Technical Support on Merger Zoo

[ElisabethB]

Yup, this solved everything.
I didn't look at the tutorial, because I thought I didn't need it !  Oh well, hubris and everything ! 
And I even distinctly remember a comment by Jules mentioning the exact same thing.
Thanks for helping me out and sorry for all the trouble I've caused you guys.

[dcortesi]

Oh, no.   Shocked  Crashing the browser is not the intended behavior.  I've tested on Safari (4.0.4) and Firefox (3.5.5) on Mac OS X (10.5.8 ) and not had any crashes (other than the two galaxies).

That leaves checking your Java version.  For the Mac, go to Applications/Utilities/Java Preferences.  There you should have the option of choosing which version of Java you would like to use when running Applets.  I have been using J2SE 5.0 32-bit.  We've tested with 6.0 32-bit on Windows and some 64-bit on Ubuntu.  Haven't tried those on the Mac yet.  The applet has been known to run with Java 1.4.2, 1.5 (5.0), and 1.6 (6.0).  Hopefully one of those will work for you.

Thanks - I had no idea this (Java Prefs) existed. I retested after checking that it was preferring 5.0 32-bit. I also set the option to open the Java Console.

I went through maybe 6 screens of "More" and had selected two "interesting." Somewhere in there a message appeared in the Java Console about an index out of range. When I clicked on the third "interesting" one Safari crashed, unfortunately taking the Java Console with it. I don't suppose the Safari crash report would be useful to you?

[strike]I will now try again with 6.0/64-bit.[/strike]Actually I tested with 1.4.2 and it worked - no crash. Interestingly, although I had the Java Console option set, no console appeared with this JRE.

[echo-lily-mai]

Hi i did some more mergers today for http://cas.sdss.org/dr7/en/tools/quicklook/quickobj.asp?id=587736941981466667. My merger count is still 0, and it hasn’t saved my favourites. (i only tried to save one)

It was quite hard to get the correct spin directions as well. 

On a positive note though i just wanted to say it’s nice having the start up screen with the current date, current target and the SDSS link that we can click on. 

I'm sorry to hear the My Mergers page still isn't showing any results for you.  We've verified that even if that screen wasn't updating for some people (OK a bunch of us), the simulations are getting saved

We deployed a new version of the applets this morning that should have improved the feedback seen in the My Mergers page.  The easiest way to tell if you have the new version is to look at the My Mergers page.  Towards the bottom is a message that says "The scale used here is different than in the original simulation."  If you don't see that message, your browser hasn't loaded the latest applet.

To get the latest applet, it is sometimes necessary to clear your browser cache.  Do that and then restart your browser.  Even if you do have the latest applet, refreshing the cache and restarting the browser can improve the situation.  If you need help clearing the cache, please let me know.

Also, to ensure proper initialization of the communication path between the applet and the server, it is necessary to go through a "gateway" of sorts before launching the Merger applet or the My Mergers applet.  If you have bookmarked either applet page or are going directly to those URLs, the gateway won't have a chance to initialize your cookies properly.  So please be sure to get to the applets by clicking on a link from within the web page.

One last note, if you have multiple browser windows open, please only have the Merger Zoo going in one of them (with the exception being the pop-out dialog of the applet).  Multiple windows accessing the site while the applet is running can cause cookie issues.  Feel free to browse to other sites (especially the forum and the blog) on the internet in multiple windows while running the applet.  Just please only have Merger Zoo running in a single window/tab at a time.

Please let me know if you're able to get the latest applet but still have this problem.

Thanks,
Anthony

Sorry to say i still have the same problem. i have just done http://cas.sdss.org/dr7/en/tools/quicklook/quickobj.asp?id=587735043609329845 and tried saving several.

i did everything you said to do, i do hope you have some more ideas.........

[ElisabethB]

Hey Jo
did you go through the tutorial and things?
I know I didn't and that was the cause of all things bad ! 

[Thomas J]

Anthony, you mentioned the following as quoted:

Also, to ensure proper initialization of the communication path between the applet and the server, it is necessary to go through a "gateway" of sorts before launching the Merger applet or the My Mergers applet.  If you have bookmarked either applet page or are going directly to those URLs, the gateway won't have a chance to initialize your cookies properly.  So please be sure to get to the applets by clicking on a link from within the web page.

Yesterday, I used the program as saved in my favourites. Would this have created a gateway problem?

I am now acessing the program from a link as you have suggested, but I would like to know if using from 'favourites' will be ok as it is much simpler and quicker to open this way.

Thanks,

Thomas

[aholinch]

Yup, this solved everything.
I didn't look at the tutorial, because I thought I didn't need it !   Oh well, hubris and everything !  
And I even distinctly remember a comment by Jules mentioning the exact same thing.
Thanks for helping me out and sorry for all the trouble I've caused you guys.

No, thank you for letting us know which things work and which don't.  That includes whether the process is clear or not as well.  We really appreciate the feedback.  It let's us know what we need to improve on.

I'm just so glad that things are working for you now.     With all the simulations you look at, you're definitely one of the users most likely to be able to populate your favourites section with some amazing galaxies.  Giving that opportunity to you veterans from the beta was one of the reasons we worked to get at least this preliminary favourites capability into the web site.

[aholinch]

Thanks - I had no idea this (Java Prefs) existed. I retested after checking that it was preferring 5.0 32-bit. I also set the option to open the Java Console.

