QuickPhase Pro/LE User Support Center Pages Version The latest version in the "3.x" series is Version 3.3.5. NOTE: The latest software is version 5 -- more info here. General Information | The QuickPhase File. The QuickPhase Pro and LE programs consist of one file (QuickPhasePro.exe) that runs "as is", and does not require "installation" -- unless you downloaded the optional setup file (Option 2). Complete details are in the Download Center or on the CD if you purchased it. | Starting Up QuickPhase. The QuickPhase file icon looks like this:  . The icon on your desktop looks the same but bigger. Just double click it to start the program. Or if you used the Install option, then you'll also find the program in your Start Menu.
| Registration/Activation Required: The software is fully functional but will expire (become disabled) 3 days after you first open it unless it is activated. You can prevent expiration -- or re-activate the program after expiration -- by entering your valid "License Number", which in turn will give you an "Activation Code" on-screen within the program to enter into step 2 of the process. You should have already received your License Number via email immediately after ordering. You can also find the License Number in the Download Center, immediately after logging in, directly beneath the QuickPhase link. To get to the registration/activation screen, simply click the yellow "Activate" bar once QuickPhase has launched, and follow the instructions. | FAQ Where can I get the free bonus gifts? The bonus gifts can be downloaded in the Download Center. On the download instructions page, you'll see links to the bonus gifts in the upper righthand corner of the page. The "Help" screen inside QuickPhase provides instructions. Basically, you can CLICK the white labels in the top bar (Date & Time, Time Zone, and Location), or use the fields in the bottom box (click the small white arrow in the bottom left corner of any screen). Those are TEMPORARY settings. Your home location and time zone should be entered and saved on the Config screen. Again, please see the "Help" screen for details. How do I set up my "latitude and longitude"? The "Help" screen inside QuickPhase provides instructions, but if you need more detailed help, please visit this page. Those numbers tell you the position of the moon. The Azimuth is basically the same as a compass bearing. It measures, in degrees, where the moon is on the horizontal plane, starting from grid north (not magnetic north) at 0 degrees and moving clockwise. For example, an Azimuth of 90 degrees means the moon is due east; 180 degrees is south; and 270 degrees is west. 360 degrees is equivalent to 0 degrees. But you'll also want to look at the Altitude to see how far up in the sky the moon is. For example, the moon could be oriented due west at 270 degrees, but that doesn't mean it is on the horizon. Altitude is measured from an assumed perfectly level horizon (this means that mountains or other obstructions may be in the way), at 0 degrees. An Altitude of 45 degrees is halfway up in the sky, and 90 degrees is straight up. Altitudes can be negative, which simply means the moon is below the horizon at that degree angle. So minus 90 degrees (-90) means the moon is directly "underfoot" (other side of the earth). Possible Problems Corrupt, invalid or unrecognized file after downloading - Sometimes the ".exe" file extension is missing from the file you downloaded. If it is, the program will not start and you may get a message like "Windows does not recognize the file" and/or you will be asked to choose a program to open it with. Just check the filename, and type .exe onto the end of the filename if it is missing, so it reads something like "QuickPhasePro.exe", "QuickPhaseProSetup.exe" or "MoonImages.exe". The first part can actually be called anything, it just needs to end in ".exe" or Windows won't recognize the file.
- If you get a "corrupt file" or "not a valid file" or similar error message, the most likely cause is an incomplete download. Rest assured the program file is not corrupt (we have checked and verified the files).
To see if the download is incomplete, you can do a quick, rough check by looking at the file size. Right-click on the downloaded file. A menu pops up. Choose "Properties". In the box that pops up, look at the "Size:". The QuickPhase Pro file should be around 2.7 or 2.8 MB (2764 or 2867 Kilobytes; or roughly 2,873,000 Bytes).
However, regardless of file size, if you are getting error reports of "corrupted" a file, you should continue with the following:
1) FIRST, are you using Internet Explorer ("IE")? Incomplete downloads - without any error messages - are common with IE.
The easiest solution may be to use another web browser. I highly recommend Firefox, at http://www.mozilla.com/, but feel free to try different browser.
You could try the download again using Internet Explorer, but you must delete your temporary internet files cache first. In the top menu, go to "Tools" and choose "Internet Options". A box will pop up. In the "Browsing History" section, click "Delete...", and then the "Delete files" button. Basically, you are deleting all the temporary files so that IE will do the full download again (otherwise IE will simply provide the cached, incomplete file).
2) If the file size seems fine, restart your computer and try starting the program again (double-click the file as usual).
3) If that doesn't work, you will need to check other things. Check that you have a good Internet connection and that you aren't being disconnected during the download. Consider temporarily shutting down any security/firewall/antivirus software that might interfere. Make sure you don't get any warning messages, and that your browser tells you the download was successful. You might also try a using a different computer if it is available. A final possibility is to simply try again later, in off-peak Internet hours, in case high traffic is causing connection problems.
4) If all else fails, we can try to email the file to you. Your email account will need at least 3 Megabytes of space available. Please contact us -- you must include your order number and/or the email address used at time of purchase. If needed, provide an alternate email address to send the file to.
