[WEB4LIB] Re: TIFF Plug-Ins and USPTO

[Mary Pugh]

It amazes me that when I am having a problem someone on this list starts a 
thread on the same thing. We have a patron using the USPTO database and we 
are experiencing difficulties in viewing the documents. IE5 brings up the 
document but even with our T-1 line, the image slows to a crawl to view the 
entire document. We are also unable to print the images. If as I am reading 
these are TIFF files, my IE5 is using something called "wangimg" to view 
them. Am I understanding that we would be better served to install 
AlternaTIFF? Will this plug-in solve the problems I've listed?

TIA


At 04:52 PM 12/26/00 -0800, you wrote:
>Karen Schneider fulminated:
>
> >We too "need" a TIFF plug-in, in the sense that if we don't install one
> >we'll be depriving our patrons access to the USPTO database.  But I have
> >been glowering for a month over this.  Why did USPTO choose this format?
> >Was there any sense that this would create a barrier to access?  Is there a
> >*need* to offer these images in TIFF?
>
>I'll second this, and add that Cornell's Making of America
><http://moa.cit.cornell.edu> converts TIFF to GIF on the fly, so there are 
>ways
>to make life easier for users.
>
>I tried AlternaTIFF <www.mieweb.com/alternatiff>, which was recently
>recommended by LC's Elizabeth Brown.  (QuickTime would display the TIFF image
>on my secured IE 5.5 PCs, but it kept asking me to upgrade every time I 
>went to
>a new image.)
>
>It works perfectly.  I was able to install it as administrator and have it 
>work
>under my secured public account (NT4/SP6a), so it doesn't appear to have any
>user-specific settings.  (Sigh of relief)  The only change I made to the
>default installation was to check the box which said "Modify my Windows
>registry in an attempt to give IE a better chance of deciding to use this
>plug-in" and uncheck "Automatically check for new versions."
>
> >Finally, those crabby questions aside, if you are using a TIFF viewer *and*
> >Fortres 101 *and* NT 4.0 or Win2K Prof (or if you are using NTFS batch files
> >for security and have savvied which files need to be excepted beyond the
> >executable), do tell.
>
>No problems so far.  I also tried running it as a public user without running
>it first as an admin, and it didn't mind that, either.  As long as you install
>it as administrator, you should be OK.
>
>Bob Sullivan                               scp_sulli at sals.edu
>Schenectady County Public Library (NY)     http://www.scpl.org



Mary Pugh				Orcas Island Library District
Administrative Assistant		500 Rose Street
Network Administrator			Eastsound, WA 98245
www.orcaslibrary.org			360.376.4985