Help with opening resources

If the downloaded resource file does not open automatically when you double-click on it:

• Try opening it with a specific application.
  Use your mouse to right click the file and select 'Open With' from the contextual menu and select one of the listed applications.
  
• Try opening it from within an application.
  Launch the appropriate application and use Open from the File menu (or from the Microsoft Office button) and locate the file on your computer.
  
• Try opening it with your Internet Browser.
  Launch your Internet browser (Internet Explorer, FireFox, Safari) and try opening the file from the File menu.
  
• Check that the resource has fully downloaded.
  Some large resources take a long time for the file to download to your computer and can not be opened until the download is complete.
  
• Check that the resource has been unzipped.
  Multimedia resources are downloaded as compressed zip files. These files need to be uncompressed (unzipped) before you can open the contents. See: Help with unzipping files.
  
  Windows zip file   Macintosh zip file

The Learning Federation (TLF) resources can be used online using the View button or saved to a computer using the Download button. Here are some tips for opening a downloaded TLF resource.

• Each resource is downloaded as a compressed file (zip). The file will be labelled L or R followed by a number. e.g. L9564.zip or R2341.zip.  The resource file needs to be uncompressed (unzipped) before it can be used. It contains a set of files and folders.
  
  Windows zip file   Macintosh zip file
   
• To launch the resource you need to open the start file with your internet browser such as Internet Explorer, Firefox or Safari. This is usually labelled: index.html.
• Some of the latest resources from TLF have changed their naming conventions. Resources such as Federation Biography series have start files beginning with 3 digits followed by _index.xml e.g. 652_index.xml.
• TLF learning objects need the Flash plugin to be installed for the browser.
• Most TLF film resources use QuickTime plugins.
• Some older TLF learning objects operate better if opened with Safari rather than Firefox on a Macintosh.

 Office documents with file extensions ending with .docx. xlsx, .ppsx need to be opened with Office 2007 for Windows (or Office 2008 for Macintosh). If you do not have access to these versions you can download a conversion tool for your Office applications from this Microsoft location (Windows only). Other ways of opening these files:

• OpenOffice applications can be used to open most Office documents.
• Macintosh users can use TextEdit or Pages to open MS Word files.

These Interactive Whiteboard (IWB) resources need to be opened by the Activstudio and SMART tools software directly (See: How do I use flipcharts?). If you encounter a folder full of images and other files instead of a single file your computer may have accidently unzipped the resource. You will need a new copy of the file.