PIP2002: Cannot View the Get Creative Ideas Screen (811372)

SYMPTOMS

When you start Microsoft Picture It! Publishing Platinum 2002, and then click Get Creative Ideas, the screen may turn black and nothing happens.

Additionally, if you try to play one of the helpful movies that are available on the Help menu, you may only see a white screen instead of the movie.

CAUSE

This behavior may occur if you have Macromedia Flash Player 6 installed. Although the Get Creative Ideas movie and the Helpful Movies feature are fully compatible with Flash Player 6, the way that they are stored may make them incompatible with the player. Movies that are included in the Helpful Movies feature have been bundled together into a single Compiled HTML Help (.chm) file, and Flash Player 6 cannot use them correctly while the helpful movies are in this format.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this behavior, you must reset the original Flash 5 ActiveX control that was installed by Picture It! Publishing Platinum:

Quit Picture It! Publishing Platinum.
Click Start, and then click Run.
If you are using Microsoft Windows XP, type Regsvr32 \Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash\Swflash.ocx, and then click OK.

If you are using Microsoft Windows Millennium Edition (Me) or Microsoft Windows 98, type Regsvr32 \Windows\System\Macromed\Flash\Swflash.ocx, and then click OK.
Click OK to close the RegSvr32 dialog box that confirms that the Swflash.ocx file registered correctly.

Flash Player 6 and Macromedia Shockwave Player 8 still function correctly, because this change only affects Picture It! Publishing Platinum and its help files.

MORE INFORMATION

The third-party products that are discussed in this article are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.