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Troubleshooting

FAQ's-Web Meetings

FAQ's-General Use

The Send feature in the software is inaccessible
The Send option allows you to specify the IdeaShare whiteboard pages you want to e-mail to others directly from the eBeam application. You can specify which boards you want to send, as well as the file format for the whiteboard data.

However, the Send feature is only available when Microsoft Exchange is installed as your Mail system. Please consult your e-mail program or network administrator if this option is not available in the eBeam File menu.

To Send whiteboard data in an e-mail:

  1. Select Send from the File menu. The Send dialog box appears.

  2. Select a file type from the Send As region:
    eBeam File eBeam default file format .WBD
    Acrobat Adobe Acrobat format .PDF
    Bitmap 256-color Windows bitmap file .BMP
    Bitmap Monochrome Windows bitmap file .BMP
    Encapsulated Postscript Encapsulated Postscript file .EPS
    JPEG Bitmap Image with a .JPG file extension
    GIF Bitmap Image with a .GIF file extension
    TIFF Bitmap Image with a .TIF file extension

  3. If you do not use the default eBeam .WBD file format, the eBeam application saves each board as an image file in the file format you selected. For all file formats except .WBD, the e-mail created by the Send dialog box will have a separate file attachment for each board you specified.

  4. Specify a board or range of boards in the Page Range region

  5. Click OK. The eBeam application opens your default e-mail program. The selected whiteboard data appears as a file attachment

  6. Add a recipient and a subject and send the e-mail message.

Note: eBeam files can also be saved in HTML format. HTML is not available as a Send option because when an eBeam meeting is saved in this format, a folder is created containing the meeting pages. A folder cannot be attached to an Exchange message. If you wish to send the HTML meeting pages, simply create a new message in your e-mail program and attach them as individual pages.
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Portable IdeaShare's Short Cut Strip Commands don't work
The Shortcut strips are included with the Portable IdeaShare, a Mylar version for whiteboards and on the flipchart clip for flipcharts, which let you issue commands such as Print Page and New Page without going to your computer or leaving the board.

The eBeam software automatically detects the Shortcut strip on the flipchart clip; however the Mylar Shortcut strip for whiteboards must be activated and calibrated by you.

How to activate the Whiteboard Shortcut Strip:

  1. Peel the Shortcut Strip off the backing and apply the strip along an edge of the image area. The Shortcut Strip is usually most convenient along the bottom or side edge.
    Make certain to keep the Shortcut Strip square with the edges of the board.
  2. To tell the software where the strip is applied, select Edit > Shortcut Strip > Calibrate.
  3. Use an electronic pen to tap the upper-left and lower-right corners of the Shortcut Strip.
  4. Click OK.

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The software window on your screen shows the location of the Shortcut Strip. eBeam software retains the location of the Shortcut Strip from one session to another. Once calibrated, you can press an electronic pen against the "buttons" on the decal to print or create a new board.

If you remove and reapply the Whiteboard Shortcut Strip, you must calibrate again (step 2) to let the eBeam software know its location.

If the Whiteboard Shortcut Strip is not functioning properly, make certain:

  • The Shortcut Strip has been calibrated.
  • The decal is placed on the whiteboard parallel to the sides of the board. Slanting or skewing the decal will cause erratic results.
  • The whiteboard or flat surface the Shortcut Strip decal is attached to is smooth.
  • Since an electronic pen is used to activate the function buttons, also make certain that the electronic pen is functioning correctly by testing one or more pens with the Shortcut Strip.

If the Shortcut Strip still won't function, move the decal to another location closer to the Portable IdeaShare, recalibrate and try again.

If you have calibrated the Shortcut Strip and it still does not function properly, please contact us.
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Marker strokes are shown in the wrong color
If the color that appears is different than the color ring on the electronic you are using, make sure that the dry-erase pen and electronic pen color ring match.

The color signal comes from the color ring in the sleeve not the actual marker.

For example, placing a red marker in the green sleeve will not make the captured data red. All data written will be green.

Do any of the other sleeves behave incorrectly (i.e., the color they are supposed to signal is not correct)? If the other sleeves behave properly, you may have a damaged sleeve.

