![](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125835690/874161103.jpg)
Note: Please read through our Frequently Asked Questions section before contacting customer service or tech support.
Inspiration 9 for Windows has been updated to remove the necessity to install the QuickTime player for specific functionality within the application for embedded video and sound. Instead this new version uses Windows Media Player. Click to go to the free updaters for existing Inspiration 9 for Windows installation.
Inspiration Software, Inc. If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD or have a serial number, use the CD version. Jul 18, 2011 - I have checked the software kb forums and didn't find any. I found out today that there are no switches with Inspiration 9 install. This will put a file called 'Inspiration NOS' in the install directory which contains your serial.
The current version is 9.2. Inspiration 8 users, click here for Help Center. Inspiration 7 users click here, and Inspiration 6 users click here.
Version 9.2 (released December 2013)
THIS IS A WINDOWS-ONLY PRODUCT: Windows 7 and later
Recommended:
- Internet connection*
Optional:
- Interactive electronic whiteboard
- Microphone
* For downloaded products, the computer on which the downloaded product is installed must be connected to the Internet for the product to be activated.
New in Inspiration 9.2! Support for Mac OS 10.9 (Mavericks) and import/export of files between Inspiration 9.2 and Inspiration Maps 1.4 for iPad!
- If you are running an earlier version of Inspiration, you must upgrade to Inspiration 9 to use this feature.
- If you are running Inspiration 9, use the free updater below to update your licenses to 9.2.
Download the Inspiration 9.2 updater.
Note: This update is for the US edition only. Users currently running Inspiration 9.0.x or 9.1 can update to version 9.2 for free, but you may need your serial number (CD version) or activation code (download version) to complete the installation.
Windows (update to 9.2.4)
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD or have a serial number, use the CD version
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a download or have an authorization code, use the download version
Note: This update is for the US edition only. Users currently running Inspiration 9.0.x or 9.1 can update to version 9.2 for free, but you may need your serial number (CD version) or activation code (download version) to complete the installation.
Windows (update to 9.2.4)
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD or have a serial number, use the CD version
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a download or have an authorization code, use the download version
Mac OS X (update to 9.2.2)
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a CD or have a serial number, use the CD version
If you originally purchased Inspiration 9 as a download or have an authorization code, use the download version
This free update adds:
- File import from and export to Inspiration Maps for iPad.
Installation notes
- Save all custom libraries, templates and documents out of the Inspiration directory before updating
- Mac users should uninstall their current version of Inspiration 9 before running the new installer
- Windows version replaces the problematic Quicktime for Windows with Windows Media Player.
Play your presentation directly from Inspiration 9 or, in the absence of Inspiration 9, on any Windows® or Macintosh® computer using Inspiration Presenter. Click here to download Inspiration Presenter – it’s free and convenient!
Note: Inspiration Presenter can also be found under the Help Menu in Inspiration 9.
Note: Inspiration Presenter can also be found under the Help Menu in Inspiration 9.
Q: I would like to buy - or get a quote for - new or additional software licenses. What do I do?
A: Great! Please click on the BUY NOW button at the top of our website and then click the link in the table cell that matches the product / license type combination you're looking for.
Q: How do I find out how many licenses my school / district owns?
A: Email [email protected]. In your email, include the full name of your school or district and the state it's located in.
Q: I can't find my activation code or serial number. How do I retrieve it?
A: If your school or district purchased a volume or site license, your serial number will be on the license agreement. If you purchased a single boxed copy, your serial number is on a sticker inside the DVD box or paper sleeve the CD came in. If you purchased an electronic download, your activation code is located in the email you received at the time of purchase - search for an email from either [email protected] (the activation code is called a 'product key' in the email) OR from [email protected] if you purchased before September of 2015.
If you are unable to locate your serial number or activation code, please email [email protected] with proof of purchase and we will provide you with a code.
Q: I'm trying to open Inspiration, but the system is asking for an activation code or serial number. What do I do?
A: See the answer to the question above.
Q: I would like to learn more about how Inspriation can help my students / my child.
A: Great! Check out our Quick Tour of Inspiration.
Error message questions...
Q: I see the error message 'The program can't start because MFPlay.DLL is missing from your computer. Try reinstalling the program to fix this problem.' when I try to start Inspiration on Windows. What do I do?
