My friends - I am happy to report that I have reconciled the problems associated with the digitizing of the KGS Series VI JP county maps, and we are now ready to move to beta testing of the final work. I am asking for 5 volunteers to test this CD. If you wish to participate in that activity, please send a message to me via private e-mail and, when you do, please specify what sort of program you will use to view the files. I have tested them in 5 different programs, from the little MSPaint, all the way up to Adobe Photoshop and PhotoShop Elements, and have found no difficulties in opening the files. However, I would like to have each volunteer to have a different viewing software, in order to verify that my tests are accurate. I also need one Mac user to volunteer. As a small token of appreciation for the beta test, the volunteers can keep the CD's gratis. I primarily need to know if the images open satisfactorily and can be used for the genealogical purposes we all have, and if any bugs are noted. The images will appear in whatever program is used at a fraction of their full size(perhaps 6% to 15%), except perhaps in the less sophisticated programs which may show the images at 100% when opened. The magnifying components of the more sophisticated programs will zoom them up to 100%, and I have even zoomed them up to 200% without appreciable loss of clarity. It will be unlikely that the images can be printed on a normal printer, however, due to their size. If hard copies are needed at some point, the better route would be to contact me about those(which are available). Of course, selected portions of the digitized maps could be printed without difficulty. Obviously, the sophistication of the software image program which is used to view these files will have an effect on what can be done with them, but I have not found any program, as I said, above, which will not open them and make them usable. I will wait 48 hours to select the volunteers, with the selection based on who volunteers first with one image program, and then proceed to who is first with another program, etc., plus the first volunteer who has a Mac. I'll let everyone know who is selected, and when the group number has been met, I will notify the lists. -B +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++