Home Up Navigation Authorware Plug-Ins Using Authorware Authorware Download

 

Instead of viewing the Authorware pieces interactively on line, you may also download them to your hard drive and play them offline directly from your own computer.  The advantage of this method is that there will be no delays while the piece is playing (as, for example, when your browser stops to download the various sections of the piece as it plays online).   The disadvantage of the offline method is that you must first download the entire executable file before you can play it and you must have room on your hard drive.  Each file is typically on the order of 2-3 megabytes and downloading them could take ten minutes or more each if you have a slow modem or a slow connection to the Internet.  On the other hand, once you've downloaded a file, you can play it over and over again without even having to log on to the Internet and it will play smoothly each time.

In order to view the pieces offline, you must also download eight small "xtras" files that are used to play the sound; display the bitmap, jpeg, gif, and Windows metafile images; and play the videos.  However, you only need to download these files once.

If you would like to try downloading and playing the "Using Authorware" piece and/or some of the Authorware lessons instead of viewing them on line, follow these steps:

1. Make sure you know which version of Windows you are running, 3.1, 95, or 98.  A downloadable version is not available for Macs.  Sorry.

2. Determine where on your hard drive you want to store the Authorware file(s).  Choose a name for a special folder,  C:\CH104 for example, and create it there on your hard drive.  Then create a second folder inside the one you just created and call it xtras (please note the odd spelling!).

3. Click one of each pair of these links in turn to download the xtras files.  Be sure you store them in the xtras folder.

    Viewer Services for Windows 3.1  OR   Viewer Services for Windows 95/98

    MIX Services for Windows 3.1  OR  MIX Services for Windows 95/98

    MIX Viewer for Windows 3.1 OR MIX Viewer for Windows 95/98

    Bitmap Viewer for Windows 3.1 OR Bitmap Viewer for Windows 95/98

    WAV player for Windows 3.1  OR  WAV player for Windows 95/98

    JPEG Viewer for Windows 3.1  OR   JPEG Viewer for Windows 95/98

    GIF Viewer for Windows 3.1  OR  GIF Viewer for Windows 95/98

    Windows 3.1 Metafile Viewer  OR   Windows 95/98 Metafile Viewer

4. Now click one of these links to download either the Windows 3.1 Version or the Windows 95/98 Version of the "Using Authorware" piece and, when the dialog box appears, type in or select the first folder you created in Step 2 (not the xtras folder).  You'll notice that the name of the file you're downloading ends with the letters "exd" - called the filename extension.  Change the last of these letters to an "e" (so the filename now ends with the letters "exe") then click OK.

5. The download will take a while, so sit back and relax, go get a cup of tea or coffee, stretch your legs, take a nap, play with the cat or dog, visit with your kids or your parents, read the paper, or something while the download finishes.  If you have a fast connection, you may have to wait only a few minutes.

6. Once the file is downloaded, you can download another if you like. There are between six and eleven separate files in each of Lessons 2, 6, and 8.  (If you decide to create different folders for the four lessons, each must have the xtras folder with the five files you downloaded in step 3, which you can just copy from the first xtras folder you created.)  Each time you download a file, you must change the last letter of the filename extension from "d" to "e" or the piece will not run.

7. Before you can run a downloaded file, you must change the file extension from .exd to .exe so your computer will know that the file is a program.  If you do not do this when you download the file, you can make the change using File Manager if you have Windows 3.1 or Windows Explorer if you have Windows 95/98.  Highlight the file name (or right click it in Windows Explorer), then choose "Rename" from the File menu (or the pop-up dialogue box) and change the filename from, say, 401e31.exd to 401e31.exe and press Enter.

8. Now, to view the Authorware piece, you can exit your browser if you haven't already - it isn't used to play a downloaded file -  and click on Start, then Run, and then either enter or Browse to and double click the file you downloaded and renamed, then click OK.  The Authorware piece will now play smoothly all the way through, including the sound.

9. Finally, a word about the file names.  The lesson webpages have been updated more recently than the Authorware files so the names of the Authorware files don't correspond exactly with what you might think would be correct.   The first module of Lesson 2 is called either 403a31.exd or 403a95.exd (before you have rename it).  The "4" designates Chemistry 104 - next term, in Chemistry 105, the files will all start with "5."  (The "03" means lesson 3.  These modules used to be in lesson 3, but we have since done a bit of rearranging and so they are part of lesson 2 now.  The lesson 5 modules all have "06" to indicate the lesson, and lesson 8 modules are "09".)  The "a" indicates that it is the first module - the second will have a "b," the third a "c," and so on.   The "31" or "95" indicates whether it runs under Windows 3.1 or Windows 95/98 and, actually, Windows 95/98 can run the "31" pieces (though they're slower) but not vice versa. The .exe tells Windows that the file is a program, so you must rename the file before you can use it.  You could, if you wanted, change the names of these files once they are on your hard drive (to longer, more descriptive names, for example) but don't change the .exe or the piece will not run.