See Copyright and Usage Notice


Installing Comic Chat

What do I Need for Comic Chat?

All you need to run Comic Chat is a reasonably fast PC running Windows 95 or NT 4.0 and a direct connection to the Internet by dial-up on a 9600 speed modem or faster. You can use Comic Chat through online services like America Online, CompuServe or Prodigy if they support direct Internet access through the 32-bit winsock. For example, you can use Comic Chat through the Microsoft Network or CompuServe 3.0 as they do provide this service. For more information on configuring your on-line service to run Worlds Chat, see Appendix D: Setting up your on-line service to connect directly with the Internet. If you have further problems, contact your on-line service for help.

If you are at work or a place where you have a PC on the Internet full time (such as a university or college), you can also use Comic Chat. Connecting from work might require you to check on your firewall restrictions (see Appendix D: Firewalls and Proxies). The recommended minimum machine shown at the beginning of this chapter will inform you of the system you should have to run Comic Chat.

Getting Started and a Few Disclaimers

Comic Chat is easy to set up and even easier to jump right in to join the social scene. Best of all, Comic Chat is free to use. Like in other virtual worlds, you have to accept the terms of your free license during installation. You are not charged for the time you spend on Comic Chat but you could be charged on the hours you use from your Internet Service Provider (ISP) or on-line service. Check with your ISP or on-line service on their monthly free hours and rates… Comic Chat can be addicting!

The version of Comic Chat you will find on your Avatars! CD is the one described in this chapter. However, Comic Chat may have evolved since the writing of this chapter, so when you log on, you may be asked to upgrade to a new version. If you download an upgrade or a whole new version from the Internet, it may look somewhat different from what will be described here. To download an upgrade or completely new version, follow the instructions in the section called Installing or upgrading Comic Chat from the Internet below.

[Sidebar with help icon…

Keep up to date on your favorite worlds, visit your Avatars! book website often

As a special service for readers of Avatars! we have a special home page on the World Wide Web devoted to keeping you up to date on your favorite worlds. Find news about software updates, social events held within these virtual worlds and brand new worlds you might want to try at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars. Bookmark it!

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If you have questions or problems

If you have questions or problems installing or running Comic Chat, we suggest you consult Appendix E: Comic Chat FAQ. If you need further assistance, check the Comic Chat page at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/comichat/ for help on more detailed questions. The Comic Chat README page at http://www.microsoft.com/ie/comichat/readme.htm is also useful. Feel free to contact the Comic Chat team directly them at: comichat@microsoft.com. with your technical questions, bug reports, or comments.

Don't forget to read the manual!

Another good source for information on how to use Comic Chat is the online Windows Help file. Just select the Help menu or press F1 while using Comic Chat and use the Table of Contents or Index to find the topic you are looking for.

What you think about this book and this world?

We would be happy to hear about your experiences with Comic Chat or your comments on this book. Contact us through the Avatars! book website at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars.

Macintosh, UNIX and OS/2 versions

At the time of the writing of this chapter there were no versions of Comic Chat for the Macintosh, UNIX or OS/2. Check the Microsoft and Avatars! web pages for updates on new versions which might support these platforms directly. You may also be able to run Comic Chat using a Windows emulation system on non-Windows platforms.

By following the simple step-by-step instructions below you will soon be experiencing life in the virtual comic theater!

[The installation guide could be a full page sidebar, screened, with little installation man icon, hard-hat and toolbox, which would indicate that users can skip it if they are familiar with installation processes or just want to "wing it"…

Installing Comic Chat from Your Avatars! CD

If you have a CD-ROM drive on your PC, you can install Comic Chat directly. If you don't have a CD-ROM drive, skip right to the next section "Installing or upgrading Comic Chat from the Internet". Installing from the CD is easy, just follow these basic steps:

Installing from the CD using your web browser

[Note that this section will change if we build an interface for the CD]

If you have a web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer installed on your PC, you can access the worlds on your CD through your browser.

