Minimum Specification
Flash Player
Popup Blockers
3rd Party Popup Blockers
Troubleshooting
Problems logging in
Problems with Switch Access
Single Sign On

Minimum Spec

Windows P2 800Mhz or higher. Windows XP/Vista 256 Mb RAM or higher 16 bit colour Internet explorer 6.0, Firefox 2.0 or later versions

Mac G4 processor or higher Mac OSX version 10.4 or higher 256 Mb RAM or higher 16-bit colour Firefox 2.0, Safari 3.0 or later versions

Other browsers may work with Busy Things, but are unsupported by Q&D Multimedia.
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Flash Player

Busy Things also requires the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player.

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Popup blockers

Busy Things opens in a popup window. If your browser blocks this popup window, follow these instructions:

Internet Explorer

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Pop-up Blocker.
2. Click Pop-up Blocker Settings.
3. In the Pop-up Blocker Settings window, type www.busythings.co.uk in box marked "Address of Web site to allow" and click Add.
4. Close this window and all other Internet Explorer windows.

When you restart IE, you should be able to access Busy Things. If you are still unable to access Busy Things, you may have a 3rd party popup blocker installed. See below for details.

Firefox

1. On Windows, open the Options dialog under the Tools menu. On Macintosh, open the Preferences dialog under the Firefox menu.
2. Click the Content panel.
3. Here you should see a checkmark next to the option to block popup windows. Click the Exceptions button.
4. Type www.busythings.co.uk in the box marked "address of web site," then click Allow
5. Click OK in the Allowed Sites screen, then click OK again for the Options/Preferences screen.

If you are still unable to access Busy Things, you may have a 3rd party popup blocker installed. See below for details.

Safari

1. Open the Safari menu.
2. Uncheck the Block Pop-up Windows option checked.

If you are still unable to access Busy Things, you may have a 3rd party popup blocker installed. See below for details.
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3rd Party Popup Blockers

Two of the most common 3rd party popup blockers are Google Toolbar and Yahoo Toolbar

Google Toolbar

1. Click the toolbars Wrench icon.
2. Click the Tools tab.
3. Click the Edit link next to the ‘pop-up blocker’ checkbox.
4. Add www.busythings.co.uk to the Allowed Sites list.

Yahoo Toolbar

1. Click the toolbar’s Pop-up blocker icon.
2. Select Always Allow Pop-Ups From.
3. Select www.busythings.co.uk from the "Sources of Recently Blocked Pop-Ups" list.
4. Click Allow.

If you are using any other popup blocker, please consult the manufacturer for details on how to allow popups in Busy Things.
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Troubleshooting

If you come across any problems with Busy Things, please ensure that you are using the latest versions of both your browser and the Adobe Flash Player plugin. If this doesn't help, please try these steps first:

First, close all instances of your browser and then restart and try Busy Things again.

If this doesn't help, clear any files your browser has saved on your machine. This will ensure that you are using the latest version of Busy Things. Follow the instructions for the browser you are using:

Internet Explorer 6.0/7.0

1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options. The Internet Options box should open to the General tab.
2. On the General tab, in the Temporary Internet Files section, click the Delete Files button. This will delete all the files that are currently stored in your cache.
3. Click OK, and then click OK again.

Internet Explorer 8.0

1. On the Internet Explorer Tools menu, click Internet Options. The Internet Options box should open to the General tab.
2. On the General tab, in the Browsing history section, click the Delete button.
3. The Delete Browsing History box should open. Ensure that Temporary Internet Files is checked and click Delete. This will delete all the files that are currently stored in your cache.
4. Click OK.

Firefox

1. On the Firefox Tools menu, click Options.
2. Click the Privacy panel then select the Cache tab
3. Click Clear Cache Now. This will delete all the files that are currently stored in your cache.
4. Click OK

Safari

1. From the Safari menu, click Empty Cache.
2. Click Empty. This will delete all the files that are currently stored in your cache.

If you are still having problems with Busy Things, please contact Q&D Multimedia either by email (duncan@q-and-d.co.uk) or by telephone (01332 364963). Please have your Busy Things username to hand, as it may be required.
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Problems logging in

If you are having trouble logging into Busy Things (The 'Logging in...' message appears on screen but nothing happens), follow the following steps to clear any information Busy Things has stored on your computer:

1. Right-click on the 'Logging in...' message and select Settings.
2. The Adobe Flash Player Settings dialog will appear. Select the third tab at the bottom (it has a picture of a folder).
3. Drag the slider to the far left to set the amount of local storage to none. Click OK.
4. Click Close.
5. Close your browser and try to log into Busy Things again.
6. You may be asked if you want to allow Busy Things to store information on your computer. You should click Allow.

If you are still having problems with Busy Things, please contact Q&D Multimedia either by email (duncan@q-and-d.co.uk) or by telephone (01332 364963). Please have your Busy Things username to hand, as it may be required.
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Problems with Switch access

Switch access can be enabled by clicking teacher Settings and the Group Settings from within Busy Things. Please note, Switch access will then be enabled for anyone using the currently selected Group. If you require some users to have Switch access and some users to have normal access, you should create a separate group for Switch users by clicking Manage Groups from the Teacher Settings screen.

If you have logged into an account which has switch access enabled, you can access Teacher Settings by pressing the 't' key. You can also right-click and select the Teacher Things option.

If you swap to another window, you will need to click within the Busy Things window when you return to ensure that Switch access operates correctly.
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Single Sign On

SSO is possible for users wishing to integrate Busy Things into their learning platform. We will need the contact details for your local authority in order to arrange this for you.
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Phone, e-mail and on-line technical support, Monday to Friday, 9-5

phone 01332 364963 | info@q-and-d.co.uk