Microsoft Windows Vista is a completely new and different operating system from Microsoft released in 2007 (available towards the end of 2006). In general, any IMG software released prior to 2006 was not written for Vista, meaning it technically is not compatible with this new operating system. However, there are compatibility workarounds available, as Microsoft has built in a mechanism to allow older software to run. Due to the nature of IMG software, the level of compatibility is based on Microsoft's ability to interface this compatibility mode to the new Windows Vista. In theory, every feature and capability of the IMG's software will operate correctly. In actuality, this may not be what you experience when running in this compatibililty mode. The ultimate comparison would be to operate the feature or capability in the older operating system, then compare with the appropriate compatibility selection in Windows Vista.

To enable this operation (e.g. to enable IMG's software to run in Vista), it must be first installed. If you receive a Windows Version warning or error, Vista may open a dialog suggesting a "Recommended Settings" - you may accept the recommendation (this essentially provides the compatibility mode for the setup program). Once installed, you will want to enable the compatibility mode for ALL the executable programs associated with the product. To do so, you will want to open Windows Explorer (or Start Menu | Computer) and browse to the installation folder, then sort by Type, select all Applications (e.g. .EXE or Executable programs), and open properties. To get to the properties, you may open the Organize menu, the select Properties, or open the context menu (right-click), and select Properties. In the Properties dialog, you can select the Compatibility Tab, then in the Compatibility Mode section, Enable the "Run this program in compatibility mode for:", and in the drop down select "Windows XP Service Pack 2"

Theoretically, the program will now operate as it would in Windows XP. If it does not, you may wish to do the following:

• Upgrade to the IMG "Windows Vista" version of the product (if available)
• Check Microsoft for Windows updates and any updates related to compatibility
• Verify the operation works correctly in Windows XP (if available) - if the operation works in XP, but not in Vista, then you can report this to Microsoft
• E-mail IMG tech support with information on what you experiencing - there may be work-arounds or other options we can suggest
• Note that if the operation works in Windows XP, but not in the compatibility mode of Vista, this is a Microsoft issue, not an IMG software issue.

Because of the maturity of the Windows operating system, and the anticipated slow "roll-out" of Windows Vista, IMG will be responding to customer demands for Windows Vista compatibility based on various factors. Always check the product pages and IMG's website for the most up-to-date information regarding available Windows Vista releases. Feel free to contact us directly with requests or concerns or details on your specific situation.

For further information on a specific product, click on the link(s) below:

• Build-A-Board 2.10 (Build-A-Board Keyboard Designer tool (Builder))
• Joystick To Mouse 2.60
• My-T-Pen 1.77
• My-T-Touch 1.77
• My-T-Soft 1.77
• My-T-Soft 2.10 (Build-A-Board run-time software)
• OnScreen 1.75
• The Magnifier 1.20
• TouchRight Utilities 1.20
• SmartClick 1.50

Notes on "Improper Window Version" reported by Vista compatible products:
This has been reported a few times, and is an interesting side-effect of a problem solving approach used in Vista. It seems to be related to upgrades, or working with non-Vista compatible versions prior to running the Vista compatible version. The first check is the Compatibility Tab in the property page for the program (in Windows Explorer, browse to the program, Right-Click, and view Properties, then select the Compatibility Tab). For a Vista compatible IMG product, the "Run in compatibility mode" should NOT be checked - if it is, clear it and retry.

The other contributing factor is the "Program Compatibility Assistant" (PCA), which records information based on its own criteria, and in some cases, may be be overreaching and causing a problem. The following is an excerpt from Microsoft notes, and registry information regarding the actions of the PCA - the preferred approach would be to use regedit, check these registry entries, and delete any references to IMG Vista compatible products.
Managing settings made by PCA - The compatibility modes will be applied to programs by setting a registry key under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ AppCompatFlags \ Layers with key name = "full path to the exe" and string value = "name of the compatibility mode being applied"
The registry key will be set under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE to apply the solutions to be effective for all users except for the scenario where the ELEVATECREATEPROCESS compatibility mode is applied automatically before the PCA dialog shows up. In that scenario, the registry key will be set under HKEY_CURRENT_USER and the solution will only be effective for the current user.
Refer to these locations:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ AppCompatFlags \ Compatibility Assistant \ Persisted, and
HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows NT \ CurrentVersion \ AppCompatFlags \ Layers

The Virtual Store misdirection issue is a solution to the problem where the limited user cannot save/write to files under the \Program Files location, but older software may require this. To resolve this, files are actually saved in the user's Application Data area - \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files directory. This, however, creates a new problem and potential source of confusion, in that a user can be looking at what they think is in the \Program Files\MyProg folder, but in reality, they are being misdirected, and actually looking at their own copy in \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\VirtualStore\Program Files\MyProg location. This can cause problems in the program itself (since it is looking in the \Program Files location), or to other users (since they don't have access to the file modified by a different user). It may be enlightening to see what files/programs are using this virtual store location.

Information on Windows

Windows Vista Information
Windows 7 Information
Windows 8 Information
Windows 10 Information

Notes:

• Depending on product, release version, OS version, and specific technical issue, some tech items are very specific, and some may span to other products/versions
• Downloadable files can also be accessed by anonymous FTP at ftp://downloads.imgpresents.com
• Older files are moved into a separate archive location - see notes/details/new location in *.archived.txt text file

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