BG-Map TechNote

How to Customize BG-Map Visitors QUICKFinder

BG-Map

Updated 5/4/07

This document explains how to customize BG-Map Visitors QUICKFinder (VQF) for your institution.

VQF Options

The behavior of VQF is determined by the settings you enter in the VQF Options window. To access it, click Utilities/VQF Options. These settings are maintained separately for each BG-Map user name. It is best to create a separate BG-Map user for the kiosk. Then log in as that user, and set the VQF Options. You must also set the Print Options separately for each user (Print Menu).

If you wish to create multiple kiosk configurations, create several kiosk users, and set the VQF Options separately for each - for example, you could create user names Kiosk1, Kiosk2, etc.

For more details, see How to Set Options for BG-Map Visitors QUICKFinder.

Displaying Unmapped Plants

VQF can display unmapped as well as mapped plants. For details, click here.

Displaying Memorial Trees and Benches

VQF can display memorial trees, benches, and other memorials.For details, click here.

Causing BG-Map to Start Up Directly in Kiosk Mode

If a user name begins with the word “Kiosk”, BG-Map will launch directly into kiosk mode when starting.

Logo

To display your institution’s logo in VQF, replace this file with an image file containing your institution’s logo. The image size should be 90 x 90 pixels:

\bgmapwin\vqf\logo.bmp

If your installation is networked, this image is located on your server.

Changing the Pictures on the Home Page

In VQF Options, click the “Home Page Images” tab. Select either BMP or JPG images. Horizontal images of any size may be used, but smaller images, will load faster than very large images.

Topics, Special Collections, and Special Characteristics

Topics, Special Collections, and Special Characteristics are set in VQF Options window. For details click “Help” in VQF Options.

Displaying Nursery Information

VQF can display information about nurseries that carry the plants visitors are interested in. For details, click here.

Allowing Visitors to Send E-Mail

VQF can allow visitors to e-mail home plant information, maps, and images. For details, click here.

Creating a Log of VQF Activity

VQF can create an activity log that allows you to create reports that list when and how often specific plants and topics are accessed. For details, click here.

Collecting Feedback From Visitors

VQF can collect feedback from visitors, including comments, suggestions and mailing list data. For details, click here.

Screen Resolution

VQF is optimized for a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. It will, however operate properly at any resolution of 800 x 600 pixels or higher.

Widening Scroll Bars

Here's how widen scroll bars to make them more comfortable to use with a touch screen monitor. Right-click on the Windows Desktop, and select "Properties". Select the "Appearance" tag, and click on the scrollbar in the sample window display. In the "Size" box, type in a value of between 35 and 45. Then, click "OK". This will make scroll bars wide enough to be used easily with a touch screen monitor. (To return scrollbars to their normal size, change the size setting to 16.)

Setting the Taskbar Properties

The taskbar properties should be set so that the taskbar never appears when Visitors QUICKFinder is in operation. Right-click on the Windows Taskbar, and select “Properties”. The item labeled “Keep the taskbar on top of other windows” (Windows XP) or “Always on top” (Windows 2000) should be unchecked.

Using BG-BASE Images

Images entered either into BG-Map or BG-BASE will be displayed by VQF. You can exclude certain BG-BASE images from VQF by entering the keyword NO_VQF into the image record.

Entering BG-BASE Data

Your goal should be to fill in as much BG-BASE data as possible in order to provide maximum information to your visitors. For details, click here.