User Guide (Network Version) 2008 Certiport, Inc. certiprep 1
Table of Contents I. GETTING STARTED 3 INTRODUCTION 3 IMPORTANT INFORMATION 3 SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 4 INSTALLATION 4 Basic Installation Network Version 4 Basic Installation Single User Version 5 PROXY SERVER INFORMATION 6 REGISTERING AND LOGGING IN 7 II. TESTING 7 TAKING A TEST 7 Learning Mode 7 Practice Test 8 ANSWERING TEST QUESTIONS 8 TEST RESULTS 9 III. ADMINISTRATIVE TOOLS 9 EXAM GROUPS 9 Creating Exam Groups 10 Viewing Exam Group Reports 10 IV. TECHNICAL SUPPORT 11 certiprep 2
getting started Introduction Thank you for purchasing Certiprep for 2007 Microsoft Office Certifications. This product, developed by Certiport, Inc., assesses your computer skills in terms of the objectives of the Microsoft Certified Application Specialist certification exams through hands-on exercises. Certiprep is a preparation tool for certification exams. It features two modes Practice Test and Learning Mode for the very best in self-paced learning and certification exam simulation. Important! Read before Launching Certiprep 2007 If you ve purchased the Single User version of Certiprep 2007, please read the following before installation: Before launching Certiprep 2007, you must hide your taskbar. (Right-click on an empty area of your task bar and select Properties. In the properties, place a check mark in the option for Auto-hide the Taskbar.) If your computer system uses dual monitors, you must disable dual-monitor mode before using Certiprep 2007. If your computer system uses a firewall, you may need to disable it in order to use Cetiprep 2007. (The Single User version usually works best with high-speed Internet access from home.) To see a full list of technical requirements and FAQs, including score-report printing, visit www.certiport.com/certiprepreadnow. certiprep 3
System Requirements CPU: Pentium 4, 1.6GHz or better for systems running Windows XP; Pentium 4, 2GHz or better for systems running Windows Vista RAM: 1GB or more for systems running Windows XP; 2GB or more for systems running Windows Vista DISK SPACE: 500 MB DISPLAY: 1024 x 768 resolution or better OS: Windows XP Professional (SP2); Windows Vista Business Software Office: Functions best with full installation of Microsoft Office 2007 Professional or Enterprise (Certiport cannot offer technical support for other versions of Microsoft Office 2007) Web Browser: Internet Explorer 6.0 (SP1) or greater; Safari 2.0 or greater; Firefox 1.0.7 or greater Other: Flash Player 9 or greater Installation Basic Installation Network Version Before installing the Network version of Certiprep, you must first have a complete installation of 2007 Microsoft Office Professional or 2007 Microsoft Office Enterprise. Testing Centers should install iqsystem (version 6.2 or later) before installing Certiprep. Please see the iqsystem documentation under the Organization Administrator role at www.certiport.com for information on installing and using iqsystem. (Click the Testing System Downloads subtab link listed under the Toolkit tab.) Note: If you ve previously installed iqsystem, you will need to uninstall it, then install iqsystem 6.2 (or later). The icon to open Certiprep will automatically appear on the desktop with the iqsystem 6.2 or subsequent iqsystem installation. certiprep 4
Basic Installation Single User Version Many organizations employ firewalls that block the connection the Single User version must establish to access Certiprep from remote servers. For this reason, the Single User version of Certiprep usually functions best from a home computer. The Single User Version of Certiprep is hosted on a series of Remote Terminal Servers by Certiport, Inc. In order to access these servers, you must download and install a software program that will connect you properly to these servers. The name of the program is the 2X ApplicationServer Client. Installing and running the 2X ApplicationServer Client from your computer will ensure that you have immediate access to the Certiprep Servers once it is installed. The 2X ApplicationServer Client install is downloaded by following this link: ftp://ftp.certiport.com/certiprep/terminalservices/ CertiprepSetup.exe Once you have followed the link above, install 2X ApplicationServer Client in the following way: 1. Save the file to a location on your computer. 2. Double-click the new 2X Install icon to begin the installation. 3. You will receive a dialog box asking if your system uses a proxy server. If not click no and continue with installation. If so click yes. Fill out the proxy information and then read the below Proxy File. 4. The installation places an icon labeled Certiprep Launcher on your desktop. certiprep 5
