To install Adobe Reader 8
Adobe 8 is provided on Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss.
Adobe 7 is provided on Fantasy Floral and Filigree Fusion.
To install:
Close down all programs.
Put the CD in the drive and when the program opens up, close it down by clicking the red X in the top right corner of the screen
Click on the Start menu, from the options that come up, you should see an item that says My Computer
Double click on My Computer
You should now have a window which shows you your hard drive and the CD drive with our CD in.
RIGHT click on the CD icon, then left click on Explore
You should now have a list of folders and files on the CD. Find the folder called Adobe Reader and open it by double clicking the folder.
Within that folder are three files, the one with the red Adobe icon is the one you need.
Double click the Adobe file and this will start the install process.
Follow the instructions and at the end, you need to accept the terms and conditions otherwise the program won't work.
(You also get a screen at the end asking if you want something called Beyond Adobe Reader. I would say no to this as I believe all it does is take you to their website to tell you about other products.)
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Explaining some of the Technical Stuff in laymans terms
OK, so you've got the disk and before you break open the tamper evident seal, you have all this technical jargon you don't really understand. Well let's see if we can explain it in simpler terms.
Firstly, your computer needs to have certain things on it for this CD to work properly. When designing a CD like this, I needed to find a way to let you browse through the designs quickly and easily. It had to be simple to use and something that most people would be able to use without learning something new.
That's why I chose to make it work just like the Internet. Most computer users these days do have access to the Internet and are comfortable with how to click on links and images to move around and browse through different pages.
So, the CD was designed like a mini, stand-alone website. You don't need to actually connect to the Internet to look at it - everything is there on the disk itself. When a computer comes across a file designed like this, it understands it and automatically opens it up using the same program that you normally use to look at the Internet. For the majority of people, this program is Microsoft Internet Explorer, but some people might use another program such as Firefox or Netscape. The point is, you don't actually need to worry about that, as the computer will work it out for you.
So far, so good. Now when it comes to printing a design, Internet programs are not very good. They end up printing out funny, missing bits off or going onto two pages. So to actually get the printing working fine (which after all is the whole point), the printable pages have been designed to use another program, Adobe Reader.
Adobe Reader is a free program that lets anyone view and print files that were created using Adobe Acrobat. You will also see it referred to as Acrobat Reader or even Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Because Acrobat is very widely used, Adobe who make it, are always improving it and bringing out updated versions. At the time of writing this, Adobe Reader 8 is the latest version. For us crafters, Adobe 8 has one massive, brilliant improvement over its earlier versions - the ability to format text.
On our Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss CD, there are several places where you can put your own text in - greetings and inserts. The place where you type your text is called a form by Adobe, as it's original purpose was to allow people to fill in forms online (tax returns for example). The Inland Revenue was never really that bothered about letting people change the colour or the font they were using, but that's exactly what us crafters wanted and finally, we can do it.
Our first two CDs, Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral, were released in October 2006, when the latest version of Adobe Reader was version 7, so these do not have the text feature enabled. If enough people demand it, I will bring out an upgraded version.
So, are you still with me? To summarise, you need to have some kind of Internet program to browse through the designs on the disk, but don't need an active Internet connection.
Plus you need to have Adobe Reader to view and print the individual page layouts - version 7 for Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral and version 8 for Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss.
Now, for the technical bit.
Adobe Reader 8 is pretty new which means that it will only work on fairly up to date computers. In technical terms - Windows XP with Service Pack 2. To understand this in laymans terms, here's a some info about Windows updates.
What you may not know is that PCs need to be regularly updated. Microsoft are always updating and tweaking Windows XP and these "updates" are made available to you free of charge.
You may have noticed sometimes that when you switch your computer on, you get a message that says Updates are ready for your computer. Click here to install these updates. If you have an internet connection, you can click on this message and Windows XP quietly downloads these updates. The reasons they do updates like this are varied and usually highly technical. Most of the time, it won't affect you or your computer if you don't bother downloading these updates, though it is always recommended that you do.
However, Adobe 8 will only work properly on PCs that have had certain specific updates installed. How do you know which ones? That's where Service Pack 2 comes into play. Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a shorthand way to describe a whole bundle of updates.
This means that other companies (such as Adobe) can then produce their own programs (such as Adobe Reader), knowing that they can work to a fixed technical specification and their users won't have to worry about updates at all.
So how do you know if you have Service Pack 2 installed. Well I have covered this as a separate article and you can read all about it here.
Once you have checked that you DO have SP2, you might want to find out exactly how to install Adobe Reader 8 and again, I have written a separate article on exactly how to do that - click here to find out how.
