ToolBook
Knowledge Base
Release Notes: ToolBook Instructor 2004 Service Pack 2
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Article: P641
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Release Notes for ToolBook 2004 Service Pack 2
June 2, 2005
New Features
With this latest release of ToolBook Instructor, end users can run HTML content exported from ToolBook without having a Java Virtual Machine installed. There is no longer a runtime dependence on Java when you export HTML content because the runtime now utilizes JavaScript instead of Java.
Another HTML runtime change in this release is the move to a single HTML document per Web page. For large books with many pages, this can cause the pages to load more quickly and may reduce the chance that the browser will be overtaxed by showing the content.
Support for the SCORM 2004 standard is provided in this release. A course prepared in ToolBook knows how to detect and communicate with a learning management system (LMS) that conforms to the SCORM 2004 specification. This new option is available when you export a book by choosing Publish to Web (DHTML) from the File menu.
You can now use the Mozilla and Firefox Web browsers to view content developed in ToolBook. When you choose Publish to Web from the File menu, the Web Specialist includes a Mozilla and Firefox option that you may select if you want to deliver content to end users who use these browsers.
Changes to Existing Features
The Universal Media Player in the Instructor Catalog now supports QuickTime files in both exported HTML applications and native .tbk files. QuickTime can be selected as a player in the editor for the Universal Media Player, and is the default player for QuickTime files (.mov and .qt files) and AAC Audio files (.aac, .m4a, .m4p, .m4b).
In the Actions Editor, the width and height properties can be set. These properties were formerly read-only.
If a user is viewing a book that is reporting results to an LMS and closes the browser window unexpectedly (by clicking the Close button on the caption bar of the browser or pressing Alt+F4), the book will send the LMS a message to suspend the course. In past releases, closing a book by clicking the browser's Close button was treated as discard results.
The following modification may change how users see the score of a course reported, particularly when they are not using an LMS. When scoring a quiz, if a question had not been attempted (answered), then the question's minimum score would be added to the total score if the minimum score was greater than zero. This would cause the score reported by a Score Quiz button to differ depending on whether the quiz was running through an LMS, because the LMS is sent the data for questions that a learner interacts with. In this release, a question will always have a score of zero until a learner interacts with it.
Neuron, the browser plug-in that allows native ToolBook .tbk files to run in browser window, can now be used in Firefox and Mozilla browsers.
A recent fix for a Windows problem with the autoexec.nt file should help alleviate issues that users may have faced when had running applications in Neuron on Windows XP SP2 machines.
Notes
Options that require a Java applet at runtime
During the HTML export process, ToolBook will determine if the following options are used in your ToolBook application. If necessary, ToolBook will add the code to make these features work in a Web browser. Although Java isn't required for running ToolBook HTML content, it is required for these optional features:
- Sending data via the HTTP Post action to a different server - A signed Java applet is required if you wish to use the Actions Editor HTTP Post functionality to post data to another server (a different server from the one where the content is hosted). This includes using the AICC communication model when the content is stored on a separate server from the LMS. If you require this functionality, select the option Use signed Java applet for AICC and HTTP Post when exporting. The end user will be prompted to accept the signed Java applet.
- Communicating via e-mail - Java is required for sending e-mail messages from ToolBook content exported to HTML (if you select the options to e-mail the score or log file, on the Web tab of the Properties for Lesson dialog box).
- Java decryption - Question answer parameters can optionally be encrypted to prevent end users from looking at the source code to determine question answers. During export to HTML, you can choose to use the default JavaScript decryption, or you may choose the more secure Java decryption option if you need to be certain that students will not be able to cheat by using reverse engineering to figure out the correct answers you have assigned to questions.
If you use any of the above features in your book, a small Java applet will be included in the exported files and used at runtime. When using a signed Java applet (for cross-domain HTTP Post), the user will be prompted to accept the signed Java applet (this is a security warning).