Important! **PROXY SERVER README FOR CERTIPREP LAUNCHER** Introduction In some network environments, proxy servers are used to insulate internal network components from the Internet. Due to this fact, you may need to configure your Certiprep Launcher to utilize your proxy server to reach the Certiprep application. Configuration During setup of the Certiprep Launcher, you selected Yes when asked if your environment uses a proxy server. You can now configure the appropriate proxy server information for your network. Since every network environment is different, you will need to contact your network administrator for the proper proxy server information. This information is used by the Certiprep Launcher to establish a network connection to the Certiprep Terminal Servers that host the Certiprep 2007 application you are attempting to access. In some cases, it may be necessary to change your proxy server configuration. If you need to change the proxy configuration of the Certiprep Launcher, you may do so by following the procedure below: 1. If you still have the CertiprepSetup.exe file that you downloaded to install the Certiprep Launcher, you may simply run it again, and it will prompt you if you need to change your proxy settings. 2. If you have deleted the CertiprepSetup.exe file, you can download it again by going to ftp://ftp.certiport.com/certiprep/terminalservices/certiprepsetup.exe. IMPORTANT NOTE: The proxy server information you enter during the setup process of the Certiprep Launcher is partially passed to the 2X Application. The 2X Application is the program used to deliver the Certiprep 2007 application to your computer as though it were installed locally on your computer. If your proxy server requires you to present a username and password, you will need to configure this information separately in the 2X Application. To configure proxy server information for 2X, perform the following steps: 3. Click Start, All Programs, 2X, then 2X Application Server Client. 4. On the toolbar, click the tab called Farm Properties. 5. Select the Network sub-tab and configure the appropriate proxy server information for your network. You may need to contact your network administrator for the appropriate information. Please do not change any of the information on the Connection tab of the Farm Properties. This information is pre-populated by the Certiprep Launcher and should never be changed. Technical Information for your network administrator The Certiprep Launcher utilizes TCP Port 80 to establish communication with our servers. Once this communication is established, the 2X Application utilizes TCP port 443 to deliver the Certiprep 2007 application to your computer. It may be necessary for your administrator to allow communication on these ports through your proxy server. Both the Certiprep Launcher and the 2X Application utilize these ports to access the TCP/IP address of our servers. The servers they will be accessing are 216.36.40.134 and 216.36.40.135. certiprep 6
Registering and Logging In 1. Double-click the desktop icon labeled Certiprep. 2. The application will initiate and ask the Test Candidate for a username and password. If he already has a Certiport account, he can log in using his Certiport credentials. If the Test Candidate is unable to log in, she may register a new account by choosing the Register User link. The Test Candidate will be taken to the Certiport Web site to register. Once registration is complete, she will be returned to the Certiprep login page. 3. The first time a user runs Certiprep, he will be prompted to enter a license key. Either she or an administrator will need to enter the license key provided at time of purchase in order to use the Certiprep product. The license key is alphanumeric text in the form of xxx-xxxx-xxxx, where each x is a number or a letter. Note: A Test Candidate will only see this prompt the first time he uses Certiprep. TESTING 4. Click OK to register the license with the Test Candidate s Certiport account. Once the license key is registered, the Test Candidate must remember and use the same username and password to regain access to the Certiprep software. Taking a Test Once you are logged in, you will be presented with a list of available Learning Mode and Practice Test options. Select the desired activity. Learning Mode The Learning Mode is not timed or randomized. It offers hints and step-by-step instructions to help you learn the certiprep 7
concepts featured in the certification exams. The Learning Mode also provides you with a complete list of the Practice Test questions. Before the Learning Mode begins, a dialog box is displayed that lets you select a certain number of questions to work through (by entering a starting and ending question number). Indicate whether you want to complete either a selected number of questions or all the test questions and then click OK. Practice Test The Practice Test is timed and presents a smaller, randomized selection of questions. Though slightly longer than the certification exams, Practice Tests are intended to mimic the actual experience of taking a certification exam. If you have been given an Exam Group ID (by a teacher or a trainer, for example), to use to track your progress, enter the ID number before initiating the Practice Test, and then click Validate Exam Group ID. If the Exam Group ID is valid, the Exam Group name will be displayed. Click Start. Answering Test Questions For each question in the Practice Test or Learning Mode, a list of tasks will appear at the bottom of the screen, and a live application (e.g. Word, Excel, etc.) will appear above the task list. Complete the list of tasks to the best of your ability. Unless otherwise noted, keyboard shortcuts, menu commands, toolbar commands, and context menus all function. Although the final result is graded, the methods you used to achieve that result are not graded. Be sure to close any dialog boxes before you click Next. In Excel, if you have started typing in a cell, be sure to certiprep 8
