Parsons Power Publisher Help Contents
Special TextEffects Help Contents

Using the Special TextEffects
Detailed instructions for using the Special TextEffects program.

Copyright Information
Program copyright information.

Registering Special TextEffects
Information on product registration.

Hints
Tips and hints for operating the Special TextEffects program.

Reference Information
Guides to terminology, commands, and keyboard operations used in the program.

Getting Help
How to contact Parsons Technology if you need assistance.


Introduction to Special TextEffects

Click on the picture to get Help on specific screen features.


Copyright and Trademark Information

How You Can Help Us...

In bringing you Special TextEffects for Windows, we have attempted to provide you with an excellent bargain. For your convenience, the disk(s) you have received are NOT copy protected. Our license is very liberal in allowing you to make backup copies of this software to protect your investment.

Your honesty in not providing copies to friends or others will help us remain in business.

Copyrights and Trademarks

Special TextEffects is a trademark of Parsons Technology, Inc. The Special TextEffects for Windows software is licensed property of Parsons Technology, Inc. Special TextEffects for Windows User's Guide copyright  1995 by Parsons Technology, Inc. All rights reserved.

IBM is a registered trademark and PC is a trademark of International Business Machines Corportation. Microsoft and Microsoft Mouse are registered trademarks of Microsoft Corporation.

The Special TextEffects for Windows software, User's Guide, or portions thereof may not be reproduced in any form whatsoever (except as permitted within the license agreement) without the written permission of Parsons Technology, Inc. Correspondence concerning the Special TextEffects for Windows software and User's Guide should be directed to Parsons Technology, Inc., One Parsons Drive, P.O. Box 100, Hiawatha, Iowa 52233-0100 USA. Printed in the USA.

Special TextEffects for Windows

The Special TextEffects for Windows software, User's Guide ("documentation") are licensed property of Parsons Technology, Inc. Use of the software indicates your acceptance of the following LICENSE STATEMENT, DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY, and CHOICE OF LAW.

In bringing you Special TextEffects for Windows, we have attempted to provide you with an excellent bargain. Your honesty will help us remain in business.

License Statement

Special TextEffects for Windows ("this software") is licensed for the exclusive use of the original purchaser ("you") for use on one computer only.

This software is not copy protected. Parsons Technology authorizes you to make backup copies of the software for your archives only, for the sole purpose of protecting your investment from loss.

You are free to move this software from one computer location to another, as long as there is no possibility of it being used at two locations at one time. This software should be treated like a book, which cannot be read by two people at two different locations at the same time (unless, of course, the Parsons Technology license agreement has been violated).

Disclaimer of Warranty

We have made every effort to verify that Special TextEffects for Windows is an effective program for manipulating text. However, you must be aware that Special TextEffects for Windows is sold to you "as is," without any warranty of any kind. The only exception is the 30-day warranty extended for replacement of defective disks, as specified in the Defective Disk Replacement statement.

IN NO EVENT SHALL PARSONS TECHNOLOGY BE LIABLE OR RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY PROBLEMS THAT ARISE BECAUSE OF DEFECTS WITH SPECIAL TEXTEFFECTS FOR WINDOWS.

Choice of Law

This statement shall be construed, interpreted, and governed by the laws of the state of Iowa.


Topic List

This portion of the Online Help system contains general information on operating the program and instructions on all the Power Publisher's menu options and screen elements.

The information has been divided into different areas. The areas and topics are interconnected and linked so that you can move quickly from one area directly to another by clicking on underlined words.

Text entry

Preview window

Open/New

Save As

Font Name

Font Style

Alignment

Plain text

Wedge text

Arcing text

Button text

Spiral text

Curved text

Rotation

Background

Shadows

Color


Type Caption for New Topic Right Here
Text Entry--Type your text here.


Preview window--The final image of your text is shown here. The dotted lines represent the clipping area.


Clipping area

The inner dotted rectangle shows the actual area which will be exported when the object is pasted into the final document.


Open.../New...,  Save As..., Update, Help - file buttons.


Font Name - combo-box which sets the name of the font.


Font Style - bold, italic, outline.


Text size - combo-box which sets size of text (in points).


Alignment  - left, center, right, justified, stretched. Double click for more text attributes.


Plain,  wedge, arc,  button, spiral,  curved text - shapes for the text baseline


 Rotation--rotates whole image, 4 fixed angles, 4 customized. Double click on last 4 buttons to change the customized angles.


Background - none, rectangle, ellipse, picture. Double click to change parameters.


Shadow - none, flat, sloping.
Double click to change parameters.


Text color - double click for patterns, tints and more colors.


Background color - double click for patterns, tints and more colors.


Shadow color - double click for patterns, tints and more colors.


Hints and Tips

This section answers the most commonly asked questions about Special TextEffects.

Clipping--Sometimes, especially when you have shadows enabled, the test goes outside of the preview window's clipping area. One way to fix this is to double-click on the baseline style icon, then increase the border value a bit.

Bottom line of Button text not curved.

You have a blank line or two at the end of your text. Special TextEffects is curving the line, but if it's blank you can't see it. You can fix this by clicking on the text entry window, press Ctrl+END to get to the end of the text, then Delete to get rid of the extra RETURNS. (Sometimes, blank lines like this are a useful way to remove parts of the button shape.)

Text going off at tangent

Special TextEffects tries to make everything fit nicely. It has several things it can change to do this: the text size, the clipping area, and the shape of the text baseline. For most styles, however, the shape of the baseline is fixed. For example, semicircles are a fixed arc of 180 degrees. If you then set a fixed text size (i.e. not AutoPs) and a fixed clipping area (i.e. not Fit to text in the background dialog), then there is nothing Special TextEffects can change. The result, if you have too much text, is that the excess text goes off in a straight line at a tangent to the baseline.

