***Installing Beadesigner 1.0*** All of the files you will need to run this program are compressed into "bdsnr.zip" 1. Go into Windows File Manager 2. Create a subdirectory of your C drive called "bdsnr" 3. Copy bdsnr.zip into this directory 4. Choose "Run" from the "File" menu in File Manager 5. At the prompt type "pkunzip.exe bdsnr.zip". This will extract and inflate all of the files you need from bdsnr.zip. You should now have the files: bdsnr2.exe bdsnr.zip cmdialog.vbx threed.vbx vbrun300.dll Note: you may need to enter the full path of PKUNZIP or WINZIP. Next, go to the directory called "c:\windows\system" and see if this directory contains files called "threed.vbx", "cmdialog.vbx" and "vbrun300.dll" (These are a few important windows DLL's that my program uses- you will probably have them already). If there are not there, move the copies I provided into your "c:\windows\system" directory. If you already have them DON'T copy the new ones in- you can just erase the ones that I provided. Now you can run the program by just double clicking on the file bdsnr2.exe. (You can create an icon for the Program Manager if you like). ***Tips for better performance*** Your computer must be able to display 256 colors or preferably more. If you are only displaying 16 colors now, change this before running the program. ***Warnings*** As I described in my web page, this program is far from being pro- fessionally done. Bear this in mind as you read these instructions. I've tried to explain the bugs and workarounds as best as possible. This program had been known to crash from time to time. Therefore, you should a: save your work frequently b: close other applications before running Beadesigner When it crashes, you almost always have the option of ending the app- lication and returning to Windows. You shouln't have to reboot your computer. I strongly recommend that you play with the program for a while and see how everyting works on your system before you invest a long time in a project. ***What you will see when you start up Beadesigner 1.0*** On your screen you will see four menus: 1. The "File" menu contains the following: a. "New" Start a new project. Choose the stitch type, dimensions, bead shape and type of graph paper. See "Pros and Cons of Transparent Graph vs Graph" below. VERY IMPORTANT: for some reason sometimes only half of a graph is drawn. If this happens, select "New" again and draw a new graph. b. "Open" Open an existing project. (Note: you can only have one project open at a time.) c. "Save" Save your project to a file "filename.bds" that you can load back up later. This will save the color palette also. d. "Save As Bitmap" Save your project as a bitmap to a file "filename.bmp" that you can print out with Windows Paintbrush or your favorite graphics application. e. "Save As Portable File" Save your project as a file that can be loaded by someone else using Beadesigner 1.0. These files should be saved with a .pbd extension. f. "Load Portable File" Load a portable file. (a file with .pbd extension). g. "Exit" Leave Beadesigner 1.0. (Note: remember to save your project before quitting) 2. The "Palette" menu contains the following: a. "Assign Color To Palette" Selecting this option will make the Windows color palette appear on the screen. Choose a color or create your own with this palette, then click on OK. Next go to the Beadesigner Color Palette on the right side of the screen and click on an empty palette box. That palette box will be filled with that color and whenever you click on it, it will change your pen color to that color. You can overwrite this color by repeating these steps. Next to the new color you just inserted, type in a name for that color. The name that you choose will be used in your Row Color Chart. You can also specify a pattern number in the little text box that has a zero in it. b. "Save Color Palette" Save your color palette to a file "filename.plt" that you can load back up later. c. "Load Color Palette" Load a previously saved color palette. 3. The "Color" menu contains the following: a. "Exchange Colors" Before selecting this option, make sure the two colors you want to exchange are in the Beadesigner Color Palette. Select this option, click on one color and then another. Every bead in the graph that is the first color you choose will be replaced by the second color you choose. b. "Set Background Color" When you start a new project the background color is either white or transparent. Setting a background color will change every bead that is the current background color to the new color you choose- it will not change any other bead in the graph. Before you select this option, be sure the color you want is in the Beadesigner Color Palette (do this by Assigning it as described above), select the option, then click on the desired