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National Gallery of Art - HELP

Frequently Asked Questions: Virtual Tours

If you have a question about our Virtual Tours, please read through the list of commonly asked questions. If your question is not addressed by the list, please e-mail it to us by clicking on "I still have a question." We will get back to you as soon as possible. Thank you.

  1. What are the recomended system requirements to view this virtual tour?
  2. Do I need a plug-in to view this virtual tour?
  3. What is QuickTime VR?
  4. How do I download QuickTime?
  5. How do I install QuickTime?
  6. How do I know that the plug-in is installed correctly?
  7. How do I navigate within the QuickTime VR panoramas?
  8. Technical Support

1. What are the recomended system requirements to view this virtual tour?

Macintosh Users
A PowerPC processor-based Macintosh computer
At least 64 MB RAM
Mac OS 8.6 or later

Apple's QuickTime 5.x or higher software

Download QuickTime for Power PC Macintosh.

Download QuickTime for 68020, 68030, or 68040 processor-based Macs.

Also required: frames-enabled browser; monitor capable of 800 x 600 resolution or higher; resized browser window to maximum width at 800 x 600 resolution; bandwidth considerations: file sizes vary from approximately 2k to 200k; allocate at least 24MB of memory to your browser if possible.

Windows Users
A Pentium-based PC or compatible computer
At least 64MB of RAM
Windows 98, NT, Me, 2000, or XP system software
A Sound Blaster or compatible sound card and speakers
Apple's QuickTime 5.x or higher software

Download QuickTime for Windows 98/NT/Me/2000/XP.

Also required: frames-enabled browser; monitor capable of 800 x 600 resolution or higher; resized browser window to maximum width at 800 x 600 resolution; bandwidth considerations: file sizes vary from approximately 2k to 200k; allocate at least 24MB of memory to your browser if possible.

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2. Do I need a plug-in to view this virtual tour?

You must have version 5.0 or later QuickTime software installed on your Macintosh or Windows computer in order to achieve the full functionality of the QuickTime VR panoramas included in these tours. We recommend that you download the latest version of QuickTime currently offered from the Apple Web site to take full advantage of our virtual tours.

Some NGA virtual tours are also offered in low-bandwidth versions where a plug-in is not needed. The welcome page for each virtual tour indicates whether a low-bandwidth version is available.

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3. What is QuickTime VR?

QuickTime VR allows users to view and navigate environments created using Virtual Reality Markup Language (VRML) 2.0 specifications. QuickTime VR is available as a browser plug-in for Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and America Online 3 or later browsers and the Macintosh and Windows platforms. This plug-in is automatically installed in your browser's plug-in folder when the QuickTime installer is run.

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4. How do I download QuickTime?

  • Macintosh and Windows users can download the latest version of QuickTime from the Apple Web site.
    Fill out the registration form.
    Choose the appropriate platform: Macintosh or Windows.
    Click to download.
  • Downloading begins as soon as you click the download site link.

  • Take note of the directory or folder that contains the file you are getting. You will need to find this file to install QuickTime.

  • The file that you download is compressed and should expand automatically. If it does not, you must expand the file using a program such as Stuffit Expander (Macintosh), or a ZIP utility (Windows). If you do not have Stuffit Expander, you can obtain a copy by visiting http://www.aladdinsys.com. To open a file with Stuffit Expander first double-click the Stuffit Expander icon. Choose Expand from the File menu and select the file that you downloaded. Click the Expand button. A dialog box will appear as the file expands into the same folder as the original encoded file (or onto the Macintosh desktop, if you have not altered the default setting).

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5. How do I install QuickTime?

Macintosh Users

  • Find the folder containing the downloaded file and double-click the file. Click continue at the product name. Click to agree or disagree to the software license agreement. You will be taken to the installation screen.