- If you believe the download completed successfully, but QuickPhase still won't start up or the software is giving you strange error messages while it is running, check to see that you have Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher installed on your computer. If not, you can download the latest version for free at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads. Select it from the dropdown select box.
Installation file won't complete or isn't working If you are using the Install file, and you are on Windows XP, then you MUST be logged in as an Administrator or the installation won't be complete. Specifically, you must actually Switch User or Log out of any non-Admin account. AFTER successfully installing in an Admin account, THEN you can use the same installation file to install QuickPhase Pro into other accounts. If you need to uninstall, you have to do it the opposite way: uninstall QuickPhase Pro for regular users first, and Admin last. Activation code problems / incorrect activation code During the registration/activation process, please remember that the Activation Code is provided onscreen, and is not the same as your License Number. Enter the License number in Step 1, after which an Activation Code will appear onscreen. Then click the "Enter Activation Code" button and enter the code carefully, exactly as it appears. - If you get an "Incorrect Activation Code" message -- Always double check the code number for typos/mistakes. < li />For some versions of Windows, if you are not logged in as an ADMINISTRATOR, your Activation Code will not work. QuickPhase will run under any user, but be sure switch to an Admin account to do the activation.
Blank program window after opening If you open QuickPhase and see nothing but a blank screen inside the program window, that is actually a problem with Internet Explorer. QuickPhase Pro utilizes a 3rd party compiler to "use" IE to render graphics. So, either IE is not working properly, or something is blocking the use of IE. IE comes pre-installed and working on all Windows computers by default. Because IE is a virtually guaranteed entity of Windows, this configuration has been incredibly reliable and bug-less over the years. It has worked on all versions of IE since Windows 98. But it alsomeans when IE isn't working for purposes of QuickPhase, it is hard to diagnose. Sometimes a solution cannot be found. A non-functioning copy of IE is a Microsoft issue and I can't provide individualized tech support for Windows/IE-specific problems, so you may consider contacting a local tech guru or Microsoft support if you have questions or doubts about the IE or Windows installation issues mentioned below. That said, here are some things to look into, starting with some simple ideas. Some of the ideas presented below come from customer reports, others from our own experimentation. Restart your computer. Sometimes that's all it takes.Be sure that you can start up and run Internet Explorer and browse web pages and see images. If not, that's the problem; skip down to IE troubleshooting ideas below.Your security software may be blocking QuickPhase from working. The following files in the Windows directory cannot be blocked: QphProCfg.ini, akebook.ini, a3kebook.ini, ANS2000.ini (or lowercase: ans2000.ini)You may have a rogue, trojan, or virus. Make sure your anti-spyware/anti-virus program is working, and then do a scan of your system.Internet Explorer may be corrupted on your system. Go to the About page in your copy of IE (in Help menu). If there is nothing shown (blank) after "Version:", "Cipher Strength" or "Product ID", then IE is corrupted. If so, it *may* have been caused by a recent update. You can check by going to the "Uninstall Updates" section of the Windows Control Panel and try uninstalling the latest IE update, with some caution.Some customers have reported that Direct X (a plug-in for IE) wasn't installed or wasn't working. Or that Microsoft Visual Studio wasn't working, which affected QuickPhase in some unknown way (but has ties to IE and Microsoft's internal files). Doing a Windows update to get all latest updates may help such issues.As mentioned above, make sure you are current with Windows updates. This is called a "false positive", a case where security programs such as antivirus/antispyware mistakenly think QuickPhase Pro contains malicious code of some kind. Rest assured that if you downloaded QuickPhase Pro directly from my website (bluemarmot.com), it is safe. It does not contain a virus, and does not have access to any sensitive information or transmit any data without you knowing. To verify the safety of QuickPhase Pro, you can visit http://www.virustotal.com, a site that uses almost 50 different brands of antivirus software to scan the program. If you upload the copy you downloaded, you should get a message that VirusTotal has already scanned the file and you can view the details. Typically, a few false positives can be seen in the list. You can be certain it is a false positive when only a few of the vast majority of the scans come up with anything. The quickest remedy is to see if your security software can make an exception for QuickPhase or allow you to ignore the warning. A few other files that might give you a warning that you can safely ignore or make an exception for: QphProCfg.ini, akebook.ini, a3kebook.ini, ANS2000.ini (or lowercase: ans2000.ini). Often, false positives happen when antivirus software makers change or tweak their detection algorithms (definition updates). When the virus defintions are rolled out to all users of the software, suddenly everyone who is using that software gets a warning, and I get a bunch of email from people using that particular brand of security software. The best thing you can do is contact the company and about the error (the false positive). The more people that contact them, the faster it will get fixed. Note that sometimes security software makers go overboard in determining threats, particularly in "adware" demo versions where they want you to buy their software. They may lists hundreds of "threats" but if you browse the results, you'll see they are simple things like cookies or 3rd party ad networks which you can usually control yourself in your browser settings. Yes, there *are* real threats out there but most security software makers need to do a better job explaining the files they found, and why they believe they are a threat. If it indicates a known virus, however, then of course take it seriously. But again, if it warns about QuickPhase Pro (which you obtained from my website), you can ignore it. 
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