TIFF Viewer Plugin

Try the sample images on our test page. If the test images work well, then you should investigate whether there is a problem at the server that you're trying to get images from.

Macintosh FAQ

I downloaded Accel ViewTIFF, but I can't find the installer.

If you have not already run the installer then you must run the installer that was downloaded from our site or sent to you via e-mail.

Locate the installer program. Its file name is "AccelViewTIFF.zip". Depending on whether you got AccelViewTIFF from our web site or by email, It will be located in your browser's "download" folder, or your email program's "download" folder.
If you cannot locate the AccelViewTIFF installer, use Finder, pick Find from the File menu and search for "AccelViewTIFF". You should find either a .zip file or a folder.
If you find the AccelViewTIFF.zip file, double-click it to expand it. That makes the AccelViewTIFF folder.
Double click on the installer file contained inside the AccelViewTIFF folder.

I'm using Safari and can't get Accel ViewTIFF to work

Safari version 3 (which was released with OS X 10.4.11) and higher does not allow plug-ins to handle images, so Accel ViewTIFF cannot work with Safari. Acordex Imaging recommends Firefox or Opera for great features and flexibility, including Accel ViewTIFF compatability.
[ Download Firefox ] [ Download Opera ]

I get an error message that says: "This page asks to use a plugin that can only run in 32-bit mode"

Running Firefox in "32-bit mode" is a requirement for using the Accel View TIFF plugin. There are two methods for enabling 32-bit operation.

METHOD 1: Set 32-bit mode as Firefox default

"Right click" on the Firefox application icon in Finder
Pick the "Get Info" item
Click the "Open in 32-bit mode" check box as shown on the right.
Firefox will stay in 32-bit mode, even if your system is rebooted.

METHOD 2: Set 32-bit mode on demand

Firefox will prompt the user with a message under the toolbar.
Click the "Restart in 32-bit mode" button. You should now be able to view images.
Firefox / Accel View TIFF will work correctly for viewing other images without being prompted.
You will only be prompted again if your system is rebooted.

I cannot see the toolbar, or I cannot see the image.

First we need to make sure that Accel ViewTIFF is installed. If Accel ViewTIFF is not installed, you may not see any image, or if you see the image it will have no toolbar at the top of the image.

Determine whether Accel ViewTIFF is installed:

Quit your browser.
Double click on the file "AccelViewTIFF.zip" which will be located in your default download location (most commonly your desktop).
The Accel ViewTIFF installer and the file "Accel ViewTIFF.plugin" will be in a folder named "AccelViewTIFF".
If you have trouble locating this folder, read the Download Help for assistance.
Double Click to Install as instructed in the folder to perform the installation. If you do not get a message that the plug-in has installed you will need to drag the "Accel ViewTIFF.plugin" file into the Library:Internet Plug-ins folder on your main disk.
Confirm that no earlier version of ~Accel ViewTIFF is mistakenly installed in the Users:Library:Internet Plug-ins folder as this will cause your browser to use this earlier version in error.

Accel ViewTIFF is enabled, but I still don't see an image. Instead I see a big white space.

This may be caused by QuickTime being installed. The next question describes how to disable QuickTime. Also, confirm that you are running Firefox 3.6 (or later). Safari prohibits image display plug-ins (see the Safari FAQ).

Accel ViewTIFF is enabled, and I see the image, but I still have no controls, and nothing happens when I click on the image.

If QuickTime is not disabled, you will see the image but will have no toolbar. In Firefox 3.6, there is a known bug that makes disableing a plugin not always work correctly. The following instructions will allow Firefox to use Accel ViewTIFF

Quit Firefox.
In Finder, double click on the icon for your hard drive.
Select the "Library" folder, and the "Internet Plugins" folder within Library.
Under the File menu, select "New Folder". Name the folder "Unused Plugins".
Move the "QuickTime Plugin" file to the Unused Plugins folder.
Restart Firefox.

In versions of Firefox before 3.6:

Within Firefox, under the "Tools" menu, select "Add-ons".
In the Add-ons window, seect the "Plugins" tab.
If there is a line for "QuickTime Plug-in" select it, and click on the button labled "Disable".
Quit and relaunch your browser and try again.

