Support for the ALC Product
The ALC Viewer is a necessary part of playing the training presentatiopns. It translates the encrypted files into viewable powerPoint files.
Intralation Instructions
ALC-Viewer for Windows FAQ
What do I need to run the ALC Viewer?
Ideally a reasonably quick, modern computer with Windows 7 or greater, 2+GB memory, and PowerPoint 2016 installed.
- The presentations are designed for PowerPoint 2016 and assume some of the recent features (animations, video types, etc.). They will not work properly on earlier versions. You may see nothing, or the audio/video might not play.
- The quicker your hard drives, the better. An SSD drive in a laptop can be noticeably quicker in loading a presentation than a rotating HD in a fast desktop computer.
- The viewer is tested on Windows 10, Windows 7 both 32-bit and 64-bit. It may work on XP, but that is not guaranteed.
- Why do we recommend 2GB or more of memory? Some of the presentations are big, maybe 500MB in size. With only 1GB of memory it is quite likely that the presentation cannot be loaded without swapping components to/from the disk. This can slow things down hugely.
- An older, low-power computer should work provided the above requirements are met. But you may wait many seconds, maybe a minute or so, before PowerPoint starts displaying the presentation.
Where can I install the ALC Viewer?
Anywhere location where the user has both read and write permissions. The Viewer needs to write temp files in its own directory space. This requirement means that c:\Program Files (x68) is not a suitable choice on most systems.
My Computer is old and/or slow. Does that matter?
Expect to wait a long time to see the first slide of a presentation. Be prepared to wait several minutes. Once the presentation begins you can move through it normally. It is the start up that will take some time.
How do I uninstall the ALC Viewer?
There are two methods.
- Either, use the shortcut in the Start Menu, It is called RemoveALC.
- Or, use the Settings Menu and choose to uninstall ALC-Viewer in the normal way.
I am not hearing any audio and/or seeing video.
This usually occurs if an older version of PowerPoint is installed. The way around this is to upgrade to PowerPoint 2016.
Can I install the viewer in a Virtual Machine?
Yes. The ALC-Viewer is a normal Windows application and will work like any other.
- Check that the VM has the power to play videos.
- Check that the settings allow audio to be passed out of the VM to the host or you will not hear any sound.
Can I install the ALC Viewer on a network drive for shared use?
No, not recommended. It might work sometimes, but if multiple users are using it at the same time they will trample over each other. We only recommend installing the application separately on each users computer. If you have difficulty with the local installation due to lack of admininstrator rights, call support for an alternative installation method.
Can I install the presentations onto a network drive for shared use?
Yes. This works fine.
Can I install the viewer onto a portable USB stick/drive?
Yes, this has been tested and works. Several customers are doing this so that they can easily carry their presentations from one system to another.
- During installation of the viewer, you will override the default location (C:\ALC-Viewer) with the drive letter for your USB device. You can install at the drive root or within another folder.
- To start the viewer, double click on ALCView.exe in the \ALC-Viewer folder on the USB device.
- To uninstall the Viewer, plug the USB device back into the original system and click on the RemoveALC shortcut, or use the normal un-install method via the Windows Settings Menu.
Can I install the presentations onto a portable USB stick/drive?
Yes. But do choose a quick. modern USB device. This is particularly important for a USB stick (thumb drive). The presentations are very big and USB sticks can be very slow. You may be waiting several minutes for a presentation to start displaying.
When I view a presentation I see an error alert.
Error conditions will have a code number for example “V57”. If you see an error please include that number in your report to your ALC support contact. Also state your Windows version and PowerPoint version numbers.
The most common error codes are,
- V57: Either PowerPoint is not installed properly, or the version is too old (not 2016 or greater).
- V41: The Expiry date for this Viewer has passed. The Viewer has a limited lifetime that approximates to an academic year. Please contact your support contact to obtain an updated version.
ALC-Viewer for Mac FAQ
What do I need to run the ALC Viewer?
Ideally a reasonably quick, modern computer with Mac OS X 10.8 (Mountain Lion) or greater, It is tested on 10.13 also. You should have at least 2+GB memory, and PowerPoint 2016 installed.
- The presentations are designed for PowerPoint 2016 and assume some of the recent features (animations, video types, etc.). They will not work properly on earlier versions. You may see nothing, or the audio/video might not play.
- The quicker your hard drives, the better. An SSD drive in a laptop can be noticeably quicker in loading a presentation than a rotating HD in a fast desktop computer.
- The viewer is tested on Mac OS X 10.8 and the latest release. It may work on earlier versions, but that is not guaranteed.
- Why do we recommend 2GB or more of memory? Some of the presentations are big, maybe 500MB in size. With only 1GB of memory it is quite likely that the presentation cannot be loaded without swapping components to/from the disk. This can slow things down hugely.
My Computer is old and/or slow. Does that matter?
Expect to wait a long time to see the first slide of a presentation. Be prepared to wait several minutes. During this time you will see the CONTINUE screen, but don’t click it, just wait until PowerPoint starts. Once the presentation begins you can move through it normally. It is the start up that will take some time.
How do I uninstall the ALC Viewer?
Simply the delete the application bundle called ALC-Viewer from wherever you installed it.
I am not hearing any audio and/or seeing video.
This usually occurs if an older version of PowerPoint is installed. The way around this is to upgrade to PowerPoint 2016.
Can I install the presentations onto a portable USB stick/drive?
Yes. But do choose a quick. modern USB device. This is particularly important for a USB stick (thumb drive). The presentations are very big and USB sticks can be very slow. You may be waiting several minutes for a presentation to start displaying.
When I view a presentation I see an error alert.
Error conditions will have a code number for example “DP10”. If you see an error please include that number in your report to your ALC support contact. Also please include your Mac OS version and PowerPoint version numbers.
The most common error codes are,
- DP10: PowerPoint did not start. Check that PowerPoint is installed properly. Try closing the Viewer and try again. If that doesn’t work, please report the error.
- DP11: PowerPoint could not open the presentation. This will occur when the PowerPoint version is too old (need V16.0 or greater).
Errors beginning with “LG” (LG10-LG13) are non-fatal. Just click past these. Report the errors if they become too annoying.
When I start the viewer, I see the message “Sorry, but this application is out of date.”.
The Viewer has a limited lifetime that approximates to an academic year. Please contact your support contact to obtain an updated version.