In this situation you have to make things fit yourself, for example by deleting some text, or reducing the text size, letter spacing or whatever. Or you can set the text size to AutoPs or the background size to Fit to text.

Disappearing text

If the text seems to vanish from the preview window, it may be because the text color is set to the same as the background color (both to white). A similar effect results if you set the text pattern to None (which means transparent). Alternatively, check the zoom is set to a sensible value by double-clicking on the preview window. Text also disappears if there is too much of it. Or if the baseline is zero length.

Importing text

Special TextEffects doesn't have much in the way of text import, because the text is usually so small it's easier to re-type it. However, the text entry window does support the clipboard, so you can use the normal cut and paste operations if you do need to get text from another application. The Text entry topic reviews the keystrokes involved.

OLE

Special TextEffects registers itself as an OLE server during installation. Most of the Windows 3.1 accessories (WRITE etc.) do support OLE; the way to tell is to look for an Insert Object option in the other application's Edit or Insert menu.

Selecting Insert Object in the other application will produce a list of available OLE servers, and Special TextEffects will be one of them. That is one way to embed a Special TextEffects object. You can also use the Update button on the Special TextEffects front panel, which puts an OLE object (as well as a Metafile) onto the clipboard. From there, use Paste from the Edit menu to put it into the other application.

Exporting as a Bitmap

Special TextEffects cannot export work in any bitmap format. If you need one, you need to find a third party program which can convert from Windows metafiles.

If the Windows .BMP format will do, you can use the Paintbrush accessory that comes with Windows. Create the image in Special TextEffects, click on Update (to put the image onto the clipboard), start up Paintbrush from the Program Manager, and select Paste from the Paintbrush Edit menu. You may need to fiddle with the Paintbrush Image Attributes. See your Windows User Manual. Finally, use Save from the File menu in Paintbrush to create the disk file.

Printer problems

Some printer drivers have problems with Special TextEffects metafiles. The text "THIS IS FINE" prints ok, but "NOT GOOD" doesn't. This is because the printer driver does not quite support all the Windows 3.0 graphics commands. Special TextEffects uses some pretty esoteric ones. The best solution is to update the printer driver. As a temporary solution, use NOTEPAD to edit the UsePolyPolygon line in SPECIAL TEXTEFFECTS.INI so that it that reads:

UsePolyPolygon=0

Save the file, then exit and re-start Windows. Special TextEffects files should now print ok. There is a drawback to this feature: if you are using a Postscript printer, you may find it adds very thin lines to the characters of "NOT GOOD". Postscript printers should have UsePolyPolygon=1.


Text Entry

Click in the top left window and type your text. You can use all the normal Windows editing keys, including cut and paste from the clipboard (the best way to import a long text string). When you've finished, click on the tick icon [image] (left of the text window) to update the preview window. (You can also click on the preview window itself.) You can abandon the changes you just made by clicking on the cross icon [image], or pressing Esc.

Here is a reminder of the standard Windows keys for cutting and pasting to the clipboard.

SHIFT+DEL	CONTROL+x	Cut to clipboard

SHIFT+INS	CONTROL+c	Paste from clipboard

CONTROL+INS	CONTROL+v	Copy to clipboard

A number of special characters are available via mnemonic keyboard shortcuts as shown in the table below. They are identical to the shortcuts provided by Power Publisher. As is true for all typing of characters, you must also select a font that has the required character. Although most fonts have all the characters shown, some don't. Quite often the text entry window itself won't show the character properly, but that doesn't matter.

CONTROL+ALT+.	Bullet

CONTROL+ALT+\	Dagger

CONTROL+ALT+/	Double dagger

CONTROL+ALT+,	Comma space

CONTROL+ALT+1	Digit space

CONTROL+ALT+N	En-space

CONTROL+ALT+M	Em-space

CONTROL+ALT+-	En-rule

CONTROL+ALT+C	Copyright symbol

CONTROL+ALT+R	Registered symbol

CONTROL+ALT+T	Trademark symbol

CONTROL+ALT+(	Single open quote

CONTROL+ALT+)	Single close quote

CONTROL+ALT+[	Double open quote

CONTROL+ALT+]	Double close quote

Pressing the Enter key in the text entry window inserts a newline into the text.


Preview Window

The largest window which takes up most of left-hand side of Special TextEffects shows you how the final graphic will appear. The inner dotted rectangle is known as the clipping area.

Clicking on the preview window will refresh the display, bringing it up to date with the currently entered text The mouse cursor changes into a magnifying glass when it is over this window, to show that zoom is available.

To magnify the view of a particular area, drag the zoom cursor over the area.

To reset the Zoom to Auto, which means the text is automatically scaled to fit the window, hold the shift key down and click.

To select a custom zoom percentage, double-click and enter the zoom percentage required in the dialog.

See Also:

Text Entry

Open/New

Update


Open / New

Clicking on the Open... button brings up a dialog which lets you open previously saved Special TextEffects files. These will have the .STE file extension.

The New button in this dialog resets all the tools to default values. You can change the default values by enabling the Save Defaults on Exit option in the Save As... dialog before exiting Special TextEffects.

The About button displays the Special TextEffects copyright message.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save Defaults

Update

Print

Exit

Help


Save As

Clicking on the Save As... button brings up a dialog which lets you save your work to disk. You can save with either a .STE extension, which is the document format used by Special TextEffects, or as a Windows Metafile with .WMF extension. Metafiles are useful because many other Windows applications are able to import them.

