Setup Diagnostics on Your Computer
Whilst not totally straightforward, Internet Explorer (IE) can be set up so that diagnostic tests can be run on your own computer. The set up procedure requires Authorware 7 to be installed along with some extensions to Authorware and because of the security features built into Windows you must also set up a trusted site to be able to access the diagnostic tests.
Follow the instructions below to set up your own computer before attempting to start a diagnostic test.
1. Set the ThirdForce hosted servers as trusted sites in IE
Select the Tools menu from the IE window - note that on newer versions of this application the menu bar may be hidden and you will need to press the ALT key to display it. From the Tools menu select Internet Options and then the Security tab.
Select the Trusted sites green tick and then click on the Sites button where you will be prompted to enter the new trusted site.
Enter *.thirdforce.com into the text box but before clicking on the Add button make sure there is no tick for Require server verification. To check this new hosted site has been added correctly scroll through the list to find *.thirdforce.com as one of the trusted sites for your computer.
2. Install Authorware
Diagnostic tests require Authorware to be installed to display the interactive testing screens.
If Authorware is not installed you will see this error message if you try to take a diagnostic test ...
Missing Authorware Web Player
The resource you are launching requires that AuthorWare Web Player 7 is installed. It was not possible to detect this software installed on your machine
Please contact your test supervisor for assistance.
The easiest way to install Authorware is to download the installer directly from the ThirdForce server. Enter the URL http://www.thirdforce.com/support/webplayer7.0/index.html into a new browser window and follow the instructions to install this browser addin for IE.
3. Install Authorware Extras
Because of the complex nature of the diagnostic tests, an additional Authorware addin is required for the diagnostic tests to work.
If these extras are not installed, diagnostic tests will freeze when you start them. If you find that the screen stops at this stage whilst loading a diagnostic test then you have not installed the extras !
The extras can be downloaded in the form of an executable file that needed to be extracted from a zip fileAgain stored on the ThirdForce server, enter the URL http://www.thirdforce.com/resources/other/AWxtras.zip into a new browser window to download the zip file and when prompted open the zip file before double-clicking on the file called AWxtras contained within it. Follow through the installation to complete the set up process.
Please note that in any of these stages the security of your Windows set up may ask you if it should proceed. Please ensure that you allow files to be downloaded and installed by allowing access to any of the web addresses when prompted.
Diagnostic tests can now be selected from you Central ThirdForce home page. If you still see the "Missing Authorware Web Player" message when trying to run a diagnostic test, you will need to click on the yellow bar and choose "Run ActiveX Control".
As a security measure you will be prompted for a code to start a diagnostic test. These daily codes can be found on the insrvEducation blog at http://blogs.cf.ac.uk/insrveducation where you can copy the relevant code to start your test.
Good luck with your diagnostics and remember that we are really looking for a score of 80% or above to ensure that you have sufficient knowledge to take an invigilated test. Diagnostic tests can guarantee that you will pass but if you score below 80% then we would suggest that you review your knowledge before moving on to an invigilated test as a failure at that point will require a resit fee for another test.