• McIDAS-V Documentation
• Other Sources of Help

The first source of support is this McIDAS-V User's Guide. It contains complete instructions for downloading, installing, running, and using the McIDAS-V reference application and all its features. It also has a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) section with answers to many of the most commonly asked questions. The User's Guide can be accessed from the McIDAS-V Help->User's Guide menu or online at https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/doc/mcv_guide/current/.

Additional documentation is available on the McIDAS-V homepage (https://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/software/v/), including McIDAS-V training materials (tutorials and data used in training sessions) and McIDAS-V source code.

If you have questions or encounter problems that the McIDAS-V documentation (described above) doesn't provide sufficient help, there are two additional sources of help. They are the McIDAS-V Support Forums and the McIDAS Help Desk.

The McIDAS-V Support Forums contain subject-based forums, each with topics and posts relating to the forum's subject. Only registered users can post on the forums. However, anyone can view the forums and their contents (i.e., visit as an unregistered "Guest").

The McIDAS Help Desk is staffed during business hours with user-support personnel. As noted in the MUG Policy Document, the help desk is supported by the fees paid by the McIDAS Users' Group (MUG) and thus provides advanced-level support for MUG members. For McIDAS-V all users (whether or not a MUG member) are welcome to contact the help desk to report software bugs or suggest improvements (enhancements).

When reporting a bug, first check for related error messages in the Message Console, and include the appropriate error messages in your email message. Also include as much information as you can about how you were running McIDAS-V and what happened, including:

• the version of McIDAS-V that you are using (use the Help->About McIDAS-V menu)
• your operating system and version level
• any messages on the console (to see the console, use the Help->Show Console menu)
• exact data source and parameter choice
• types of display being made and in use
• the sequence of McIDAS-V actions and choices that caused the problem
• a bundle file that recreates the problem if the data sources are network accessible (optional, but desirable)

Send this information to the McIDAS Help Desk using one of the three methods below.

1. Fill out the support form available from the Help->Support Request Form menu. Please include as much information as possible about the problem. (This is the preferred method.)
2. Fill out the contact form available on the McIDAS Website. Please include as much information as possible about the problem.
3. You may contact McIDAS User Services or the McIDAS Help Desk by postal mail at the following address:

McIDAS User Services
Space Science and Engineering Center
University of Wisconsin-Madison
1225 West Dayton Street
Madison, WI 53706