Remember, only .STE document files can be opened and edited, if you want to modify your work at a later date.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save Defaults

Update

Print

Exit

Help

Open / New


Save Defaults

If the Save Defaults on Exit checkbox is enabled, the settings of the front panel tools will be saved to disk when you quit the program, and restored when you next run Special TextEffects. If not, then tool settings are discarded when the program quits. This option is disabled by default.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save As

Update

Print

Exit

Help

Open / New


Print

The Print button sends a copy of your current work to the default printer currently selected in Windows. You can use the Control Panel from Program Manager to check your default printer is set correctly. Print is provided as a quick proofing tool to let you check your work.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save As

Save Defaults

Update

Exit

Help

Open / New


Exit

If the Save Defaults on Exit checkbox is enabled, the settings of the front panel tools will be saved to disk when you quit the program, and restored when you next run Special TextEffects. If not, then tool settings are discarded when the program quits. This option is disabled by default.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save As

Save Defaults

Update

Print

Help

Open / New


Updating the clipboard or OLE
Update

The Update button puts a copy of the your document onto the Windows clipboard, as a Metafile and as an OLE object. Most programs will allow you to insert the object using a menu entry typically labeled Paste from the Edit menu.

If Special TextEffects was invoked from an OLE client, then the Update button behaves slightly differently: it updates the client instead of the clipboard.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save As

Save Defaults

Print

Exit

Help

Open / New


Help

The Help button opens the Online Help. You can also access the help pressing the F1 key.

To learn more, choose an item from the following:

Save As

Save Defaults

Update

Print

Exit

Open / New


Font Name

The drop-down combo-box at the top right lists the available fonts. Special TextEffects can use TrueType fonts (under Windows 3.1), Adobe Type Manager fonts (if you have ATM V1.1 or better). Other fonts will not be used by Special TextEffects.

To learn more, select an item from the following:

Font Style

Font Size


Font Style
Font Style:

These icons set the font style - Bold, Italic and Outline. Some fonts do not support Bold or Italic, in which case the respective buttons are grayed. Outline is always supported.

You can also produce an italic effect manually by setting the Slant Angle attribute on the text (see the Alignment topic).

To learn more, select an item from the following:

Font Size

Font Name


Pointsize
Text Size

The Size of text is set from the second combo-box down on the right side of the main window. You can set it to an exact number (all sizes are in points), or to Auto ps. Auto ps is usually the best. It sizes the text automatically to fit the background size.

To learn more, select an item from the following:

Font Style

Font Name


Alignment
Alignment:

The third row of icons from the top sets the text's alignment: left, centered, right, justified or stretched.

The text is aligned flush with the left-hand edge of the baseline.

The text is centered on the baseline.

 	The text is aligned flush with the right-hand edge of the baseline.

Each space character in the text is stretched until the text exactly fits the baseline.

The width of every character is adjusted until the text exactly fits the baseline.

Double-clicking on any of the Alignment icons brings up a dialog which gives you finer control over the text's typographic properties.

See also:

Font Size

Font Style

Font Name


Alignment dialog

Double-clicking on any of the alignment icons brings up a dialog which gives you finer control over the text's typographic properties.

Width--This sets how wide each character is, as a proportion of the text size. The default setting is 100%, which gives normal, square characters. This field is ignored if the alignment is Stretched.

Word space--This sets how wide the spaces between words are, as a proportion of the text size. The default setting is 30%. This field is ignored if the alignment is Justified.

Letter space--This is used to add or subtract space to or from each character. The default is zero; negative values make the text look bunched up tight, positive values make it looser. The units are percentages of the text size. Button shapes have additional parameters for controlling letter spacing; see the Button text topic.

Leading--This sets the vertical spacing between lines, as a percentage of the text size. For spiral baselines, this controls how tightly the spiral is coiled. The default value is 120%.

Slant angle--This enables you to slant characters to the left or right. This is useful for producing an italic effect for fonts which don't have that style. Positive values produce a slant to the right, negative values slant to the left. The default value is 0°.

Outline width--This sets the thickness of character outlines, as a percentage of the average size of all the characters in the image. The default value is 1.5%. You need to have the Outline Font style [image] selected to see the effect.

See also:

Font Size

Font Style

Font Name


Plain text
Plain Text:

This icon sets the text along plain, straight lines. It is the alternative to the wedge, arc, button, spiral and curve effects. Double-clicking brings up a dialog which controls the size of the text, relative to the clipping area. The fields here are:

Border--This sets the size of the gap between the text and the clipping area, as a percentage of the clipping area size. Large values make the text smaller or the clipping area larger. The default value is 5%.

Center X, Y--These move the text from left to right and up and down. Positive values move it right or down. The default values are zero, which puts the text in the middle of the clipping area.


Wedge text
Wedge Text:

These two icons fit the text into a wedge shape, the characters getting bigger or smaller as they move along the line. Double-clicking on either icon brings up a dialog which controls the shape, style and position of the wedge. The fields here are:

Growth rate--This sets how rapidly characters grow or shrink. Large values here can produce text too big to use easily, so don't go overboard.

Preserve aspect ratio--If enabled, characters get wider as they get taller, so as to keep a roughly square shape. If not set, all characters stay at the same width. This can make the tall ones look thin.

Border--This sets the size of the gap between the text and the clipping area, as a percentage of the clipping area size. Large values make the text smaller or the clipping area larger. The default value is 5%.

Center X, Y--These move the text from left to right and up and down. Positive values move it right or down. The default values are zero, which puts the text in the middle of the clipping area.


Circles, arcs and elliptical text
Circles, Arcs and Elliptical Text:

These icons fit the text around circles and arcs.

Clockwise arc.

Anti-clockwise arc.

Multiple lines of text get combined into one long line. Double-clicking on any of the icons brings up the same dialog:

Arc length--Sets how long the curve is, in degrees. The default value is 180° (for a half-circle). 360° gives a full circle (which you can also get with the button style).

Arc angle--Sets the angle about which the arc is centered. The default value is zero.

Aspect ratio--Determines how elliptical the curve is. The default value is 100%, which produces a perfect circle. A value of 50% produces a tall ellipse, and 150% makes a wide one.

Border--This sets the size of the gap between the text and the clipping area, as a percentage of the clipping area size. Large values make the text smaller or the clipping area larger. The default value is 5%.

