CNG Support Hub

Speeding up the "copy disk" process

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 19:18:31 -0500

Because of the large number of high-resolution images included in The Complete National Geographic, copying them to your hard drive (or an external hard drive) has been reported as taking anywhere from 45 minutes to 1.5 hours per disk. To decrease the length of time, be sure to turn off the autoplay feature for your DVD drive before starting the copy process. To turn off the autoplay feature,

Open your computer's Control Panel
Choose "Hardware and Sound"
Click the "Autoplay" option
Uncheck the "Use Autoplay for all media and devices"
Click Save

This procedure has been reported to reduce copying time by 20-30 minutes. Once you've finished copying your disks, you can revert to your original settings by using the above procedure to place a check in the "Use Autoplay on all media and devices" box.

Enlarging and Enhancing Text

Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:32:15 -0500

To enhance readability of pages, you can enlarge them using either of these approaches:

1) Double-click the page you're viewing;
2) Click the "Magnify Page" function on your menu bar, and then choose the degree of magnification you want. You can also choose the loupe feature under "Magnify Page" to enlarge specific portions of the page.

* You'll notice that, in enlarged mode, you can't see the entire page on your screen. To see other parts of the page, just hold down your mouse button and drag the page around on your screen.

Although all of the images in The Complete National Geographic are high-resolution, there may be times when you have difficulty reading the text, but don't necessarily want to enlarge the whole page. You can make the text appear sharper by using the "Enhance Text" button in your menu bar.

Already copied the DVDs manually?

Fri, 05 Feb 2010 00:34:23 -0500

If you've already copied your DVDs to an internal or external hard drive using a manual method, please note that if you upgrade to Version 1.26 of the Complete National Geographic software, you'll want to take the following steps to make sure the program is looking in the correct place for your copied files:

Go to "Preferences" on the navigation menu at the top of your screen.
Click on "Install Options".
Click on "Browse".
Choose the directory where you previously copied the DVDs. Some example locations on an internal hard drive are below (be sure to replace "username" with your own user name):

OSX: /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1/Local Store/cache
WinXP: C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache
Vista/Win 7
C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache
C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache
C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Loca\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store#SharedObjects

5. Click "Apply" and "Ok".
6. To test, go back to the Welcome Menu and click on "Browse by Year".
7: Click on any year.
8. Click on "Read Issue" of the magazine in the center of the carousel.
9. If you're able to read the issue, The Complete National Geographic is looking in the correct directory that you chose, and you're ready to enjoy The Complete National Geographic!

A Windows 7 user reported that she was unable to change the default directory after manually copying the discs and updating the software. The problem was resolved using these steps:

Uninstall the program using Windows Uninstall.
Delete all associated National Geographic files (search your hard drive for terms like natgeo, CNG, and Complete National Geographic). DO NOT DELETE THE IMAGE FILES THAT YOU COPIED PREVIOUSLY (discs 1-6).
Download the latest version of the program using this link: CNG Most Recent Version
Run the program. You should now be able to change the default directory if needed.

Update: Copying The Complete National Geographic to a Hard Drive

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:12:20 -0500

Good news - our latest software update contains the much-awaited "Copy to Hard Drive" functionality! This will allow you to copy The Complete National Geographic's image files to any location you choose, whether it's your computer's internal hard drive or an external hard drive. Once you've completed this process, you'll be able to enjoy The Complete National Geographic without swapping DVDs.

Before you begin, there are a few things to remember:

You will need to have at least 45GB of free space on your drive (internal or external).
The length of time to copy each disc varies, depending on your system, and whether you're running other programs at the same time. Some people have reported it taking as little as 20 minutes per disc while most report the process as taking anywhere from 45 minutes to three hours per DVD. (We've discovered that disabling your system's "Autoplay" DVD feature before beginning helps to speed up the process somewhat.)

If you have already copied the Complete National Geographic DVDs using a manual method, please see the next blog entry.

Copying the DVDs:

Make sure that you're connected to the Internet.
Start The Complete National Geographic.
Insert disc 1 into your computer's DVD drive.
After the program starts, click "Preferences" in the navigation menu at the top of your screen.
Click "Check for Updates Now". If you're informed that no updates are available, you already have the most recent version, so go to the next step. If you're informed that there's an update available (version 1.26 build 946), go ahead and download it. Once the update is downloaded, The Complete National Geographic will re-launch.
Click "Preferences" in the navigation bar at the top of your screen.
Click "Install Options" on the Preferences popup. You'll now be able to choose where The Complete National Geographic's DVDs will be copied:

If you want to copy the DVDs to the default location on your computer's internal hard drive, go to step 8.
If you'd like to copy the DVDs to a different directory on your internal hard drive, click "Browse" to locate your preferred directory. You can also choose to create a new directory during this step.
If you'd like to copy the DVDs to an external hard drive, plug the drive into your computer so that it will be recognized. Click "Browse" to choose your preferred directory on your external hard drive.

