Display
Printing Results
Emailing Results
Sound Effects
Specific Tablets
Other Topics
Display
Problem: The App displays a distorted image of the FlashMaster
Probable solution: Tap the tablet’s “Settings” icon; tap “Display”; tap “Screen Zoom” or “Screen zoom and font” or “View Mode” or “Display size” or a similarly labeled selection; change the setting to a different setting. At least one setting–not necessarily the smallest–should solve the problem (and sometimes more than one of the alternative settings will do so). If you are using the App on a Lenovo Chromebook with a touch-sensitive display, select a different “Screen Size” (quite possibly one described as looking “like 1242 x 698”) by going to “Settings”, “Device”, “Displays” and “Internal Display”. Similar adjustments can probably be made on other Chromebooks with touch-sensitive displays that are compatible with the App.
Alternative solution: Tap the tablet’s “Accessibility” icon and find an alternative way to make an appropriate adjustment there to “Screen Zoom” or “View Mode” or “Display size”, etc.
Additional Comment: Normally, the tablet’s original setting for “Screen Zoom”, “View Mode”, etc. will be appropriate, but not always. For example, the default “View Mode” setting for a Huawei MediaPad T3 is “Medium” and will need to be changed to “Small”. (See below about the Huawei MediaPad T3.)
Additional Comment: Sometimes after selecting a different setting for “Screen Zoom”, “View Mode”, etc., it is necessary to restart the tablet, but sometimes this is not necessary.
Problem: The App suddenly displays only a (very enlarged) portion of the FlashMaster
Probable cause: You have tapped the tablet’s display at least 3 times very rapidly and, by doing so, have accidentally activated a “magnification” or “magnifier” feature.
One solution: Tap the tablet’s “Accessibility” icon and make (fairly obvious) appropriate choices to turn “off” any “magnification” or a “magnifier” feature that is “on”.
Alternative solution: When you are using the App when one of these features is “on”, do not tap the tablet’s display 3 or more times very rapidly. The only time you might do this is probably when the App is displaying the FlashMaster and you are tapping one of the white keys very rapidly to make 3 or more changes to the setting for Time Limit, arithmetic operation, Level number, or Table number.
Comment: The normal “default” setting for a “magnification” or “magnifier” feature is “off”. Normally, a “magnification” or “magnifier” feature is turned “on” only when the user of the tablet has impaired vision.
Problem: A solid black “navigation bar” sometimes remains displayed over the bottom of the display
One solution: Tap the “Tap to Go Back” button to exit the screen and then return to the screen.
Comment: This problem occurs only on some tablets and, even on them, very rarely and only on tablets that use “soft” navigation keys within the display, instead of “hard” navigation keys located on the frame of the tablet. (A “navigation bar” contains “soft” keys, such as a “soft” “home” key.)
Problem: A transparent gray “navigation bar” sometimes is displayed over the bottom of the FlashMaster’s number keys
Solution: Tap any part of the display that is not covered by a transparent bar. Therefore, if you want to tap a number key to answer a problem, tap the part of the key that is not covered by the “navigation bar”.
Alternative solution: Just wait about 3 seconds and the bar will disappear automatically.
Comment: Only some tablets use “navigation bars”. The transparent gray “navigation bar” is displayed only when you “swipe” up from the bottom of the display or down from the top of the display. If you avoid doing this, it will not be displayed.
Printing Results
Problem: The App does not print results (even though it may print the “Instructions” for the App) (See also discussion of next “Problem”.)
Possible solution (after you have done the obvious things, like turning your printer on and making sure that your tablet and printer are connected to the internet if they require an internet connection to work together): Do one or more of the following:
- Download onto your tablet from Google Play or the Amazon Appstore a (normally free) printing app or printing”enabler” app provided by the company that made your printer.
- Download the (free) “Mopria” printing app if it is not already on your tablet. The Mopria app is designed to work with many different makes and models of tablets (including most Amazon tablets) and printers.
- Download a free Hammermill printing app or, if necessary, an upgraded, reasonably-priced Hammermill app. The Hammermill apps are designed to work with many different makes and models of tablets (including Amazon tablets) and printers
- The first time that you use some printing apps with a particular printer, you need to open the app and select that printer.
- In the case of some tablets, you need to go to the tablet’s “Settings” and turn the printing app “on”. Sometimes the “Printing” setting is found under “Connected Devices”, sometimes under “Advance settings”, sometimes under “Connections” and then “More connections settings”, etc.