Center X, Y--These move the text from left to right and up and down. Positive values move it right or down. The default values are zero, which puts the text in the middle of the clipping area.


Button text
Button Text:

This icon fits the text into a button shape. In other words, the first line of text is made to curve upwards, the bottom line curves downwards, and the other lines are straight and centered. If there is only one line, it is formed into a circle.

If a line is blank (that is, just a RETURN), that part of the shape is left out. This sometimes happens by accident: if the bottom line doesn't appear to have curved, you have probably have an extra RETURN at the end of the text. Just go to the end of the text and delete it.

Double-clicking on the icon brings up a dialog with these options:

Border around center--Determines the gap between the center text and the top and bottom arcs. The units are relative to the text's leading. The default value is 100%, which means the center text does not overlap the arcs. If you set it to 0% it probably will overlap, but you can fix that by inserting spaces into the text. You can also set negative values: the over-all effect then looks like a long line with a circle on it. Try it and see!

Center position adjust--Moves the center text up and down, relative to the arcs. This is useful to fine-tune the button's appearance. For example, if you have Border around center set to 0, the center text can overlap the arc text. The Center position adjust then gives you control over where the overlap happens.

Arc angle--Rotates the top and bottom arcs, relative to the center text. The default value is zero for no rotation.

Arc aspect ratio--Sets how elliptical the top and bottom arcs are. The default value is 100%, which produces a perfect circle. A value of 50% produces a tall and thin ellipse, 150% produces a wide and short ellipse. This is one way to squeeze more text into the center.

Letter spacing top--Adds a little extra space to each character on the top arc in addition to the current Letterspace value (see the Alignment topic). The default value is zero. The units are percentages of the text size and can be positive or negative.

Letter spacing bottom--Adds a little extra space to each character on the bottom arc in addition to the current Letter space value (see the Alignment topic). The default value is zero. The units are percentages of the text size and can be positive or negative.

Border around all--This sets the size of the gap between the whole of the button and the clipping area, as a percentage of the clipping area size. Large values make the button smaller or the clipping area larger. The default value is 5%.

Center X, Y--These move the text from left to right and up and down. Positive values move it right or down. The default values are zero, which puts the text in the middle of the clipping area.


Spiral text
Spiral Text:

This icon fits the text to a spiral. If there are several lines of text, they are combined into one long one. The tightness of the spiral's twists are controlled by the text's Leading (see the Alignment topic).

Double-clicking brings up a dialog which controls the spiral's shape and position:

Start at turn--Sets a gap between the center of the spiral and start of the text. Increase this value if the spiral is twisting too tightly at its center. The units are turns; the default value is 1 full turn.

Aspect ratio--Sets how elliptical the spiral is. The default value is 100%, which produces a circular spiral. A value of 50% makes it taller and thinner, 150% makes it wider and shorter.

Spiral direction--The spiral can turn clockwise or anti-clockwise.

Text direction--The text can run from the center of the spiral out, or from the outside to the center.

Border--This sets the size of the gap between the text and the clipping area, as a percentage of the clipping area size. Large values make the text smaller or the clipping area larger. The default value is 5%.

Center X, Y--These move the text from left to right and up and down. Positive values move it right or down. The default values are zero, which puts the text in the middle of the clipping area.


Curved text
Curved text:

This is the most flexible text effect as it allows you to define almost any path for the text to follow. The path for the text is defined using the curved text editor. You can draw several curves, one for each line of text. Extra curves are ignored; extra lines of text all get put onto the last curve.

Double clicking on the icon brings up the curve drawing window. This is the same size and zoom as the preview window, but doesn't show any text - it shows the curves along which the text will run.

The curves are technically known as bezier splines. That means the shape of each curve is controlled by on-curve points, through which the curve passes, and attractor points which pull the curve about. Special TextEffects shows these points as large and small handles respectively.

Editing the curve is done by clicking and dragging with the mouse.

See also:

Create a New Curve

Edit Text Curve

Edit Curve Keyboard Commands

Select and Move a Curve

Deleting a Curve


Create a New Curve

To create a new curve,

Move the mouse to an empty part of the window.

Press and hold down the left mouse button, drag out a line, then release the mouse button.

The line will be straight to begin with, but you should be able to see the little handles along its length. The first curve created will be used for the first line of text, the second curve for the second line and so on.

See also:

Edit Text Curve

Edit Curve Keyboard Commands

Select and Move a Curve

Deleting a Curve


Edit the Text Curve
Edit Text Curve

If you'd like to make the curves unique, you can also change the shape of a curve.

To change the shape of a curve, drag one of the handles. The curve will change shape as you move the handle about. You'll also notice that lines are drawn from attractor to on-curve points. The slope of each line is the same as the slope of the curve where it passes through the on-curve point. The line's length controls how much bend the curve gets. It's hard to describe in words, the best way is to try it and see.

When you have finished editing the curve, click on the tick icon [image] in the curve editor's top left corner to save it and go back to Special TextEffects. Click on the cross [image] to abandon your changes.

If you hold down the Ctrl key while clicking the curve or cross, the curve editor will remain open but your changes will be updated or abandoned. This lets you quickly update the preview window to see how it looks (you may need to move the curve window out of the way first, by dragging its caption), or return to a previous update if you've made a drastic mistake.

See also:

Create a New Curve

Edit Curve Keyboard Commands

Select and Move a Curve

Deleting a Curve


Select and Move Curve

If you have several curves, Special TextEffects only shows handles for one of them. Clicking on a curve makes that the active curve with the handles. You can move the entire curve by dragging it with the mouse. If you hold down the Ctrl key as you select it, Special TextEffects will make a copy of it and dragging moves the copy.

You can get greater control over a curve's shape by giving it extra handles. Do this by double-clicking on the curve; a new on-curve handle will appear at the place you double-clicked. You'll also get two new attractor handles, one on each side. These control the shape on either side of the on-curve handle. The curve is most smooth if all three handles lie along a straight line.