Firstly, your computer needs to have certain things on it for this CD to work properly. When designing a CD like this, I needed to find a way to let you browse through the designs quickly and easily. It had to be simple to use and something that most people would be able to use without learning something new.
That's why I chose to make it work just like the Internet. Most computer users these days do have access to the Internet and are comfortable with how to click on links and images to move around and browse through different pages.
So, the CD was designed like a mini, stand-alone website. You don't need to actually connect to the Internet to look at it - everything is there on the disk itself. When a computer comes across a file designed like this, it understands it and automatically opens it up using the same program that you normally use to look at the Internet. For the majority of people, this program is Microsoft Internet Explorer, but some people might use another program such as Firefox or Netscape. The point is, you don't actually need to worry about that, as the computer will work it out for you.
So far, so good. Now when it comes to printing a design, Internet programs are not very good. They end up printing out funny, missing bits off or going onto two pages. So to actually get the printing working fine (which after all is the whole point), the printable pages have been designed to use another program, Adobe Reader.
Adobe Reader is a free program that lets anyone view and print files that were created using Adobe Acrobat. You will also see it referred to as Acrobat Reader or even Adobe Acrobat Reader.
Because Acrobat is very widely used, Adobe who make it, are always improving it and bringing out updated versions. At the time of writing this, Adobe Reader 8 is the latest version. For us crafters, Adobe 8 has one massive, brilliant improvement over its earlier versions - the ability to format text.
On our Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss CD, there are several places where you can put your own text in - greetings and inserts. The place where you type your text is called a form by Adobe, as it's original purpose was to allow people to fill in forms online (tax returns for example). The Inland Revenue was never really that bothered about letting people change the colour or the font they were using, but that's exactly what us crafters wanted and finally, we can do it.
Our first two CDs, Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral, were released in October 2006, when the latest version of Adobe Reader was version 7, so these do not have the text feature enabled. If enough people demand it, I will bring out an upgraded version.
So, are you still with me? To summarise, you need to have some kind of Internet program to browse through the designs on the disk, but don't need an active Internet connection.
Plus you need to have Adobe Reader to view and print the individual page layouts - version 7 for Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral and version 8 for Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss.
Now, for the technical bit.
Adobe Reader 8 is pretty new which means that it will only work on fairly up to date computers. In technical terms - Windows XP with Service Pack 2. To understand this in laymans terms, here's a some info about Windows updates.
What you may not know is that PCs need to be regularly updated. Microsoft are always updating and tweaking Windows XP and these "updates" are made available to you free of charge.
You may have noticed sometimes that when you switch your computer on, you get a message that says Updates are ready for your computer. Click here to install these updates. If you have an internet connection, you can click on this message and Windows XP quietly downloads these updates. The reasons they do updates like this are varied and usually highly technical. Most of the time, it won't affect you or your computer if you don't bother downloading these updates, though it is always recommended that you do.
However, Adobe 8 will only work properly on PCs that have had certain specific updates installed. How do you know which ones? That's where Service Pack 2 comes into play. Service Pack 2 (SP2) is a shorthand way to describe a whole bundle of updates.
This means that other companies (such as Adobe) can then produce their own programs (such as Adobe Reader), knowing that they can work to a fixed technical specification and their users won't have to worry about updates at all.
So how do you know if you have Service Pack 2 installed. Well I have covered this as a separate article and you can read all about it here.
Once you have checked that you DO have SP2, you might want to find out exactly how to install Adobe Reader 8 and again, I have written a separate article on exactly how to do that - click here to find out how.
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
Will Artylicious CDs work on my computer
Well, let's start with the two latest CDs, Butterfly Bliss and Damask Delights, as they are slightly different to the first two.
The main thing you need to know is that you need to be able to run Adobe Reader version 8 to get the most from the CD. You CAN still use them in Version 7 (more on that later), but version 8 really is much better.
Adobe 8 will only work properly on PCs with Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Service Pack 2 is a collection of updates, most people who are regularly using the internet will have these updates installed automatically by Microsoft. If you never use the internet, you may not have a fully up to date version of Windows XP and you may have some problems with Adobe 8.
How do you know if you have Service Pack 2?
Find My Computer on your desktop. Use the right mouse button to click on it, then select properties (with the left button). The window that comes up will tell you what your operating system is – it should say something like
If it says Service Pack 1 or doesn’t mention a Service Pack at all, then you do not have the right spec for Adobe Reader 8 to work properly. You will still be able to use the CD with Adobe 7, but you won’t have the full range of text formatting features.
Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral were the first two CDs that we launched in October 2006. At the time, Adobe Reader version 7 was the latest version available, so these CDs work fine with Adobe Reader version 7 and 8.
The main thing you need to know is that you need to be able to run Adobe Reader version 8 to get the most from the CD. You CAN still use them in Version 7 (more on that later), but version 8 really is much better.
Adobe 8 will only work properly on PCs with Windows XP with Service Pack 2. Service Pack 2 is a collection of updates, most people who are regularly using the internet will have these updates installed automatically by Microsoft. If you never use the internet, you may not have a fully up to date version of Windows XP and you may have some problems with Adobe 8.
How do you know if you have Service Pack 2?
Find My Computer on your desktop. Use the right mouse button to click on it, then select properties (with the left button). The window that comes up will tell you what your operating system is – it should say something like
Windows XP Home Edition
Service Pack 2
If it says Service Pack 1 or doesn’t mention a Service Pack at all, then you do not have the right spec for Adobe Reader 8 to work properly. You will still be able to use the CD with Adobe 7, but you won’t have the full range of text formatting features.
Filigree Fusion and Fantasy Floral were the first two CDs that we launched in October 2006. At the time, Adobe Reader version 7 was the latest version available, so these CDs work fine with Adobe Reader version 7 and 8.
Friday, July 13, 2007
Can I change the text on Filigree Fusion or Fantasy Floral?
These were the first two CDs I created and at the time, the option wasn't available in Adobe to change text the way I wanted.
I included a few greetings on the disk, and there is a way you can copy and paste them into another program, but there is no way that you can just edit the text like you can in the newer CDs.
The workaround is using the Snapshot tool. Go to the layout where you want to copy something from. Immediately above the image is the Adobe toolbar, where you should see a button with a little camera on it, that is your Snapshot tool.
(If you can't see it, right click on the Adobe toolbar and you should get options to add extra items to your toolbar. Scroll down through the list (you might have an option that says more tools) until you find the Snapshot tool and tick the box to turn it on.)
Click on the Snapshot tool, then drag your mouse over the area you want to copy. Let go and the screen will flash and a message will tell you that your selection has been saved to the clipboard.
You can now go to another program (Word, Photoshop, etc) and 'paste' the thing you have just copied. Most programs have the paste option under the Edit menu, but the simplest way to paste is to press CONTROL plus V on your keyboard.
If you are using Word, after you have pasted your selection, you can place a Text Box over the top of the existing text. To do that, click the Insert menu, then select Text Box. Your cursor changes shape and if you click and drag, you get a box appearing on screen. Let go and you will see the outline of your box. Don't worry if it's not quite right, you can change the size with the little square "handles" around the edge and you can click the shaded area around the edge of the box to pick it up and drag it around to get it positioned just right.
Make sure you have the Drawing toolbar turned on (Click on the View menu at the top of the screen, select Toolbars, then make sure there is a tick next to Drawing). This toolbar lets you change the settings of the Text Box you have just created.
Click on the edge of the text box so you have the grey shading showing around the edge. From the toolbar, click on the Fill Colour button (looks like a paint bucket) and select white. This will fill the box with white and hide the original text underneath. Next click the Line Colour button to choose the border colour. Select none. TIP - HOVER OVER A BUTTON FOR A SECOND AND IT WILL SHOW YOU ITS NAME.
Now you are ready to type your own text. Click inside the text box and type away. You can choose to centre your text, change colour and choose your own font.
Using the snapshot tool like this allows you to select areas from any of the pages on the CD and copy them to another program. Some people find this a more economical way to use the disk, though the quality of the image is reduced.
I included a few greetings on the disk, and there is a way you can copy and paste them into another program, but there is no way that you can just edit the text like you can in the newer CDs.
The workaround is using the Snapshot tool. Go to the layout where you want to copy something from. Immediately above the image is the Adobe toolbar, where you should see a button with a little camera on it, that is your Snapshot tool.
(If you can't see it, right click on the Adobe toolbar and you should get options to add extra items to your toolbar. Scroll down through the list (you might have an option that says more tools) until you find the Snapshot tool and tick the box to turn it on.)
Click on the Snapshot tool, then drag your mouse over the area you want to copy. Let go and the screen will flash and a message will tell you that your selection has been saved to the clipboard.
You can now go to another program (Word, Photoshop, etc) and 'paste' the thing you have just copied. Most programs have the paste option under the Edit menu, but the simplest way to paste is to press CONTROL plus V on your keyboard.
