Proxima Media Express Supplementary Manual

WARRANTY

Proxima Corporation warrants that all Proxima® products purchased from Proxima are free from defects in materials
and workmanship under normal use during the Warranty Period. The Warranty Period commences on the day of
purchase by the end-user. The Warranty Period is one year.

Each Proxima product is manufactured from new parts, or new and some used parts. In some cases, the product may
have been delivered to another end-user and then returned. In all cases, the product has undergone testing and quality
inspection, meets all of Proxima's requirements for a new product, and our full warranty terms apply. The end-user’s
sales receipt or invoice showing the date of purchase of the product and the name of the Reseller is proof of date of
purchase. The Warranty extends only to the original purchaser and is not transferable.

During the Warranty Period, Proxima will, at no additional charge, repair or replace defective parts or at the option of
Proxima, replace the entire unit.

LIMITATION OF WARRANTIES

This Limited Warranty does not extend to any Proxima product that has been damaged or been rendered defective (a)
as a result of accident, misuse, or other abuse; (b) by the use of parts not manufactured or sold by Proxima; or (c) by
modification of the product.

The foregoing warranty is expressly in lieu of any other express or implied warranties, including, without limitation,
warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. To the extent not prohibited by law, all statutory
warranties are hereby waived and excluded from this warranty. Proxima expressly disclaims all warranties not stated in
this Limited Warranty.

FCC STATEMENT

Warning: This equipment generates, uses and can radiate radio frequency energy and, if not installed and used in
accordance with the instruction manual, may cause interference to radio communications. It has been tested and found
to comply with the limits for a Class A computing device pursuant to Subpart B of Part 15 of the FCC Rules, which are
designed to provide reasonable protection against such interference when operated in a commercial environment.
Operation of this equipment in a residential area is likely to cause interference in which case the user at his own
expense will be required to take whatever measures may be required to correct the interference.

Warning: This is a Class A product. In a domestic environment this product may cause radio interference, in which case
the user may be required to take adequate measures.

TRADEMARKS AND PATENTS

Proxima and Cyclops are registered trademarks; Desktop Projector, Desktop Projection, and MediaExpress are
trademarks of Proxima Corporation. Other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. This product is
covered by one or more of the following U.S. and foreign patent numbers: 5,062,001, 5,137,484, 5,153,568, 5,177,629,
5,181,015, 5,225,875, 5,264,835, 5,276,436, 5,298,892, 5,299,039, 5,300,944, 5,302,946, 5,321,450, 5,400,095,
5,453,803, 5,459,484, 5,483,382, 5,489,923, 5,499,036, 5,502,459, 5,504,501, 5,510,861, 5,512,967, 5,515,079, and
DES. 360,426.

Adobe, the Adobe logo, Acrobat, the Acrobat logo, Distiller, Exchange, and PostScript are trademarks of Adobe Systems
Incorporated or its subsidiaries and may be registered in certain jurisdictions.

Australia Pat. Nos. 644 852, 668 823
Canada Registered Design No. 74980 D Proxima Corporation 1994
British Registered Design No. 2 038 977
Germany Registered Design No.
M 94 03 987.9 geschutztes Muster, Under
Geschmacksmusterschutz
China Patent for Design No. 94303399.3
Japan Registered Design No. 948294
South Korean Registered Design No. 174628
Other US and foreign patents applied for.
© 1996 Proxima Corporation. All rights reserved. Specifications are subject to change without notice.

Table of Contents

Introduction ....................................................................................... i-1

About Acrobat® Exchange™ ................................................................................ i-2

How to Get Started................................................................................................. i-2

Installing the Acrobat Software ............................................................................ i-2

Installing the Acrobat Exchange Presenter and Optimizer Plug-Ins

(Macintosh Only) .............................................................................................. i-3

Conventions............................................................................................................ i-4

Playing an Existing PDF File ................................................................................. 1-1

Using Acrobat PDF Writer .................................................................................... 1-1

Creating PDF files from Windows applications ............................................ 1-1

Creating PDF files from Macintosh applications........................................... 1-2

Optimizing a PDF file....................................................................................... 1-3

Giving Presentations ......................................................................... 2-1

Quick Start ............................................................................................................. 2-1

Navigating In the MediaExpress Dialog Boxes................................................... 2-1

Keys on the Cyclops remote control.............................................................. 2-2

