Support & FAQ

Here is a list of our most frequently asked support questions. If the following information does not resolve your issue, please do not hesitate to write us at info@video-tutorials.net

ABOUT THE VIDEO TUTORIALS
Q: Does my disc or download video tutorial expire?
A: No. Your online library access is where we load free updates to your account for 12 months after you buy, but courses on disc or download are yours to use permanently, and you are able to make your own back-ups of them. Your online access expires 12 months after purchase.

Q: Do the video tutorials have audio? What language are they in?
A: Our courses have audio; it's in English. It's not in any other language.

Q: Who makes the video tutorials?
A: Video-Tutorials.Net makes all the courses in-house. We are the only authorized distributor of our work, and hold international copyright and intellectual property rights over our work. Solidworks-Lab.com is the online classroom for Video-Tutorials.Net.

Q: What does my purchase include?
A: You choose whether you want disc, download or online, in the drop down menu at the bottom of the page. If there isn't a drop down menu, then the catalog page will say if the course is delivered on disc or via download. If you buy the disc or download, you get access to the online library. The online library subscritpion is for 12 months. The disc/download video tutorials are your permanently. You choose at the bottom of the page, before placing your order.

Q: How do I know what is in the courses?
A: On the catalog page at video-tutorials.net we post many sample videos and the complete table of contents for each course. Please review each course prior to purchase. We also have dozens of free video tutorials on our youtube channel, videotutorials2. Click here for many more free videos>>.

Q: I use a Mac. Can I use the online classroom?
A: Yes. The only software prerequisite for viewing this course is the free Adobe Flash Player, available for download at Adobe.com. Both Mac and Windows users need a Adobe Flash Player to view the course online. The download and disc require Internet Explorer and the Haihaisoft Player (the latter comes included in your disc/download). The download and disc can be viewed from a PC, not Mac. Currently you can't view our courses on iOS but we're working on that now.

Q: Which courses are you putting out next?
A: The 2013 schedule includes primarily SolidWorks, Inventor and music courses. Please send us your suggestions; they are most welcome and will help us determine the priority of our new projects.

Q:Is previous SolidWorks material relevant to me if I'm using SolidWorks 2012 or 2013?
A:The answer is YES! There are not many changes between SolidWorks 2008 - 2013, and our "Updates" course covers these.

Q: Do the courses include part/sample/model files?
A: All of the courses we published after 2008 include part files. If your course doesn't have part files, fear not, for the models in the courses are very straightforward; we show you how to build them in the video chapters. Where the models are more complex, we take you through them step-by-step. Our customers' experience with our course model has been very positive. Inventor 2009, CATIA and SolidWorks 2007-2008 courses do not have part files; sorry!


PAYMENT, SHIPPING, RETURNS
Q: What is the currency?
A: US dollars.

Q: How can I pay?
A: We accept payment by credit card, PayPal, and Western Union or money order in US dollars. Businesses/educatonal institutions with PO numbers who need an invoice and to pay by check: please email us to make arrangements at info@video-tutorials.net.

Q: I'm not in the US or Canada. I don't have a credit card. How can I pay? Can I wire funds to your bank?
A: You can wire funds through Western Union, Money Gram, PayPal, or via bank transfer. (There is an additional $10 fee for bank transfer).

Q: Do you accept checks or money orders?
A: Yes. We accept money orders in US or Canadian dollars. We accept eChecks through PayPal. This means you need to link your PayPal account to your checking account. For companies and individuals that prefer to pay with a check and require a PO Request, please contact us to make arrangements.

Q: Do you ship worldwide? Do you ship to my country?
A: Yes, all countries, for the same fee: $6. All discs include a subscription to the online classroom also so you have immediate access to the course. Sometimes we have free shipping specials.

Q: Where's my disc? Where's the tracking number?
We ship next business day after you pay, but please allow at least 7 business days for delivery in the USA and and 10-14 business days overseas (longer if you're in a remote area). If for some weird reason it doesn't arrive, we'll resend, no questions asked. We don't send the packages with tracking info since the postal service is generally extremely reliable and international tracking service is pretty expensive. If you want, you can pay extra for courier etc.

Q: Do you give refunds?
A: Once you have access to the online course we have no way to prevent piracy, so we don't issue refunds. Please be sure you review the course contents and dozens of sample video tutorials carefully prior to purchase to gauge the pacing and delivery. You can also review some of our customer feedback and reviews on websites like eBay and Amazon; we have hundreds of comments from customers on these sites.