See also:

Create a New Curve

Edit Text Curve

Edit Curve Keyboard Commands

Deleting a Curve


Deleting a Curve

You can delete a point or curve by double-clicking on existing handles removes them in threes. When the last handles go from a curve, the curve itself is deleted too.

See also:

Create a New Curve

Edit Text Curve

Edit Curve Keyboard Commands

Select and Move a Curve


Keyboard

The curve window also understands some keyboard commands. Here is a list of keys:

ALT-N	New - clear curve window; delete all curves.

DEL	Delete - delete current handle.

ALT-BACKSPACE	Undo - undo last change.

ENTER	OK - save changes and exit the curve editor.

CONTROL+ENTER	Update - update preview window.

F1	Help.

ESCAPE	Cancel - abandon changes and exit.

See also:

Create a New Curve

Edit Text Curve

Select and Move a Curve

Deleting a Curve


Rotation
Rotation:

These icons rotate the entire image.

Switch off rotation.

Turns image upside down - rotate by 180 degrees.

Rotate image onto its left side- rotate by 90 degrees.

Rotate image onto its right side - rotate by 270 degrees.

Rotate in the first quadrant (between 0° and 90°).

Rotate in the fourth quadrant (between 270° and 360°).

Rotate in the third quadrant (between 180° and 270°).

Rotate in the second quadrant (between 90° and 180°).

Double-clicking on the last four icons brings up a dialog which lets you set the angle. The default angle is 45%.


Background
Background:

These icons control the type and shape of the background to your text.

No background.

Rectangular background.

Elliptical background.

Metafile background.

Double-clicking on any of them brings up a dialog which gives you control over the size of the clipping area and background. (The clipping area is the part of the image which gets exported to the other application. It is shown by the dotted rectangle in the preview window.) In the case of the Metafile background option, you can also select the picture which is to be used as the background.

Fit to text--If clicked, the clipping area is sized automatically to fit the text. The width and height fields below will be ignored.

Width, Height--Sets the size of the clipping area. The default is 3 by 2 inches. These fields may be set automatically when Special TextEffects is being used as an OLE server.

Border--This determines the gap between the clipping area and the background, expressed as a percentage of the clipping area's size. The default value is zero, which makes the background fill the clipping area.

Import...--This button only applies to Metafile backgrounds [image]. It leads to the Open dialog, from which you select the metafile to be used. This dialog gives you the option of loading a metafile from disk or of pasting the metafile from the Windows clipboard (if one is there). It's possible to build up quite complex effects by repeatedly putting a copy of your current work onto the clipboard (using Update), then re-importing it as a Metafile here and overlaying a new text component.


Shadows
Shadows:

These icons give the text a shadow effect, by making a copy of the text slightly offset and distorted.

 - switch the shadow effect off.

 - produce a flat shadow.

 - produce a sloping shadow.

Double-clicking on the last two icons brings up a dialog which controls the shadow's appearance:

Offset--This determines the position of the shadow relative to the text. The units are percentages of the text size.

Scale--Determines the size of the shadow, as a proportion of the text size. The default value is 100% for the flat shadow. The sloping shadow is scaled by 75% in the Y direction by default, which gives it a foreshortened appearance.

Slant angle--Determines the shadow's slope. For flat shadows the slant is fixed at 0°. Sloping shadows are achieved by setting the slant angle - the default is -45 degrees.


Color
Color:

The text, background and shadow components of a Special TextEffects image each have a row of 5 colored buttons in the bottom right-hand corner of the window. The top row gives choices for text color, the second gives choices for background color and the bottom row for shadow color.

Double-clicking on the normal buttons brings up a dialog which controls the color of that button. There is a palette of named colors, each of which can be applied with a percentage shade and a pattern.

If a metafile background is being used, the left-most background color changes appearance (to [image]) and by double-clicking it can be used to set a tint value, which controls the brightness of the metafile.

If you use the other background colors buttons with a metafile background, the metafile is converted to varying intensities of the color selected. Use the left-most button if you need to reset the metafile back to its original color. Recoloring and tinting metafiles can give great results - it's worth experimenting.

Color--Selects a color from the palette . Double clicking on a color automatically selects Edit for that color.

New--Calls up a dialog which adds a new named color to the palette (see below).

Edit--Edits the selected palette color (see below).

Delete--Deletes the selected named color.

Tint--Sets the tint. The default is 100%, which produces the full color from the palette . A value of 0% produces pure white with no mixture of the palette color.

Pattern--Fills the button with hatched lines or some other effect. When the white and none patterns are selected for text, and the text is in outline style, then the palette color only affects the text outline; the text interior is filled with white of left transparent. The pattern does not affect the recoloring of metafiles.

Sample--This rectangle is filled with the current color, so you can see what it will look like.


Edit named color

Clicking on New or Edit brings up a further dialog, in which a color in the palette is edited.

The first field sets the name of the color. The next three scroll bars and edit boxes control the mixture of Red, Green and Blue that make up the color. The values range from 0 to 255 - 0,0,0 is solid black, 255,255,255 is pure white.

Beneath the scroll bars is a sample box which is filled with the current color. The screen representation of colors may vary depending on your Windows screen driver.


Units and Measurement

Special TextEffects works in inches, points and degrees. A "point" is 1/72nd of an inch.


The control menu box

This is a standard Windows element.To exit Power Publisher, double-click on the control menu box.


The Title bar

This is a standard Windows element.To move the Power Publisher window, move the mouse cursor over the title bar and drag.


The Minimize button

This is a standard Windows element.To temporarily minimize the Power Publisher window to an icon, click on the Minimize button.


The Maximize button

This is a standard Windows element.To make the Power Publisher window cover your whole screen, click on the Maximize button.


The scroll bars

These are standard Windows elements.To move your view around the page and pasteboard area, drag on the scroll box at the center of the scroll bars.