I went through maybe 6 screens of "More" and had selected two "interesting." Somewhere in there a message appeared in the Java Console about an index out of range. When I clicked on the third "interesting" one Safari crashed, unfortunately taking the Java Console with it. I don't suppose the Safari crash report would be useful to you?

[strike]I will now try again with 6.0/64-bit.[/strike]Actually I tested with 1.4.2 and it worked - no crash. Interestingly, although I had the Java Console option set, no console appeared with this JRE.

Anytime the browser quits unexpectedly is a bad thing.  The fact that it is both Safari and Firefox means it is probably the java plugin (or some conflict between plugins).  You've put a lot of effort with checking the various settings for that plugin. 

I'm very new to the OS X platform myself, so I don't have a lot of suggestions.  There are some Apple support pages that have some more troubleshooting ideas.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2834

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1594

Start with the first one.  It sounds like a quick thing to try.  If that doesn't work, see if Safari and Firefox are able to work with other pages with applets. 

http://www.java.com/en/download/help/testvm.xml
http://java.sun.com/products/plugin/1.4/demos/plugin/applets.html

If they aren't, then feel free to undertake the somewhat more involved steps in the second Apple Support link above.  However, if other applets work fine, then please get back to me and we'll see if we can come up with something more specific for you.

[aholinch]

Yesterday, I used the program as saved in my favourites. Would this have created a gateway problem?

I am now acessing the program from a link as you have suggested, but I would like to know if using from 'favourites' will be ok as it is much simpler and quicker to open this way.

Thomas,

For my favourites related to the Zoo I have one for galaxyzoo.org and mergers.galaxyzoo.org.  From there I know I can login and then follow a link to classify galaxies in the main Zoo or merge galaxies in the Mergers Zoo.  I can also follow a link to the forum or the blog. 

Bookmarking or adding a favourite for the Merge Galaxies page directly could potentially cause problems.

So I would recommend accessing the Mergers Zoo from a favourite or bookmark that points to mergers.galaxyzoo.org.

HTH,
Anthony

[Thomas J]

Thanks Anthony.

[Bruno]

I'm trying to work from IE 8 : is it a no no?
Does this explain why after exit I return to find zero in all activity fields?
Ps I nevfer get to the last phase too....Help

[aholinch]

I'm trying to work from IE 8 : is it a no no?
Does this explain why after exit I return to find zero in all activity fields?

Bruno, thank you for asking.  IE 8 should work just fine. 

To be sure your favourites are saved and your activity count is accurate, you need to be in the "live" mode vs. the "practice" mode.  To check this please try the following:

1. Login to the Galaxy Zoo Mergers website.
2. Click on "How To Take Part".
3. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
4. If you are logged in you should see a link that says "Click here to Merge Galaxies with live data".
5. If that link is available, click it.  If it is not available, double check that you are logged in.
6. Once on the page with the Mergers applet, you can select one of the simulations you like on the Explore screen.
7. From the list of selected sims, right-click on it and choose "Save as Favourite".
8. If you follow the link at the top to go "Home", you can then follow the link to "My Mergers" to view your favourite.

The favourites are plotted using a different scale than in the mergers simulation, so it won't seem exactly the same as in the mergers simulation, but it should be there.

Ps I nevfer get to the last phase too....Help

For the last phase, do you mean the Evaluate portion of something else?

I hope these instructions help,
Anthony

[dcortesi]

I was reporting crashes on Mac OSX? I'm happy to report that I upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6.2) and the merger zoo works dandy-fine. In fact the simulation is significantly faster, so I had to slow it down in the prefs.

FYI, the Java Prefs at this level offer only two choices of runtime: Java SE 6 in either 64-bit or 32-bit form. As installed, the preference is for the 64-bit one.

[aholinch]

I was reporting crashes on Mac OSX? I'm happy to report that I upgraded to Snow Leopard (10.6.2) and the merger zoo works dandy-fine. In fact the simulation is significantly faster, so I had to slow it down in the prefs.

FYI, the Java Prefs at this level offer only two choices of runtime: Java SE 6 in either 64-bit or 32-bit form. As installed, the preference is for the 64-bit one.

Glad to hear it's working for you.  Thank you for looking at the Java Prefs.  Being able to use 64-bit will definitely make things run fast.

[KWalczak]

Some Merger Enhancement Questions:
I was really, really close to a spot on recreation of one of the collisions.  I had already tweaked about 6 variables and all was going well. Then I decided to adjust the "Depth" just a touch.  That's when everything went wrong!  I moved the indicator just a touch and the entire simulation drastically changed - becoming a far more cataclysmic event than I had. No matter how hard I tried to return the Depth variable to its original place, the simulation would not return to where I had it previously. Is this common? How can I avoid this in the future?

Also, often I see an Explore simulation which either catches the real image very well at a point in the animation yet continues beyond what the image shows.  In a sense, if I could stop the simulation earlier it would be a good fit.  Is this still a valid pick even if the end image of the sim doesn't match the real image?  Similarly, there are some simulations which, if they ran a few frames longer, appear they would be very good matches.  So, I guess the big question is: Is there any way to choose to shorten or extend the animation of a simulation?

Thanks!

[chavins]

i am returning to galaxy mergers for a second time.  this time, it is taking either a very long time for the site to open, or a long time for the java applet to open the merger application.  between these 2 problems, i have been unable to merg any gaslaxies today.  the first time i did this, everything worked a charm.  any idea what the problem might be.  i don't think it is my computer, and i have the most recent java program installed.

thanks