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The following  plug-ins, browser software, and hardware recommendations are provided to help optimize your viewing of content on the National Air and Space Museum Web site. If you experience any technical difficulties viewing the Web site, please contact nasmweb@si.edu. Please include the URL (web address) of the page where you experienced the problem.

Recommended Browser Software:

  • The National Air and Space Museum Web site is developed primarily using Internet Explorer. The site is routinely tested to work with Firefox and Safari.

  • A Javascript enabled browser is recommended.


Recommended Hardware:

(The following are recommendations, not requirements)

  • 17" monitor (1024 x 768 resolution, 16 bit color) preferred, 800 x 600 suitable.

  • Minimum 56k modem connection, however some larger images and PDF files may download very slowly. High-speed internet connection recommended.

  • PII or equivalent processor, 256MB RAM, 32MB Video card, external speakers.

Plug-ins

The following plug-ins are free software applications that can be downloaded from the internet and installed easily on Windows and Macintosh machines.  Some special features, audio, and multimedia content on the National Air and Space Museum Web site require the use of plug-ins to view them. The National Air and Space Museum makes every effort to use industry standard plug-ins with a solid reputation of reliability. However, each plug-in manufacturer is responsible for the security and quality of their software.

 

Note: ALL Recommended Plug-ins are FREE unless otherwise noted. When downloading from software manufacturer, look for "free" versions.

 
Adobe Reader

Adobe Acrobat Reader
FREE from Adobe. The Reader is required to view and print PDF files. The site has brochures, forms, guides, maps and posters available in PDF format.

   
Adobe Flash Player

Adobe Flash Player
FREE Plug-In from Adobe. Available for most platforms. Allows viewing of flash animations, videos, and flash-enabled web pages. If you do not have Flash installed when you encounter a flash-enabled web page, you should receive a message prompting you to download the software.

   
Apple Quicktime

QuickTime Player 
FREE Plug-in from Apple. Allows viewing of QTVR (objects and panoramas) and Quicktime movies.  Available for Windows and Mac OS. Note: Quicktime Pro is NOT necessary to access Quicktime media on the National Air and Space Museum Web site. Only the FREE player is needed.

 

 

Windows Media Player

Windows Media Player
Available free from Microsoft. Typically installed with all Windows operating systems. Required to view National Air and Space Museum webcast lectures. Also plays a variety of audio and video media.
Get Windows Media Player for Windows
Get Windows Media Player for Mac

 

 


Printing Web Pages:

Layout

The web pages on this site are designed to display at 800x600 screen size and 72dpi. In order to print a page, you must set your layout print setting (e.g. Page Setup) to print in landscape orientation.

 

Background Colors

Some web pages on this site use black or darkly colored backgrounds with white text. Background colors sometimes do not print in certain browsers (although most current browsers automatically adjust for this). If you experience printing a blank page, try changing the print options (typically in "Page Setup") on your browser.