Registering RFFlow

It is important that you take a moment to fill out and mail the registration card you received with RFFlow, e-mail the information to flow@rff.com, or go to www.rff.com/register to register. Being a registered user of RFFlow entitles you to free and unlimited technical support. Also, RFF Electronics can notify you via e-mail about upgrades. Version 4 upgrades are free and future RFFlow versions can be purchased at a special upgrade price. Information given when you register is used solely by RFF Electronics and is never released or sold to others.


System Requirements

RFFlow Version 4 requires that your system is running Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or higher. If you are running one of these versions of Windows, then you have met all the system requirements needed for RFFlow.

RFFlow Version 4 requires that you have a mouse or similar pointing device. All printers and plotters supported by Windows will work with RFFlow. RFFlow Version 4 is shipped on one CD-ROM.


RFFlow License Agreement

This is a legal agreement between you, the end user, and RFF Electronics. By using the full version of the RFFlow software, you are bound by the terms and conditions of this agreement. If you do not accept these terms and conditions, remove RFFlow from your system and return the complete software package to the place where you obtained it.

I. GRANT OF LICENSE

When you purchase a license of the RFFlow software, RFF Electronics grants to you the right to use the RFFlow software in one of the following three ways. For each license, you must choose only one of these options:

1.	Single User. If one and only one person is going to use this software, that person can install the software on his/her computer at work, on his/her computer at home, and on his/her laptop or portable computer. No other people are allowed to use the software.

2.	Single Machine. The RFFlow software can be installed on one and only one machine. This machine cannot be a network server. Anyone can come up to this machine and use the RFFlow software, but only one person at a time is allowed to use it.

3.	Network Installation. The RFFlow software can be installed on a network. Each license purchased allows for one concurrent user of RFFlow on the network. First, you should estimate how many users will be using RFFlow at the same time. For example, suppose you have 100 people on your network and you estimate that not more than 10 will be using RFFlow at any given time. You should then purchase 10 licenses of RFFlow. All 100 people on the network can use RFFlow as long as not more than 10 are using it at any one time. If your network can monitor concurrent users, then you should check that the number of concurrent users does not exceed the number of licenses purchased. If your network does not provide a monitoring capability, then you should periodically review your initial estimate of the number of concurrent users and purchase additional licenses of RFFlow if necessary.

II. COPYRIGHT

The RFFlow software is owned by RFF Electronics and is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. Therefore, you must treat the RFFlow software like any other copyrighted material (e.g. a book or musical recording). You may make a copy of the RFFlow software in order to install it and also make a single copy solely for backup or archival purposes. A Single User as defined in the Grant of License section can make copies for his/her computer at work, home, and his/her portable computer. You may not copy the RFFlow software and give the copy to another person or sell the copy to another person. You may be held legally responsible for any copyright infringement that is caused or encouraged by your failure to abide by the terms of this RFFlow License Agreement. You may not copy the written materials accompanying the software. You may not copy this software to any computer bulletin board. RFFlow is a commercial software program. RFFlow is NOT freeware. RFFlow is NOT shareware.

III. OTHER RESTRICTIONS

You may not rent or lease the RFFlow software, but you may transfer the RFFlow software and accompanying written materials on a permanent basis provided you retain no copies and the recipient agrees to the terms of this License Agreement. If the RFFlow software is an update, any transfer must include the update and all prior versions.

IV. MEDIA

The RFFlow software is shipped on one CD-ROM. You may also receive updates to the RFFlow program on a CD-ROM. The number of media you have containing the RFFlow program does NOT affect the number of licenses you own. You may not use the extra media on another computer or loan, rent, lease, or transfer them to another user except as part of the permanent transfer (as provided above) of all the RFFlow software and written materials.

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY

This software and user's guide are sold "as is" and without warranties as to performance or merchantability. The seller's salespersons may have made statements about this software. Any such statements do not constitute warranties and shall not be relied on by the buyer in deciding whether to purchase this program.

This program is sold without any express or implied warranties whatsoever. Because of the diversity of conditions and hardware under which this program may be used, no warranty of fitness for a particular purpose is offered. The user is advised to test the program thoroughly before relying on it. The user must assume the entire risk of using the program. Any liability of seller or manufacturer with respect to the function or performance of the RFFlow software will be limited exclusively to product replacement or refund of the purchase price.

If you have any questions about the RFFlow License Agreement or the Disclaimer of Warranty, contact:

RFF Electronics

P.O. Box 1244

Loveland, CO 80539-1244

U.S.A.

Telephone: 970-663-5767

Fax: 970-669-4889

E-mail: flow@rff.com


Free Technical Support

There is no charge for technical support for RFFlow. Technical support is available weekdays from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM Mountain Time. If you have any questions about RFFlow or need assistance, please contact RFF Electronics by one of the methods listed below:

Telephone: 970-663-5767

Fax: 970-669-4889

E-mail: help@rff.com

RFF Electronics

P.O. Box 1244

Loveland CO 80539-1244

USA

Web site:  www.rff.com


Installing RFFlow

1.	Load the RFFlow CD into your CD-ROM drive. On some systems, RFFlow setup will run automatically. If it does not, click on the Start button and then click on Run. Next, type X:\SETUP.EXE into the text box where X is the letter for your particular CD-ROM drive. Your drive may be the letter D, E, or F. Click on the OK button.

2.	The RFFlow setup program will run and it will step you through the installation process. Basically, you will need to decide where you want the RFFlow executable files to be stored and where you want your flowcharts stored. You can always accept the default folders. The RFFlow setup program allows you to install RFFlow on a local hard drive or on a network.


Removing RFFlow

If you want to remove RFFlow from your computer, click on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on the Add/Remove Programs icon.

In Windows XP, click on the Start button, Control Panel, and Add or Remove Programs.

Find RFFlow in the list and click on it. Then click on the Add/Remove button. RFFlow setup will run and you can select the option to remove RFFlow from your computer.

You can also load the original RFFlow CD and run setup as was done when RFFlow was installed. One of the options in RFFlow setup is to remove RFFlow.


Running RFFlow

To run RFFlow, click on the Start button, Programs, and RFFlow.

In Windows XP, click on the Start button, All Programs, and RFFlow.

If you let the RFFlow setup program put a shortcut to RFFlow on your desktop, you can just double-click on the RFFlow icon [image] to run the program.


Exiting RFFlow

When you are finished drawing charts and have saved them, click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and then click on Exit in the drop-down menu. This will close the RFFlow program. You can also exit RFFlow by single clicking on the Close button [image] in the upper right hand corner of the RFFlow window.


The Elements of the RFFlow Window

1.	The title bar is at the top of the RFFlow Window.

2.	The main menu is under the title bar. It has the menu items File, Edit, View, etc.

3.	A toolbar with a row of default buttons lies beneath the main menu. If you move the mouse pointer over one of the buttons, a tooltip with text will describe the button. This toolbar can be customized and you can also display a second toolbar.

4.	Beneath the toolbar is the easybar. The easybar has large buttons with the name of each button shown in text beneath its picture. The commands in RFFlow that are used most often are in the easybar.

5.	Beneath the easybar is a prompt line [image] which explains what the user should do next.

6.	On the left of the RFFlow window are the stencils that contain the shapes used in drawing a chart.

7.	The rest of the RFFlow window is the drawing area. If you zoom out, you can see a red rectangle that defines the page size in the drawing area.


Using Online Help

There are three ways to access RFFlow Online Help:

1.	Click on the Help item in the main menu and click on Help Topics.

2.	Click on a Help item at the bottom of each drop-down menu. This takes you to a list of topics for that drop-down menu.

3.	Click on a Help button in a dialog box. Information about the dialog box will be displayed.

The Help Topics dialog box has three tabs: Contents, Index, and Find.

Contents

When you click on the Contents tab you see the major topics covered in RFFlow Online Help. This table of contents is organized like a user’s manual with major topics, subtopics, and articles you can read. If you just want to learn about RFFlow, you could start at the top and read each article.

Index

Usually, you look for help with a specific question in mind. For example, you want to make some text bold and you are not sure how to do that. In this case, you would click on Help, Help Topics, and Index. The Index tab will list all the keywords of RFFlow Online Help. When RFFlow Help was written, keywords were added to each topic to help you find the information you need. You can type the first few letters of the word you are looking for, or you can scroll through the alphabetical list of keywords. Once you have found the word, click on the Display button at the bottom to read the information.

Find

If you cannot find the information you are looking for using the Index tab, then you can click on the Find tab. If this is the first time you’ve clicked the Find tab, follow the instructions on your screen to compile a word list of all the words in RFFlow Online Help. Just follow the numbered steps.

1.	In box number 1, type the word you want to find. Words from RFFlow Online Help that match what you typed will be listed in box number 2.

2.	Click on one of the words in box number 2. Topics containing information about the word you clicked on are listed in box number 3.

3.	Click on one of the topics in box number 3 and click on the Display button to read the information. The text of each topic found contains the word you looked for, even if the word is not in the topic title.

The difference between using the Index tab and the Find tab is that the Index tab searches through the keywords that were placed in each topic of RFFlow Help while the Find tab searches through all the words. The Index search is faster and should be tried first.


RFFlow Year 2000 Compliance

RFFlow Version 4 is fully Year 2000 Compliant. RFFlow only displays dates in headers. In a header, the phrase (date) is replaced with the current date. The date information is obtained from Windows. RFFlow does no date calculations or manipulations.


Free Upgrades

Registered users of RFFlow 4 can upgrade to the most recent version of RFFlow for free by downloading the upgrade from http://www.rff.com/upgrade.htm. For example, if you purchased RFFlow 4.01 and we are currently shipping 4.05, then you can download the upgrade to 4.05 from our Web site. This upgrade requires that the original version of RFFlow 4 be installed on your hard disk. If you are installing RFFlow on a new computer, install the original RFFlow from the CD-ROM and then download the upgrade from www.rff.com.


Free Shapes

RFFlow ships with over 1600 shapes. In addition to these, RFF Electronics has a Web page containing many more shapes and stencils that you can download for free. The address of this page is http://www.rff.com/shapes.htm. These shapes were created using the RFShape program that you can also use to create your own custom shapes.


www.rff.com

The Web site of RFF Electronics at www.rff.com provides extensive and up-to-date information about the RFFlow software including a tutorial on using RFFlow, sample charts, free upgrades, additional shapes, and instructional material on drawing different kinds of charts and diagrams.


Adding Stencils and Shapes to a Chart

Click on the Stencils button [image] in the easybar to add stencils and shapes to your chart. You could also click on Stencils in the main menu and Add Stencils. Both commands cause the Stencils and Shapes dialog box to appear.

First, scroll through the list of stencils on the left until you find the desired name or category. For example, if you are looking for transistor shapes, you need to double-click on Electrical/Electronics first and then you will see the Transistor/Diodes stencil. Items that can be expanded have a box to their left. The box has a plus sign if the group has not been expanded and a minus sign if the contents are currently being displayed. Once you have found the proper stencil, click on it and the shapes in that stencil will appear on the right.

The next step is to add the entire stencil or just some of its shapes to your chart.

1.	To add the entire stencil, click on the Add Stencil button. The stencil being displayed will be added to the stencils in the main window of RFFlow.

2.	To add just one shape or line from a stencil, drag it from the stencil on the right in the Stencils and Shapes dialog box all the way to the stencil on the left in the main window of RFFlow. It will be added to the stencil being displayed and that stencil will become a custom stencil. If you are only going to use a shape or line once, you don’t have to drag it to a stencil. Instead, you can just drag it from the Stencils and Shapes dialog box to your chart on the right.

The stencils and shapes you add to your chart become part of that RFFlow file. After adding whichever stencils or shapes you want, click on the Close button.

See also:

Adding Picture Files (.bmp. .gif, .jpeg, and .wmf) to a Stencil

Adding Clip Art to an RFFlow Stencil

Adding Stencils from an RFFlow File to the Current RFFlow File


Adding Text of a Certain Font to a Stencil

Most of the stencils have a Text object that is used to add stand-alone text to your chart. You can click on the Text object, enter your text, and click on the screen to place the stand-alone text in your chart. The default font for this object is the main font. If you want to leave the main font as is, but want to use another font often, you can put that font into a stencil. Suppose you have set the main font to an Arial 10-point font and you want to type text in Times New Roman 20-point bold for a title in your chart. Follow these steps:

1.	Click on the Stencils button in the easybar to show the Stencils and Shapes dialog box. Scroll down in the tree view to the Text stencil and click on it. Then drag the Text object from the right of the Stencils and Shapes dialog box to your stencil on the left of the RFFlow window. Click on the Close button. You have now added a text object to your stencil.

2.	Right-click on the new text object in your stencil to change its properties. The Shape Properties dialog box will appear. In the Shapes tab, click the Edit Text button.

3.	The Edit Text dialog box will now be shown.

4.	Instead of the word "Text," type something more descriptive, like "Title."

5.	Select the characters you have typed and then change the font and font size to Times New Roman 20-point. Make the word bold.

6.	Click on the OK button in the Edit Text dialog box or press CTRL + ENTER.

Now, each time you click on the new text object with the text "Title," you can immediately start typing in Times New Roman 20-point bold text. This is useful for setting up large fonts used for titles, or small fonts used for notes.

You can also use this method to set up the font that will be selected when you click on a line or shape.


Adding a Fixed Size Shape to a Stencil

If you want to click on a shape in a stencil and have it always be a fixed size, regardless of the amount of text entered, follow these steps:

1.	First, add the shape to a stencil as described in Adding Stencils and Shapes to a Chart.

2.	Click on the shape in the stencil with the right mouse button. The Shape Properties dialog box will appear.

3.	Go to the Shape tab and click on Display the shape in a fixed size.

4.	Click on the Width and Height up-down controls to select the size you want. Each unit is one grid point or the average width of a character.

5.	If you want to enter text into this shape each time you click on it, make sure there is a check mark on Show the Edit Text dialog box.

6.	Click on the OK button.

Now when you click on this shape in the stencil, or drag it into your chart, it will always remain the size you set up. This applies only to shapes and not to lines or curves.


Deleting Stencils and Shapes

To delete a stencil from your chart, click on its name to make it the selected stencil. Then click on Stencils in the main menu and Delete Selected Stencil.

You can delete all the stencils at once by clicking on Stencils in the main menu and Delete All Stencils. Deleting stencils removes them from your RFFlow file.

If you just want to hide your stencils temporarily, click on Stencils in the main menu and remove the check mark from Show Stencil Window. You could also press the F10 key.

To delete an individual shape from a stencil, click on the Stencils button in the easybar to display the Stencils and Shapes dialog box. Then drag the shape from the stencil on the left of the RFFlow window to the trash can [image] in the Stencils and Shapes dialog box.


Rearranging Shapes in a Stencil

To rearrange shapes in a stencil, click on the Stencils easybar button to bring up the Stencils and Shapes dialog box. You can only move shapes around in the RFFlow window with this dialog box displayed. Just drag the shapes in your stencil on the left of the RFFlow window to place them where you want them.

There is no way to rearrange the order of the stencil names, short of deleting them and adding them in a certain order.


Making a Custom Stencil

To make a custom stencil, first click on the Stencils button in the easybar. The Stencils and Shapes dialog box will appear. Click on New Custom Stencil at the top of the list of stencils and then click on the Add Stencil button. You will be asked to give your stencil a name. Now you can add shapes and lines to your stencil. If you want a circle in your custom stencil, click on the Circles stencil and drag a circle from the right side of the Stencils and Shapes dialog box to your new stencil. You can add any of the predefined shapes to your new stencils. You can also add clip art from the Windows Clipboard or from files. The shapes can be rearranged in your custom stencil by dragging them to a new position. Click on Close when you have loaded all the shapes and lines you need.

Related topics:

Adding Stencils and Shapes to a Chart

Adding Clip Art to a Stencil


Adding Clip Art to a Stencil

If the clip art is saved in a file, click on Insert in the main menu of RFFlow and Picture From File. See Inserting a Picture From a File for more information.

If you want to include a clip art picture in RFFlow from another Windows application, first copy the artwork to the Windows Clipboard in the other application. This is usually done by selecting the picture and clicking on Edit and Copy. Now, if you want the picture to be part of your chart, and don’t need to use it over and over, you can just paste it into RFFlow. Simply click on Edit and Paste in RFFlow. However, if you are going to use the picture often, you should put it into a stencil. First click on the stencil's name to make it the selected stencil. Then click on the Stencils easybar button. The Stencils and Shapes dialog box will appear. Double-click on Clipboard Contents. Finally, click on Bitmap, Metafile Picture, or Text, depending on which form you want the Clipboard data. The clip art will show up in the upper right corner of the Stencils and Shapes dialog box and you can drag it into your stencil on the left of the RFFlow window.


Adding Picture Files (.bmp, .gif, .jpeg, and .wmf) to a Stencil
Adding Picture Files (.bmp. .gif, .jpeg, and .wmf) to a Stencil

Picture files in bitmap and metafile formats can be added to a stencil. First click on the Stencils button in the easybar. In the Stencils and Shapes dialog box that appears, double-click on Import Shapes From Files. Click on the All Pictures (.bmp, .gif, .jpeg, .wmf, etc.). Next you will be shown a File Open dialog box which allows you to browse and find the file you want. After finding the file, click on the Open button. The contents of the picture file will be displayed in the upper right hand corner of the Stencils and Shapes dialog box and you can drag the shape into your stencil on the left of the RFFlow window.

If you are adding several bitmaps, one after the other, you have to click on the Reset item between each bitmap.


Adding Stencils from another RFFlow File

If you want to take stencils from an RFFlow file and add them to the file you are currently viewing, click on the Stencils button in the easybar. Then double-click on Import Shapes From Files and click on RFFlow (.flo). The File Open dialog box will appear and you can browse to find the RFFlow file you are interested in. After finding the file, click on the Open button. You will next have to decide which stencil you want from this RFFlow file. The Select a Stencil dialog box will appear and you can click on the stencil you want. Then click on the OK button and that stencil will be loaded. To add it to your stencils, click on the Add Stencil button.

If you are adding several stencils from RFFlow files, one after the other, you have to click on the Reset item between each stencil to get the File Open dialog box to appear.


Hiding the Stencil Window

The stencils take up space on the left of the screen. You may want to hide the stencils momentarily to view more of your chart. You can do this by clicking on Stencils in the main menu and remove the check mark from Show Stencil Window. You can also toggle the F10 key to do the same thing.


Changing the Number of Columns in the Stencil Window

When you first run RFFlow, it will display stencils with three columns of shapes. You may want only one column if you need only a few shapes. Click on Stencils in the main menu and Change Number of Columns Displayed. A dialog box appears where you can select the number of columns.


Loading a Default Set of Stencils

You can select which stencils are displayed when RFFlow runs. First, you need to set up the stencils the way you want them. The stencils are saved with every RFFlow file so you may be able to open an existing file to get the desired stencils. Or, you can follow the instructions in Adding Stencils and Shapes to a Chart for adding stencils to your chart. When you have your stencils set up, click on Stencils in the main menu and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts. This writes the stencils to the initialization file. Every time RFFlow runs, it loads in the stencils and other information from the initialization file, Init.flo. RFFlow also re-loads this default set of stencils from the initialization file after you click on File and Close. You can load the stencils from Init.flo at any time by clicking on Stencils in the main menu and Load the Default Stencils. Doing this, however, will overwrite your current stencils.

For more information about Init.flo see Parameters and the Initialization File (Init.flo).


The Difference between an RFFlow Stencil and a Custom Stencil

The stencils that come with RFFlow are fixed as to the shapes, lines, curves and text that are in each stencil. For example, the Audit Objects stencil has 52 shapes that are defined in the code. You can load the Audit Objects stencil and add to these shapes or delete some of them. As soon as a stencil is changed it becomes a custom stencil. Both RFFlow stencils and your custom stencils function the same way in the program. The RFFlow files created with custom stencils will be larger, since all the shapes in a custom stencil are saved with the file. The shapes in the predefined stencils are not saved with the RFFlow files, only a number is saved which tells RFFlow which predefined stencils to display.


Renaming a Stencil

The names of the stencils you are using are listed on the left of the RFFlow window. You can right-click on the stencil name and then click on Rename this Stencil. The Stencil Name dialog box appears and lets you type in a new name for the stencil. You can also click with the left mouse button on the name of the stencil to make it the selected stencil and then click on Stencils in the main menu and Rename Selected Stencil in the drop-down menu.


Changing the Properties of all the Shapes in a Stencil

You can change the line width, color, or other properties of all the shapes in a stencil. There are two ways to do this. You can right-click on the stencil name and then select one of the properties to change from the menu that appears. Alternatively, you could left-click on the stencil name to make that stencil the selected stencil. Then click on Stencils in the main menu and Properties of Selected Stencil. These properties include: line color, line width, line style (dotted, dashed, etc.), text color, text background, and interior fill color. Each selection will involve a dialog box to choose the color, line width, etc.

Line Color

Line Width

Line Style (dotted, dashed, etc.)

Text Color

Text Background (Opaque or Transparent)

Interior Fill Color and Pattern


Stencils

To see all the shapes included with RFFlow, click on the green Stencils button [image]. The stencils are arranged in alphabetical order. Some stencils are gouped in folders. Click on the plus sign to expand a folder.

You can add the entire stencil to your chart or you can drag individual shapes from a stencil in the dialog box to the stencil on the left of your screen. Lines and curves with arrows are found in the Lines folder.

Current Stencils include:

Audit Objects

Background Shapes

Block Diagrams & Arrows

Brackets

Cause-Effect (Fishbone)Diagrams

Circles

Computers/Networks

Network Objects

Accessories

Computers

Connectors

Hubs/Repeaters

Input Devices

Printers/Plotters

Servers

Storage Devices

Switches

Transceivers/Converters

Criminal Analysis

Activity Flowchart

Commodity Flowchart

Criminal Investigations 1

Criminal Investigations 2

Event Flow and Timeline

Link Analysis

Telephone Analysis

Curves

Database Design

Decisions

Electrical/Electronics

Capacitors

Closed Circuit TV (CCTV)

Inductors, Transformers

Integrated Circuits

Logic Gates

Miscellaneous Devices

Resistors

Transistors, Diodes

Entity Relationship Diagrams

Floor Plans

Home Layout

Appliances

Cabinets and Counters

Electrical and Lighting

Furniture

Garden Accessories

Plumbing Fixtures

Walls, Windows, and Floors

Office Layout

Office Accessories

Office Electronic Equipment

Office Furniture

Office Walls

Flowcharting

Basic Flowcharting

Color Schemes

Deployment (Functional) Flowchart

DIN 660001

Opportunity Flowchart

Physical Flowcharting

Shaded Flowchart (dark)

Shaded Flowchart (gray)

Three Dimensional Flowchart

Fluid Power Symbols

Cylinders/Actuators

Directional Valves

Electrical

Miscellaneous Symbols

Pressure/Flow Controls

Pump/Motor Symbols

Gantt Charts

Genetics Pedigree Charts

Graham Process Flow

Greek Alphabet

IDEF0

IDEF1X

Industrial Objects

Labels

Pumps,Compressors

Valves

Vessels,Pipes

Lines

Diagonal Lines

Straight Lines

Double Ended Lines

Lines with Dimensions

Mind Maps

More Objects

Office Layout

Office Accessories

Office Electronic Equipment

Office Furniture

Office Walls

Organization Charts

Pert,CPM,CPA Charts

Quality Systems, ISO 9000

Basic ISO 9000

Expanded ISO 9000

Total Quality Management

Rectangles

SDL Objects

Software Design

Booch OOD

Express G

Gane-Sarson Data Flow

Martin ERD

Rumbaugh OMT

Shlaer-Mellor OOA

Structure Charts

UML

Yourdon Data Flow

Text

Timelines

Transporation Objects

Airplanes

Boats

Roads

Vehicles

WingDings Font

Work Breakdown Structures

WBS


Drawing Shapes

It is very easy to add a shape to your chart. The prompt line [image] will tell you what to do next.

1.	Click on the shape in a stencil.

2.	If the Edit Text dialog box appears, type in the text and click OK.

3.	Click on the screen to place your object. Then drag it to a new location if needed.

Alternatively, you can drag a shape from the stencil to the drawing area. In this case the steps are:

1.	Drag a shape from the stencil to the drawing area on the right.

2.	If the Edit Text dialog box appears, type in the text and click OK.

3.	Drag the shape to a new location if needed.

You may wish to enter text in some objects and not in others. You can change the property of an object which controls whether the Edit Text dialog box appears by clicking on the object in the stencil with the right mouse button. The Shape Properties dialog box will appear. At the bottom left of the Shape tab, there are three check boxes which control how a shape acts when you click on it in a stencil. If the Show the Edit Text dialog box is checked, then when you click on the shape in a stencil, the Edit Text dialog box appears. If it is unchecked, then no Edit Text dialog box will be shown. You can click on the shape and click on the screen, or drag the shape directly to the screen. As you draw your charts, you can decide whether this item should be checked or not.


Adding Stand-alone Text

Sometimes you want to add text to your chart that is not inside any shape. To do this, each stencil includes a text object near the top with the word Text in it. Just click on Text, type your words, click on OK, and click on the screen to place this object. This text can be placed anywhere on the chart. It can even overlap other objects. A stand-alone text object is just like any other shape, except it shows only the text. If you right-click on the text object in a stencil, you will see that in the Shape tab the item Clear any preloaded text is checked. This results in the word Text being removed before you enter your own text. You can use this property yourself if you want a shape to have text when it is in a stencil, but you want that text to be cleared when you click on the shape.


Drawing Lines

In RFFlow, straight lines that are horizontal or vertical are represented in a stencil by a horizontal line.  Diagonal lines are represented in a stencil by a diagonal line.  For all horizontal and vertical lines in your chart, use the horizontal line in the stencil. To draw a line, follow these steps:

1.	Click on the line in a stencil.

2.	Move the mouse pointer to where you want the line to start in your chart and click the left mouse button down.

3.	Drag the mouse to the end of the line and release the left mouse button.

4.	Repeat steps 2 and 3 to draw more lines.

In other words, with the mouse, you position the mouse pointer at the start of the line and drag it to the end of the line. The prompt line [image] beneath the easybar will remind you what to do next. When you click on a line in a stencil, you go into the line drawing mode where you can draw as many lines as you want. You do not need to click on the stencil for each line. You will stay in the line drawing mode until you click on some other shape or click on one of the command buttons in the easybar. Thus, it is more efficient to wait and draw all your lines at once.

Normally, the grid will be enabled so that the starting and ending points of the line will jump to the nearest grid point. This makes it easier to draw lines, since you don’t have to point the cursor precisely. You just have to be within a grid point away. If your positioning accuracy is not good, you should click on Zoom In to make the objects and grid distance larger.

If you need to shorten or lengthen a line, click on the Edit Line button [image] in the easybar and drag the start or end of a line to change the length. You can also click down anywhere on the line to change its length.

If you want to add text to a line, you can click on the Edit Text button in the easybar and click on the line.

You can set the properties of a line so you get the Edit Text dialog box each time you click on a line in a stencil. To set this up, right-click on the line in a stencil, select the Shape tab in the Shape Properties dialog box, and either click or unclick the item Show the Edit Text dialog box.


Drawing Curves

To draw a curve, follow these steps:

1.	Click on the curve in a stencil.

2.	If you get the Edit Text dialog box, enter your text and click on OK.

3.	Click the left mouse button on the screen four times. The first click establishes the beginning of the curved line. The second click affects the curvature near the beginning of the curve. The third click affects the curvature near the end of the curve. The fourth and last click establishes the end of the curve.