Navigating with the Cyclops wand or laser pointer ..................................... 2-3

About the cursor.............................................................................................. 2-3

The Presentation Selector .................................................................................... 2-4

Changing to a different directory................................................................... 2-5

Deleting a file or directory .............................................................................. 2-5

The Presentation Options Dialog Box ................................................................. 2-5

Running a Presentation ........................................................................................ 2-6

The Wait Cue.................................................................................................... 2-8

The Toolbar ...................................................................................................... 2-8

Previewing and skipping slides.................................................................... 2-10

Zooming a slide............................................................................................. 2-11

Jumping to other slides using hot links ...................................................... 2-11

Customizing Presentations ............................................................... 3-1

Working with Your Presentation .......................................................................... 3-2

The Slide Sorter............................................................................................... 3-2

Selecting slides.......................................................................................................3-3

Selecting slides with the remote control....................................................... 3-3

Hiding slides and inserting blank pages .............................................................. 3-7

Viewing slides.........................................................................................................3-9

Saving your changes ............................................................................................. 3-9

Table of Contents

Adding transition effects and timing ............................................................. 3-9

The Transition Editor ..................................................................................... 3-11

Initial settings and default settings.............................................................. 3-12

Assigning transition effects.......................................................................... 3-12

Other Acrobat Exchange Tools..................................................................... 3-12

Cropping pages .................................................................................................... 3-12

Rotating Pages......................................................................................................3-13

The Cyclops Remote Control................................................................................A-1

Control Panel ......................................................................................................... A-2

Index

Table of Contents

Introduction

The MediaExpress™ Image Display System is a hybrid, next-generation
product that brings the functionality of computers and projectors much
closer together.

The MediaExpress system eliminates the need to hook a computer up to the
projector. Just print your presentation from whatever application you’re
using to a special kind of file (called a .PDF file), copy or store the file on a
disk, then place the disk in the MediaExpress disk drive and start the show.

You can also develop a slideshow from any popular graphics product, then
save the presentation as a .PDF file. This lets you use your existing files and
training—there’s no need to learn a new presentation tool.

This unique technology is the result of a strategic relationship between
Proxima and Adobe Systems Incorporated. Adobe® is a leader in electronic
document products, specializing in tools that make communicating and
sharing information easier and more immediate.

Figure i-1 Placing a disk containing a presentation file in the MediaExpress disk drive

Introducing the MediaExpress Image Display System

i-1

ABOUT ACROBAT® EXCHANGE

™

In order to run your presentations from a disk, you must convert them to
.PDF files. You’ll use the Adobe Acrobat Exchange program that was
included in your MediaExpress package to do this. In most cases it's as
simple as choosing the Print command in your source application, then
choosing the .PDF driver as your printer. Instead of printing the document
on your printer, you print the document to a .PDF file, which is in a special
format that the MediaExpress system can use. You then copy that file to a
disk and place it into the MediaExpress disk drive.

The Acrobat Exchange program is very full-featured; for the sake of brevity,
this User's Guide only explains those features that you need to use in order to
save your presentations in .PDF format. We suggest that you review the
online help files that are included in this product to explore the numerous
other features of Acrobat Exchange.

Note: The Proxima Adobe Acrobat Exchange software has additional
features not found in other versions of Acrobat Exchange.

HOW TO GET STARTED

To get started, install the MediaExpress hardware and Acrobat Exchange
software. Refer to the MediaExpress Installation Card that came with your
MediaExpress kit for hardware installation instructions. Refer to the next
section for software installation instructions.

i-2

Introduction

INSTALLING THE ACROBAT SOFTWARE

To install the Adobe Acrobat software:

1. Insert the disk labeled Installer Disk 1 into your computer's floppy drive.

2. Do one of the following:

• Windows users choose File, then Run, and type a:\setup
(or the drive letter of your floppy disk drive) and press Enter.

• Macintosh users double-click the Installer icon.

3. The License Agreement screen appears. Click Accept to continue the
installation. The Acrobat Exchange Installer dialog box appears.

4. Do one of the following:

• Windows users, click the boxes next to the programs that you want to
install. Adobe Type Manager (ATM) is a utility that will help Acrobat,
and other Windows programs, to more easily handle your PostScript
and True Type fonts.

• Macintosh users, choose between Easy Install (recommended) or
Custom Install (for advanced users only).