Please contact us.
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Marker or Eraser Strokes Not Appearing Correctly
Writing with an eBeam marker sleeve is slightly different than writing with a plain marker. (This section assumes the battery has been installed in the sleeve and a dry-erase marker has been inserted properly.-link to appropriate section or download set up guides)

To draw, press down on your whiteboard with the marker tip and lift the marker tip from the board to end a marker stroke. A small amount of force may be required to activate the signal from the electronic pen. Note: You cannot draw with 2 markers at one time. The receiver can only track one pen (or eraser) at a time.

When the electronic pen is sending drawing information to the hardware, it emits a slight buzzing sound which you may be able to hear. Everything you draw on your whiteboard should appear on the visual display of the eBeam application on your PC.

Note: Within the eBeam software, you can scroll or zoom in on current or previously captured data. The most common cause for data "disappearing" is that you have changed views and are not looking at the current virtual board view.

A number of factors can cause your electronic pens or eraser to draw/erase inconsistently or not at all:

  1. Warped Board - IdeaShare requires a flat whiteboard surface. If you place the Portable IdeaShare on a board that is bowed or warped badly, the receiver's "line of sight" to the electronic pen will be compromised, and the data may not be captured correctly. Make certain the whiteboard is not curved or warped.
  2. Receivers Blocked - Make sure you do not place your hand or arm on the whiteboard between the electronic pen and the receivers. The Portable IdeaShare receivers are located at the edges of the portable unit. The receivers for the IdeaShare Board are located in the left side of the board's frame. If you block the receivers, it cannot sense where you move your marker.
  3. Pen Blocked - The signal transmitter is in the electronic pen just behind the tip of the marker. Grasp the pen a little behind the tip so that your fingers do not block the signal.
  4. Drawing Pressure - Try pressing slightly harder as you draw. It is possible to draw lightly enough that no signal is sent to the hardware. Also, writing too quickly can sometimes cause skips in the image captured.
  5. Low Battery - If the battery in the electronic pens has run low enough, there may not be enough power to send the signal. Replace the batteries or try a electronic pen.
  6. Noisy Environment - There may be intermittent or low level infrared interference in your work area. It may be necessary to move your IdeaShare system to another area.
  7. Drawing in Non-recordable Areas - Depending on the placement of the Portable IdeaShare receiver and the size of the whiteboard you are using, it is possible to draw in "non-recordable" areas. Portable IdeaShare can retrofit any existing whiteboard from 1.5 to 6 feet wide and up to 4 feet high. Any area beyond 6' W x 4' H is considered "non-recordable".

If the batteries are new, the environment is sound, and the marks or erasures still do not appear, please contact us.
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Printer not printing in Copyboard Mode
When the IdeaShare Board is in Copyboard mode, a printer is directly connected to the board (no computer is needed). You can then print copies of whiteboard notes directly to the printer (as well as beam to a PDA with Palm OS).
If your printer is not printing in Copyboard mode:

  1. Make sure your printer is properly connected with a parellel connection
  2. Check to be sure your printer is supported

For more information on Copyboard mode, please refer to the Users Manual.
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Copyboard Mode printed/beamed two boards of notes on one page
Quartet IdeaShare Boards can print directly to a printer (no computer needed) or beam to a PDA handheld (with Palm OS) in Copyboard mode. The IdeaShare Board saves each board of notes in the system. When you are finished with a board, print or beam your notes to a PDA. To start a new page, press the Clear button on the marker tray. If you do not press the Clear button, both pages of notes will be saved in the system on top of each other.

A good way to check to see if you have data in the system or if the information has been cleared is to check the left status LED on the marker tray, above the buttons.
When the system contains information, the left LED slowly blinks green. If there is no information in the system, the left LED will not be lit.

For more information on Copyboard mode, please refer to the Users Manual.
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Virtual touchscreen mode not working
Virtual touchscreen mode allows you to use an electronic pen with the plastic stylus insert to control your computer from the board with IdeaShare, when a data projector is used. The plastic stylus insert is really just a piece of plastic shaped like a marker pen but with no ink. It converts an electronic pen into a mouse pointer.

After a simple calibration process, an electronic pen can point, click, drag and drop and otherwise control many of the operations of Windows directly from the whiteboard. You don't have to constantly go back and forth between board and PC or have a second person drive the PC.

Virtual touchscreen mode can calibrate and work with projected images that are skewed or "keystoned" due to a poor projection angle. In other words, the projected image doesn't have to be a perfect rectangle for the eBeam mouse software to operate properly.