Immediately after the fourth click, the program goes into the Edit Line mode and you can adjust your curve. To modify a curve, just drag any of the handles (the small dotted red squares) to a new position and the curve will change shape. One handle affects the start of the curve. Another affects the end of the curve. The other two change how the curve approaches the starting and ending points. The best way to see how this works is to draw a curve yourself and move the four dotted square handles.

The four dotted handles of a curve are also used in other commands. To select a curve, click on the Select button in the easybar, and click inside one of the handles of the curve or draw a selection rectangle which goes around all the four handles. To move or duplicate a curve, click on the Move or Duplicate button in the easybar and drag one of the handles to a new position. If you want to add text to a curve, click on the Edit Text button in the easybar and then click on one of the four dotted handles of a curve. To delete a curve, click on the Delete button and click on one of the four dotted red handles of the curve.


Automatically Connecting Two Shapes

Instead of drawing lines yourself, you can have the RFFlow program automatically connect two shapes. There are two ways to do this:

Click on Each Object to Connect You can click on two shapes and RFFlow will connect them. The RFFlow program determines the starting point and ending point of the lines and automatically draws the lines. This is the easiest method.

Click on the Side of Each Object You can click on the side of the object where you want the line to begin and the side of the object where you want the line to end. The RFFlow program will automatically draw the lines connecting the two objects.

Changing the Auto Connector This topic lets you set up the line or curve to be used in auto connection.

Of course, you can always draw the lines yourself and then you specify exactly where they are drawn. To draw lines yourself see Drawing Lines.


Automatically Connect Two Shapes, Shape to Shape

First click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow. Then click on Auto Connect and Click on Each Object to Connect. Alternatively, you can click on the Auto Connect button [image] in the toolbar to do this command.

Click on the first shape. It will be displayed in inverse video. Then click on the second shape. The two shapes will be connected by the current auto connector.

Basically, once you are in the Auto Connect mode, you can click on any two shapes and they will be connected. This is a fast way to draw a flowchart. First, draw all your shapes. Then select Auto Connect [image] and start clicking on the shapes. In this command you can click anywhere in the shape, it doesn’t matter. The program will determine the route the line takes. This is handy for flowcharts, but sometimes you need to have more control over where the lines start and end. There is also a command which allows you to specify the sides of the objects where the line will start and end. It is explained in the section Automatically Connect Two Shapes, Side to Side.

See Also:

Changing the Auto Connector


Automatically Connect Two Shapes, Side to Side

Another way to automatically connect two shapes is to click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow. Then click on Auto Connect and Click on the Side of Each Object. If you have a second toolbar displayed, you could click on the Auto Connect Sides button [image].

In this command, you click on the side of the first object where you want the line to start. Next you click on the side of the second shape where you want the line to end.

With side to side auto connection, you choose which sides of the objects the line starts and ends. This gives you more control over where the line goes. Of course, you can always draw your own lines and that gives you the most control.

See also:

Automatically Connecting Two Shapes

Changing the Auto Connector


Changing the Auto Connector

Before connecting two shapes automatically, you may want to change the automatic connector. Click on Tools in the main menu, Auto Connect, and Change the Auto Connector. The Select a Shape dialog box appears. Scroll through the list until you come to Lines and click on it to expand it. You can choose straight lines, diagonal lines, or curves. Then click on the specific line you want and click OK.

You will then see another dialog box where you can select the line’s color, width, and style. This line will now be used in auto connection.

You can have only one automatic connector at a time. The auto connector is saved with the file. After changing the auto connector, you have the opportunity to make the new auto connector the default auto connector when RFFlow first runs.

See also:

Automatically Connecting Two Shapes


Drawing Combination Shapes

If you want to draw a custom shape that can be rotated, see RFShape.

RFFlow allows you to draw a combination shape and add it to a stencil. The combination shape can be composed of other shapes, lines, and curves. To create a combination shape, follow these steps:

1.	First, draw the shape. You can use any lines, curves, and shapes in RFFlow.  Your new shape is a combination of RFFlow shapes.  It could also be drawn using only lines and curves. If you need to draw lines and curves that do not end on grid points, disable Snap to Grid.

2.	Next, click on the Select button in the easybar and drag the mouse to form a selection rectangle around the combination shape.

3.	Right-click on the selection rectangle. A menu will appear. Click on Combine Shapes and Put into a Stencil.

4.	A dialog box will appear for you to name your combination shape.

5.	After typing in the shape's name, click on the OK button and the shape will appear at the bottom of the currently selected stencil.

6.	You can now click on your combination shape and click on the screen to place it, or you can drag the combination shape to your chart. The Move button will automatically be selected so you can place the new shape in its final location. After moving the combination shape, click on the Unselect button in the easybar.

Stencils are always saved with an RFFlow file. If you want this stencil with the new shape to show up when RFFlow first runs, click on Stencils in the main menu and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts in the drop-down menu.

Your new shape is really composed of a combination of shape and line objects. These objects remain selected as a group when you click on the screen to place your new shape or move your new shape to its final location in your chart. When you click on the Unselect button, the new shape reverts back to its individual object components.

If you want to draw a custom shape that can be rotated and always stays together, see RFShape.


Problem of metafiles inside metafiles

Problem

If you paste or import a metafile into an RFFlow chart and then paste or embedded the RFFlow chart into a word processor, you have a metafile inside a metafile.  The metafile inside the metafile will not show up on the word processor's screen in the correct position.

For example, suppose you create a small chart that has some standard RFFlow shapes and an imported metafile drawing of a bird.

You select this entire chart, copy it to the Clipboard in RFFlow, and paste it into the word processor.

After pasting into the word processor, the metafile picture of the bird doesn't show on the screen in the word processor.

This is only the case with metafile pictures and does not apply to bitmaps or any other RFFlow shapes.

Solution

This problem was fixed in the new enhanced metafile.  Enhanced metafiles will correctly handle metafiles inside metafiles.  To paste an enhanced metafile into your word processor, click on Edit and Paste Special.  In the Paste Special dialog box, choose Picture (Enhanced Metafile). and click on the OK button.

This fixes the problem, however, for some peculiar reason Microsoft doesn't support enhanced metafiles in OLE so you can no longer double-click on the RFFlow chart to edit it.  To edit the chart, you would have to save your chart in a file and edit the file.  Then do the paste special again.


Frequently Asked Questions

1.  How do I export RFFlow to another application?

Use the Windows Clipboard, see Moving Your Chart into Other Windows Applications.

2.  How do I import clip art or pictures into RFFlow?

You can move a picture directly into your chart, or, if you are going to use it often, move it into a stencil.  See Adding Clip Art to a Stencil and Importing Pictures into RFFlow.

4.  Why have some of the shapes on the screen disappeared?

Make sure that you are displaying all the layers.  Click on View in the main menu, Layers, and click the View All Layers button.

5.  Why have some of the shapes disappeared after pasting into my word processor?

If you have pasted a chart into another application and all the shapes don't show up, make sure that the selection rectangle is large enough.  If you are selecting the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All.  For curves to be selected, all the 4 handles of the curve must be inside the selection rectangle.  To see the bounding rectangle of an object, click on Tools, Diagnostics and put a checkmark on the top item, Show Bounding Rectangles.  Then make sure the selection rectangle goes around the bounding rectangle of each object.

If you have imported metafiles into your chart and are then pasting that chart into another application, you should see the section Problem of Metafiles inside Metafiles.

If you have guidelines or background objects that cannot be selected, they will not be selected when you copy your chart into another application.  Click on Tools, Guidelines, and Allow all objects to be selected and edited.  Then the background objects will be selected when you copy the chart to the Clipboard.

6.  Why can't I move, delete or duplicate a curve?

You must click inside one of the four handles of a curve to move, delete, or duplicate it.

7.  I changed the main font from 10 point to 5 point to make my chart half size, but some lines no longer connect to the shapes. Why?

All the shapes drawn using the main font will size correctly when going from 10 point to 5 point.  However, if you have a shape that is using a 9-point font, it will size to a 4-point.  We only use integral point sizes.  Because of this rounding error, you should check your chart after changing the main font to make sure all shapes are still connected properly.

8.  I want to print multiple copies of a chart, but the Number of copies item in the Print dialog box is grayed.  Why?

Printing multiple copies is only available if the printer driver supports it. Not all printer drivers support multiple copies, so the Number of copies item may be grayed and not selectable.

9.  File, Send Mail doesn't work on my system.  Why?

If Send Mail doesn't work on your system, you may not have the correct programs installed.  For Send Mail to work in Windows 95 you need to have the inbox installed.  If you are running Windows 98 and Outlook 98, you need to install Outlook 98 with Corporate/Workgroup E-mail and Microsoft Mail 3.0 selected.  On most installations, Send Mail will work with no changes.  On some systems, you will need to insert the .flo file as an attachment manually.  The free trial disk, which can be downloaded from www.rff.com, works as a free viewer to open any RFFlow file and view it.  You can e-mail .flo charts to others and they can view them with the free trial disk.


Entering Text

In RFFlow, all text is entered via the Edit Text dialog box. This dialog box functions like a word processor. It allows you to select fonts, choose character formatting (bold, italic, underline, subscript, superscript, tabs, text color), use special characters, align lines of text, check spelling, and do Clipboard operations.

There are two ways to display the Edit Text dialog box:

1.	Click on the Edit Text easybar button [image] and click on a shape, line, or curve in your chart.

2.	Or, click on any shape in a stencil. In this case, the Edit Text dialog box is only displayed if the shape in the stencil has the Show the Edit Text dialog box item checked in the Shape tab of its Shape Properties dialog box. You can change the properties of a shape by clicking on it with the right mouse button. For more information, see the section on Shape Properties.

When the Edit Text dialog box appears, all you have to do is type in the text and click on the OK button. Typing CTRL +ENTER is equivalent to clicking on the OK button. As you type the text, the shape is redrawn around the text and the text is centered in the shape. Numerous editing capabilities are possible and are explained in the following sections.

Selecting Text

Fonts and Font Size

Fixed Size Objects

Opaque Text Background

Check Spelling

Clipboard Cut, Copy, and Paste

Undo and Redo

Bold, Italic, and Underline

Text Color

Left Aligned, Centered, and Right Aligned Text

Subscripts and Superscripts

Shape Properties

Magnifier

Special Characters

Tabs

Shortcut Keys


Selecting Text

You must first select the text you want to edit. To select text, you can hold down the shift key and use the arrow keys to move over the text. You can also use the mouse by dragging the mouse pointer over the text. Selected text is shown in inverse video. Once some text is selected, you can then change its properties.

In the picture above, the word selected is selected.

Ways to select text:

SHIFT + arrow keys to select characters

Drag the mouse over the text

Click the mouse to the left of a line of text to select the line

Drag the mouse to the left of some lines to select those lines

Double-click on a word to select the word

SHIFT + END to select the text from the cursor to the end of the line

SHIFT + HOME to select the text from the cursor to the start of the line


Fonts and Font Size

In the upper left of the Edit Text dialog box, a drop-down list box lists all of the fonts installed in Windows. To the right of the font list is a drop-down list box with point sizes. To change the font, you first select the text and then click on the new font in the drop-down list box. If you do not select any text, then you will not see the new font until you start typing. The Edit Text dialog box works like a word processor. You select the text and then click on the font, or you can click on the font and start typing. The font size list box works in the same way.

Each chart you draw has one main font. The main font is noted in the very top line of the Edit Text dialog box. The width of this main font determines the size of the grid in RFFlow and the size of the entire chart. If your main font is a 10-point font and you change it to 20-point, the entire chart will double in size. To change the main font, click on Tools, Font, and Change Main Font. You cannot change the main font in the Edit Text dialog box. The main font is the only font that aligns to the grid. If you draw five lines of text and want to draw an arrow pointing to the fourth line, then you should use the main font.  See Sizing the Entire Chart for more information about the main font.

If you want to leave the main font as is, but want to use another font often, you can put that font into a stencil. See the section Adding Text of a Certain Font to a Stencil.


Fixed Size Shape

As shapes size around the text, they increase in fixed units. These units are roughly the width of one character in the main font. The width of this character determines the grid. A shape will always be an integral number of grid units high or wide. The width and height of a shape is displayed in the lower left corner of the Edit Text dialog box. If you type more text, the shape gets bigger.

If you want a shape to remain a certain size and no longer increase in size, click on the Fixed Size check box in the Edit Text dialog box. Now when you type more text, the shape will not increase in size. There are times when this is advantageous.

It is possible to adjust the properties of a shape in a stencil so that when you click on it, it will always be the same fixed size. First, right-click on the shape to get the Shape Properties dialog box. Go to the Shape tab. Click on Display the shape in a fixed size so it has a check mark. Then click on the Width and Height to set the width and height of your shape. Finally click on OK. Now when you click on this shape, it will always be the size you set up.

If you are drawing a lot of charts that use fixed size objects, it pays to spend the time to set up the stencils first. This keeps you from repeating the same steps over and over.

See also:

Shape Tab of Shape Properties dialog box

Sizing Shapes


Opaque Text Background

If the Opaque item in the Edit Text dialog box is checked, then the area between characters of text is filled with a solid white color. If the Opaque item is not checked, then the area between characters of text is transparent and shows whatever is behind it. Opaque text is usually used in drawing lines as shown in the picture below. This property affects the entire text in the object.

See also:

Line and Color Tab


Check Spelling of Text in a Shape

After typing the text in your object, you can check the spelling by clicking on the Spelling button [image] in the Edit Text dialog box. If there are any spelling errors, a dialog box will appear to help you correct your spelling. Only the text inside this object is checked. To check the spelling of the entire chart, you need to get out of the Edit Text dialog box and click on Tools in the main menu and Spelling. Or, click the Spelling button [image] in the main screen toolbar.


Clipboard Cut, Copy, and Paste Text

The RFFlow Edit Text dialog box supports the basic Clipboard operations of cut, copy, and paste. You may have typed several lines and want to duplicate them instead of typing them again. Or, you may wish to move text from your object into a word processor document. First, select the lines either with the mouse or SHIFT + arrow keys. Then click on Copy [image] . The text is placed on the Windows Clipboard. Then move the cursor to the destination location and click the Paste button [image] . The text will be pasted into the new location. Cut [image] works like Copy except the text is deleted after being copied to the Clipboard. This allows you to delete text from one place and add it to another.

You can use these commands to copy text from your word processor and paste it into a shape. However, the formatting of your word processor will not be transferred. RFFlow takes only ASCII text from the Clipboard and you will need to format it again.

See also:

Moving Your Chart into Other Windows Applications


Undo and Redo

If you entered text into the Edit Text dialog box and want to go back to the way the text was before it was edited, you can click on the Undo button [image] . You can undo the last five changes. If you click on the Undo button and decide you really don’t want to undo the change, you can click on the Redo button [image] to go to where you started. Undo moves you back through your changes. Redo moves you forward.


Bold, Italic, and Underline

The Edit Text dialog box has three buttons which control the bold, italic, and underline properties of the text. The first step is to select some text either with the mouse or SHIFT + arrow keys. Then click on Bold [image] , Italic [image] , or Underline [image] and the text will change. You can also use CTRL +B for bold, CTRL +I for italic and CTRL +U for underline. If you have not selected any text, clicking on these buttons will not change any text already there. However, any new text typed will have the selected properties. This allows you to click on the Bold button and start typing bold text. These buttons are depressed when selected, so you can see if they are turned on or not.


Text Color

In RFFlow, you can make words or characters different colors in the Edit Text dialog box. First, you must select the characters you want to change. Either drag the mouse across the characters or use SHIFT + the arrow keys to make a selection. Then click on the Text Color button [image] . A dialog box will appear that allows you to select a color.

You should realize that text does not support as many different colors as a filled object. Windows does not dither text to create colors. The text colors must be pure colors. If you select a color that requires dithering on your printer, the text will be the closest pure color and not what you selected.

After you have changed the color of the text, it will still be selected. You need to use the mouse or arrow keys to move the cursor so the text will not be selected. Then you can see the new colored text.


Left Aligned, Centered, and Right Aligned Text

Text can be left aligned, centered, or right aligned in the Edit Text dialog box. Text alignment is associated with a line of text. To change the alignment, first click to the left of the line to select it. To select multiple lines of text, drag the mouse to the left of all the lines. Then click on one of the buttons to set the alignment.


Subscripts and Superscripts

It is easy to add subscripts and superscripts in RFFlow. First you type the expression in the Edit Text dialog box. Then you select the character you want to subscript or superscript and click on the appropriate button [image]. Select the character either with the mouse or SHIFT + arrow keys. As usual, you first select the item and then click on the button to make the selected character a subscript or superscript. If you prefer, you can first click on the subscript button, then the next character you type will be in subscript.


Shape Properties

All RFFlow objects have properties such as line width, line style (dotted or dashed), line color, interior fill color, etc. If you are editing the text of an object in the Edit Text dialog box and want to change one of these properties, you can click on the Shape Properties button [image]. This button brings up the Shape Properties dialog box.

See Shape Properties for more information about changing the properties of a shape.


Magnifier

Clicking on the magnifier button [image] in the Edit Text dialog box simply makes the text a little bigger so it is easier to see. It does not change the font size that will be printed. The magnifier is helpful if you are typing small text into a shape.

The magnifier will enlarge small text, but it cannot reduce large text. If you have to make a banner that has 400-point text, the thing to do is to use 10-point text until you get everything correct. Then your last step would be to select the text and make it 400-point. This is the only way you can work with large text.


Special Characters

Occasionally you may need to type a degree symbol, copyright symbol, or some other special character. To see the complete character set of the selected font, click on the [image] button in the Edit Text dialog box. To see the characters of a font, click on the font list box, select a font, and click on the character set button. The Wingdings font and Symbol font have a lot of interesting bullets and shapes.

To use the Character Set dialog box, you just click on the character you want. It will show up in the box on the right. Then click on the Add Character button. The special character will be added to the right of the current cursor position.


Tabs

When you type text into a shape in the Edit Text dialog box, you can use tabs to help with alignment. Each tab is about two characters in width and cannot be changed. If you want a larger space, just hit the TAB key multiple times. When using tabs, you should select left-aligned text.

See also:

Text Alignment


Shortcut Keys for Entering Text

Align Text Left	CTRL + L

Align Text Right	CTRL + R

Bold    	CTRL + B

Center Text	CTRL + E

Help   	F1

Italic    	CTRL + I

OK Button	CTRL + Enter

Tab    	Tab

Underline	CTRL + U

Move down one line   	Enter

Move to left of line	Home

Move to end of line	End

Move to start of text	CTRL + Home

Move to end of text	CTRL + End

Move page up	Page Up

Move page down	Page Down

The arrow keys move the cursor.

See also Shortcut Keys for the RFFlow Main Screen.


Changing Shape Properties

The Shape Properties dialog box allows you to change the properties of a shape. These properties include line color, fill color, line thickness, rotation, etc. There are two ways to display the Shape Properties dialog box.

1.	Right-click on a shape. The shape can be either in the drawing area or in a stencil.

2.	Or, you could click on the Shape Properties button [image] in the easybar and then left-click on a shape in the drawing area.

The tabs in the Shape Properties dialog box are:

Shape Tab

Line and Color Tab

Rotation Tab

Link Tab

Number Tab

Header Tab

Layers Tab

Guideline Tab


Shape Tab

If you click on a shape with the right mouse button, the Shape Properties dialog box will appear. The leftmost tab is the Shape tab.

To edit the text of this shape, click on the Edit Text button. To change this shape into another shape, click on the Change to Another Shape button. To delete this shape, click on the Delete this Shape button. To give this shape a different tooltip name, type the new name in the text box beneath the words Shape name:.

This page of the Shape Properties dialog box also allows you to control how a shape acts when you first click on it in a stencil.

If you click on a shape in a stencil and want to add text to it, make sure there is a check mark beside Show the Edit Text dialog box. Sometimes you will want this item to be unchecked. An example of this is an electronic shape. You want to click on a transistor and click on the screen to place it. You can also drag the transistor from the stencil to the screen. No text is involved. Another example where you want Show the Edit Text dialog box unchecked is the word Yes in a stencil. You want to drag the word Yes to the screen without the Edit Text dialog box showing up.

If you are adding text to a shape, do you want the text already in the shape to stay there or be cleared? An example of this is if you put a rectangle with left-aligned text in your stencil. You could put the word "left" inside this rectangle to remind you that this rectangle is set up for left-aligned text. When you click on this rectangle, you want to enter your own text, so you want the word "left" to be cleared. To do this, right-click on the "left" rectangle in the stencil and put a check mark on Clear any preloaded text. As another example, most stencils in RFFlow have an object called Text that you click on to type stand-alone text. This object also has a check mark on Clear any preloaded text. When you click on the object Text in the stencil, the word "text" is cleared before you start typing.

If you want to drag a shape from a stencil to the drawing area and always have it the same size, you can click on Display the shape in a fixed size. Clicking on the Width and Height spin controls allows you to set the size of the shape. Each unit is one grid point or the average width of a character.


Line and Color Tab

The Shape Properties dialog box appears when you click on a shape with the right mouse button. The Line and Color tab contains items like line color, line width, line style, and fill color.

The Line area allows you to specify the color, width, and style of the lines in objects. The default width is 2 and the units are in .1 millimeters. A printed line of width 2 would then be .2 mm wide. This line width looks good on laser printers. On pen plotters, you should select a line width of 0 to keep the plotter pen from going back and forth over each line. It is best to print a few lines of different widths on your printer to determine the optimum width.

You can globally change the line width of all objects by selecting them and clicking on Tools and Global Changes. Different line styles can be selected in the list box.

On the right side of the Line and Color tab is the Interior fill. Shapes can be transparent, filled with a solid color, or filled with several hatched patterns. Shapes filled with a solid color allow you to stack shapes so they appear to be in front of each other. Transparent shapes let the background show through.

The lower left item on the Line and Color tab controls whether the space between characters of text in your shape is transparent or opaque. This is important for putting text on top of lines. A check mark on Opaque background means the space between characters is opaque and the line behind the text will not show through. The color of the opaque area is always white.


Color Selection

Selecting a new line color, interior fill color, or text color brings up the same Color dialog box. You simply click on the color you want and click on the OK button. Make sure you click on the OK button or the Color dialog box will remain open.

You can create your own custom colors and shades of gray. Click on the Define Custom Colors button and the Color dialog box will expand. You can move the two cursors to make a custom color. Then click on the Add to Custom Colors button. In this way you can make up 16 colors in addition to the 48 basic colors. You can also type in the numbers directly if you know which numbers are needed for a specific color. The custom colors you make are saved in the registry so each time you run RFFlow they will still be present.


Rotation Tab

If you click on a shape with the right mouse button, the Shape Properties dialog box will appear. The Rotation tab allows you to rotate and flip a shape.

To rotate a shape, you can select any angle by clicking on the up-down control in the lower left corner of the dialog box. Angles range from -180 to +180 degrees. You can also click on one of the buttons if the angle you want is a multiple of 45 degrees. To flip a shape, check the Flip vertically or Flip horizontally items.

Imported bitmaps and metafiles cannot be rotated. Customs shapes made with RFShape can be rotated.

See also:

Rotation Command


Rotation Command

Shapes can be rotated on the drawing area if you click on the Rotate button [image] in the toolbar. You will enter the Rotate mode and the mouse pointer will change to [image]. When you click on a shape, that shape will display a handle that you can drag to rotate the shape.

A dialog box will also appear to show you the rotation angle. The dialog box lets you quickly select some angles and flip the shape:

Imported bitmaps and metafiles cannot be rotated. Customs shapes made with RFShape can be rotated.

See also:

Rotation Tab


Link Tab

The Shape Properties dialog box appears when you click on a shape with the right mouse button. The Link tab lets you link a shape to a file. This allows you to click on a shape and bring up another chart, document, or Web page.

Each shape can be connected to another chart that has more details of your design. This allows you to build a design hierarchy where more and more details are available. Another use is to have a large amount of text associated with each shape. In that case, you would probably link to Microsoft WordPad. Each shape in RFFlow can be connected to a Windows application and a data file. The Windows application to which you connect a shape can be RFFlow or any other Windows application. The data file must be a file the application understands. When linking a shape to RFFlow, the data file will be a .flo file. If you link to WordPad, then the data file will be a .doc file.

To link a shape to a file, you have to specify the name of the Windows application and the data file. The Windows application is the .exe file. For example, suppose you have a rectangle in a chart that has the text "Fill out order form." You can link this rectangle to the flowchart that illustrates the steps taken in filling out an order form. Suppose this flowchart is in the file

C:\My Flowcharts\Fill Order Form.flo.

And suppose RFFlow is installed in

C:\My Programs\RFFlow\RFFlow.exe.

Box 1 in the Link tab would then read:

C:\My Programs\RFFlow\RFFlow.exe

In box 2, you would type:

C:\My Flowcharts\Fill Order Form.flo

To avoid typing, you can click on the Browse button and search for the application you want to run and the data file you want to open. If you have already linked a shape to a file and want to use the last values, there are buttons to use the last executable and last data file. That will save you from typing them again.

What you are doing is selecting two files, the executable, which you want to run when the shape is clicked on, and the data file which this executable must load when the shape is clicked. You can set up this link while you are creating the shape or later when you edit the shape. The application can be any Windows application. It does not have to be RFFlow.exe. You could link a shape to a text file in Windows Notepad. The executable file would be Notepad.exe and the data file could be Somefile.txt. You could link a shape to Microsoft WordPad using a program file of WordPad.exe and a data file of Somefile.doc. Any Windows application and its data file can be linked to a shape.

You can specify only the executable if you want it to run and not load any data file. You can also specify only the data file, like

D:\My Documents\Somefile.doc

and let Windows figure out which executable to run. It is always best to include a full path so Windows will know where to find the file.

Making Web Pages

1.	Leave the top box 1 blank because you cannot predict what browser someone will use to view your Web pages.

2.	Type the full URL or an HTML file name into box 2. For example, you could type  http://www.rff.com  or  yourfilename.htm  into box 2.

3.	Do this for every shape in your chart which you want to link to some other Web page. Then click on File and Save As in RFFlow and select HTML. This will create both an HTML file and a GIF file.

4.	Upload the HTML and GIF file to your Web site. For more information, see Saving your Chart as a Web Page.

Marking Linked Objects

You can mark which shapes have linked files by clicking on the Mark linked objects box. Each linked shape will then have a square of color in its upper left corner to show you that this shape has a link. The color used can be specified by clicking on the Change Color button. This colored square mark shows on the display, but is not printed. All the linked shapes will have a square of the same color. A marked shape is shown next.

Window Size

You can also specify how the application window should appear when the linked shape is clicked. When you click on a linked shape, the sub-chart can show up as a full screen, partial screen, or as an icon. Click on either Normal, Maximum, or Iconic in the Window size group box of the Link Tab.

Opening the Linked File

After linking a shape to a file, you can bring up the linked file by clicking on the Open Linked File button [image] in the toolbar and then clicking on the shape in your chart. You could also right-click on an empty area of your chart to bring up a menu and click on Open Linked File. Your linked file will be displayed on the screen. How it is displayed depends on the selection you made in the Window size group box when you made the link.

If you click on a shape that does not have a link, the computer will simply beep.

The last item in the Link tab of the Shapes Properties dialog box is the Open the file check box. If this has a check mark in the box, then the linked file will be opened immediately after you click on the OK button. If it is not checked, then the linked file is not displayed until you click on the Open Linked File button [image] in the toolbar and click on the shape.


Number Tab

RFFlow lets you automatically number shapes. RFFlow will put a unique number in each new shape you create. When you click on a shape with the right mouse button, the Shape Properties dialog box appears. One of the tabs is the Number tab.

