Package and Deployment Wizard Help Information
The following steps outline the process to follow when using the Package and Deployment Wizard. When these steps have been followed please read the notes for Optimising your key for the Internet. If you still have questions after you have followed the seven steps please contact us.
How to package Lucid Internet Keys using the Package & Deployment Wizard:
Step 1: Open the Package and Deployment Wizard (PDW)
Step 2: Select the LCD file for packaging
Step 3: Setting the Key properties
Step 1: Open the Package & Deployment Wizard (PDW). Click the right-hand button labeled "Package for Web".
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Step 2: After the information screen the next step is to select the LCD file (Lucid Key) you wish to package for Internet use.
Once you have selected the LCD file click next.
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Step 3: Setting the Key properties.
Custom Language File: If your key uses a custom language file or is in another language this option allows you to select the correct language file to be included with your key.
Custom Help File: If you have created your own help file for your key you can include it using this option. The two types of help file supported are the standard windows help file format or the newer compile html help format.
Custom Tutorial Files: The Lucid Tutorial files are a set of 10 RTF files the Player uses to take a user through some of the features available. These files can be fully customised to suit your key if desired. If this option is selected the PDW will ask for the location of the first tutorial file and then automatically locate the others for inclusion into your key. See Tutorial settings for further information on tutorial files.
Add/Remove Expert Routes: If you have created expert routes for your key you can use these buttons to include or remove them from your key. For more information on Expert Routes click here.
Maximise Front Screen on Start-up: If this option is checked the Lucid Player will automatically maximise the opening screen to your key. This option is not recommend if you have chosen to use an image instead of HTML as it will be stretched to fit the user screen resolution.
Tutorial Settings
If you open a tutorial file in a RTF editor you will notice special tags within << >>. For example: <<Long_Key_Title>>.
These tags are replaced with the text provided from the Tutorial Properties dialog (above) when the tutorial is run in the Player.
The tutorial files can be customised to suit your key if desired. Just edit the RTF file in an editor and save. It is not recommend to save over the original tutorial files. The tags can be placed anywhere within the text.
Tutorial Visible in Menu: This option affects the help menu within the Player. If checked the Show Tutorial option will appear. If unchecked this option will be unavailable to the user. The default state for this option is checked.
Show Tutorial on Startup: If this option is checked the tutorial will automatically be opened for the user when the key loads. Please note that the user can override this option for subsequent times the key is opened.
Short Key Title: If your key has an abbreviated or shortened title from it's official name then you can enter it here. Short Key Title and Long Key Title can be the same if desired.
Long Key Title: This is the full title of your key. It can be the same as the Short Key Title if desired.
Key Scope Statement: This statement makes up the final part of the following paragraph found in the tutorial file "tutorial.p1".
"<<Long_Key_Title>> is a powerful yet simple interactive identification and information system. It will allow you to identify and find information for <<Key_Scope_Statement>>."
Again this text can be customised to suit your key.
Example Character: This is selected from a drop down menu when clicked. It displays all characters available within your key. Wherever the <<Example_Character>> tag appears within the text this character will be used.
Example Graphic Character: This is selected from a drop down menu when clicked. It will display all of the character states available within your key. Wherever the <<Example_Graphic_Character>> tag appears within the text this character state will be used.
Note: The tutorial files can be found in the Lucid\setup directory and have the file extension .px. For example: tutorial.p0, tutorial.p1, ...tutorial.p9.
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The above screen is an example of a key's Internet Properties for a key hosted on Lucidcentral.
URL of your key's root folder on your web server: This is the location of where all of the key's media folders are located on the web server. There is no need to type http:// as a part of the URL as the Player will automatically append this if needed. Once the PDW has packaged your LCD file you should copy your key's media folder to this location. This is explained in further detail in the default template created at the end of the packaging process. See Key Template.
URL of your key's front screen: This is the location of either an image front screen or a HTML front screen. The PDW will automatically fill out this option based on what was entered for the URL root folder option above. Care should be taken to ensure this is the correct location and file you wish to use. If you do not have any kind of front screen then you should clear this option by deleting the text. The player will then use its default opening screen picture.
