- NewsMaps Home
Current News
- U.S. News
- Global News
Business & Technology
- BI Center
- Business News
- Technology News
- Industry Press Releases
NewsMaps Services
- Quick Tour
- About NewsMaps
- FAQ
- Download Applet
- Support
- Feedback
- Advertising


Frequently Asked Questions

General Questions

What is a NewsMap?
How can NewsMaps help me?
How do I read a NewsMap?
Where do the articles come from?
Why do duplicate articles sometimes appear on the same map?
Why does the first NewsMap always take longer to load?
Can I suggest a new NewsMap?
How are the maps created?
How can I create my own maps?

Using NewsMaps

How do I get Help?
How do I find and read individual documents?
Can I zoom in and out?
Can I search for specific topics?
How do I use the topic list to search on multiple topics?
How do I limit the number of search results?
When I get Search results, what do the numbered blue circles mean?
Can I clear search results?
Can I share articles with others?
How do I send flagged documents to others?

Technical Support Issues

Map takes a very long time to open
Java Script error on line 168: The Object Doesn't Support This Property Method.
Bookmarked map is missing or is not current.
Cannot access a map.
A gray screen for more than a minute.
"An ActiveX Control on this Page is not Safe."
NewsMaps.com hangs using Netscape 4.6.

General Questions



What is a NewsMap?

A NewsMap is a visual landscape of news and information aggregated from several sources on the web. Based on a revolutionary new technology, a NewsMap shows you hundreds of documents at once with everything sorted by topic, even searches. To get started, just point to an area of the map and click to see a list of topics and document titles. To read a document, click on the title.

How can NewsMaps help me?

NewsMaps save time by conveying information many times faster than would be possible by reading headlines. In a few seconds, you can see the major topics covered within a large collection of documents, as well as how the different topics relate to one another. You can quickly zero in on a topic of interest and link to individual articles or postings at their source. And when you search, every relevant document is highlighted - by topic - right on the map.

How do I read a NewsMap?

A NewsMap is just like any other map; it shows points of interest and the distance between them. The concept is simple: the greater the similarity between any two documents, the closer together they appear on the map. Concentrations of documents about a similar topic literally "pile up" to form peaks - points of interest - and the distance between peaks shows how closely the topics are related. Labels show you the dominant topics for any given area. As you zoom in on the map, more labels appear.

Where do the articles come from?

Every day, NewsMaps.com aggregates information from a variety of Internet news and information sites, which it then organizes onto a NewsMap. When you click on a document title, NewsMaps.com launches a new browser window that links you to the original article at the publishing site. In this way, you always see the document in its original context, presented exactly the way it was intended by the publisher. Each article appears in its own window, and you can have as many articles open as you want.

Why do duplicate articles sometimes appear on the same map?

It's not unusual for multiple news providers on the web to pick up the same story from a news service such as Associated Press or Reuters. Since NewsMaps aggregates articles from various sources, you may see the same story more than once. (This provides some interesting insights on how news is reported!) Similarly, some sources may publish an article more than once a day, or place an article under multiple categories that are monitored by NewsMaps.

Why does the first NewsMap always take longer to load?

The NewsMaps Viewer is an intelligent applet that is downloaded with the first NewsMap you access. Once the Viewer has been downloaded, it will remain active until you close your browser or shut down your PC. NewsMaps.com now offers a free persistent applet which can be downloaded and installed on your PC to avoid this initial delay.

Can I suggest new NewsMaps?

Suggestions are encouraged. The NewsMaps.com team is always looking for ways to improve the quality of the site, particularly in areas relating to business. To make a suggestion, click on Feedback from any screen.

How are the maps created?

NewMaps are created using a remarkable new technology from Cartia called ThemeScape. ThemeScape automatically organizes documents based on the information they contain, creating the information landscapes you see on NewsMaps.com. The software uses highly sophisticated algorithms to read documents, extract the content, and organize the collection onto a map. ThemeScape is able to automatically identify and organize topics for virtually any subject matter, which makes it possible to quickly produce the wide range of information maps found on NewsMaps.com.

How can I create my own maps?

You can create your own information maps by purchasing either software or mapping services from Cartia, Inc.

Using NewsMaps



How do I get Help?

First, be sure to take the Quick Tour to learn the basics of using NewsMaps.

Online Help is always available In the tool bar in the upper left, click on the button labeled with a question mark ("?"), and you will be taken to a comprehensive explanation of how to read and interpret information landscapes.

