Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.

0 for Windows Operating

Systems
If youve used SMART Board software before, youll notice many changes in version 9.0. In this document,
well introduce version 9.0 of SMART Board software to customers who are already familiar with previous
versions.

The Start Center: Accessing Your SMART Board Tools...and More!

The most visible addition to SMART Board software is the Start Center toolbar, which appears
automatically on your screen with any default installation of the software. The Start Center makes all the
standard SMART Board toolsNotebook software, SMART Recorder, Floating Tools, etc.readily
accessible with a single button press. You can also add other SMART Board tools, as well as your own
programs or files you use often to the Start Center toolbar, where they will appear as additional buttons.
You can press and drag the Start Center to any location on the screen you prefer. The large buttons of the
default Start Center are very easy to press. However, if you find this size obstructs too much of the screen,
use a smaller version (the figure below represents the optional smaller version). You can also rearrange
the buttons in the toolbar to better suits your needs (press the More button.)
Note that any changes you make to the Start Center are automatically saved, so the next time you log onto
the current computer, your customized Start Center is restored.
Minimize

Close
Notebook software

SMART Recorder
SMART Keyboard
Floating Tools

SMART Video Player

SMART Board
Control Panel
Help

More

Press to add applications and tools,

and for a smaller version of toolbar

Customizing the Start Center

Add the applications, tools and files you use most often to the Start Center. For example, if you plan on
using an Internet browser during a presentation, add your browsers .exe file to the Start Center, so you
start it with a single button press.
NOTE: The maximum number of buttons on the Start Center is 11. This includes the More button. If the
application, tool or file youre adding makes the Start Center exceed this number of buttons, you wont be
able to add it.
To add your Internet browser (or any application) to the Start Center
1. Press the More button in the Start Center.
2. Select Customize Start Center.
3. Press the Browse button.
An Open dialog appears.
Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

4. Browse to your Internet browser executable (.exe) file.

HINT: If your browser is Internet Explorer, the .exe file usually resides in C:\Program Files\Internet
Explorer\IEXPLORE.EXE.
5. Click OK.
If your browser is Internet Explorer, the Start Center reappears with the Internet Explorer icon as
an additional button. Press the Internet Explorer button and your browser opens.
To add a file to the Start Center
1. Open Windows Explorer.
2. Click the SMART Board icon in the system tray and select Start Center.
3. Drag files from Explorer directly onto the Start Center toolbar.
4. Remove your finger when the file reaches the toolbar.
NOTE: The maximum number of buttons on the Start Center is 11. If the file youre adding makes
the Start Center exceed this number of buttons, you wont be able to add it.
5. To rearrange the buttons, press the More button.

New SMART Board Tools

SMART Board software now comes with more presentation tools. The new tools and the old, familiar ones
(like the Spotlight and the Screen Pointer tools) are both available from the Floating Tools or the Start
Center.

More
Button

NOTE: The three tools described below are not part of the default Floating Tools or Start Center. You must
add them to the default toolbars. Open the Floating Tools, press the More button and select the
Customize option. Now you can add any other tools in the Available Tools list.
The new SMART Board tools include:
The Screen Magnifier: This presentation tool enlarges a screen area so everyone in your audience can
see the small print on the screen.
The Calculator: You can quickly access your operating systems Calculator application from the Start
Center or the Floating Tools.
The Screen Shade: Previously, the Screen Shade was only available with Notebook software. Now, this
handy presentation tool is also available from both the Floating Tools and the Start Center. Increase the
drama of your presentatation and control what your audience sees by placing the Screen Shade over the
screen. Drag it back from any of its four sides to reveal information when your audience is ready to see it.

Press-and-Hold Right Clicks and Mouse Settings

Now, when you press and hold on the screen for approximately three seconds, right-click behavior will
result. This way, when you want to use a right-click menu, you dont need to press the Right-Click button
on the pen tray first! Just press and hold and youll get the same result.
Weve also made it easier to click on screen elements and to customize the interactive whiteboard to
respond to the way you press the screen. These new features are described below.
Sometimes, it can be frustrating to accurately touch and activate very small screen elements, such as
Close and Minimize button and scroll bars. To help you, weve developed a Mouse Assist feature. Press
the SMART Board icon in the system tray, and select Control Panel > SMART Board Settings > Mouse

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

Settings > Enable Mouse Assist. Youll now find it much easier to press and activate tiny buttons and
scroll bars.
The double-click zone defines the distance between the first and second press that the computer
recognizes as a double-click rather than as two separate clicks. You can now define your own double-click
zone, specifying the maximum physical distance between two presses you want to be a considered a
double-click. A wide double-click zone allows for more distance between your presses. With a smaller
number, the second press has to be made in almost the same spot as the first. Press the SMART Board
icon in the system tray, and select Control Panel > SMART Board Settings > Mouse Settings > DoubleClick Zone. Press and drag the slider to enlarge or shrink the current double-click zone.

