Switch Zoo Online Support

The Flash games stop loading at a certain percentage

If you try to play a Flash game (such as "Make New Animals" or "Build an Online Habitat") and cannot get it to download completely, try freeing up the available space for Internet files.
Here's how to do it:

In Internet Explorer: Select "Tools" from your browser's menu, then choose "Internet Options..." from the drop down menu. In the section called "Temporary Internet files" click the button that says "Delete files..."
In FireFox: Select "Tools" from the menu, and choose "Options" from the drop down menu. In the section called "Cache" click the button that says "Clear."
In Safari: Select "Safari" from the menu, and "Empty Cache" from the drop down menu.

If this does not solve the problem, please click here to write to Switch Zoo Tech Support.

Home page displaying normally

If you have trouble seeing any part of Switch Zoo, the problem is likely to be:

a) You are using a dial up Internet connection that is slow in loading the site.
or
b) You don't have the Flash Player, or you have an older version of the Flash Player (version 7 is required; Windows XP Service Pack 2 requires Flash Player 7,0,19,0 or greater)
or
c) Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX, a component that is needed by the Flash Player.

You can evaluate the problem by finding its description below.

1) On the Switch Zoo home page in Internet Explorer, you see the message "Loading... Please wait" but the image never appears. Instead, there is an empty placeholder where the Flash movie should be in the upper part of the page.

On the Switch Zoo home page in Mozilla Firefox, you see an empty placeholder (with the image of a green puzzle piece) where the Flash movie should be.


Internet Explorer	Mozilla Firefox

Problem: The Flash Player is not installed in your computer, or you have an older version of Flash.

Solution: Download and install the Flash Player. It's free, fast and easy! When the Switch Zoo home page opens, a gray dialog box will offer to install the Flash Player from Macromedia. You can accept the installation offer or Click here to download and install the Free Flash Player.

Please save Switch Zoo as a favorite first, so you can find your way back!

If you have updated your browser to Internet Explorer 8, you may need to uninstall the Flash Player before runniing the Flash installer. This can be done with the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller.
Click here to get the Adobe Flash Player Uninstaller

Once Flash is uninstalled, use the link below to go back to the Adobe Flash Player home page and download the latest FREE version. After the download and installation process is complete, return to Switch Zoo.
Click here to download and install the Free Flash Player

2) When the Home page opens, a message appears that says "Your current security settings prohibit running ActiveX controls on this page. As a result, the page may not display correctly."

After closing the message box, you see the message "Loading... Please wait" but the image never appears. There are no placeholders, just the Switch Zoo logo and message where the picture of the animals should be.

Problem: Your current security settings are too high, keeping ActiveX from running. ActiveX is a system component that is needed by the Flash Player.

Solution: Follow the directions below to modify your browser's security settings.

To change your security settings in Internet Explorer:
1. Click "Tools" on the browser menu.
2. Choose "Internet Options" from the drop-down menu.
3. Click on the "Security" tab.
4. Under "Security level for this zone," pull the slider from "High" to "Medium."
(Click "Default Level" if the slider is not present).
5. Click "OK" to close the box and apply the new settings.

To change your security settings in Netscape Navigator:
1. Click "Edit" on the browser menu.
2. Choose "Preferences" from the drop-down menu.
3. Click the arrow next to "Advanced" in the Category menu.
4. Click "Scripts & Plugins."
5. Under "Enable JavaScript for" click the checkbox next to "Navigator."
6. Click "OK" to close the box and apply the new settings.

Click here to enter Switch Zoo after changing the security settings.

If you still do not see the zoo, please click Refresh or Reload in your browser, or close the browser window and open a new one.

3) You can see the Home page, but after clicking on the "Make New Animals" button, the window turns white and nothing happens.

Problem: Your Internet connection is too slow to load the multimedia-rich site.

Solution: Wait for the zoo movie to load. It may take two minutes or more. Partway through, the screen will display animal facts to read while you wait.

The best solution is the Switch Zoo app, the BIG version of Switch Zoo. With the Switch Zoo app, you can play offline... there's no need for a fast Internet connection. The images are much bigger and there are cool additional features, too!

Click here to read more about the Switch Zoo app and see full-size pictures

4) You can see the Home page, but after clicking on the "Make New Animals" button, you see only the dark green background and surrounding graphics with a large white rectangle where the zoo should be.

Problem: Your firewall or security settings are blocking access to Switch Zoo. This happens frequently with Windows XP Service Pack 2.

Solution: If you are using Windows XP Service Pack 2, you need to update your Flash Player in order for the zoo to work properly with the new SP2 firewall.
Click here to update your Adobe Flash Player

Click here for more information on Flash and Windows XP SP2

Other common reasons that Flash content fails to display are:

Pop-up blockers blocking Flash
The most common cause of Flash movies failing to display is the presence of a pop-up/ad blocker software that specifically targets Flash content. To find out more about this please see Flash movies do not appear after installing the Flash Player.

Internet utilities blocking ActiveX
Some Internet Utilities, such as Norton Internet Utilities, perform functions similar to a firewall and may restrict viewing of ActiveX controls. You need to ensure that your firewall or utility settings are set to allow ActiveX controls or you will not be able to view Flash movies in Internet Explorer.

Firewall security settings blocking Flash
Access your computer's firewall settings and make sure it is allowing Adobe Flash files (the extension is .swf).

More information on Flash and firewall security settings

Enable programs by using the Security Alert dialog box
In the Security Alert dialog box, click Unblock this Program, then click OK.

Enable programs by using Windows Firewall
If you do not click Unblock this Program in the Security Alert dialog box, the program continues to be blocked. To enable a program by using Windows Firewall, follow these steps:
1. Click Start, click Run, type wscui.cpl in the Open box, and then click OK.
2. Click Windows Firewall.
3. In the Windows Firewall dialog box, click the Exceptions tab, and then click Add Program.
4. In the Add a Program dialog box, either select the program from the list that appears, or click Browse to locate your program. Adobe Flash is usually located in on the C: drive Programs Files\Adobe\Flash MX 2004\Players\SAFlashPlayer.exe If you cannot locate your program, see the next section.
5. After you select your program, click OK.
6. On the Exceptions tab, make sure that the check box next to your program is selected, and then click OK. (Note If you later decide that you do not want the program to be an exception, clear this check box).

Adding a program to the list of exceptions has the following advantages:
• You do not have to know a specific port number. (By contrast, when you want to open a port, you have to know the number of the port that is used by the program).
• The port that is used by the program that is on the list of exceptions will be open only when the program is waiting to receive a connection.