either press Enter or select another cell before you click Next. In the Learning Mode, after you answer a question, a question recap page will display the parts of the question that you answered correctly, as well as the parts you answered incorrectly. You can then click the Retry Question button to attempt the question again, or you can click the Retry with Help button to try the question again with step-by-step instructions. (The instructions will appear in red text within the list of tasks to perform.) You may also choose Next Question to move on to the next question. Test Results After completing either the Practice Test or Learning Mode, you can access an Examination Score Report. Following the Learning Mode, the Examination Score Report displays a breakdown of how you performed within each skill group. You can also produce a personalized study guide by clicking Print Certiprep Study Guide. Following the Practice Test, the Examination Score Report displays your overall test score. By clicking the Print Examination Score Report and Study Guide button, you will receive a more detailed score report (which includes a breakdown of how you performed in each exam skills area) and a personalized study guide. In the dialog box that follows, click OK to exit Certiprep. Administrative Tools Exam Groups The Exam Groups function provides performance reporting through your own customized reports. Practice Test results can be grouped together in the manner you certiprep 9
choose, giving you a report of aggregate and average scores on Practice Tests and Practice Test skill sets. It s easy to use Exam Groups to get progress reports on Test Candidates using Certiprep. First, create an Exam Group. Then provide the Exam Group number to selected Test Candidates. Next, when you begin a Practice Test, make sure the Exam Group number is entered in a specified field. (This links intended Test Candidates and their tests to the Exam Group number.) Following a test, the results can be viewed by clicking on the link to the specified Exam Group on www.certiport.com. Creating Exam Groups Once logged in to www.certiport.com with your user name and password, click on the Exam Groups tab. (To access Exam Groups, make sure your role on the drop-down menu near the top of the screen is set to Organization Member or Organization Administrator.) Then click the Add Exam Group link at the bottom of the Web page. Enter the name of the Exam Group and other requested information. When you are finished, click the Update button at the bottom of the page to complete the creation of the Exam Group. After reviewing the completed Exam Group, click Done. Note: Make sure Test Candidates know that they must add the Exam Group ID you created in the appropriate field at the beginning of the Practice Test to track their progress. Viewing Exam Group Reports There are different ways to view the data collected by the Exam Group function. Depending on the information you seek, you can view the aggregate scores of the group or the individual strengths and weaknesses of a single candidate. certiprep 10 MBC 35BK
Once you are on the View Exam Group page, click the View Results button at the bottom of the page. The information collected can be viewed in the following ways: On the View Exam Group Results page, you can see the Average Score of those linked to the Exam Group. By checking on the Show Skillset Breakdown box, you can view a table displaying each skill set and the percent of questions candidates in the Exam Group answered correctly in each skill set. By switching views from Exam View to Student View, you can see individual Test Candidate results. After the view change is made, by clicking the Show Skillset Breakdown box, you can adjust the display to produce either high-level Practice Test results for candidates or a skill set breakdown for each candidate. technical support Technical Support You can access troubleshooting information for a wide variety of common problems by visiting www.certiport.com/certiprepreadnow. If you encounter problems you cannot resolve, please contact Certiport esupport: http://esupport.certiport.net. You can also reach us via phone at 1-888-222-7890 (U.S. & Canada) or (801) 443-3150 (International). Global Headquarters Certiport Plaza 1276 South 820 East American Fork, UT 84003 (t) 888.999.9830 +1.801.847.3100 (International) www.certiport.com certiprep 11