color in the palette. c. "Create Row Color Chart" Create a text file named filename.txt that contains a text representation of your project, that you can print out with Windows Notepad or your favorite word processing software. See "Row Select Option Buttons" description below. d. "Replace Colors With Patterns" The numbers next to the colors in the Beadesigner color palette represent the following patterns: 0- no pattern 1- horizontal line 2- vertical line 3- upward diagonal 4- downward diagonal 5- cross 6- diagonal cross So if you put a pattern number next to a color in the palette, every bead in the graph that is of that color will be replaced by that pattern. You should save you project as a bitmap after you do this so you can print out this image. To restore the graph to what is was- click on the "Refresh Graph" button. 4. The "Options" menu contains the following: a. "Load Picture" Loading a picture draws the graph on the screen over a graphic. You can load any graphic that is a bitmap (with file extension .bmp) or a Windows metafile (.wmf extension). If you want to load any other kind of file (.gif, .tif, .jpg, etc) you will have to convert it to either of these formats before loading. Paint Shop Pro is a great graphics program, that allows you to save a graphic file in many different formats. It is available as ShareWare from http://URLhere. To load a picture, choose the picture you want to load. It will appear on the screen in the same dimensions as you graph. Then click the "Refresh Graph" button, to draw the graph over the picture. b. "Change Picture Dimensions" This option allows you to "shrink" and "grow" the graphic, or "shift" it around under the graph. c. "Unload Picture" This option clears the picture from underneath the graph. Click "Refresh Graph" to redraw the graph after clearing the picture. d. "Zoom In" This option zooms the graph in by 100%. Because it is too large to fit on the screen you must use the scroll bars to view all parts of the graph. If you are working with a transparent graph you must refresh the graph every time you scroll. e. "Zoom Out" This option returns the graph to it's original size. f. "Calculations" This option loads the "Calculations" screen. Your project will remain in memory when you return to the "Jewelry Design" screen. ***Pros and Cons of "Draw Graph" vs. "Draw Transparent Graph"*** There is a feature of Windows called "Auto Redraw". When something on your screen is temporarily covered up by another object (by a message box, or other windows, or if you ALT-TAB to another application, etc) it has to be redrawn when that object is moved away. When AutoRedraw is ON, Windows takes care of all of this redrawing that needs to be done. When you choose to draw a "Transparent Graph" AutoRedraw is off, when you draw a "Graph" AutoRedraw is on. Pros of a Transparent Graph: (AutoRedraw OFF) 1. You can load a picture underneath it. 2. Everything is much, much faster than with a regular Graph. Cons of a Transparent Graph: 1. You have to click the "Refresh Graph" button to redraw the graph frequently. e.g., when you load a graphic underneath, every time you change the dimensions of that graphic, when you zoom in- every time you scroll in any direction, etc. Pros of a Graph: (AutoRedraw ON) 1. You will almost never need to redraw (refresh) the graph. e.g., scrolling when zoomed in will occur normally, the pieces of the graph won't be erased when temporarily covered up, etc. Cons of a Graph: 1. It is much slower than a transparent graph. 2. You can't load a graph underneath it. ***Row Select Option Buttons*** The default graph coloring mode is "Normal". You should make sure that you are always in normal mode when you are coloring in your graph. "Row Select On" is to be selected when you are done with your design and you want to create a row color text file. Select this option and then click and drag the mouse over the beads you want to include in your design. The beads you select will have a white border. If you accidentally choose a bead you didn't mean to, select "Row Deselect On", and click on that bead. After you have selected the entire desired area, choose "Create Row Color Chart" from the "File" menu. ***Calculations*** In the calculations screen you will see an "Options" menu. You have the following options available here: "Price Guide" This will prompt you for information about your piece and suggest a price to charge for it. "Conversions" You choose a bead size (6/0,...,18/0) and a quantity in units (grams, oz, hank, etc) and then select the new units that you want to convert to and press the equal sign button. "Jewelry Design" This will return you to the jewelry design screen you were at. NOTE: I haven't gotten around yet to writing the code that does conversions for any other size seed beads except for 11/0.