URL of your key's About Key Page: This the location of your key's About page. If there is not an About key page associated with your key you should clear this option by deleting the text.
URL of your key's General Information: This is the location of your key's general information page. If there is not a General Information page associated with your key you should clear this option by deleting the text.
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Step 5: Subkeys.
As shown in the screen above this key has a number of subkeys associated with it. When the PDW first loads a key the subkeys are listed without any URL information. Each subkey needs to be supplied with this URL information so the Lucid Player knows where to download them from. To edit the subkeys' location click on the Sub_key field and type in the text. Again no http:// is needed. Also note that each of the subkeys need to be packaged for the Internet by the PDW. Subkeys don't necessarily need to be located on the same web server. For example you may be developing keys with a colleague on the other side of the world each with your own web server. Each of you could host your own keys and just reference the other's keys via the correct URL location.
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Step 6: Player Settings
The Player setting dialog allows you to control certain aspects of how the Lucid Player operates. All of these settings are optional.
Character Information settings
Suppress State Images: This option stops the Lucid Player from displaying state images in the character list. This is useful if you are already including the state images in the State HTML notes.
Suppress State Notes: This option stops the Lucid Player from displaying the States notes.
Character Notes Height: This option is only available if the Suppress State Notes is not selected. This allows you to control the height of the State notes window. The measurement for this option is in pixels.
Character Notes Width: This option is only available if the Suppress State Notes is not selected. This allows you to control the width of the State notes window. The measurement for this option is in pixels.
Taxa Notes Height: This allows you to control the height of the Taxa notes window. The measurement for this option is in pixels.
Taxa Notes Width: This allows you to control the width of the Taxa notes window. The measurement for this option is in pixels.
Sets
All: This option is the default action for the Lucid Player. All sets that are within the key will be shown and be available to the user when the key opens.
Select Default sets for key start: If you have one or more sets within your key you can specify which will be available to the user by default when the key loads in the Player. To select multiple sets either hold down the shift key and click to select bulk sets or hold down the ctrl key to individually select sets.
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Step 7: Packaging complete.
Once you have clicked OK in the Keys Properties dialog, the next dialog will show that the packaging has completed. As seen above.
Keys packaged for the Internet by the PDW can be found in the lucid\lcd directory. This LCD file should then be copied to the web server. No special location on the web server is required as all of the internet settings required to run the key are contained within the LCD file. We recommend copying the LCD file to the key's URL root folder defined in the Internet Properties Dialog (Step 4). The LCD file in fact does not even have to be placed on a web server it could be posted on a newsgroup or e-mailed to friends or associates. If the LCD file is hosted on a web server then you will also need a web page which allows users to download the LCD file and what to do. The PDW generates a customised template file for each key packaged. It also contains some instructions on where to copy the key's media folders. This template page is only a suggestion of how your web page should look like. Please feel free to modify it or develop your own.
An example of a template for a key is shown below.
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Notes for Optimising your key for the Internet.
The Lucid LCD file has already been compressed to make it as small as possible, so there is no benefit or need to archive it (e.g. ZIP it) for the download page. This would just add another step for the end user to run your key by having to extract the archive.
Usually the biggest area of optimisation is in the media attached to your keys.
For example:
Ensure you use a compressed image format such as JPEG and that images have been optimised for screen resolution which is around 72 DPI. (For more information on JPEGs see (http://www.jpeg.org/). This will ensure that your images have a small file size and are quick to load even on slow Internet connections.
If your key contains video or sound, instead of attaching them as a download try to use streaming media technology via your html page. (see your Systems Administrator for more information on this topic).
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Lucid tools
Package & Deployment Wizard (PDW)
What is the PDW?PDW Help
Lucid Score Reporter
What is the Reporter?Score Reporter Help
RTF2HTML Converter
What is the Converter?Converter Help
Converter Licence
Lucid Translator
What is the Translator?What is the Converter
DHTML Editor
What is the Editor