To enable showing numbers on any shapes, you must have a check mark in Enable numbering for the entire chart. If this item is not checked, no shapes will have numbers. This value is saved in the file.

Once you have turned on the showing of numbers, you can decide on a shape-by-shape basis whether a shape should show the number. To show a number in a shape, put a check mark in Show the number of this shape.

The number that will be assigned to a shape is displayed to the right of the words Shape number:. Each shape is assigned a number one greater than the last number used. You can change this value and select any number you want. There is no checking, so you may have two shapes with the same number if you start modifying numbers.

You can display the number in different parts of the shape.

For some shapes, you will need to offset the number slightly. This is done in the Adjust number position box. It lets you move the number small increments horizontally or vertically.

The other way to number shapes is just to type them in yourself like any other text. If you need to have special formatted numbers, like 2.1.2, then you should just enter the numbers as you enter the text. You can make the numbers a smaller font and position them anywhere in the shape.

This section concerns the properties of a number on a single object. The properties of numbers for the entire chart are described in Shape Numbers for the Entire Chart.


Shape Numbers for the Entire Chart

The Number tab in the Shape Properties dialog box deals with the number of a particular shape. To set properties that apply to all the numbered shapes that appear in your chart, you must click on Tools and Number Shapes. The Shape Numbers dialog box will appear.

This dialog box allows you to set the starting number, renumber the shapes, and select the font used to display the numbers.

There must be a check mark in Enable numbering for the entire chart or no numbers will be displayed. This enables or disables all numbers. This value is saved in each file. To have numbers enabled when RFFlow first runs, check this item and click on Make these settings the default for new charts.

If you click on the Renumber All Shapes button, the shapes will be renumbered starting at the starting number specified in this dialog box. The order of numbering is unchanged. This is helpful in eliminating unused numbers. Suppose you have only three remaining shapes numbered 1, 4, and 7. If you renumber them, with a starting number of 1, the shapes would be numbered 1, 2, and 3.

You can select a font that will be used for the numbers in your chart by clicking on the Select Font button. The font you select is saved in the file with the chart. To establish a default font, you need to click on Make these settings the default for new charts.


Header Tab

The Header tab of the Shapes Properties dialog box lets you make any object in RFFlow a header or footer. Right-clicking on a shape brings up the Shape Properties dialog box.

In RFFlow, headers and footers are identical. Since you can place a header anywhere on the page, it will work as a footer when placed near the bottom of a page. Since they are the same, we will only talk about headers in this explanation. Any shape, line, or curve in RFFlow can be a header. To make an object a header, you simply right-click on the object on page 1 of your chart and go to the Header tab in the Shape Properties dialog box. Then put a check mark in Make this object a header/footer.

The object that you make a header must be on page 1. If you are displaying only one page this is no problem. If you are displaying many pages, page 1 is the upper left page. As soon as an object becomes a header, a duplicate of that object on page 1 is drawn on all the other pages. Assume you are displaying 8 pages. The object on page 1 is the header and the other objects are images of the header. When you move the object on page 1, the images move too. You can only edit the header object on page 1. The others are images and cannot be selected.

Since lines as well as shapes can be headers, you can create your own templates that will be reproduced on each page. You can have as many headers as you like.

The text in header objects has some special features. If you type (date) including the parentheses in a header, the phrase (date) will be replaced with the current date. For example, there are five words like this:

(date)

(file)

(time)

(page)

(filedate)

(date) becomes the current date, for example, Monday, September 20, 2007, or 9/20/07.

(file) becomes the name of the current file, for example, Flowchart.flo

(time) becomes the current time, for example, 12:38 PM

(page) becomes the page you are viewing, for example, 3

(filedate) becomes the date and time the current .flo file was last modified, for example, 3/3/99 08:36:07 AM.

You must type the words in lower case and include the parentheses. The replacement is only made when the object is displayed on the drawing area or printed.

You can select to have the header printed on the first page or not. You can display the date in a long format or short format. The actual style of the long or short date format is controlled by Windows. You can change it by clicking on the Start button, Settings, Control Panel, and Regional Settings. The Date tab allows you to specify different date styles.

The date format in your chart is saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start with a certain date format, click on Make these settings the default for new charts in the Header tab.


Layers and Stacking Order

Layers

Stacking Order, Front/Back


Layers

In an industrial drawing, you may want to assign the electrical wiring to one layer and the plumbing to another. This allows you to print and display both at once or only one at a time. If you put the electrical shapes on layer 2 and the plumbing on layer 3, then you can print both by including layers 2 and 3. Enabling only layer 2 would show only the electrical shapes. The Layers feature allows you to show some objects and not others.

Layers for a Single Object

If you right-click on a shape or line, the Shape Properties dialog box will appear. One of the tabs in this dialog box is the Layers tab. This tab allows you to specify layers for the shape.

Layers for the Entire Chart

When you draw a new line or shape, it is placed on all the layers that are currently being displayed. To set up which layers are being displayed, click on View in the main menu and Layers. The Layers dialog box will appear.

The Layers dialog box allows you to choose which layers should be displayed and printed in your chart. If box 2 is checked, then objects on layer 2 will be displayed and printed.

Layers has nothing to do with objects being in front or behind other objects. The section on Stacking Order, Front/Back gives information about that. Layers only controls whether objects are displayed and printed or not.

The number of layers being displayed is saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start up with a certain number of layers displayed, click on Make these settings the default for new charts in the Layers dialog box.


Stacking Order, Front/Back

Stacking shapes only applies to shapes that are filled with an interior color. With transparent shapes, it doesn't matter which is in front since you can see through them. To fill a shape with an interior color, right-click on the shape and go to the Line and Color tab of the Shape Properties dialog box. Select an interior color and select a solid pattern. Now the shape can be stacked.

If you move or edit an overlapping object, it will be displayed and printed in front of the other objects in the chart. If you have two filled, overlapping shapes and move one of them, the one you move will now appear in front of the other one. The last object moved or edited shows up in front. If you want to make sure that certain objects always stay behind others, you need to set their stacking order.

When you click on a shape with the right mouse button, the Shape Properties dialog box appears. The Layers tab handles assigning shapes to layers and also handles making a shape appear in front or behind another shape. The bottom part of this dialog box deals with moving shapes behind or in front of other shapes. To change the stacking order, simply click on one of the round buttons numbered from 1 to 8. Objects with stacking order 1 are in front. Objects with stacking order 8 are in the very back. The other numbers lie in between.

For example, if you have 3 objects A, B, and C and you want A in front, B next, and C behind them all, select stacking order 1 for A, 2 for B, and 3 for C.

Some of our users like to make a large rectangle filled with color and then draw a chart on top of that rectangle. This works fine until you accidentally move the large rectangle and it covers up all your other shapes. To keep the large rectangle in the background so it remains behind the other shapes, right-click on it and go to the Layers tab. Select a stacking order of 2 or higher. Since all the other objects will have a stacking order of 1, the large rectangle will remain behind the other shapes.

You can change the stacking order of several selected objects by first selecting the objects, clicking on Tools, Global Changes, and Stacking Order, Front/Back.  You could also select the objects, right-click on the selection, and click on Stacking Order, Front/Back.

You need RFFlow version 4.06 or higher to use the stacking order feature. You can download the most recent version of RFFlow from our Web site at www.rff.com/upgrade.htm.


Guidelines

At times it is helpful to draw long vertical or horizontal lines on your chart to help in aligning objects. These lines are usually made a unique color and style that distinguishes them from the lines in your chart; they can also be diagonal lines or shapes. You can create as many guidelines as you want. They are like custom grid lines. Guidelines remain in place and cannot be moved the way you move other shapes and lines. They are not printed.

To create a guideline, follow these steps:

1.	Draw the line.

2.	Adjust its position and length.

3.	Right-click on the line to show the Shape Properties dialog box and select the Line and Color tab. Make the line a unique color and style.

4.	Switch to the Guideline tab and click on Disable printing of this object and Disable editing of this object.

5.	Now this guideline will be permanently positioned. You will not be able to edit it, move it, or delete it and it will not be printed.

If you need to temporarily edit your guidelines, click on Tools, Guidelines, and check Allow all objects to be selected and edited. After editing your guidelines, go back to Tools, Guidelines and uncheck this item.

Although guidelines are usually lines, this property can be used on any shape. It allows you to draw a shape and then disable editing or printing of the shape. These shapes show up on the screen but can't be modified.


Open Linked File Command

For information about linking a shape to a file, see Link Tab.

Opening the Linked File

After linking a shape to a file, you can bring up the linked file by clicking on the Open Linked File button [image] in the toolbar and then clicking on the shape in your chart. You could also right-click on an empty area of your chart to bring up a menu and click on Open Linked File. Your linked file will be displayed on the screen. How it is displayed depends on the selection you made in the Window size group box when you made the link.

If you click on a shape that does not have a link, the computer will simply beep.


RFFlow Window Appearance

The RFFlow Window Appearance dialog box allows you to quickly show or hide many screen elements. This dialog box is displayed when you click on View and RFFlow Window Appearance.

Starting at the top:

Show no toolbars, Show one toolbar, Show two toolbars

You can select to show none, one, or two toolbars. This just shows them or hides them. To customize and rearrange the buttons in the toolbars, you need to click on View and Toolbars. The details for changing the toolbars are discussed in Toolbars.

Show the easybar

The easybar has the basic commands for drawing charts in RFFlow. It is displayed beneath the two possible toolbars. The easybar looks like a large toolbar with text under the pictures. You can select to show or hide the easybar. The easybar cannot be modified so you cannot rearrange its buttons. Showing the easybar along with one default toolbar allows you to have most of the commands appearing in buttons.

Show the prompt line

The prompt line is a line of text that helps you use RFFlow. A light bulb [image] is displayed to the left of this text. After you become familiar with RFFlow, you can uncheck the Show the prompt line item and obtain more screen area for your chart.

Show the stencil window on the left

The shapes you use to draw your chart are shown in the stencil window on the left of the screen. You can show or hide the stencil window by clicking on Show the stencil window on the left. Or, the F10 key will do the same thing. This window is fixed in place. You can change the number of columns of shapes displayed from 1 to 8 columns. You can add more stencils to the stencil window or delete them. All this is done in the Stencils menu.

Show the center of each page

You can display a small red cross [image] that shows the center of each page. A check mark by this item means the page crosses are being displayed. This cross can be used as a reference for placing objects in a chart.

Show the center of the drawing area

You can display a small black cross [image] that shows the center of the drawing area. A check mark by this item means the cross is being displayed.

Show tooltips

Tooltips are small windows with text that give more information about toolbar buttons and stencil shapes. They help you remember the name of a shape in a stencil, or the function of a toolbar button. To get tooltips to appear, rest your mouse pointer on a toolbar button or a shape in a stencil for a few seconds. Tooltips are enabled if you place a check mark in the Show tooltips check box.

Show the scroll bars

The RFFlow Window Appearance dialog box allows you to show or hide the scroll bars. If you are using the right mouse button to scroll, then you may want to hide the scroll bars. Details about scrolling are found in Scrollbars.


Grids and Alignment Marks

The Grids and Alignment Marks dialog box is composed of four sections:

Alignment Marks

Grid Lines

Grid Points

Snap to Grid

If you want to select a grid size for a scaled drawing, see Changing the Printed Grid Size.


Alignment Marks

Alignment marks are small red lines on the left, right, top, and bottom of a shape. These marks aid in positioning shapes. They show you the midpoint of each side of a shape. Click on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks to see the dialog box. This feature is enabled when there is a check mark beside the words Show the alignment marks. You can also turn alignment marks on or off with the Alignment Mark button [image] . Alignment marks are helpful when you are aligning objects and lines. The small marks appear only on the screen and are never printed.


Grid Lines

You can display a grid of dotted lines on the drawing area. Click on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks to see the dialog box. Put a check mark next to the words Show a grid of lines. You can specify the spacing of the lines and the color. If your chart is drawn with black lines, you will probably want the grid to be in gray or some light color. Your choice may also depend on the background window color. In general, you don't want the grid lines to stand out too much. A white screen with light gray grid lines works well. A spacing of 4 grid units between lines seems to work well for most flowcharts.

Once you have set up the color and spacing of the grid of lines, you can quickly turn the grid of lines on or off by clicking on the Grid Lines button [image] in the toolbar.

Grid lines are preferable to grid points because they are drawn faster on the screen. However, with a fast computer it may be useful to display both grid points and grid lines with the points at one spacing and the lines at another. If you are using auto alignment that moves a new shape to the nearest grid line, these are the grid lines to which the new shape will jump.

To print the grid lines, place a check mark near Print grid lines. Each time you run RFFlow, this item is unchecked.

Whether to show a grid of lines and the color and spacing of the grid lines is saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start with these parameters already set up, select a grid color and spacing and then click on Make these settings the default for new charts.

If you want to select a grid size for a scaled drawing, see Changing the Printed Grid Size.


Grid Points

Click on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks to see the dialog box. To display a grid of points, click on the Show a grid of points check box.

By specifying the spacing between points, you can make all or some of the grid points visible. When drawing lines in RFFlow, the start and end of the lines will always lie on the nearest grid point, even if that grid point is not displayed. The only time this is not the case is when you have disabled Snap to Grid.

You can also select the color of the points.

To print the grid points, place a check mark near Print grid points. Each time you run RFFlow, this item is unchecked.

Once you have set up the grid point spacing and color, you can turn the grid on and off by clicking on the Grid Points button [image] in a toolbar.

Whether to show a grid of points and the color and spacing of the grid points is saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start with these parameters already set up, select a grid color and spacing and then click on Make these settings the default for new charts.

If you want to select a grid size for a scaled drawing, see Changing the Printed Grid Size.


Snap to Grid

In drawing charts with the predefined RFFlow shapes, you want to leave Snap to Grid enabled. Click on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks. In the dialog box that appears, the bottom item allows you to enable or disable Snap to Grid. With a check mark on this item, everything you draw jumps to the nearest grid point. You can also click on the Snap to Grid button [image] to enable or disable this item.

The distance between grid points is about the width of a character in the main font. You can draw a line and be a little off and this feature makes your line connect to the object precisely. Jumping to the nearest grid point makes drawing charts easier and for that reason this item is usually left enabled.

You may want to disable Snap to Grid to terminate lines or curves between grid points. For example, with Snap to Grid on, you can only connect to a circle precisely in four points: the top, bottom, left, and right. With Snap to Grid off, you can end a line anywhere on the circle. If you are drawing with Snap to Grid off, then you must zoom in and carefully adjust your lines so they touch the shape at the highest magnification. This will assure that they will touch when printed. If you are drawing your own objects, you may also want to turn Snap to Grid off so you can draw lines anywhere.


Pages

To set up the number of pages displayed or change the page orientation, click on View in the main menu and then Pages. The Number of Pages and Page Orientation dialog box will appear.

To show the page boundaries, there must be a check mark in the box near the words Show Page Boundaries. To display the pages, select the number of pages in the horizontal direction and the number of pages in the vertical direction. For example, if you want a column of three pages one under another, you would click on 1 page horizontally and 3 pages vertically. The total number of pages that will be displayed is shown at the bottom of the dialog box.

To select the page orientation, click on either the Portrait or Landscape buttons.

After clicking on OK in the Number of Pages and Page Orientation dialog box, red rectangles will be shown on the screen. They define the edges of the pages you set up to be displayed. Displaying the page boundaries lets you see whether your chart will fit on one page or not. For large charts, it will tell you where the page boundaries fall so you can avoid placing an object on a page boundary. You should not run text from one page into another. Most printers have problems printing text across page boundaries. It is OK to draw lines which cross page boundaries.

The size of your chart depends on the size of the main font. If you are trying to fit a chart on one page, and the chart is too large, just choose a smaller main font and the chart will automatically get smaller. Click on Tools, Size, and Size Entire Chart.

The page boundary rectangles are never printed. You don't have to delete them. Only objects inside the pages are printed.

The page boundaries are a property of the printer and they probably will not fall on grid points. In general, you should consider the page boundaries as only the approximate position of the page edge.

The pages are printed from the top left page going down in columns. After the left-most column is printed the next column to the right is printed. To use the No Page Break feature of some printers in portrait orientation, you would want 1 page horizontally and multiple pages vertically. In landscape orientation, you would set up 1 page vertically and multiple pages horizontally.

Whether to show page boundaries, the number of pages in your chart, and the paper orientation are saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start with these parameters, click on Make these settings the default for new charts.


Ruler

To have a ruler displayed on the screen, click on View in the main menu and then Ruler in the drop-down menu. The Set Up a Ruler dialog box will appear. You can disable or enable the display of the ruler by clicking on the check box near the words Show the Ruler. You can select units of millimeters, centimeters, inches, or grid units and you can select the spacing between numbers.

The Reference group box refers to whether the ruler starts counting at the center of the drawing area or at the top left corner of each page.

Once the ruler has been set up, it can be enabled or disabled by clicking on the Ruler button [image] in a toolbar.

Whether to show a ruler and its parameters are saved in each file. If you want RFFlow to start with these parameters already set up, select a ruler with the parameters you want and then click on Make these settings the default for new charts.


Scroll Bars

The scroll bars can be shown or hidden by clicking on Show the Scroll Bars.  If this item has a check mark, the scroll bars will be shown.

Certain commands like Move and Duplicate will automatically scroll the screen when you drag an object near the edge of the RFFlow window. This allows you to continue moving the object without having to scroll. This feature is normally turned on and is enabled or disabled by clicking on View, Scroll Bars, and Enable Auto Scrolling at Edge of Window. You can see where this auto scrolling region is if you click on View, Scroll Bars, and Show the Auto Scrolling Region.

See also:

Scrolling


Scrolling

There are five ways to scroll the screen:

1. Scrolling with the Right Mouse Button

To scroll with the right mouse button, you position the cursor anywhere on the chart, press the right mouse button and hold it down. The cursor changes to four arrows. Move the cursor to a new position and then release the right mouse button. The chart is redrawn when you release the right mouse button and has moved the same distance and direction that you moved the cursor. It is as if you are grabbing the paper and moving it in the direction you move the cursor.

Using the right mouse button is an easy method of scrolling. With the right mouse button you can move the chart diagonally in one motion. Using a combination of scrolling with the right mouse button and zooming in and out allows you to quickly move from one place in your chart to another.

2. Using the Scroll Bars

For vertical scrolling:

To scroll 1/4 of the screen upward, left-click the scroll bar triangle that points up.

To scroll 1/4 of the screen downward, left-click the scroll bar triangle that points down.

To scroll a full screen up, left-click on the vertical scroll bar area between the scroll box and the upper triangle.

To scroll a full screen down, left-click on the vertical scroll bar area between the scroll box and the lower triangle.

To move any arbitrary distance, use the scroll box on the scroll bar by dragging it up or down. If you move it up, the chart moves down.

Horizontal scrolling works in the same fashion as vertical scrolling.

The scroll bars can be shown or hidden by clicking on View, Scroll Bars, and Show the Scroll Bars.

3. Scrolling with the Arrow Keys on the Keyboard

The arrow keys on your keyboard can be used to scroll the RFFlow drawing area. They are always enabled for scrolling.

4. Auto Scrolling

Certain commands like Move and Duplicate will automatically scroll the screen when you drag an object near the edge of the RFFlow window. This allows you to continue moving the object without having to scroll. This feature is normally turned on and is enabled or disabled by clicking on View, Scroll Bars, and Enable Auto Scrolling at Edge of Window. You can see where this auto scrolling region is if you click on View, Scroll Bars, and Show the Auto Scrolling Region.

5. Scrolling with the Microsoft Intellimouse

If you have a Microsoft Intellimouse, the roller will scroll vertically and CTRL + the roller will scroll horizontally.


Toolbars

To enable, disable, or customize the toolbars, click on View in the main menu and Toolbars. The Toolbars dialog box will appear.

In the Button size group box, you can choose either small [image] or large [image] buttons.

In the Number of toolbars group box, you can select how many rows of toolbars you want displayed: none, one, or two.

In the Arrangement of buttons group box of the Toolbars dialog box, you can decide to display default toolbars or customize your own.

Default Arrangement of Buttons

If you click on Default, then RFFlow will fill in the buttons based on whether you are displaying one or two toolbars. To view the actual arrangement of the buttons see Default Arrangement of Buttons. Default selection results in a fixed arrangement of buttons.

If you are displaying the easybar and show one toolbar with default buttons, you will have almost every possible button displayed. If you hide the easybar and display two rows of default toolbars, you will have every possible button displayed. It makes no sense to display two rows of default toolbars and display the easybar, since the second toolbar will duplicate all of the commands of the easybar. You can hide the easybar by clicking on View, RFFlow Window Appearance, and removing the check mark from Show the easybar.

Custom Arrangement of Buttons

If you want to arrange the buttons in a toolbar in your own order, you need to click on the Customize Row 1 or Customize Row 2 buttons. If you are showing two rows of buttons and customize one, the other row will also be a custom toolbar. You must use either default or custom toolbars. It is easy to make a custom toolbar look like a default toolbar by clicking on the Fill Current with Defaults button in the Customize Toolbar dialog box.

See Also:

Customize Toolbar Row 1 or 2

Default Arrangement of Buttons


Customize Toolbar Row 1 or 2

To display this dialog box, click on View in the main menu, Toolbars in the drop-down menu, and then click on the Customize Row 1 or Customize Row 2 button. The Customize Row 1 or 2 dialog box will then be displayed.

The title of the dialog box shows if you are customizing toolbar 1 or toolbar 2. The left side of this dialog box has a list of all the possible buttons in RFFlow. The right side shows your current toolbar. The top of the list, item 0, is the left-most button in the toolbar. The largest numbered button is the right-most button. By adding buttons to your current toolbar or deleting buttons from it, you can create the toolbar you want to be shown on the screen.

Adding a button

Find the button you want to add to your toolbar in the left list and click on it. The left list shows all the possible buttons in RFFlow. Then look at the list on the right and decide where you want the button you are adding to be placed. When you click on a button in the list on the right, the button you selected from the left list will be added right above it and will appear in the customized toolbar to the left of it.

Deleting a button

To delete a button from your custom toolbar, find the button in the current toolbar list and click on it. Then click on the Remove button.

Filling a Custom Toolbar with Default Buttons

You can quickly fill in a custom toolbar with the default buttons by clicking on the Fill Current with Defaults button. RFFlow will arrange the buttons in a fixed order. You can then customize your toolbar by adding or deleting buttons.

If you are showing two rows of buttons and customize one, the other row will also be a custom toolbar. You must use either default or custom toolbars. It is easy to make a custom toolbar look like a default toolbar by clicking on the Fill Current with Defaults button.

See also:

Toolbars

Default Arrangement of Buttons


Refresh

The Refresh command causes the screen to be repainted. Sometimes in moving objects around, points are left behind. Redrawing the chart removes these undesired points. The entire RFFlow screen will be repainted if you click on View in the main menu and Refresh. You could also click on the Refresh button [image] in a toolbar. Clicking on the Unselect button [image] in the easybar unselects any selected objects and also redraws the screen.


Show Bitmaps and Metafiles as Rectangles

RFFlow allows you to import bitmaps and metafiles. You can paste them into the chart or put them into a stencil. Normally, these objects will be painted so you can see what they are. However, painting large bitmaps or metafiles takes time and you may prefer to turn off the display of these objects. You can enable or disable the display of bitmaps and metafiles by clicking on View and Show Bitmaps and Metafiles as Rectangles. When this menu item has a check mark by it, all bitmaps and metafiles will be replaced with a dotted rectangle that can be displayed much faster than the actual picture. Each dotted rectangle has a number that identifies that object. The number is not shown if the object has text. When you print your chart, the bitmaps and metafiles will be printed even when only dotted rectangles are shown on your screen.


Show Path and Filename in the Title

RFFlow shows the name of the file you are working on at the top of the RFFlow window. For example, if you are working on the file chart1.flo, then RFFlow would display at the top:

Chart1.flo - RFFlow

If you click on View and Show Path and Filename in the Title, then RFFlow would display:

C:\My Flowcharts\Chart1.flo - RFFlow

There is plenty of room at the top of the RFFlow window to show a long path, however, if you are working on several charts, it is best to not show the path. When you are working on several charts, they appear in the taskbar at the bottom of your screen. There is only room for the first few characters. If you are displaying the full path, you will not be able to see the filename. It is best to leave this item disabled, which means it should not have a check mark by it.


Full Screen

The Full Screen item is in the View menu. If this item is checked, the toolbars, easybar, prompt line, and stencils are temporarily hidden. This allows you to view more of the drawing area. You can also activate Full Screen by clicking the Full Screen button [image] in default toolbar 2 or toggling the F9 key on the keyboard. The F10 key hides only the stencils.


Default Toolbar Buttons

Row 1 (Top Row)

If you display one row of default buttons, these are the buttons that will be displayed.

 New Start a new file in a new instance of RFFlow.

 Open Load an RFFlow file from a disk.

 Close Close the current file. You will be prompted to save the file to disk if it has been modified.

 Save This writes the chart to an RFFlow file on a disk.

 Print Print the chart.

 Paper Orientation Click on this button to select portrait or landscape orientation.

 Cut Copy the selected objects to the Clipboard and delete them from the chart.

 Copy Copy the selected objects to the Clipboard.

 Paste Insert data from the Clipboard into your chart.

 Undo Undo the last operation. Up to 5 steps can be undone.

 Redo Return the chart to its appearance prior to clicking on the Undo button.

 Find or Replace Find text in a chart or find and replace text in a chart.

 Open Linked File Click on a shape and the file linked to that shape will open.

 Center This will automatically center the chart on the page.

 Spelling Check the spelling of all the text in the chart.

 Size Change the size of a shape.

 Auto Connect Click on this button and then click on two shapes. They will be connected with the current auto connector.

 Rotate Click on this button and click on a shape to rotate it or flip it.

 Space The selected shapes will be automatically spaced by the distance you choose.

 Alignment Marks These small red marks aid in aligning shapes.

 Grid Lines Grid lines help in aligning objects;

 Grid Points This enables or disables the display of grid points.

 Snap to Grid When this is enabled, objects align themselves to the nearest grid point. usually this item is left enabled.

 Ruler This enables or disables the display of a ruler. The ruler is configured by clicking on View and Ruler.

To see a complete list of all the available buttons, click on View, Toolbars, and then click on the Customize Row 1 button.

Row 2 (Bottom Row)

If you are displaying two rows of default toolbar buttons, this is the bottom row.

 Stencils Click on this button to add more stencils or shapes to those already shown.

 Move Move one object or a group of selected objects.

 Locked Move Move shapes and keep them connected. The lines stretch or shrink like rubber bands. You can also do a Locked Move on lines.

 Duplicate Make a copy of one object or a group of selected objects.

 Delete Delete one object or a group of selected objects.

 Select You can drag the mouse to draw a selection rectangle around the objects, or you can click on them individually. Objects that are selected are shown in inverse video.

 Unselect Remove the selection from any selected objects.

 Edit Text Click on this button and then click on any shape, line, curve, or stand-alone text object to modify its text.

 Properties Click on this button and then click on a shape or a group of selected shapes to change the fill color, line color, etc. You can also right-click on a shape to change its properties.

 Edit Line After clicking on this button, you can drag the end of a line or curve to change its length.

 Zoom In The chart will be magnified with the objects getting larger but you will not see as much of your chart. Your field of view will decrease.

 Zoom Out The chart will become smaller so that you can see more of your chart. Your field of view will increase.

 Auto Connect Sides Click on this button and then click on the sides of two objects to automatically connect them.

 Repeat Last Find Click on this button to repeat the last Find command.

 Refresh This redraws the screen.

 Full Screen This will hide the toolbars, easybar, prompt line, and stencils so you can see more of your screen.

