checking your computer for mindtap...

Version # 3.0a

MindTap 2.1

Last Edited: 9/12/2012

CHECKINGYOURCOMPUTERFORMINDTAPSYSTEMREQUIREMENTS

Contents

Introduction 3

Platforms 4

Windows 4

MacOSX 6

Screen Resolution 8

Mac 8

Windows 9

Browsers 14

Mac 15

Firefox 15

Chrome 16

Safari 17

PC 18

Firefox 18

Chrome 21

Safari 23

Internet Explorer 8 and 9 24

Enabling Cookies on your Browser 25

CHECKING FOR MINDTAP SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS_2_1.docx

Cengage Learning For MindTap users

Mac 25

Firefox 25

Chrome 27

Safari 30

PC 31

Firefox 31

Internet Explorer 8 35

Internet Explorer 9 37

Chrome 38

Safari 40

Flash Plug‐in 42

DeterminetheVersionofAdobe®Flash®PlayeronYourSystem/InstallFlash 42

Enabling JavaScript 45

Bandwidth Shaping 46

Document Revision History 47

Checking for MindTap System Requirements

MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Introduction

As a MindTap user, you should confirm that your computer has the right browser, plug‐ins and other

settings to support optimal use. Cengage Learning has created this document to make it easy for you to

check your system settings to make sure you can run MindTap.

You do not have to read this entire document. When you need to find information, use the Table of

Contents to go to the section that answers your question and follow the steps for the browser you use.

IMPORTANT:

If you are using MindTap in a computer lab, you may do not have rights to change any settings.

Contact your instructor or lab administrator if you have any questions.

This document is for reference only. Your browser may not support MindTap yet and MindTap

may support other browsers in the future. You may have to confirm your settings again.



Platforms

MindTap runs on most laptop and desktop computers, both PC and Mac. To use MindTap, confirm that

you are using one of the following operating systems:

Windows

XP SP3

Vista SP1

Windows 7

To determine the version of Windows that you have installed on your PC, try this:

SStteepp AAccttiioonn

1 Click the Start button.

OR .

2 Select Run or press the Windows logo key ( ) + R.

3 Enter winver.exe in the Open box.

OR


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4 Click OK.

Result: The version of Windows displays, along with the Service Pack, if any.

IMPORTANT: If the above procedure does not work on your PC and you are sure you have

Windows on your system, you probably have a different version. Try the following:


1 Click the Start button.

2 Enter winver.exe in the Search box that displays.




3 Press the Enter key.

Result: The About Windows window displays the version of Windows on your computer, along with the Service Pack, if any.

MacOSX

Mac OS 10.5.8

Mac OS 10.6.8

Follow this procedure to determine which version of the Mac OS (operating system) is running

on your Mac:


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


1 From the Apple menu, select About this Mac.

Result: Your operating system version displays.



ScreenResolution

MindTap requires a minimum screen resolution. Confirm that your computer’s screen resolution is 1024

x 768 or greater.

Mac

To check screen resolution on your Mac:


1 Select the Apple icon from the menu.

2 Select System Preferences.

Click Displays.


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3 Select Display.

4 Confirm your screen resolution.

NOTE: A common screen resolution on a Mac may be 1280 x 1024 for standard screens and 1280 x 800 for wide screens.

Windows

To check screen resolution on your PC (if you have Windows XP):


1 Right click the Windows desktop.

Result: Menu displays.

2 Select Properties.




3 Select the Settings tab.


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4 Click OK.



To check screen resolution on your PC (if you have Windows 7):


1 Right click the Windows desktop.


2 Select Screen resolution.

Result: Settings display.


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4 Click OK.



Browsers

MindTap is browser‐based and it runs on a variety of browsers. In general, MindTap supports the latest

version of Firefox and Chrome and the next‐to‐latest version. MindTap supports the following Internet

browsers on the operating systems listed:

Windows

— Internet Explorer (IE 8, IE 9 with Compatibility Mode turned off)

— Firefox (latest and the next‐to‐latest version)

— Chrome (latest and the next‐to‐latest version)

MAC OS 10.5.8


— Safari (4.x, 5.x )


MAC OS 10.6.8


— Safari (4.x, 5.x)


(Find your browser in this section and go through the steps to figure out which version of the browser

you have on your computer.)


