Welcome to the Showfax Websites. This FAQ pertains to obtaining Sides. The procedure is fundamentally the same for Showfax Members and for Non-Members. You locate the role for which you need sides, then download it to your computer. If you're not familiar with how to download, please consult the Downloading Instructions in this FAQ.
Similarly, if you're not already familiar with the difference between downloading a file to your own computer as opposed to trying to open it at a website, then please take the moment to consult the Downloading Instructions. Doing so will be informative and likely spare you the frustration of a failed or interrupted session.
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Getting Started
Hey, nobody was born with computer know-how. We all learn it. For some it's easier than for others. Everything at the site works well, always has and always will. But if you're having a problem, don't stress (creates wrinkles and isn't healthy anyway), just contact us. We have tech support online throughout the night and weekends (email info@showfax.com) and office staff during business hours Mon-Fri, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific Time.
Hopefully this FAQ will resolve most issues but if not, we're here if you need. Email us.
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What is Acrobat Reader and why do I need it?
Adobe Acrobat Reader (Adobe is the company that produces the Acrobat
programs) is a free program that makes it possible to view or
print files that have been created in the Acrobat format, commonly known as PDF
(Portable Document Format) files. This is a very popular file format found
throughout the Internet and used with many types of documents. PDF
files preserve the exact appearance of a document. In the case of sides
and scripts, this is critical so that all notes handwritten on the pages
by casting remain intact precisely as written. These files will NOT open
in any other program, not in your word processor, or anything else.
That's why you must have the Acrobat Reader on your computer.
Many newer computers come with the Acrobat Reader already installed. Check your Programs menu and look for "Adobe" or "Acrobat" listed to see if you already have the Acrobat Reader. If you do not already have it, you can download it for free from the Adobe website. Just click the following link to get to the Adobe download page for the Reader, answer the few questions required and commence the download. It will take some 15 minutes or less to download (much less if you have a fast Internet connection). Please make a note of the name of the file you're downloading (such as ar500enu.exe, etc.) and where on your computer you're downloading it to (such as the desktop) so you can find it after you've downloaded it.
When the download completes and you're informed accordingly, you will have the Acrobat Reader download file on your computer. You will then need to "install" it and that should take only a minute or less. (Windows users will double-click the downloaded file to initiate the automatic self-installation process, Mac users might have to first unpack it with their Stuffit or similar program.) The installation will conclude with a message that the Acrobat Reader has been successfully installed. The first time you use the Reader, you may be asked to accept the license agreement (that informs you about copyright, etc.) You now have the Acrobat Reader successfully installed on your computer and you DO NOT need to download it each time you want to open a sides file.
Click to download the free Acrobat Reader from Adobe
If you already have the Acrobat Reader on your computer, you do not need to download it from the above link. However, please note, you do need at least version 3.0 (preferably v4.0 or newer) to access PDF files on the Showfax site. See the Downloading Instructions for tips on how to best use your Acrobat Reader to download Sides.
Important Tip! If you realize you don't have the Acrobat Reader and you already ordered the sides you need, just go ahead and download that sides file to your own computer (check out the Downloading Instructions here if you're not already familiar with how to download a file. If you don't know the difference between downloading a file versus opening a file online, then you really need to read the downloading instructions.) Even if you do not have the Acrobat Reader as yet, by downloading the sides file to your own computer, you'll have that sides file on your computer same as any other file on your computer. You can then or later go to the Adobe website and download the Acrobat Reader. Once the Reader is downloaded and installed, you can open your sides file anytime you wish because you downloaded it to your own computer earlier. You won't have to log back into the website to access those sides an additional time.
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What are Regions?
Regions are typically described literally as geographic region, such as Los
Angeles, New York and the like. A project may orginate in one region (such as, Los Angeles)
yet conduct auditions for certain roles in other regions (such as New York). Sides for those
roles will be posted in that region.
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What is the meaning of the term "Project"?
Project is the name of the production being cast, such as NYPD Blue, etc.
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What's the deal with roles?
Roles are the sides themselves for a particular audition.
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Can you help me understand downloading?
Basically it's the term used when transferring a
file or files from one computer system to another. For instance, from
the Internet to your own computer. For trouble-free downloading, we
recommend that you not open these files online
due to matters of network congestion during certain times of the
day (peak Internet traffic is early evening and weekends), an overloaded Internet
provider, a bad line connection and so forth. All things that can cause
a failed or sluggish response accessing, or printing the file.
Instead, PLEASE follow this tip and you will
avoid almost any problem that can occur online:
Download the file to Your computer.
Downloading the file to your computer (instead of trying to open it online)
means the file will now reside on your own computer like any other file and
you will not have to log back in or re-access the file online if something goes wrong (e.g., a problem with your printer, a computer
freeze, whatever).