If you are using Word, after you have pasted your selection, you can place a Text Box over the top of the existing text. To do that, click the Insert menu, then select Text Box. Your cursor changes shape and if you click and drag, you get a box appearing on screen. Let go and you will see the outline of your box. Don't worry if it's not quite right, you can change the size with the little square "handles" around the edge and you can click the shaded area around the edge of the box to pick it up and drag it around to get it positioned just right.
Make sure you have the Drawing toolbar turned on (Click on the View menu at the top of the screen, select Toolbars, then make sure there is a tick next to Drawing). This toolbar lets you change the settings of the Text Box you have just created.
Click on the edge of the text box so you have the grey shading showing around the edge. From the toolbar, click on the Fill Colour button (looks like a paint bucket) and select white. This will fill the box with white and hide the original text underneath. Next click the Line Colour button to choose the border colour. Select none. TIP - HOVER OVER A BUTTON FOR A SECOND AND IT WILL SHOW YOU ITS NAME.
Now you are ready to type your own text. Click inside the text box and type away. You can choose to centre your text, change colour and choose your own font.
Using the snapshot tool like this allows you to select areas from any of the pages on the CD and copy them to another program. Some people find this a more economical way to use the disk, though the quality of the image is reduced.
How to format text
The Damask Delights and Butterfly Bliss CDs both have the option to add text to inserts and greetings. However, what is not so obvious is how to change the format of the text - the colour, font, size, etc. Well the answer is simple
CONTROL + E
Yep, just hold down the control key on your keyboard and press the letter E. This brings up a toolbar which gives you all the formatting options you need.
CONTROL E works as a toggle switch - it turns the toolbar on, but if you press it again, it turns it off! So if it ever disappears, just click it again.
If you are not actually working on one of the pages where you can put text, the toolbar will be inactive, but still appear on screen.
The toolbar has buttons on which let you change the colour, font, size, etc. If you hover over a button for a couple of seconds, a little box will come up telling you exactly what that button does.
Glenda
CONTROL + E
Yep, just hold down the control key on your keyboard and press the letter E. This brings up a toolbar which gives you all the formatting options you need.
CONTROL E works as a toggle switch - it turns the toolbar on, but if you press it again, it turns it off! So if it ever disappears, just click it again.
If you are not actually working on one of the pages where you can put text, the toolbar will be inactive, but still appear on screen.
The toolbar has buttons on which let you change the colour, font, size, etc. If you hover over a button for a couple of seconds, a little box will come up telling you exactly what that button does.
Glenda
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Butterfly Bliss Mac problem - workaround
I have just been made aware of a problem with the Butterfly Bliss CD when viewed on an Apple Mac.
Our CDs are designed to open up in your default Internet Browser, which for most Mac users is Safari, but the problem also occurs in Firefox.
Some of the files (all the red ones) have been named with the last three characters of the file name in uppercase (PDF), but the link for the A4 layout brings up the following error message in Safari:
No file exists at the address “/Volumes/Butterfly Bliss/a4/RA4_1_001.pdf”.
and in Firefox:
Firefox can't find the file at /Volumes/Butterfly Bliss/a4/RA4_1_001.pdf.
The problem is that the link is looking for a file with the characters pdf in lower case, when in actual fact they have PDF in upper case.
The workaround is to go to the address bar at the top of the screen and replace the characters pdf with PDF (upper case).
The problem doesn't occur on Windows PCs because windows is not case sensitive. Unfortunately the Mac operating system is.
IF YOU HAVE A MAC AND HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS OR ANY OTHER PROBLEM, PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR A REPLACEMENT DISK. You have the contact email in the help files on the disk itself. You will also need proof of purchase (sorry, Ebay doesn't count).
Our CDs are designed to open up in your default Internet Browser, which for most Mac users is Safari, but the problem also occurs in Firefox.
Some of the files (all the red ones) have been named with the last three characters of the file name in uppercase (PDF), but the link for the A4 layout brings up the following error message in Safari:
No file exists at the address “/Volumes/Butterfly Bliss/a4/RA4_1_001.pdf”.
and in Firefox:
Firefox can't find the file at /Volumes/Butterfly Bliss/a4/RA4_1_001.pdf.
The problem is that the link is looking for a file with the characters pdf in lower case, when in actual fact they have PDF in upper case.
The workaround is to go to the address bar at the top of the screen and replace the characters pdf with PDF (upper case).
The problem doesn't occur on Windows PCs because windows is not case sensitive. Unfortunately the Mac operating system is.
IF YOU HAVE A MAC AND HAVE ENCOUNTERED THIS OR ANY OTHER PROBLEM, PLEASE CONTACT ME FOR A REPLACEMENT DISK. You have the contact email in the help files on the disk itself. You will also need proof of purchase (sorry, Ebay doesn't count).
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