See also:

Easybar


Zooming In and Out

Zooming in is equivalent to moving closer to the paper. Zooming out is like moving back. When you zoom in, the objects get larger, but your field of view is smaller. When you zoom out, your field of view increases, but the objects get smaller. When you zoom, the center of the screen remains fixed. To zoom in, click on the Zoom In button [image] in the easybar. To zoom out, click on the Zoom Out button [image] . When you have reached the limit of zooming, the screen will not change. There are ten different levels or magnifications.

When you zoom far enough out, the text is no longer drawn on the screen. There are no screen fonts small enough. Any text that is not inside an object, like a title, will have a dotted rectangle around it to show that it still exists.

Selecting Zoom In or Zoom Out has no effect on what command is currently selected and does not change the state of the Undo command. All commands will work at all levels of magnification. However, if you want to move a line when you are zoomed way out, it becomes difficult to position the cursor correctly on the very small line. If you are having difficulty selecting objects you should try zooming in to make them larger.

There is also a Zoom item in the main menu that allows you to zoom directly to a certain percentage, zoom so the entire chart fits on the screen, and zoom so the page you are viewing fits on the screen.

You can zoom in and zoom out on the keyboard by pressing CTRL + M and CTRL + D, respectively.


The Size of the Drawing Area

If you keep scrolling in one direction, you will eventually come to the end of the drawing area. The drawing area is about 32,000 bits wide and 32,000 bits high. If the width of each character is 10 bits, then the drawing area is 3,200 characters wide. However, if you zoom in on the screen, a character gets larger and may represent 100 bits. Now the drawing area is only 320 characters wide. Thus, when you are working on enormous charts, you will find that you cannot zoom in to the higher magnifications near the edges of the chart.

When you do reach the edge of the drawing area, a dialog box will display a message telling you of this fact. If this happens, try centering your chart on the drawing area. Click on Tools, Center, and Center Chart on Drawing Area. This will give you the maximum drawing area. If the chart is already centered, then you need to work at the lower magnifications.

Another way to keep your chart centered in the drawing area is to display the page boundaries. The page boundaries are always centered on the drawing area. Enabling the display of pages is handled by clicking on View and Pages. There should be a check mark in Display page boundaries.


Selecting Objects

Selecting objects is necessary when you want to edit a group of objects. You can move, duplicate, or delete single objects without selecting them, since their selection is implied. For example, if you want to move a single object, you just click on the Move button and then drag the object to a new location. If you want to move, duplicate, or delete a group of objects, you must first select them. Basically what you are doing is telling the program that you want these individual objects handled as a group. Another instance where selection is necessary is when you copy objects to the Clipboard and paste them into another Windows application. You have to select the objects first before clicking on Edit and Copy.

To select your entire chart, click on Edit and Select All.

To select objects, you first must click on the Select button [image] in the easybar. This puts you into selection mode. You can now click on individual objects to select them or draw a selection rectangle around a group of objects to select them. You can click on as many objects as you want, but you can draw only one selection rectangle at a time. When you click on an object, it will switch to inverse video to note that it is selected. If you click on it again, the selection will be removed. When you draw a selection rectangle around a group of objects, the rectangle changes to inverse video and will display handles. You can drag these handles to adjust the size of the selection rectangle.

Objects remain selected until you click on the Unselect button [image] in the easybar.

Drawing a Selection Rectangle

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar.

2.	You will be drawing a selection rectangle around the objects you want to select. To do this, move the mouse pointer to one of the corners of this area.

3.	Press the left mouse button down and hold it down. Move the cursor diagonally to the opposite corner of the area so that all the objects you are selecting are enclosed in the rectangle that is formed.

4.	When the rectangle encloses all the objects you want selected, release the left mouse button. Only objects that are entirely inside the selection rectangle are considered to be selected. The area selected will be shown in inverse video.

5.	The selection rectangle will have handles on each corner and on all four sides. These handles can be used to adjust the size and shape of the selection rectangle.

After you have selected some objects in selection mode you must click on another easybar button like Move, Duplicate, or Delete to actually move, duplicate, or delete the selected objects. Selection mode only allows you to select objects.

Later, if you need to adjust the handles on the selection rectangle, you must click on the Select button in the easybar to return to selection mode.


Moving Objects

Moving a Single Object

1.	Click on the Move button [image] in the easybar.

2.	Drag the object to a new position.

If you are moving a single object, you don't have to first select it. The selection is implied. Once you are in the Move mode, you can continue to move other objects.

When moving straight lines, the mouse pointer must be on the line. For curves, the pointer must be in one of the four small dotted squares near the curve. To move a curve, drag one of the small dotted squares to the new location. The curve's shape will be unchanged, but its location in the chart will change.

If objects are placed on top of each other, the program will select the smallest object. If two objects overlap and are the same size, you may have to separate them to move the object you desire.

Moving a Group of Objects

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar to get into selection mode.

2.	Click on the objects and/or draw a selection rectangle around a group of objects. You can click on as many objects as you want and you can draw one selection rectangle. Selected objects are shown in inverse video.

3.	Click on the Move button [image] in the easybar. This puts you in the Move mode.

4.	Position the mouse pointer inside any of the selected objects or the selection rectangle. All the selected objects will be moved. For example, if you select 3 individual objects and draw a selection rectangle around 4 other objects, all 7 objects will be moved together.

5.	Press the left mouse button down and hold it down.

6.	Move the cursor to the new position by moving the mouse. The selected objects will follow the cursor.

7.	Release the left mouse button.

If you move something in your chart and then change your mind, you can click on Edit and Undo to undo the move or click on the Undo button [image] .

If you want to move objects and maintain the connecting lines, then you should use the Locked Move command.


Doing a Locked Move

The Locked Move command allows you to move an object or objects and still keep the lines attached to them. The lines stretch or shrink like rubber bands. The Locked Move command is very valuable for editing a finished chart to make it look better or to compress it.

Follow these steps to use the Locked Move command on one object:

1.	Click on the Locked Move button [image] in the easybar.

2.	Place the mouse pointer inside the shape or touching the line you want to relocate and drag the object to a new location. As the object moves, the lines attached to it will shrink or stretch.

If you draw a chart with straight vertical and horizontal lines, these lines try to remain horizontal or vertical when stretching or shrinking. Diagonal lines adjust differently in a Locked Move as they can swing in any direction.

When doing a Locked Move on a line, the line moved will remain the same length and the connecting lines will stretch or shrink.

You can also select a group of objects and do a Locked Move on the entire group. In this case the selected objects move together and any lines connecting the group will stretch or shrink.

A common use for the Locked Move command is to squeeze a chart together so it takes up less space. Click on the Locked Move button to enter the Locked Move mode and then start dragging shapes closer together. They remain connected so you can quickly take a large chart and reduce the space between objects. Another way to size a chart is to change the main font.

The Locked Move command can also help in inserting new objects. You move nearby objects closer together, making space for a new object to be added.

The best way to become familiar with the Locked Move command is to use it. You can see what is happening during the move, so you can always put the shape back where it was, or you can click on Edit and Undo to undo this command.


Duplicating Objects

The Duplicate command is used to copy a single object or a group of objects. This command is used to make duplicates of objects inside your chart.

Duplicating a Single Object

1.	Click on the Duplicate button [image] in the easybar.

2.	Drag the object you wish to duplicate to a new location. You will be dragging a copy of the object.

When duplicating straight lines, the point of the cursor must be on the line. For curves, the cursor must be in one of the four small dotted red squares associated with each curve. To duplicate a curve, you must drag one of the small dotted squares to another position.

Once you enter the Duplicate mode, you can quickly make many copies. You stay in the Duplicate mode until you click on another command or draw a new object.

Duplicating a Group of Objects

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar to get into selection mode.

2.	Click on the objects and/or draw a selection rectangle around a group of objects. You can click on as many objects as you want and you can draw one selection rectangle. Selected objects are shown in inverse video.

3.	Click on the Duplicate button [image] in the easybar.

4.	Use the mouse to move the cursor so its point is inside any of the selected objects or the selection rectangle. All the selected objects will be copied. For example, if you select 3 individual objects and draw a selection rectangle around 4 other objects, all 7 objects will be copied.

5.	Press the left mouse button down and hold it down.

6.	Move the cursor to the new position by moving the mouse. A copy of the selected objects will follow the cursor.

7.	Release the left mouse button.

If you are drawing several identical lines, it is faster to draw one and use the Duplicate command to make copies of the original. By duplicating an object you are guaranteed that the two objects are identical.

If you duplicate something in your chart and then change your mind, you can click on the Undo button [image] to get rid of the copy.

The Duplicate command is used to copy objects inside your chart. To copy objects to the Windows Clipboard and paste them into other applications, you select the objects and click on Edit and Copy. You could use Edit and Copy for all copying, but it involves more steps than using the Duplicate command.


Deleting Objects

You can remove either one object or a group of objects from your chart using the Delete command.

Deleting a Single Object

1.	Click on the Delete button [image] in the easybar. This puts you into the Delete mode.

2.	Any object you click on will be deleted. You remain in the Delete mode until you click on another command or draw a new shape.

Lines can be deleted just like other objects. For straight lines, the mouse pointer must touch the line. To delete curves, you must click inside one of the small dotted red squares that accompany each curve.

Deleting a Group of Objects

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar to get into selection mode.

2.	Click on the objects and/or draw a selection rectangle around a group of objects. You can click on as many objects as you want and you can draw one selection rectangle. Selected objects are shown in inverse video.

3.	Click on the Delete button [image] in the easybar.

4.	Click inside any of the selected objects or the selection rectangle. All the selected objects will be deleted. For example, if you select 3 individual objects and draw a selection rectangle around 4 other objects, all 7 objects will be deleted together.

5.	You remain in the Delete mode until you click on another command or draw a new shape.

Another way to delete objects is to select them and then click on the DELETE key on the keyboard.

If you delete an object or objects and realize that you should not have erased it, click on the Undo button [image] .

To clear the entire chart, click on File in the main menu and then Close. You could also click on Edit and Select All, then click on the Delete button in the easybar, and finally click on one of the selected objects to delete them all.


The Undo and Redo Commands

The Undo command gives you the ability to undo the last five changes you made to your chart. All changes to your chart in the drawing area can be undone. For example, suppose you delete a rectangle in your chart, and then decide you should not have deleted it. You can click on Edit and Undo or click on the Undo button [image] in the toolbar and the rectangle will reappear.

The undo buffer can be set so it will undo up to the last five changes to your chart. If you want to use less memory you can make the Undo buffer smaller. To adjust the number of Undo buffers, click on Tools, Miscellaneous, and Undo Levels.

If you undo something and decide that you want to go back to the way the chart was before, you can click on Edit and Redo or click on the Redo button [image] .

Clicking on Undo moves you back through your changes. Clicking on Redo moves you forward, canceling the Undo clicks.


Find and Replace

If you want to find a word or phrase in a chart, you can use the Find command and the RFFlow program will show you each place the word is used. You can also have the program find and then replace each occurrence of some word or phrase.

For example, suppose you want to find the words "date card" in a large chart. Click on Edit in the main menu and Find. The Find dialog box will appear. Type the words "date card" into the Find what: box and click on Find Next. Each object having the words "date card" will be shown on the screen in inverse video. Each time you click on the Find Next button another object that has the words "date card" will appear until the program has found all the objects in the chart with the matching text. RFFlow will only match phrases that are on one line. It would not match "date" on the first line and "card" on the second line.

You can specify that the search match only whole words. This would prevent the program from finding the word "rectangle" if you wanted matches for the whole word "angle." You can also specify whether the case must match.

To repeat a prior find when the Find dialog box is not showing, you can press the F3 key, click on Edit and Repeat Last Find, or click on the Repeat button [image] . Each time you do this, another match will be made. The Repeat button works just like the Find Next button in the Find dialog box except you don’t have to have the dialog box displayed so more of the drawing area can be seen.

The RFFlow program can also find words and replace them with new ones. To find and replace words, click on Edit and Replace or click on the Find or Replace button [image] in a toolbar.

The Replace dialog box will appear and you can enter the word(s) you want to find and the replacement. Each time you click on the Replace button the text is found and replaced. You can replace them all at one time by clicking on the Replace All button. If you change your mind or make a mistake, you can click on Edit and Undo to go back to your chart before the replacement.


Alignment

RFFlow has several ways to align shapes. If you have already drawn the shapes, then you should see Align Existing Shapes.

If you want shapes to automatically align when they are added to your chart, see the topic Align New Shapes.


Centering the Chart

Center Chart on Drawing Area

Center Chart on a Page

Find the Chart


Sizing Shapes

In RFFlow, shapes automatically size around the text. RFFlow also allows you to modify the size of shapes independently of the text. One way to size a shape is to click on it with the right mouse button to display the Shape Properties dialog box. Then adjust the width and height of the object in the Shape tab. Another way to size a shape involves the following steps:

1.	Click on Tools, Size, and Size Shape or click on the Size Shape button [image] in a toolbar. You are now in sizing mode and the cursor will change to [image] .

2.	Move the cursor over the shape you want to size and single-click the left mouse button. A dialog box will appear and the shape will have red dotted squares that are used as handles.

3.	Move the cursor into one of the handles. Drag the handle to a new position. As you are dragging the handle, the size of the shape will change. If the Symmetrical item is checked, the shape always remains symmetrical as it is sized. If you shorten one side, the other side will also shorten. The width and height are displayed in the dialog box. These numbers refer to the number of character widths inside the object. The absolute size of the object depends on which main font you choose. In drawing flowcharts, you want the text to be centered in a shape so you should have a check mark in the Symmetrical item. In this case, when you release the left mouse button, the width and height will change to even numbers. This assures that there is a grid point in the center of each side of the object. At other times, you may not want the shape to size symmetrically around the text and you can remove the check mark from the Symmetrical item.

4.	Whenever you size a shape, the Fixed box will automatically be checked and this shape will no longer size around the text. It is a fixed size. You can switch the object back to sizing around the text by removing the check mark beside the word Fixed. Even when the Fixed box is checked, the Size Shape command always allows you to change the object's size. It only becomes fixed in size after you click on the OK button.

If you size an object and decide you want the original size back, click on Edit and Undo.

See also:

Adjusting the Connecting Lines when a Shape is Sized


Adjusting the Connecting Lines when a Shape is Sized

If you change the size of a shape, either by using the Size command, or by adding more text to the shape, RFFlow will adjust the lines connecting to the shape so they continue to touch the edge of the newly sized shape. This is a useful feature and is normally left enabled in Tools, Size, and Adjust Connecting Lines when Shape is Sized.

See also:

Sizing Shapes


Sizing the Entire Chart

There are three ways you can change the size of the entire chart: by letting RFFlow fit the chart to a page, by changing the grid size directly, or by changing the size of the main font. You can only see this size change if you are displaying the page boundaries.

To size the entire chart, click on Tools, Size, and Size Entire Chart. You could also click on Tools and Font.... The Size Chart dialog box will appear.

Fit Chart to Page(s)

If you just want to fit your chart to a page or pages, then click on the Fit Chart to Pages(s) button. If you are displaying one page, RFFlow will then select the largest main font so that your chart fits on the page. If your chart spans four pages, then the main font will be adjusted so the chart fits on those four pages.

Sizing by Changing the Grid Size Directly

To change the size of your chart by changing the grid size directly, click on the Change Grid Size button. Changing the grid size directly gives you more control over the size of your chart. RFFlow uses metric units and the grid size can be specified in units of .1 mm. For example, you can select a grid size of 1.0 mm, 1.1 mm, 1.2 mm, etc. This would be helpful if you want to print a diagram and have a scale like 1mm = 1cm. When you size the chart by selecting a grid size directly, RFFlow will select a main font that fits within the grid size you select.

Sizing by Changing the Main Font

To make your chart smaller or larger by changing the size of the main font, click on the Change Main Font button. The Font dialog box appears and you can select the main font. If your chart has a 10-point main font and is 8 inches wide, then changing the main font to a 20-point will double the size of the chart making it 16 inches wide.

Choose a point size in the list beneath the word Size: or type in any point size in the box beneath the word Size:. The Size list box only goes down to an 8-point, but you can type in a font size as small as a 1-point. With flowcharts, you often have to go down to a point size as small as 6 to get your chart to fit on one page.

The main font sets the grid size and the grid size determines the chart size. All the graphics scale with the size of the main font.

If you have a rectangle with several lines of text and want to draw an arrow pointing to the fourth line, you should use the main font for the text. The main font is the only font that lines up to the grid lines.

When you change the main font, RFFlow also scales the other fonts. For example, suppose you change the main font from 10-point to 5-point. If you have a title that was written in 30-point, it will be scaled to 15-point. If the title was written in a 31-point font, it would be scaled to 15-point because only integral point sizes are used. Because of this rounding error, you should check your chart after changing the main font to make sure all shapes not using the main font are still connected properly.

The main font is saved in each file. When you change the main font, you are asked if the new main font should become the default font for new charts.

If you change the main font and do not like the results, you can click on the Undo button.


Spelling

To check the spelling of words in your entire chart, click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow and Spelling or click on the Spelling button [image] . The Check Spelling dialog box appears if a word requiring your attention is detected. You can specify whether the word should be ignored, changed, or added to your dictionary.

Note: If you change from American dictionaries to British dictionaries by clicking on the Options button, the change doesn't take effect until

you exit RFFlow and run it again.

When the Check Spelling dialog box appears, you usually just click the Change button and the selected word in the Suggestions: list will replace the problem word in the Not in Dictionary: box. If the correct word is not in the Suggesions: list, you can click the Suggest button to increase the number of suggestions, or edit the problem word yourself and then click the Change button. Once you edit the problem word directly, the Suggestions: list is not used.

The following is an alphabetical list of the items in the Check Spelling dialog box with an explanation of each:

Add

This button causes the reported word to be added to the dictionary selected in the Add words to: list. Use the Add button if a correctly spelled word you use often is reported as a misspelling (e.g., your family name). If the word is not used frequently, you may want to select the Ignore or Ignore All buttons instead. This button is enabled only if a user dictionary has been selected in the Add words to: list.

Add words to:

This list indicates which user dictionary the words will be added to when you select the Add button. The Add words to: list shows all user dictionaries currently open. You can open or close other dictionaries via the Dictionaries dialog box, which is accessible by selecting the Dictionaries button.

Cancel

This button stops the current check spelling operation.

Change

This button causes the reported word to be replaced. If the problem word was edited, the edited word is used as the replacement. Otherwise, the selected suggestion is used as the replacement. Only this occurrence of the reported word is replaced. If you want this and all following occurrences of the word replaced, select the Change All button.

Change All

This button causes this and all following occurrences of the reported word to be replaced. If the problem word was edited, the edited word is used as the replacement. Otherwise, the selected suggestion is used as the replacement. If you want only this occurrence of the word to be replaced, use the Change button. If the reported word is one you frequently misspell, you might consider adding it to a user dictionary via the Dictionaries dialog box. You can display the Dictionaries dialog by selecting the Dictionaries button.

Consider Changing:

This box contains a word which may be misspelled or otherwise incorrect, and is presented with a candidate replacement word. You can change the word by selecting the Change button, or skip it by selecting the Ignore button.

Dictionaries

This button causes the Dictionaries dialog box to be displayed. You can use the Dictionaries dialog box to open or close user dictionaries, and to edit the contents of user dictionaries.

Help

This button opens the online help for the spell checker.

Ignore

This button causes this occurrence of a misspelled word to be skipped. If the same misspelled word appears later, it will be reported again.

Ignore All

This button causes this and all further occurrences of a misspelled word to be skipped. You might use this button if the word reported as a misspelling is actually spelled correctly. If the word is one you use frequently, you may wish to ignore it permanently by selecting the Add button.

Not in Dictionary:

This box indicates that a misspelled word was detected. The word is considered misspelled because it could not be located in any open dictionaries, or was marked with an exclude action. You can edit the word in this box or select a suggestion from the list, then click on the Change button to correct the word, or press the Ignore button to skip the word.

Options

This button causes the Options dialog box to be displayed. You can use the Options dialog box to set spelling checker options. The spelling checker will automatically correct some commonly misspelled words without displaying the Check Spelling dialog box. If you don't want this auto correction, remove the check mark from the Auto correct item in the Options dialog box.

Suggest

This button allows you to search more thoroughly for suggested replacements for the current misspelled word. Each time you press the Suggest button, a deeper search is made. The Suggest button is disabled once all possible suggestions have been located.

Suggestions:

This list contains suggested replacements for the word reported as misspelled. This list is filled in automatically when a misspelled word is detected. Subsequent presses of the Suggest button may yield more suggestions. A word selected in this list will be used as the replacement when the Change or Change All buttons are pressed, unless the word in the problem box was edited.

Undo Edit

Pressing this button will remove any changes made to the text in the problem box. This button only appears if the text in the problem box has been changed.


Global Changes

Add Crossovers

Add Rounded Corners

Disable Editing

Line Color

Line Width

Line Style (Dotted, Dashed, etc.)

Text Color

Text Background (Opaque or Transparent)

Layers

Stacking Order, Front/Back

Interior Fill Color and Pattern

Change Selected Shapes to a New Shape


Tools, Miscellaneous Menu

Mouse Right Click

Remove All but Last Arrowhead

Undo Levels


Mouse Right Click

Normally, when you right-click on an object, the Shape Properties dialog box appears. This can be changed so a right-click causes the Edit Text dialog box to appear.

Click on Tools in the main menu, Miscellaneous, and Mouse Right Click. The dialog box that appears allows you to choose either Shape Properties or Edit Text.

If you change text of objects more often than you change shape properties, it would make sense to assign the right mouse click to Edit Text instead of Shape Properties.

You can also hold down the SHIFT key to switch between these commands. The two possible configurations are then:

Right-click = Shape Properties

SHIFT + Right-click = Edit Text

or

Right-click = Edit Text

SHIFT + Right-click = Shape Properties

If you have a Microsoft Intellimouse, you can leave the right-click on Shape Properties since clicking the roller will bring up the Edit Text dialog box.

With the Microsoft Intellimouse:

Right-click = Shape Properties

Roller click = Edit Text

See also:

Entering Text

Changing Shape Properties


Remove All but the Last Arrowhead

This feature can be turned on or off by clicking on Tools, Miscellaneous, and Remove All but Last Arrowhead. A check mark denotes whether this command is active or not.

This feature should be left enabled for standard flowcharts. It will speed up the drawing of a flowchart.

An example can best explain what this command does. See the picture below. Suppose you draw a line from left to right. The arrow will then point to the right. Then you draw a second line starting at the tip of the first arrow and going down. In a flowchart, you would want this to be a line going right and then down, with only one arrow at the end. But you have drawn two lines, each with an arrow. Each time you draw a line with this feature enabled, the RFFlow program checks to see whether any arrows should be removed. This command looks at only the starting and ending points of each line. In the example mentioned, RFFlow removes the arrow from the horizontal line so that only one arrow remains.


Undo Levels

The Undo capability will undo up to the last five commands. If you want to use less memory, you can make the Undo buffer smaller. Undo can be set so it saves anywhere from the last command to the last five commands. To adjust the number of Undo buffers, click on Tools, Miscellaneous, and Undo Levels.

See also:

Undo and Redo


Align Existing Shapes

To align existing shapes in a chart:

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the shapes you want to align. As you click on each shape, it switches to inverse video. The first shape clicked on will have a white rectangle in its center. The selected shapes will be aligned to this first shape.

2.	Click on Tools, Align, and Align Existing Shapes or click on the Align button [image] in the toolbar. The Align Shapes dialog box will appear.

3.	Select the kind of alignment you want by clicking on one of the pictures.

4.	Click on the OK button and your shapes will be aligned.

Click on Edit and Undo if you do not like the new alignment.

See also:

Align New Shapes


Align New Shapes

RFFlow provides two methods to automatically align new objects in your chart. You can have new objects jump to a grid of lines or points, or you can have them automatically position themselves with respect to objects already in your chart. To select one of these, click on Tools in the main menu, Align, and Align New Shapes. The Aligning and Spacing New Shapes dialog box will appear.

Make a selection and click on the OK button. The choices are:

None

To disable all automatic alignment features, click on the top option in the dialog box. Even with no automatic alignment features enabled, the objects in RFFlow will jump to a grid that has a spacing of 1 grid distance.

Align newly placed objects to grid lines

If you select the second option, then when you click on the screen to place a new object, it will automatically position itself so the top center of the object lies on the intersection of the nearest grid lines. The object is said to jump to the grid. The grid lines are displayed and the distance between them set up by clicking on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks. For example, if the grid lines are separated by 10 grid distances, then the new object will jump to the closest intersection of these grid lines.

Align newly placed objects to grid points

If you select the third option in the dialog box, then when you click on the screen to place a new object, it will automatically position itself so the top center of the object lies on the nearest grid point. The grid of points is set up by clicking on View in the main menu and Grids and Alignment Marks. Again, the distance between points can be set to be any number and the objects will jump to the nearest grid point.

Align and space new objects relative to existing objects

When you click on the screen to place an object, you can have the program automatically align your new object with respect to the objects already on the screen. You can also have the program automatically space your new object from the others by a preset distance. Clicking on the bottom item in the dialog box sets up this automatic alignment and spacing. When you select this item and click on the OK button, the Alignment and Spacing dialog box appears. See Alignment and Spacing dialog box for more information.


Alignment and Spacing Dialog Box

The Alignment and Spacing dialog box is displayed if you click on Tools, Align, Align New Shapes, Align and space new objects relative to existing objects, and finally click on the OK button.

In the Alignment group box, you can enable or disable an option by clicking on its check box. The top two items refer to shapes like rectangles but not lines. The third item is specifically for lines.

Auto align a new shape to the existing shapes above it or below it

If you are placing a number of shapes one under the other, enable the top check box and the objects will automatically be aligned vertically to those already on the chart.

Auto align a new shape to the existing shapes on the left or right

If you are placing a number of shapes side to side, click on the second check box and disable the top box. The new objects you place will jump into horizontal alignment with the ones already there.

Auto align new lines and curves

You can also have lines automatically align right after you draw them. This is enabled in the third check box.

Even with automatic alignment, you have to position the new object roughly and the program will take care of the fine alignment.

Depending on the kinds of charts you are doing, you may find that only vertical or only horizontal auto alignment works best. The best method can be determined by experimenting with each on your chart.

Automatic alignment only happens when you place a new object or draw a new line. When you are simply moving or copying existing objects in your chart, the automatic alignment is no longer in effect. If you have already placed objects in your chart and want to align them, see Aligning Existing Shapes.

In the Spacing group box, you can select how many grid units of space you want between new objects when they are added to the chart. For example, if you select a vertical spacing of 4 grid units and drag a new object onto your chart, it will space itself 4 grid units vertically from the nearest object already in the chart.


Center Chart on Drawing Area

This command will center everything in the file with respect to the center of the drawing area. To do this, click on Tools in the main menu, Center, and Center Chart on Drawing Area. The screen will be redrawn and everything on it will now be centered on the cross which shows the center of the drawing area. If you then decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo and all the shapes will move back to where they were previously. The drawing area is an area of about 10 feet by 10 feet and a small black cross denotes the center.

If you are displaying only one page, you can click on the Center button [image] in the toolbar to center the shapes on the page.

See also:

Center Chart on a Page


Center Chart on Page
Center Chart on a Page

If you are displaying only one page, you can click on the Center button [image] in the toolbar to center the shapes on the page.

RFFlow will automatically center a group of objects on a page. The objects can be centered both horizontally and vertically, or horizontally only, or vertically only.

The boundaries of the pages must be displayed for this command to work.

