Inspiration^® 8 Help Center

System Requirements

Upgrade Information

Inspiration 8.0b Updater - International English Edition

Quick Tour

Quick Start Tutorial

Contact Technical Support

Frequently Asked Questions

Inspired Tips

Current version is 8.0b IE (released April 2007)

System Requirements

Windows^®

Pentium 75 MHz or higher

Windows 95*, 98, 2000, NT** 4.0, ME, XP (including Tablet PC Edition) or Vista

8 MB RAM

18 MB available hard drive

60 MB for full install

Recommended:

Internet connection*
QuickTime^®

Optional:

Interactive electronic whiteboard
Microphone
Printer

Macintosh^®

OS X (10.1.5 or higher)

70 MB for full install

QuickTime

Recommended:

Internet connection
800 x 600 display

Optional:

Interactive electronic whiteboard
Microphone
Printer

* Windows 95 requires Internet Explorer 4 and Windows Socket 2 Update.
** NT 4.0 requires Internet Explorer 4.

Upgrade Information

Learn what's new in Inspiration!

If you are an Inspiration user, you will still be able to read your files and use your previously created templates and symbol libraries with Inspiration 8. One of the many great features of Inspriation 8 is that you can save your Inspiration 8 files as Inspiration 7 files, for exchanging with others who haven't yet upgraded.

Single licence upgrade
Click here to locate a dealer to upgrade.

Volume license upgrades
For multiple license upgrades, email international@inspiration.com or contact a local dealer.

Inspiration 8.0b Updater

Download the Inspiration 8.0b updater

Note: This updater is for the International English edition only.
Windows
Macintosh OS X

This free update adds:

A Universal update: The ability to run natively on Intel-based Macintosh computers.
Operational enhancements optimizing performance on Windows and Mac OS X.
Increased Vista support.

Users currently running Inspiration 8.0 IE or 8.0a IE will be updated to version 8.0b IE. Double-click the downloaded file to run the updater.

Quick Tour

See first hand how Inspiration helps pupils ages 10 to adult develop strong thinking skills!

View the Inspiration Quick Tour, a comprehensive tutorial illustrating the key features of Inspiration 8. You'll see how easy it is for students to brainstorm, plan, organise, outline, diagram, mind map and write. Plus learn how Inspiration's integrated environments work together to help students comprehend concepts and information across the curriculum.

In addition to the system requirements listed below, you will need a QuickTime^® player to view the Quick Tours. To get QuickTime, click here.

Quick Tour System Requirements
Macintosh Classic
Power Macintosh G3
Mac OS 9.2 or later
300 MHz or faster
64 MB installed RAM
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1

Macintosh OS X
Power Macintosh G3
Mac OS X 10.1.5, 10.2.6, 10.3, 10.4
300 MHz or faster
128 MB installed RAM
Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 or later
Netscape 7.1
Safari

Windows

Win98
Pentium II
300 MHz or faster
64 MB installed RAM

Win 2K
Pentium III
300 MHz or faster
128 MB installed RAM

Win XP
Pentium III
300 MHz or faster
128 MB installed RAM

Microsoft Internet Explorer 6sp1, 5.5sp2, 5.01sp2
Netscape 7.1

Quick Start Tutorial

Download the Inspiration Quick Start tutorial

To view this file you may need to install Adobe® Reader®.

This tutorial is a great starting point for learning how to use Inspiration^®. You'll learn how Inspiration's integrated diagramming and outlining environments work together to help students comprehend concepts and information. You will also learn how to create a mind map using the techniques developed by Tony Buzan and others.

Educators can use Inspiration to customise instruction, achieve standards, assess student progress and energise the learning experience for all students.

The tutorial walks you through creating a common brainstorming and planning task. The small, manageable mini-lessons make it easy to learn the basics quickly. Before you know it, you'll be using Inspiration to develop your own great ideas!

Use this tutorial when you download your trial version and when you begin using your own copy of Inspiration.

Frequently Asked Questions

Startup

Q. How do I install Inspiration 8 on my Windows Vista computer?
A. Open Properties on the Install.exe on the CD. Here select XP Compatibility Mode and select Run this program as an administrator.

Q. I disabled Quicktime® and now Inspiration won't launch on my Mac. Why?
A. QuickTime^® must be installed and enabled for Inspiration to run on a Mac. Please check QuickTime status and enable it if required.

Whiteboards

Q. How do I enter text into the symbol palette search field from the ACTIVboard?
A. Turn on handwriting in the ACTIVboard floating palette. Right-click on the symbol palette search field to position the cursor, then begin entering text.

