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Labora Worship
faq

Frequently asked questions

YEARLY UPDATES
Why do we need yearly updates? [-]

When you buy LabOra Worship you purchase the licence to use the program and all the copyright texts and resources for a year. In October each year you are invited to renew this licence for the next liturgical year.

Each year new texts and resources are added. This will be especially important in the next couple of years as the entire Sacramentary and Lectionary texts are changed. By renewing the licence each year you ensure that you have the new texts as soon as they are approved for use and that your licence to use the LabOra program remains current. Most of the license fee is paid to the copyright holders of the software, texts and resources.

2010 UPDATE
What is new in the 2010 Update? [-]

Payment of the annual licence fee of $195 entitles all computers associated with a site to use LabOra and all the copyrighted texts and resources for 2010. Most of the licence fee is paid to the copyright holders of the software, texts and resources. In October each year you are invited to renew this license for the following year.

The go-Get menu has been extended to cover readings for Children's Liturgy of the Word on Sundays together with the Leaders Notes. These can now easily be collected together for a user- defined period.

New texts have been added including Marriage anniversary (25, 50), General Introduction to the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults.

Toolbars for the Resource Browser have been simplified while allowing the complete list to be displayed if needed.

Where a celebrations does now have its own proper texts the entire list of options from all the designated commons is provided in the Choices frame.

When the new liturgical texts are mandated for use in Australia and New Zealand they will immediately be available in LabOra.

NEW TEXTS
When will the new Mass texts be available? [-]

The earliest the new Mass texts and readings will be available is Ash Wednesday, 2011.

When they are approved for use in Australia they will automatically be displayed in LabOra.

NETWORK INSTALLATIONS
How do we install LabOra on a network? [-]

LabOra Worship is a Windows-based software where the application has to run on a Windows OS (Windows 2000 or newer).
Both the resources (read-only data) and the user-data may be hosted on any file-server.

We would recommend that you first install LabOra Worship on a local Windows PC to understand how it works by using the standard installation. In the folder where LabOra is installed you will find the following subfolders:

ADDINS: Holds some language resource files and has to be on the local PC. Read only.
CLIPS: Clip arts for the liturgical year. May well be on the server. Read only.
DOCUMENT: Holds documents created by the users. May be shared - if the users want shared data. Read and write access.
MUSIC: No resources in Australian Catholic version - will usually hold music/score resources
SYMBOLS: Other graphic resources. May well be on a server - read only.
SYSTEM: If setting LabOra up shared, this folder should be on the server. Holds user-information etc. Read and write access.
TEMPLATE: Holds templates etc - if setting up a shared environment this should be on the server. Read and write access.
USERDATA: Holds all the different userdata in a number of databases. If shared data, this folder should be on the server. Read and write access.

In ….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\, you will find the LABORA.INI file. This file holds all the addresses LabOra uses to find all data.
It is the section the following files are important:
SystemFile= ….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\System\Labsys.mdb
DataFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\UserData\Userdata.mdb
HymnFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\UserData\SongBooks\AsOneVoiceKids.mdb
LiturgyFile=C:\Develop\LWData\TLC\Resource\auscatlit.mdb
PlanFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\UserData\Mainplan.mdb
DocFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\UserData\\Document.mdb
ServiceFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\UserData\\Detail.mdb
TemplatePath=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Template\
TemplateFile=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Template.mdb
DocumentPath=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Document\
ClipsPath=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Clips\
MusicPath=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Music\
SymbolsPath=….\Duplo Data AS\LabOra Worship\Symbols\

Move the folders wanted to the fileserver, and update the LABORA.INI file accordingly.

To simplify the installation, you could copy the folder INSTALL\LABORA\DISK1 from the CD to your fileserver - and then go to each client and run the SETUP.EXE.

BIBLE EXPLORER
What is Bible Explorer? [-]

Bible Explorer is a free Bible software program that comes with LabOra, giving access to the three entire bibles: Jerusalem Bible, New Revised Standard Version and Contemporary English Version used in children's liturgies.

Simply place the disk in the CD drive and follow the prompts. If unsure what is meant click OK or Continue. No serial number is needed. You do not need to be connected to the internet.

Video tutorials can be accessed through the opening Bible Explorer window.

LEARNING THE PROGRAM
Is there something to help me learn the program, other than the Help file? [-]

For 30 short videos showing how LabOra is useful for a range of activities :
http://www.litcom.net.au/LME/index.html

For a step by step introduction to using LabOra:
http://www.litcom.net.au/publications/downloads/LabOraWorkbook052009.pdf

For an interactive pdf file on how to prepare a School Mass with LabOra:
http://www.litcom.net.au/publications/downloads/LabOraWorkbook052009.pdf

For a detailed description of what is in LabOra:
http://www.litcom.net.au/publications/downloads/LabOra2009.pdf

For help installing LabOra:
http://www.litcom.net.au/publications/downloads/InstallingLabOra2009.pdf

SERIAL NUMBER
Why does the program keep rejecting my serial number? [-]

Serial numbers have the pattern AUS02 NNNNNL NNNNLN (where N = 0-9 and L = A-Z).