Downloading the file is easy -- for everyone, not just experienced computer users. The procedure
differs if you use a Windows computer or a Mac.
Mac Users:
Windows Users:
NOTE WELL that at no time are we talking about opening the file online. Instead, we're
talking about downloading the file to your own computer. THAT is the important difference
and if you understand the difference between opening (or attempting to open) such files (Acrobat
files) online versus downloading them to your own computer, then you now know how to avoid the
problems that can occur from trying to open such files online. Many people just don't understand
the difference and when they write to technical support, they say "the file wouldn't download."
But in fact, they didn't try to download the file, they instead tried to open it online.
If you're still unclear about this, let's do a dry-run so you know how it's done. This will take only a moment and save you plenty in the future.
You will be downloading to your computer two pages of sides for Abe Lincoln. Place your mouse pointer on the
following link, then right-click (Mac users, hold the button down and drag it to your Desktop).
Follow the instructions just mentioned above.
Once the download is complete, you will now have that sides file on your own computer, in whichever folder you saved it to, and you no longer need to remain connected to the Internet if you don't want to. Anytime thereafter you can merely go to that file on your computer, click it (or double-click it) and it will pop open in your Adobe Acrobat Reader program (the free Acrobat Reader is required to open these files). |
Advanced Tip: When you installed the Acrobat Reader, it installed a snip of programming called a "web browser plug-in." This plug-in makes it possible for your web browser to open Acrobat formatted files directly at a website. Basically it creates a handshake (so to speak) between the Acrobat files and your web browser. Thus, when you open, or attempt to open, an Acrobat file from within your web browser, you're actually running the plug-in, not the full Reader program per se.
Unfortunately, this is the single major cause of problems when attempting to view or print an Acrobat file online. Web browsers are constantly being upgraded or modified and it's impossible for Adobe to keep upgrading Acrobat Reader every time a new web browser or version is made available. The Reader plug-in, or handshake success, therefore becomes less reliable.
The good news is, there is an even better way to work. Forget about the plug-in and its inherent problems. Adobe provides a setting change in Acrobat Reader that will by-pass the plug-in altogether. The web browser will instead open the actual Acrobat Reader program, not the plug-in. And, this setting change will result in your being given a choice whenever you access such files online; you'll be asked if you want to download (save) the file to disk (i.e., download it to your computer), or, open it online. While we highly recommend saving the file to your computer (in case you're disconnected, have a sluggish connection, whatever), even if you do choose to open it online instead, you will be opening it in the actual Acrobat Reader program, not the plug-in. In other words, we're talking about by-passing the web browser plug-in altogether and using the actual Acrobat Reader program itself. Much, much, better way to work! Reader wisely offers this option knowing that web browser plug-ins can be problematic.
How do you make this excellent setting change? Easy. Just open your Acrobat Reader program (not the plug-in, but the actual program, which you'll find on your computer's list/menu of installed programs). Once the program is open: If you are using version 4.0 for Windows, click the menu choice that says FILE. Then the choice from that menu that says PREFERENCES. Then the choice from that menu that says GENERAL. (That's: FILE, PREFERENCES, GENERAL, from within your Acrobat Reader program.) You should now see a dialog box that displays your general Acrobat Reader settings. Notice in the lower right a choice that says WEB BROWSER INTEGRATION. It will probably be checked off. Uncheck it. (Click in the respective checkbox.) If you are using version 5.0 for Windows, click the menu choice that says EDIT, then PREFERENCES, then OPTIONS and uncheck the box at the top that says, "Display PDF in Browser".
(Macs do not have this same setting. However, with every Mac we've used, it's very easy to download the files. Just resize a window so that some of your desktop is showing. Then all you have to do is put your mouse pointer over the sides role on the download page, hold the mouse button down and drag that sides link to your desktop. Let go of the mouse button and the role will begin to download straight to your desktop. Nothing more to it! This does not work for Windows, just for Macs.)
Click OK and close your Acrobat Reader program. Voilla, you have now told your Windows computer to ignore the plug-in and to instead always call the actual Acrobat Reader program. (You can, of course, always change that Preferences setting back if for some strange reason you prefer to use an iffy plug-in instead of the actual Acrobat Reader program.)
Hereafter when you click on an Acrobat file at any website, you will get a pop-up choice
of either downloading (saving) it to your computer, or, opening it online. I can't emphasize
enough how much better it is to save these files to your own computer rather than try to open
or print them across the Internet, but at least now you will be given a menu choice. You'll get
a pop-up, something like this:
P.S. If you use a download manager such as GoZilla, just add PDF to the list of file types that get automatically downloaded.
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Help, the Sides Pages are Blank!