Changes to the Floating Tools

Just like in the previous releases, SMART Board software 9.0 lets you add
or remove tools from the Floating Tools to suit your needs. You can now
customize other aspects of the Floating Tools: change the layout of the
buttons, use a smaller version of the toolbar, make the toolbar transparent
and collapse it by pressing the circular arrow button at the right side of the
toolbar.
Whereas in previous versions you had to deliberately save your customized Floating Tools as a user
profile, now any changes to the Floating Tools are saved automatically. The next time you log onto the
computer, your customized Floating Tools are restored.
Youll also find some new tools available, including the Screen Magnifier, Calculator and Screen Shade
tools, as well as a Creative Pen tool which produces colorful and unusual "ink", such as a stream of happy
faces or stars. Theres also a Start Center tool that provides quick access to the SMART Board software
Start Center.

Start Center
Button

Creative Pen
Button

Screen Shade
Button

Screen Magnifier
Button

To customize the Floating Tools, press the More button.

More Button

Changes to Ink Aware Annotation Behavior

If youve used previous versions of SMART Board software with Aware applications (programs that are
optimized for use with SMART Board software), youll notice a name change (Ink Aware) and a few other
small differences.
If youre using Word or Excel applications (versions 2000 and later), the toolbar for capturing and
converting your notes is now integrated with the programs toolbars.
In addition, more applications have been made Ink Aware, including:

ESRI ArcView software (version 8.3 and 9.0)

Adobe Acrobat Standard (version 6.0)

Microsoft Live Meeting (version 1.0)

AutoCAD 2005
Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

Changes to Non-Ink Aware Annotation Behavior

When you write over applications that arent Ink Aware, youll now see a border around your desktop. This
border serves as a reminder that your notes are written over the active application, in a transparent
annotation layer, and the underlying application is not affected in any way. The border is also there to
remind you to save your notes if you want to keep them.
When you clear this transparent, annotation layer from the screen, youll see a
thumbnail of your desktop with the message Click here to restore writing in the
lower corner that will fade after a few seconds. If you accidentally lose your
annotation, press this thumbnail to restore it.
This thumbnail replaces the Restore Annotations button of previous versions. Note
that you can still restore notes after this thumbnail image disappears by pressing the
Undo button on the Floating Tools.

Control Panel Changes

Youll notice that the SMART Board Control Panel looks different. You continue to have access to all of the
settings that were included in previous versions of the software, but the interface is a new Web-like list of
options. The current status of the connected interactive whiteboard is also displayed more prominently.

The Control Panel also contains new advanced settings, such as Mobile and Wireless Device Settings.
You can use the Mobile Device Manager with LinQ software to link your networked laptop to the computer
thats connected to the interactive screen. Read more about LinQ software on page 11.

Changes to the SMART Keyboard

SMART Keyboard now has six different views. In addition to the Classic Qwerty-style keyboard (the
default), you can select from Number Pad, Write, Shortcut, Simple and Simple Caps settings. The Write
setting looks and acts very much like the Writing Recognition area of previous versions. Now, instead of

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

the Edit Toolbar on the side of the keyboard, youll see several editing buttons along the top of the writing
area.

The Simple and Simple Caps settings are an alphabetical arrangement of keys. These settings are
especially useful for teaching number and alphabet lessons to younger children.

The Number Pad setting is another new Keyboard variation that is useful for entering mathematical
formula. In addition to numbers, it contains many symbols that are useful for entering scientific data.

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

Changes to SMART Video Player

SMART Video Player has a new look, too. You now have access to drawing tools from the window, and its
easier to use external video hardware. As well, you can change the properties of each drawing tool right on
the Video Player window.

New Screen Capture and Drawing Tools

for Use with SMART Video Player

Changes to SMART Recorder

Weve added a few options to reduce .avi file size. You can now record
a defined area of the screen or only a specified window to create a
significantly smaller file. Youll also see the file size and the length of
the recording as you record.
You can also share your Recorder file by creating an executable file
that you can post or e-mail. To do this, use the Share Recording
option, which is available at the end of your recording or from the Menu
button.

Changes to Notebook Software

There is much that is new and different with the latest release of Notebook software.

The Page Sorter, Gallery and Attachments views are now available as tabs. This conserves
whiteboard space, yet makes all views accessible with a single press. You can move these tabs to
either side of the Notebook window by pressing the circular arrow button below the Attachments
tab or by simply dragging the tabs to the other side.

Notebook software 9 provides support for Flash files. Many Macromedia Flash activities have
been added to the Gallery, and you can drag Flash content from the Gallery onto a Notebook page
and interact with it right on the page. You can also add Flash files from other sources to Notebook
pages or add them to the Gallery for later reuse. During your presentation, you can control the
Press to
move tabs to
opposite
side of
window

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

playback of a Flash object by pressing that objects menu arrow and selecting from the menu that
appears.
Menu Arrow

The Gallery feature has been enhanced: it now contains several thousand templates, clip art
images and Flash files. The Gallery is also organized into an Explorer-style List of Categories and
a Contents Pane that displays the contents of the currently selected Category. Drag templates,
Flash content and clip art from the Contents Pane directly onto the current Notebook page.

