Below you will find information that will help explain technical issues involved in the creation of the puzzles. You may also find it helpful to consult the Puzzlemaker User Guide. If the information does not address your question, contact us. Tell us what computer and browser you are using and what puzzles and options you chose. Be as descriptive about the problem as you can.

I CREATED A PUZZLE, BUT ALL I SEE IS A BROKEN IMAGE ICON AND NO PICTURE OF MY PUZZLE. WHAT IS THE PROBLEM?
The browser you are using probably cannot display the PNG image files that Puzzlemaker uses to create a puzzle. On a PC, you need Netscape 4.51 or Internet Explorer 4.0 or above. On a Mac, you need Netscape 4.51 or Internet Explorer 5.0 or above.

WHAT IS A PNG FILE?
PNG stands for portable network graphic. The format was designed to eventually replace the GIF format. Image compression is much better with PNG files, which means it is more robust. For more information, visit the PNG home page.

HOW DO I KNOW WHICH BROWSER I AM USING?
A browser is the program that displays Web pages for you. Within your browser menus you should see a help menu; choose it and select About… A small window will appear that will tell you the name and version number of your browser.

HOW DO I KNOW IF MY BROWSER CAN VIEW PNG FILES?
To the right of this sentence is the image of a tan sphere. If you can see the sphere, your browser can view PNG files.

WHERE CAN I FIND NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR 4.51 OR INTERNET EXPLORER 4.0 OR ABOVE?
You can download Internet Explorer from the Microsoft Web site:
PC: http://www.microsoft.com/windows/ie/
MAC: http://www.microsoft.com/mac/products/ie/

You will need Netscape Navigator version 4.51 or higher. You can download Netscape from the Netscape Web site:
http://home.netscape.com/download/

ARE NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR AND INTERNET EXPLORER THE ONLY BROWSERS THAT CAN VIEW PNG FILES?
No, other browsers can view PNG files. You can find a complete list on the PNG home page.

I HAVE A RECENT VERSION OF NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR, BUT THE PNG IMAGES ARE NOT SHOWING UP. WHY NOT?
Many versions of Netscape Navigator and Communicator do not correctly display PNG files. Try right-clicking on the broken image icon and choosing View Image. If the image appears, press the back button and the page should be correctly displayed.

WHY ARE YOU USING PNG FILES?
We decided to use PNG files for several reasons. The files are royalty-free and smaller and faster to download than GIF files. We have been able to greatly increase the speed and performance of the puzzle-creation tool using PNG files.

I SAVED MY PUZZLE, BUT I CAN'T FIND IT.
To save a puzzle, you need to register with My Discovery and select "Custom Classroom" on the registration form. Registering with My Discovery creates your personal account where you can save puzzles in your Custom Classroom.

To read more about My Discovery and set-up your Custom Classroom, go to: http://school.discovery.com/customclassroom/about.html

After you join My Discovery, you can go back to Puzzlemaker, create a puzzle and click "Save my Puzzle". Once you save it, you will arrive at your Custom Classroom screen—and your puzzle should be saved.

I SEE THE EXTENSION .ASP ON GENERATED PUZZLE PAGES. WHAT IS AN ASP FILE?
ASP stands for active server page. The pages have this extension because the Puzzlemaker script uses active server language to generate the puzzle. When you save a page with the .ASP extension, you should change it to .HTML or .HTM.