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A0: Just send your question to faq@cinderella.de, and we will try to help.
A1.1: Cinderella should run under every operating system that has a Java-1.1 port. This includes Windows 95/98/NT/2000/XP/CE, Sun Solaris (Sparc), Linux, Mac OS 9, Mac OS X, IBM AIX, HP/UX and many others. For a list of Java-1.1 ports see Javasoft's website. If you have trouble running Cinderella on Windows XP, please refer to Question 4.6.
A1.2: Yes, provided you have MacOS 7.6.1 or newer. versions.
A1.2b: Yes, but we do not ship an installer for OS X yet. See also Question 4.7. By the way, we have switched our development environment from Linux to Mac OS X.
A1.3: Download an evaluation copy from our download page. If this runs on your computer, the regular copy will work, too.
A1.4: Please note that a suitable Java Runtime Environment for Windows 95/98/NT/2000, MacOS and Solaris (Sparc) is included in the Cinderella installer. For Linux (i386) we included a Java Runtime Environment on the Cinderella CD, or you can download it from Blackdown. For other computers please consult the list at Javasoft's website.
A1.5: We do not know about a Java Runtime Environment for SunOS 4.x. Please upgrade to Solaris 2.x (aka SunOS 5.x).
A1.6: Although there were some efforts porting Java to Windows 3.x, we could not test whether the Java support is good enough. We recommend upgrading to Windows 95 or Linux.
A1.7: As a starting point we recommend the Javasoft website at http://www.javasoft.com. There you can find a good online tutorial, which is also available as a book.
A1.8: No. Although we are sure that Cinderella would pass the necessary tests we did not apply for certification. Cinderella does not depend on platform specific features or native code.
A1.9: Probably. We did our best to support as many browsers as possible. So you should be able to view Cinderella even on platforms which are not supported with the standalone program (like SunOS 4.x. You can easily test whether your browser is Cinderella-capable by visiting our gallery. See also Q2.4 and our browser troubleshooting page.
A1.10: Yes. See also Question 4.5 for troubleshooting Cinderella installations.
A1.11: Unfortunately you cannot use the Kaffe Virtual Machine. We are currently investigating the problems with Kaffe.
A2.1: Since Cinderella is written in Java you can embed the program into web pages, as an "applet". This means that you can view constructions and interact with them in any Java-1.1 compatible browser (see Q2.4 for a list of browsers supporting Cinderella).
A2.2: You can create three types of applets: interactive constructions, automatic animations and constructions exercises. See our gallery for some examples.
A2.3: No. The necessary HTML is created by Cinderella automatically. You can edit the pages with any HTML editor.
A2.4: You can use any recent version of Netscape Navigator/Communicator (starting with 4.06), Microsoft Internet Explorer (starting with 4.01) or HotJava (starting with version 1.1.5).
A2.5: You will find Netscape 4.5 on the Cinderella CD, or download Netscape or Internet Explorer via our browser troubleshooting page.
A2.6: Sure. You may distribute them freely, including the necessary runtime library (cindyrun.jar), with no charge, as long as you do not make money out of that.
A2.7: Yes, as long as you (or somebody else) do not charge a special fee for visiting your site.
A2.8: Write a mail to license@cinderella.de describing your needs, and we will help you.
A2.9: First: Be patient. The applet download might take several minutes, especially if you visit a page for the first time. If this does not help, consult our browser troubleshooting page.
A3.1: Cinderella is available from Springer-Verlag through bookstores (ISBN 3-540-14719-5), or you can order it directly from Springer or Amazon.
A3.2: We don't know. According to Springer NY Cinderella is on stock and ships immediately. Please ask Springer Verlag if in doubt.
A4.1: Make sure you have enough (20 MB) free disk space. The installer seems to fail silently instead of complaining about a full hard disk. Windows Me: The Microsoft Java VM on Windows Me is not compatible with our installer. Please update your Java VM by downloading and installing at least "build 3820" from http://www.microsoft.com/java/vm/dl_vm40.htm.
A4.2: You will need StuffIT expander for this. Change to the MacOS directory on the CD and drop install.bin into StuffIT expander. Expand to your desktop, and you will get a "install" icon that you can execute. [This only applies to version prior to V1.0, since Cinderella now comes on a hybrid CD]
A4.3: This is a known Problem with the installer software. Copy install.bin to a temporary local directory and try again.
A4.4: On some MacOS based systems Cinderella V1.2 starts up in German, regardless of the systems´ language settings. Download a replacement for the Cinderella application from http://www.cinderella.de/support/files/mac/Cinderella.bin and replace the original application with it to enable English and other languages.
A4.5: Some versions of Cinderella will not run on Java 2 virtual machines, as we have disabled this due to the inferior circle drawing of Java 2. You can re-enable Java 2 usage by changing the line ending with "=J1" in the Cinderella.lax file (in the Cinderella installation directory) to end with "=J2 J1".
A4.6: This is due to an incompatibility of Windows with the Sun Java VM. You should be able to run Cinderella if you find the line ending with "=J1" in the Cinderella.lax file (in the Cinderella installation directory) and change it to end with "=MSJ". This will enable the use of the Microsoft Java Virtual machine. If this is not installed on you computer you can download a recent version at http://www.microsoft.com/java.
A4.7: The version of Cinderella we are shipping currently does not include a native Mac OS X installer. However, you can use Cinderella without having to switch to OS 9 or Classic mode using Terminal.app and the command line. Find the file cindy.jar and use the command "java -cp cindy.jar de.cinderella.Cindy" to run Cinderella. The next version of Cinderella will include a full installer for OS X.
A5.1: Cinderella cannot place points on arbitrary conics currently. Hyperbolic and elliptical Circles can be hyperbolas or other conics, and it is hard to decide how a point on that conic should behave when the conic changes. As a work-around you can draw a line through the center of the conic and use one intersection of that line with the conic. Euclidean circles are special, they never become hyperbolas, and thus we could add special support for points on Euclidean circles.
A5.2: No, not yet. The next version of Cinderella will support this.
A5.3: No, not yet. The next version of Cinderella will support this.
A6.1: Raise the preferred size for the MRJ in the application info. This might help (if not, please mail to faq@cinderella.de).
©1997-2002 Jürgen Richter-Gebert & Ulrich Kortenkamp. Java and all Java-based trademarks and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Cinderella is independent of Sun Microsystem, Inc. PostScript is a registered trademark of Adobe Systems, Inc. All other brand and product names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective holders. Questions? Mail to webmaster@cinderella.de! Last change: Mon Sep 13 12:54:23 2004