Q. How do I enter text into the Edit Symbol Libraries search and label fields from the ACTIVboard?
A. In the empty workspace, enter or select the text you want, then copy it. Open the Edit Symbol Libraries dialog, select the search or label field, right click and choose paste from the menu that displays.

Drag-and-Drop

Q. How do I add an image to the symbol palette if drag and drop doesn't seem to work?
A. Drag-and-drop the image into a blank area of your diagram. Right-click that image and choose Add Symbol to Library.

Q. How do I drag a Hyperlink from Internet Explorer into Inspiration so that the link is preserved?
A. Click and drag the link into Inspiration as opposed to highlighting it first, then dragging it.

Q. How do I copy text from Inspiration to another application?
A. For technical reasons, Inspiration doesn't support drag-and-drop of text from Inspiration to another Inspiration document or separate application. Use copy-and-paste instead.

Q. Drag-and-drop has a few restrictions in the Classic Mac environment.
A. An object cannot be dragged and dropped outside its source document. A graphic in a note cannot be dragged and dropped outside the note.

Audio/Video

Q. After I insert a sound, then change the symbol to a video symbol, the audio QuickControl is not visible in the outline view.
A. Reattach the sound file.

Q. The graphic for my video displays all-white in my diagram.
A. This can result from how the video was encoded, i.e., the codec used. To choose a different poster image, as it's called, play the video in question, then pause it when the frame you'd like to use as the symbol graphic is displayed. Then click the Use This Frame for Graphic menu item on the Tools menu.

Q. Inspiration's training videos don't play on my computer.
A. In the QuickTime player, a separate application, check the preference settings and make sure streaming transport is set to HTTP.

Q. I have Windows 9x and cannot select the Use This Frame for Graphic menu item from the Tools menu.
A. Due to limitations with Windows 9x operating systems, this menu item is disabled.

Q. The Insert Video and Insert Sound File menu items are disabled.
A. If the QuickTime version on your computer does not meet the minimum requirement for use with Inspiration, these items will be unavailable. The minimum QuickTime requirements are:
5.0.2 for Win95
6.5.2 for all other versions of Windows
6.3.1 for OS 10.1.5
6.5.2 for OS 10.2-10.3.8
7 for OS 10.3.9 or later

Miscellaneous

Q. How can I get the Inspiration starter screen to show as an available window in Expose on the Mac?
A. Open a new or existing Inspiration document before activating Expose.

Q. How do I paste text into the search field of the symbol palette?
A. Use the keyboard shortcuts instead of the menu items. In Windows, Control + V is the shortcut for paste; on the Mac, it's Command + V.

Inspired Tips

Create a Timeline

While Inspiration is usually used for mapping ideas that have no precise chronology, some customers have discovered another type of diagram to create in Inspiration - a timeline.

Timelines can be useful for history or social studies units, as well as keeping track of specific steps in a project. There are two types of timelines that can be created with Inspiration: basic and traditional.

To create a basic timeline, which is well-suited to project tracking, begin with a new document, with the "Main Idea" selected. Using the Create tool, which is in the Diagram toolbar, create as many symbols as you need to cover the many points in the timeline. Each will be linked to the one before it, showing a logical sequence of events. Simply enter 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 show checkboxes on each symbol, choose "Show Checklist" from the Tools menu.

To create a traditional timeline, more visibly similar to the standard timelines of 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. If you wish to change your symbols so that they are borderless text boxes, change a symbol to the symbol that looks like a rectangle with a dashed outline and an 'A' inside it. Choose the "Set Default" item in the Edit menu to set this selected symbol as the default for this diagram. If you wish to change your links so that they are 90-degree angles, rather than diagonal lines, select a link, then click on the Link menu and choose "Auto-90." If you wish to have arrow-less links, choose "None" from the "Arrow Head Ending Point" section of the Link menu. Once you've made your changes to the selected link, use the "Set Default" item in the Edit menu to set this link's attributes as the default for the whole diagram.

Once your cosmetic changes are set, begin by changing the "Main Idea" text into the topic of your timeline. Use the Create tool, which is in the Diagram toolbar, to create your first date/event, linked to the Main Idea. Next, create your end date/event. Space them a suitable distance apart. Now, click on the point above or below the line and begin typing your next date/event. This should create a symbol for this date/event. Link from the first date/event to this one. Repeat this process for subsequent dates/events. Before long, your timeline will be complete.

