Welcome To LEGO Harry Potter

These FAQs accompany version 1.0

LEGO Harry Potter
Developed by TT Games
Ported to Mac by Open Planet Software and Feral Interactive
Published for Mac by Feral Interactive


FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)

This document is intended to help you answer any questions that you may have about LEGO Harry Potter

  1. When I press the Function keys (F1-F19) nothing happens. How do I use the Function keys in LEGO Harry Potter?
  2. Why does iTunes pause my music when I start playing LEGO Harry Potter?
  3. I have two monitors attached to my computer—How do I change which screen the game runs on?
  4. LEGO Harry Potter runs slowly on my computer. Is there anything I can do to increase the speed?
  5. How do I get technical support for LEGO Harry Potter?
  6. Can I play this game on a Case-Sensitive File System?
  7. How do I take screenshots in LEGO Harry Potter?
  8. How do I activate Player 2's controller?
  9. Why doesn't the purple gargoyle break the glass in the level 'The Dark Tower'?
  10. Why does the Delete Key appear as Backspace?
  1. When I press the Function keys (F1-F19) nothing happens. How do I use the Function keys in LEGO Harry Potter?

    By default Mac OS X uses the F Keys to control items such as sound levels and brightness. To use an F Key for a game function hold the fn key first, and then press the F key. If you wish to have the F Keys always enabled, follow these steps:

    1. Open System Preferences ( MenuSystem Preferences).

    2. Click on Keyboard (or Keyboard and Mouse, depending on your system).

    3. Select the tab named Keyboard.

    4. Ensure the checkbox labelled "Use all F1, F2, etc. keys as standard function keys" is checked.

    The F Keys will now work without using the fn key.

    Back To Top

  2. Why does iTunes pause my music when I start playing LEGO Harry Potter?

    You have the "Pause iTunes while playing LEGO Harry Potter." option selected in the LEGO Harry Potter pre-game Options window. To turn this feature off follow the steps below.

    1. Double Click on the LEGO Harry Potter Application while holding the Command key (⌘) down. A window called LEGO Harry Potter Options will appear.

    2. Select the tab named Extras.

    3. Deselect the checkbox labelled "Pause iTunes while playing LEGO Harry Potter".

    4. Click Play to start playing LEGO Harry Potter.

    To turn this feature back on at a later date just re-select the checkbox and then press Play.

    Back To Top

  3. I have two monitors attached to my computer—How do I change which screen the game runs on?

    If you have more than one monitor connected to your Mac that is capable of supporting LEGO Harry Potter, you can choose which monitor is used for the game from the pre-game Options window. Select the Displays tab in order to choose a monitor.

    Holding down the Command key () while starting the game will display the pre-game Options window if you have previously disabled it.

    Back To Top

  4. LEGO Harry Potter runs slowly on my computer. Is there anything I can do to increase the speed?

    There are several factors which have an impact on the speed at which LEGO Harry Potter runs. Please see the section titled "LEGO Harry Potter Performance Tips" in the ReadMe for a guide to increasing the speed at which the game runs on your computer.

    Back To Top

  5. How do I get technical support for LEGO Harry Potter?

    Please read the technical support information in the ReadMe, this tells you what to check and if necessary how to contact Feral Technical Support with your issue.

    Back To Top

  6. Can I play this game on a Case-Sensitive File System?

    No. LEGO Harry Potter has been tested with the basic formatting option for Mac OS X which is HFS+. This system is not case-sensitive and identifies files by name without checking capitalisation. The capitalisation of filenames is not consistent throughout the game. While this may not prevent the game from running on case-sensitive file systems, unfortunately such differences may lead to crashes and other unpredictable behaviour on the case-sensitive formats available on the Macintosh.

    If you have to run a case-sensitive setup and you experience problems with LEGO Harry Potter please install the game on a standard formatted partition or read/write disk image. In most cases this will allow you to play the game on your machine.

    Back To Top

  7. How do I take screenshots in LEGO Harry Potter?

    To take screenshots while playing LEGO Harry Potter you should use the following key command.

    Command (⌘) + Shift (⇧) + P

    When you press all three keys at once the game will take a single image of the on-screen contents and save it to your Desktop. The picture will be in TIFF format and will be called "LEGO Harry Potter Picture 1". If you take more than one picture the numbering will increase by one per screenshot. The TIFF image contains metadata with a string in the following format.

    GameName/Version Number (OS Version; CPU Speed; Installed RAM; Video RAM; Current Graphics Card)

    For example in LEGO Harry Potter the string might look a little like this:

    LEGO Harry Potter/1.0 (Mac OS 10.6.2; 2.8; 2.0 512; Radeon HD4870)

    This information can easily be removed by saving the screenshot into a different format using Preview or another image editing tool. It should be noted that none of the metadata stored can be used to identify the user.

    Back To Top

  8. How do I activate Player 2's controller?

    Before starting the game, make sure Player 2's controller is connected to you computer. If the controller is not detected automatically in the game, then follow these steps:

    1. At the Main Menu (or on the Pause screen while in-game) select Options and then select Control Configuration.
    2. In the Control Configuration menu, highlight the right side of the screen (Player 2's side) and select the option Change Device.
    3. Press any button on Player 2's controller – the controller should now appear on the right side of the screen.
    4. Once the controller is visible on the right side of the screen, highlight and select the Accept option. Player 2's controller will now be activated.

    NOTE: In the Main Menu the relevant option is called 'Control Configuration', but on the in-game Pause screen it is called 'Controller Options'.

    Back To Top

  9. Why doesn't the purple gargoyle break the glass in the level 'The Dark Tower'?

    Towards the end of the level 'The Dark Tower' you will be required to use a purple gargoyle to break a pane of glass. On some low performance machines such as Mac Minis and MacBooks you may find that the glass doesn't break as it should. To get around this issue navigate to OptionsVideo Settings, and set the option Enhanced Graphics to OFF.

    You will be required to restart the game in order for this change to take effect, but when you retry the level the glass will break.

    Back To Top

  10. Why does the Delete Key appear as Backspace?

    When the game is played with a US keyboard you may notice that the Delete key is labelled Backspace. This does not affect the function of the controls.

    Back To Top