WCS Support Forum

[petevasey]

The popular lightweight little netbooks are ideal for trips abroad or to a dark site. But when I try to run the program on mine, there are two problems.

Firstly the screen has a maximum size of 1024 x 600 pixels. So the lower part of the window, as for 'Peter' in the other report, is out of view and cannot be accessed. So I suggest that the main window be made resizeable with a slider at the side.

Secondly, and I suspect this is connected with the above, the webcam image does not update. The only time it changes is if the camera 'Setup' or 'Format' sections are accessed, and only a single frame appears which then remains frozen.

I should add that I have tested this with two different external webcams and the one built in to the netbook, all with the same result, and all of which work normally with other programs.

I hope this can be corrected - the program will be extremely useful to me on my trip to the Southern Hemisphere next year.


Peter.

[petevasey]

Just to add to the previous comments, if I set the screen size on my desktop to 800 x 600, the same 'frozen webcam' problem appears. So that confirms that the freezing is linked to the screen size.

Peter.

[Wolfgang]

Hi Peter!

Sorry for the delay. At the moment I do not really have a solution for this problem if the program does not fit because the screen resolution is to low. I am not sure, if it helps, if I overwork the WCS screen-layout.

Which camera do you use?

Wolfgang
_________________
Software for fast Polar Alignment: http://wcs.ruthner.at/index-en.htm

GSO Newton 8"
TS-MAK 150
TouCam
DSI Pro II, Canon Rebel Astro (removed IR-Filter)

[petevasey]

Hi, Wolfgang, thank you for replying.

I use a Philips Toucam. Also tested with a Logitech Quickcam and the webcam built in to the netbook. All cameras work perfectly with other programs.

Can you not make the main frame and image window sizeable? Then they will generate scroll bars to fit on the screen, and access all the appropriate controls.

Regards, Peter.

[petevasey]

Hi, Wolfgang - have you any more thoughts on this problem?

If you do not want to make the display section sizeable, maybe you could put the graph/text panel in a separate frame entirely, so it can 'float' around the screen, and change the other controls so that the maximum height of the main frame is less than 600 pixels.

Easily tested if you change your own screen size to a 600 pixel height.

My trial period has now ended, and I would very much like to buy the program. But it is no use to me while it does not work on my netbook

Peter

[petevasey]

Just to repeat my posting in the main forum, I have now got round this problem - I found that although increasing the vertical resolution on my netbook from 600 to 768 meant that part of the screen was hidden, by moving the cursor to the bottom or top the whole screen scrolled up or down, and it was then large enough for the program to run.

But of course the problem is still there - in the long term it would be preferable if the program could be modified to run in the smaller screen.

Peter