A: This error message means that you are running a version of Windows N on your computer. Windows N does not come with a Windows Media Player, but a Windows Media Player is required to launch (and use) Inspiration 9. To fix the problem, download the Windows N Service Pack (which includes the Media Player) for your version of Windows.
For Windows 10: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=48231
For Windows 7: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=16546
Q: I see the error message 'Could not run insp9.qtr' when I try to start Inspiration on Windows. What do I do?
A: Please try the following:
- right-click the Inspiration program file or shortcut and click Properties
- click the compatibility tab, then click the 'Run this program in compatibility mode' and click XP Service Pack 3
- check 'Run this program as an administrator'
- launch Inspiration
Q: I see the error message 'Error 2 running command' when I install Inspiration on my PC. What do I do?
A: The file you downloaded is a self-extracting installer. Rather than double-clicking it to start the install process, instead please extract the files manually using WinZip (or a similar utility), which you can get for free from winzip.com if you don't already have it. That extraction will create a folder called INSP92US.ESD. Open that folder, then double-click 'Inspiration 9 Installer.exe' to launch the installer directly. Note: the folder and installer names might differ slightly depending on which version of Inspiration you're installing.
Q: I see the error message 'Online resources are currently unavailable...' when trying to install.
A: This message is caused by your antivirus / security software blocking communication with our authentication server. For a solution, please email [email protected]. In your email, please include your authorization code, edition (US or IE), and indicate whether you are using Mac or Windows.
Q: I'm trying to open a presentation file on a computer without Inspiration 9 installed and getting an error of 'Command line option syntax error. Type Command/? for help?' What's happening?
A: To open the presentation file, first launch the Inspiration Presenter then use the Open dialog menu to open the .isf file.
iPad app (Inspiration Maps) file transfer questions...
Q: I have diagrams that I created in Inspiration and I want to open them on the iPad. How do I do that?
A: If you would like to move Inspiration 9 or Inspiration 8 diagrams and outlines to the iPad to continue working on them, you can do this with Inspiration 9.2 by exporting your work as Inspiration Maps documents. Your document will look similar on your iPad but not identical.
Note: Requires Inspiration 9.2 installed on your desktop/laptop and Inspiration Maps Version 1.2 (or higher) installed on your iPad.
- Open the Inspiration 9 document you would like to transfer. Choose Export as iPad Inspiration Maps document on the File menu. This will create a file with the extension .inspmaps, which the Inspiration Maps app can read.
- Choose where you would like to save your Inspiration Maps document. To get your document to your iPad, you can:
- Email your .inspmaps document to yourself. In your email app on your iPad, open the email with the attachment, and double-click on the attachment to open it with Inspiration Maps.
- Put .inspmaps document in a Dropbox folder that you can access from your iPad.
Note: Mind maps created in Inspiration 9 Map View, and presentations created in the Presentation Manager cannot be exported to your iPad. An alternative for mind maps is to turn the mind map into a diagram, then export the diagram as an Inspiration Maps document. To convert your mind map into a diagram, choose Make Diagram Document on the File menu.
Q: I have an Inspiration Maps document - can I open it in my desktop version of Inspiration?
A: To use Inspiration Maps documents on your desktop, you need to be running Inspiration 9.2 on your desktop, and Inspiration Maps Version 1.2 (or higher) on your iPad.
![Numbers Numbers](http://zdjecia.pl.sftcdn.net/pl/scrn/42000/42429/throttle-22.jpg)
- On the iPad, save the document in Dropbox or email it to yourself.
- On your desktop, in Inspiration 9.2: from Diagram or Outline View, choose Import iPad Inspiration Maps document on the File menu.
- Select the document you would like to import.
Note: Diagrams and outlines imported into Inspiration will be saved as Inspiration 9 documents. In order to open your document again on your iPad, you will have to export your document as an Inspiration Maps document when you are finished working on it on your computer.
Q: Can I play my Inspiration 9 Presentation on a computer that does not have Inspiration 9 installed on it?
A: Yes, the presentation can play on a computer without Inspiration 9 by using the Inspiration Presenter. It can be found in the Help menu under 'Copy to Inspiration Presenter'. Alternatively, it can be downloaded from this link . Copy or transfer the Inspiration Presenter to the target computer and open it. Then use the Open dialog to select the presentation file.