List of Categories

Drag directly on the

current page

Contents Pane

The Simple toolbar and Windows toolbars of previous versions have been replaced by a single,
moveable toolbar that you can put at the top of bottom of the window, so users of varying heights
can reach it.
Creative Pen

Eraser

Line Style

Press here and drag to move toolbar to bottom

(or return to top) of workspace

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

You can create engaging and colorful annotations using the new Creative Pen and Line Styles
tools in the toolbar (see bottom figure on the previous page). Use the Creative Pen tool to write
with a stream of rainbow colors, smiling faces, daisies or stars.

Creative Pen "Ink"

The new Line Styles tool lets you draw perfectly straight dashed, dotted or solid lines or arrows.
Also, if you dont have access to a pen tray eraser, weve added an Eraser tool to the toolbar for
erasing any object (or just a part of any object) that you created with the Pen or Creative Pen
tools.

New Line Syles

The Side Sorter of previous Notebook versions has been replaced by the Page Sorter tab, which
automatically disappears as soon as you begin working on a Notebook page. You can keep the
Page Sorter tab open (so that it works just like the old Side Sorter) by clearing the Auto-hide
checkbox at the bottom of the Page Sorter tab.

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

If you want the Page Sorter tab

to stay open while youre
dragging and dropping objects
to other pages, make sure this
check box has been cleared.

Working with objects on the Notebook page is easier because you can access the most
commonly used commands from any objects Menu Arrow button.This eliminates the need
for right-clicking. (You can also just press and hold on an object with your finger to view the same
menu.)
Press Menu Arrow button to
view command menu

A new Clone command is available for both objects and pages. When you select Clone from the
Edit menu (or press the Menu Arrow button and select Clone), youre performing the equivalent
of a Copy and Paste command sequence. Its essentially a more direct, one-press method of
copying and pasting an object. The cloned object you create with this command appears right next
to the original object.

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

You can now move individual objects to the background using the Lock in Place command,
which replaces the Make Background command of previous versions. When selected, a
locked object displays a Lock icon in its selection rectangle. Just click that icon to unlock the
object.

Many new options are available for formatting text in a text box, including left, center, and right
justification and bullet lists. Youll find these options in the Fonts toolbar, which appears whenever
you select a text object.
Bold

Underline Left Justified

Center Justified

Bullets
Font Type

Font Size

Italics

Font Color

Right Justified

Now, when you resize a text box, you resize the font of the text inside the text box. This means you
can make text much larger than the 72 point maximum and much smaller than the 8-point
minimum in the Font Size selection.
Just press and drag the resize button in the lower-right corner of the selected text box.

Press and drag the

Resize button...

...for this result

NOTE: When you double-press on a text box to edit it, it will be restored to its original size.

10

To convert handwriting to text, either press the Menu Arrow button and select one of the four
"Recognize" items, or just press and hold and select a "Recognize" item.

Reveal the display incrementally using the enhanced Screen Shade. The Screen Shade now
works in four directionsleft to right, right to left, top to bottom, and bottom to top.

Full Screen View has changed. Previously, the toolbar and Side Sorter disappeared from view.
Now, only the title bar, menu bar and Windows Task Bar disappear. The three side tabs and the
toolbar remain in view.

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

New Applications Available

The SMART Board software is accompanied by a few other applications specially designed for use with
our interactive products. These include:

SMART LinQ software, which you install on your laptop so you can connect to the presentation
computer (the one connected to your interactive product) and show files from your laptop on the
interactive product. No cable connections to the laptop are required. You can interact with the
application(s) on your laptop using the interactive tools on the resident computer and the
interactive screen. When you install SMART Board software on the presentation computer, you
can optionally install LinQ software as well. Read the LinQ online Help for detailed information
about using this software to connect a guest laptop.

SMART Number Cruncher, which is an interactive, game-based program that reinforces basic
arithmetic skills for younger students. For teachers, this program gives your students a fun yet
challenging way to practise their skills. By using the SMART Board interactive whiteboard and a
pen tray pen, even the youngest student can quickly become proficient at this game and confident
with their basic arithmetic skills. You can tailor the program to meet the learning needs of every
student, regardless of skill level. When you perform a full installation of SMART Board software,
SMART Number Cruncher will be installed with your other Program Files. Go to
www.edcompass.com to download this software free-of-charge.

SMART Speller, a tool to reinforce spelling and vocabulary skills, prompts students to spell words
on a SMART Board interactive whiteboard and provides feedback on their answers. Go to
www.edcompass.com to download this software free-of-charge.

Whats New in SMART Board Software 9.0 for Windows Operating Systems

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