ProtoView™ FAQ
Q: What is ProtoView™ 3D?
A: ProtoView is an ActiveX control that runs within your web browser that enables the user to view their part in three dimensions. The application will retrieve your part geometry from our server and display it within a fully manipulatable control. The look and feel is very similar to the normal ProtoQuote, but there are no static images, and the depiction of the part is interactive.
Q: How do I install ProtoView?
A: There are currently two versions of ProtoView:
Q: How do I uninstall if I need to?
A: Uninstallation can be done from the Windows Add/Remove Programs dialog. There are two different versions of ProtoView, one for IE ('ProtoView for IE') and one for Firefox/Netscape/Opera ('ProtoView Browser Plugin'). You may have one or both versions. They must be uninstalled one at a time. Follow these steps:
1. Enter the Windows 'Control Panel': Select 'Start' and 'Control Panel'
2. Select 'Add or Remove Programs' from the dialog that appears.
3. Select 'ProtoView for IE' (for Internet Explorer) or 'ProtoView Browser' (for Firefox/Chrome/Netscape/Opera) and select 'Uninstall'.
Q: My installed viewer always says 'Download Error: 403', 'Error Downloading File:', or '...check your proxy setings'
A: This usually happens when your computer is connected to the internet through a proxy server. ProtoView needs to download geometry files from the Internet and needs to know about your proxy settings.
1. Within Protoview, there is an 'Options' menu in the upper-left corner. Select 'Proxy Settings...' from this menu.
2. Within the Proxy Settings dialog (titled 'Set Proxy') press the 'Auto-Detect' button. If it was successful select 'OK'.
3. If it was not successful, input the settings manually or contact your IT department for the correct settings.
Q: I ran the install program, but my browser still asks to install ProtoView...
A: There was a browser that had loaded ProtoView and did not let the application install correctly. Follow these steps:
1. Close all browser windows.
2. Reopen the quote. Install the application again if prompted.
3. If the viewer is still not displaying, try closing the browser and re-opening it.
4. If it is still not working, uninstall the application (as above) and re-enter the quote. The installation should go smoothly at this point.
Q: How can I zoom without using a mouse wheel?
A: Zooming can also be accomplished by holding down the ctrl key and left mouse button simultaneously while dragging the mouse up and down.
Q: Internet Explorer crashes when I enter my ProtoQuote!
1. We have found that ProtoView is not compatible with the 'Windows Live Toolbar' and the 'MSN toolbar'. Uninstalling these programs has been known to fix this problem.
2. Updating the graphics card drivers have also been known to help.
3. If possible, try using Firefox, Chrome, Opera, or Netscape to view your ProtoQuote.
4. If these steps do not help, ProtoView must be uninstalled to view your ProtoQuote.
Q: All I see is a black box or strange graphics in the window. What's going on?
A: The application installed correctly, but the graphics hardware is unable to display the viewer. A known cause for this is the graphics card’s hardware acceleration is not set to a high enough level. To view your settings:
1. Enter ‘Display Properties’ by right-clicking on your desktop and selecting ‘Properties’.
2. Select the ‘Settings’ tab and press the ‘Advanced’ button at the bottom of the form.
3. Select the ‘Troubleshoot’ tab. If the slider is not set to ‘Full’ this may explain your problem.
If, after reloading your quote, this did not solve your problem, or the acceleration was already at the highest level, we recommend updating your graphics card drivers. This has also been known to solve the problem.
Q: I see only a blank white box containing a red 'x'...
A: This problem may be caused by high security settings set within Internet Explorer. This can be checked as follows:
1. Select 'Internet Options' from the 'Tools' menu.
2. Select the 'Security' tab.
3. If the security level is set to 'High', this is preventing the install program from loading.
4. If it was set to 'Medium' or lower, then the cause is unknown and we recommend a manual install available under the question 'How do I Install ProtoView?'
Specifically, the custom security setting 'Download signed ActiveX controls' must not be set to 'Disable'.
Q: ProtoView displays the error 'Download Error: 404' when I try to access my issue...
A: This is probably an intermittent problem. Try reloading your quote. If this problem persists, please let us know.
Q: I have Netscape 7.1 and my issues do not seem to be changing correctly.
It has been reported that Netscape 7.1 is not showing ProtoView issues properly. It is recommended that the user upgrade their Netscape version.
Q: Installation procedure for Firefox...
1. Navigate to your ProtoQuote or the webpage containing the plugin. A yellow bar will appear at the top of your screen.
2. Within that bar, Click the button 'Install Missing Plugins...' at the top-right corner of the screen.
3. After it has finished looking, click the 'Manual Install' button.
4. It will ask you to download 'ProtoViewSetupV1.3.exe'. Click 'Save File'.
5. Once it is finished downloading, open the file from your desktop. This will start your install process.
5a. It may not be obvious where the file downloaded to. This can be found by selecting the 'Tools' menu from within Firefox. Select 'Options' from the menu. From within the Options dialog, select the 'Main' tab and notice the section labeled 'Downloads'. This displays the directory where all downloads are saved to.
6. Click 'reload' or press F5 to refresh your ProtoQuote.
Q: Installation procedure for Netscape...
1. The steps are similar to the Firefox install.
2. The Netscape browser has been known to 'hang' after clicking the 'Install Missing Plugins...' button. In this case, use the manual install process, from the question 'How do I install ProtoView'.
3. Netscape must be closed and reloaded before ProtoView will appear.
- Note that ProtoView is not supported for Netscape version earlier that 8.0.
Q: Installation procedure for Opera...
1. Within your ProtoQuote should be a paragraph starting 'You need the latest ProtoView Browser Plugin...'. Click 'latest version here'.
2. Save the file 'ProtoViewSetupv1.3.exe' to your computer.
3. Open the file from the saved location.
4. Follow the install instructions.
5. Close Opera and restart.
6. We have noticed that the viewing area must be clicked before the part is visible. Before this, the viewing area may be filled with strange graphics from other areas of the webpage. Just click in that area.
Q: I've got a question, comment, or problem. How can I contact you?
A: We encourage you to share your thoughts about ProtoView. We can be contacted at customerservice@protolabs.com and will get back to you as soon as possible.
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