Q: When drawing a link to a symbol I see a green glow around the destination symbol, what is that?
A: The green glow indicates the potential connection points along the symbol for straight link lines. This is an increase over the default eight connection points on a symbol. It allows for a smooth movement when repositioning the symbols in the document.
Q: I saved an Inspiration 9 file as an Inspiration 8 file and my inserted graphics are not appearing.
A: In Inspiration 9, insert the image as TIF, PNG, or GIF and save it back as an Inspiration 8 file.
Q: Inspiration sometimes unexpectedly quits on my Mac.
A: When you're using Inspiration, please restart the app every hour or two. When you're done using Inspiration in a given session, please quit the app (vs. leaving the app running).
Q: I can't export to PDF on Windows.
A: We apologize for this inconvenience. The PFD export problem is a known issue on 64-bit Windows PC's. The workaround is to print the document using a third-party PDF driver such as CutePDF. You can download that driver at www.cutepdf.com/products/cutepdf/writer.asp
Q: What happened to the Inspired Learning Community?
A: With the advent of Dropbox, Google Drive, Edmodo and other cloud sharing services, we found that educators preferred to share Inspiration documents through those because they could fit them directly into their curriculum. Given that, and the resources it took to maintain and monitor our own community, we made a decision last year to discontinue the Inspired Learning Community site.
In addition to the sharing services mentioned above, we also provide free templates and lesson plans on our own site.
Contact Technical Support
Please read through the information above and the FAQ - more than likely, your question has already been answered on this page. If you don't find what you need here, please email [email protected].
Hi,
I found out today that there are no switches with Inspiration 9 install. Tech Support at Inspiration sent me this. Hope it helps.
Thank you for your email. Our installer does not support silent
install switches. We do have an .msi for Inspiration 9 that I'd be
happy to share with you. Would that be helpful?
Though I don't anticipate any troubles with the .msi, you should know
that configurations different from my testing environment have a small
chance of showing unusual behavior. Please do let me know if anything
unusual does happen in the update process or after it is updated.
To obtain the Inspiration 9 IE msi, please download the the following
zip file from our server:
http://files.inspiration.com/J84A8AHH-7E34
After you have extracted the files from the zip, please use the
following instructions:
-To place our application to a central location so the MSI can copy
the files to the local client, do a standard network install of
Inspiration 9 IE (as outlined in the volume license install
instructions) Our MSI will simply copy the files from the server to
the client, resulting in a local install.
- Copy the Inspiration.msi and ideploy.ini into the install directory
(the same directory as the Insp9.exe)
- Edit the ideploy.ini with a text editor and change the SourceDir
variable to point at your network installation (servershareappdir)
- Now point your network deployment tool (such as Zen Works) at the
Inspiration.msi file in the same way you normally do. I would
recommend assigning the msi on the machine level, as opposed to the
user level for best results.
I found out today that there are no switches with Inspiration 9 install. Tech Support at Inspiration sent me this. Hope it helps.
Thank you for your email. Our installer does not support silent
install switches. We do have an .msi for Inspiration 9 that I'd be
happy to share with you. Would that be helpful?
Though I don't anticipate any troubles with the .msi, you should know
that configurations different from my testing environment have a small
chance of showing unusual behavior. Please do let me know if anything
unusual does happen in the update process or after it is updated.
To obtain the Inspiration 9 IE msi, please download the the following
zip file from our server:
http://files.inspiration.com/J84A8AHH-7E34
After you have extracted the files from the zip, please use the
following instructions:
-To place our application to a central location so the MSI can copy
the files to the local client, do a standard network install of
Inspiration 9 IE (as outlined in the volume license install
instructions) Our MSI will simply copy the files from the server to
the client, resulting in a local install.
- Copy the Inspiration.msi and ideploy.ini into the install directory
(the same directory as the Insp9.exe)
- Edit the ideploy.ini with a text editor and change the SourceDir
variable to point at your network installation (servershareappdir)
- Now point your network deployment tool (such as Zen Works) at the
Inspiration.msi file in the same way you normally do. I would
recommend assigning the msi on the machine level, as opposed to the
user level for best results.
![](/uploads/1/2/5/8/125835690/874161103.jpg)