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Mac

MindTap runs on Firefox, Chrome and Safari on Mac OS 10.5.x and 10.6.x. Follow these directions to

determine which version of the browser is installed on your Mac.

Firefox

Take these steps to determine which version of the Firefox browser is installed on your Mac:


1 Select About Firefox from the Firefox menu.

Result: The browser version displays.



Chrome

Follow this procedure to determine which version of Chrome is installed on your Mac:


1 Select About Google Chrome from the Chrome menu.

Result: The version of Chrome displays.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Safari

To determine which version of the Safari browser is installed on your Mac, go through these steps:


1 Select About Safari from the Safari menu.

Result: The version of Safari displays.



PC

MindTap runs on Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer 8 and 9.

NOTE: The MindTap team recommends using the most recent version of Firefox, if you have a choice.

Follow these directions to determine which version of a browser is installed on your PC:

Firefox

To determine which version of the Firefox browser is installed on your PC, open Firefox and follow

these steps:


1 Click the Firefox tab on the top left.



MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


2 Hover over Help.

Result: Help options display.




3 Select About Firefox from the Help options.

Result: The version of Firefox installed on your PC displays.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Chrome

To find out which version of Chrome is installed on your PC, open Chrome and follow these steps:


1 Click the gray wrench icon on the top right of the screen.




2 Scroll down and select About Google Chrome from the menu.

Result: The About Google Chrome screen displays the browser version.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Safari

To determine which version of Safari is installed on your PC, open Safari and follow this procedure:


1 Click the gear icon from the main Safari menu.

Result: Safari settings menu displays.

2 Scroll down and select About Safari.

Result: A window displays the browser version.



Internet Explorer 8 and 9

To determine which version of the Internet Explorer browser is installed on your PC, open IE and follow

these steps.

NOTE: Although the screens display differently for Internet Explorer 9, the procedure is similar:


1 Select Help from the main menu.

2 Select About Internet Explorer.

Result: A window displays the browser version.

IMPORTANT: Do not attempt to run Internet Explorer in Compatibility mode.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

EnablingCookiesonyourBrowser

Cookies are files that store browsing information. Websites create cookies when you visit them.

MindTap requires you to have cookies enabled on your browser, so it is fortunate that this is a default

setting on your browser. However, you need to check to make sure cookies are not disabled on the

system you are using.

Mac

Find your browser and go through these steps to confirm that cookies are set:

Firefox

Follow this procedure on your Mac to confirm that cookies are enabled on Firefox:


1 Select Preferences From the Firefox menu.

2 Navigate to the Privacy panel.




3 Choose Use custom setting for history:

4 Confirm that Accept cookies from sites is selected.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Chrome

Follow this procedure on your Mac to confirm that cookies are enabled on your Chrome browser:


1 Select Chrome from the menu bar

Select Preferences from the Chrome menu.

Result: Settings screen displays.




2 Select Show Advanced Settings. (Scroll to the bottom of the page.)

3 Click Content Settings under Privacy.

Result: Content Settings options display.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


4 Scroll to Cookies.

Select Allow local data to be set.

5 Click OK.

Result: Content settings page closes. Settings page redisplays.



Safari

Follow this procedure on your Mac to confirm that cookies are enabled on your Safari browser:


1 Select the Safari menu and select Preferences.

2 Select Privacy.

3 Scroll to Block cookies.

IMPORTANT: Do not block cookies.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

PC

Find your browser and go through these steps to confirm that cookies are set. Whenever you make any

changes in your browser settings shut down the browser and restart it.

Firefox

Follow this procedure on your PC to confirm that cookies are enabled on your Firefox browser:


1 Click the Firefox tab on the top left.

2 Select Options.

Result: Options menu displays.

