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TECHNICAL SOLUTIONS
The FCAT Explorer appears to be "loading" but never displays on my screen.
Why am I seeing a blue screen after entering my sign-in name and password?
I have AOL/NetZero/EarthLink/BellSouth. How do I get on to the FCAT Explorer?
When I click on the link to the FCAT Explorer, nothing happens. How can I fix this?
I'm seeing a message that says "Your current security setting prohibits running ActiveX controls on this page."
 


Why am I seeing a blue screen after entering my sign-in name and password?
If you are an AOL user, please refer to the AOL/NetZero/Earthlink/Bellsouth article below.
If you're not an AOL user, then the first step to fixing these problems is to download the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player. The Flash Player download is free and only takes about a minute on a 56k connection.

First, you'll need to click the "Uninstaller" link below that best fits your system. This step removes all existing versions of the Flash Player from your computer.

Windows 98/ME/2000/XP/Vista

Internet Explorer/Netscape/Mozilla/Opera/CompuServe

Uninstaller

Flash Player Uninstaller

Mac OS

Internet Explorer/Safari/Netscape/Mozilla/Opera

Uninstaller

For OS X

Flash Player Uninstaller

For OS 9

Flash Player Uninstaller

Get Latest Flash Player

Please note: When you click the link to install Flash Player, you will be redirected to Adobe's site. To return to FCAT Explorer, click your browser's Back button, or type www.fcatexplorer.com into your browser's address bar.

I have AOL/NetZero/EarthLink/BellSouth. How do I get on to the FCAT Explorer?
Follow these four steps to access the FCAT Explorer.

(Note: AOL version 9.0 Security Edition users are able to access the 3rd grade reading and 4th grade reading programs using the AOL supplied browser.)

1 - Log on to the Internet with AOL, NetZero, EarthLink, or BellSouth.

2 - Minimize your Web browser window. You can do this by clicking the underscore symbol (see Fig. 1) in the upper-right corner of your Web browser window.

minimize
Fig. 1 Minimize window

3 - Then, open a different Web browser, such as Internet Explorer 6.0 or Netscape 7.2. You can do this by clicking the blue "e" or green "N" on your desktop (see Fig. 2 and 3). These are shortcuts to Internet Explorer and Netscape.

Internet Explorer
Fig. 2 Internet Explorer link		   Netscape
Fig. 3 Netscape link

Windows users can also access these Web browsers by clicking Start in the lower-left corner of the screen, selecting Programs or Show All Programs, and then selecting Internet Explorer or Netscape from the Programs menu.

4 - Using the Internet Explorer or Netscape browser, go to www.fcatexplorer.com and enter your sign-in name and password. The program should then load correctly.

To download the latest version of Internet Explorer, go to www.microsoft.com/windows/downloads/ie/getitnow.mspx.

To download the latest version of Netscape, go to browser.netscape.com.

When I click on the link to the FCAT Explorer, nothing happens. How can I fix this?
If the practice program you selected does not open, you probably have installed pop-up blocking software on your computer. Click here to learn how to disable your pop-up blocking software.

I'm seeing a message that says "Your current security setting prohibits running ActiveX controls on this page." What do I do about this warning?
This warning can be removed by downloading the latest version of the Adobe Flash Player from the Adobe Flash Player Download Center.

Follow these directions to download Adobe Flash Player:

Windows XP Flash Installation:

  1. Click on the "Get Adobe Flash Player" link.
  2. Uncheck the Yahoo Toolbar checkbox (if present) and click the "install now" button.
  3. You may need to click the gold bar that appears at the top of the page to allow the install. After clicking on the gold bar, select the "Install ActiveX control" option.
  4. You will be taken back to the FCAT Explorer homepage. Click on the technical help link again.
  5. Once you have entered the technical help section, scroll back down to the "Flash Player download" section.
  6. Click the "Get Adobe Flash Player link" link again.
  7. Uncheck the Yahoo Toolbar checkbox (if present) and click the "install now" button.
  8. You may be prompted with the question "Do you want to install this software?" Click Install.
  9. After the installation has completed, you will see an animation at the top of the screen.
If the ActiveX message continues to display after downloading the latest Flash Player, you will need to change your Web browser's ActiveX security setting. Note: Enabling downloads for signed ActiveX controls reduces the general security of a browser. Follow these steps only when accessing the FCAT Explorer. At the end of your FCAT Explorer session, security settings should be returned to the default mode.
  1. Launch Internet Explorer.
  2. Select Tools from the menu bar at the top of the page.
  3. Select Internet Options.
  4. Select the Security tab.
  5. Select Custom Level.
  6. Select Enable for the option “Download signed ActiveX controls”.
  7. Click OK to close Security Settings.
  8. Click OK to close Internet Options.
  9. Restart Internet Explorer for the changes to take effect.
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