Edit or Create Libraries in a Lab


	Inspiration^® 8 Help Center System Requirements Upgrade Information Inspiration 8.0b Updater - International English Edition Quick Tour Quick Start Tutorial Contact Technical Support Frequently Asked Questions Inspired Tips Current version is 8.0b IE (released April 2007) System Requirements Windows^® Pentium 75 MHz or higher Windows 95, 98, 2000, NT* 4.0, ME, XP (including Tablet PC Edition) or Vista 8 MB RAM 18 MB available hard drive 60 MB for full install Recommended: Internet connection* QuickTime^® Optional: Interactive electronic whiteboard Microphone Printer Macintosh^® OS X (10.1.5 or higher) 70 MB for full install QuickTime Recommended: Internet connection 800 x 600 display Optional: Interactive electronic whiteboard Microphone Printer * Windows 95 requires Internet Explorer 4 and Windows Socket 2 Update. NT 4.0 requires Internet Explorer 4. Upgrade Information Learn what's new in Inspiration! If you are an Inspiration user, you will still be able to read your files and use your previously created templates and symbol libraries with Inspiration 8. One of the many great features of Inspriation 8 is that you can save your Inspiration 8 files as Inspiration 7 files, for exchanging with others who haven't yet upgraded. Single licence upgrade Click here to locate a dealer to upgrade. Volume license upgrades For multiple license upgrades, email international@inspiration.com or contact a local dealer. Inspiration 8.0b Updater Download the Inspiration 8.0b updater Note: This updater is for the International English edition only. Windows Macintosh OS X This free update adds: A Universal update: The ability to run natively on Intel-based Macintosh computers. Operational enhancements optimizing performance on Windows and Mac OS X. Increased Vista support. Users currently running Inspiration 8.0 IE or 8.0a IE will be updated to version 8.0b IE. Double-click the downloaded file to run the updater. Quick Tour See first hand how Inspiration helps pupils ages 10 to adult develop strong thinking skills! View the Inspiration Quick Tour, a comprehensive tutorial illustrating the key features of Inspiration 8. You'll see how easy it is for students to brainstorm, plan, organise, outline, diagram, mind map and write. Plus learn how Inspiration's integrated environments work together to help students comprehend concepts and information across the curriculum. In addition to the system requirements listed below, you will need a QuickTime^® player to view the Quick Tours. To get QuickTime, click here. Quick Tour System Requirements Macintosh Classic Power Macintosh G3 Mac OS 9.2 or later 300 MHz or faster 64 MB installed RAM Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.1 Macintosh OS X Power Macintosh G3 Mac OS X 10.1.5, 10.2.6, 10.3, 10.4 300 MHz or faster 128 MB installed RAM Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.2 or later Netscape 7.1 Safari Windows Win98 Pentium II 300 MHz or faster 64 MB installed RAM Win 2K Pentium III 300 MHz or faster 128 MB installed RAM Win XP Pentium III 300 MHz or faster 128 MB installed RAM Microsoft Internet Explorer 6sp1, 5.5sp2, 5.01sp2 Netscape 7.1 Quick Start Tutorial** Download the Inspiration Quick Start tutorial To view this file you may need to install Adobe® Reader®. This tutorial is a great starting point for learning how to use Inspiration^®. You'll learn how Inspiration's integrated diagramming and outlining environments work together to help students comprehend concepts and information. You will also learn how to create a mind map using the techniques developed by Tony Buzan and others. Educators can use Inspiration to customise instruction, achieve standards, assess student progress and energise the learning experience for all students. The tutorial walks you through creating a common brainstorming and planning task. The small, manageable mini-lessons make it easy to learn the basics quickly. Before you know it, you'll be using Inspiration to develop your own great ideas! Use this tutorial when you download your trial version and when you begin using your own copy of Inspiration. Frequently Asked Questions Startup Q. How do I install Inspiration 8 on my Windows Vista computer? A. Open Properties on the Install.exe on the CD. Here select XP Compatibility Mode and select Run this program as an administrator. Q. I disabled Quicktime® and now Inspiration won't launch on my Mac. Why? A. QuickTime^® must be installed and enabled for Inspiration to run on a Mac. Please check QuickTime status and enable it if required. Whiteboards Q. How do I enter text into the symbol palette search field from the ACTIVboard? A. Turn on handwriting in the ACTIVboard floating palette. Right-click on the symbol palette search field to position the cursor, then begin entering text. Q. How do I enter text into the Edit Symbol Libraries search and label fields from the ACTIVboard? A. In the empty workspace, enter or select the text you want, then copy it. Open the Edit Symbol Libraries dialog, select the search or label field, right click and choose paste from the menu that displays. Drag-and-Drop Q. How do I add an image to the symbol palette if drag and drop doesn't seem to work? A. Drag-and-drop the image into a blank area of your diagram. Right-click that image and choose Add Symbol to Library. Q. How do I drag a Hyperlink from Internet Explorer into Inspiration so that the link is preserved? A. Click and drag the link into Inspiration as opposed to highlighting it first, then dragging it. Q. How do I copy text from Inspiration to another