Getting Started with the CD-ROM Interface
To make your life easier, we have provided a point and click interface
to the resources on the CD-ROM. This interface is built with documents
in Adobe's Acrobat PDF format. To use the interface you must install
Acrobat Reader 3.0 for Windows or the Macintosh.
If you don't want to use this interface, you can access the files
on the CD-ROM directly. Skip to the section Directly Accessing
the Files on the CD-ROM later in this chapter if you prefer
this method.
Installing the Acrobat Reader
You will find the free Acrobat Reader installer program on the
top level of your CD-ROM file structure. Simply put your CD-ROM
into your CD-ROM drive, close the door and double click on the
CD-ROM icon on your desktop to open it. On the Macintosh it will
appear as an icon on the desktop. In Windows 3.1, open the File
Manager and you will be able to open the CD-ROM drive (sometimes
listed as the D: or E: drive). On Windows 95 or NT, find the CD-ROM
drive icon under My Computer, where it is sometimes called Audio
CD.
When you have opened the CD-ROM drive, you should see several
files. If you are using a Macintosh, you should find a program
file called ?????. In Windows 3.1 it will be called ?????.exe
and in Windows 95/NT ???????. Double click on it to start the
installation process. Note that if you already have Acrobat Reader
3.0 installed, you don't need to do this step. The installation
should proceed by asking you where you want to install the reader.
It is a simple setup and should not take up much time or hard
disk space.
A Quick Tour of the CD-ROM Interface
Figure : cdfront.jpg
Front screen of the CD-ROM interface
Click for print resolution version
Once you have installed the Acrobat 3.0 Reader, you should be
able to open the book interface. Simply open up the CD-ROM and
double click on the file named TheBook (in Windows 3.1 it might
be called thebook.pdf). If you want to access the files directly
without using the interface, you can open the folder called
BookFiles and skip to the section Directly Accessing the Files
on the CD-ROM. The Acrobat Reader should start and bring up
the front screen, which should be similar to the preceding figure.
Note that if the image does not come up filling your whole screen,
you can select View and then the option Full Screen to switch
to full screen mode.
Launching Web Sites and Local Web Pages from the CD-ROM Interface
As you can see, the interface is very similar to the format of
the companion book Web site. A solar system of digital planets
rings a central teleport. If you click on the central teleporter,
it will take you to the companion book Web site itself. For this
to work, Acrobat Reader has to know where your Web browser program
is. When you click on the teleporter link, you will be prompted
to find your Web browser software. It is often in the folder Program
Files (on Windows 95). You also have to be on-line for this to
work. Once this is all set up, you will be able to click on links
throughout the CD-ROM interface and launch Web pages.
Accessing the Whole Book on the CD-ROM
In a similar way, your Web browser will launch to show Web pages
stored right on your CD-ROM. We have provided the entire book
as a series of linked Web pages. Just click on the avatar icon
saying "This way to the book" and you will enter the
BookWeb, which has the entire book in Web format, packed with
images and more live links to the Internet. There are bonus resources
like An Advanced Course at Avatar University as well as
many images and text not included in the book. Note that there
may be slight differences between the printed version of the book
and its Web (HTML) version on the CD-ROM. Feel free to use this
version of the book to teach your classes, do quick searches or
follow live web links found in the print version.
The World Guides
Figure : wguide1.jpg
A World Guide Screen
The rest of the CD-ROM interface is pretty straightforward: click on a planet and you will be taken to a new interface screen, like the one shown in the preceding figure. This is a world guide and each guide contains:
- A description of the virtual world software that is available on the CD-ROM
- Links to the installers for the software for your operating system: MacOS, Windows 3.1 or Windows 95.
- Links to the home pages for the companies that provide the world.
- Links to the pages on the companion book Web site for this world.
- Links to the book chapter Web pages for this world which are stored locally on the CD-ROM
- A button to go back to the main screen.
- A button to quit out of the CD-ROM interface.
Installing a World from the CD-ROM
Some virtual world programs are not stored on the CD-ROM or there
may not be a version for your computer's operating system. If
this is the case, click on the Web link to the home page of the
company that provides the world and download it directly from
the Internet. If there is an installer available on the CD-ROM,
click on its link to start it running and return to the book chapter
section on running the installation to follow the steps there.
You can then continue in that chapter to start using the virtual
world. As each installer runs, you will be asked for a location
to install the software to, select a folder on your hard disk
(not on the CD-ROM).
If there is a problem running the installer or connecting with
the virtual world (make sure you are online) you may have to download
a brand new copy of the software. To do this, visit the home page
of the company providing the world or the book companion Web site
at http://www.digitalspace.com/avatars.
Finding the World and Avatar Creation Tools
Click on the Build Worlds, Design Avatars for the guide to installing
Internet 3D Space Builder, AvatarMaker and 3DAssistant. All of
these programs require Windows 95 or NT.
The Other Links
Virtual Worlds Links and News will take you to the News section
on the companion book Web site. Selecting Digigardener's Get the
Book will take you to the ordering page on the Web so that you
can get additional copies of Avatars! Gaming Worlds takes
you to a the Web page on the companion book Web site where links
to gaming worlds can be found.