WINDOWS DRAW 5 README

This file answers some common questions about Windows Draw.


PROJECTS AND CLIP ART

"Once Windows Draw is running, how can I again start a new project? When I select the New File button, I always get a blank page."

Use the New Project button to open the Project Wizard, or select New Project from the File menu.

"I can't start a project without getting an error message."

You need to have the CD-Rom in the drive to open the templates used in the projects. It is also necessary to have the CD-Rom in the drive to use the clip art provided with Windows Draw.

"I do not have the CD-Rom on my local machine. How can I access project templates on another machine on my network?"

When you open a project that uses a template, you are asked to insert the CD. Select Cancel (since you don't have the CD locally) and you are given the option to browse for the project templates. Use the Browse button to find the machine with the project templates. Select the TEMPLATE folder and choose OK. You should then be able to access the project templates correctly.

"How can I install the templates to my hard drive?"

You can copy the TEMPLATE subdirectory with all its contents from the CD-Rom to any location on your hard drive. To have Windows Draw access this new subdirectory, follow the steps given in the previous scenario.

"I'm starting new files from projects, but some of the project templates are blank, and others seem to be incomplete. Otherwise, the ABC Media Manager keeps appearing with a subject called 'Icons.' Am I missing something?"

Yes, some templates are intentionally left as blank pages, with Page Setup and Grid settings appropriate for the template, and most templates have clip art subjects associated with them (other than "Icons"). If the ABC Media Manager cannot locate the Windows Draw CD-ROM, it brings up the default subject "Icons" instead. If you are accessing the Templates from any place other than the CD-Rom drive on your machine, then you will likely encounter this problem. To correct this, either keep the Windows Draw CD-ROM in the drive while working with Windows Draw, or provide ABC Media Manager with the correct path for finding the clip art. To do so, open ABC Media Manager (either from the Clip Art button in Windows Draw or from the Start menu), select Options/Properties, click the CD-ROM tab, and type the correct path to the clip art. The correct path would either be the root of the CD-ROM or wherever the Collection (ECF) files are located.

"When I choose 'Subject' from the ABC Media Manager, I only get one option called 'Icons'. How can I access the remaining clip art?"

The Windows Draw clip art collections are all located on the CD-ROM. See the previous scenario.


CREATING AND EDITING DRAWINGS

"Why are some text objects selectable, whereas others are not?"

Windows Draw 5 has a label text feature in addition to separate text objects. Label text is treated more like a property of another object than an object of its own. Therefore, to modify label text, you can select the object which has the label and choose text formatting commands from the Format menu or Formatting toolbar. To edit the text itself, or to format a selection of the label, select the object which has the label, choose the Edit button on the Insert toolbar, then choose Edit Label Text. See online help for more information about label text.

"When I start a new drawing from a project, I find that some objects do not give handles when I try to select them. Nothing I can do seems to affect those objects. What is special about those objects?"

Those objects are probably on another layer of the drawing. The tabs at the bottom left of the drawing area give the names of the layers in the drawing. To switch to a new layer, click once on the layer tab. You may then find that you can select a different set of objects on the page (i.e. the objects located on that layer). If you want to edit everything at the same time, point to Layers on the Draw menu and click Edit All Layers. This option would be needed if you wanted to use a command like Convert to Image and convert everything visible on the page to an image. See online help for more information about layers.


FONTS

"After installing Windows Draw, I could not find all the fonts that are supposed to be included. How do I get these?"

When you choose the Typical installation, Windows Draw only installs about 30 fonts on your system. You can get all 250+ fonts by running the installation again and selecting the Custom option. Select only Fonts. Select Details, and choose the fonts you want to install. If you do not want to run the SETUP program again, you can use the Control Panel to install the fonts included on the CD-ROM in a folder called FONTS.


PRINTING

Windows Draw was created with all Windows-compatible printers in mind.  However, given the complexity of graphics that Windows Draw is capable of creating, it is possible to create a file that does not seem to be printable to a particular type of printer. These problems can often be avoided by choosing the appropriate settings in the printer properties (in Windows). Specifically, see the Q&A below.

"When printing, some text objects are missing from the page. How do I print these files?"

Select Properties on your printer driver and turn on the option for Print TrueType Fonts as Graphics.

"When printing to a PCL printer (such as a Laserjet), some objects are missing from the page. How do I print these files?"

Select Properties on your printer driver and turn on the option for Print Vector Objects as Raster.

"When printing to a postscript printer, some objects are missing from the page. How do I print these files?"

Examine the Properties of your printer driver. If there are options which might affect how complex graphics are treated, give those options a try. If changing such options do not improve printing, you can use the Convert to Image command in Windows Draw to translate your objects into a single image, which should print fine. To do so, save your file first, then Select All (F2), and choose Convert to Image from the Tools menu. [Note: If your drawing is on multiple layers, you will need to first point to Layers on the Draw menu and click Edit All Layers.] For most printers, the default settings in that dialog are fine, so select OK.  You should then be able to print this version of the file. Of course, your file is now an image, which is not editable in the same way that the original file was.  Therefore, it is recommended that you either not save this version, or save it to a different filename.

"None of the above suggestions helped; I am still having problems printing. What should I try next?"

If the above suggestions do not work, make sure you have the latest version of the Windows printer driver for your model of printer. You can often download these from the major online services or by contacting the manufacturer of your printer.


ATM

We support version 3.02 and above of Adobe Type Manager. With previous versions of ATM, it is possible that Windows Draw will not display those Type 1 fonts in the font selection box.


TGA FILES

Windows Draw imports TGA files. However, if you export a TGA file from Instant 3D, Windows Draw will not import it.


INSTALLING ABC QUICKSILVER

ABC QuickSilver is a plug-in that works with your web browser to let you view DRW files. Use Windows Draw to create graphics for your web page, then save the drawing as a DRW file. With ABC QuickSilver loaded, you can open the DRW file in your web browser to view the graphic. Or, you can embed the DRW file in an HTML file and view the graphic when you open the HTML file in your web browser.

To install ABC QuickSilver:

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar, then click Run.
2. If you are using the Microsoft web browser, type x:\Microsoft.exe (x being the letter of your CD-ROM drive) in the Open box. If you are using Netscape web browser, type x:\Netscape.exe (x being the letter of your CD-ROM drive).
3. Follow the instructions on the screen.

ABC QuickSilver is updated every 60 days. You can obtain the update on the Micrografx web page at http:\\WWW.MICROGRAFX.COM.