Check where ‘L’ should be in the above pattern and then check that you are not entering the number 1 instead of capital I or Zero instead of capital O.

SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
System requirements? [-]

*Windows XP or Vista is recommended
*Preferably 512+MB RAM
*Windows 2000 or later for Click and Print feature
*Free space on the hard drive of at least 1GB
*LabOra will work successfully on a MAC running "Boot Camp" or "Parallels". Windows Vista or XP will need to be installed together with Word 2000 or later.

UNINSTALLING LabOra
What is a clean uninstall? [-]

When it is necessary to uninstall LabOra a clean uninstall should be done.

1. Go to Start < Control Panel < Add/Remove programs.
2. Delete the folder C:/ Program Files / Duplo Data.
If any user data needs to be kept it should be backed up - see "Backing up Files".

BACKING UP FILES
What files should I back up regularly? [-]

Assuming that you have installed the program and data under C:\Program Files, all user information is contained in three folders:

>C:\Program Files\Duplo Data As\LabOra Worship\Document
C:\Program Files\Duplo Data As\LabOra Worship\System
C:\Program Files\Duplo Data As\LabOra Worship\UserData

[The drive letter (C:\) may be different if you installed the data files on a different drive initially]

User information includes liturgy programs you have prepared, Click and Print documents, additions to LabOra Explorer, addition of words to hymn titles. It is important to back up these files regularly.

ERROR MESSAGES
What do I do if I get an error message? [-]

Error messages happen when a user, a piece of software or a piece of hardware doesn't do what the computer is expecting it to. Most error messages can be recovered from easily by:

  1. Closing the message and continuing
  2. Closing and reopening the window that caused the error message
  3. Closing and reopening the program that caused the error
  4. As a last resort it is sometimes necessary to reboot the computer. This will often get rid of the error.

If the error persists and prevents normal operation of LabOra, send an email to Labora.help@litcom.net.au. Please include your phone number so that we can contact you directly. This will normally be done the same day.

Be assured that we will do everything we can to fix the error or to help you find a workaround.

RESOURCE BROWSER
When I open the Resource Browser the ‘Folder Items’ column is missing. What happened to it? [-]

There are two icons on the LabOra toolbar (toward the centre): View folders; View preview.

‘View folders’ hides or reveals the ‘Folder Item’ folders. ‘View preview’ hides or reveals the preview window (bottom right hand under ‘Items’)

 
Why does the Resource Browser window disappear when I am working with it and another program on the screen at the same time? [-]

There is an ‘always on top’ icon (second from right) that will prevent the Resource Browser from disappearing.

NB Make sure you toggle this off when you are finished or the Resource Browser will hide all other programs.

SCHOOL PRAYER
OUTLINE
When creating a liturgy using the School Prayer outline what is the purpose of the 'Topics' frame in the 'Create Liturgy' window? [-]
The School Prayer outline uses the Contemporary English Version scripture readings as in the Children's Lectionary. This Lectionary does not present a different reading for every weekday but rather a series of topics relevant to the season. The 'Topics' drop-down menu lists these seasonal choices depending on the date of the liturgy being created. Choose one of the topics and these readings will be used for the planned liturgy.

To see the complete list of these topics go to the Resource Browser / Lectionaries / CEV / Weekdays in Advent, Lent, Easter or Ordinary Time.
COPY TO WORD
What is the difference between the 'Open in MS Word' icon and the 'Copy to Word' icon? [-]
The 'Open in MS Word' icon opens MS Word and pastes the chosen text there. Use this icon if you want just one text.

The 'Copy to Word' icon copies the text to the clipboard. It can then be pasted where required. Use this icon if you want to copy a text into an existing Word document or other program.
COPY LISTS
OF HYMNS
How do I copy and print the list of hymns for a particular season? [-]
Open the Resource Browser / Hymnals / The Hymnals you want, and click on the season or topic to display the list of hymns for that season or topic. Right click in the right frame, Choose select all, right click again and choose copy list item(s). This copies the list to the clipboard. Paste the list where needed.

This same procedure also works for others lists, e.g. readings.
SAINTS
Where can I find the list of saints and their rank? [-]
Resource Browser / Sacramentary / Saints. Saints can be listed chronologically or alphabetically.

Click the 'Open in MS Word' icon to open the list as a Word table.