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Technology Questions
***Cick here for Flash tours of the new TaskStream interface.
1. How do I use a "Flip" Camcorder?
The "Flip" camcorders are a very useful tool to easily record videos for putting into your Electronic Portfolio. You may checkout the camcorders in the TRC . A demonstration on how to use the camcorder is available here.
To play and edit video created with the "Flip" camcorder, a "codec" will need to be installed on your computer. To install the codec, you will need to either install the software found on the camera itself (connect the camera to the computer via the USB connector), or download and install the Codec installer found here .
Once the codec is installed, you can copy the video files from the flip camera to the computer, and then use a program such as Windows Movie Maker to compress the video so the file size is 20 MB or less. Tutorial about how to compress a video is available at the Windows Movie Maker tutorial page .
2. My file is too large to upload. What can I do to reduce the size of the file?
Video Files: You have 500MB of storage in your TaskStream account that comes with your subscription. In order to save more space in your account, we recommend that each individual video file be no larger than 20 MB , and we recommend using Windows Media Video format (WMV), or
using QuickTime .MOV files if you are a Macintosh user. The steps of how to compress the file can be found here.
You may also want to capture the video at a bit rate of 256 kbps or less. Tutorial about how to compress a video is available at the Windows Movie Maker tutorial page. There is also a video tutorial here. Once you have your compressed digital file you can put it in your TaskStream portfolio. You can either store it in your Purdue Career account and link to it from TaskStream, or you can upload it directly into you TaskStream storage space. But please note: your career account will cease to exist after you graduate.
PPT or Word files : When using a scanner, the scanning resolution determines the size of the scanned image. Use a resolution of 72 dots per inch (dpi) to get a life-size image when displayed on the screens of most computers. Since computer screens display only about 72 pixels per inch, using a resolution higher than this will make your file size unnecessarily large. Use digital imaging software to crop unnecessary parts of the image. Note: Cropping the image in PowerPoint will not reduce the file size.
Reduce image size using a graphics-editing program (such as Adobe Photoshop or Microsoft Photo Editor). The smaller the dimensions of the image, the smaller the file size will be. Since computer screens display only about 72 pixels per inch, using a resolution higher than this will make your file size unnecessarily large. When you resize the image in a program such as PowerPoint, you are only making the picture appear smaller on the screen-the actual file size of the image has not been reduced at all.
Graphics in PowerPoint: Individual images should be no larger than 200 KB whenever possible. Maximum size of all the images in the presentation should be no more than 4 MB. Whenever possible, include a blank slide at the beginning of the presentation. It would seem as though adding a blank slide at the beginning of a presentation would increase file size; however, the opposite is true. The blank slide serves as the preview image-the image PowerPoint displays when you select a file in the "Open dialog" box. Since a blank slide is far less complex than the real first slide, the preview image is much smaller, thereby reducing the size of the presentation file. If you open and save a PowerPoint presentation without making any changes, the file size may increase. Repeating this process will result in file size increases up to 300% of the original file. To fix this problem: From the Tools menu, click "Options," on the "Save" tab, click to clear the "Allow Fast Saves" check box, click "OK," and save your presentation.
3. What does it mean when I get an "Error 404, Page/File not found" message?
When browsing the World Wide Web, there are many reasons why you might see such a message. Most likely the link you clicked or the URL (web address) you typed in no longer exists, has been changed, or is no longer valid. Make sure the URL that was entered is correct and try again. If you received this message in TaskStream please contact us.
4. I uploaded a file with my Mac. Now the attached file will not open. What should I do?
An error of this nature may occur if the document has been saved and then uploaded without the proper file extension because of the way Mac handles files and file extensions. We recommend you remove the file from your folio, and then re-save it to your computer, ensuring that the extension is included in the document path. Once this has been done, you should re-attach the file to your folio and then re-submit the work product for evaluation.
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Robert Evans
Director, Office of IT
Managing Director, TRC
bob@purdue.edu
(765) 496-1819
Mike Eldridge
Coordinator of Distance
Education and User Services
eldridge@purdue.edu
(765) 49-40944
Wesley Shoop
Site Specialist, User Services
shoopw@purdue.edu
(765) 49-42658
Alex Noguera
Site Specialist, User Services
anoguera@purdue.edu
(765) 49-42659
Brenda Hash
Clerk,
Technology Resources Center
trc@purdue.edu
(765) 49-45677
Karen Hearn
Clerk,
Technology Resources Center
trc@purdue.edu
(765) 49-45677
Doc Vinh
E-Portfolio Coordinator
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-43416
Ayesha Sadaf
Webmaster,
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-67323
Yun Ge
Graduate Programmer,
Administrative Databases
edit@purdue.edu
(765) 49-43416
Education IT Phone: (765) 49-42658
TRC Phone:
(765) 49-45677
TRC Web Site:
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