  1. Insert the CD into your drive.
  2. Double click on the CD-ROM drive icon on your desktop or found within My Computer. This icon is sometimes called "Audio CD" and may have a drive letter like "D:" or "E:". You should see the CD-ROM drive light go on and a window open showing the contents of the CD.
  3. There should be a file in the window called "Index.html", double click on it to open it in your browser.
  4. The special home page for the CD should now be displayed. If you can't see it or there is another problem, you should follow the steps for "Installing from the CD by directly copying the files" below.
  5. Click on the "Worlds" selection on the CD home page, this will show a list of the virtual worlds on your CD.
  6. Select Comic Chat from the list.
  7. A special page for Comic Chat should be displayed, click on "Install Comic Chat".
  8. You should be prompted to install Comic Chat, if there is another problem, you should follow the steps for "Installing from the CD by directly copying the files" below. The installer program will prompt you at each step: accept the license agreement terms, accept the folder into which Comic Chat will be installed (or enter your own path). The installation should complete normally, if you have enough disk space (you need about 6 megabytes free).

Note that on other parts of the CD web pages are links to sites for Microsoft and other virtual worlds, including your home page for Avatars! at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars. If you are on-line while you have the CD open, you can click on these links and explore the universe of virtual worlds on the Internet.

Installing from the CD by directly copying the files

[Note that it might be useful to include a screen capture or two here]

  1. Insert the CD-ROM into your drive
  2. Double click on the CD-ROM drive icon on your desktop or found within My Computer. This icon is sometimes called "Audio CD" and may have a drive letter like "D:" or "E:". You should see the CD-ROM drive light go on and a window open showing the contents of the CD.
  3. There should be a folder called "Comic", double click on it to open it.
  4. Inside the folder you will see a file called "cchat_10.exe", double click on this file which will start the installation process.
  5. If the installation does not start, you may have to make a copy of this file on your hard disk first: drag and drop this file onto your desktop or into a folder you use for temporary work. Then double click on the new file icon on the desktop or within that folder.
  6. The installer program will prompt you at each step: accept the license agreement terms, accept the folder into which Comic Chat will be installed (or enter your own path). The installation should complete normally, if you have enough disk space (you need about 6 megabytes free)

Installing or upgrading Comic Chat from the Internet

[Note that it might be useful to include a screen capture or two here]

If you want the very latest version of Comic Chat or were informed that you had to upgrade the version found on your Avatars! CD, then you must download files from the Internet. If you haven't done this before, don't panic, it is easier than you might think!

  1. Connect to the Internet (dial-up with your modem or make sure your Internet connection is active).
  2. Start your web browser, such as Netscape or Internet Explorer.
  3. In the top of the browser, you will see a long area where you can enter text called "Location"
  4. Click in this area, delete the text that is there and type in: http://www.microsoft.com/ie/comichat/ and press the [Enter] key.
  5. After a few moments, the home page for Microsoft Comic Chat should appear. If it does not after a long wait, check to see that you are on-line.
  6. If the Microsoft page is not available for some reason, try entering the location for the Avatars! home page, which is: http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars. This page may contain more up to date links for Comic Chat.
  7. Once you are at the Comic Chat home page, follow the instructions for downloading or upgrading. At one point you will click on a link and be prompted for a place to save a file. This is the file that is to be downloaded. You must choose a noteworthy folder where you will remember where to find the new file. You can use the folder that your web browser give you or move back up and select another. Personally, I put all downloaded files in a folder I made which I call "Download" which I store on my hard disk at "C:\Download".

Clean up after installing

If you copied the Comic Chat installation file onto your desktop, into a folder or you downloaded it from the Internet, you can delete it after the installation is complete. It should have a name like "Cchat_10.exe". You can keep the original installer around just in case you have to re-install it. Of course, you will have your CD with the original installers there so you do not need to take up valuable hard disk space (2 megabytes just for the Comic Chat installer).

Creating a shortcut to Comic Chat

You may want to create a shortcut to Comic Chat on your desktop. Open C:\Program Files\Cchat or the folder you selected for Comic Chat, find the file called "Chat.exe" and with the right mouse button down, drag and drop onto the desktop, selecting Create Shortcut(s) Here when prompted by the popup menu.

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© Copyright Bruce Damer, 1996, All rights reserved.

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