8. Click "Copy CNG Content to Local Drive".
9. The application will start copying content from Disc #1 - 2008-1995. Once the first disc is copied, you'll be prompted to insert the next disc. Continue following the prompts until all 6 discs are copied.
10. After all the discs have been copied, you'll be able to use all of the functions of The Complete National Geographic without changing DVDs.

New Update Activates "Copy to Hard Drive" Functionality

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:07:40 -0500

The long awaited "Copy-DVDs-to-hard drive" functionality has been activated in the latest update. This will allow users to copy the DVDs from within the application.

Make sure you update your software. Go to Preferences and then to Installation Options and follow the directions laid out on the screen.

Please note: This process will take several hours given the large number of images and content files that will be copied.

Download a Copy of the End User Licensing Agreement

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 19:38:56 -0500

For those of you who requested a copy of The Complete National Geographic end user licensing agreement (EULA), you may now download it here:

The Complete National Geographic: 120 Years EULA

Thanks, Readers! (Copying to an External Drive)

Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:55:05 -0500

Please note: The information in the original blog entry below is no longer relevant as the "Copy to Hard Drive" functionality is now activated from within the program.

Make certain you have installed all recent updates.

Go to Preferences>Installation Options and follow the instructions. You will be able to copy your DVDs to local or external hard drives.

If you previously used the manual workaround(s) described below, you do not have to re-copy; however, should you decide to, you will need to uninstall the program and the files you copied manually prior to using the CNG application's functionality.

Following is the original blog entry:

Two of our readers have posted a straightforward method they used to copy The Complete National Geographic to an external hard drive. We're happy to report that we've tested their process on Windows 7 and XP and it worked for us! Eduardo (below) reports that it works with Leopard as well.

In a nutshell, the process involves copying all files to an external drive, and then installing the program FROM that external hard drive. If you've already installed the program, you'll want to uninstall it before beginning this process. And we'd like to stress the importance of updating the program the first time you run it.

In case you missed Joseph and Eduardo's comments the first time around, we're linking to them for your consideration:

Read Joseph Canonica's solution here.
Read Eduardo's solution here.

* Please note that this is an unofficial solution -- we're elevating this to our Tech Team, but they haven't yet OK'd the process, so proceed at your own risk.

Ask the CNG Support Team

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 17:37:04 -0500

As many of you know, we've been reaching out by email and phone to some of you who have had problems installing or running The Complete National Geographic. If you haven't found the answer to your problem in this blog or the FAQ, please don't hesitate to contact us via Ask the CNG Support Team link, which can be found on the left-hand side of these pages. When you fill in the form, please be sure to provide as much detail about your problem as possible, and include the method by which you'd like us to contact you (email or phone).

* For your own safety, please do NOT post any of your personal information (email addresses or phone numbers) here on the blog. Using the Ask the CNG Support Team link will ensure that your communication with us is private.

Printable Help Documentation

Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:23:51 -0500

Happy New Year, everyone!

Many of you have asked for a way to print the help documentation for The Complete National Geographic: 120 Years, so we have made it available to you. Just go to the following link:

Help: The Complete National Geographic: 120 Years

and you can print and/or save the file.

Incomplete Install Issue: No need to uninstall

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 15:02:41 -0500

For those of you who may have had difficulty installing The Complete National Geographic, resulting in a partially installed program (it won't start, or it won't allow you to re-install), there is no need to uninstall the program as described earlier in the FAQ. Instead, just delete the natgeo_temp folder in your home folder. Then you'll be able to re-install the program.

Vista & Win7 Users: this folder is usually found at C:\Users\username\natgeo_temp.
WinXP Users: this folder is usually found at C:\Documents and Settings\username\natgeo_temp.

(Remember to replace "username" with your own user name when looking for this folder.)

After deleting this folder, you should be able to reinstall the program as described in the FAQ, following one of the options below:

For users with high speed broadband access:

Go to: www.nationalgeographic.com/updates/products/cng120/ClickToInstall.html
Run The Complete National Geographic web installer. This has the latest version of Adobe Air, as well as the latest version of The Complete National Geographic.
The Complete National Geographic can now be launched.

