four files faq
Below is a list of frequently asked questions for each of the files available on this site.
[desktop calendar] [screen saver] [screen saver add-on packs] [desktop theme] [favicon]
Questions about desktop calendar:
Q1 - What do I do if my browser does not have a 'Set as Wallpaper' or
'Set as Background' command?
- Windows users can right-click on the image and a pop-up menu should
appear. Select 'copy', then open a graphics-editing application and select
'paste' from the file or edit menu, or from the toolbar. Now save it as a
jpeg image (with the extension .jpg or .jpeg). I have created all the calendar
images as .jpg files, which are common and should work with most operating
systems including Windows. However, earlier versions of Windows may require
your desktop wallpaper to be a bitmap image. If you need to convert a jpeg
to a bitmap file, in your graphics program simply select the 'Save As...'
command, then choose 'Bitmap File' and save it (with the extension .bmp).
A useful freeware program is IrfanView,
or the latest version of the popular Paint Shop Pro is available as shareware.
Now set the file as your desktop background using the display properties of
Windows. Open the Control Panel from the Settings option of the Start Menu,
then select the 'Display' dialog, click the 'Background' tab and locate the
directory containing the image using the 'Browse' button, then click OK.
- Mac OS 8 / 8.5 users can download the image by clicking and holding
down the mouse. Click on the Apple icon in the top left-hand corner of the
screen. Go to control panels, click on 'Appearance'. Six menu items are shown
- choose 'Desktop'. Click on 'Place Picture' and choose the image that you
downloaded. Now click the 'Set Desktop' button.
- Note: there may be some operating systems which do not support desktop
wallpaper, or miserable fascist corporate systems which have had the ability
to access some of these functions disabled to spoil your fun, like where I
used to work.
Q2 - What if my desktop resolution is 640x480 or another size not available?
- The proportion of users running computers with old VGA resolutions is becoming
increasingly small, so the 640x480 option has been discontinued. This allows
me to create higher quality templates at higher resolutions. However, the
original photos used usually come from emails sent to me, and are often not
very big, so they start to lose quality when enlarged too much. If you have
a resolution higher than 1024x768 you can still centre or stretch the image
onto your desktop using the display properties of your operating system.
Q3 - How do I find out what the resolution of my monitor is?
- If you use Windows and there is a small blue monitor icon on the right-hand
side of your taskbar (in the system tray), left-click once on this icon and
you should find the current resolution ticked or highlighted in the pop-up
list. Alternatively, open the display properties by going to the Start Menu
> Settings > Control Panel > Display dialog, then click the 'Settings'
tab, where you can find the current resolution underneath the slider. I am
unsure where these settings reside on other operating systems.
Q4 - My Windows taskbar blocks out part of the calendar image.
- If you have your taskbar permanently displayed, it may obscure one edge
of the calendar. You should set the taskbar to the 'auto-hide' setting, so
that it only pops up when you move the mouse to the edge of the screen or
when you press the Windows key. To do this, right-click the taskbar, then
select 'Properties' from the shortcut menu. Click the 'auto-hide' option and
then press OK. Alternatively, click and hold down the mouse on a blank area
of the taskbar and drag it to another edge of your screen, where it will then
remain. The new style calendar for 2003 has been designed to still be viewable
by users with a standard size taskbar at the base of the screen.
Q5 - When are the calendar images updated?
- A new image should appear towards the end of each month, although there
could sometimes be a delay if I'm not around.
Q1 - The program crashes or locks up / the program cannot find the directory
containing the images / the program creates multiple instances of the screen
saver in my taskbar etc.
- Unfortunately I discovered bugs that exist when attempting to run the Instant
Roller program in later versions of Windows, having upgraded to the Millennium
edition and attempted to run it on there. I have tested it on several machines
running Win 95, Win 3.1 and even Win 98 in the past with no problems, but
it would appear that changes made to the workings of screen savers in later
versions of Windows, render this program at best functional with some minor
snags, and at worst inadvisable to install due to possible system crashes.
Although it worked fine with Win 95 OSR2 (B version) on many systems, I then
found this same problem on the early Win 95 retail version which had the Plus!
pack installed, so it is a bit hit and miss whether it will work on your system.