- Select the same printer but use it with a different printing app. For example, if you first tried to use a certain Brother printer with the Mopria app, you might try to use the Hammermill app with the same Brother printer .
- If another printer is available, select that other printer.
- Consult the Help/Manual section of your tablet and the manual for your printer.
- Ask your child for help.
Alternative solutions using email-results function: Use the App to email the results to a cell phone or to another computer and then print either (A) the email itself (which will include up to 150 of a user’s most recent results) or (B) the attached Excel spreadsheet (which is created automatically when the email is sent and not limited to 150 results).
Alternative solution by selecting “Save as PDF”: Using the App’s print-results function, select “Save as PDF” instead of selecting a printer, tap the printer icon thereby saving the results in a PDF document, select the PDF document in your tablet’s “file” or “documents” folder (probably as a “downloaded” document), and then print that document from the tablet.
Comment: The two alternative solutions [(A) and (B)] described above that use the App’s email-results function do not take much more time than the App’s print-results function and create lists of results in a larger, more readable font. Although larger than the font used if results are printed with the print-results function, the font used in the spreadsheet attached to the email is smaller than the font used in the email itself.
Problem: The App indicates that a selected printer is “Not Available”
Possible alternative solutions:
- Wait 60 seconds. (Sometimes it just takes a while for the tablet to “find” the printer.)
- Change the location of the tablet relative to the location of the printer. For example, simply move the tablet closer to the printer (although there can be location-related problems other than lack of proximity).
- Tap the name of the selected printer (displayed at the top of the display), then tap “All Printers …” at the bottom of the consequently-displayed choices, and then tap the name of the previously selected printer.
- Disconnect the tablet from the internet and then reconnect it to the internet.
- Go back to the App’s previous screen, and then tap again on the button labeled “Tap to Print Results“.
- Select the same printer but use it with a different printing app. For example, if you first tried to use a certain Brother printer with the Mopria app, you might try to use the Hammermill app with the same Brother printer.
- Check the printer’s display for a message requesting that you take an action on the printer that permits the printer to communicate with your tablet.
- Make sure that your tablet and the printer are both connected to the same WiFi connection or are both ready for communication by Bluetooth®.
- Ask your child for help.
Problem: Printed results are difficult to read because of small font
Solution using email-results function if no more than 150 results: Using the App’s email-results function, email the results to a cell phone or to another computer and then print the email itself which will include up to 150 of a user’s most recent results. The font used for the email is substantially larger than the font used when results are printed with the App’s print-results function.
Solution using email-results function if more than 150 results or to conserve paper: Using the App’s email-results function, email the results to a cell phone or to another computer and then open and print the attached Excel spreadsheet that is created automatically when the email is sent and that is not limited to 150 results. Although larger than the font used if results are printed with the print-results function, the font used in the spreadsheet attached to the email is smaller than the font used in the email itself. Consequently, even if there are fewer than 150 results, to use less paper, you may want to print the spreadsheet instead of the email.
Emailing Results
Problem: Emailed results do no not appear in the addressee’s inbox:
Possible solution: The email may have been incorrectly treated as “junk mail” or “blocked”. The addressee (i.e., the recipient of the email) should check her or his email folder for “junk email” and mark results sent to that folder as “not junk” and, perhaps, also add the email’s “From” address (ResultsFromFlashMaster@gmail.com) to her or his contacts (or use another feature of her or his email software) to prevent future emails containing results from being treated as junk mail.
Problem: Email function does not work at all:
Possible solution: If your tablet is not connected to the internet, you need to connect it to the internet by tapping on the tablet’s “Settings” icon, tapping on “Connections” or “Internet” (or an equivalent label), selecting the particular connection, and entering the password for that connection.
Possible solution: If you have not previously sent an email from the tablet, you may need to download (for free) and set up an email app (such as a Gmail or AOL.com app).
Possible solution: Change the location of your tablet relative to the location of your WiFi router. For example, simply move the tablet closer to the router (although there can be location-related problems other than lack of proximity).
Possible solution: Disconnect the tablet from the internet and then reconnect it to the internet.
Problem: Email of results is in too large a font
Probable solution: Decrease the tablet’s setting for “font size”. Normally, this can be done by tapping on the tablet’s icon for “Settings”, tapping on “Display”, and then selecting a smaller font size. Sometimes, after tapping “Display”, it is necessary to tap on something (for example, “Advanced”) to arrive at where you can select a smaller font size. Sometimes there is an alternative way to decrease font size, namely, by selecting “Settings”, then “Accessibility”, and then a smaller font size.