Standard Windows elements

Elements such as the menu bar of the Power Publisher window are standard to Windows. You can use the menu bar, control menu box, titlebar and scrollbars the same as with any Windows application. For an explanation of the general operation of these elements, refer to your Microsoft Windows User's Guide documentation or run Windows Tutorial from the Help menu within the Program Manager window.


Update Changes

Click on the check mark icon in the top left corner of the text window to accept or update changes in the text. The Curve Editor check mark works the same way.


Discard Changes

Discard or abandon any changes made to the text (or curve editor) by clicking on the cross icon at the top left of the text window.


Product Support

Thank you for purchasing Special TextEffects for Windows. The first thing you'll want to do is Register Special TextEffects for Windows.

Parsons Technology addresses customer needs and concerns in two departments:

Customer Service

Technical Support

If you are having a problem operating the Special TextEffects program, there are a variety of options available to help you resolve your difficulty. The Trouble Shooting Procedure includes a list of steps you should follow before contacting Parsons Technology to resolve any problem(s) you may have.

The Problem Report is the form you should complete before contacting Parsons Technology's Technical Support Department (in the event you are unable to resolve your difficulty and need further assistance).

For more information see:

Registering Special TextEffects for Windows

Purchasing Other Products from Parsons Technology


Trouble Shooting Procedure

Whenever you encounter a problem with the program or have a software-related question, follow this procedure:

1.	Access Special TextEffects's online Help (F1). This system presents operational information. You can run a search and locate various areas that pertain to that topic.

2.	Refer to the contents and index within the Special TextEffects User's Guide you received with your program package for specific topic and page numbers.

3.	Refer to any README file included on your program setup disk(s). This file contains current information about Special TextEffects.

4.	Use an automated service to get help. See the When You Need Help section at the front of your User's Guide for details or click on these topics:

CompuServe Information Service

GEnie

5.	If you still cannot resolve your problem, contact Parsons Technology's Technical Support. However, before you contact Parsons Technology, please fill out the Problem Report form. This will save you time on the telephone and is especially helpful if you cannot be at your computer when you call. Additionally, a technician may ask you to send this form.

To display the Problem Report form, click the button below. When the form appears, choose Print Topic from the File menu at the top of the window to print it.

For more information see:

Product Support - Customer Service and Technical Support

Problem Report

Registering Special TextEffects for Windows

Purchasing Other Products from Parsons Technology


Problem Report

Please print and complete this form BEFORE contacting Parsons Technology for Technical Support. To print the form, choose Print Topic from the File menu at the top of the window.

Registered Customer Information

Customer #:                            Today's Date:

Name:

Address:

City/State/Zip:

Day phone: (       )                   FAX number: (       )

Program Specific Information

Program and version:

Date ordered:                          Date replaced:

Please answer the following questions:

1.	Was there an error code or message?               (    )Yes        (    )No

If yes, please indicate the number and message including error address and

file name (if any).

Code #:                   Message:

2.	Is the computer locking up?                       (    )Yes        (    )No

3.	Any problems installing?                          (    )Yes        (    )No

Comments:

4.	How is the program being installed?

      ____from 3.5" disk to hard drive    ____from 5.25" disk to hard drive

5.	Did you use the DISKCOPY command on the original disks(s)?

                                                  (    )Yes        (    )No

Did any error messages occur?                     (    )Yes        (    )No

If yes, copy the messages here:

If no, make a DISKCOPY of all original disks to be certain the program is

not caused by a defective disk.

6.	Can you duplicate the problem at will?            (    )Yes        (    )No

On a separate sheet, please describe the specific problem and what

solutions you tried. In addition, list the steps which duplicate the

problem (if known). Add any other comments you feel are helpful.

System Profile

Please supply the following system information.

1.	Computer brand/model (check one):

   ___ PC XT       ___ PC AT       ___ 386       ___ 486       ___ Other PC

2.	DOS version and manufacturer (type VER at prompt):

You can find the information required for questions 3, 4, and 5 by choosing

Help Menu from the Windows Program Manager, then About Program Manager.

3.	Windows version:

4.	Operating mode (check one):          ___Standard            ___386 Enhanced

5.	Free memory and system resources:

6.	Other programs that you have running:

7.	We may need the contents of the files listed here. Please transmit the

information or have a printed copy in front of you when you call:

CONFIG.SYS

AUTOEXEC.BAT

WIN.INI

SYSTEM.INI

8.	Printer model (if necessary):

9.	Floppy drive size(s):                             ___ 5.25"        ___ 3.5"

10.	Monitor brand and model:

11.	Type of graphics card:     ___ HERC   ___ CGA   ___ EGA   ___ VGA   ___ MDA

___ Other (state type):

12.	Amount of available memory (CHKDSK C: at prompt):

Bytes available on disk:

Total bytes memory:

Bytes free:

XMS memory (MEM at prompt):


Registering Special TextEffects for Windows

When you purchase any product directly from Parsons Technology, you are automatically registered in our customer database. Therefore, you do not need to send in a registration card. Registration entitles you to the following registered customer benefits:

*	Free, unlimited technical support for current versions of all our programs.

*	Notices of updates to current products.

*	Announcements of new products.

If you purchased this product through a distributor, be sure to complete and return the customer registration card included with your packet. If you've misplaced the registration card, just click on the Display Form button below for a replacement. When the form appears, choose Print Topic from the File menu at the top of the window to print it.

You may also register your product by calling 1-800-847-6995 or faxing the registration card to us at 1-319-395-7449. Contact us at these same numbers with any address changes so that we can keep you current with Parsons Technology developments.

