The 2 Most Asked Questions

Athenaeum has a reasonably tight level of security, especially when compared with Athenaeum Light. You may start Athenaeum with the top level password, but when you go back to the main menu, Athenaeum will default to a "secure" mode. That means that you can "Control-1" to get back to the main menu and walk away from the computer with a relative degree of comfort that young "enquiring minds" (you know, the ones we are nurturing here) are unlikely to damage your data!

To get out of this secure mode, you will need your Options Password. This password is not necessarily the same as the password that you used when you started Athenaeum. Unlike the start password, the Options Password is case sensitive. That is, "fred7" is different to "Fred7" is different to "freD7".

We frequently get calls from libraries whose Options Password fails. The solution, to date, has been to check that the CAPS LOCK key is not depressed. (When it is, the password you are typing will always be in capitals, such as "FRED7").

The second "problem" relates to what is the "Main Menu". Normally, the Main menu is a screen that contains a single large button "Fast Find" and a couple of small buttons in the corner "Options" (for the Options Menu) and "Exit".

If the user is at the main menu, and then performs a find, the results of the find are displayed in a secure browse screen. The only way out of the screen is to enter the Options Password (click the black area at the bottom of the screen and then enter the password at the dialog box). If you don't enter the Options Password, you are returned to the browse screen.

This is part of the intended design and no reason for panic. Athenaeum is still functioning correctly. If you want to go back to adminstration, click the black area at the bottom of the screen and enter your Options Password. (The reason the button is hidden in the black area is to present as few "distractions" for active young minds as possible!)

December 1998: Athenaeum 3.0 has a modification that eases up just a little bit on the security. If you have entered the Options Password, then you will return to the Options Menu, rather than the main menu. There is now a big "Hide" button on the Options Menu to jump back to the extra security of the Main Menu.