Sniffy Frequently Asked Questions
July 27, 2004
0. Why have you placed a "Frequently Asked Questions" file on the CD before the software was published? Isn't it already out of date? Is there someplace I can find the latest Sniffy information?
We wanted to make sure that information on the CD dealt with some of the problems users report the most frequently. We relied on our experience with the previous version of Sniffy and the questions from our Beta testers in an effort to anticipate what the most frequent questions will be.
However, we'll continue to maintain an up-to-date FAQ's on the Sniffy Web Site. If your question isn't answered here, check the Sniffy site at http://psychology.wadsworth.com/sniffy2. If any updates to the program are required, they will be posted there as well.
1. Some experiments take hours to run. How can I do these when my lab time isn't that long?
The "Isolate Sniffy" menu command on the "Experiment" menu will allow you to complete lengthy experiments much more quickly. Experiments that would take hours in real time will be completed much more quickly. How quickly the experiments run depends on the speed of your computer.
2. If Sniffy appears to be moving very slowly how do I get him to speed up?
a. Make sure no other programs are running.
b. Use the Preferences command under the File menu to set the animation rate higher.
c. Some older computers have barely enough memory. So you may have to set the Control Panel Monitor Display to 256 colors. Please note that Sniffy and his cage will take on different colors.
3. Why don't my print-outs come out?
To print a window, first make the window visible. If you can't see it, select it from the Windows menu. Then click on the window once to make sure that it is selected and execute the Print Window… command. Note that the Operant Chamber is not a printable window. If you select Print Window… with that window selected, you will get a Dialog Box explaining that you can't print this window.
4. I can print, but I get error messages or the printouts have large black rectangles across the page.
Most printer/computer combinations work with the default settings. However, in some cases the system defaults may not produce good print outs for Sniffy. The "perfect" settings vary from system to system and printer to printer, so you may have to experiment. The first thing to try is setting a different print quality or resolution in your Print Setup dialog. You may also want to experiment with grayscale or black-and-white settings, if your printer has them. If you can't find a good setting, try using "Save as File" or "Print Preview" functions that is available in the Print Dialog. You may find these correct the problems you are experiencing, or at least produce a file you can transfer to a different machine and/or printer.
It appears that some early Mac OS X print drivers do not work as well under 10.2 or 10.3 as they did under 10.1. Be sure to check the printer manufacturer's support site to see if you have the latest update.
5. Can I use the Sniffy Data Files from the previous version with this new version?
No. The new program uses an entirely different mechanism for controlling Sniffy's behavior that is not compatible with the old method.
6. If I get an I/O error what do I do?
Usually this occurs when you are attempting to save a Sniffy file on a disk that does not have any more room or on a CD. Save the file in a different location. You will also get this error if you try to open a Sniffy data-export file, or other files that the Sniffy program cannot open.
7. Can I run Sniffy from the CD or from a server?
It might be possible, but we don't recommend it. The program is designed to be run from the hard disk of the computer that you are using.
8. Sniffy appears with a white block around him (unmasked against background).
We believe that the new program, version 2.0 corrects this problem. Please let us know if you experience this problem.
9. Sniffy unexpectedly quit the first time I ran it.
We have had some reports that Sniffy will quit unexpectedly when run for the first time on some Macintosh systems. We are looking into this and will post an update when we develop a fix. However, it appears that this is limited to the first run only and users report that Sniffy worked fine after the initial unexpected quit.
10. Is there an interactive tutorial? The previous version of Sniffy had one, why isn't there a new tutorial for the new version?
We've put the tutorial on the web. You can access it by opening the Web Tutorial file on the CD (or by copying the file to your Hard Drive and opening it from there). Windows users can also access it by choosing "Web Tutorial" from within the Sniffy item in the Programs menu. Or you can go to the site yourself at http://psychology.wadsworth.com/sniffy2/tutorme.htm.