Thank you for downloading the 10_Q program! (10_Q_03 at the time of writing.)

Please read the notes below. They provide information on how to install the software and will also help you in the product activation process. 

I. Installing the software
1. Before you begin, please take into consideration the fact that the program creates files and folders in the program directory (the folder in which the program is installed). It also reads from and writes data to files in this location. Therefore, 10_Q won’t pass the compatibility check unless you have the proper ‘permissions’ for accessing this folder and its subfolders. ‘Full control’ permissions are required also for the program related folder in Users > UserName > AppData > Roaming. Failure to meet these requirements will result in ‘Error 1’ or ‘Error 2’ messages, respectively, at the end of the compatibility check procedure (please see Section I.4.).

The above implies that at home you may need to start the program using the ‘run as administrator’ option, and at your institution a systems administrator may have to change the respective folder permission settings for you and help with the installation of the Adobe AIR runtime (see below) and the 10_Q program. 

2. If you have not done so yet, please download and install a version of Adobe AIR runtime (Adobe AIR 30.0 or higher) for desktops, compatible with your computer. At the time of writing, Adobe AIR runtime is downloadable for free from https://airsdk.harman.com/runtime (and previously from get.adobe.com/air/). Restart the computer.

VERY IMPORTANT: 
Practice has shown that with AIR runtime version 51 installed (51.3.3.1 at the time of writing), some characters, for example curly quotation marks (single and double, left and right), 3 dots (Horizontal ellipsis), and maybe others, too, will be replaced with the wrong symbols after 10_Q_LITE decrypts a test file. For certain reasons, test files are provided to 10_Q_LITE users in encrypted form; the content is decrypted, i.e. it becomes readable on the screen when you start a test.

With Adobe Air version 33.1.1.744, downloadable from the same page on the Harman website, all characters are properly displayed. Therefore, the older version seems to be a better option! They briefly discuss on that page a software change introduced after version 33 which might be responsible for the above errors.

Luckily, it is very easy to switch from one runtime version to another after the 10_Q program has been installed. Simply uninstall the runtime which is currently on your hard disk and replace it with another one. Remember that without an Adobe AIR runtime you won’t be able to use 10_Q or the free programs! Please get a copy of 10_Q_LITE, experiment with it to find a runtime which offers error free performance, and advise your students to download and install it.

3. Unzip the program installation package (right mouse click on the ‘.zip’ file > Extract All) by specifying a folder you have created, for example, ‘10_Q_Unzipped’. Click (or double click) the ‘.air’ file in the unzipped installation package to install ‘10_Q’. A program directory will be created for you; you only have to select a hard disk drive. Copy and paste the content of the unzipped package into the newly created folder. 

4. Click the ‘exe’ (application) file in the program folder to start the program. Having just installed ‘10_Q’, you will have access to the Welcome page, the Initial program activation page, and only a few other features, including a compatibility test. This is a simple procedure to check if the program will run properly on your machine. Click the ‘Check’ button on the Welcome page and follow the instructions. Please read the product description on the Welcome page!

5. The program becomes functional after you log in with a valid password. A 10_Q ‘activation license’ entitles you to receive a login password to use the program on 1 computer. There are a couple of things to consider, apart from the compatibility test result, before purchasing a license. 
    
    a) The program may not be suitable for subject areas where a lot of special symbols or formulas are involved. These can be included in tests and presentations mainly through ‘content files’ – Word and pdf documents, images, or video clips. Students’ responses are mostly limited to mouse clicks and the standard keyboard characters. Special symbols could be entered in written responses through ‘copy and paste’ and with simple html code. (Details are provided.)
    
    b) The login password that you receive after paying for an activation license will be valid for an indefinitely long time. However, if you wish to transfer the license to another computer, you will have to use the built-in password renewal feature and obtain a new ‘10_Q’ password by disabling the current one on the ‘Program Deactivation’ page. Before performing a ‘clean’ install of an operating system, or deleting files from the program related folder in Users > UserName > AppData > Roaming (that we strongly advise against!), the license must be moved temporarily to another computer, and then returned after the upgrade. (For more details, please see the Suitability section on the website, as well as the Password renewal and Deactivation pages in the program.) 
You don’t need to deactivate ‘10_Q’ if you are upgrading the operating system with the option to keep programs and settings, or you are moving the program folder from one logical disk partition of your computer to another! 

6. The program is 100% safe. However, after installing it and trying to start it, your antivirus program may display a warning message about a possible virus threat, e.g. ‘IDP.generic’. This is a ‘false positive’, or to put it simply – a false alarm. Add the ‘suspicious’ file, most likely ‘10_Q.exe’, to your antivirus program ‘exceptions’ following the recommended method, so that you are not bothered by false alarm messages again.  

II. Obtaining an activation license

If you have decided to buy an activation license in order to receive a login password, please follow the steps below.
 
1. Click Login on the Welcome page to get to the Initial Activation page and follow the instructions to obtain an Activation code. Write down the code, click Confirm, and close the program. 

2. When installing the program on more than 1 machine, make a note of which Activation code has been generated by which computer!