1.	Select the objects you want centered on the page by clicking on the Select button [image] in the easybar and drawing a selection rectangle around them. The center of the selection rectangle must lie within a page so the program will know on which page to center the objects.

2.	Click on Tools in the main menu and then Center, and Center Chart on a Page or click on the Center button [image] . A dialog box appears and you can choose how the shapes should be centered. You can choose to center the selected objects horizontally on the page, vertically on the page, or in both directions. Make your decision and click on the OK button.

The Center Chart on a Page command is useful if you have a document of several pages, where each page is part of a larger chart. You can draw on each page and center the individual portions of the chart. This allows you to view the overall chart in one file but print it on several pages, each portion centered on a page.

If you decide you don't want to keep the objects centered on the page, click on Edit and Undo or click the Undo button [image].

See also:

Center Chart on Drawing Area


Find the Chart

If you scroll away from your chart and cannot find it, click on Tools, Center, and Find the Chart. This does not move the chart on the paper. It simply does an automatic scroll so your chart appears on the screen again.


Add Crossovers

A crossover is a little bump in a line that shows that intersecting lines do not connect.

Crossovers only work on lines that are perpendicular. The program will not add crossovers to curves or diagonal lines. Crossovers will not be added to intersecting lines which have an object placed at the intersection.

The lines are first drawn in your chart in the usual way without crossovers. You can add crossovers to intersections that you select, or you can add crossovers to your entire chart.

Adding Crossovers to Selected Lines

To select the intersections, click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the two intersecting lines, or draw a selection rectangle around an area of your chart. Both intersecting lines must be selected for the crossover to be added. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Add Crossovers. The Add Crossovers dialog box will appear.

Choose Selected lines and click on the Add Crossovers button. RFFlow will add a crossover to the intersection of all lines that were selected.

Adding Crossovers to the Entire Chart

Click on Tools, Global Changes, and Add Crossovers. The Add Crossovers dialog box will appear. Choose the All lines option and then click on the Add Crossovers button.

If you have added crossovers and want this operation to be undone, click on the Undo button [image] .

Crossovers are often used to show wires that are not connected. To show that intersecting wires are definitely connected, you can place a small black dot on each intersection. This object is located in the Circles stencil and its tooltip is "Connector."


Add Rounded Corners

You can change the lines in your chart to have rounded corners instead of perpendicular corners. The chart is first drawn with regular perpendicular corners. Then click on Tools, Global Changes, and Add Rounded Corners. The Add Rounded Corners dialog box will appear. You can choose to have this command apply to all lines or only lines which you have selected. Simply click on the Add Rounded Corners button and the sharp corners will be replaced with rounded ones. This command affects only horizontal and vertical lines and does not change diagonal lines. To undo this change, click on Edit and Undo.


Size

Size Shape

Size Entire Chart

Adjust Connecting Lines when Shape is Sized


Spacing Shapes

The RFFlow program can automatically space newly placed shapes or existing shapes.

If you have already drawn the objects and want to evenly space them, see Space Existing Shapes.

If you want newly placed shapes to automatically space themselves with respect to other shapes, see Space New Shapes.


Space Existing Shapes

To uniformly space existing shapes in a chart:

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the shapes you want to uniformly space. When you click on a shape, it switches to inverse video. The first shape clicked on will have a white rectangle in its center. This first shape will not move; the other selected shapes will be moved so the spaces between them will be uniform.

2.	Click on Tools, Space, and Space Existing Shapes or click on the Space button [image] in the toolbar. The Spacing Shapes dialog box will appear.

3.	Choose either horizontal or vertical spacing by clicking on the appropriate picture. Select a spacing distance.

4.	Click on the OK button and the shapes will be spaced by the amount you specified with the first shape you selected staying in place.

If you want to go back to the way the chart was before performing this command, click on the Undo button [image] .

See also:

Space New Shapes


Space New Shapes

In RFFlow, you can have new shapes automatically space with respect to shapes already in your chart. When you click on the screen to place a new shape, the RFFlow program looks at the position of nearby shapes and moves the new shape so it is spaced the preset distance.

To set up this automatic spacing, click on Tools in the main menu, Align, Align New Shapes, Align and space new objects relative to existing objects, and finally click on the OK button. The Alignment and Spacing dialog box will appear.

In the Spacing group box, you can select how many grid units of space you want between new objects when they are added to the chart. For example, if you select a vertical spacing of 4 grid units and drag a new object onto your chart, it will space itself 4 grid units vertically from the nearest object already on the chart.

Put a check in the box or boxes to enable automatic spacing, choose a spacing distance, and click on the OK button. Automatic spacing will now be in effect for newly placed objects.

You do have to place the new object near other objects for automatic spacing to occur.

See also:

Spacing Existing Shapes


Editing Lines

If you need to shorten or lengthen a line, click on the Edit Line button [image] in the easybar and drag the start or end of a line to change the length. You can also click down anywhere on the line to change its length.

You stay in the Edit Line mode and can edit any lines or curves until you click on another command button or draw a new object.

See also:

Drawing Lines

Editing Curves


Editing Curves

To adjust the length or shape of a curve, click on the Edit Line button [image] in the easybar and drag any of the handles (the small dotted red squares) to a new position. The curve will change shape. One handle affects the start of the curve. Another affects the end of the curve. The other two change how the curve approaches the starting and ending points. The best way to see how this works is to draw a curve yourself and move the four dotted square handles.

You stay in the Edit Line mode and can edit any lines or curves until you click on another command button or draw a new object.

See also:

Drawing Curves

Editing Lines


Font Dialog Box

Font:

Scroll through this list and select the name of the font you want.

Font style:

Scroll through this list and select whether you want the font to be regular, italic, bold, or bold italic.

Size:

You can scroll through the list and click on a font size. If the number you want is not in the list, type the number directly into the box beneath the word Size: RFFlow supports fonts down to 1 point in size. With flowcharts you often have to use small fonts to get a large chart to fit on a page.

Effects

You can have a line going through the text by putting a checkmark on Strikeout.

For an underlined font, check Underline.

Select a font color.

After making your selections, click on the OK button.


Find Dialog Box

Find what:

Type the word or phrase that you want to find into the box to the right of the words Find what:. RFFlow will only match phrases if they fall on one line.

Match whole word only

Decide whether you want to match whole words only. For example, if you search for the word angle with this item not checked, the word rectangle will be shown as a match.

Match case

If Match case is not checked and you search for the word cat, the words CAT and Cat would be shown as matches.

After making your selections, click on the Find Next button.

When you are finished, click on the Cancel button or click on the X in the upper right hand corner of the Find dialog box.

When the Find dialog box is not displayed, pressing the F3 key is the same as clicking on the Find Next button.


Replace Dialog Box

This dialog box can be used to find text in your chart, or to find and replace text in your chart.

Find what:

Type the word or phrase that you want to find into the box to the right of the words Find what:. RFFlow will only match phrases if they fall on one line.

Replace with:

Type the word or phrase that you want to use as the replacement.

Match whole word only

Decide whether you want to match whole words only. For example, if you search for the word angle with this item not checked, the word rectangle will be shown as a match.

Match case

If Match case is not checked and you search for the word cat, the words CAT and Cat would be shown as matches.

After making your selections, click on the Find Next button to find the text or the Replace button to find and replace the text. To replace all occurrences of the text, click on the Replace All button.

When you are finished, click on the Cancel button or click on the X in the upper right hand corner of the Replace dialog box.

If the replacement was not what you wanted, click on Edit in the main menu and Undo to restore the chart to its prior condition.

When the Replace dialog box is not displayed, pressing the F3 key is the same as clicking on the Find Next button.


RFShape

The RFShape program was designed to help the user make custom shapes for RFFlow. First draw the shape in RFShape and then add the shape to RFFlow. To run RFShape, click on the Start button, Programs, and RFShape. The documentation for RFShape is included in the RFShape online help. In RFShape, click on Help and Help Topics. The RFShape online help tells you how to draw lines, curves, and filled paths. After drawing your shape, follow these instructions for adding it to RFFlow.

Adding a Custom Shape to RFFlow

1.	After drawing your shape, click on the Unselect button [image] in RFShape to make sure nothing is selected.

2.	Then click on Edit, Copy to place the entire drawing on the Clipboard.

3.	Switch to RFFlow.

4.	To add the shape to a stencil, click on the Stencils button [image], double-click Clipboard Contents, and single-click Custom Shape [image]. Then drag the custom shape from the upper right corner of the Stencils and Shapes dialog box into the stencil on the left of the RFFlow screen.

5.	To add the shape to your chart without adding it to a stencil, just click on Edit, Paste in RFFlow.

If you want to move only part of your drawing into RFFlow, select only that part of your drawing you want to move and click on Edit, Copy in RFShape. Then follow steps 3-5 above.

Once you have your custom shape in an RFFlow stencil, you can right-click on it and go to the Shape tab. Here you can decide whether the Edit Text dialog box should be shown when the custom shape is clicked on in a stencil. You can also add text to the custom shape and make it a fixed size.


Making a New File

When you first run the RFFlow program, you can immediately start drawing a new chart. There is no need to click on File and New.

If you have drawn one chart and want to keep it active and start a second chart, click on File in the main menu and New in the drop-down menu, or click on the New button [image] . A second instance of RFFlow will run and you can draw another chart. Your first chart will still be loaded in the first instance of RFFlow and you can click on the taskbar to switch to that instance. You will now have two charts open, each in a separate instance of RFFlow. RFFlow runs a separate instance for each chart you are working on. The memory for these instances is shared so you are able to work on many charts at one time. Switching between charts is simple since you only have to click on the taskbar.

If you have drawn one chart and are finished with it, click on File and Close, or click on the Close button [image] . Then you can start drawing another chart in the same instance of RFFlow.

File, New starts a new chart in a new instance of RFFlow. File, Close closes the current file and clears the screen in the current instance of RFFlow.

If you just want to clear the drawing area, click on File and Close.


Closing a File

When you are finished drawing a chart, click on File in the main menu and Close in the drop-down menu, or click on the Close button [image] . You will be asked if you want to save the changes that you made to your chart. You can either save the changes or discard them and not save them. If you choose to save the changes and the file is still untitled, you will be asked to supply a filename. The screen will then be cleared and RFFlow will read the init.flo file to load the default initial stencils and will reset some parameters to their default state. Now you can start drawing a new chart.

See also:

Parameters and the Initialization File, Init.flo


Opening an Existing File

To open an existing file, click on File in the main menu and Open in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you can click on the Open button [image] in the toolbar.

If you open one chart and want to open another, you have to decide if you want both to run or the first one to close. If you want both to run, just click on File and Open and another instance of RFFlow will run opening the second chart. If you want to work on only one chart at a time, click on File and Close before you click on File and Open. Then only one chart will be open.

When you click on File and Open the Open dialog box will appear.

Open Dialog Box

In the Open dialog box, if you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. RFFlow only opens .flo files, so these are the only files displayed. Of course, the .flo file extension will not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions. Running Explorer and clicking on View and Options sets up showing or hiding file extensions.

Once you have found the file you want to open, click on it and then click on the Open button.


Saving an Existing File

To save an existing file, click on File in the main menu and Save in the drop-down menu. You could also click on the Save button [image] in the toolbar. The file will be saved with the name and location you previously set up in the Save As dialog box.

The Save command writes your file to the disk. Suppose you opened the file C:\Windows\Sample.flo and then selected the Save command. The file Sample.flo would be written to the Windows directory on drive C.

It is important to note that if you opened a file from drive B, when you save that file it will be written to drive B. To change the destination or filename, you need to select the Save As command.

Use the Save command to retain the filename and put the file back where it came from, and use the Save As command to change the name of the file or put it into a new location.

If you use the Save command for a file that is not existing, i.e. has not yet been named, a dialog box will be displayed asking you to name the file. This is the same dialog box used by the Save As command.

It is a good practice to periodically save your file to a disk in case there is a power failure.


Saving a New File

The Save As command is used to save a new file that does not yet have a name, to rename a file, or to put the file into a different folder.

Click on File in the main menu and Save As in the drop-down menu.

The Save As dialog box will appear. If the folder displayed is the one you want, simply type the filename into the edit box to the right of the words File name:. If the folder shown is not where you want to save the file, click on [image] and select a different folder.

Once you have selected the folder, type the filename into the edit box to the right of the words File name:. You do not need to type the extension .flo as it will automatically be added for you. The filename you type can be a long name and include spaces.

If a file of the same name already exists, you will be notified and asked if it should be overwritten.

Another way to use the Save As dialog box is to type the complete path and filename into the edit box to the right of the words File name:.

After typing in the new filename, click on the Save button.

Use the Save As command to save a chart with a new filename or location, and use the Save command to save a chart with its existing name and location.


Deleting a File

RFFlow allows you to open a file, look at it, and then delete it. This is the same as deleting the file using Windows Explorer. The file is placed in the recycle bin. It will stay there until you empty the recycle bin.

To delete the file you are viewing, click on File in the main menu and Delete in the drop-down menu. RFFlow will ask you if you are sure that you want to delete the file. If you click on the Yes button, the file will be deleted from the folder it is in and placed in the recycle bin. If you click on the No button, the file will remain where it is.


RFFlow Files

For information about the files installed by RFFlow, see the readme.txt file on the RFFlow CD-ROM.

See also:

Setting Up a Folder for Your Charts

Parameters and the Initialization File, Init.flo


Setting Up a Folder for Your Charts

If you run RFFlow and click on File and Open, RFFlow will show the files in a folder called the startup, working, or charts folder. It is the folder where your flowchart files (.flo) are located. You specify this folder when you install RFFlow. You can change it at any time by clicking on File, File Locations, and Charts. The Select the Charts Folder dialog box appears and you can browse to select a new charts folder.

If you click on File, Open and select a chart from some folder, then the next time you click on File, Open that folder will be displayed. RFFlow only goes to the charts folder on the first File, Open. After that RFFlow displays the last folder from which you opened a chart. Of course, you must have read and write privileges for any charts folder that you specify.

In Windows 2000, selecting a charts folder has no effect. In Windows 2000, the last folder used is always displayed, even if you exit RFFlow and run it again.


Parameters and the Initialization File, Init.flo

Some parameters in RFFlow are associated with the RFFlow program and are not associated with RFFlow files. These parameters will remain the same each time you run RFFlow and will not change until you decide to change them. They do not depend on which file is opened. For example, if you customize your toolbars, the new customized toolbars will appear every time you run RFFlow. The change to the toolbars remains until you make another change.

There are other parameters that are associated with each RFFlow file and are saved with each file. For example, you may have one chart with a grid of lines spaced by 4 units and another chart with a grid of lines spaced by 6 units. The spacing of the grid of lines is saved with each chart. The parameters that are saved in every RFFlow file are listed below:

1.	All the stencils displayed on the left of the RFFlow window

2.	The line or curve used for auto connection

3.	The main font

4.	Portrait or landscape orientation

5.	The paper size

6.	Whether to show page boundaries and the number of pages shown

7.	Whether to use a long or short date format

8.	Whether the header on the first page should be printed

9.	Whether to show grid points, their color and spacing

10.	Whether to show grid lines, their color and spacing

11.	Whether to show a ruler and the ruler parameters

12.	The number of layers to display

13.	Whether to show numbers in shapes or not

14.	The font used to display numbers in a shape

All these parameters are saved in every flowchart file. This happens automatically. If you change these parameters, they are changed in the chart you are working on.

Default values for the parameters associated with each RFFlow file are used when you run RFFlow or when you start a new chart. When you change any of these parameters, you can specify whether the new values you chose should be the default values. Usually, there is a check box with the words Make these settings the default for new charts in the dialog boxes of these parameters.

For example, suppose you want RFFlow to start up with a green grid of lines with a spacing of 10 grid units. Click on View and then Grids and Alignment Marks. In the dialog box that appears, select the grid of lines color, spacing, and make sure displaying grid lines is enabled. Then click on the check box Make these settings the default for new charts. Now each time you start a new chart, or run RFFlow, a grid of lines will be displayed in a green color and with a spacing of 10 grid units.

All the default values for the parameters listed previously are saved in the Windows registry except the stencils which are too large to save in the registry. The default stencils that show up when RFFlow is first run are loaded from the initialization file (init.flo). When RFFlow runs, it reads the init.flo file and displays the stencils found in that file. The stencils are saved in every RFFlow file you create, but the initial stencils come from init.flo. If you customize your stencils and want them to show up every time RFFlow is run or when you start a new chart, click on Stencils and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts.

The folder where init.flo is located is set up when RFFlow is installed. You can change it at any time by clicking on File, File Locations, and Initial Stencils. The Select the Initial Stencils (Init.flo) Folder dialog box will appear. Click on the Browse button to select a new folder for init.flo. You then have to arrange your stencils and click on Stencils and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts to actually create the init.flo file in this folder.


Saving Your Chart as a Bitmap File (.bmp)

This section explains how to save your chart as a Windows bitmap file. If you are creating a Web page, you should see either Saving Your Chart as a GIF File (.gif) or Saving Your Chart as a Web Page.

Note: It is not necessary to create a bitmap file if all you want to do is move your chart into another Windows application. To move your chart into another Windows application, simply click on the Select button in the easybar, draw a selection rectangle around your chart and click on Edit and Copy. Then switch to the other Windows application and click on Edit and Paste.

When you save your chart as a bitmap file, you still want to save it as a flowchart (.flo) file for future editing. RFFlow will save charts as bitmaps but only opens .flo files.

To save your chart as a bitmap file, follow these steps:

1.	If you want to save only a portion of your chart, you need to select that portion. Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the part of your chart you want to save as a bitmap file. If you are saving the entire chart, it is not necessary to select it.

2.	Click on File and Save As. The Save As dialog box will appear. Click on the triangle pointing down to the right of the words Save as type:. Then select Windows Bitmap(*.bmp). Next select the folder where you want the file saved. You need to name this new file. Type the name of the file into the edit box to the right of the words File name:. Type only the long filename. The .bmp will be added by the program. Finally, click on the Save button.

3.	The Bitmap Selection dialog box will appear. You can choose to save the entire chart, save the selected objects, or do a screen capture.

Entire Chart. This saves your entire chart in a bitmap file. The size of the bitmap generated depends on whether you are zoomed in or zoomed out on your chart. For higher resolution bitmaps, you need to be zoomed in. Higher resolution also means larger files. You should try different zoom levels in the Zoom menu to determine the correct resolution. The entire chart is copied to the bitmap file, even if you cannot see the entire chart on the screen.

Selected Objects. Objects you have selected by clicking on the Select button in the easybar and drawing a selection rectangle around them will be saved as a bitmap. Again the size of the bitmap depends on whether you are zoomed in and the objects are large, or zoomed out. All the selected objects are copied to the bitmap file, even if you cannot view all these objects at the same time on the screen. For higher resolution bitmaps, you need to be zoomed in. Higher resolution also means larger files.

Screen Capture. This takes the RFFlow screen, not including the toolbars and stencils, and copies that screen to a bitmap file. You only get what you can see in the RFFlow window in a screen capture.

Make your selection and click on the OK button.


Saving Your Chart as a Windows Disk Metafile(.wmf or .emf)

This section explains how to save your chart as a metafile. This is not necessary if you just want to move your chart into another Windows application. To move your chart into another Windows application, simply click on the Select button in the easybar, draw a selection rectangle around your chart and click on Edit and Copy. Then switch to the other Windows application and click on Edit and Paste.

The older metafile format is the Windows Metafile (.wmf). The new metafile format is the Enhanced Metafile (.emf). The newer format is better as it allows metafiles to be included inside metafiles. However, more applications accept the older format, so you will have to decide which one to use. Creating a .wmf file is a good way to move RFFlow charts into WordPerfect for DOS Version 6.0a or higher.

Saving an RFFlow chart to a metafile format is easy. Just follow these steps:

1.	If you only want to save part of your chart, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around part of your chart or click on the individual objects. If you want to save the entire chart to the metafile, skip this step.

2.	Click on File and Save As. The Save As dialog box will appear. Click on the triangle pointing down to the right of the words Save as type: and select either Windows Enhanced Metafile(*.emf) or Windows 3.X Metafile (*.wmf). Next select the folder where you want to save your chart. Type the name of the file to the right of the words File name: and click on the Save button. The metafile will be written to the disk. You should also save your file to the standard .flo format since that is the format that allows you to further edit your chart.


Creating an Encapsulated PostScript File (.eps)

This section explains how to create an Encapsulated PostScript file. It is not necessary to do this if you only want to move your chart into another Windows application. To move your chart into another Windows application, simply click on the Select button in the easybar, draw a selection rectangle around your chart and click on Edit and Copy. Then switch to the other Windows application and click on Edit and Paste.

To create an Encapsulated PostScript file, do the following steps:

1.	Install a PostScript printer. You do not have to actually own a PostScript printer. The drivers for many printers come with Windows. For example, you could choose the Apple LaserWriter. This installation is done by clicking on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on Printers and Add Printer. Select the Apple LaserWriter and select a port of FILE: since we will be writing to a file.

2.	In RFFlow, click on File and Print Setup. Select the Apple LaserWriter which is connected to FILE:. Then click on the Properties button. One of the tabs is PostScript. Click on that tab and select Encapsulated PostScript (.eps) in the drop-down list box.

3.	To generate the file, click on File and Print in RFFlow. In the dialog box that appears, put a check mark beside Print to File. Click on the OK button.

4.	You will now be at the print preview screen. Click on OK in the menu to generate the file.

5.	A dialog box will be shown where you must type the filename and select the folder to which the file will be written. Type the filename and include the extension .eps. Then click on the OK button and the .eps file will be created.


Creating an HP-GL File (.plt)

HP-GL is the Hewlett Packard Graphics Language. This is the language used by HP plotters. It has been around for many years and is accepted by many programs. To create an HP-GL file, do the following steps:

1.	Install an HP plotter. The 7470A or 7475A work well. You don't have to actually have a plotter, since the drivers for many output devices are supplied with Windows. The installation is done by clicking on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on Printers and Add Printers.

2.	Find the plotter you are installing in the list of printers and add it. The port you should choose is FILE: as we will be printing to a file.

3.	After adding the plotter, click on File and Print in RFFlow. Select the HP plotter which is connected to FILE: and click on the OK button.

4.	The print preview screen will be displayed. Click on OK in the print preview menu. A dialog box will now appear asking you for the name of the file. Type in the full path and name, like C:\Filename.plt. Type in the extension .plt since it will be needed by the importing application.

5.	When you click on OK, your HP-GL file will be generated.


Sending a Chart Via E-mail

You can send a chart from RFFlow as an e-mail attachment. First open your chart. The chart has to have a file name to attach it to an e-mail message. Then click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and Send in the drop-down menu. The Choose Profile dialog box will appear. Select the program that handles your e-mail and click on the OK button.

Your chart is now an attachment to an e-mail message. You can address your message, add text to it, and send it.

You could also insert an RFFlow file as an e-mail attachment by clicking on Insert and File in the dialog box where you type your e-mail messages.

If Send Mail doesn't work on your system, you may not have the correct programs installed. For Send Mail to work in Windows 95 you need to have the inbox installed. If you are running Windows 98 and Outlook 98, you need to install Outlook 98 with Corporate/Workgroup e-mail and Microsoft Mail 3.0 selected.

On most installations, Send Mail will work with no changes. On some systems, you will need to insert the .flo file as an attachment manually. The free trial disk, which can be downloaded from www.rff.com, works as a free viewer to open any RFFlow file and view it. You can e-mail .flo charts to others and they can view them with the free trial disk.


File Open (.flo) Dialog Box

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. The .flo files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. RFFlow only opens .flo files, so these are the only files displayed. Of course, the .flo file extension will not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions. Run Explorer and click on View and Options to set up showing or hiding file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

After choosing the file, click on the Open button to open it.


File Open Dialog Box for Pictures

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. The picture files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files.

Initially, all picture files listed below are shown:

Enhanced Metafile ( *.emf)

Windows Metafile (*.wmf)

JPEG (*.jpeg, *.jpg, *.jfif, *.jpe)

Windows Bitmap (*.bmp, *.dib)

Graphics Interchange Format (*.gif)

If you only want to look at one type of file, click on the triangle pointing down to the right of the words Files of type: and select one of the above file types. The file extensions may not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the picture file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

Finally, click on the Open button.


File Open (.txt) Dialog Box

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. The .txt files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. Only text files ending in .txt will be displayed. Of course, the .txt file extension will not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions. Run Explorer and click on View and Options to set up showing or hiding file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

After choosing the file, click on the Open button to open it.


File Open (.exe) Dialog Box

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. The .exe files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. Only executable files ending in .exe will be displayed. Of course, the .exe file extension will not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions. Run Explorer and click on View and Options to set up showing or hiding file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

After choosing the file, click on the Open button to open it.


File Open (*.*) Dialog Box

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. All files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. All files are listed. The file extensions will not appear if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions. Run Explorer and click on View and Options to set up showing or hiding file extensions. It may be easier for you to find the correct file if you show file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

After choosing the file, click on the Open button to open it.


File Save As Dialog Box

First check the type of file that you are saving. Look at the box to the right of the words Save as type:. You can save RFFlow files as .flo, .wmf, .emf, and .bmp files. Since RFFlow will only open .flo files, you always need to save your files as .flo files in addition to any other formats.

Check that the folder listed to the right of the words Save in: is the correct folder. If the folder shown is not where you want to save the file, click on [image] or [image] and select a different folder.

Once you have selected the folder, type the filename into the edit box to the right of the words File name:. You do not need to type the extension for it will automatically be added for you. The filename you type can be a long name and include spaces.

If a file of the same name already exists, you will be notified and asked if it should be overwritten.

Another way to use the Save As dialog box is to type the complete path and filename into the edit box to the right of the words File name:.

After typing in the new filename, click on the Save button.


Saving Your Chart as a GIF or JPEG

This section explains how to save your chart in the graphics interchange format (GIF). You might want to save your chart as a GIF if you are creating a Web page. You can also Save As a Web page directly.

Note: If you just want to move your chart into another Windows application, you should use the Windows Clipboard and not create a file. Simply click on the Select button in the easybar, draw a selection rectangle around your chart and click on Edit and Copy. Then switch to the other Windows application and click on Edit and Paste.

If you have photographs in your chart, you should save your chart as a JPEG.  The instructions for saving as a JPEG are the same as saving as a GIF.

To save your chart as a GIF follow these steps:

1.	If you want to save part of your chart to a GIF, click on the Select button and draw a selection rectangle around part of the chart. If you want to save the entire chart, click on the Unselect button to make sure no shapes are selected.

1.	First click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and Save As....

2.	In the Save As dialog box, expand the list near the words Save as type: and select GIF (*.gif). Any files ending in .gif will now be displayed. Type in the name of your GIF file to the right of the words File name:. You don't have to type the extension as it will be added automatically. Finally click on the Save button.

3.	Next a message box will appear that tells you the width and height of the GIF in bits. The size of the GIF depends on the zoom level. If you are zoomed in, the GIF will be larger than if you are zoomed out. If the size of the bitmap is acceptable, click on the OK button. If you want to make the GIF larger, click on the Cancel button and click once on Zoom In. Then go back to step 1. If you want the bitmap to be smaller, click on the Cancel button and click once on Zoom Out. Then go back to step 1.

4.	Finally the Transparent Color dialog box will appear. With GIFs, you can make one color transparent and the background will show through wherever that color appears. If you want one color to be transparent, click on that color. If you don't want any color to be transparent, then don't click on any color. Finally, click on the OK button.

When you save your chart as a GIF file, you still want to save it as a flowchart (.flo) file for future editing. RFFlow will save charts as GIFs but only opens .flo files.