If you use Win 3.1 or Win 95 without having installed the Active Desktop,
Plus! Pack, certain Windows Update features or other such components, it should
work as intended. If in doubt I would advise not to use this program, as I
am hoping to create a new screen saver at a later date with some new software
I have obtained. I did not write the original Instant Roller program, I just
adapted it without changing its core components, so I do not know the technical
reasons behind these bugs. Issues may include an error message when clicking
the settings or preview buttons (or when the screen saver runs), multiple
instances of the program appearing on the Windows taskbar, or other system
crashes, which may result in several 'Instant Roller' entries appearing in
the list when you perform a Ctrl, Alt and Delete action. If anybody
is technical minded and knows about programming and .exe files, I would be
grateful for any info on what causes these bugs, but ultimately this program
is dated and I will concentrate on providing a replacement instead.
Q2 - I am running Windows 98, ME or other version of Windows, and cannot
access the settings.
- See Q1 above. This program was designed before Windows 98 was released.
It may still function, but you might have to open the file 'Roller.ini' to
change the settings. You should have copied this file to your Windows directory.
Open the file in Notepad or another text program. The settings are as follows:
Picpath - Set this to the directory containing the bitmap files (default
value =C:\R4ssaver\)
Interval - This value specifies the time, in 1/1000th of a second,
for which each image is displayed (default value =5000)
RandomChoice - Select 0 to display the images in the same order each
time (unfortunately I've no idea what this order is based upon, although it
appears to be something to do with the time and date each image was first
created) or set to 1 to display randomly (default value =1)
Delay - The time, in 1/1000th of a second, taken for each transition
between images (default value =2500)
Q3 - I have downloaded and/or extracted the files - now what do I do?
- Full instructions are contained in the file 'Readme.txt' or 'Lisezmoi.txt'.
If you wish to view this before extracting the files, double click the file
'R4ssaver.exe' and select the 'Run Winzip' tab if there is one, and open the
file from there by double-clicking it. You can also use a program such as
Quick View Plus to view files within an archive.
Q4 - I am running Windows NT, Windows 2000, XP or some other lairy product.
- Unfortunately I have no idea whether this program is compatible with these
operating systems. You could try it and let me know, but I will accept no
responsibility in the event of an earthquake, flood, tornado, military coup
or other occurrence.
Q5 - The images change too slow / fast.
- If you have either a very old slow computer with a lousy graphics card,
or a super duper fast machine with all the latest gadgetry, you had best adjust
the Transition Speed (Delay) setting. On very slow computers you may still
find it drags along on the fastest setting, and very fast computers may show
the transitions too fast to see them even on the slowest setting. People with
computers somewhere in the middle will be laughing.
Q6 - What is the difference between version numbers?
- The very first version 1.0 is a valuable relic owned by only one other person
so far as I know, although they've probably deleted it if they've got any
sense. Version 1.1 was the standard copy available for a long time on the
old Renault 4-Play site hosted by Angelfire. Upon launching the new site in
February 2002, I also updated to version 1.2, which has a few changes. Basically
some of the images are replaced to reflect the newer look of parts of the
site. The readme file is changed and there is the addition of a french-text
readme file, 'lisezmoi.txt'. The total file size is slightly less than the
previous version. If you have an earlier version of the software there is
no real need to update it unless you would like the newer images. There are
no other substantial changes in version numbers and so the add-on packs are
compatible with any version you may have. You can find the version number
at the bottom of the enclosed readme file, and it is also displayed on the
four files page of this site. The suffix 'a' or 'e' simply denotes whether
the program is distributed as an archive (standard zip file) or an executable
(self-extracting zip file).
Questions about screen saver add-on image packs:
Q1 - What exactly do I do with these?
- Obviously you first must have the actual screen saver program (R4ssaver.exe),
although basically all these add-on packs consist of is some zipped bitmap
images so you can do what you like with them. Simply download and run the
executable file (eg. R4ss2000.exe), then change the 'Unzip To' folder if necessary.
This should be the same folder as the original image files that came with
the screen saver. (If you can't remember where you put them, open the file
'Roller.ini' which should be in your Windows directory, using Notepad, and
it will hopefully tell you the current path there.) Then press the Unzip button
and that's it, the next time you run the screen saver it will include all
the new images as well as the old. You may wish to check the screen saver
first, then you can delete the original zip file if desired in order to save
space.
Q2 - I want to remove some of the images, or add some of my own.
- To remove particular images from the screen saver, just move or delete them
from the directory. When adding your own pictures, the only requirement is
that they are in bitmap (.bmp) format. They can be any colour depth (those
included in the .exe files are in 16 or 256 colours in order to keep the file
sizes smaller). Note also that the majority of the photos included are 600
x 400 pixels, although you can use any size you like up to your maximum screen
resolution. Save them to the same directory as the other images.