3. Apply for a password (or passwords) by email providing the Activation code(s).

4. The details of your order will be confirmed by email and you can make the money transfer. Please make sure you have read the ‘Method of payment’ section before you order! After a notification of your money transfer is received, you will be emailed the password(s) needed to ‘activate’ the program.

5. Having received your 6-letter password(s) by email, start the program again. Follow the instructions on the Login page. (When multiple licenses are purchased, make sure you enter the password that corresponds to the Activation code produced by that particular machine!) A successful login will give you access to all 110 or so pages of the program and all exciting features of the 10_Q e-Learning authoring tool! It is possible to avoid entering a password after the first time – please read the instructions about the automatic login method. 

Note: To access the Login, Activation, Renewal, or Deactivation pages after enabling the automatic login feature, rename the Ini.txt file in the program directory or move it to another folder. Write down the password it contains, just in case!

III. Using the program
1. Before you begin working on your first project, please try out and experiment with the sample products included in the package to get some initial practice and experience while learning about the program. The products in question are a slide show (in 2 parts), a test, and their ‘support’ folder, all of which contain the word ‘Demo’ in their names. The file with ‘(cont)’ in the name is Part 2 of the slide show. 

The notes below explain how to initially utilize the above-mentioned products having completed all necessary procedures described in I. and II. They also illustrate the sequence of operations in general when fulfilling tasks like these. 

The notes will be of help in your first steps mostly. On your path from user to developer you will invest more and more time and efforts in creative activities – designing, testing, editing, and refining your projects.

    a) To watch ‘Demo presentation’, do the following:
    - Click ‘Log in’ on the Welcome page; that will take you either directly to the Mode of work page if you have activated the automatic login feature, or to the Login page where you will need to enter your password.
    - On the Mode of work page, enter ‘Demo folder’ in the Project folder name text field, and type ‘Demo presentation’ in the Presentation name text field.
    - Click ‘Slide show’.
    - On the Presentation Developer’s Map, click ‘Load’, then the ‘Slide show’ button, and you will see the Title page of the presentation.
    - Click the Right arrow button of the ‘Frames’ group of buttons and indicators (or press the Down arrow key) to go to Frame 1. Then, just read the explanations and follow the instructions. 
    - Please do the exercises from the ‘related’ test as a comprehension check when asked to. 
    - To return to the Mode of work page, click the ‘<<’ (Back) button.  
    
    b) To open ‘Demo test’, do the following: 
    - Click ‘Log in’ on the Welcome page; that will take you either directly to the Mode of work page if you have activated the automatic login feature, or to the Login page where you will need to enter your password.
    - On the Mode of work page, enter ‘Demo folder’ in the Project folder name text field, and type ‘Demo test’ in the Test name text field.
    - Click ‘Test’.
    - On the Test Developer’s Map, click ‘Load the test’, then the ‘Start the test’ button, and you will see the Main test page.
    - If this is the first time you have come to this page, click the ‘Help’ button and read the notes explaining how to change the interface language, access additional content, view your exercise and test results, rename the Score file, etc. Some common terms and test-taking techniques are discussed, too.
   - Enter your name, or initials, random symbols, etc., click ‘Start’, read the Teacher’s notes, and do the test! It requires some knowledge about the program, so watch the slide show first, and switch to Illustrated exercise view if the corresponding small orange button is highlighted to indicate that pictures or videos are associated with the task.  
    - Click a large orange button to open an exercise – Matching, Multiple choice, etc.; the Free form test button and those for the Speaking and Writing tasks are on the right. On completing an exercise, click ‘Submit’, click ‘Score’ at the end of the test. To return to the Test Map from any exercise page without submitting results, click ‘Back’.
    - You can open and watch ‘Demo presentation’ from the test because the 2 projects are ‘related’.
    
2. Downloading and studying carefully the articles in the Tutorials package is highly recommended! Most detailed information, however, is contained in the program’s help sections.

3. Finally, a few pieces of advice; you’ll find these in the program, but we offer them here, too, as they are essential:
    - in the slide show section, please don’t switch too quickly between frames and Unfold steps which contain pictures; wait for a frame transition or an object animation to complete, and a pdf document to load before you click a button or press a key;
    - save your projects before deleting slide show frames or exercises because the ‘Undo’ function (‘Ctrl’ + ‘Z’) is not available;
    - the ‘Enter’ key doesn’t work as in other programs; in 10_Q, you click a button or press a key to perform an operation;
    - click ‘Esc’ (Escape) to exit full-screen mode;
    - to retain the quality of images, especially those containing text,
        • don’t resize them on the Layout design page, and 
        • open your computer’s Display settings page, look for the ‘Scale and layout’ section, and set the value in the ‘Size of text, apps, and other items’ text box to 100%.
    - to prevent an accidental shutdown related to the use of ‘pdf’ files in the Free form section, open page0.pdf with your dedicated pdf reader, minimize it, and keep it in the taskbar while working with 10_Q (or any of the free versions).
    - set your dedicated pdf program (e.g. Acrobat reader) as your primary, or default application for opening pdf files. If a browser (e.g. Microsoft Edge) is selected to perform this task, the Free form test will not function properly!

Good luck with the 10_Q e-Learning authoring program!
