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See the User Forum to learn how others use Inorganic Molecules: A Visual Database, or to post your questions or suggestions.

The file "Read Me In Case of Trouble" located inside the Troubleshooting folder which has been updated below.

If you are using System 8.6 and have installed the Font Manager Update extension, Inorganic Molecules (and all other HyperCard stacks and applications) may run very slowly. To solve this problem, disable the Font Manager Update extension and restart your computer before attempting to run HyperCard stacks or applications.

There is a known incompatibility between the Visual Database and some Power Macintosh computers. When run from the CD on some Power Macintosh computers the Visual Database may not open some of the molecule pictures. The problem usually arises when the Visual Database attempts to open four graphics on one card, e.g., when the Geometry button is clicked on a molecule card. We have not observed this behavior on 680x0 computers or on any Power Macintosh computer when running the Visual Database from the hard disk drive. We have been unable to trace the problem to any particular system, configuration, or condition. Two successful "work arounds" are described below. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

1. Run the Visual Database immediately after restarting your Macintosh and before you open any other applications or control panels. If you have any items in the Startup Items folder in the System folder, be sure to remove them before restarting. In most cases this will solve the problem.
2. Run the Visual Database from your hard drive. There are two ways you can access the database from your hard drive:
   • If you have space on your hard drive, copy the entire Inorganic Molecules Database folder from the CD by clicking and dragging its icon to the desired location. This requires about 115 MB of free space on your hard disk drive.
   • If you do not have sufficient hard disk space, copy the application Visual Database (HD/CD) located in the Troubleshooting folder onto your hard drive. This requires about 2.5 MB of free disk space. This version of the program can be located anywhere on your hard drive. The only requirement is that the Inorganic Molecules CD must be mounted and visible on the Finder desktop.

"Visual Database (HD/CD)" located in the Troubleshooting folder is identical to the application named "Visual Database" with the exception of where it looks for graphics. Visual Database (HD/CD) looks for graphic data files only on the CD. Visual Database looks for its graphic data files in the same folder in which it is currently located.

Warning: DO NOT copy the Visual Database application found in the Inorganic Molecules Database folder onto your hard drive without the folder. It will not work unless it is located in the same folder (Molecules Database) as the folders containing the graphics for the database molecules.