Sound Effects
Problem: Sound effects for such things as correct and incorrect answers are not audible or not loud enough
Possible solution: Move the round dot on the green “Volume bar” of the App to increase volume by tapping on a spot on the “Volume bar” to the right of the dot’s present location.
Possible solution: Increase the tablet’s “Media” volume after tapping the “Settings” icon and then selecting “Sound” (or a similar label) and possibly “Volume”.
Possible solution: If nothing else works, restart the tablet and then restart the App.
To hear a “touch sound” effect whenever one of the App’s (virtual) keys is tapped
Explanation: If and only if you want to hear a “touch sound” effect whenever one of the App’s (virtual) keys is tapped, you can accomplish this on some, but not all, tablets by: tapping on the tablet’s “Settings” icon, tapping on “Sound” (or a similar label), and then (A) possibly increasing “Notification” or “System” volume and (B) turning on “Touch Sounds” or the equivalent of “Touch Sounds” which may require first tapping on “Advanced” or “Other Sounds”.
Caution: In the case of at least one tablet (see below about the Lenovo Tab 4), turning on “Touch Sounds” may interfere with the normal sound effects emitted by the App.
Specific Tablets
Very Early Versions of the 7-inch Amazon tablet
Problem: The App does not work on the first “generation” 7-inch “Kindle Fire” tablet first sold in November of 2011 or on the second “generation” 7-inch “Kindle Fire HD” tablet first sold in September of 2012. (It has not yet been determined whether or not, the App works on the third “generation” 7-inch “Kindle Fire HDX” tablet first sold in September of 2013 or the the fourth “generation” 7-inch “Fire” tablet [the “Kindle” name was not used with this generation] first sold in September of 2014. I am hopeful that it does and would appreciate learning about observations relating to either of third or fourth generations.)
Solution: If your 7-inch Amazon tablet is from a “generation” that is too early (e.g., the first or second “generation”), unfortunately the only solution that I can recommend is to purchase a version that is fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, or the current ninth “generation” or use another Android tablet, but a new latest-generation 7-inch Amazon tablet will be priced at no more than $50 and often $10 or $20 less.
Lenovo Tab 4, 8-inch display, Model-TB8504F, using Android version 7.1.1
Problem: Occasionally, the App’s sound effects (for example, the sound effects for correct and incorrect answers) are distorted or not emitted by this tablet.
Possible solution: (maybe only partial): Tap the tablet’s “Settings” icon; tap “Sound”; tap “Other sounds”; if “Touch sounds” is “on”, tap to turn it “off”.
Additional Comment: I am not aware of a similar problem with any other Lenovo tablet.
Huawei MediaPad T3, 8-inch display, Model number KOB-W09, using Android version 7.0
Problem: The App displays a very distorted image of the FlashMaster.
Solution: Tap the tablet’s “Settings” icon; tap “Display”; tap “View Mode”; tap “Small”, tap checkmark in upper right corner to confirm selection of “Small”; tap “OK” to allow tablet to be restarted.
Additional Comment: The “default” setting for “View Mode” is “Medium” (as opposed to “Small”, the desired setting), the “Solution” described above should be implemented before using the App for the first time.
Honor MediaPad T3, 8-inch display, using Android version 7.0
Probable problem (not confirmed): The App displays a very distorted image of the FlashMaster. (This is a probable problem because this tablet appears to be essentially the same as the Huawei MediaPad T3 (see above).)
Probable solution: Tap the tablet’s “Settings” icon; tap “Display”; tap “View Mode”; tap “Small”, tap checkmark in upper right corner to confirm selection of “Small”; tap “OK” to allow tablet to be restarted.
Samsung Galaxy Tab A (2016), 7-inch display, Model number SM-T280, using Android version 5.1.1
Problem: While an email address is being typed, the characters of the address are sometimes not immediately displayed.
Solution: If you continue with typing and entering the email address, it will be fully displayed.
Samsung Galaxy Tab E Lite, 7-inch display, Model number SM-T113, using Android version 4.4.4
Problem: While an email address is being typed, the characters of the address are sometimes not immediately displayed.
Solution: If you continue with typing and entering the email address, it will be fully displayed.