For users with inconsistent or slower broadband access:

Disconnect your computer from the Internet -- unplug the network cable and disable any wireless networking.
Install The Complete National Geographic, using your DVDs or The Complete National Geographic hard drive.
Reconnect your computer to the Internet. (At some point later, the AIR runtime will automatically detect that an update is available. When you're prompted to download it, it's safe to apply this update.)
Launch The Complete National Geographic and click "Preferences" on the menu bar at the top of your screen. If you have v1.22 or lower, click on "Check for Updates Now" > "Check for Updates" > "Download Now". This will ensure that you're running the latest version of The Complete National Geographic.

Alternate method for users with inconsistent or slower broadband access:

Before beginning the re-install, download and install the latest AIR runtime directly from the Adobe website (http://get.adobe.com/air/).
Install The Complete National Geographic from your DVDs or The Complete National Geographic hard drive, but be sure to choose the "Don't upgrade AIR Runtime" option. (This may sound misleading, but you've already downloaded the latest version in step 1.)
Now the application will install correctly.
Launch The Complete National Geographic and click "Preferences" in the menu bar at the top of your screen. If you have v1.22 or lower, click on "Check for Updates Now" > "Check for Update"s > "Download Now". This will ensure that you're running the latest version of The Complete National Geographic.

Update: Copy-to-Hard Drive for PC and Snow Leopard Users

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 15:28:34 -0500

Please note: The information in the original blog entry below is no longer relevant as the "Copy to Hard Drive" functionality is now activated from within the program.

Make certain you have installed all recent updates.

Go to Preferences>Installation Options and follow the instructions. You will be able to copy your DVDs to local or external hard drives.

If you previously used the manual workaround(s) described below, you do not have to re-copy; however, should you decide to, you will need to uninstall the program and the files you copied manually prior to using the CNG application's functionality.
The original entry follows:

*This is an update to the earlier post about copying The Complete National Geographic DVDs for PC and Snow Leopard users. If you are running Tiger/Leopard on Mac, please see the Updated Mac (Tiger/Leopard) Instructions instead.
We suggest you read through these instructions before beginning the process.

Requirements: You must have the following to begin:

Computer with The Complete National Geographic v1.12 or later already installed
6 CNG DVDs (NOT the Bonus DVD)
50 GB of free space on your hard drive
A good chunk of time. This procedure will take several hours (most of this time will be spent waiting, allowing you to do other things).

Locating the cache folder:

Locate the cache folder using Finder (OSX) or Windows Explorer (Windows XP/Vista/7). Since these are files that are normally hidden in Windows, you may need to unhide them. To do this,
After opening Windows Explorer, click "Organize" at the top of your screen.
Click "Folder & Search Options"
Click the "View" tab
Check "Hidden files and folders"
Choose "Show hidden files, folders or drives".

Depending on your operating system, you will find the cache folder in one of the locations below. You'll know you've found the correct cache folder if it contains one subfolder called "thumbs".

OSX:
/Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1/Local Store/cache
Win XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application Data\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache

Vista/Win 7 (Click the Windows icon at the lower left hand side of your desktop and paste the first link below in the search box. Be sure to replace "UserName" with your own user name first. If you don't see the cache folder, try one of the other links below. Again, be sure to replace "UserName" with your own user name.)
C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Local\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache

OR

C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Roaming\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\cache

OR

C:\Users\UserName\AppData\Loca\com.nationalgeographic.products.cng120.68B1CC4249876152EBE333BD4B7514ADB4D94062.1\Local Store\#SharedObjects
(Be sure to replace "UserName" with your own user name)

Copying the DVDs:
If the Complete National Geographic program is running, shut it down by clicking "Exit".
Insert Disc 1 into the DVD drive
Wait for the disc to be recognized, but don't run the disc. Instead, click "open to see files". If you automatically get a message which says "application is current", right click on the drive. Then click "open" to see the files.
Drag the "disc1" folder from the DVD drive to the cache folder on your hard drive (NOT into the "thumbs" subfolder). This should begin the copy process.
You do not need to copy any other files or folders from this DVD.
Repeat steps 3-5 for the remaining DVDs, in any order.
Once you're finished copying the discs, your cache folder should contain ONLY these subfolders:
disc1
disc2
disc3
disc4
disc5
disc6
thumbs

You can now run The Complete National Geographic from your hard drive!