In OS X version 10.4 or earlier:

Select "System Preferences" from the "Apple" menu.
Select "QuickTime" from the "Internet and Network" section.
Click the "MIME Settings" button at the bottom of the "Plug-In" tab (10.3 or earlier), or the Advanced Tab (10.4 Tiger).
Click the triangle next to the "Images - Still Image Files" category to expand the list of image types.
Scroll down to the "TIFF Image File" entry and UNCHECK the check box next to it.
Click "OK" and close the QuickTime settings window.
Quit and relaunch your browser and try again.

If none of those work, contact Acordex for more help.

Can I delete the Accel ViewTIFF installer once Accel ViewTIFF is installed correctly?

Keep the "AccelViewTIFF" folder just in case you need to re-install Accel ViewTIFF after an upgrade in the future. It can be stored anywhere. you want to keep it (it doesn't need to stay in your browser's download folder). The temporary file "AccelViewTIFF.zip" can be dragged to the trash after it expands into the "AccelViewTIFF" folder.

Less common problems:

When I try to print, I get the error message: Printing Failed, System Error -50

A number of users have reported an Accel VT printing problem on Macs with the message "Printing Failed, System Error -50". This can be fixed by deleting the preferences and trying again:

first view an image, choose "About ViewTIFF" from the plugin menu
click "Register" and then write down your registration name and code
quit the web browser
delete the preferences file "/users/(your username)/library/preferences/Accel ViewTIFF Prefs"
start the browser and view an image. The plugin will ask for your registration again. Use the previous code you wrote down.
choose 'Print Setup" from the plugin menu, select your printer and save, then choose print from the same menu

Windows General FAQ

I downloaded Accel ViewTIFF, but I can't find the installer.

If you have not already run the installer then you must run the installer that was downloaded from our site or sent to you via e-mail.

Locate the installer program. Its file name is "AccelVT.exe", which is a self-extracting ZIP file.
If you do not know where the file is located on your system, then from the Start menu, choose Search, then All Files or Folders. Enter "AccelVT.exe" in the field labelled File Name and click "Search". Below the window should appear the file you are looking for.
Double click on the program file to run it.

Can I delete the Accel ViewTIFF installer once Accel ViewTIFF is installed correctly?

You should keep your "AVTInstall.exe". If you get a new browser version in the future, it is possible to install it without your current plug-ins or Active X Controls. You will need "AVTInstall.exe" to reinstall Accel ViewTIFF.

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:

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.
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.
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

Windows Firefox FAQ

I just installed Accel ViewTIFF, but it doesn't seem to be running when I view images.

You may have not completely exited Firefox and started it again after running the installer. Bookmark this page so you can easily return here, then close all Firefox windows (check the toolbar at the bottom of your screen and make sure there are no buttons with the Firefox name or icon), then start Firefox, use your bookmark to return to this page and then try the test TIFF Images again.

I tried to run the Accel ViewTIFF installer, but it may have failed to run correctly.

The installer should display a location to "unzip" the files to, this is normally "C:\Program Files\Accel ViewTIFF". On Vista you may not have permission to this folder, so you can change the folder to another location. Click "UnZip" to decompress the files and store them on your hard drive. You should get a message indicating the files were "Unzipped" successfully, click "OK".
The installer will then automatically run the "AVTInstall.exe" file.
If you have already done the "Unzip" step, you can rerun the installer by using "My Computer", navigating to "C:\Program Files\Accel ViewTIFF". and double clicking the "AVTInstall.exe" file. Use the Find method described above if you do not know where the "AVTInstall.exe" file is located.
Click the Install button. You should very quickly get a message indicating installation was complete. If you get a message other than this, then installation did not succeed.
If you get a message that says "Cannot install while the plug-in is in use" then make sure that Firefox is not running. No buttons with the Firefox name or icon should appear on the button bar at the bottom of your screen.
If you get another error message, write the error message down just as it appears. This is very important in diagnosing the problem when contacting Acordex customer support.
If Accel ViewTIFF for Windows is properly installed, the Tool Bar shown below will be displayed in the bottom left of the frame that is displaying the TIFF image.

The Accel ViewTIFF installer could not find the copy of Firefox I am running.

