General FAQ | Consumer FAQ | Developer FAQ
Do you have questions about a new TouchSense pointing or gaming device or anything that came with it? This section is for you. Click on a question to jump to its answer, or just scroll through the entire list.
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I'm having problems installing my Logitech iFeel™ Mouse and/or getting Immersion Touchware Desktop to run. What should I do? |
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If you have any questions or problems regarding
the Logitech iFeel™ mouse or the software that came with
it, please contact Logitech
Customer Support or refer to Logitech's
online iFeel™ Customer Support Document.
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I have Internet Explorer 5.x, why can't I feel any authored touch sensations in web pages or in Flash and Shockwave animations? |
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If your TouchSense mouse or trackball is installed properly, and you can feel desktop sensations, but you have never felt any authored touch sensations (sensations other than hyperlinks and form content) in your browser, you may need to install the latest version of the Immersion Web Plugin. Do so by visiting the installation page or the Immersion Web Plugin developer page.
If you usually have no problem feeling authored touch sensations in a browser window (on pages such as those in our Cool Stuff area), but sometimes you lose sensations in the browser when you have multiple windows open, try the following: i) note the URL of the touch-enabled page you are trying to experience, ii) close all open browser windows, iii) open a single new browser window, and return to the URL you were having trouble with. You should now feel the sensations on this page.
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Why doesn't my force feedback game, application, or website work with my TouchSense-enabled device? |
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Be sure that the application, game, or web site says that it supports force feedback or is Immersion TouchSense-compatible (usually indicated in words or by the presence of an Immersion TouchSense logo). If it does, and you are able to experience forces in other applications or web sites, contact the software manufacturer or webmaster for technical support. If you are unable to experience forces in any applications, including the device control panel, try uninstalling and reinstalling your device drivers, or contact the hardware manufacturer for technical support.
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When will my favorite game, application or website have TouchSense? |
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Software support primarily depends on support from the developer. If TouchSense is not currently available for your game, application or website, contact the developer or webmaster directly and request that TouchSense support be added. You can check to see if your favorite game is already supported on Immersion's Games List page.
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Why can't I feel all the effects within Immersion Studio with my TouchSense hardware product? |
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Different types of Immersion TouchSense-compatible hardware support different types of effects. Refer to the Devices Overview page and the Immersion TouchSense Fundamentals document for descriptions of all types of effects and which types of hardware works with them. Also be sure that you have selected the correct device type within Immersion Studio's File: "Select TouchSense Device" settings.
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Who makes Immersion TouchSense products? |
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We license our Immersion TouchSense technology to hardware manufacturers like Microsoft, Logitech, InterAct, Kensington, Gravis, Mad Catz, and many others. While the technology inside the products is from Immersion, the products themselves are manufactured, distributed, and sold by our licensees who also provide their own technical support.
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How do I get technical support for my TouchSense-enabled force feedback device? |
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Contact your hardware manufacturer directly. They will have the latest driver and support information for your specific device. A full list of links to Immersion computing and entertainment manufacturing partners' websites is available here.
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I've lost my original driver software for my TouchSense device. Where can I download it? |
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Contact your hardware manufacturer directly through their website for the latest driver software for your device or for technical support.
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Why doesn't my force feedback game, application, or website work with my TouchSense-enabled device? |
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Jump to answer.
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Where can I find a list of force feedback games that support my TouchSense-enabled device? |
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Jump to answer.
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Why can't I feel all the effects within Immersion Studio with my TouchSense hardware product? |
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Jump to answer.
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What can I do with a TouchSense tactile feedback mouse like the Logitech iFeel mouse? |
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Get a detailed answer here.
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Will my CH Products’ Force FX joystick work with Windows 2000, Windows ME or new DirectX games?
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No. The CH Products’ Force FX joystick was designed to function in DOS and DirectX 3 environments. It was designed more than a year before the release of DirectX 5.0 (the current version of DirectX is 8.0). Consequently, the Force FX joystick and current DirectX games "speak different languages." Unfortunately, operating system (OS) compatibility cannot be achieved by updating the joystick's driver. The electronics inside the joystick itself would have to be updated, essentially replaced, in order to be compatible with current OS's and current versions of DirectX. For full DirectX functionality with current games, we recommend upgrading your force feedback joystick.
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What is Immersion Touchware Desktop (v2.5)? |
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In the real world, you rely on your ability to touch and feel in everyday tasks, like picking up your coffee cup or typing on your keyboard. Your ability to feel allows you to perform those tasks with only your peripheral vision or even without looking. Those simple tasks would suddenly become much more cumbersome if you were without your sense of touch and had to rely solely on your vision. Yet this is exactly the way you currently interact with your computer. Whether you are trying to resize a window, scroll down a document, click on a menu item or button, or drag and drop a file, you are forced to take your visual attention off whatever document you are viewing and direct it toward another target.