I can assure you that we do not post "blank" pages. Indeed
there have been times when casting has faxed us scores of blank pages
and this happens when the page is inserted in the fax machine on the
wrong side. I confess I've done that myself when using an unfamiliar fax
machine. But since we have to visually view "each" page in order
to build the role's sides, the pages posted aren't blank.
So why are you seeing blank pages? For the technically interested, visit the Adobe Acrobat Reader discussion forum at the Adobe website http://www.adobe.com/support/forums/main.html for this and other topics of Acrobat Reader discussion. For the technically disinterested and anyone else, just read or review our downloading instructions above. The answer lies within your web browser and its Reader plug-in. If you download the sides to your computer instead of opening them online, you avoid using your web browser, the plug-in, even necessity for remaining on the Internet. The sides can then be opened anytime in Acrobat Reader itself, not in a web browser via plug-in.
However, if you do open the sides, or any other Acrobat file, in your web browser and experience a blank page, these tricks tend to work. Click your browser's reload or refresh button. If that still doesn't display the page, click the reload or refresh again. It's reported that two or three refreshes seems to work. Another tip is to click your browser's Back button, then the Forward button.
But to reiterate, download the file to your own computer instead of opening
it at the website and you won't experience blank pages. Plus you'll now
have the file on your computer and won't be subjected to a disconnection,
sluggish Internet connection during busy times, etc. It's yours to open
anytime or as many times as you subsequently wish.
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Questions about Membership and Subscribing
You DO NOT have to be a Member to download sides. For a per-page processing charge substantially less than faxing,
Non-Members can download sides whenever they wish. Members, of course, never pay a processing charge to download
sides. You can sign up for Membership right at the site and your Membership will be activated immediately. Either way,
Membership or not, there is no delay downloading the sides you need. As always, if you encounter a problem online, email Showfax
via info@showfax.com
The Membership Sign-Up form is available by clicking on any of the "Subscribe" buttons located througout
the site at the top of the navigation bar (near the top of the screen). You can also click this link to get to the Subscribe
form:
Subscribe form
You can, of course, also call the office during business hours, 310 385-6920 (if outside Los Angeles, 800 886-8716) and
any phone rep can sign you up.
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My Membership expired and I wish to renew online.
If indeed you have or had a Showfax Online membership, just enter your username and password into the Manage My Membership
form located right below the map of sides regions:
Click here for the page and form.
It should bring up your record and you can either extend your unexpired subscription (the system adds 366 days to whatever
number of days remain, you do not lose out on your remaining time), or renew even if your membership has since expired.
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I forgot my Username or Password.
There are "forgot my logon" links at most places on the site where you are asked to log on, but you can get to the forgot
log on form via here as well:
Forgot log on form
Your logon can be
automatically emailed to you but only to the email address of record for your Membership. If you gave an
incorrect email address when you signed up, or you've changed your email address but didn't update your Showfax
account with the new address, then you won't receive your fogotten logon. In that case you'll have to contact
Showfax.
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Why do you need my email address?
Some folks think we are going to give out their email address or bother them with spam. Nothing could be further
from the truth. We do not give out any client information whatsoever and we do not send spam mail. We may, however,
want to get in touch with you regarding sides. Sides might have been changed or revised an hour after the original
sides were posted. We can track all respective sides downloads and isolate the older downloaded sides. Then we'd
send you an email informing you of the update and attach the sides accordingly. But if we don't have your correct
or current email address, the mail will bounce back and you won't have the current sides.
Case in point, we had
a CocaCola Industrial posted and then a CocaCola Commercial later that night. Casting informed everyone that the
Commercial's sides won't be posted until after 5 p.m. Unfortunately, that information isn't always conveyed to the
actor via agent, or some just don't listen to the instructions. Nevertheless, a dozen or so actors downloaded
the Industrial sides earlier in the day because the Commercial's sides had yet to arrive from casting. We attempted
to contact everyone who downloaded the Industrial to inform them that they might have the wrong sides and we attached
the Commercial's sides to that email. But, many of those emails bounced back as an undeliverable email address (either
bogus or outdated). That's why we want your email address. It's for your benefit. We have no other use or interest
in your email address other than to be able to get in touch with you regarding the sides.
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"Timed Out" ERROR. What's that?
Timing out generally occurs when your Internet provider/web browser and the website you're at have lost communication
between each other (or a sub section of the site never even establishes communication).
Information is being sent yet it is not being received. Usually there will be a number of attempts
at re-sending the information. At some point it will stop trying. Ostensibly, the connection has timed out.
This error can occur for a number of reasons but it is most common when there is network congestion or one's Internet provider is overloaded. Peak congestion hours on the Internet are early evenings when everyone is arriving home or after dinner and logging in to check email, chat with friends, etc.