How do I find and read individual documents?

It's as easy as moving the mouse. Individual documents appear as dots on the landscape, each organized according to the information it contains. As you move the mouse, the top five topics found within the Focus Circle will appear. Click the mouse button, and a list of document titles appears. (Notice how you can see which topics are associated with a given document!) As you pause over a title, a short summary will appear. To read the entire document, simply click on the title.

Can I use my mouse to zoom in and out?

Yes. To zoom in, double click the left mouse button; to zoom out, double click the right mouse button.

Can I search for specific topics?

NewsMaps.com lets you search in a powerful new way. You can enter keywords directly or select from a list of all the major topics NewsMaps found in a given collection. You can also combine words and use Boolean expressions to narrow your search. Just click on either the Search or Topics button to specify your search.

But unlike a conventional search engine, you won't see pages of search results. All matching documents are highlighted right on the map, each easily identified by the information it contains. With very little reading, you can rapidly isolate the information you need - and find surprises you may have missed by reading.

How do I use the topic list to search on multiple topics?

You can use the topic list to search for multiple topics by clicking and holding the Shift or Ctrl key and clicking for as many documents as you'd like to search for.

How do I limit the number of search results?

You can use the drop down menu in both the search page and the topic page to limit or increase the number of hits you receive from a search

When I get Search results, what do the numbered blue circles mean?

The numbered circles show the 10 most relevant titles returned as a result of your search. Titles are listed next to the NewsMap, and the numbers show where each document appears on the information landscape. You can click the Next button to list the next 10 most relevant documents. The Clear button (located next to the ?Help button on the toolbar) temporarily removes the search results so you can read the labels easier.

Can I clear search results?

Yes. Go to the search page, and click the Clear button. This will remove all numbered and unnumbered search hits on the map. Click on Search to show the search hits again.

Can I share articles with others?

Yes. By clicking on the Flag button, you can highlight specific articles or newsgroup postings right on the NewsMap. A list of the document links you selected will appear to the left of the map. To send the list to someone else, just click on the View Summary button and a new window will appear that you can e-mail to a friend or associate.

How do I send flagged documents to others?

After you have flagged documents, go to the flag page and click Summary Page. You can now click on your browser's File menu, and select the option Send To (for Internet Explorer)or Send Page (for Netscape Communicator) and you will be able to e-mail the list of flagged documents to anyone you wish.

Technical Support Issues



Map takes a very long time to open

When you load a NewsMap, a 150K Java applet is downloaded to your browser. Consequently, NewsMaps.com works best at speeds of 56K or above. To reduce download times, you can now download and install a free NewsMaps Viewer applet on your PC. This will speed up access considerably.

Java Script error on line 168: The Object Doesn't Support This Property Method.

The ThemeScape Map Viewer checks for a persistent version of the Java applet before loading up a map; and if the applet has not been downloaded, sends a message back that the file is not there. If you have development tools like Visual Studio, Visual Interdev, etc. installed along with Microsoft IE, these tools interpret this message as a Java runtime error and the system stops. This problem can be solved by clicking the option "Disable Script Debugging" in your IE Advanced options.

Bookmarked map is missing or is not current

When you bookmark a map, you are bookmarking a reference to a specific map on a specific day. To get the latest news, access maps from the NewsMaps.com home page: http://www.newsmaps.com.

Cannot access a map

Some firewalls or proxy servers do not allow the download of executable applets from the outside. Try accessing NewsMaps.com from outside your firewall or check with your system administrator.

A gray screen for more than a minute

Ensure that Java is enabled on your browser. You may also have to reset your browser's security setting (see below.)

"An ActiveX Control on this Page is not Safe"

Your browser's security setting may be too high. Try setting the security on your browser to Medium.

NewsMaps.com hangs using Netscape 4.6

This is an issue with the Java to JavaScript feature in Netscape 4.6. This problem has been corrected with the recent release of Netscape 4.6.1.

If you're still having problems:

Please contact us through our Technical Support page. We'll do our best to work with you to solve any problems you may be experiencing with our service.



 
First Time Visitor? Click here to take the
Quick Tour
 
Get
Faster NewsMaps! Download our free Map Viewer Applet

Please click here if you are having technical difficulties
Send us mail at webmaster@newsmaps.com
(c) 1999 Cartia Inc. All rights reserved.