A few notes...

Once you've copied all of the DVDs, the application will automatically look in your cache folder for any images it needs. If you're still asked to "Insert Disc1" when running The Complete National Geographic, hold down the "ALT" key and click on "Okay". That should move you past this message.

~~If you uninstall The Complete National Geographic at some point, the discs you copied will not be uninstalled.~~

Update: Copy-to-Hard Drive for Mac Users

Tue, 15 Dec 2009 14:55:00 -0500

Please note: The information in the original blog entry below is no longer relevant as the "Copy to Hard Drive" functionality is now activated from within the program.

- Make certain you have installed all recent updates.

- Go to Preferences>Installation Options and follow the instructions. You will be able to copy your DVDs to local or external hard drives.

- If you previously used the manual workaround(s) described below, you do not have to re-copy; however, should you decide to, you will need to uninstall the program and the files you copied manually prior to using the CNG application's functionality.

This is an update to the copying instructions previously posted for Mac Tiger/Leopard users. Please note that these instructions do not work with the Snow Leopard operating system. If you are running Snow Leopard, please follow the Updated PC/Snow Leopard instructions instead.

REQUIREMENTS: First, be sure that you meet these requirements:

~~A Mac running 10.4.11 or higher~~
~~CNG application v1.12 or higher (check "Preferences" in your program to see if you have the latest version)~~
~~The 6 DVD The Complete National Geographic set (Note: This app will not copy from the external hard drive CNG product)~~
~~50 GB of free space in your home folder (usually /Users/yourUserName)~~

COPYING THE DVDs: To copy all the content from the 6 DVDs to your Mac's hard drive:

~~Close the CNG app if it is currently running by clicking "Exit".~~
Go to: www.nationalgeographic.com/updates/products/cng120/CNG_DVD_Installer_RC7.zip (Users opening through Safari may have difficulty opening the link. If you experience problems, try using FireFox or Internet Explorer instead.
~~Download the file to anyplace on your hard drive and run the file.~~
~~Insert Disc 1 once the application requests it.~~
Wait for some indication that the DVD is being copied -- you'll either see the "percentage complete" increase, or the number of megabytes copied will increase. It may take anywhere from 30-90 seconds for the program to read each DVD and each disk will take between 30-45 minutes to copy.
~~When prompted to swap the next disc, do so.~~
~~Continue until all 6 DVDs have been copied.~~

~~Once the full-content installation is complete, you should be able the launch the The Complete National Geographic and browse to any issue without requiring any DVDs.~~

~~A few notes...~~

Hard Drive Space: Be sure that you have at least 50 GB of free space on your hard drive. If you don't, the application will will not proceed with the installation.
Cancellation: When the application starts again after being cancelled, it will not continue if you have less than 50GB of space free. If you have already copied 3 DVDs, it will not re-start unless you have room for 6 DVDs.
DVD Icon: Once the full content is installed, The Complete National Geographic DVD icon in the top menu bar may not change. The icon may still read "No DVD" (if none is inserted) or "DVD x" if a CNG DVD is in the drive.
Uninstall: Uninstalling The Complete National Geographic will NOT uninstall the DVDs you copied.

Reposting: Windows Users Potential Install Issue

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:41:13 -0500

Our note about the changes we'll be making to this page (see last entry), bumped the Windows Users Alert: Potential Installation Issue entry down 'below the fold.' We want to make sure it doesn't get lost.

Housekeeping: Pardon the Disruption

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:30:31 -0500

In the next day or two, you will see some changes to The CNG Support Hub. We'll be moving some things around and adding others so that it's easier for you to find the answers to your questions.

In the meantime, you might want to check out some of the man y comments left by participants here. They are a wealth of information, tips, experiences and observations. Just search on the topic you're interested in using the search box at the bottom of the page and read the comments associated with the blog entry.

Also, don't forget that we updated the FAQ document (see left sidebar) last week with new information. We'll be adding all those FAQs to the blog so that they are easier to search on and we'll be listing them in the left sidebar to make it a one-stop-shop for help.

FAQ Updates

Sat, 05 Dec 2009 08:56:54 -0500

The Complete National Geographic: 120 Years Frequently Asked Questions document has been updated with a great deal of new information. Included are the workarounds for the bug related to a recent Adobe Air upgrade as well as workarounds for installing The CNG DVDs on your local drive. Snow Leopard users, this includes you! Take a look, and as always, let us know if you have questions or problems.