There is no single remedy (often enough it will remedy itself in a few moments) but if it's persistent and is interfering with your Internet activity, what tends to work best is to log off (terminate your Internet connection) wait a moment and log back in. If you have more than one access number for your Internet provider, you might want to try calling a different number.
But when dealing with ecommerce, this introduces another problem. You enter your credit card info and you're unable to proceed because you receive a timed out error. So you enter the info again. See the next section regarding a duplicate transaction error.
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"Duplicate Transaction" ERROR. What's that?
Duplicate Transaction errors can occur when the same credit card attempts to purchase the same item more than once
in short succession. This most notably occurs when you click the Submit button multiple times because you think nothing
is happening (secure servers, especially when busy, can take a moment to respond even though in fact they are
processing the transaction). This can also happen if your connection has timed out (see previous note regarding timed out error)
and you attempt to re-enter the transaction. Another common example is you entered purchasing information, such as your address,
that doesn't coincide with your credit card's billing information at the bank. Or you entered a wrong expiration date. Etc.
So you go back to the form, re-enter the information, this time with the
correct matching address, or expiration date, etc., and you receive a Duplicate Transaction error. Although you entered different information, for security reasons, the transaction might be flagged as Duplicate, thus
preventing you from proceeding.
Generally, if you close your web browser and restart your web browser, then return to the site, you should be able to re-enter the transaction without a problem. Or, sometimes just waiting awhile is sufficient before redoing the transaction. The whole purpose of the Duplicate Transaction error is to prevent the same purchase in quick succession. It's not us who issues this error, it's the credit card processing center issuing it automatically. However, we also have our own system in place that watches for multiple transactions and you will not be charged again for redoing a failed transaction. Of course, it's also advisable to email us ( info@showfax.com ) if this should occur and you receive more than one email receipt for the same purchase.
It's worth noting that a Duplicate Transaction error is just that -- a duplicate transaction has been detected and therefore the entire transaction was terminated; i.e., the credit card was not charged. What can be annoying is that now you can't carry out the transaction at all. Some debate this is TOO extreme, some debate its merits. But if you wait a bit (yes, 5 minutes seems like a long time when you're watching the clock) before re-entering the information, or you close your web browser, then restart your web browser and return to the site, the error should no longer exist.
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Any known problems with AOL?
None. We have spent hours (all the free-trial hours) trying to encounter a problem and encountered none.
We have tested on newer computers and on computers so old that it isn't likely people would be using them. Yet, still
no problem. The Showfax website is just that, a website. It is 100% compliant with Internet Standards. All you need
to obtain sides is an Internet connection to the Worldwide Web, a web-compliant web browser and Acrobat Reader.
AOL users are successfully connecting and downloading sides thousands of times weekly. If you are an AOL user and you are experiencing difficulties, then a few other things need to be considered such as AOL congestion during peak (evening) hours, a bad connection, running low on memory or system resources at your computer, etc.
There are indeed a few issues with the way AOL itself works, most notably its method of caching (storing) web pages on its own system and it's not the purpose of this brief FAQ to get into a lengthy discussion about how to optimize your AOL settings. Click the AOL menu along the top of your AOL screen that says SETTINGS and then PREFERENCES. That's where you can make what settings changes you wish but all of the default settings work fine with our website. Routine things like emptying your web browser cache from time to time, or if you keep getting a corrupted web page when you visit a site, are discussed in help files throughout the web and in primer books such as INTERNET FOR DUMMIES.
HOWEVER, As an AOL user, and as previously discussed in our section about downloading, you can make the experience way easy on yourself if you DO NOT attempt to open or print these files online, but instead, DOWNLOAD TO YOUR OWN COMPUTER. We found this especially the case when testing with AOL because there were times when, upon clicking the role to open it online in Acrobat Reader, it took so long to open that the connection with AOL actually timed out. On other attempts, it took so long to open that it seemed as though nothing was opening and all we saw was a blank white page (but waiting longer indeed eventually displayed the Acrobat file of sides).
WHEREAS, absolutely no delay whatsover when downloading to one's own computer (because you no longer need to be connected to AOL, or any service, to open the sides -- if downloaded they thus reside on your own computer like any other file). So, just follow the downloading instructions in this FAQ and you should experience no problems if using AOL.
If encountering problems, another suggestion is offered, by AOL and its users, and that is to NOT use the web browser that is part of your AOL set up, but to instead use one of the known web-compliant web browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, or Netscape. After you make your AOL connection, minimize your AOL screen, then load Internet Explorer or Netscape and go on to whatever websites you wish. But frankly we don't find this necessary if you just download the sides to your own computer rather than try to open or print them via online.
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I'm a Casting Director, how do I post sides?
Easy, just call the processing office (310 385-6936, M-F 7:00 a.m. to 8 p.m. Pacific time) and they'll give you instructions, or
email sides@showfax.com.
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