the whole of a Topicscape's folder, all work on that Topicscape will be slowed down. Please keep in mind that 3D Topicscape saves data to your Topicscape databases (.3DT files) whenever you complete an operation that changes the data in that Topicscape. This is similar to MS Access and in contrast to work on documents that you must Save from time to time. 3D Topicscape will be encrypting and decrypting frequently therefore; strong encryption/decryption is a processor-intensive operation.
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| Q 43: |
Why are some of the entries in the history list green?
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| A 43: |
If you make multiple new topics in one operation, you will see all the topic names in one history item, instead of many history items, one per topic. The lettering will be in green to show that this is different to a single-topic history item. [You make multiple topics by providing two or more topic names separated by the | character.]
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| Q 44: |
I can't 'paste special' embedded in Topicscape with Word - Topicscape makes an automatic RTF file for me with information about the extract of a Word document that I'm trying to paste, but it doesn't save the extract of the original Word document that I want there. An extract of an Excel spreadsheet can be embedded with paste special, though. What has gone wrong?
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| A 44: |
If you use anti-virus software with script-blocking enabled, this may be preventing the action you were attempting. Norton anti-virus seems to be quite well known for this -- try Googling on the following for other cases: 'Norton "script blocking" word paste special embedded'. The following are four options to overcome this:- Disable script blocking - not recommended, as it will make you vulnerable to malware. You could do this temporarily, of course.
- Just do a paste, not a paste special. This is the option we recommend. In the RTF document that Topicscape makes for you, the content will be almost identical if you do a paste instead of a paste special with the "Paste:" radio button selected. The latter, if not blocked, would give you a Word OLE object.
- Do a paste special and choose the link option - script blocking does not block this. If you later edit the linked content in the RTF file, it will change the original document, of course, and this may or may not suit your needs.
- Do the paste special, embedded manually in a Word or RTF document you make your self, then bring it into Topicscape.
The above appears to apply to all versions of Word since Office 97.
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| Q 45: |
Can I move my Topicscape folders (directories) around, or will it break all the links between occurrences and their files?
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| A 45: |
Once you have made a Topicscape, you can move it around freely on the same computer if you wish, provided you move its whole directory. All files that were move or copied to the Topicscape will still be accessible (technically: relative addressing is used). You will have to navigate to it in its new location to open it. User access controls may prevent another user seeing it if you move a Topicscape from the 'All Users' folders to a folder under another user's account.
You should not change the folder (directory) name. If you do, all the occurrence files in that directory will be invisible to Topicscape, and their occurrences will appear in black in the Topic Center. If this happens to you, you can just restore the original folder name and all the occurrences will be seen by Topicscape again. To see the original folder name, you can highlight any 'black' occurrence in a Topic Center and examine the foot of the Details Panel.
To change the *default* location of your Topicscape data folders and files, you will need to re-install. Please refer to Re-installing Topicscape
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