• Basic Tips
• Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
• Troubleshooting

1. Scroll bars indicate that there may be more to see than your browser window is showing you.

2. Resize bars allow you to make a "window pane" wider or narrower, taller or shorter.

3. A "mouseover" is an event that occurs when you move your mouse over a graphic element.

4. Click on anything that could feasibly do something—your cursor may not always turn into a finger to indicate a link; and similarly, text links do not always appear underlined.

5. Use the most recent browser software—after all, it's free!

6. Make sure your speakers are turned on—some exhibited works contain audio; and that Java and JavaScript are enabled in your browser settings—you won't be able to experience many of the exhibits without it.

7. Make sure you have the most popular browser plug-ins for viewing movies and animations, and enjoying audio and interactivity.

8. Enlarge your browser window to its maximum viewing size (unless specifically instructed to do otherwise). You can increase your viewing area by hiding non-essential browser buttons or by setting your browser's preferences to display the toolbar as text.

9. If you ever feel stuck or lost, don't forget about your browser's "back" button—it's the next best thing to an "undo" command. Users of Netscape Navigator 4.06 and greater will find that holding down the "back" button will reveal a history of visited pages in a selectable pull-down menu. Internet Explorer users can use the "History" button or tab to travel back in time.

10. As you "walk" through the virtual space of MOWA, you may find it helpful to imagine that you are in an actual museum, where corridors lead from the Main Entrance to the various galleries that house exhibits, and where taking your time is part of the overall experience.

• Where's the art?
• How do I get from one exhibit to another?
• How come the Exhibits brochure doesn't have hyperlinks to the exhibits?
• How do the Exhibit Guides work?
• How do I navigate an exhibit?
• How is art selected for the museum?
• Do you accept submissions or recommendations?
• Can I put a graphic link to MOWA on my site?
• How can I get my site listed on your Resources page?

Where's the art?

The actual works of art are located in exhibits, which are housed in galleries. To enter an exhibit in the traditional manner, you must:

1. Go to the gallery of your choosing, such as the North Gallery.
2. Click on the poster of the exhibit you wish to enter, bringing you to the exhibit entrance.
3. Click on the exhibit doorway.

How do I get from one exhibit to another?

Because the Museum of Web Art is modeled after physical museums, you must always exit one "room" in order to enter another.

To enter another exhibit located in the same gallery, click on the "exit" link to return to the exhibit entrance, then click on the "gallery" link to return to the gallery entrance.

To get to another exhibit located in a different gallery, click on the "MOWA" logo to return to the Main Entrance, where you can either annex with the other galleries or grab a "NOW @ MOWA" brochure for direct access to all the exhibits.

How come the Exhibits brochure doesn't have hyperlinks to the exhibits?

It does! Click on the colored square () preceding the exhibit listing to teleport directly to that exhibit.

How do the Exhibit Guides work?

Exhibit Guides are available at all exhibit entrances and are convenient if:

1. you wish to see a particular piece within the exhibit without having to "walk" there; or
2. you would like to see at a glance all the pieces on display in a particular exhibit.

The best way to use the Guide is to position your browser window to the left edge of your monitor, and resize it to as narrow a width as you are comfortable viewing. Clicking on any of the links will display the art in a new window.

NOTE TO NETSCAPE NAVIGATOR USERS: When you are through viewing the art for a particular exhibit, be sure to close the window with the art and NOT the window displaying the Exhibit Guide, else you will lose your browser history.

The navigation links within the exhibit are not showing up.

Some pieces on display at MOWA require a particularly wide viewing area. If your monitor is smaller than 17 inches, or your browser window is not open to its maximum size, the navigation links, which will always appear either beneath or to the right of the art, might be "squished" out of view. If this is the case, you have two options:

1. Use the resize bar to widen the panel containing the links, or
2. return to the exhibit entrance and get an Exhibit Guide, which you can use, instead, to navigate the exhibit.

(If you believe the problem is with the site itself, please let us know!)

Is there a way to resize the window containing the art?

There are several ways to resize the window containing the art:

1. Make your browser window as large as possible, which might require setting your browser options to display the toolbar as text.
2. Take advantage of scroll bars and resize bars.
3. Eliminate the navigation links altogether by viewing the art in a new window.

How do I navigate an exhibit?

Every piece on display at MOWA is accompanied by a set of text navigation links: "Back" takes you to the preceding piece in the exhibit (NOTE: If you are at the first piece in the exhibit, "back" will take you to the last piece in the exhibit.). "Exit" will bring you to the exhibit entrance, convenient for picking up an Exhibit Guide, if you so desire. "Next" takes you to the next piece in the exhibit (NOTE: If you are at the last piece in the exhibit, "next" will take you to the first piece in the exhibit.). The "MOWA" logo will always take you to the Main Entrance.

In cases where a specific work of art is preceded by its credits, click the "continue" link to proceed to the actual art, or click on "back" to go to the preceding work of art, or its credits, whichever is applicable.

How is art selected for the museum?

Much of the work on display at MOWA is the result of our own Cybertravels (we have an expert surfer-dude on board!). However, recommendations from visitors have also led to some excellent finds.

Do you accept submissions or recommendations?

We are always happy to take a look at anything recommended for possible inclusion here at MOWA. However, we can't make any guarantees as to acceptance or response time.

Can I put a graphic link to MOWA on my site?

By all means! MOWA logos are available for download at http://www.mowa.org/. And if you would be so kind, please drop us a line to let us know you've linked to us.

How can I get my site listed on your Resources page?

The MOWA Resources page is devoted to beneficial and potentially inspirational, art-related links. Qualifying sites must meet one of the following criteria:

1. Has MOWA displayed any work from the site?
2. Does the site provide an invaluable wealth of information on website design?
3. Is the site representative of an art school/institution, museum, or non-profit organization?
4. Is the site representative of a manufacturer of software or hardware products that directly serve website designers?
5. Is the site an art-news publication or e-zine?

Sites meeting any of these criteria may be submitted for consideration as a MOWA Resource. Simply send the URL of the site to: mailto:resources@mowa.org (no guarantees!).

Some of the art isn't "working"...

If you see an icon where an image should be, first try being patient. Perhaps the image is just taking a long time to load. If the browser seems to have finished loading the page, try re-loading the page.

If you continue to see a broken icon, even after reloading the page, please contact us.

If you see a plug-in icon, you must activate that plug-in in your browser settings, or, if you don't have that plug-in, you must acquire it in order to see what you are missing. (If you click on the icon, a dialog box will appear, telling you which plug-in is missing, and just what you can do about it.)

If you are seeing the art, but it "just doesn't look right," or seems not to be functioning properly, this is usually the result of running old browser software. This site is best enjoyed with the most recent browser software, versions 5.x and later.

"The art crashed my browser!"

Some of the pieces on display at MOWA can be memory intensive. Therefore, you may want to allot more memory to your browser (this must be changed in your browser application's "info" or "properties" box, and can only be changed when your browser is not running).

If you don't have a lot of RAM (less than 80 MB), try quitting all other applications, and close any unnecessary windows.

As a last resort, clear your browser's cache to free up as much browser-specific memory as possible (this can be accomplished from your browser's "preferences" or "options" menu).