New Offline Viewer in ARTstor

SEPTEMBER 2, 2005 *

* New version of the Offline Image Viewer available for Macintosh computers *

The Offline Image Viewer is ARTstor's tool for:

- Giving reliable, Internet-independent classroom presentations; - Creating presentations of personal/institutional images with or without ARTstor images.

The latest release of the ARTstor Offline Image Viewer (version 2.0) contains additional features and enhanced functionality that were not available in previous versions of the software. Many of the new features are a direct result of user feedback and recommendations.

In addition to all of the functionality of previous versions, the new release of the Offline Image Viewer will include the following new features:

- Blank "slides" can now be created for each screen of a presentation; - ARTstor images and local images can be pasted into the slides; - Customized text can now be included along with images when presenting; - Multiple images and text fields can be accommodated on a single slide; - Zoomed-in portions of an image can be saved for display on a slide; - The background color behind the images and text, as well as the entire slide, can be customized; - A smaller, presentation-only file can be exported without requiring the full-size image files; - Presentations can be exported in a format compatible with the previous version of the Offline Image Viewer; - Connections to ARTstor for authentication and for downloading Image Groups can be accommodated through certain proxy servers; - Users can choose where the image file cache will reside on their machine; - Users can choose the maximum amount of memory the application will be permitted to use on their computer.

To download your new copy, click on the "Search and Browse for Images" link on the ARTstor home page[2] and enter the Digital Library. In order to access the software, you will need to log on to your ARTstor user account first. Once logged on, click on the "Tools" toolbar button and select the option for "Offline Image Viewer Download". You will be prompted to accept the "Terms and Conditions of Use[3]" before downloading the software. Click on the "Accept" button to proceed.

You'll see a new window in which all currently available versions of the OIV will be listed. The recommended version for your workstation will be pre-selected for you. To download the previous version of the OIV or the format for another operating system, click on the appropriate radio button. Click on the "Submit" button to begin your download. A pop-up window will appear prompting you to choose between opening and saving the new file. Click on the "Save" button and select a location on your computer to which you would like to save the file. The default location is your desktop. The file is about 10.9 MB large, so the download can take some time on slower internet connections.

Once the software is downloaded to your computer (the title of the file is OIV_2.0_Mac_Install.exe), double-click on the program icon to expand the file into OIV_Installer.dmg. Double-click on the OIV_Installer.dmg icon and it should open a window with an Offline Image Viewer program icon inside. The window title is OIV2.0. Drag and drop the Offline Image Viewer program icon onto your desktop. The Offline Viewer is then available for use from that computer and you do not need to download it again the next time you want to use the program. Double-click on the program icon on your desktop to begin using the Offline Image Viewer.

ARTstor User Services is offering daily online training sessions on this upgrade. To view a list of scheduled training sessions, click on the "Upcoming" tab on this webpage: http://artstor.webex.com. For additional instructions on how to register and attend an online session, view this page (http://www.artstor.org/info/using_artstor/endusertraining.jsp) in the "Using ARTstor" section of our website.