application? A. For technical reasons, Inspiration doesn't support drag-and-drop of text from Inspiration to another Inspiration document or separate application. Use copy-and-paste instead. Q. Drag-and-drop has a few restrictions in the Classic Mac environment. A. An object cannot be dragged and dropped outside its source document. A graphic in a note cannot be dragged and dropped outside the note. Audio/Video Q. After I insert a sound, then change the symbol to a video symbol, the audio QuickControl is not visible in the outline view. A. Reattach the sound file. Q. The graphic for my video displays all-white in my diagram. A. This can result from how the video was encoded, i.e., the codec used. To choose a different poster image, as it's called, play the video in question, then pause it when the frame you'd like to use as the symbol graphic is displayed. Then click the Use This Frame for Graphic menu item on the Tools menu. Q. Inspiration's training videos don't play on my computer. A. In the QuickTime player, a separate application, check the preference settings and make sure streaming transport is set to HTTP. Q. I have Windows 9x and cannot select the Use This Frame for Graphic menu item from the Tools menu. A. Due to limitations with Windows 9x operating systems, this menu item is disabled. Q. The Insert Video and Insert Sound File menu items are disabled. A. If the QuickTime version on your computer does not meet the minimum requirement for use with Inspiration, these items will be unavailable. The minimum QuickTime requirements are: 5.0.2 for Win95 6.5.2 for all other versions of Windows 6.3.1 for OS 10.1.5 6.5.2 for OS 10.2-10.3.8 7 for OS 10.3.9 or later Miscellaneous Q. How can I get the Inspiration starter screen to show as an available window in Expose on the Mac? A. Open a new or existing Inspiration document before activating Expose. Q. How do I paste text into the search field of the symbol palette? A. Use the keyboard shortcuts instead of the menu items. In Windows, Control + V is the shortcut for paste; on the Mac, it's Command + V. Inspired Tips Create a Timeline While Inspiration is usually used for mapping ideas that have no precise chronology, some customers have discovered another type of diagram to create in Inspiration - a timeline. Timelines can be useful for history or social studies units, as well as keeping track of specific steps in a project. There are two types of timelines that can be created with Inspiration: basic and traditional. To create a basic timeline, which is well-suited to project tracking, begin with a new document, with the "Main Idea" selected. Using the Create tool, which is in the Diagram toolbar, create as many symbols as you need to cover the many points in the timeline. Each will be linked to the one before it, showing a logical sequence of events. Simply enter 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 show checkboxes on each symbol, choose "Show Checklist" from the Tools menu. To create a traditional timeline, more visibly similar to the standard timelines of 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. If you wish to change your symbols so that they are borderless text boxes, change a symbol to the symbol that looks like a rectangle with a dashed outline and an 'A' inside it. Choose the "Set Default" item in the Edit menu to set this selected symbol as the default for this diagram. If you wish to change your links so that they are 90-degree angles, rather than diagonal lines, select a link, then click on the Link menu and choose "Auto-90." If you wish to have arrow-less links, choose "None" from the "Arrow Head Ending Point" section of the Link menu. Once you've made your changes to the selected link, use the "Set Default" item in the Edit menu to set this link's attributes as the default for the whole diagram. Once your cosmetic changes are set, begin by changing the "Main Idea" text into the topic of your timeline. Use the Create tool, which is in the Diagram toolbar, to create your first date/event, linked to the Main Idea. Next, create your end date/event. Space them a suitable distance apart. Now, click on the point above or below the line and begin typing your next date/event. This should create a symbol for this date/event. Link from the first date/event to this one. Repeat this process for subsequent dates/events. Before long, your timeline will be complete. Edit or Create Libraries in a Lab Inspiration allows users to create personal templates and libraries, as distinct from the standard templates and libraries that are found in the Inspiration application folder. User-created Inspiration templates can be saved to any location to which the users have write access. Note: this generally excludes the "Inspiration Templates" folder in the Inspiration folder on the server. Users can also create their own symbol libraries even when Inspiration is installed on a server. In this case, though, the user-created libraries will be personal libraries. They will be stored in the Inspiration Data folder, which is typically found in the Documents folder (Macintosh) or the My Documents folder (Windows) on the workstation of the person who created them. Either of these types of files can be added to the centralised templates and libraries on the server by copying them from their original location to the Templates or Libraries folder on that server. If Inspiration is installed on multiple workstations instead of a server, simply copy the custom templates or libraries to the other workstations.

Help Center

Inspiration® 8 Help Center