The installer will display a dialog listing the location of the Firefox plugins folders on your system. If you have more than one copy of Firefox on your system, the location for Firefox will specify "All copies found" indicating that the installer will install for all copies of Firefox.
Check the "Install Internet Explorer Active X Control for viewing TIFF Images" checkbox if you want to install for Internet Explorer as well.
You can restrict the installation to only one Firefox, but this is not recommended. To restrict the installation, use the pull-down menu to see the location of all the Firefox plugins folders on your system. Select the one location rather than "All copies found".

I still can't see the Accel ViewTIFF Tool Bar.

Sometimes the QuickTime plug-in can interfere with Accel ViewTIFF. Move the files "NPqtplugin.dll", "NPqtplugin2.dll", and "NPqtplugin3.dll", from the Firefox "Plugins" folder to a different folder.
If you still can't see images, use "Windows Explorer" to verify that the file "NP~avtif.dll" is in the Plugins folder for Firefox. If not you can manually copy it from the "C:\\Program Files\\Accel ViewTIFF" to the Plugins folder.

Windows IE FAQ

I just installed Accel ViewTIFF, but it doesn't seem to be running when I view images.

You may have not completely exited Internet Explorer and started it again after running the installer. Use Add to Favorites from the Favorites menu so you can easily return here, then close all Internet Explorer windows (check the toolbar at the bottom of your screen and make sure there are no buttons with the E icon), then start Internet Explorer, use your Favorites menu to return to this page and then try the test TIFF Images again.

I tried to run the Accel ViewTIFF installer, but it may have failed to run correctly.

The installer should display a location to "unzip" the files to, this is normally "C:\Program Files\Accel ViewTIFF". On Vista you may not have permission to this folder, so you can change the folder to another location. Click "UnZip" to decompress the files and store them on your hard drive. You should get a message indicating the files were "Unzipped" successfully, click "OK".
The installer will then automatically run the "AVTInstall.exe" file.
If you have already done the "Unzip" step, you can rerun the installer by using "My Computer", navigating to "C:\Program Files\Accel ViewTIFF". and double clicking the "AVTInstall.exe" file. Use the Find method described above if you do not know where the "AVTInstall.exe" file is located.
The installer will display a dialog with a check box for installing the Active X control for Internet Explorer. Make sure the "Install Internet Explorer Active X Control for viewing TIFF images" check box is checked. If you want to install for Firefox as well and the Firefox installation folder field is blank and you believe that Firefox is installed on your system, then you must use the Browse button next to the field and browse to the plugins folder for Firefox. If you do not know where this is located then from the Start menu, choose Search, then All Files or Folders. Enter "plugins" in the field labelled File Name and click Search. Below the window should appear a list of plugins folders on your system. Look at the file paths shown in the In Folder column, the one that contains the word "Firefox" or "Mozilla" is the Firefox plugins folder and you should select this with the installer's Browse button for Firefox.
A likely location for the Firefox "Plugins" folder is: "C:\\Program Files\\Mozilla Firefox\\Plugins".
Click the Install button. You should very quickly get a message indicating installation was complete. If you get a message other than this, then installation did not succeed. If the message says "Cannot install while the Active X control is in use" then make sure that Internet Explorer is not running (no buttons with the E icon should appear on the button bar at the bottom of your screen). Write the error message down as it is very important in diagnosing the problem when e-mailing customer support below.
If Accel ViewTIFF for Windows is properly installed, the Tool Bar shown below will be displayed in the bottom left of the frame that is displaying the TIFF image.

When I try to view an image, nothing appears where the image should be.

You may not be able to access TIFF images because your Security Level setting for the Internet Zone is set to High. Internet Explorer will disable content that requires Active X if the Security Level is set to High for the zone containing that web page.

To check this, choose Internet Options from the Tools menu, then select the Security tab. If the security level is set to High for the zone that the TIFF file is coming from (most likely the Internet Zone) then you must set it to Medium to view images. You can also select Custom Level and just enable Run ActiveX controls leaving the rest of the high security options alone.

Try a sample TIFF Image when you're done with these steps.

Help and Frequently Asked Questions

Macintosh FAQ

Windows General FAQ

Windows Firefox FAQ

Windows IE FAQ