Immersion Touchware Desktop (v2.5) lets you customize the way
your computer desktop feels to make it a more natural, more
satisfying, and easier-to-use interface. With Immersion Touchware
Desktop, you can make the edge of a window border feel like
a groove carved in the desktop, the thumb of a scrollbar feel
like it is spring-loaded, icons feel like they are crossing
a textured surface as you move them, and hyperlinks, checkboxes,
and toolbar buttons feel like they twitch when you touch them
with the mouse cursor. Immersion Touchware Desktop ships with
every Immersion TouchSense pointing product (mice, trackballs,
etc.) and works automatically with the basic user interface
in all Windows applications and the hyperlinks and form elements
in all web pages.
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Where can I find updates to Immersion Touchware Desktop (v2.5)? |
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Immersion TouchWare
Desktop and Immersion TouchWare
Business are no longer supported products.
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What are the Immersion Web ActiveX control and Netscape plug-in? |
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The Immersion Web ActiveX control and Netscape plug-in (collectively known as the Immersion Web Plugin) allow web pages to play authored touch sensations in Microsoft Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator, and Mozilla browsers, respectively. The Immersion Web Plugin must already be installed on your system in order for you to be able to feel authored sensations (see next question). All TouchSense pointing devices sold since Fall 2000 install the Immersion Web Plugin along with other basic TouchSense software during the driver installation. To update your system to the latest version of the Immersion Web Plugin, click here. The Immersion Web ActiveX control can do more than just allow your browser to play touch sensations in web pages. It also allows a programmer to touch-enable programs written in Visual Basic, or stand-alone animations written in Macromedia Director, to give two examples. The Immersion Web Plugin can also touch-enable web pages and applications for traditional gaming devices like joysticks, gamepads, and steering wheels. Read more about it on the Immersion Web ActiveX Control and Plugin page.
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Why do I need to have the Immersion Web Plugin installed on my system in order to experience tactile sensations on the web? |
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Just as you need the Macromedia Flash™ player to display websites that use Macromedia Flash content, you need the Immersion Web Plugin to allow your browser to display touch sensations on your TouchSense device. The Immersion Web Plugin is like a "player" for touch sensations on the web.
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How do I turn off Immersion Splash? |
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Immersion Splash is a simple applet that runs when a product using Immersion TouchSense technology is detected at startup or through plug-n-play. To disable Immersion Splash, go to the Start Menu/Settings/Control Panel and open the Immersion Control Panel. Uncheck the "Enable Immersion Startup Splash" box.
To permanently remove the I-FORCE Control Panel, delete the file "ImmSplash.cpl" from your WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Note: Some systems may call the WINDOWS directory WIN95, WIN98, or some other variation. Also, earlier versions of this program were called I-FORCE Splash and comprised the files "IFSplash.exe" and "Iforce.cpl". The correct name of the file is "ImmSplsh.cpl".
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What is Immersion Studio? |
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The challenge of programming for Immersion TouchSense is not the act of coding; it is the act of designing touch sensations that appropriately match your application's events and environments. Designing these sensations requires a creative and interactive process where parameters are defined, experienced, and modified until the sensations are just right. With so many parameters to set, you need a fast, simple, and interactive means for sensation design. Immersion Studio is a graphical environment for rapidly adjusting physical parameters, feeling sensations, and then saving them as resources that can be easily executed by your application.
Immersion Studio is designed for use with Immersion TouchSense mice, trackballs, joysticks, steering wheels, and gamepads. Earlier versions of Immersion Studio were named I-FORCE Studio or FEELit Studio, but those applications evolved and merged into a single application named Immersion Studio. You can find Immersion Studio in our Developer section for download.
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What is Immersion Web Designer? |
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Immersion Web Designer is a web authoring tool that allows users unfamiliar with HTML to quickly and easily add Immersion TouchSense sensations to their web pages. Users first create their web pages using a web authoring tool like Microsoft's FrontPage, or Macromedia's Dreamweaver, then load the completed web page into Immersion Web Designer for the final step of adding sensations. Web pages created with Immersion Web Designer are compatible with both Microsoft Internet Explorer 4 and greater, Netscape Navigator 4.X, Netscape Navigator 7.X, and Mozilla 1.x. For downloads and more web development tools and resources, see the Technology section or the Getting Started section.
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