** Frequently Asked Questions **

Q: Is TOPO! 3.3 an upgrade for State Series products, or for TOPO!
Sync, or both?

A: TOPO! 3.3 is an upgrade for both State Series products, such as
TOPO! California, and for TOPO! Sync. Any user who has a version
of TOPO! below 3.3 will benefit from this upgrade. Most State Series
products contain TOPO! version 2.7.6 or below, while TOPO! Sync users
usually have version 3.2 or below.


Q: What are the prerequisites for a successful installation?

A: You must have already installed your State Series product or
TOPO! Sync before installing this upgrade. You must install this 
upgrade into the same folder as your existing installation in order 
for the upgrade to be successful. By default, TOPO! is installed into
"C:\TOPO!". If you have installed it into a different location, be 
sure to specify the correct location in the Installshield wizard
when installing the 3.3 upgrade.


Q: Do I have to be connected to the internet during installation of
TOPO! 3.3?

A: We have chosen to distribute this upgrade using Windows Installer.
Windows Installer makes program installation, update, repair, and 
removal more reliable than ever. If your computer does not have 
Windows Installer 2.0, it will automatically be downloaded and 
installed as you install TOPO! 3.3. Windows Installer is included 
with Windows 2000 and Windows XP. Windows 95/98/Me/NT users will 
automatically be updated during this installation.


Q: Is it true that the file format is different in TOPO! 3.0 and 
above?

A: Yes, the file format has changed to enable support for new types
of data such as photos, notes, web links and more. All of your 
existing data is readable in TOPO! 3.3 and above after an automatic
conversion process that takes place when you open the 2.x file.


Q: Will I be able to read my existing version 2.x files in TOPO! 3.3?

A: Yes. While the file format has changed in version 3.0 and higher,
all of your existing data stored in version 2.x files is readable by
TOPO! 3.3 and higher. When you open a 2.x file, TOPO! 3.3 will prompt
you to convert the file to the new format. If you accept, it will
convert the file and automatically save a copy of the original file 
using the same filename but with a ".tp2" extension. This allows you 
to have a backup copy in the original format as an extra precaution.
For instance, if you open a file "Muir Woods.tpo" which was created
in TOPO! 2.7, TOPO! 3.3 will convert the file to the new format and
save a backup copy into the same directory with the filename 
"Muir Woods.tp2".


Q: Do I have to worry that the file conversion will change my data?

A: No. The file conversion is safe. All of your data will be preserved.
However, TOPO! automatically saves a backup copy just in case.


Q: Once the file is converted, will users of TOPO! 2.x be able to
read it?

A: No. Because the new file format stores new information that 
TOPO! 2.x is not capable of reading, files stored in the 3.x file
format are not readable in TOPO! 2.x. However, if you need to share
your files with friends who only have TOPO! 2.x, they can simply
upgrade to TOPO! 3.3 or above. It's free and easy!


Q: Is TOPO! 2.x still available for use?

A: Yes. We have included a copy of TOPO! 2.7.7 with the TOPO! 3.3 installation.
It is in the installation folder with the name TOPO2.exe. If you need to use
it for some reason, you can.


Q: Can I load maps from the CDs on to my hard drive?

A: Yes. TOPO! 3.3 has three primary ways of locating maps on your hard
drive. First, it looks for maps stored in the "TPO_DATA" folder, which is 
located in your installation folder (for instance, "C:\TOPO!\TPO_DATA").
You can copy as many individual maps (files with a .tpq extension) from 
your CDs to the TPO_DATA folder as you want. Second, it looks for maps
in folders that you specify through the Map Folders dialog. You can
open this dialog by going to the Preferences menu and selecting 
Map Folders. You can then specify up to ten folders where TOPO! 3.3 
should look for maps. Third, it will find data folders that are copied to 
the root of any of your local drives or mapped network drives. On each TOPO!
CD there is a folder that looks like "XX_Dnn" where XX is a state prefix
and nn is a number. If you copy that entire folder to the root of your
hard drive, TOPO! 3.3 will find it. For this method to work, you must copy
the entire folder.

Examples: 
1) You own TOPO! California and you want to load the contents of Disk 4 to
your hard drive for faster access. To do this, copy "CA_D04" from the CD
to "C:\CA_D04" (or to the root any other local drive). Alternatively,
you can copy it to your TPO_DATA folder (for instance, "C:\TOPO!\TPO_DATA\CA_D04"). 
Another alternative is to create a new folder (for instance, "C:\My Maps") 
and copy "CA_D04" to it. You would then need to select "C:\My Maps" in the 
Map Folders dialog to tell TOPO! to include this folder when it searches 
for maps. 

2) You want to copy your entire CD set to a shared network drive so more than
one licensed TOPO! users can access it. To do this, copy the data folder from 
each CD to a shared folder accessible on your network and then map the shared 
folder as a network drive on each user's machine. Then TOPO! 3.3 can access 
the maps because the data folders are at the root of the mapped network drive.


Q: Where can I find more information about TOPO! and how do I find out about
future upgrades?

A: Visit http://maps.nationalgeographic.com/topo, of course!