For more information see:

Product Support - Customer Service and Technical Support

Problem Report

Purchasing Other Products from Parsons Technology

Parsons Technology Product List


Parsons Technology Product Registration

We make it easy to register your product with three convenient methods:

Call 1-800-847-6995  Fax 1-319-395-7449	Print this form and mail it to:  Parsons Technology Registration  One Parsons Drive  PO Box 100  Hiawatha, IA 52233-9905
Name

Address

City                                                   State        Zip

Day Phone (      )                     Evening Phone (     )

Preferred disk size: [   ] 3.5" or [   ] 5.25"

If you are registering a Windows product, do you need 5.25" media?

[   ] Yes   [   ] No

Which of the following best describes you? (please check one)

[   ] I do not own Microsoft® Windows.

[   ] I own and use Microsoft® Windows.

[   ] I own Microsoft® Windows but don't use it.

Software use: (please check one)

[   ] I buy software for home use.

[   ] I buy software for business use.

[   ] I buy software for both uses.

Product Code: PPSTX


Customer Service

At Parsons Technology, you--the customer--are first. If you need help with any of the following, please call our Customer Service Department at 1-319-395-0115 or fax us at 1-319-395-0466. A friendly representative will be happy to help you.

*	Questions or problems about your bill.

*	Defective user's guides.

*	Questions or problems about your shipment.

*	Questions about returning a product.

For more information see:

Problem Report

Registering Special TextEffects for Windows

Technical Support

Purchasing Other Products from Parsons Technology

Parsons Technology Product List


Technical Support

Registered customers get free technical support for current versions of all our products. (See Registering Special TextEffects for Windows for information on registering.) We offer phone support that is best used for getting you up and running. In depth and on-going support is mainly and best provided via CompuServe and other online services, as detailed below. Because of time delays associated with corresponding by mail, we do not accept written correspondence.

Note: If you're hearing-impaired or have other physical disabilities that affect your communication, please mention this in your correspondence along with the method by which you prefer for us to respond to you.

Also use Technical Support to replace any defective disks.

Before you contact us for technical support ...

*	Have you checked the User's Guide, the online Help, and the README file supplied with the software disk(s) for possible solutions?

*	Can you duplicate the problem at will? Please try to repeat the steps that initially caused the problem.

*	Have you tried booting with a system-formatted DOS disk and running the program? See your DOS manual if you need help formatting a system disk.

*	Print out and complete the Problem Report.

If you are unable to resolve the problem after checking the above items, please contact us by one of the following methods rather than by mail:

*	The best way to get help quickly is to talk to us on CompuServe Information Service.

*	GEnie provides same-day response.

*	Another good way to get help is to use the Telephone

*	SmartFax gives you even more information.

For more information see:

Customer Service

Registering Special TextEffects for Windows

Purchasing Other Products from Parsons Technology


Purchasing Other Products
Purchasing Other Products From Parsons Technology

Parsons Technology offers a full line of quality products, including a new CD version of the best-selling It's Legal ® and our Information Please Almanac Series.

In addition to these fine products, be sure to check out Golf Digest's ScoreCard for Windows, the program that lets you analyze virtually every part of your game! Click here to view a Product List.

To order Parsons Technology products, visit your local software retailer or contact our Orders Department toll-free 24 hours a day at 1-800-223-6925. Outside North America, call 1-319-395-7300.  All our products come with an unconditional, money-back guarantee.  If you're not satisfied with a program or our service, simply return your package within 30 days for a full refund (excluding shipping).  No questions asked!

Our order line staff are eager to help you, but they are not trained in the mechanics of our software. Please do not call them with technical support questions. They cannot transfer your call to Technical Support.

You can order products using online services, too. To shop using CompuServe Information Service, type GO PA. If you use GEnie, type PARTECH. You can also place orders using Delphi.

For more information see:

Product Support - Customer Service and Technical Support

Registering Special TextEffects for Windows


Parsons Technology Product List

These exciting software packages are also available from Parsons Technology. To order any program, or to receive a catalog of available products, call 1-800-223-6925.

Address Book for DOS or Windows - Forget crossing out old addresses and searching for scraps of paper, Address Book keeps track of all your addresses and phone numbers.

American History Atlas for Windows - Over 90 colorful maps and 1,200 detailed articles let you discover American history in the comfort of your own home!

American History Explorer for Multimedia CD ROM - Take a fascinating interactive journey through history.

Announcements for Windows - Your easy-to-use personal printing press for creating cards, posters, banners, and more in just minutes.

Atomic Clock -  Synchronize your PC! Atomic Click sets your PC's internal clock with atomic precision by dialing the time service of your choice.

Bible Illustrator for Windows - More than 2,500 thought-provoking stories, quotes, and anecdotes to enliven your Bible messages.

Calendar Works for Windows - A comprehensive personal information manager with calendar design features and much, much more.

Car Buyers' Companion for Windows - Shop for a new model car on your PC! Packaged with Home Buyers' Companion.

Crosswords Plus for Windows - Introducing Crosswords Plus--the two-in-one program that gives you 100 puzzles and helps you create your own. A great teaching tool!

Daily Journal for Windows - Keep track of everything that happens in your business or personal life with this fun and-easy-to-use program.

Diet Analyst for DOS or Windows - Simplifies the task of managing your family's health by analyzing the foods you eat, and keeps track of nutrients, cholesterol, exercise, and calories.

Education Planner for DOS or Windows - Make sure higher education stays within reach! Packaged with Retirement Planner.

Fabulous Fonts for Windows - 100 True Type fonts that will make your cards, posters, letters, memos, and presentations sizzle!

Family Origins for DOS or Windows - This complete genealogical program allows you to record and chart your family history for future generations.

Form Creator for DOS - The best way to produce professional-quality custom forms for businesses, homes, schools, and organizations.

Garden Planner for Windows - This start-to-finish planning tool lets you easily design a custom garden with your computer.  Choose the plants you'd like to include and get information on planting, germination, harvest times, and more!

Golf Digest ScoreCard for Windows - Track every round and know your latest handicap with this exciting new program!