Q: How do I add additional courses to my account?
A: Login to your account at solidworks-lab.com (or create a new account if you don't already have one). At the top of the screen, go to Product Catalog. Click the Add to Cart link next to each course to purchase it. You can also buy the same courses from Video-Tutorials.Net. You can call us if that's easier, too; we want it to be easy for you to pay! :) 403.254.9622

Q: Do you offer educational and/or volume discounts?
A: But of course! Students are eligible for 15% discount. Please email us a copy of your valid student ID & proof of enrollment via email. We give volume discounts of about 30-50% to schools and companies purchasing multiple licenses, depending upon the volume. We can also give you a price for a network installation (please let us know how many users you need it for). Please email info@video-tutorials.net for our volume discount pricing sheet.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS & USAGE
Q: Does the disc play in my TV's DVD player?
A: These discs play in your computer. You can connect your computer to your TV, if you like, but the discs won't play in your TV's DVD player. It's a Windows data disc.

Q: What are the system requirements for playing the course on disc or from download?
A: You need a DVD-ROM / CD-ROM, a monitor with screen resolution to at least 1200x900, the HaiHaiSoft player (included in the course files) and Internet Explorer. The first time you use the disc or download, you need to be connected to the internet to login and authenticate your license. Then after this, you can use unwired. You can view the course on 2 computers. Our older courses don't use this system; you only need the Adobe Flash Player.

Q: What are the system requirements for using the online classroom?
A: The course files are Flash files (.swf) and you need to be connected to the internet to view them. You will need to have an Adobe Flash Player and a reliable, fast high-speed internet connection to view via the online classroom. They are very compressed to small size and stream quickly. 22% loads before they start to play.

Q: Can I download to my hard drive?
You can download the compressed course files, whose paths we email you, onto your hard drive. You cannot download from the online streaming library.

Q: Can I make copies of the course for my friends / colleagues? Can more than one person use the same access codes?
A: No. Each user needs a unique access. Our copyright protection software will tie access to your hardware. The access is not transferrable. The online server does not permit simultaneous logins of the same user access. These materials are protected by international copyright and we police pirates carefully. We offer great educational discounts if you're a student, and excellent volume discounts to companies or educational institutes who need to purchase multiples or a network license. You can put the download and disc on two different computers.

HOW TO LAUNCH AND VIEW YOUR COURSE
Q: How do I start my online course at SolidWorks-Lab.Com?
A: It's simple! Please review the following instructions.
1. First, login to your account.
2. Go to the User Control Panel (click the link at the top of the page).
3. Click on the course you want to view.
4. Select a video from the panel/window on the left.
5. Repeat to view additional videos.
6. To get back to the Control Panel, click Control Panel at the top of the screen.

Important: Don't close the video player to start a new video. If you do this more than a few times, this messes with the system security controls and you'll be booted out of the online classroom--the video file won't load. If your screen is too small to see the player controls, please see below.

Q: How do I download my course?
A: First, read & follow these guidelines: - Files are large; please allow sufficient time for download and ensure your high-speed connection is working well. - Please download only one file at a time. - DO NOT RENAME the files. - Don't overtask your CPU during download with miscellaneous multitasking, or the file will be corrupted/incomplete. Then copy & paste the download link into your browser. Enter the access codes we emailed you into the prompt box. Opt to Save the file. Browse for your desired location on your hard drive. Don't rename the files! Save files from the same course in one folder so they unzip properly.

Q: How do I uncompress my course?
A: Our course files are compressed using WinRar which is way more stable than WinZip. Your computer has some default software on it for uncompressing files. If you don't, you can download WinRAR atWinRAR at www.download.com (choose the right version for your operating system). Double-click on the compressed file to launch your uncompressor program. Select all the files and click Extract.

Q: How do I start my course?
A: Open the course folder. Open the Player folder. Double-click on the HM Universal player icon to install it. After it's installed, launch index.html, from the course root directory (You need Internet Explorer for this to work). Click a video on the left side pane to view it. You will be prompted for your userID and password to authenticate your license, only the first time. Copy & paste your codes, then click Sign In. Once you're signed in, click "Confirm and Get License Now." Now, click a video title again and it should launch. If you don't see anything, make sure Internet Explorer will allow Active content to play: Tools > Internet Options > Advanced tab > Security branch, and check the boxes stating "Allow Active content to run on My Computer" or to run from CD, etc. If you don't have Internet Explorer, you can still see the videos, just not through our index. Open the Videos folder, right-click on the larger *.hup files, and choose Open, or Open With > HaiHai Soft Player.

TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR COURSE

Q: I can't download the files; the file paths you sent me are invalid.
A: Some email programs will embed incorrect links into the file paths we sent you. Just copy/paste the full path exactly as is. The files are not corrupt, so if you have a problem it's on your end and you need to re-download. Prevent problems by only downloading one at a time, and don't multitask your computer during the download.

Q: I can't see the player controls and / or the full video screen...
A: Our player is about 1149 x 831, and the video files themselves, with pause/play controls, are 930 x 730. Viewing the course comfortably means you need to set your screen resolution to at least this size.. If you're not comfortable with your screen resolution this size, or if your monitor is small and your computer doesn't offer a resolution of this size, you can view the chapters outside of our player by opening the video files directly. Open the disc, then the vf folder(s) or the "Video" folder, and then the .swf files that start with "a". Example: vf/a01.swf etc, or the .hup files. If you are viewing online, please close some of the toolbars at the top of the screen that hog space, and set the Task Bar at the bottom to auto-hide: right click on the start button > Properties > Task bar tab > AutoHide the task bar. This gives you a bit more space at the bottom of the screen.

Q:I'm getting a "concurrent login not permitted" message at SolidWorks-Lab.com. What's up?
A: Sessions detect concurrent logins for a specific amount of time after the initial login, so please ensure you log out before closing your browser. If you're stuck, open your browser, clear the cache, close the browser, and then re-open and try again, or just reboot. Only one user may login at a time for an account; simultaneous logins are not permitted by the system. Make sure you logout from one computer before logging in at another computer.

Q: I can't see the video when I click on a video title; I just see a black screen.
A: If you are using the HaiHaiSoft player to see the course, this means that the Active X control (a little program that lets you play the video inside the browser) is not allowed on your computer. Adjust these settings in Internet Explorer via Tools > Internet Options > Advanced tab > Security branch, and check the options that relate to allowing Active content to run on your computer and from external media. Copying the disc contents to your computer will also help. And thirdly, please ensure your computer shows the correct local time; this is important to the copyright protection software.

Q: The playback is choppy or otherwise isn't working correctly...
A: If you're using one of our older courses which plays with Adobe Flash Player:
- Ensure you've got the latest Flash player from Adobe.com (v9 had a bug)
- If you're running Vista, ensure you've got at least Service Pack 1 installed.
- If you're working from a disc, copy the contents to your hard drive to reduce the load on your ROM drive.
- If none of this helps, there may be a driver conflict on your computer with Macromedia Director, the program we've used to compile the older courses. In this case, try playing the course outside of our player. You can view the chapters outside of our player by opening the video files directly. Open the disc, then the vf folder(s), and then the .swf files that start with "a". Example: vf/a01.swf etc.
- As a last-ditch alternative: download a free standalone Flash player (it has built-in controls): http://www.globfx.com/downloads/swfplayer/ or http://www.eolsoft.com/freeware/flash_movie_player/ are good options. THEN open the vf folders, and launch the .swf files that DON'T start with "a". Eg: vf/01.swf.

If you're using one of our newer courses (requires HaiHaiSoft Player), there may video card setting that requires tweaking.. Open the player from wherever you installed it, and go to Menu > Options > Playback > Output. Under Direct Show, try the various settings and see if the video plays correctly that way.

Q: My drive is always chugging and I see a "loading" message in the player; the playback seems choppy. What should I do>
A: Something's up with your drive, or there is a conflict between a driver and Director, the program we use to compile the older courses. Clean the disc and try again. If that doesn't work, copy the contents of the DVD to your computer and run it from your hard drive instead of the ROM drive. If that still doesn't work, you will need to view the video files directly as described in the previous question.

Q: The audio is choppy and doesn't match the video...
Please download the latest Flash player; this usually does the trick.

Q: My online video file is not loading...
A: This can happen if your internet connection is too slow. The browser needs to load 22% of the video before it starts playing. The video files are very small, so if you are having this problem, please try to view at a time when your ISP is less busy.

Q: I use a Mac. I can't unzip the file. What should I do?
A: OS 10.3 and later have a built-in utility that will uncompress a Windows zipped (or rar'd) file. If you're using a different OS, you'll need to download a freeware utility to do this, like Stuffit or MacZip. Here's a link to the latter: http://mac.softpedia.com/get/Utilities/MacZi.shtml.

Q: Can I copy the disc to my hard drive?
A: Yes. This will improve performance and lessen the load on your ROM. You won't have to listen to your drive whirring if you transfer the course to your hard drive.

Q: I want to remove my license from one computer and put it on another. What should I do?
A: Open the player, go to Menu > Options > Tweaks and click Delete License in My PC.