3 Select Options from the Options menu.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


5 Choose Use custom setting for history, under Firefox will:




6 Confirm that Accept cookies from sites is selected.

NOTE: You can set exceptions here if you want.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Internet Explorer 8

Follow this procedure on your PC to confirm that cookies are enabled on Internet Explorer 8:


1 Select the Tools menu.

2 Select Internet Options.




3 Navigate to the Privacy tab.

4 Confirm that the slider is positioned at the appropriate level.

Result: As you move the slider, Internet Explorer displays a description of the types of cookies it blocks or allows at that privacy level.

5 Click OK.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

Internet Explorer 9

This procedure for checking whether cookies are set on Internet Explorer 9 is essentially similar to the

one for Internet Explorer 8:


1 Click the Tools button.

2 Select Internet Options.

3 Navigate to the Privacy tab.

4 Confirm that the slider is positioned at the level that you want.

Result: As you move the slider, Internet Explorer displays a description of the types of cookies it blocks or allows at that privacy level.

5 Click OK.



Chrome

Follow this procedure on your PC to confirm that cookies are set appropriately on your Chrome

browser:


1 Select the gray wrench icon on the far right of the screen.

2 Select Settings.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


3 Select Show advanced settings.

4 Click Content Settings under Privacy.

Result: Content Settings options display.




5 Confirm that Allow local data to be set is selected in the Cookies section.

Safari

Follow this procedure on your PC to confirm that cookies are set appropriately on your Safari browser:


1 Select the gear menu on the right of the screen.

2 Select Preferences.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012



3 Scroll to the Block cookies section.

IMPORTANT: Do not block cookies.



FlashPlug‐in

While you can use MindTap without the Flash plug‐in, install the latest version of the Flash Player on

your system if possible.

DeterminetheVersionofAdobe®Flash®PlayeronYourSystem/InstallFlash

If you have Flash Player installed already, follow these steps to determine which version is installed:


1 Follow this link to Adobe’s About Flash Player page.

Result: The Adobe Flash Player page displays a Version Information box.

2 View the table that displays the latest version of Flash Player for your operating system and browser.

NOTE: If the version of Flash Player you have installed is not the most current version, you may choose to download the latest installer.

3 Click this Flash Player link from Adobe.

Result: The Adobe Flash Player screen displays.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012


4 Click Download now.

Result: The Installer dialog box displays.

5 Click Save File.

6 Double click the file when the Downloads window displays.




7 Click Run when the Security Warning dialog box displays.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

EnablingJavaScript

All modern browsers have JavaScript installed and enabled by default. You can confirm that this is the

case for your system.

NOTE: You can click here to run a system information script to determine whether JavaScript is enabled

on your default browser. The Your System Information displays.



BandwidthShaping

Some institutions may use bandwidth shaping to limit bandwidth consumption by students and

instructors. You may notice a slowdown in MindTap’s response time if the network on which you are

using MindTap uses bandwidth shaping or content filtering.

While you cannot change your institution’s use of bandwidth shaping or content filtering, you can check

your connection speed. Follow these steps:

Click this link: http://www.speedtest.net/index.php

WARNING: This link does not go to a Cengage Learning site. Use this test at your own risk!

Click Begin Test.

Result: Your ping, download and upload speeds display.


MindTap 2.1 9/12/2012

DocumentRevisionHistory

DDaattee VVeerrssiioonn DDeessccrriippttiioonn AAuutthhoorr//EEddiittoorr

10/17/2011 .1 Initial draft of System Requirements document for students

Cindy Bailen

11/30/2011 .2 Integrating comments from review Cindy Bailen/Terri Griffin

12/5/2011 1.0 Reviewed version ready for posting Cindy Bailen/Terri Griffin

1/9/2012 2.0 Reviewed Mac sections and took new screen shots

Rose Williams

1/10/2012 2.0a Annotated new screen shots Cindy Bailen

7/9/2012 3.0 Updated for current browser versions Rose Williams/Cindy Bailen

9/12/2012 3.0a Updated for browser versions Cindy Bailen

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