  • At the installation screen, choose a full, minimum or custom install version of the software. If you install your new software into a machine that contains an older version of the product, your old version will be overwritten. If you wish to keep a copy of the old version as a backup, you should remove all components to a new location before installing the newer version.

  • You will be prompted to enter registration information if you are a QuickTime Pro user. If you are not a QuickTime Pro user or are unsure if you are, simply click continue to begin the QuickTime component download. It is not neccessary to be a QuickTime Pro user to achieve the full function of our VR tours.

  • Click continue at the next prompt and the QuickTime installation software will download and install the components you have specified. You must maintain an active Internet connection to complete the download and installation process.

  • Once the new software is successfully installed, you will be prompted to restart your computer. Once restarted, your Macintosh will be able to immediately take advantage of the QuickTime VR function through your browser. The appropriate browser plug-in is automatically installed in the plug-ins folder of every browser installed on your computer.

Windows Users

  • Before installing, you should shut down all other applications. Find the folder containing the downloaded file and double-click it. At the dialog box asking whether you want to install the software, click Yes. You will be taken to the installer program.

  • In the installer, you will see a series of setup screens. Be sure to read and follow the instructions on each screen carefully. You will be asked to read and agree to a license agreement, choose a location in which to install the software, and choose or create the folder name for the program. If you install your new software into the folder that contains your current version of the product, your old version will be overwritten. If you wish to keep a copy of the old version as a backup, simply create a new folder for the software you are about to install.

  • You will be prompted to enter registration information if you are a QuickTime Pro user. If you are not a QuickTime Pro user or are unsure if you are, simply click continue to begin the QuickTime component download. It is not neccessary to be a QuickTime Pro user to achieve the full function of our VR tours.

  • Click continue at the next prompt and the QuickTime installation software will download and install the components you have specified. You must maintain an active Internet connection to complete the download and installation process.

  • You will be asked which browsers you want to have QuickTime installed on. You will be shown a list of all of the Web browsers the installer detects on your computer. Check the boxes next to the appropriate browsers and continue. The installer will not display and therefore cannot install the plug-in onto browsers that have been installed on any drive other than your C drive.

  • Once you see the prompt telling you that installation is complete, click OK. Exit your Web browser (if you did not do so before installing Quicktime) and relaunch it. You will need to do this because some programs only recognize new plug-ins during startup. You should now be able to view all Web pages that embed Quicktime content. If you experience difficulties, restart your computer and try again.

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6. How do I know that the plug-in is installed correctly?

When the QuickTime software and the QuickTime browser plug-in are correctly installed you will see the VR panorama properly displayed in the right hand frame of the VR tour. If you do not see the panorama after installation, please carefully read this document or visit the Apple QuickTime Technical Support site for solutions.

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7. How do I navigate within the QuickTime VR panoramas?

To walk through the rooms of the exhibition, click and drag your mouse inside the panorama. Notice that your cursor changes shape, allowing you different options within the space.

When the cursor appears like this, you can click and drag your mouse inside the panorama to tour the installation of the room.
When the hotspot cursor appears, a click of the mouse will prompt an action, such as a change of viewpoint or a closer view of an object and its associated text information. Clicking on an object loads a larger view of the object and any text into the left-hand frame. Clicking on a link to another viewpoint loads a new panorama.

Occasionally the National Gallery does not have permission to show a close-up view of an image. In that case only text information appears in the frame.

Options located on the VR panorama window toolbar allow you to:

Zoom in to the panorama
Zoom out of the panorama
Show available hotspots or links available within the panorama

Keyboard options can also be used for movement within the panorama.

Press the Shift key to zoom in to the space.
Press the Control key to move back out.

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8. Technical support

For further help using the QuickTime VR plug-in, see the Apple QuickTime Technical Support site.

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If you have a question pertaining to one of the topics below, please click on the specific link to see our listings of frequently asked questions. If you have a question or comment on other topics, please see our Contact Us page for an appropriate e-mail address or phone number. We will get back to you as soon as possible.

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