Questions about desktop theme:
Q1 - What exactly does the theme contain?
- There are cursors (animated and static), icons (multi-size formatted), sounds
(wave files), pictures (bitmaps and jpegs) and a mini screen saver for Windows.
Apart from the Minisaver, this theme does not constitute a program of any
sort or require any specific setup in order to be used, aside from extracting
the zip file.
Q2 - What do I do with it?
- Download and open the file 'R4theme.zip' with a compression utility such
as WinZip, ensuring you tick any option such as 'Use Folder Names' in order
that the correct directory structure is maintained, then open the enclosed
readme file for full details.
Q3 - Can the theme be used with non-Windows operating systems?
- Basically, this theme consists of folders containing various files as detailed
in Q1 above, some of which may be specific to Windows, but others which are
universal formats. So you can use much of the contents how you wish. There
are usually programs available for converting common files used by other operating
systems. The exception is the screen saver, which is designed only for use
on Windows.
Q4 - My mini screen saver seems to have disappeared from the Display Properties,
where is it?
- I have discovered that if you do not copy the full contents of the 'Oscar'
subfolder to your Windows or Windows/System directory, it will disappear from
your screen saver list if you choose a different one. You will therefore have
to install it again by finding the file Oscar.scr and right-clicking on it,
then selecting 'install'.
Q5 - My cursors / icons / sounds / wallpaper are not working anymore.
Why?
- The most probable cause will be if you have moved any of the directories
where they reside, or renamed them. Other reasons might be because another
program has overwritten them, or the system has reverted to defaults due to
an error.
Q6 - All the files have been installed in one folder, and/or the screen
saver won't work. What can I do?
- In case your zip utility is unable to extract the files to the preset directories,
or you forgot to set this option, there is a complete list in the 'readme'
text file, which details the subfolders each file should reside in. The files
Oscar.scr and Oscar.ini should be placed in your Windows or Windows/System
directory, along with the subfolder 'Oscar', which should contain all the
mini R4 bitmaps (greenR4, redR4 etc.), address.bmp and one other file called
Oscar.seq.
Q7 - Why doesn't my monitor shut down during the Minisaver?
- You may find some or all of the power saving features of your monitor do
not work when using the Minisaver. This is probably due to the program being
written some while ago, but may depend also on your operating system version.
It is possible that the screen saver will just continue running, or your desktop
may be displayed again at the time the monitor would normally be set to shut
down or switch to standby. Unfortunately this is a quirk of the Oscar Screen
Saver program and is out of my control.
Q8 - What is the difference between version numbers?
- Not a lot, the latter version 1.1 was only updated in April 2003 because
of the change in the website address which appears in some of the files. A
few images in the screen saver were tweaked, and the wallpapers show the correct
new address. One of these, named 'R4_576.bmp' is a little different to the
original. Also the total size of the zip file is now marginally less.
Q1 - Does the favicon work with browsers other than Internet Explorer
5 or higher?
- I haven't tested it, but I believe Netscape 7 may now support them. Future
versions of other browsers may well incorporate it.
Q2 - I have IE5 or higher, but use a Mac or non-Windows operating system.
Will it still work?
- Although I believe they do not show up automatically on the Mac, by saving
it to your hard drive, you may well find your OS has an option somewhere to
change a bookmark icon.
Q3 - The icon image doesn't show on the four files page of this site,
only the alternate text 'favicon.ico'.
- This is probably because icon files have no associated program for opening
them on your computer, or your browser cannot support them inside the browser
window. Try saving it anyway as instructed and see if it appears on your bookmarks
list. In some browsers you may need to left-click the text link 'favicon.ico'
first, then save the icon which appears on the resulting page. If you are
familiar with changing file associations in Windows, you may wish to check
whether icons have any set program for opening them.
Q4 - Why should I bother saving it, and where can I find out more about
favicons?
- Favicons usually get stored in a temporary folder for files viewed on the
Internet, and therefore are deleted from the cache after a short while. Sometimes
the only way to recapture them is to re-bookmark a site, so saving them to
your drive will ensure they remain visible permanently. For further info see
the favicon website - http://www.favicon.com
If you have a question or problem which is not addressed here, you can email me at 4play@renault4.plus.com and put the word spangles in the subject header. However, I am unable to answer any issues relating to the original Instant Roller screen saver program as I did not write it.
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