Other Topics
Contact Chuck if you still have a problem or a question after first UPDATING the App to its most recent version
If you encounter a problem with the most recent version of the App or if you have a question about it, feel free to contact Chuck Resor, the owner of Flashmaster LLC, by calling him at 1-307-690-8577 or emailing him at info@flashmaster.com. If you call and he does not answer, please leave any voicemail that make sense to you, including how he can contact you if you wish him to do so. (You can also use the App to send him a suggestion, but–to protect the privacy of children–the App does not provide Chuck with contact information that he would need to reply to you about your suggestion.)
Does the FlashMaster App work on Chromebooks?
The FlashMaster App was designed for Amazon and other Android tablets, but it works on some newer Chromebooks that have touch-sensitive displays. For example, the App works on the Lenovo Chromebook C330 2-in-1 Convertible Laptop. If you use that particular Chromebook and the image of the FlashMaster is not displayed well, select the “Screen Size” that “looks like 1242 x 698” by going to “Settings”, “Device”, “Displays” and “Internal Display”. Similar adjustments may need to be made on other Chromebooks that are compatible with the App.
Problem: An Email of the “Instructions” or an Email Telling Others about the App Does Not Reach the Intended Recipient
Possible solution: Check the “Outbox” for your tablet’s email to see if the email is stuck there, and if so, send the email again from the Outbox. (Occasionally, an email with an attached file gets stuck in an email system’s Outbox and needs to be sent again out of the Outbox.)
Problem: The App appears to be frozen or is acting strangely
Possible solution: Make sure that you are not touching the display of your tablet with a finger of a hand that is holding the tablet while you are using another finger to use the App.
Possible solution: If you are not causing the problem (as explained above), turn the tablet off and then turn the tablet back on and re-enter the App.
Comment: If you are not causing the problem (as explained above), the problem should occur very infrequently, if ever. (But it did occur once when I was trying to email results and my Amazon tablet was too far from my WiFi router.)
Use of the App by as many as 30 users on a single tablet
Explanation: The App will accommodate as many as 30 logged-in users and one additional user who is not logged in. After a user logs in, the App will display the User Name in the upper right corner of the tablet’s display. If a user has not logged in, the tablet will display “No User Name” in the upper right corner of the tablet’s display. If a user attempts to create a new User Name when 30 User Names have already been created, the App will display a warning that the creation of the new User Name will eliminate the oldest of the 30 existing User Names.
How are User Names Created?
Explanation:
When you first start up the FlashMaster App (by tapping the white icon with the red “Flash Master” label displayed on your tablet’s “home” screen), you will see 3 long horizontal orange buttons displayed. Tap the bottom one of those 3 buttons labeled “Tap to use FlashMaster after creating a User Name for yourself”.
Then you will see the cursor blinking in a space and a keyboard displayed below the space. Using the letter and/or the number keys on the keyboard, type a username containing from 1 to 10 characters in that space. Then tap the orange button labeled “Tap to Enter User Name”.
You will then see a message confirming that you have created the User Name and encouraging you to make a paper record of it.
After you have made your paper record of the User Name along with the name of the student for whom you have created the User Name, tap the green button labeled “Tap to Close”.
The FlashMaster App will then display the next screen (with a number of options including a round button labeled “Tap to turn FlashMaster ON”). In the upper right corner of that screen you will see “User:” followed by the User Name that you have just created.
But if you then want to create a User Name for another student, tap the green button labeled “Tap to Go Back” in the upper left corner of the screen. Doing so will display again the screen with the 3 long horizontal orange buttons, and (as explained above) you can tap the bottom one again to begin entering a User Name for the next student.
If you follow this process, you can enter User Names for up to 30 students. (If you happen to begin to enter a 31st User Name, the App will warn you that continuing to enter it will eliminate the oldest User Name in the tablet’s memory along with all the records that relate to that oldest User Name.)
If you do not already own an Android tablet or an Amazon tablet
Comment: Although I am not an expert on tablets, the App works well with 7-inch, 8-inch and 10-inch Amazon Fire® tablets. The 7-inch Amazon tablet seems to be a good choice for families since it is very reasonably priced. The 8-inch Amazon tablet might be better for schools since its battery life is somewhat longer. There are “kids” version of these tablets that, among other things, are sturdier and have longer warranties, but they are significantly more expensive and older students may not be enthusiastic about using something that appears to be intended for young children.
If, after reading this webpage, you are still having a problem
Solution: Call Chuck at 307-733-8577 and, if necessary, leave a message, including your telephone number, or email Chuck at: info@flashmaster.com.