Since we pay a license fee to Unisys Corporation for each copy of RFFlow sold, the GIFs you create are free for you to use. You do NOT have to pay any further royalties to Unisys Corporation.


Saving Your Chart as a Web Page (HTML)

This section explains how to save your chart as an HTML Web page. When you save a chart as a Web page, RFFlow creates both an HTML file and a GIF file. They both have the same name. The HTML file will have an extension of either .htm or .html. The GIF will have an extension of .gif. The GIF contains the bitmap picture of your chart. The HTML file contains the imagemap that tells what the browser should display when a user clicks on part of your chart. If you only want to create a GIF, see Saving Your Chart as a GIF (.gif). You must always keep the two files together in the same folder. The HTML file references the GIF and needs to be able to find it.

If your chart contains photographs, you should select a JPEG as the image file. The instructions are the same whether the image file is a GIF or a JPEG. GIFs are better for standard charts with text, lines, and shapes.

Note: If you just want to move your chart into another Windows application, you should use the Windows Clipboard and not create a file. Simply click on the Select button in the easybar, draw a selection rectangle around your chart and click on Edit and Copy. Then switch to the other Windows application and click on Edit and Paste.

To save your chart as a Web page follow these steps:

1.	First you need to create the links. Right-click on a shape in your chart and go to the Link tab in the Shape Properties dialog box.

2.	Leave the top edit box blank and write the jump address in the lower edit box. For example, in the box beneath the number 2. type http://www.rff.com. When you click on this shape, you will go to the Web site for RFF Electronics.

3.	Do this for every shape, line, or text that you want associated with a URL or HTML file.

4.	If you want to use only part of your chart, click on the Select button and draw a selection rectangle around part of the chart. If you want to use the entire chart, click on the Unselect button to make sure no shapes are selected.

5.	Click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and Save As....

6.	In the Save As dialog box, expand the list near the words Save as type: and select Web Page (*.htm;*.html). Any files ending in .htm or .html will now be displayed. Type in the name of your HTML file to the right of the words File name:. You don't have to type the extension as it will be added automatically. Finally click on the Save button. The HTML file and GIF file will have the same name.

7.	Next a message box will appear that tells you the width and height of the GIF file in bits. The size of the GIF depends on the zoom level. If you are zoomed in, the GIF will be larger than if you are zoomed out. If the size of the bitmap is acceptable, click on the OK button. If you want to make the GIF larger, click on the Cancel button and click once on Zoom In. Then go back to step 5. If you want the bitmap to be smaller, click on the Cancel button and click once on Zoom Out. Then go back to step 5.

8.	Finally the Transparent Color dialog box will appear. With GIFs, you can make one color transparent and the background will show through wherever that color appears. If you want one color to be transparent, click on that color. If you don't want any color to be transparent, then don't click on any color. Finally, click on the OK button.

When you save your chart as a HTML file, you still want to save it as a flowchart (.flo) file for future editing. RFFlow will save charts as HTML but only opens .flo files.

Since we pay a license fee to Unisys Corporation for each copy of RFFlow sold, the GIFs you create are free for you to use. You do NOT have to pay any further royalties to Unisys Corporation.

Some Technical Details

The HTML file contains a reference to the GIF that was created and a reference to a client-side image map. For example, if the files we created were named myfile.htm and myfile.gif, then the HTML file would look like this:

<HTML>

<CENTER><IMG SRC="myfile.gif" WIDTH="93" HEIGHT="47" BORDER="0" USEMAP="#RFF_AREAMAP"></CENTER>

<MAP NAME="RFF_AREAMAP">

<AREA SHAPE="RECT" HREF="http://www.rff.com" COORDS="7,7,85,39">

</MAP>

</HTML>

The image map named RFF_AREAMAP above has a reference for each shape that has a link. For example, the rectangle that linked to http://www.rff.com would result in an entry in the image map like:

<AREA SHAPE="RECT" HREF="http://www.rff.com" COORDS="7,7,85,39">

Every shape or line that has a link will be added to the image map. This tells the browser where to go when that shape is clicked.


Transparent Gif

When you make a GIF, you can choose one color to be the transparent color. That color will not appear when your GIF is displayed and the background screen color will show through. This dialog box lets you select the transparent color. You don't have to select one and can simply click on the OK button without selecting any color. If you click on a color, the red, green, and blue components of that color will be displayed on the right.


Inserting a Picture From a File

RFFlow allows you to import pictures from a large number of file formats.  These include:  .bmp, .dib, .emf, .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .jfif, .jpe, and .wmf.  These pictures can be added to a chart or to a stencil.

To insert a picture from a file, click on Insert in the main menu of RFFlow and Picture From File....  The Open Dialog Box will appear.

To the right of the words Files of type: you can select All Pictures to show all the possible files that can be imported.  Or, you can select to show only files of a certain type.  For example, JPEG File Interchange shows only JPEG files.

The name of the folder you are viewing is shown to the right of the words Look in:. The .files in that folder are listed in the large list box beneath the words Look in:

To find the file, you must first display the correct folder. If you want to move up in the hierarchy of folders, click on the Up One Level [image] button. If you want to move down, click on the triangle pointing down on the right of the Look in: drop-down list.  The button and list allow you to move throughout your system looking for files. Only files ending in the extensions specified in Files of type: will be displayed.  Of course, the file extensions will not be shown if you have set up Windows to hide file extensions.

Once you have found the correct folder, click on the name of the file you want to open.

Alternatively, you could type the full path and file name into the box to the right of the words File name:.

After choosing the file, click on the Open button to open it.

Next, a dialog box will ask you if the picture should be inserted into your chart or into a stencil.  If you are going to use the picture often, you should put it into a stencil.  If you are only going to use it once, then just add it to your chart.  Make your selection and click on the OK button.

If you add the picture to a stencil, it will be placed at the end of the currently selected stencil.  You can move it by clicking on the green Stencils button [image] and then dragging it to a new location in the stencil.

If you want this stencil to show up the next time you start a new chart, click on the word Stencils in the main menu of RFFlow and click on Make The Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts.

Rather than importing files, you may find it easier to use the Windows Clipboard to copy and paste a picture into RFFlow.  For example, if you see a picture on the Internet, right-click on it and select Copy.  Then run RFFlow and click on Edit, Paste.


Insert Picture Dialog Box

You can insert your picture into your chart or into a stencil.  If you are going to use the picture once, select Chart.  If you are going to use the picture often, select Stencil.  Make your choice and click on the OK button.

If you add the picture to a stencil, it will be placed at the end of the currently selected stencil.  You can move it by clicking on the green Stencils button [image] and then dragging it to a new location in the stencil.

If you want this stencil to show up the next time you start a new chart, click on the word Stencils in the main menu of RFFlow and click on Make The Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts.


Print Setup

If you are going to use the default printer or have already set up a printer, skip this section and go to the next section entitled Print.

If you need to set up or select a printer, click on File in the main menu and then Print Setup in the drop-down menu. The Print Setup dialog box will appear.

The Print Setup dialog box allows you to select the default printer or any other printer installed in Windows. The list box to the right of the word Name: includes all the printers that are installed in Windows. Just click on the desired printer. If the printer is not in the list, then you will need to install it in Windows. To install a printer in Windows, click on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on Printers and Add Printers.

In the Print Setup dialog box, you can also choose portrait or landscape orientation, the paper size, and paper source. The paper size, orientation and other printer properties are saved in each RFFlow file.

Some printers have additional options or features you can set up by clicking on the Properties button.

To set up a printer that will be selected each time RFFlow runs, click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and RFFlow Default Printer.


Moving the Chart on the Paper

If you want to reposition your chart in the print preview screen, follow these steps:

1.	Click on the Move menu item at the top of the print preview screen.

2.	Place the cursor over the chart and press the left mouse button down. The chart will change to a dotted rectangle.

3.	Keep the left mouse button down and move the chart to a new position.

4.	Release the left mouse button.


Automatically Centering the Chart

If your chart fits on one page, you can automatically center it by clicking on Center Chart in the print preview main menu. The chart will automatically be centered on the page.

On a multiple-page chart, you should do the centering in the main screen and not the print preview screen. Cancel out of print preview and go to the main screen. To center one large multiple-page chart, click Tools, Center, and Center Chart on Drawing Area. To center a multiple-page chart where each page has a separate chart, click on the Select button and draw a selection rectangle around the page you want centered. Then click on Tools, Center, and Center Chart on a Page. or click on the Center button [image] . This allows you to center your chart on a page-by-page basis.

See also:

Centering the Chart


Charts with Multiple Pages

For a multiple-page chart, the pages shown on the screen are actually the area of the paper on which the printer allows objects to be printed. This area is a little smaller than the actual paper. There is a border around each sheet of paper that will contain no objects. The size of this border depends on the particular model of printer or plotter. Laser printers will not print close to the edge of the paper. After printing the pages of a multiple page chart, you will need to trim the border off some of the pages and tape the pages together to make one large chart. Some printers have a No Page Break feature that allows printing to continue from one page to the next without a blank area.

NOTE: In drawing large charts, you should display the page boundaries as you are drawing the chart and keep text away from the page boundaries. Words should not extend from one page into another. Characters may be lost and the chart may not print correctly. Have only lines crossing from one page to another and keep all text away from the page breaks.

Printing Only Certain Pages

You can specify that only certain pages of multiple-page charts are printed. First, click on the Print Selected Pages command in the Options menu of the print preview screen. To get to the print preview screen, see Print.

Now you can click on any page you do not want to print and it will change to black and will not be printed. If you change your mind, you can click on the page again and it will be shown again in white and will be printed.

If you want to get rid of all blackened pages, click on Print All Pages in the Options menu. All pages will then be white and will be printed.

If the chart is so large that all of it cannot be shown on the print preview screen, you need to scroll to bring sections of the chart into view. Scrolling can be done with the right mouse button or the arrow keys. You click the right mouse button down on the chart, keep the right mouse button down, and then move the mouse. Release the right button when you have reached your destination. The screen will be redrawn in the new position. You can also use the arrow keys on the keyboard to scroll the print preview screen.

Remember that the pages are printed from top to bottom, starting with the upper left page. The No Page Break feature on your printer will be useful in portrait orientation if you have a tall, narrow chart and in landscape orientation if you have a short, wide chart.


Cancel Printing

While you have the print preview screen displayed, you can cancel printing the chart by clicking on the Cancel menu item at the top of the print preview screen. This will return you to the main screen.

Once you have clicked on the OK menu item in the print preview screen, the printing is started. You can then cancel by clicking on the Cancel button in the dialog box that appears.


Printing to a File

You can print your chart to a file instead of directly to the printer. Click on File and Print as you normally do. The Print dialog box will be displayed. Click to place a check mark in the Print to file item. Then click on the OK button.

The print preview screen will be displayed and you can position your chart. See Print Preview Menu for more information about the print preview screen.  Then click on OK in the print preview menu. The Print to File dialog box will appear and you must type in the full path and filename where the file will be written.

For example, if you want the chart to be printed to a file named Chart1.prn on the C drive, you would type C:\Chart1.prn. It is good to use the .prn extension to remind you that this is a printer file. Then click on the OK button. It is important that you do not use the .flo extension. The file you are creating is a printer file and not a flowchart file. Using the .flo extension here would overwrite your flowchart file and you would lose all the data in that file.

Once you have the file constructed, you can later print your chart using DOS commands. If your printer is connected to LPT1, the above example could be printed using either:

copy C:\Chart1.prn LPT1:

or

type C:\Chart1.prn > LPT1:


Print

To print your chart, click on File in the main menu and then Print in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you could click on the Print button [image] in the toolbar. The Print dialog box will appear.

The printer you will be using is listed after the word Name:. The port it is connected to is listed after the word Where:. Check to make sure that this is really the printer and port you want.

The Print range group box lets you decide to print all the pages or just some of them. In a multiple-page chart, pages are printed from top to bottom, starting with the upper left page.

You can also select the number of copies and whether to print to a file or not. Printing multiple copies is only available if the printer driver supports it. Not all printer drivers support multiple copies, so the Number of copies item may be grayed and not selectable.

RFFlow does not support the Collate feature.

After selecting the parameters you want, click on OK and the print preview screen will appear.

The print preview screen shows a view of how the chart appears and fits on the paper. If the chart requires multiple pages, the white area will have dark lines through it marking the pages, and multiple pages will be printed.

The print preview screen has the following menu items:

OK

Move

Center Chart

Options

Cancel


Print Preview Menu

OK

Move

Center Chart

Options

Cancel


Options

Change Printing Parameters

Print Selected Pages

Print All Pages


Change Printing Parameters

If you are in the print preview screen and decide that you would like to change some printing parameters like the paper orientation, paper size, or printer being used, you can click on Options and Change Printing Parameters. The Print Setup and Print dialog boxes will be shown again and you can choose new selections.


Print All Pages

Clicking on Options and Print All Pages in the print preview screen causes all the pages of the chart to be printed. You would click on this item only if you had a multiple page chart and had previously selected to not print some pages.

See also:

Print Selected Pages


Click on OK in the print preview menu to print your chart.


Paper Orientation

The orientation of the paper can be either Portrait or Landscape. To quickly change the orientation, click on the Paper Orientation button [image]. You can also change the paper orientation by clicking on File and Print Setup or View and Pages. A dialog box will be displayed that allows you to change the orientation of the paper.

In View and Pages, you can click on a check box to make the orientation chosen the default orientation when RFFlow first runs.

To set up a printer that will be selected each time RFFlow runs, click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and RFFlow Default Printer.


Print Dialog Box

Printer

Check that the printer you want to use is shown to the right of the word Name:.  If this is not the printer you want, click on the triangle to select a different printer.  All the printers that are installed in Windows will be listed here.  If the printer is not in the list, then you will need to install it in Windows. To install a printer in Windows, click on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on Printers and Add Printers.

Check that the port listed to the right of the words Where: is the port to which you want to print.

If you want to change the settings on your printer, click on the Properties button.

If you are printing to a file, put a check mark on the Print to file item.

Print range

Select either All or a range of pages to print.  In RFFlow the pages are numbered from the upper left corner going down.

Copies

Select the number of copies to print, if your printer supports this feature.  RFFlow does not support Collate.

After making your selections, click on the OK button and you will be shown a print preview screen.

See also:

Print


Print Setup Dialog Box

Printer

Check that the printer you want to use is shown to the right of the word Name:.  If this is not the printer you want, click on the triangle to select a different printer.  All the printers that are installed in Windows will be listed here.  If the printer is not in the list, then you will need to install it in Windows. To install a printer in Windows, click on the Start button, Settings, and Control Panel. Then double-click on Printers and Add Printers.

Check that the port listed to the right of the words Where: is the port to which you want to print.

If you want to change the settings on your printer, click on the Properties button.

Paper

Select the size of the paper and the source of the paper.

Orientation

Select either Portrait or Landscape orientation.

After making your selections, click on the OK button.


RFFlow Default Printer

In RFFlow, you can choose a default printer with a paper size, paper source, and orientation.  This default printer is selected when RFFlow first runs, or when you click on File and Close or File and New.

The RFFlow default printer can be either the same as the Windows default printer or it can be different.

To use the Windows default printer as the RFFlow default printer, click on File and RFFlow Default Printer.  In the dialog box that appears, choose Use the Windows default printer as the RFFlow default printer.  Then click the OK button.

(The Windows default printer is changed by clicking on the Windows Start button, Settings, and Printers.  Right click on the printer icon and click Set As Default.  This will change the default printer for all the applications you are running.)

The other option is to not use the Windows default printer but instead to choose a default printer and printer settings just for RFFlow.  Click on File in the main menu of RFFlow and RFFlow Default Printer.  In the dialog box that appears, choose Change the RFFlow default printer and printer parameters.  When you click the OK button the Print Setup Dialog Box will appear.  Choose a printer and printer properties.  This printer will become the RFFlow default printer.

The printer information is saved in each .flo file.  When you open a file, the printer you last used will be selected.  When you save a .flo file, the currently selected printer information is written in the .flo file.


Moving Your Chart into Other Windows Applications

Moving your chart into another Windows application is easy to do.

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and draw a rectangle around the chart.

2.	Click on Edit and Copy in RFFlow.

3.	Switch to the destination application and click on Edit and Paste.

Using the Clipboard is the best way to export your chart into other applications.  Although the process is simple, there are a lot of variations possible so more explanation is needed.

The best way to move your chart into another Windows application is to use the Windows Clipboard. The Windows Clipboard is a temporary storage location that is available when you want to transfer information between Windows applications. The information you cut or copy to the Clipboard remains there until you cut or copy another piece of information, or exit from Windows. The Clipboard only holds one item at a time, but that item can be in several different formats. RFFlow stores its charts on the Clipboard in the metafile, bitmap, and RFFlow native formats. You can see what is on the Clipboard by running the Clipboard Viewer program. Click on Start, Programs, Accessories, and Clipboard Viewer.

RFFlow supports OLE, Object Linking and Embedding. RFFlow is an OLE server. You can draw a chart, select it, copy it to the Clipboard, and paste it into another Windows application. The Windows application into which you paste RFFlow is called the client. If you need to edit the chart, you only have to double-click on the chart inside the destination Windows application and RFFlow will run. The client is often a word processor, but can be any other Windows application.

The RFFlow chart can be either embedded or linked to the client as explained in the following sections. In both procedures, the chart will appear in the client document. The difference between embedding and linking is basically where the data for the RFFlow file is stored. For an embedded chart, the client file will contain the RFFlow file data. For a linked chart, the data is kept in an RFFlow file on the disk.

Embedding Your Chart

Linking Your Chart

Moving an RFFlow chart into:

Corel WordPerfect 8

Microsoft Word 6

Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7

Microsoft Word 97

Microsoft Word 2000


Embedding Your Chart

When you embed a chart from RFFlow into a client document like a word processor, the word processor contains all the information for the chart that is needed to display it and for RFFlow to edit it. The entire RFFlow file is saved inside the document file. This makes documents with embedded charts larger than just documents with simple bitmaps or metafiles. The advantage of an embedded chart is that to edit the chart you only have to double-click on it. The chart or picture you are embedding is referred to as an object in the client document.

There are two ways to embed a chart into a client document:

Embedding by Pasting from the Clipboard

Embedding by Inserting an Object


Embedding by Pasting from the Clipboard

You can take a chart that has been drawn in RFFlow and embed it into another Windows application. In this section we will use Microsoft Word 97 as an example, but most Windows applications will work the same way.

Draw a chart in RFFlow or open a file of a previously drawn chart. Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart. Then click on Edit and Copy or click on the Copy button [image] to copy the chart to the Clipboard.

Then run Microsoft Word 97 or any other Windows application and click on Edit in the main menu and Paste Special in the drop-down menu. The Paste Special dialog box will appear. Click on RFFlow Chart Object in the list and click on the round Paste: button. With Microsoft Word 97 you should remove the check mark from Float over text.

When you click on the OK button in the Paste Special dialog box, the RFFlow chart becomes part of the Microsoft Word 97 document.

To change the properties of the chart inside Microsoft Word 97, click on the chart with the right mouse button. Then click on Format Object in the menu that appears. Select the Size tab if you want to change the size of the flowchart.

To edit the chart, just double-click on it in Microsoft Word 97 and RFFlow will run with that chart loaded. Do the editing, then exit RFFlow and you will return to the Word 97 document.

The Paste Special dialog box shows several other options in the list box. If you click on Picture, Device Independent Bitmap, or Picture (Enhanced Metafile), you will not create an embedded RFFlow object. The chart will be seen inside the client Windows application, but RFFlow will not run if you double-click on the chart. This will make the file of the client Windows application smaller than if you had embedded the chart. This is useful if you do not plan to edit the chart and want to keep file sizes as small as possible.

An alternate way to embed a chart into another Windows application would be to click on File and Paste, instead of File and Paste Special. However, some applications will create an embedded object and others will just import a picture or bitmap of the chart. For that reason it is best to click on Edit and Paste Special and then choose the option you want. Microsoft Word 97 creates an embedded object if you click on Edit and Paste, but then you need to right-click on the chart, click on Format Object, go to the Position tab and remove the check mark from Float over text.

Different versions of Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect have special features, so we included a section for each version of these applications. Please refer to the section for the version of the word processor you are using.

Microsoft Word 6

Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7

Microsoft Word 97

Microsoft Word 2000

Corel WordPerfect 8


Embedding by Inserting an Object

Suppose you are running Microsoft Word 97 and want to create a new chart to be a part of your document. Move the cursor in Word to the point where you want the chart to appear. In Word, click on Insert in the main menu and Object in the drop-down menu. The Object dialog box will appear. Scroll until you find the words RFFlow Chart and click on those words. Flowcharts are usually large so it is best to remove the check mark by Float over text. Finally, click on the OK button.

RFFlow will run and you can draw a chart. Note that the title at the top of the screen will show that an RFFlow Chart is in a Word file. After you finish drawing the chart, click on File and Exit & Return to (filename).doc. Instead of just Exit, the File menu has changed to show that the chart we are working on belongs to the Word .doc document.

When you exit RFFlow and return to Word, your chart will now be a part of the Microsoft Word document.

The chart is inside the Word document. If you want to make further changes to this chart, just double-click on it and RFFlow will appear with the chart ready to edit. Before OLE existed you had to edit a chart in RFFlow and do the copy and paste again. OLE makes this process much easier since you only have to double-click on the chart while you are inside your word processor and you can edit it.

Different versions of Microsoft Word and Corel WordPerfect have special features, so we included a section for each version of these applications. Please refer to the section for the version of the word processor you are using.

Microsoft Word 6

Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7

Microsoft Word 97

Microsoft Word 2000

Corel WordPerfect 8


Linking Your Chart

As an example of object linking, we will create a chart and link it to Microsoft Word 97. Linking to other Windows applications is done in a similar manner.

Steps to Link a Chart

1.	Create the chart in RFFlow. Then save the file and give it a name. You can only link charts which have a filename.

2.	Click on the Select button, drag the mouse across the chart to draw a selection rectangle.

3.	Click on Edit and Copy or click on the Copy button [image] to put the chart on the Clipboard.

4.	Switch to Microsoft Word 97 or another Windows application and open the document file. Click in your Word document where you want the chart to appear.

5.	Then, click on Edit and Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box will appear.

6.	Click on Paste link and click on RFFlow Chart Object. Remove the check mark from Float over text. Then click on the OK button.

The chart is now linked into the client document. The chart will appear where the cursor was placed in the client document. You can link to other Windows applications with basically the same procedure.

As mentioned in the section on embedding, the document file with an embedded RFFlow chart will contain all the information needed to display and edit that chart. Essentially, the .flo file becomes part of the document file. With object linking, the information needed to edit the chart stays in the RFFlow file. The document file only contains the path and name of the RFFlow .flo file that has been linked and enough information to display the chart. This makes the document file smaller with a linked chart than with an embedded chart. You can edit both embedded and linked RFFlow charts by double-clicking on the chart in the document. The difference is that with embedded objects, the data needed to edit the chart is part of the document file. With linked objects, the data needed to edit the chart remains in the RFFlow .flo file. When you double-click on a linked chart, RFFlow will run and open that chart. You could also edit the chart by running RFFlow and opening the file.

The significant feature of linking is that it allows several documents to refer to the same RFFlow chart. Any changes in the linked chart will result in changes to all the documents linked to it. You could have several word processing documents all containing the same chart. If you change the chart, it will change in all these documents automatically. The only downside to object linking is that the documents become less portable since the chart is not part of the document file. If you move the document file to another computer, you have to also move the RFFlow file to be able to edit the chart. If you do not move the RFFlow file, the chart would still appear in the document, but could not be edited.

See also:

Editing a Linked Chart

Maintaining Links


Editing a Linked Chart

To modify a linked chart, double-click on the chart in the client document. Just as with an embedded object, RFFlow will run and you can edit the chart. You can also just open the file directly in RFFlow.

A dotted rectangle will enclose the area of the RFFlow chart that is linked. This area was defined when you drew the selection rectangle to make the link. Only changes to RFFlow inside this dotted rectangle will be shown in the client document. If you need to make the dotted rectangle larger, you have to delete the linked object from the document file and create a new link.

If a chart is linked to several client documents, changes to the chart are reflected in all the documents to which it is linked. The update happens automatically unless you choose to manually update the changes as mentioned in the Maintaining Links topic.


Maintaining Links

Some client applications have a Links dialog box that allows you to view and maintain your links. In Microsoft Word 97, click on Edit and Links and the Links dialog box will appear.

You can update a linked object in two ways: automatically or manually. If the Automatic button is enabled, any change to the linked file will be immediately made in the client document(s). If the Manual button is enabled, you have to click on the Update Now button for the chart to be updated in the client document(s).

You can break a link by clicking on the link listed in the Links dialog box and then clicking on the Break Link button. The chart will still appear in the client document, but it is no longer linked and will not change as the original document is changed.

You can delete a link by simply deleting the chart from the document. Then the chart is gone and there is no link. Of course, the file will still exist and you can open it in RFFlow.

The Change Source button in the Links dialog box allows you to specify a new filename or path for a link. Suppose you have a large project that makes many links to .flo files in the D:\My Flowcharts folder. Then you copy all your files to diskettes and transfer them to your laptop computer that has only a C: drive. You copy these files into the C:\Charts folder. The document will have links to files in D:\My Flowcharts and will not be able to find the charts. You need to click on Edit and Links to display the Links dialog box. Then click on each file and click on Change Source. Change the path from D:\My Flowcharts to C:\Charts so the client document can find the linked files.

It should be noted that linking is very powerful in that a chart can be linked to several word processor documents. However, care must be taken that the word processor documents can always find the chart file. You may want to keep the linked charts in a special directory. If you transfer these word processing documents to another computer, it is easiest to take the chart files also and keep them in the same directory structure on the new computer.


Using RFFlow with Corel WordPerfect 8

The sections on embedding and linking show how to move a chart into another Windows application. Those sections explain the general operations involved. This section provides a quick review with specifics for WordPerfect 8.

If your pictures are not showing up in WordPerfect 8, make sure there is a check mark on the Graphics item in the View menu of WordPerfect 8.

Embedding into WordPerfect 8 by Pasting from the Clipboard

1.	In RFFlow, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

2.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

3.	In WordPerfect 8, move the blinking cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

4.	Click on Edit and Paste in WordPerfect 8. The chart is now part of the WordPerfect 8 document and you can double-click on the chart to edit it.

Alternatively, you could have clicked on Edit and Paste Special in WordPerfect 8. The Paste Special dialog box would appear. Then you would click on Paste:, RFFlow Chart in the list, and the OK button. This also creates an RFFlow chart embedded in a WordPerfect 8 document. If you click on Picture or Device Independent Bitmap instead of RFFlow Chart in the list of the Paste Special dialog box, the RFFlow chart would show up in your document, but you would not be able to double-click on it to edit it.

Embedding into WordPerfect 8 by Inserting a Chart

This method is useful if you haven't drawn the chart yet.

1.	In WordPerfect 8, click on Insert, Object, and then click on RFFlow Chart.

2.	Click on the OK button in the Objects dialog box. RFFlow will run and you can draw a chart.

3.	When you are finished drawing the chart, click on File and Exit & Return to (WordPerfect filename) in RFFlow.

The chart is now part of the WordPerfect 8 document. You can double-click on the chart in WordPerfect 8 to edit it.

Linking an RFFlow Chart to WordPerfect 8

1.	To link an RFFlow chart, the chart must have a name and be saved in a file.

2.	Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

3.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

4.	In WordPerfect 8, move the cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

5.	In WordPerfect 8, click on Edit and Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box will appear.

6.	Click on Paste Link:, RFFlow Chart, and OK.

The chart is now linked to the WordPerfect 8 document. Double-click on the chart if you want to edit it.

