LiveSpy 1.xx Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

How do I use LiveSpy with a proxy server?

Right-click on the LiveSpy icon in the task bar. Pick 'Options' in the pop-up menu. Click on the 'Options' tab in the dialog that appears. Enter the name of your proxy server and its port in the displayed fields, then click 'OK'. All future updates should be performed using the proxy server.

I have Active Desktop/Internet Explorer/Windows 98 installed, and LiveSpy isn't behaving properly. What can I do?

You can turn off Active Desktop by following these steps:

Right-click on desktop
Select 'Active Desktop' from the menu that appears
Click 'View As Web Page'

You have now toggled between viewing the active desktop and viewing regular wallpaper. At this point, LiveSpy's images should display normally. In fact, if LiveSpy is already running, you should see a camera.

Repeat the above steps to turn on Active Desktop again. This will hide the regular windows wallpaper, LiveSpy included.

Improved support for Active Desktop will be forthcoming soon.

I have Win95, and it seems like LiveSpy has a memory leak. Is there a fix for this?

Windows 95 has a known bug that Microsoft has reported at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q148/3/36.asp. Goto that page and download the updater listed there.

Does LiveSpy work with Windows NT 4.0?

I have now had the opportunity to do extensive testing under Windows NT 4.0 and can say with confidence that it runs just as well as it does on Windows 95 and 98. If you use Windows NT 4.0, please don't hesitate to try LiveSpy. Check that Active Desktop is disabled. Otherwise no cameras will be displayed.

LiveSpy.ini opens in Notepad each time I start my system. How do I fix this?

You have a shortcut to LiveSpy in your Startup folder without an entry for the 'Start In' Properties dialog entry. Since the 'Start In' directory is blank, LiveSpy runs in the Startup folder. Since it writes cameras and LiveSpy.ini into it's current directory, and the current directory is the startup folder, those items are created there each time.

To change the current directory, right-click on the shortcut in the Startup folder (when LiveSpy isn't running). In the 'Start In' field, enter the directory where LiveSpy is installed.

Now that you have changed the 'Start In' directory, go to the Startup folder and remove LiveSpy.ini and the cameras that have been saved there. Restart your system and LiveSpy.ini should no longer appear in Notepad.

I have entered my proxy server information in the Options dialog, but LiveSpy keeps saying 'Error retrieving image'. What's wrong?

LiveSpy requires that the proxy server be entered as a name rather than a numerical IP address. Thus if your proxy server has the name 'proxy.example.com' and the IP address '192.168.1.1', you should enter 'proxy.example.com' in the Options dialog proxy name field. Ask your system administrator for the proxy server name if all you have is the numerical IP address.

I just want to watch one camera, but LiveSpy keeps showing a different camera. How do I stop it from changing cameras?

Right-click on the LiveSpy icon in the task bar. Pick 'Options' in the pop-up menu. Click on the 'Options' tab in the dialog that appears. Uncheck the checkbox labeled 'Change Camera With Each Update' and click 'OK'.

The colors of the desktop image look strange. What can I do to fix it?

A 16-bit or higher color depth is recommended for use with LiveSpy. To choose your color depth, go to the Start menu, and choose "Settings", then "Control Panel". Double-click on the "Display" icon. Select the "Settings" tab, and pick a color depth from the "Color Palette" drop-down box. Any setting with 16 or more bits should make the colors in the desktop images look normal.

Your listing for my webcam is incorrect. How can I have it fixed?

Send me mail at the address "support at frequal dot com". Give me the name of your camera, and the corrected listing, including name, camera URL, homepage URL, and longitude. I will fix your listing in the next release of LiveSpy.

I turned off "Save Downloaded Images", but LiveSpy is still keeping sixteen images on my hard drive. Why?

LiveSpy maintains images this way to allow changing the number of tiled cameras shown. LiveSpy has to maintain as many image files as there are tiled cameras currently shown. However, the user can change the number of tiled cameras shown. If the user changes from 16 to 1, I could have had the program delete all but one camera. However, if the user soon returned to 16 tiled cameras, there would be fifteen blank spots where the deleted cameras used to be shown. So I decided to always keep enough images around to always be able to provide a complete image for the maximum number of tiled images.

I I have a question not listed here. How do I find an answer?

You may email your questions to "support at frequal dot com".

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Last modified on 31 Dec 2006 by AO