Inspiration® 6 Help Center
System Requirements
Inspiration 6.0b Updater – US Edition
Inspiration 6.0b Updater – International English Edition
Inspired Tips
Frequently Asked Questions
Windows®
486 processor or higher
Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT 4.0, ME or XP
8 MB RAM
640x480 display, 256-color display
Windows compatible graphics card
5 MB available hard drive minimum,
20 MB available for all symbols and Help
CD-ROM drive (for installation only)
Optional:
- Windows compatible printer
- Internet browser
Macintosh®
Macintosh or Power Macintosh
System 7.0, 8.0, 9.0 or higher, including the Classic environment in OS X
2 MB available RAM
640x480 display, 16 colors or better
5 MB available hard drive minimum,
30 MB available for all symbols and Help
CD-ROM drive (for installation only)
Optional:
- Macintosh compatible printer
- Internet browser
Download the Inspiration® 6.0b updater
Note: This updater is for the US edition only.
Windows (download using FTP protocol 1.4 MB)
Windows (download using HTTP protocol 1.4 MB)
Macintosh for Macintosh (1.7 MB)
This maintenance release includes the addition of GIF exports, improved importing of graphics, enhanced printing, and a number of general operational refinements.
How to download and run the updater
Windows
Click the appropriate edition link above. Once the download is complete, double click on the file "Inspiration 6.0b Updater."
Macintosh
Click the appropriate edition link above. Once the download is complete, you may need to use Stuffit Expander to decompress the file. (Stuffit Expander trial downloads are available from the Smith Micro Software web site.) Then double click on the file "Inspiration 6.0b Updater."
Download the Inspiration® 6.0b updater
Note: This updater is for the International English edition only.
Windows (download using FTP protocol 1.4 MB)
Windows (dowload using HTTP protocol 1.4 MB)
Macintosh for Macintosh (1.7 MB)
This maintenance release includes the addition of GIF exports, improved importing of graphics, enhanced printing, and a number of general operational refinements.
How to download and run the updater
Windows
Click the appropriate edition link above. Once the download is complete, double click on the file "Inspiration 6.0b Updater."
Macintosh
Click the appropriate edition link above. Once the download is complete, you may need to use Stuffit Expander to decompress the file. (Stuffit Expander trial downloads are available from the Smith Micro Software web site.) Then double click on the file "Inspiration 6.0b Updater."
Listed below are brief technical discussions and step-by-step instructions we thought you might find useful. These writeups cover not only how-to, but also why-should-I issues. If you have ideas for other topics, please let us know--just click on Contact Tech Support in the left menu.
Network Installation/Setup
In a computer lab setting with a network server available, it's often much easier to install Inspiration on the network server instead of on each individual computer. Installing on the server saves time and ensures that all students are accessing the same resources.
To install Inspiration on your server, begin by logging in as network administrator from a workstation. Admin-level access is required for the install to work properly.
Next, run the installer program on the Inspiration CD-ROM. When the installer gets to the section where it asks you to "Choose Destination Location," click on the "Browse" button. Browse to your network server and choose it as the installation destination. It's strongly recommended that you install Inspiration to its own folder so that setting permissions will be easier. Finish the installation process, at which point Inspiration will start. Enter your name, organization and serial number in the dialog that displays to complete the install.
Once you've finished installing, you will need to change the security permissions for the Inspiration folder and all items inside it to make it possible for more than one person to use Inspiration at the same time. Using your network software's standard procedure, change the permissions on the Inspiration folder for both users and groups to either Read & Execute, Read & Filescan or Read Only (depending on the server software you use.) Make sure they don't have write access to the Inspiration folder.
After setting these permissions, create a shortcut or alias for the Inspiration application and place this shortcut/alias on each workstation. To test, log in to one workstation as a member of one of the groups to which you gave Read, Read & Execute, or Read & Filescan permissions. On another workstation, log in as a different member of one of those groups. Start Inspiration on each workstation. If all is set up correctly, Inspiration should start on both.
For a platform-specific, more technically-worded version of these instructions, please click here.
Edit or Create Libraries and Templates in a Lab
The big difference between editing or creating a library in a lab setting versus on a standalone computer is permissions. Typically, if you're working on a standalone system, you have complete access to everything on your computer. In a networked or lab environment, however, your ability to access a particular folder is often limited. So, before you try to edit or create an Inspiration library, please make sure you have what's known as "write" or "change" access to the Inspiration libraries folder, which is where that file is or, in the case of a new library, will be stored. This usually means logging in to the computer or network as the administrator, or someone with equivalent access. Once you have write access to the folder, just follow the directions in Inspiration's online help to make a new library or change an existing one.