If you are having difficulties with Virtual Touchscreen mode, please read the following:

Is the software in Virtual Touchscreen mode?
Change the mode of the software by right clicking on the icon in the upper right corner of the software window. Select "use with projector" for Virtual Touchscreen mode. You will notice that the icon turns into a projector.

Did you calibrate Virtual Touchscreen mode?
After you launch Virtual Touchscreen mode, you need to perform a multipoint calibration. The calibration identifies to the eBeam software the angle and dimensions of the projector to the whiteboard. By doing this, the projected image doesn't have to be a perfect rectangle for the software to operate properly. To calibrate while in Virtual Touchscreen mode, click on the eBeam icon in the system tray and select "Calibrate Projection Area".

Did you move the projector after calibrating?
If you bump or move the projector, the calibration will not be accurate and results will not be what you expect. Please perform the calibration again.

Are you using Virtual Touchscreen mode with a pull down screen?
Virtual Touchscreen mode expects a rigid projection surface (i.e., a whiteboard). A flexible projection will not allow accurate registration of the calibration points and results will be unreliable. If you do not have a whiteboard, you can project on a wall. The insert is a piece of plastic shaped like a marker pen but with no ink so you have no fear of accidentally writing on the wall.

How do I "right mouse" click when I'm using Virtual Touchscreen mode?
Simply touch the electronic pen with plastic stylus insert to the board and hold it one place without moving for over 1 second, then pull the electronic pen away from the board. A right-click menu should appear.

If you require additional help, please contact us.
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Think Pad configuration
Users with an IBM ThinkPad may experience problems communicating with the IdeaShare hardware during software installation.

The IBM ThinkPad comes factory configured with the Infrared (IR) communications port enabled and the standard serial communications port disabled. To allow the IdeaShare hardware to communicate with the PC, the serial port needs to be enabled, and the IR port needs to be disabled or redirected to another COM port.

To reconfigure your ThinkPad, you will use the ThinkPad Features software. If you do not have this software, please contact your IBM representative.
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Palm configuration
When the PalmPilot software is installed, the default setting is to automatically launch the HotSync Manager at Windows startup. By doing this, the COM port is in a "ready" state for the PalmPilot to be connected.

This "ready" state, however, causes the COM port to be held open regardless of whether the PalmPilot is attached to the COM port or not. As long as the COM port is held "open", the eBeam application won't be able to communicate with the eBeam hardware unless some steps are taken to "free" the COM port.

To correct this problem, the PalmPilot HotSync Manager needs to be reconfigured to be a "manual" not "automatic" load upon Windows startup.

Also, with some versions of PalmPilot software, even though you configure your PalmPilot to be loaded "manually", each time you use the PalmPilot , you may need to reboot your PC in order to communicate with eBeam. This is because the COM port is not being released by the PalmPilot software even though you are no longer using it. If your computer is not a laptop, you can avoid the necessity of rebooting by purchasing and installing an I/O card with at least one 9-pin or 25-pin connector. I/O cards can be purchased from your local computer reseller.

Note: The following information is made available for the convenience of our users with a PalmPilot . If you have any further questions beyond the scope of this HelpNote, please refer to your PalmPilot documentation and/or contact 3COM Technical Support for further assistance.

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Reconfiguring PalmPilot HotSync Manager

  1. If it is not already running, start HotSync Manager.

    Choose HotSync Manager > Setup. The Setup dialog box appears with the General tab displayed. The General tab allows you to select how you want HotSync Manager to start running. There are 3 options:

    • The "Always available" option puts HotSync Manager in the Windows Startup folder thereby launching HotSync Manager automatically when you start your computer.

    • The "Available only when PalmPilot Desktop is running" option starts HotSync Manager when the PalmPilot Desktop starts. According to 3COM Support, HotSync Manager stops running (e.g., the COM port is released) when you exit the PalmPilot Desktop.**

    • The "Manual" option means you start HotSync Manager yourself by double-clicking its application icon. This also means that you will need to reboot the PC after using the PalmPilot or the COM port will not be released.

  2. Check either the Available only when PalmPilot Desktop is running** or Manual option.

  3. Click the OK button to save the settings.

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** If you find that the Available only when Palm Pilot Desktop is running option does not allow you to communicate with IdeaShare after you have closed the PalmPilot Desktop, the COM port is not being released properly. You will need to reboot the PC after using the PalmPilot.

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