FAQs From MAC OS® Users

Here are the answers to some of the Frequently Asked Questions about installing and running TLE on Macintosh/Mac OS.

Back to the FAQ list

QUESTIONS FROM MACINTOSH® USERS

1. Why do I get the error: "This lesson cannot be found. Please ensure you have the correct CD inserted in the drive"?
2. How do I change the location or folder where TLE Opens and Saves student files?
3. What Teachers' programs come with The Learning Equation and how do I use them?
4. How can students use the Calculator, the Finder, or other applications while working in TLE?
5. Why do I get the error message: "Script error: Cast member not found "Intro_Data" when selecting a lesson from the TLE main menu?
6. Why do I get a "Problem opening Navigator.dxr -49" error when starting TLE and how can I prevent it?
7. Why do none or only some of the students appear when I use the Class Results Viewer to check my students' progress?
8. How can I optimize the memory usage on my Macintosh for better TLE performance?

1. Why do I get the error: "This lesson cannot be found. Please ensure you have the correct CD inserted in the drive"when selecting a lesson from The Learning Equation main menu?

Explanations and possible solutions to this problem are:

• If you are running TLE from the local CD-ROM drive then make sure the CD containing the lesson you want to use is in the drive.
• If you installed the Lessons elsewhere, check the TLE.INI file (in the Main_Eng folder) to make sure that the lesson path is typed correctly.
• Place a colon after each disk name and between each folder and at the end of the line. Make sure there are no spaces after the last colon.
• Place a comma between multiple lesson locations. For example: [Lesson Path],Local Hard Drive:,Server:TLE:grade7:lessons:
• If only a few of the lesson folders have been installed onto the server be sure that the lesson selected is one of the installed lessons.

2. How do I change the location or folder where TLE Opens and Saves student files?

This procedure is carried out on each student's workstation. The student files will then be created, opened, and saved to the new folder. Note: with certain network installations, you will need to modify the student profile files to change the default location.

1. Create a folder where you want to keep the student files.(Skip this step if you already have a folder for student files.)
2. Click on the Apple menu, select Control Panels and open General Controls.
3. Select "Last folder used by the application" in the Documents section and close General Controls
4. Launch TLE and select New from the file menu and navigate to the folder you created in Step 1 (or select Open and navigate to the folder containing the existing student files).

3. What Teachers' programs come with The Learning Equation and how do I use them?

1. The Class Results Viewer (CRV)
2. The Teacher's Preview Version (TPV)

4. How can students use the calculator or other applications while working in TLE?

To use the calculator:

Click on the Apple menu and select Calculator. If the Calculator is not available, check the Apple instructions on how to install one.

To access the Finder and use other applications:

Click on the Application menu icon in the top right hand corner of the screen, beside the clock. Select "hide The Learning Equation". This will return to the Finder's desktop. Start another application as you normally would. To go back to TLE, select "show The Learning Equation" in the Application menu.

5. Why do I get the error message: "Script error: Cast member not found "Intro_Data" when selecting a lesson from the TLE main menu?

The application has been opened from the CD instead of being opened from the installed Main_Eng grade x folder and the lesson selected is not on the disk that is in the CD-ROM drive. Make sure the Main_Eng grade folder is copied to the hard drive and start the program from it instead of the CD. Make sure the CD in the drive contains the lesson being selected.

6. Why do I get a "Problem opening Navigator.dxr -49" error when starting TLE and how can I prevent it?

This error may occur if TLE quits unexpectedly for any reason. When you restart TLE, the Navigator.dxr file appears to be in use and the error is generated. Technical Support and the TLE developers are aware of this problem and are determining a course of action to deal with it. The only workaround at present is to restart the computer.

7. Why do none or only some of the students appear when I use the Class Results Viewer to check my students' progress?

Some of the possible solutions for problems viewing student files are:

• The student files must be in the same folder in order to appear together in the CRV. The files should be at the same level in the folder, not in sub-folders. Copy student files of the same grade to the same folder and select any one of the files in that folder with the CRV.
• The student may be using his or her file. You cannot view a student's file with the CRV while the file is in use. A student must quit TLE before you can view the file.
• The student may not have started working in TLE. A newly created student file will appear in the "Open" window after the "Student Files" button is clicked but the student will not appear in the CRV's table unless some part of a TLE lesson is completed.
• If you know the student files contain data but the names do not appear, try changing your monitor's colour palette to 256 colours. Use Monitors & Sound in the Control Panels to do this.

8. How can I optimize the memory usage on my Macintosh for better TLE performance?

Increasing Memory Allocation to TLE

To improve the performance of this program, you can increase the initial memory setting for it to do this:

1. Quit TLE if it is running.
2. Select the icon of The Learning Equation in the Main_Eng folder.
3. On the File menu select Get Info.
4. In The Learning Equation Info window section labelled Memory Requirements, there will be an entry box called Preferred Size. Use the following table to update preferred size.
5. Select the button in the upper left of the Get Info window to close the window.

Total Memory	Preferred Size
16 MB or greater	8192K or greater
12 MB	6144K
8 MB	4096K

You can add more than 8192K if you have enough free memory.

For best results, turn off Virtual Memory when running The Learning Equation.

Conserving Memory

Under the Apple menu, select About this Macintosh or About this Computer. Read the amount of memory for the Largest Unused Block. If the amount is under 4096K, you can try the following steps to free up memory.

1. Under the Apple menu, select Control Panels and open Memory. Set Disk Cache to a minimum and RAM Disk to "Off". Virtual Memory can be turned on to increase available memory, although doing so will decrease the speed of execution and cause some unpredictable results. Set 32-bit addressing to "On" if this option appears.
2. If your System has Extensions Manager (located under the Apple menu in the Control Panels), then you can use it to turn off nonessential extensions. Ensure that the CD-ROM extension remains active.
3. If your computer is running other applications, then exit them before running The Learning Equation. Click the Application menu icon in the top right corner of the screen (beside the clock) to see what is running.
4. Some desktop managers, such as Apple's At Ease, may not significantly impact memory use, especially when run with reduced Finder functionality. Test the impact of these applications by comparing the amount of free memory in About this Macintosh under the Apple menu, as described above, when running The Learning Equation with and without the desktop manager application installed.
5. Applications such as RAM Doubler are not recommended. They may allow the application to run in low memory systems but the results are unpredictable. Note: Steps: 1 and 2 require a Restart before these changes take effect.