HTTP Post action
In Netscape and all Mozilla-based browsers, the HTTP Post action may cause early versions of the Sun JRE to hang if you are using Java for HTTP Post. The Java applet will only be used for HTTP Post if you export with the option Use signed Java applet for AICC and HTTP Post selected, and you are posting to a different server. All versions of the Sun JRE prior to 1.4.1_05 appear to exhibit this problem. The ToolBook HTML runtime detects this situation, and will not attempt to use the Java applet for HTTP Post with these versions of the Sun JRE (which will likely mean that the HTTP Post action will fail). The HTML runtime also prompts the user to update their Java runtime in this situation.
You can use the HTTP Post action to send information to a different server without using a Java applet. Normally, the ToolBook HTML runtime uses JavaScript code to perform an HTTP Post. However, JavaScript security rules prevent posting to a server other than the server where the content resides. For this scenario, ToolBook supports a signed Java applet that allows posting to a different domain (if the end user answers Yes to a security dialog). If using a Java applet is not an option, both Internet Explorer and Mozilla-based browsers provide ways of allowing posting to a different server from JavaScript code. However, it should be noted that this will reduce the security of the browser. It also requires that all your end users make changes to their browser configuration. For a description of the necessary changes, consult:
http://kb.sumtotalsystems.com/community_kb_tb_display.asp?id=Q111781680000014
Mozilla-based browser support
This ToolBook release supports all Web browsers that use the Mozilla engine (version 1.5 and above). The following information applies to any Mozilla-based browsers that do not include the Mozilla ActiveX plug-in (since Netscape includes this plug-in, this section doesn't apply to Netscape).
In the Firefox and Mozilla browsers, the Windows Media Player has issues playing files in some scenarios. We recommend that you use a different media player if you plan to deliver content with media files through these browsers. The Windows Media Player plug-in used by Mozilla based browsers such as Firefox and Mozilla is not scriptable which means it cannot be controlled from JavaScript. ToolBook features that require the Windows Media Player will not work as expected in these browsers (note that this problem does not occur in Netscape, which uses the Windows Media Player ActiveX control, which is scriptable).
If you are using the Universal Media Player and plan to support Mozilla browsers, we recommend that you choose a media player other than the Windows Media Player (on the Advanced tab of the Properties for Universal Media Player dialog box). In this release, we've added support for the QuickTime player, which supports many of the media formats supported by the Windows Media Player.
If you use the Firefox or Mozilla-based browsers to play HTML content exported from ToolBook, audio will not work in the following situations:
- Media buttons from the Instructor Catalog - we recommend that you use actions to play a Universal Media Player instead. Use the Universal Media Player from the Instructor Catalog configured to play the appropriate audio file without selecting the Windows Media Player (the Universal Media Player allows you to select which media player to use). In the Actions Editor, choose the Media category and select the Play Media action for a button that will play your media file.
- Audio question feedback - we recommend that you use "Media Player" feedback option in the properties for a question object instead of the "Media Clip" feedback. As above, use the Universal Media Player from the Instructor Catalog.
- In a simulation playing in demonstration mode, sound effects will not play in Firefox or Mozilla.
- Audio associated with bullet objects from the Catalog will not play will not play in Firefox or Mozilla.
Pop-up blockers can stop a ToolBook application from opening in browser
A Web browser that uses a pop-up blocker utility can stop an exported ToolBook DHTML application from running in the browser window. To find out if your Web browser is running a pop-up blocker, visit http://www.popuptest.com/popuptest1.html. If an exported DHTML application will not launch due to a pop-up blocker, the pop-up blocker can be configured to permit the opening of the window, or the pop-up blocker can be disabled in order to run a ToolBook DHTML application. ToolBook can export an application to DHTML without using a launch page, and in this case a pop-up blocker will have no effect--the ToolBook application will open as usual even though the pop-up blocker is running. Keep in mind that each individual person can set the size of the browser window. A DHTML application opened without a launch page will appear in a browser window that opens at the size that was defined by the user, not the window size set by the exported DHTML application.
Very large background may cause portion of page to be not visible
If the background of a page has close to the allowed maximum size for width and height, after export to DHTML the entire page may not be visible in a browser window. This only occurs when the background is extremely large.
| OPENSCRIPT NOTICE The OpenScript programming examples found in many articles may need modification in order to work in ToolBook 9.0 or higher, particularly if the article was written for an older version of ToolBook. To learn more, click here. |
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