To edit the links in your WordPerfect 8 document, first click on some text, so that a linked object is not selected, then click on Edit and Links in WordPerfect 8.


Using RFFlow with Microsoft Word 6

The sections on embedding and linking show how to move a chart into another Windows application. Those sections explain the general operations involved. This section provides a quick review with specifics for Microsoft Word 6.

In the following procedures, if your chart does not show up in Word 6, you need to click on Tools, Options, and View. Make sure Picture Placeholders does NOT have a check.

Embedding into Word 6 by Pasting from the Clipboard

1.	In RFFlow, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

2.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

3.	In Word 6, move the blinking cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

4.	Click on Edit and Paste in Microsoft Word 6. The chart is now part of the Word 6 document and you can double-click on the chart to edit it.

Embedding into Word 6 by Inserting a Chart

This method is useful if you have not drawn the chart yet.

1.	In Word 6, click on Insert, Object, and then click on RFFlow Chart.

2.	Next, click on the OK button in the Objects dialog box. RFFlow will run and you can draw a chart.

3.	When you are finished drawing the chart, click on File and Exit & Return to (filename).doc in RFFlow. The chart is now part of the Word 6 document. You can double-click on the chart in Word 6 to edit it.

Linking an RFFlow Chart to Word 6

1.	To link an RFFlow chart, the chart must have a name and be saved in a file.

2.	Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

3.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

4.	In Word 6, move the cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

5.	Then in Word 6, click on Edit and Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box will appear.

6.	Click on Paste Link:, RFFlow Chart Object, and OK. The chart is now linked to the Word 6 document. Double-click on the chart if you want to edit it.


Using RFFlow with Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7

The sections on embedding and linking show how to move a chart into another Windows application. Those sections explain the general operations involved. This section provides a quick review with specifics for Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7.

The full title of this version of Word is Microsoft Word for Windows 95 Version 7.0. This should not be confused with Word 97.

In the following procedures, if your chart does not show up in Word 7, you need to click on Tools, Options, and View. Make sure Picture Placeholders does NOT have a check.

The Drawing Objects option must be turned on. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word Version 7 and Options. Go to the Print tab and make sure there is a check mark on Drawing Objects.

Embedding into Word Version 7 by Pasting from the Clipboard

1.	In RFFlow, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

2.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

3.	In Word 7, move the cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

4.	Click on Edit and Paste in Microsoft Word Version 7. The chart is now part of the Word 7 document and you can double-click on the chart to edit it.

Embedding into Word Version 7 by Inserting a Chart

This method is useful if you have not drawn the chart yet.

1.	In Word 7, click on Insert, Object, and then click on RFFlow Chart.

2.	Next, click on the OK button in the Objects dialog box. RFFlow will run and you can draw a chart.

3.	When you are finished drawing the chart, click on File and Exit & Return to (filename).doc in RFFlow. The chart is now part of the Word 7 document. You can double-click on the chart in Word 7 to edit it.

Linking an RFFlow Chart to Word Version 7

1.	To link an RFFlow chart, the chart must have a name and be saved in a file.

2.	Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the chart.

3.	Click on Edit and Copy to put the chart on the Clipboard.

4.	In Word 7, move the cursor to where you want the chart to appear.

5.	Then in Word 7, click on Edit and Paste Special. The Paste Special dialog box will appear.

6.	Click on Paste Link:, RFFlow Chart Object, and OK. The chart is now linked to the Word 7 document. Double-click on the chart if you want to edit it.


Using RFFlow with Microsoft Word 97

RFFlow charts can be embedded and linked into Microsoft Word 97. There are several options in Microsoft Word 97 that may cause difficulties if they are not correctly set.

1.	Since charts are usually large objects, it is best to have Float over text turned off. Right-click on the RFFlow chart in Word 97 and click on Format Object in the menu that appears. Go to the Position tab and remove the check mark from Float over text. This can also be done when you paste the RFFlow object into Word 97 if you click on Edit and Paste Special in Word. Select the RFFlow Chart Object in the list and remove the check mark from Float over text.

2.	To see your charts in Word 97, you must have Picture placeholders turned off. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 97 and Options. Go to the View tab and remove the check mark from Picture placeholders.

3.	The Drawing objects option must be turned on. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 97 and Options. Go to the Print tab and make sure there is a check mark on Drawing objects.

4.	Field codes should be turned off. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 97 and Options. Go to the View tab and remove the check mark from Field codes.

5.	If Float over text is enabled, you will only see your chart in Page Layout or Print Preview. To switch to page layout, click on View and Page Layout. To always have your chart visible, the best solution is to disable Float over text as mentioned in item 1 above.

For details, see:

Embedding

Linking


Moving Charts Between RFFlow Files

You can move or copy all or part of one RFFlow chart into another RFFlow chart. There are several ways to do this as explained in the three examples that follow. In these examples we will use files Flow1.flo and Flow2.flo.

Example 1: One Instance of RFFlow

Moving charts between RFFlow files can be done with only one instance of RFFlow.

1.	Open the file Flow1.flo.

2.	Click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the part of the chart you want to copy or cut.

3.	Click on Edit in the main menu and then click on either Copy or Cut. This puts the chart on the Clipboard.

4.	Then click on File and Close to close Flow1.flo.

5.	Click on File and Open to open the file Flow2.flo.

6.	In Flow2.flo, click on File and Paste and the objects on the Clipboard will appear in Flow2.flo.

7.	Drag the objects to their destination location.

Example 2: Two Instances of RFFlow

Another way to move charts between RFFlow files is to run RFFlow twice.

1.	First, run RFFlow and open the chart Flow1.flo.

2.	Then click on File and Open again and open the chart Flow2.flo.

3.	Size the two RFFlow windows so both of them can be seen on the screen.

4.	In Flow2.flo, scroll so the upper left corner of the screen is empty.

5.	To move a portion of Flow1.flo into Flow2.flo, select the area of Flow1.flo desired. Selection is done by clicking on the Select button in the easybar, and then using the mouse to draw a rectangle around the objects. The area selected will show up in inverse video. Only objects totally inside the selection rectangle are considered as being selected.

6.	After the area is selected, click on Edit in the main menu of Flow1.flo and Copy or Cut in the drop-down menu.

7.	Next, go to the Edit menu of Flow2.flo and click on Paste. The selected objects will now appear in the Flow2.flo screen.

8.	Finally, drag the new objects to their final location in Flow2.flo.

Example 3: Drag and Drop

You can also drag and drop objects between charts. This procedure can be used to either copy objects from one chart to another or to move objects from one chart to another.

1.	First, run RFFlow and open the chart Flow1.flo.

2.	Then click on File and Open again and open the chart Flow2.flo.

3.	Size the two RFFlow windows so both of them can be seen on the screen.

4.	In Flow2.flo, scroll so the upper left corner of the screen is empty.

5.	Select the objects you which to copy or move. Click on the Select button and draw a selection rectangle around the objects in Flow1.flo.

6.	Next, click on either the Duplicate button or the Move button in the easybar of Flow1.flo. It doesn't matter which one you click. Whether you are doing a drag and drop copy or a drag and drop move is determined by the CTRL key.

7.	To do a drag and drop copy, hold the CTRL key down and drag the objects into Flow2.flo. If you don’t hold the CTRL key down as you drag the objects, then you are doing a drag and drop move.

drag and drop move = CTRL key not pressed

drag and drop copy = CTRL key pressed


Clipboard Cut

Cut is similar to Copy except that after moving the objects to the Clipboard, they are deleted from the chart. We use files Flow1.flo and Flow2.flo in the example below:

1.	To do a Cut, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around the objects you want to cut from Flow1.flo. You can also click on objects to select them.

2.	Then click on Edit in the main menu of Flow1.flo, and Cut in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you could click on the Cut button [image] . All the selected objects are placed on the Clipboard and then deleted from Flow1.flo.

3.	Switch to Flow2.flo and click on Edit and Paste to add the objects into that chart.

See also:

Moving RFFlow Charts into Other Windows Applications


Importing Pictures into RFFlow

If the picture you are importing is saved in a file, click on Insert in the main menu of RFFlow and Picture From File. This is explained in Inserting a Picture From a File.

You can paste pictures from other Windows applications into RFFlow. RFFlow will take either a metafile or bitmap from the Clipboard. In this section we will show three examples of moving pictures into RFFlow charts. You can also move the picture directly into a stencil if you will be using the picture often. See Adding Clip Art to a Stencil for information on moving clip art into a stencil. See Adding Picture Files to a Stencil for information on how to import bitmap files (.bmp, .gif, .jpeg) and metafiles (.wmf or .emf) into a stencil.

Example 1: Clip Art from a Software Package

You can get clip art pictures for your charts from a clip art software application.

1.	First, go to your clip art application and copy the picture to the Clipboard. Your clip art package may be different, but in general, you click on the picture you want and then copy it to the Clipboard.

2.	Then go into RFFlow and click on Edit and Paste. The picture will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the RFFlow drawing area.

3.	Drag the picture to its final destination in your chart.

4.	To change the size of the imported picture, click on the Size button [image] and click on the picture. Then drag the handles to a make the picture a new size.

Example 2: Clip Art from Microsoft Office

As a second example of importing pictures, we will use Microsoft Office. Microsoft Office comes with a clip art library that can be pasted into RFFlow.

1.	First, run Microsoft Word 2000 or Word 97 and click on Insert, Picture, and Clip Art. In Word 97, Microsoft Clip Gallery will run.

2.	In Word 97, choose the picture you wish to import and click on the Insert button. Now the clip art shows up in your Word 97 document. Left-click on the picture in Word 97 and choose Edit and Copy. In Word 2000, simply right-click on the picture and choose Copy.

3.	Then switch to RFFlow and click on Edit and Paste. The clip art will show up in the upper left corner of the RFFlow drawing area.

5.	Drag the picture to its destination.

Example 3: Pictures from Microsoft Paint

You could also draw pictures in Microsoft Paint and move them into RFFlow via the Windows Clipboard.

1.	First draw the picture using Microsoft Paint.

2.	To select the picture in Paint, click on the dotted rectangle button and drag the mouse pointer diagonally across the object to select it.

3.	Next, click on Edit and Copy in Paint to put the picture on the Clipboard.

4.	Switch to RFFlow and click on Edit and Paste. The picture will show up in the upper left corner of the RFFlow drawing area.

5.	Drag the picture to its destination location. The picture is now part of your RFFlow chart.


Clipboard Copy

To copy objects to the Clipboard, follow these steps:

1.	Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar. Draw a selection rectangle around the objects you wish to copy or click on them.

2.	Click on Edit in the main menu and Copy or click on the Copy button [image]. The objects have now been copied to the Windows Clipboard.

See also:

Moving RFFlow Charts into Other Windows Applications


Clipboard Paste

To paste objects or pictures from the Clipboard into your chart, click on Edit in the main menu and Paste or click on the Paste button [image].

The pasted objects may be selected (inverse video) and will be located in the upper left corner of the drawing area. Drag them to their final position. You may have to click on Zoom out to see more of your chart.

See also:

Importing Pictures into RFFlow

Moving RFFlow Charts into Other Windows Applications


Paste Special

Pictures on the Clipboard may be stored in several formats such as metafile and bitmap. When you click on Edit and Paste in RFFlow, the RFFlow program selects one of these formats. You can make the selection yourself if you click on Edit and Paste Special in RFFlow. The Paste Special dialog box will show a list of the formats currently on the Clipboard. In general, the formats at the top of the list are the preferred formats. Click on the format you want and click on the OK button.


Clipboard Formats

When you do a Clipboard Copy, Clipboard Cut, or a Drag and Drop operation, RFFlow sources data in several different formats: Enhanced metafile picture, Metafile picture, RFFlow native format, and Bitmap. All these formats are then available to the application that will paste RFFlow. The destination application will decide which format to use.

There might be a situation where you want RFFlow to place only one format on the Clipboard. For example, you may want to force the destination application to paste a bitmap from the Clipboard. If you want RFFlow to place only certain formats onto the Clipboard, click on Edit in the main menu and Clipboard Formats. The Select Clipboard and Drag and Drop Formats dialog box will appear. Choose the format(s) you want and click on the OK button.


Using RFFlow with Microsoft Word 2000

RFFlow charts can be embedded and linked into Microsoft Word 2000.

1.	After pasting your chart into Word 2000, you can right-click on the chart and select Format Object.  The dialog box which appears allows you to change the size, layout, and cropping of the chart. You could also change the size by clicking on the chart and dragging the handles. If you double-click on the chart, RFFlow will run and you can edit the chart.

2.	To see your charts in Word 2000, you must have Picture placeholders turned off. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 2000 and Options. Go to the View tab and remove the check mark from Picture placeholders.

3.	The Drawing objects option must be turned on. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 2000 and Options. Go to the Print tab and make sure there is a check mark on Drawing objects.

4.	Field codes should be turned off. Click on Tools in the main menu of Microsoft Word 2000 and Options. Go to the View tab and remove the check mark from Field codes.

For details, see:

Embedding

Linking


Using RFEdit Objects in RFFlow Version 4

Version 3 of RFFlow included a program called RFEdit that allowed you to create your own shapes, lines, and curves and add them to RFFlow. RFEdit is not included with RFFlow Version 4 and its use is not recommended. To draw custom shapes in RFFlow 4, see:

Drawing Custom Shapes in RFFlow 4

RFEdit is still available by downloading from our Web site and is on the Web page www.rff.com/rfedit. RFEdit is difficult to use because it involves writing a text script to describe the drawing of the shape or line.

If you have shapes developed with RFEdit, the following topics will explain how to use them in RFFlow Version 4.

Setting Up the RFSHAPES.INI Folder

Adding RFEdit Objects

Reloading the RFEdit Objects


Setting Up the RFSHAPES.INI Folder

If you created objects in RFEdit for RFFlow Version 3, you can use them in RFFlow Version 4 also. RFFlow needs to know where the .txt files are located. It does this via a file called RFSHAPES.INI. RFSHAPES.INI is a file that simply lists the paths to the text files. A portion of RFSHAPES.INI might look like this:

[Shapes1]

ShapeA=F:\path\path\shape.txt

ShapeB=F:\path\path\shape.txt

When RFFlow runs, it looks for RFSHAPES.INI, reads it, and loads the .txt files. To tell RFFlow where RFSHAPES.INI is, follow these steps:

1.	Run RFFlow and click on Tools in the main menu, RFEdit Objects, and RFSHAPES.INI Location.

2.	The Select the Folder for the RFSHAPES.INI File dialog box will appear.

3.	Click on the Browse button and find the folder where your RFSHAPES.INI file is located. You may want to use Microsoft Explorer first to search for RFSHAPES.INI.

4.	After locating the directory, click on the OK button. Then RFFlow will know where to look for RFSHAPES.INI.

To load the shapes, click on Tools in the main menu, RFEdit Objects, and Reload the RFEdit Objects. Now, if you click on the Stencils button in the easybar and scroll to the bottom of the stencil list, the RFEdit Objects will contain your shapes. You can use them like any other shapes. Each time RFFlow runs, it will load these shapes specified in your RFSHAPES.INI file. The location of RFSHAPES.INI is saved in the registry.

See also:

Drawing Custom Shapes for RFFlow 4

Adding RFEdit Objects

Reloading the RFEdit Objects


Adding RFEdit Objects to RFFlow

If you have not set up the RFSHAPES.INI folder, you should do so first.  See Setting Up the RFSHAPES.INI Folder.

Suppose you create a new custom shape with RFEdit Version 1 and want to use it in RFFlow Version 4. Do the following steps to add your custom shape to RFFlow:

1.	First, click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow, RFEdit Objects, and Add RFEdit Objects. The Select the RFEdit Group to be Modified dialog box will appear.

2.	If your object is a shape, then place it in one of the six Shapes groups. If it is a straight horizontal or vertical line, then choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Lines. If it is a diagonal line, choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Diags. If the new object is a curve, choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Curves. You must choose the correct group category for the objects to operate correctly. Then click on the OK button.

3.	The next dialog box which appears is the Add or Change an RFEdit Object dialog box. It allows you to add or change a shape in a group of RFEdit shapes.

4.	Find an empty slot, or one you want to change and click on it. Then click on the Change Item button. Shapes should be added in alphabetical order starting with slot a and continuing through y.

5.	The Open dialog box will appear. click on the .txt file you want to add and click on the Open button.

6.	The new RFEdit shape will now show up in the slot you chose.

7.	Each group holds 24 objects, so for shapes you could load 6 times 24 or 144 RFEdit shapes. You could actually make more than that, but you can only load 144 different ones at a time. There are only four groups for straight lines, diagonal lines, and curves so you can have only 96 different RFEdit lines, diagonal lines, or curves loaded at one time.

8.	Finally, clicking on the OK button in the Add or Change an RFEdit Object dialog box returns you to the main screen. Now, when you click on the Stencils button in the easybar and scroll to the RFEdit Objects, RFEdit Shapes 1 will include the custom shape you added.

The information for drawing RFEdit objects is stored in the .txt file. The location of this file is saved in the RFSHAPES.INI file. RFSHAPES.INI is just a list of the slots and the path and filename for the object that occupies that slot. You should never have to edit the RFSHAPES.INI file directly. It is created automatically when you do steps 1 through 8 above.

When RFFlow first runs, it reads RFSHAPES.INI and loads the .txt files listed in RFSHAPES.INI.

It is important that the RFSHAPES.INI file and the .txt files be kept in the same place and not be moved around. If somefile.txt was in the C:\data\RFEdit directory and then is moved to the C:\other directory, RFFlow will not be able to find it and the slot it occupies will be empty. You would have to load somefile.txt again so that RFSHAPES.INI has the correct directory for somefile.txt. It is best to keep RFSHAPES.INI and the .txt files in the same working directory.

If you give someone a copy of a .flo file that contains RFEdit shapes, also give them your RFSHAPES.INI file and the .txt files used in the chart.

See also:

Drawing Custom Shapes for RFFlow 4

Setting Up the RFSHAPES.INI Folder

Reloading the RFEdit Objects


Reloading RFEdit Shapes

The RFEdit objects are loaded when RFFlow first runs. RFFlow finds out which slots are occupied and what .txt files to load by looking in the RFSHAPES.INI file. If you have made changes to the .txt files and do not want to restart RFFlow, you can click on Tools in the main menu, RFEdit Objects, and Reload the RFEdit Objects. RFFlow will then read the RFSHAPES.INI file and reload any .txt files listed there.

See also:

Drawing Custom Shapes for RFFlow 4

Setting Up the RFSHAPES.INI Folder

Adding RFEdit Objects


Chart Drawing Hints

The following list describes some of RFFlow's features and gives tips which may help you draw charts more efficiently.

1.	You can draw your own new shapes by using the lines, curves, and shapes of RFFlow. After drawing a new shape, click on the Select button in the easybar and draw a selection rectangle around your new shape. Then right-click on the shape and click on Combine Shapes and Put into a Stencil. Your new shape will be added to the currently selected stencil. See Drawing Combination Shapes.  You can also draw shapes in the RFShape program and add them to RFFlow.  See RFShape.

2.	To bring up a menu with the standard RFFlow commands, click with the right mouse button in an empty area of the screen. This lets you select a new command without moving the cursor to the easybar. You could also hide the easybar to increase the drawing area.

3.	You can scroll quickly by dragging the mouse with the right mouse button depressed. The screen will repaint in the new position when the right mouse button is released. This allows you to move diagonally in one motion and the screen is redrawn only once. The arrow keys on your keyboard are also always available for scrolling.

4.	To change the properties of an object, like its interior color, simply click on the object with the right mouse button. See Changing Shape Properties.

5.	For standard charts, it is easier to let RFFlow automatically connect objects rather than to actually draw each line. Click on the Auto Connect [image]  or Auto Connect Sides [image] button and then click on the two shapes you want to connect. See Auto Connection for the details.

6.	To move an object and keep it connected to other objects, click on the Locked Move button in the easybar and drag the object to a new place. The lines will stretch or shrink and the objects will stay connected. See Doing a Locked Move.

7.	If you want to move, copy, or delete several objects, first select them by clicking on the Select button in the easybar. Then, either click on each of the objects or draw a selection rectangle around them. Next, click on the Move, Duplicate, or Delete buttons and you can move, duplicate, or delete all the selected objects at once.

8.	If you often select the same stencils for your charts, you should make an initialization or startup file. The RFFlow initialization file is called Init.flo. The folder where Init.flo is located can be viewed or changed by clicking on File, File Locations, and Initial Stencils. Set up your stencils the way you want them and click on Stencils in the main menu and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts.. This creates the file Init.flo. RFFlow will look for Init.flo and automatically load it when RFFlow is first run. See the section about creating an Init.flo file for more information.

9.	It is best to set up your stencils with all the necessary shapes with their appropriate properties before starting a chart. You can make .flo files that contain often-used stencils and open one of these files. Then click on File and Save As to start a new chart using these stencils.

10.	If you are drawing a large chart, you should periodically save it. If there is a power failure while you are working out of RAM, your chart will be lost. Another good time to save your chart to disk is just before you print it.

11.	To increase the speed of drawing and printing charts, select objects that are composed of horizontal and vertical lines and do not contain filled areas. Imported bitmaps and metafiles will also draw more slowly than stick shapes.

12.	You can speed up the drawing of bitmaps and metafiles by clicking on View and Show Bitmaps and Metafiles as Rectangles.

13.	RFFlow has many alignment and spacing options. These are explained in a section on Alignment.

14.	If you are drawing a one-page chart, a quick way to center it on the paper is to click on the Center button [image] in the toolbar.

15.	For large charts, a plotter is very useful. It will let you put everything on one large page instead of taping smaller pages together. Use a pen width of 0 on pen plotters to speed up plotting.

16.	If you are drawing many identical lines, it is easier to draw one line and make duplicates of it rather than drawing each individual line. Click on the Duplicate command in the easybar and drag a copy of the line to each location. You only have to draw the line once and with the Duplicate command, you can make as many copies as you want.

17.	If you get lost on the screen, click on Tools, Center, and Find the Chart.

18.	Do not let any text be cut by a page boundary. Some printers won't print correctly if any text spans from one page to another. The edge of the page is shown as a red line in the drawing area.

19.	Some printers have a feature called No Page Break that allows you to print a chart without a blank margin between the pages. Use this feature in portrait orientation on long narrow charts and in landscape orientation on wide charts.

20.	If you want a certain shape to be fixed in size, make it a fixed size in the stencil at the left of the RFFlow window. Click on the shape in the stencil with the right mouse button and then go to the Shape tab. Adjust the size and make sure there is a check mark in the Fixed Size item. Now as you use this shape in your chart, it will always be the size you specified.

21.	For answers to your questions about RFFlow, first try searching in the online Help. Click on Help in RFFlow and Help Topics. To read complete illustrated instructions for using the program, see the printed RFFlow User's Guide. The table of contents and index will help you to locate the information you need. Any time you need assistance or have a question about using RFFlow, call RFF Electronics at 970-663-5767, send a fax to 970-669-4889, or e-mail to help@rff.com.


RFFlow Version 4 Description

RFFlow Professional Flowcharting

RFFlow is the ideal program for creating a wide variety of flowcharts, organization charts, and diagrams for education, business, and industry.  Produce fine quality, professional-looking charts quickly and easily with RFFlow.

It’s Easy to Draw and Edit Charts with RFFlow

Even if you’ve never used a drawing tool before, it’s very easy to create flowcharts and diagrams with RFFlow.  To add a shape to your chart, click on a shape in a stencil, type in the text, and click on the screen to place the shape.  Or, simply drag a shape from a stencil to your chart.  Shapes in RFFlow will automatically size around your text.

All of the most frequently used commands in RFFlow are now at easy reach on a large toolbar.  You can quickly move, duplicate, delete, and edit the shapes and lines in your chart.  A prompt line provides assistance at each step.  RFFlow has a multilevel undo capability.

To move around in your chart, use the standard scrollbars in the window, use the arrow keys, or drag the chart with the right mouse button.  If your mouse has a wheel, it will work too.  You can zoom in to see the details of your chart, or zoom out to see the complete chart.

Right-click on a shape or line to edit its properties.  You can change the color, width, and style of a shape's lines and change the color and style of the interior fill.  You can also size or rotate a shape, add a shape number, make a shape a header or footer, link a shape to a file, assign a shape to a layer, make it a guideline, or change a shape to another shape.  These operations can also be performed on a group of selected shapes.

Shapes, Lines, and Text

RFFlow includes over 1600 shapes that are carefully organized into stencils designed for specific tasks.  The stencils are arranged in an expandable list that allows you to quickly find the stencil or shape you want.  Each shape has a tooltip displaying its name or description.

RFFlow has stencils for audit objects, brackets, cause-effect (fishbone) diagrams, computer/network design, criminal investigation diagrams, data flow diagrams, database definitions, electrical/electronics, entity relationship diagrams, flowcharting (basic flowcharting, DIN66001, physical flowcharting), fluid power design, genetic pedigree charts, Graham process flow, Greek alphabet, IDEF0, IDEF1X, industrial objects, office layouts, organization charts, quality system/ISO 9000 charts, SDL charts, software design (UML, Booch, Gane/Sarson, Shlaer-Mellor OOA,Yourdan, and others), structure charts, and transportation objects.

You can use the RFFlow stencils or create your own custom stencils with just the shapes and lines you need.  You can import bitmaps and clip art pictures from files or from the Clipboard and add them to a custom stencil.  You can also draw your own custom shapes in RFFlow and add them to a stencil.

Lines in RFFlow can be horizontal, vertical, diagonal, or curved.  They can be solid, dotted, or dashed and can be any color.  Users can choose from a large selection of arrowheads of different sizes, shapes, and styles.

Text is entered and formatted just like it is in your word processor.  RFFlow allows you to use multiple fonts and font sizes.  The text editor includes bold, italic, underline, text color, tabs, subscripts, superscripts, spelling, left, center, and right alignment, special characters, undo, redo, copy, cut, and paste.  Each shape can hold up to 5000 characters.

Move Your Chart into Other Applications

RFFlow supports Object Linking and Embedding in Windows as an OLE Server.  This makes it very easy to use RFFlow diagrams in other Windows programs.  You simply copy the chart to the Clipboard and paste it into the destination Windows application.  You can embed or link your chart.  In both cases, you can edit the chart by double-clicking on it in the destination application.

RFFlow charts can be saved to disk in the following formats:  .bmp, .gif, .html, .htm, .jpeg, .jpg, .wmf, .emf, .eps, and .plt.

Intuitive Features

RFFlow has intelligent features that make common tasks easy and automatic and give you the flexibility you need for your work.  With Auto Connect, you simply click on two objects and RFFlow will draw the line to connect them.  The Locked Move command allows you to keep shapes connected as you move them, with the lines stretching or shrinking like rubber bands.  All objects automatically snap to grid points, making lining up shapes a very simple task.  An automatic alignment feature positions new objects with respect to those already drawn.  RFFlow can automatically number the shapes in a chart as you draw them.  All the lines in a chart can be edited to mark intersections with crossovers and to round sharp corners.  When moving shapes near the edge of the RFFlow window, the chart will automatically scroll.  Your completed chart can be automatically sized to fit on a page.

You can use long filenames in this full 32-bit program.  You can draw enormous charts in a 10 foot by 10 foot drawing area including 65,000 objects per chart.  Multiple-page charts having up to 64 pages can be drawn.  RFFlow includes a full-function spelling checker and find and replace.  You can make headers and footers that can include page numbers, filename, date, and time.  Headers can be composed of any number of shapes, lines, or curves.

