 |
|
||||||||
This page is being compiled as users
give their input and ask technical questions, and will be updated
as new issues arrive. If you have technical questions about Desert
Landscaping 2.0, please refer to this page first before contacting
us.
Why
do I need the CD in order to run Desert Landscaping 2.0, even
though I installed it to my hard drive?
Several users have been confused because
of the following statement on the DL2 installation instructions: "Although able to run from the
CD, the Desert Landscaping program will run much faster if installed
on your hard drive." Installation to the hard drive refers to running
the DL2Setup.exe program in order to install important program files
and create helpful shortcuts; this will allow the program to be initialized
faster and will allow for faster program operations. The installation
program DOES NOT copy all of the plant database information and images
to your hard drive, and therefore requires the CD in order to process
the plant data. That is why you need to insert the CD into your CD-ROM
drive, even though you have already installed the software.
There is a way to copy the entire CD and run it completely from your hard drive, if you wish, but it requires additional software that we do not provide nor support. The instructions for using this software are provided below. Note: we do not offer support for the following software, nor are we responsible for any damage caused by this software. We are providing this information to be used under the end user's sole discretion.
In order to accomplish this task, it will be necessary to 'emulate' the data from the Desert Landscaping 2.0 CD as if it were an actual CD-ROM. A good freeware utility for this is called 'Daemon Tools'. It is available for download HERE. The home page is at http://www.daemon-tools.cc/, which is where you can refer to if you need specific technical help with their software or to find out more information.
You will need to download and install Daemon tools to your computer. You will also need to create an ISO disc image of Desert Landscaping 2.0. This can be done using most CD burning software. Refer to your software's documentation for specific instructions on how to do this. Or you can download a handy freeware utility called 'LC ISO Creator' HERE; you can also refer to their website, http://www.lucersoft.com/freeware.php. Create an ISO image of your Desert Landscaping 2.0 CD and place it on your hard drive in a folder that you will be able to remember, perhaps in the 'C:\Program Files\Desert Landscaping' folder which was created during installation of Desert Landscaping 2.0.
Once you have your ISO image created, run Daemon Tools. An icon that looks like a little red lightning bolt will appear in your system tray on the bottom-right-hand corner of your screen. Click on this icon and then click on 'Device 0: [X:] No Media' (where X is the letter of the next available drive on your system and can be any letter). In the 'Select new image file' box that comes up, browse to your newly created ISO file. The file is now mounted as a virtual drive and you should now be able to run Desert Landscaping 2.0 without the CD.
In 'Plant Selector', why do I have trouble getting results with the criteria I choose?
First, to make sure the search mechanism is working correctly, try doing a search without modifying any of the criteria. In other words, go to 'Plant Selector' and click immediately on 'Search Now'. Do you receive a list of results? You should have 609 matches, the total number of plants in the database.
The plant selector section is mainly designed for users who have some requirements but do not necessarily know what specific plants they want. Therefore it is most helpful when you know that you want a plant to need little irrigation and have flowers, for instance. You can select these criteria and all plants that match your criteria will be shown. Therefore broad criteria are best. If you know specifically what plant you want information on, it is best to just go to 'Plant List' and find the plant among the comprehensive list. Or you can go to 'Plant Search' and type in 'agave' for instance, and a list of all agave plants will be provided.
With the plant selector, it is important to realize that this is an exclusive search. For instance, if you go to 'Environment' and select 'Moderate' under 'Irrigation Needs' and 'Tender' under 'Hardiness', this will search for plants that meet BOTH requirements and exclude those plants that only meet one or the other. This continues for each heading under which you select specific criteria.
Also, under each heading, the criteria are inclusive, meaning that the more you have selected, the more plants you will match. For instance, selecting both 'Moderate' and 'Low' under 'Irrigation Needs' will provide you with a wider range of plants because they can have either moderate or low irrigation needs. In other words, each entry under a heading is INCLUSIVE and each separate heading is EXCLUSIVE. Hopefully this helps you understand a little bit better how the search mechanism works.
Another thing to keep in mind is that unless a search is cleared, all of the previously selected criteria will still be in effect. If you do a specific search and you get no results, then go to a different location to select different criteria, the previous criteria will still be included in the query and therefore you will again receive no results. You may want to select 'Clear Search' under the plant selector main menu after you receive no results in order to ensure that your new criteria are the only ones being applied to the query.
For other technical support questions, please email us at wrrc@cals.arizona.edu or call us at 520-792-9591.
 |