Holman Bible Dictionary for Windows - Enhance your understanding of every person, place, and event in the Bible with the Holman Bible Dictionary for Windows. Search by topic or Bible reference to find exactly what you're looking for.

Home Buyers' Companion for Windows - Find out what size mortgage you can afford and avoid surprises at closing time. Packaged with Car Buyers' Companion.

Image Packages for DOS or Windows - Full-color graphics to add pizzazz to your cards, posters, and banners (print in shades of gray on black-and-white printers).

Interest Vision Professional for Windows - Powerful, easy-to-use tool for calculating and comparing loan and investment options.

It's Legal for DOS or Windows - Protect your family and everything you own with valid wills and other legal documents.

Medical Drug Reference for DOS or Windows - Gain instant access to critical information on more than 6,000 prescription and non-prescription drugs!

Membership Plus for DOS - The record-keeping software designed for churches, service groups, and more! Makes it easy to organize records, update membership lists, and track contributions.

MoneyCounts 9.0 for Windows - The money management program that make is easy to categorize, track and report income and expenses for your home or business.

PC Bible Atlas for DOS or Windows -Colorful, detailed maps of the biblical holy lands with text describing historical events.

Personal Advocate - Address database and sample templates help you make the government, credit bureaus, and businesses work for you.

Personal Chef for DOS or Windows - Set up a convenient, customized database of recipes and instructions.

Personal Home Inventory for Windows - Track important information about all your valuable possessions.

Personal Tax Edge for DOS, Windows, or Macintosh - An "excellent value" and easy-to-use tool for preparing and filing your federal income taxes.

Personal Tax Edge Preparer's Edition for DOS and Windows - An easy-to-use tool for preparing and filing your client's federal income taxes.

Plain-Language Law Dictionary for DOS or Windows - Never be stumped by legal mumbo-jumbo again!

ProCalc 3D for DOS - ProCalc has more than 100 built-in functions, a powerful macro language, password protection, database capabilities, and more!

QuickVerse for DOS or Windows - Powerful online concordance for Bible study, comparison, and research. Choose from eight different Bible translations. (Extra translations sold separately.)

Resident Expert for All Versions of DOS - Never be stumped by DOS again! This online reference guide puts everything you need to know about DOS at your fingertips--including DOS 6.0!

Resident Expert for Effective Writing - Helpful writing style guide, handbook of facts and figures, and comprehensive list of syllable divisions.

Retirement Planner for DOS or Windows - Plan now to keep your retirement years truly golden! Packaged with Education Planner.

Screen Dreams for Windows - This screen saver changes your computer monitor into a gallery of beautiful photographs depicting the theme of your choice: Holy Lands, Golf Digest, or Spectacular Adventures!

Super Sketch for Windows - Unleash your creativity with this powerful, easy-to-use drawing program! Super Sketch puts a full array of shapes, symbols, colors, patterns, and borders at your fingertips to create charts, flyers, graphs, diagrams, and much more!

The Information Please Almanac Series for DOS or Windows - These unique reference tools put volumes of information right on your computer screen. Choose from The Information Please Almanac or The Information Please Business Almanac and Desk Reference.

ViruCide Plus for DOS or Windows - Protect your PC from more than 3,000 known and unknown viruses with this comprehensive protection package.

WordQuest for Windows - WordQuest gives you two exciting word games in one program! You can play the same puzzle two ways--either circle words in the classic WordMaze letter grid or play fill-in-the-blank with the challenging WordTangle puzzle. You can even create your own puzzles!

For more information on these and other Parsons software products, call 1-800-223-6925 (outside North America, call 1-319-395-7300) or see your local software retailer.


Defective Disk Replacement

Usually you receive one of these messages if you have a bad disk:

"General failure error reading drive ..."	"Sector not found ..."

"CRC error ..."	"Bad sector ..."

"Unrecoverable read error ..."	"Address mark not found ..."

To check, use the DISKCOPY command to copy the entire disk. DISKCOPY reports any bad sectors. (See your DOS manual.) Check all disks. To replace defective disks, call Customer Service at 1-319-395-0115. Within 30 days of purchase, we replace disks free. After this, contact Customer Service for prices.


CompuServe Information Service

If you are a CompuServe member, type GO PARSONS at any menu prompt. Select the forum and complete the Problem Report found in the Miscellaneous Info. library (file name: SYSPRO.TXT) or in the back of your User's Guide. We do our best to respond to questions within 24 hours in the forum only.

You may also discover that many of your questions have already been answered. You can tap into our library of application bulletins and other information releases. You can participate in a progressive dialog with experts and other helpful users.

If you would like to receive a free introductory membership to CompuServe, call CompuServe's Telephone Sales and Inquiry Department at 1-800-848-8199 and ask for Representative #194. (You'll also need a telecommunications program and a modem.)


GEnie

If you prefer, you also can reach us on GEnie. Parsons Technology can be found in the IBM RoundTable, under Category 31, and in Software Library Section 10. You can leave your messages in Category 31 under topics for each of our products. We check GEnie once each working day, so your question will be answered in approximately 24 hours.


Telephone

The Technical Support Department's voice number is 1-319-395-7314.

Before you call, make sure your computer is turned on and the relevant program running (if possible). Have the completed Problem Report at your fingertips.

An automated attendant will direct you to the right location and give Technical Support Department hours. We are a service-oriented company and will take all the time needed to answer your questions. But when you first dial in, you may have to wait a short time while we offer this same attention to the callers ahead of you.


SmartFax

Parsons Technology also maintains a SmartFax system which lets you receive technical bulletins, product descriptions, and other information about our products automatically. Just call from your own FAX machine. The SmartFax number is 1-319-395-0176.

The system will answer with a voice and will ask you which document you would like to receive. Choose document 100 for instructions for using the system and a partial directory of available information. Choose 101 for a complete directory. The item you choose will be sent directly to your FAX machine. This service is available 24 hours a day. You must call from a FAX machine.