Help and Frequently Asked Questions

Why can't I view images, even though I've installed AVT?

Try the ideas on our test page to determine what might be wrong. If the test images all work well, then you should investigate whether there is a problem at the server that you're trying to get images from.

Saved images aren't where I put them on my Windows Vista computer. Where did they go?

Internet Explorer in Windows Vista has what is called "Protected Mode". This means that when you download a file from an un-trusted site, it is saved in a secure, "virtualized" location. There are three ways of dealing with this:

1. Trust your site: If you are getting all of your images from the same site (uspto.gov for example), you can add that site to your "Trusted Sites" in the security tab under the Network Options menu pick in Internet Explorer. The "Enable Protected Mode" checkbox should be unchecked for the trusted sites tab.
2. Make the problem go away: If you are getting images from multiple sites, or the above solution doesn't work for whatever reason, you can turn off protected mode entirely by unchecking the "Enable Protected Mode" checkbox under "Internet" on the security tab under the Network Options menu. This should turn off protected mode for all sites.
3. Deal with the problem: If you don't want to, or can't, turn off protected mode, you can manually copy the image file out of the virtualized folder and into the real location. If your user name is MYNAME, and you want to save the file on your desktop (C:\Users\MYNAME\Desktop), the file would actually be in:
   C:\Users\MYNAME\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Windows\Temporary Internet Files\Virtualized\C\Users\MYNAME\Desktop\filename.TIF