5. Do one of the following:

• Windows users enter the target directory for the Acrobat Exchange file
and click Install.

• Macintosh users select the disk onto which you want the software
installed, and click Install.

6. Information about personalizing your software appears. Click OK.

7. Personalize your copy of Acrobat Exchange by entering your name,
organization, and serial number (located on your registration card).
Click OK.

8. Follow the on-screen instructions. When installation is complete,
click OK.

Installing the Acrobat Exchange Presenter and
Optimizer Plug-Ins (Macintosh Only)

Your MediaExpress package comes with two special plug-ins designed to
make your presentations even simpler and more effective. The Acrobat
Exchange Presenter plug-in provides you with a variety of transition effects
and special tools that allow you to create MediaExpress presentations on
your computer—without having to use your projector. Acrobat Exchange
Presenter also has transition effects and other tools that make your
presentations more attractive and effective.

The Optimizer plug-in reduces the size of your PDF files, making them even
easier to transport and display.

If you have a Macintosh, you need to install the plug-ins from a separate
disk. If you are a Windows 3.x or Windows 95 user, the plug-ins are
automatically installed with the Acrobat Exchange software.

Introducing the MediaExpress Image Display System

i-3

To install the Acrobat Exchange Presenter and Optimizer plug-ins to your
Macintosh:

1. Insert the disk labeled Presenter and Optimizer Plug-Ins into your
computer's floppy drive.

2. Double-click the Installer icon.

3. Click Continue to get past the title screen.

4. Carefully read the Release Notes screen. When y ou finish, click Continue.

5. When the Main Installation screen appears, click Install to accept the
default folder. If you've installed the Adobe Acrobat Exchange software to
another location, select that folder and click Install.

That's all there is to it! Now you're ready to start creating .PDF files for your
presentations.

CONVENTIONS

This User's Guide should be easy to follow. Here’s all you need to
remember:

• Words shown in italics are book titles (with a few exceptions).

• Words or phrases in boldface are items on a menu or dialog box (except
for warnings, which you should read carefully).

i-4

Introduction

• Words or characters shown in mono-spaced type are a string of
characters you must type.

Here are some terms and phrases you’ll run across in the documentation.
Please take a moment to familiarize yourself with these terms before you
read the rest of this manual.

TERM DESCRIPTION

Click Choose a button in a dialog box that is projected on the screen.
Press a key Press a physical key on the Cyclops remote control, wand, or laser

pointer.
Slide A single image in a presentation.
Screen The fabric or material onto which you are projecting an image.
Dialog box A window projected onto the screen; dialog boxes usually offer

options with various settings.
Presentation A series of slides organized sequentially in a file.

Chapter 1

PDF files

Once you have installed the Acrobat Exchange software and connected the
MediaExpress hardware to your projector, you should understand how to
work with PDF files. This chapter explains how to play and create PDF files.

PLAYING AN EXISTING PDF FILE

To play an existing PDF file, such as the sample PDF files included with your
MediaExpress kit:

1. Insert a disk containing a PDF file into the MediaExpress disk drive.

2. Press the center of the MouseDisk to bring up the Presentation Selector

3. Double-click the PDF file (or select the name of the file and click Run).
The next step is to turn your existing presentation into a PDF file.

USING ACROBAT PDF WRITER

Your Acrobat Exchange software includes a utility called Acrobat PDF Writer.
With it, you can use the Print command in your Windows or Macintosh
application to save a copy of a document as a PDF file.

dialog box.

In general, follow these steps to create a PDF file with Acrobat PDF Writer
(specific Windowsand Macintosh instructions follow):

1. Make sure that Acrobat PDF Writer is the current printer driver.

2. Go into your application and load the file.

3. Choose Print, select the Print to File option, and print the file.

Creating PDF files from Windows applications

1. Start your application and load the file.

2. Choose File, Print.

If the current printer is not Acrobat PDF Writer on DISK, click Print
Setup. Select Acrobat PDF Writer on DISK from the Specific Printer list,
then close the dialog box.

PDF Files

1-1

3. In the Print dialog box, click OK.

4. Name the file (make sure to give it a .PDF extension), and select a
destination directory.

5. If you want, you can view the PDF file in the Acrobat Exchange window;
choose the View PDF File option. You can also enter information about
the file; just choose Prompt for Document Info.