If your lab is set up with Inspiration installed on multiple workstations, then just copy the new or edited library to the libraries folder on all those workstations. If you're running from a copy of Inspiration installed on a server, then any change you make to a library on that server is visible to all other users automatically--no additional copying is required.
Everything written above regarding libraries applies to templates as well. The only difference is that templates are stored in the templates folder, while libraries are stored in the libraries folder.
Create a Timeline
There are two types of timelines that can be created with Inspiration: a basic timeline and a traditional timeline.
To create a basic timeline, which is well-suited for project planning, begin in a new document with the Main Idea selected. Using the Create tool, which is on the Diagram toolbar, create as many symbols as you need to cover each specific point in the timeline. Each will be linked to the one before it, showing a logical sequence of events. Simply enter text describing the events or tasks into the symbols, and you have a basic timeline. Customize as desired. If this is to be used as a project timeline, you may find checkboxes useful in marking when tasks have been completed. To display a checkbox on each symbol, choose Show Checklist from the Utility menu.
To create a traditional timeline, the type most often used to analyze historical events, begin with a new document. There are some cosmetic changes you may wish to make at this point to make the timeline look exactly as you wish. To do so, choose Diagram Properties from the File menu. To change your symbols so that they are borderless text boxes, on the Symbol tab click on the symbol that looks like a rectangle with a dashed outline and an 'A' inside it. To change your links so that they use 90 degree angles, click on the Link tab, then choose "Auto-90" from the dropdown list in the Type field. To display links without arrows, choose "None" from the dropdown list in the Arrow Head Ending Point field. Once you've made these changes, which will apply to all your new symbols and links, be sure to change the pre-existing Main Idea symbol as well.
Once your cosmetic changes are set, begin by changing the text "Main Idea" to the topic of your timeline. Next, link from the Main Idea to your first date/event in the timeline. Next, use the Create tool on the Diagram toolbar to create your end date/event. Space the two symbols a suitable distance apart. Now, click on the point above or below the line and begin typing your next date/event. This will create a symbol for this date/event. Link from the first date/event to this one. Repeat this process for subsequent dates/events, in each case linking to the first date/event. By linking repeatedly to the first date/event, the lines that connect to the timeline will display nicely.
Frequently Asked Questions
Installation/Startup A:This problem is almost always the result of a permissions conflict. In order for multiple users to access Inspiration at the same time, the permissions for your users on the Inspiration folder on the server must be set to Read-Execute or Read-Filescan ONLY. Any write access will cause any user after the first to be locked out of the program. Once you have set the permissions correctly, multiple users should be able to run Inspiration from the server at the same time.
A:Yes. After all files are copied over, the Inspiration window is opened and becomes active. If you move the Inspiration window, the Personalize Inspiration dialog box is below it. Click on this dialog box to make it the active window, then proceed with the installation.
Usage A:Yes. First, in the drawing program, copy your graphic using the Copy command. Then open the Inspiration diagram in which you want the symbol to appear and choose Paste from the Edit menu. The graphic will appear in your diagram. You can also install the graphic into a symbol library so that you'll be able to use it in any Inspiration diagram--check the "Managing the symbol libraries" topic in online help for instructions.
A:To change your default settings, you will need to edit your default template. To edit the default template, begin by choosing Template... from the File menu. In the window that appears, click once on the template Basic (Style) to select it, then click the Edit. This opens the default template for editing. Make the desired changes to this document, just like you would edit any other Inspiration document. When you're done, choose Save from the File menu, then close the template. From now on, when you choose New from the File menu, your new document will have these default settings. [Note: For most users, the default template is set to the factory default, called Basic (Style). If you have changed your default template to another template, please substitute your template where Basic (Style) is called for in these instructions.
A:Yes. You can select a graphic in another program, drag it into your Inspiration document and let go to place the graphic. You can also drag and drop graphic files into Inspiration directly. To do this, simply drag and drop the file into your Inspiration document window. On the Macintosh, you can drag and drop PICT, JPEG and GIF files. In Windows, you can drag and drop WMF, BMP, GIF and JPEG files. Note: not all applications support dragging from their workspace.
A:Yes. Just make sure that you have write permission for the Symbol Libraries folder.
Printing A:Close any duplicate dialog boxes if they appear. To avoid the problem, try not to move the Print dialog box.
A:Yes, especially on Macintosh computers using the 68K-based processor.
Import/Export A:There are two ways to move your outline to another application. The first is to copy your outline, then paste it into a document in the other application. The other option is to export your outline to a format that can be read or imported by another application. To export your outline, choose Export from the File menu. In the window that appears, choose a text format, like Plain Text or RTF, that can be used with the destination application. Click Save. Use the other program to open or import the exported text file. Depending on the application you're using, what you see should look similar to the outline you created in Inspiration--the exact format can vary with the application.