6. Click OK.

Creating PDF files from Macintosh applications

Macintosh users must use PC-formatted disks to save PDF files. Most
Macintoshes are equipped with a disk drive that will read and write
PC-formatted disks. If you're having trouble using PC-formatted disks,
consult your Macintosh documentation for more information.

1. Start your application and load the file.

2. Hold down the Command (Apple key) and choose File, Print.
If the PDF Writer dialog box does not appear, select Acrobat PDF Writer

from the Chooser and try again.

3. Select the Select Short (DOS) File Names option to truncate the default
filename in the Save dialog box to a DOS filename (eight characters, a
period, and a .PDF extension).

1-2

Chapter One

Note: Make sure you give your presentation a .PDF extension. This is to
ensure that the MediaExpress system “sees” the presentation on the floppy
disk.

4. If you want, you can view the PDF file in the Acrobat Exchange window;
select the View PDF File option. You can also enter information about
the file; just select Prompt for Document Info.

5. Click OK. The Save As dialog box appears with the name of the PDF file.

6. Rename the file as needed. Select a destination folder, then click Save.

Note: The PDF file appears on screen if you selected the View PDF File
option.

Optimizing a PDF file

Your Acrobat Exchange software comes with a special plug-in called
Optimizer. Acrobat Exchange Optimizer reduces file sizes by deleting
thumbnails and repeated bitmapped images. Deleting repeated images
won't affect the appearance of your presentation, as graphics are reused each
time they appear.

To optimize a PDF file:

1. Click File and Optimize And Save As.

2. Select Delete Thumbnails, Delete Redundant Bitmapped Images, or
both.

3. Click OK.

4. Specify a name for the document in the Save As dialog box.

5. Click OK.

PDF Files

1-3

Chapter 2

Giving presentations

Now that you've created a presentation, this chapter shows you how to run
it using the Cyclops® remote control, wand, or optional laser pointer. In
order to give a presentation, the MediaExpress hardware must be installed
and connected to the projector.

QUICK ST ART

Note: There are times when it might be helpful for you to preview your slide

show on your computer. You can preview a slide show with the Slide Show
option in Adobe Acrobat Exchange. Click Slide Show or choose Slide and
Slide Show. Your slide show will display on your computer exactly as it will
using the MediaExpress system. Press the ESC key on your keyboard to stop
the slide show.

When you’re ready to start your presentation, follow these steps:

1. Turn on the projector. If the MediaExpress title screen is not shown, press
the key once, or the Source key until it appears.

2. Press the MouseDisk to bring up the Presentation Selector dialog box.

3. Press the edges of the MouseDisk or the Forward/Reverse keys to move to
the desired PDF file. Press the center of the MouseDisk once to select the
file.

4. Double-click the PDF file (or select the name of the file and click Run).
You’ll see the Presentation Options Dialog box.

NAVIGATING IN THE MEDIAEXPRESS DIALOG BOXES

Before you can play your presentation, you should understand how to
navigate through the MediaExpress system. This section details how to use
the Cyclops remote, wand, or laser pointer to navigate through the various
MediaExpress dialog boxes.

The MediaExpress system was designed to be used with the Cyclops remote
control, wand, or laser pointer. If you temporarily misplace your Cyclops
remote control or wand during a presentation, you can perform most
actions using the keys on the projector’s control panel (see Appendix A).

Giving Presentations

2-1

You will use three dialog boxes to work with your presentation: one to
choose the file, one to adjust the sequence of the slides, and a third to adjust
timing and add transition effects.

There are only a few keys on the Cyclops remote control that you’ll use to
navigate and make selections: the MouseDisk and the forward/reverse keys.
A few simple actions are all you need to know.

Many of the dialog boxes and commands in Acrobat Exchange are identical
to those in the MediaExpress system. You can use your computer's mouse
just like the Cyclops remote, wand, or optional laser pointer to navigate
through the screens.

Keys on the Cyclops remote control

• To select a button, checkbox, or list box, or any item in a list box, press
the edges of the MouseDisk to point to the item. You can also use the
forward and reverse buttons to select a file or slide in a list box.

• To click a button or check a checkbox (once you’ve pointed to it), press
the center of the MouseDisk.

Please study the following illustration before you continue—you may want
to explore a bit on your own in order to get comfortable with the Cyclops
remote control.

2-2

Chapter T wo

Figure 2-1 The Cyclops remote control

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