A:There are two ways to include your Inspiration diagram in a document created by another application. The first is to copy your diagram, then paste it into the other document. The other way is to export your diagram to an image format that the other application can use. To export your diagram, choose Export from the File menu. In the window that appears, choose one of the image formats, such as PICT, WMF or JPEG--pick the one that is accepted by the destination application (check that application's help system if you're not sure what format to go with). Click Save. In the other application, insert the exported diagram just as you would any other image file.
A:You can share your Inspiration documents by exporting them as a file type that can be read by an application owned by those other people. For example, you can export your outlines as RTF (rich text format) so that they can be read by Microsoft Word, Apple Works and other word processors. Inspiration outlines and diagrams can also be exported as HTML files, which can be viewed by any web browser. For more details on export formats, choose Export in the File menu and take a look at your options.
A:Because of the different directory path structure of Macintosh and Windows computers, you cannot create links to files that are on a different platform.
A:Try saving the AppleWorks graphic as a BMP or JPEG file. In Inspiration, choose Insert Graphic from the Edit menu, select the BMP or JPEG file you saved and click Open.
A:Yes. You can open (import) MORE files with Inspiration. Choose Open from the File menu. Browse to one of your MORE files, then open it. Inspiration will identify your file as a MORE file and will open it as "Untitled" in Outline view.
Version Upgrade A:Yes. Version 6 reads all documents created with version 5.x, so you can delete 5.x from your computer. However, if you want to save the symbols that you added to your old symbol libraries, you should first copy the specific libraries into the version 6 symbol libraries folder.
A:When you open a version 5.x document, it is automatically converted to version 6 format. It is a good idea to make backup copies of all your documents before converting them.
A:Open the template with version 6. Choose Save As Template from the File menu. Your template will be saved automatically in the version 6 templates folder.
A:Yes. Copy the file Inspiration User Dict (on a Macintosh) or InspUser.clx (on Windows) from your version 5 folder into your version 6 folder, replacing the user dictionary file that was there. Rename the file (on either platform) to InspUser.clx.
A:Yes. Copy the version 5.x symbol library into the folder Inspiration Libraries 6. When Inspiration opens that library, it will automatically convert it to version 6 format.
Miscellaneous A:Inspiration 6 will run well in the Classic environment within OS X. Please keep an eye on our website for future announcements about future compatibility developments.
A:Yes, all versions of Inspiration have been tested and are Year 2000 compliant.
A:This situation occurs because the ISP's configuration file ends with the same extension as an Inspiration file, namely, ins. When you click on a link to this file and choose to open it, your operating system thinks you want to open an Inspiration file, which is why Inspiration starts. To work around this issue, do the following:
- Download the ISP's setup file to your computer by choosing the option "Save this file to disk". Do not choose the option "Open this file from its current location".
- Hold down the "Shift" key, then right-click on the downloaded file's icon.
- Choose Open with... from the menu that displays. A list of programs displays.
- Scroll down the list until you see an application called ISIGNUP, then highlight it.
- Make sure that the checkbox labeled "Always use this application to open this type of file" is NOT checked, then click OK. From this point forward, the ISP's setup procedure should work as intended.
A:When you export your outline as a web page, it is encoded in HTML. HTML uses special characters to communicate with a web browser. If you use those characters in your outline, it may confuse the browser, and strange symbols will appear. The special characters you should avoid using in the Inspiration documents you want to export as HTML are < (less than sign) and > (greater than sign).
A:Although this is the case on the screen, documents with overlapping animated GIFs will print normally. The frame will not be displayed. This problem can also be avoided by turning off the GIF animation in the Application Properties sheet.
A:Try reducing the size of the diagram either before or after exporting. To reduce the size of a diagram in Inspiration, choose Select All from the Edit Menu, then choose Group from the Symbol Menu. Scroll to the bottom right-hand corner of the diagram: you should see a solid red box. Click and drag this box towards the center of the diagram to reduce the size.
A:This happens when the topic header ends with an advanced URL. To solve the problem, enter the note text prior to designating text as an advanced URL.
A:Refreshing the Inspiration window will solve this problem. The simplest way to do that is to click on another window, then click back to Inspiration.
A:MS Word 2000 includes multilanguage font information in the header of saved RTF files. While many other programs ignore this additional header information, Inspiration tries to interpret it and returns a "missing font" error message. You can just hit the OK button (or return on your keyboard) a few times to skip past these messages.
A:Try exporting to MS Word RTF first. Open the exported document in MS Word, then do the export to MS Project from Word.