With RFFlow, you can link shapes in your chart to other RFFlow charts, files on your computer, or locations on the Internet.  These linked shapes then run other programs or open files when clicked.  This lets you make a hierarchy of charts, each showing more of the details.  You can easily attach RFFlow charts to your e-mail messages.

Comprehensive Help, Documentation, and Support

Inside each RFFlow package is a Quick Reference card with all the information you need to run RFFlow Setup and then draw, edit, and print your first chart or diagram in minutes.  The 200-page RFFlow User’s Guide has complete documentation on all of the functionality within the program as well as a tutorial that gets new users started with easy, step-by-step instructions.  The RFFlow Shapes booklet includes pictures of all the RFFlow shapes and lines.

Within RFFlow itself, the Online Help System contains the full manual in addition to task-specific help topics.  Each dialog box in RFFlow has a Help button that leads you to assistance specific to your current task.

RFF Electronics provides free and unlimited technical support for RFFlow.  Simply call 970-663-5767, send a fax to 970-669-4889, or e-mail us at help@rff.com, and we’ll be happy to assist you.

Download the Trial Version

Thank you for your interest in RFFlow.  For more information, visit us on the Internet at http://www.rff.com.  There you can download a free trial version of RFFlow, view sample charts and diagrams, and find out more about the product.

System Requirements and Version Information

RFFlow Version 4 requires Microsoft Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows Me, Windows NT 4.0, Windows 2000, Windows XP, or later.  If you are running any of these operating systems and have a Windows-compatible mouse or pointing device, your system has already met all the requirements necessary to run RFFlow.  RFFlow 4 is a full 32-bit program with complete support for long filenames.  RFFlow Setup makes it easy to install the program on a personal computer or network server.  RFFlow is shipped on one CD-ROM.  A full installation of RFFlow requires less than 10 megabytes of hard drive space.  RFFlow has complete printer and plotter support; if a graphics printer or plotter is installed in Windows, it will work with RFFlow.


Shortcut Keys for the RFFlow Main Screen

Command	Accelerator

Copy	CTRL + C or CTRL + INSERT

Cut   	CTRL + X or SHIFT +DELETE

Paste	CTRL + V  or SHIFT + INSERT

Edit Text	CTRL + T

Find    	CTRL + F

Find and Replace	CTRL + H

Repeat Last Find	F3

File New	CTRL + N

File Open	CTRL + O

File Save	CTRL + S

Full Screen	F9

Grid Lines  	CTRL + G

Help    	F1

Link Command	CTRL + K

Print   	CTRL + P

Redo	CTRL + Y

Redraw Screen	F5

Rotate	CTRL + Q

Select	CTRL + W

Select All	CTRL + A

Show/Hide Stencils	F10

Undo	CTRL + Z  or  ALT + BACKSPACE

Zoom In	CTRL + M

Zoom Out	CTRL + D

Accelerator - Command

F1	Help

F3	Repeat Last Find

F5	Redraw Screen

F9	Full Screen

F10	Show/Hide Stencils

CTRL + A 	Select All

CTRL + C 	Copy to Clipboard

CTRL + D 	Zoom Out

CTRL + F 	Find

CTRL + G 	Show/Hide Grid Lines

CTRL + H 	Find and Replace

CTRL + K 	Open Linked File

CTRL + M 	Zoom In

CTRL + N 	File, New

CTRL + O 	File, Open

CTRL + P 	File, Print

CTRL + Q 	Rotate Shape

CTRL + S 	File, Save

CTRL + T 	Edit Text

CTRL + V 	Paste

CTRL + W  	Select

CTRL + X 	Cut

CTRL + Y 	Redo

CTRL + Z 	Undo

For entering text, see Shortcut Keys for Entering Text.


Drawing Custom Shapes for RFFlow 4

There are two ways to draw custom shapes for RFFlow:

1.	You can use the lines, curves, and shapes of RFFlow and combine them into a combination shape.  This shape can then be put into a stencil and used over and over.  It is a combination of shapes, rather than a custom shape. See Drawing Combination Shapes.

2.	You can use the application RFShape to draw truly custom shapes for RFFlow. These shapes can be placed in a stencil, rotated, filled, and always remain one unique shape.


Additional Network Symbol Libraries

The network shapes included in RFFlow can be observed by clicking on Stencils [image] in the easybar, then double-clicking Computers/Networks. Next click on Network Objects, Accessories, Computers, Connectors, etc. to see the shapes available. You can also look in the Shapes Booklet. Additional network shapes and other shapes can be purchased from Altima Technologies, Inc.

Altima Technologies and RFF Electronics have teamed up to provide RFFlow users with vendor-specific Network Equipment Symbols in a program named NetZoom 2000 for RFFlow. Now users can take advantage of RFFlow’s easy-to-use drawing and diagramming features to create professional network diagrams with real-world Network Equipment Symbols. To see how these additional network shapes are added to RFFlow, click on Tools, and Run NetZoom in RFFlow.

NetZoom 2000's content database is comprised of over 31,000 manufacturer-specific equipment objects (including Ethernet, ATM, DSL, wireless, and broadband) from over 700 manufacturers. These shapes look just like the actual manufacturer's equipment showing every connector.

Altima's NetZoom 2000 integrates seamlessly with RFFlow, offering users a comprehensive network documentation, design and diagramming solution.

NetZoom 2000 for RFFlow can be used by network administrators, network architects, network designers, hardware manufacturers, web designers, publishers, educational instructors, software marketing departments and sales professionals.

For more information, go to http://www.rff.com/altima.htm

You can also contact Altima Technologies by phone at 630-790-0500 or send email to sales@altimatech.com.


Link Analysis

A link analysis chart shows the relationships between a number of people and organizations in a visual form.  The first step in creating a link analysis chart is to create the data file.  There are four ways to do this:

1.	Use RFFlow to draw a matrix diagram. Then use RFFlow to automatically create the Link Analysis diagram from the matrix. This method is explained in Using a Matrix to Create a Link Analysis Chart.

2.	Use Microsoft Notepad.  Click on the Start button, Programs, Accessories, and Notepad.  The link analysis software can open Notepad files to create a link analysis chart.  Notepad files end in .txt.  The .txt extension may not show up on your screen if you are not displaying extensions.

3.	Use Microsoft Word or a similar word processor.  Enter the data, select the text and click on Edit, Copy.  This places the data on the Windows Clipboard where it can be retrieved by the link analysis software.

4.	Enter the data into Microsoft Excel and save the file as a comma delimited CSV file.  Use the first three columns on the left.  Don’t type the commas as they are added automatically when the file is saved.  Click on SaveAs in Excel and select CSV (.csv).  The link analysis software can open .csv files to create a chart.

In all three cases, the input data consists of lines of text which show the relationships between people and businesses or organizations.

A confirmed relationship is a relationship that is known to exist.  If two people were seen talking together over lunch by several witnesses, you would enter on one line:

name 1, name 2, confirmed

The items are separated by commas.  It is best to use first and last names, but not necessary.  If you don’t know the name, type Unknown Person or a question mark.  You must be consistent and use the same name each time it is entered.  Don’t type Joe Smith in one place and J. Smith in another as the program will treat them as different people.

If you need to use the form "Last Name, First Name" you must put quotation marks as shown.  This tells the software to ignore the comma inside the quotation marks.  For example, you would write on one line:

"Washington, George", "Adams, John", confirmed

A suspected relationship is one that lacks definitive proof.  In this case type on one line:

name 1, name 2, suspected

If a person is a key individual in a business or organization, you enter on one line:

name, business (business), key individual

A business must be followed by the word (business) including the parentheses.  An organization must be followed by the word (organization).  This is how the program distinguishes a person from a business or organization.

Each name or business must be followed by a comma.  Commas are typed by you in methods 1 and 2 above and are automatically added by Excel in method 3.  The software interprets the comma as the end of one item and beginning of another.  Lines with no commas will be ignored.  After the second comma, the software will look for only three words: suspected, confirmed, or key individual.  All other words will be ignored.

Once the chart has been generated, you can edit it to make it more compact or to reduce the number of times lines cross.  Click on the Locked Move button and move the people around keeping them connected.  To move a business, first draw a selection rectangle around it and then do a locked move on the selection rectangle.


Telephone Frequency Analysis

A telephone frequency analysis chart graphically shows what calls are being made to or from a target phone.  The target phone is a circle in the center of the drawing.  The other phones form a ring around the target phone.  RFFlow can take data from a file and automatically generate the chart.

1.	The data used in generating the chart must be in a text .txt file or a comma separated .csv file.  You can start with an Excel spreadsheet and do SaveAs .csv.  The text file can be generated using Microsoft Notepad.  The .txt and .csv extensions may not show up on your screen if you are not displaying extensions.

2.	The data in the file consists of a phone number, a comma, another phone number, a comma, and either the words "incoming" or "outgoing."  For example:

970-663-5767, 970-669-4889, outgoing

970-663-5767, 970-669-4889, incoming

3.	The target number is always the left phone number.  You can have several target numbers in one file.  The software will ask you to choose which target number to use to create the chart.  In Excel, you would enter data into 3 columns and Save As a .csv file.

4.	After creating the file, run RFFlow and click on Tools, Auto Charts, and Telephone Analysis...

5.	A dialog box will ask you to select the data file you want to use.  It will show only .txt or .csv files.

6.	A second dialog box will ask you to select the target phone number.  This will become the phone number in the center of the chart.  You can also select whether you want a colored diagram or not.

7.	After clicking the OK button, the software will process the data and draw the chart.

To include a name with the phone number, simply type the name before or after the phone number.  If you want the name and phone number to be on different lines, include the characters \n1 between the number and name.  There must be a space after the \n1 for it to work.  For example, type all this on one line:

970-669-4889, 970-663-5767\n1 George Washington, outgoing


Auto Charts

Link Analysis

Telephone Analysis


Dimensions on Lines

RFFlow can automatically display the length of a line with units such as feet, inches, mm, etc. For example, if you select units of inches, you can draw a line that is 16 grid units long and it will automatically be labeled as shown below:

If you change the length of the line, the dimensions will automatically be updated.

Only certain lines have this ability. To find the Lines with Dimensions stencil, click on the Stencils button [image] and open the Lines folder. Lines with Dimensions is the last stencil in the Lines folder. The lines at the top of the stencil have the dimensions placed directly on the line and those at the bottom of the stencil have the dimensions above the line. You use these lines as you would any other lines.

To select the units and precision, click on Tools, and Dimensions on Lines.... The units and precision you select will apply to the entire chart. If you select centimeters, then each grid unit in your chart will represent 1 centimeter. If you select feet, then each grid unit will represent 1 foot.

If you add text to a line that automatically shows dimensions, the dimensions are not shown.


Moving RFFlow Charts into Visio

1.	First select all or part of your chart in RFFlow. To select the entire chart, click on Edit, Select All. To select part of your chart, click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and drag the mouse to draw a rectangle around part of your chart.

2.	Next click on Edit, Copy in RFFlow.

3.	Switch to Microsoft Visio and click on Edit, Paste.

4.	The chart now shows up inside Visio. It is one large object. If you want to edit the individual shapes, right-click on the chart and select Shape and then Ungroup.

You can also copy charts from Visio and paste them into RFFlow, but RFFlow doesn't have an Ungroup command so the charts remain a single object.


Using a Matrix to Create a Link Analysis Chart

1.	You must use the Link Analysis stencil to draw your matrix. If it is not displayed, click on the green Stencils button [image], open the Criminal Analysis folder, click on Link Analysis, and finally click the Add Stencil button.

2.	The matrix is located in the Link Analysis stencil on the left in the third row down. Drag the matrix from the stencil to the drawing area.

3.	Click on the center button [image] to center the large matrix on the paper.

4.	Now add the names of the people and businesses. Click on the word Name in the stencil. It is shown at a 45-degree angle. Enter a name, click on the OK button, and click on the screen. If you enter a business or organization, you must type (business) or (organization) including the parentheses. The program uses this to differentiate between people and businesses. For example, if the business were named Magic Pizza, you would enter Magic Pizza (business). Place the name in any available slot.

5.	Now fill in the matrix by using the following shapes.

If the relationship is confirmed, use [image].

If the relationship is only suspected, use [image].

If the individual is a key individual in a business or organization, use [image].

If no relationship has been established, leave the box blank.

6.	When you have filled in the appropriate relationships, click on File, Save to save this RFFlow chart. It is a good idea to have the word matrix as part of the filename, since you will be generating a separate RFFlow file with the link analysis diagram and these two files must have different names. For example, the matrix might be called CA1 Matrix.flo. The .flo won't show up unless Windows is set up to display extensions.

7.	Now click on File, Close. You are finished drawing the matrix.

8.	Click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow, Auto Charts, and Link Analysis....

9.	In the dialog box that appears, click the round button near the words: The input data is inside a matrix saved in an RFFlow file. Then click the Next button.

10.	Now the Open dialog box will appear. Click on the name of the chart with the matrix. That is the chart you just drew that includes the word matrix in the filename. In our example it was named CA1 Matrix. Then click the Open button.

11.	The link analysis diagram will automatically be generated and shown on the screen. You may have to zoom out to see it.

12.	Now save this link diagram. Click on File, Save and give it a name different from the one you gave the matrix. We called our sample CA1 Matrix so we would name the link diagram CA1 Link Diagram.

13.	The link diagram can be edited like any other RFFlow diagram. You may want to click on the Locked Move button [image] and then move the people around to minimize the number of crossed lines. You need to click off-center on the circles, or you will be moving only the lines.


Tutorial: Drawing a Flowchart
Drawing a Flowchart, Step 1

This section shows you how to draw a flowchart. It follows a step-by-step procedure.

The flowchart we are drawing is small so it will fit on one page. Large charts that fill several pages can also be drawn with RFFlow. To set up the number of pages, click on View in the main menu and then click on Pages in the drop-down menu. The Number of Pages and Page Orientation dialog box will be displayed. To show the page boundaries, there must be a check mark in the box to the left of the words Show page boundaries. For a one-page chart, click on the round button near the number 1 in both the horizontal and vertical group boxes. You can select the orientation of the paper in this dialog box also. Finally, click on the OK button.

The drawing area will now show a red rectangle that marks the edges of one page. This is the maximum drawing area on the paper for your printer. If you don’t see this red rectangle, click on the Zoom Out button [image] a couple of times. The Zoom Out and Zoom In buttons allow you to see more or less of your chart. To move around the chart, you can use the scroll bars or you can use the right mouse button. To scroll with the right mouse button, position the mouse pointer on the center of the screen and click the right mouse button down. While keeping the right mouse button down, drag the mouse to a new location. When you release the right mouse button, the shapes will be redrawn in a new location. It is equivalent to grabbing the paper and moving it. Scrolling by using the right mouse button is faster than clicking on the scroll bars and lets you move diagonally in one step. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 2

Next, we will choose a stencil with the shapes and lines we are going to use. A stencil is just a group of related shapes and lines. Click on the Stencils button [image] in the easybar. The Stencils and Shapes dialog box will appear. Scroll down in the list box until you see the Flowcharting category and double-click on it. Then click on Basic Flowcharting. The Basic Flowcharting stencil will be shown. Click on the Add Stencil button to add this stencil to the left of the RFFlow window. Then click on the Close button.

You can add any of the predefined stencils to your chart, or you can make your own custom stencils by including just the shapes you need. For now we will use the shapes in the Basic Flowcharting stencil. If you later add several stencils or customize some stencils and want to make these the default when RFFlow first runs, click on Stencils in the main menu and Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts. This writes the stencils to the initialization file INIT.FLO. RFFlow reads the initialization file each time it runs.

Beneath the easybar, there is a prompt line that always tells you what to do next. It has a light bulb [image] to the left of some text. When using RFFlow, if you are unsure of what to do, check the prompt line.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 3

Move the mouse pointer over the shape in the upper right corner of the Basic Flowcharting stencil. Wait a second and a tooltip will appear telling you that this shape is a "Terminator, Start, or End." Each shape has a tooltip that displays the name of the shape. Tooltips are used throughout RFFlow to give you more information about shapes and buttons. To get a tooltip to appear, rest the mouse pointer over the stencil shape or button and wait a second. Tooltips display for a few seconds and then disappear.

Flowcharts start and end with the terminator shape. To draw this shape, click on it in the stencil. The Edit Text dialog box will appear. Type in the word "Start." As you type, the shape will automatically size around your text. Your shape should look like this:

Now click on the OK button.

The prompt line [image] will tell you to click on the screen to place your shape. You have now drawn your first object. The steps in drawing shapes are to click on the shape in the stencil, type in the text, click on the OK button, and then click on the screen to place the shape. If the shape is not in the place you want it to be, simply drag it to a new location. You can see that the Move easybar button [image] has been selected for you so you can move shapes around.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 4

Our second shape will be a rectangle that represents a process. Move the mouse pointer over the rectangle in the stencil and you will see the tooltip "Process, Task, or Operation." In flowcharting, rectangles represent processes or activities, steps that have to be done. Click on the rectangle shape and type in "Process." Then click on the OK button and click on the screen beneath the terminator shape. You can move the shape to position it beneath the terminator. Your new process shape should look like:

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 5

The shape we will add next is the decision shape. It is the diamond shape. A decision shape asks a question. Control flows out of a decision in two or three different paths. Click on the decision shape. Type in "Decision?" Click on the OK button and click on the screen beneath the rectangle.

Now add another rectangle with the text "Process" under the decision shape. Remember, the steps are to click on the shape, type in the text, click the OK button, and click on the screen to place the shape. Then move the shape to its final location.

Next, click on the document shape that has a curve on its lower edge. Its tooltip is "Document, Printed Output." The document shape is used for items that are printed. Add the text "Printed output" and place this shape to the left of the lower "Process" rectangle.

After placing these shapes, your chart should look like this:

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 6

Now we will connect these shapes. Click on the line with the arrow in the Basic Flowcharting stencil. Now read the prompt line. To draw a line you click down at the starting point with the left mouse button, keep the button down and drag the mouse to the ending point. Then release the left mouse button. Do this to connect the shapes. You may need to scroll or zoom out to connect the shapes.

If you make a mistake, you can undo it by clicking on the Undo button.

To change the length of a line, click on the Edit Line button in the easybar. Then click down somewhere along the line and drag that end point to a new position.

To move a line, click on the Move button in the easybar and then you can move the line around.

In RFFlow, when you want to do something, you first select the command by clicking on a button in the easybar. Then the prompt line will tell you what to do.

Another way to connect the shapes is to let RFFlow automatically connect them. This method is explained in the section Automatically Connecting Two Shapes.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 7

The words "Yes" and "No" need to be placed near the decision object. Just click on the word Yes in the stencil and then click on the screen where you want it placed. Also do this with the word No. You will notice that for these objects, there was no opportunity to edit the text. You simply clicked on the word and clicked on the screen. You could also drag the word Yes from the stencil onto the screen.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 8

Sometimes a flowchart refers to something on another page. You use a circle to do this and type in a letter. That same circle and letter are placed on both associated pages. Use a circle with the letter A in it as shown below.

Next, we must add a terminator containing the word "End" and draw lines from "Printed output" and "Process" to the "End" terminator. Your chart should look like the one shown below.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 9

To add a title to the chart, click on the word Text in the stencil. We will use a 20-point Arial font. In the Edit Text dialog box, click on the font and font size list boxes to select the font.

Then click on the Bold button [image] . Type "Flowchart" and click on the OK button. Click to place your title at the top of the chart.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 10

To center the chart, click on the Center button [image] . This will move your chart so it is centered on the paper.

To save the chart in a file on your hard disk, click on File in the main menu and Save As in the drop-down menu. Alternatively, you could click on the Save button [image] in the toolbar. Type in a filename for this new chart. Now that the file has a name, you just click on File and Save or the Save button to save it again later. It is a good idea to periodically save the file in case of a power failure.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 11

Editing your chart involves clicking on an easybar button and then following the instructions on the prompt line. You first decide what you want to do, then click on that button.

For instance, if you want to copy a shape, click on the Duplicate button.  Then drag a copy of a shape from the existing shape. You stay in the Duplicate command mode until you click on another button or draw a new shape. If you have selected objects using the Select command [image], you can then move, duplicate, or delete all the selected objects at once.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 12

The flowchart is now ready to print. Click on File in the main menu and Print in the drop-down menu.

The Print dialog box appears where you can select a printer. See the Print Dialog Box for more information. Make your selections and click on the OK button.

The print preview screen will be shown. You always get to see a print preview screen. This shows you how the chart will look on the paper. The text is not shown in the print preview screen. You can move the chart or automatically center it at this time also. Click on the OK menu item in the print preview screen and the chart will be printed.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 13

You may want to move your chart into another Windows application like Microsoft Word. First zoom out so you can view the entire chart. Then click on the Select button and drag the mouse pointer diagonally across the chart drawing a rectangle around your chart. Adjust the selection rectangle so it covers the complete chart. Click on Edit in the main menu and click on Copy. This puts the chart on the Windows Clipboard. Then switch to the other application and click on Edit and Paste or Paste Special. Moving your chart into another Windows application is very easy to do. See Moving Your Chart into Other Windows Applications for more information.

Next Step


Drawing a Flowchart, Step 14

Click on File in the main menu and Save in the drop-down menu to save your flowchart. Then click on File and Close to clear the screen for a new chart.

This concludes the steps needed to draw a flowchart. There is also a tutorial on Drawing an Organization Chart.

You can click on File, and Open to look at the various sample charts that were installed with RFFlow.


Tutorial: Drawing an Organization Chart
Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 1

This section shows you how to draw an organization chart. It follows a step-by-step procedure.

First, set up the orientation of the paper. Click on View in the main menu and then click on Pages in the drop-down menu. The Number of Pages and Page Orientation dialog box will be displayed. To show the page boundaries there must be a check mark in the box to the left of the words Show page boundaries. For a one-page chart, click on the round button near the number 1 in both the horizontal and vertical group boxes. Choose either portrait or landscape orientation. You can change this later if you want. Finally, click on the OK button.

The drawing area will now show a red rectangle that marks the edges of one page. This is the maximum drawing area on the paper for your printer. If you don’t see this red rectangle, click on the Zoom Out button [image] a couple of times. The Zoom Out and Zoom In buttons allow you to see more or less of your chart. To move around the chart, you can use the scroll bars or you can use the right mouse button. To scroll with the right mouse button, position the mouse pointer on the center of the screen and click the right mouse button down. While keeping the right mouse button down, drag the mouse to a new location. When you release the right mouse button, the shapes will be redrawn in a new location. It is equivalent to grabbing the paper and moving it. Scrolling by using the right mouse button is faster than clicking on the scroll bars and lets you move diagonally in one step. You can also use the arrow keys on your keyboard to scroll.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 2

First, we need to select a stencil that has the shapes used in organization charts. Click on the Stencils button [image] in the easybar, scroll down and click on Organization Charts. Then click the Add Stencil button and Close.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 3

To draw the first shape, click on the shaded rectangle in the stencil. Type in the text "President" on the first line and "Name" on the second line. Click to the left of the first line to select the entire line, then click on the Bold button [image] to make "President" bold. Click on the OK button and click on the screen to place your first object.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 4

To add the remaining shapes to the chart, repeat this same process of clicking on a shape, entering the text, clicking on OK, and clicking on the screen to place the shape. Use the rectangle that has a double line border. Its tooltip is "Framed Rectangle." The text for these three shapes is shown below. You may have to scroll the window to bring more of the paper into view. The connecting lines will be drawn after all the shapes in the chart are placed.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 5

To connect the shapes, click on the solid horizontal line in the stencil. It is located beneath the word Text and its tooltip is "Line (2)." [image] The number 2 refers to the width of the line. In the main screen, click down with the left mouse button where you want the line to start. Hold the left mouse button down as you move the mouse pointer to the end of the line. At the end of the line, release the left mouse button. When you have clicked on a line in the stencil, you can continue to draw lines until you click on another shape or an easybar command button. If you need to change the length of a line, click on the Edit Line easybar button [image] and drag the end of a line to a new position.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 6

To move the shapes around but still maintain the connections, you use the Locked Move command. Click on the Locked Move button [image] . Then drag the shapes around. As the rectangles are moved, the lines will stretch or shrink. The Locked Move command is often used to squeeze things together so the chart occupies a smaller area.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 7

In organization charts, names are often listed without rectangles. This is done by drawing a vertical line down from a box and then drawing short horizontal lines as shown below. To draw these lines, click on the horizontal line [image] in the stencil and drag the mouse to draw the lines. The name of each person is added by clicking on Text in the stencil, entering the name, clicking on OK, and clicking on the screen to place the name.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 8

Next, we will add the title for the entire chart. Click on the word Text in the Org Charts stencil. Before typing, select a 20-point font size. Type the words "Organization Chart." Click on the OK button and click on the screen to place the title at the top of your chart.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 9

To center the chart on the paper, click on the Center button [image] .

You should save the file at this time. Click on File and Save As and name the file. It is good to periodically save the file in case of a power failure.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 10

The organization chart is now ready to print. Click on File and Print.

The Print dialog box appears where you can select a printer. See the Print Dialog Box for more information. Make your selections and click on the OK button.

The print preview screen is displayed next. In the print preview screen you can center your chart or move it. We have already centered the chart so we don’t have to center it again. If you want to reposition the chart now, you can click on the Move menu item and drag the chart to a new position. When the left mouse button is clicked down over the chart, the chart changes to a dotted rectangle and you can position the chart on the paper. Click on OK in the print preview menu to print your chart.

Next Step


Drawing an Organization Chart, Step 11

If desired, you could move this chart into another Windows application. Click on the Select button and drag the mouse diagonally across the chart to draw the selection rectangle. Then click on Edit in the main menu and Copy in the drop-down menu. This places the chart on the Windows Clipboard. Switch to the destination application and click on Edit and Paste or Paste Special. The chart is now part of the other application. You can double-click on the chart in the destination application to edit it. See Moving Your Chart into Other Windows Applications for more information.

This concludes the steps needed to draw an organization chart. There is also a tutorial on Drawing a Flowchart.

You can click on File, and Open to look at the various sample charts that were installed with RFFlow.


The Easybar

The easybar has the commonly used commands. You can show or hide the easybar by clicking on View and RFFlow Window Appearance.

 Click on Stencils to add more stencils or shapes to those already shown.

 Click on Move to move one object or a group of selected objects.

 Click on Locked Move to move shapes and keep them connected. The lines stretch or shrink like rubber bands. You can also do a Locked Move on lines.

 Click on Duplicate to make a copy of one object or a group of selected objects.

 Click on Delete to delete one object or a group of selected objects.

 Click on Select to select objects. You can drag the mouse to draw a selection rectangle around the objects, or you can click on them individually. Objects that are selected are shown in inverse video.

 Click on Unselect to remove the selection from any selected objects.

 Click on the Edit Text command to modify the text of any shape, line, curve, or stand-alone text object. You click on this button and then click on the shape whose text you want to change.

 Click on Properties and then click on a shape or a group of selected shapes to change the fill color, line color, etc. You can also right-click on a shape to change its properties.

 Click on Edit Line to change the length of a line or curve. After clicking on this button, you can drag the end of a line or curve to change its length.

 Click on Zoom In and the chart will be magnified with the objects getting larger but you will not see as much of your chart. Your field of view will decrease.

 Click on Zoom Out and the chart will become smaller so that you can see more of your chart. Your field of view will increase.


File
The File Menu

New

Open

Close

Save

Save As

File Locations

Page Setup

Print

Print Setup

RFFlow Default Printer

Send

Delete

1      A list of

2      the last

3      four files

4      opened.

Exit (Quit this instance of RFFlow)


Edit
The Edit Menu

Undo

Redo

Cut

Copy

Paste

Paste Special

Clipboard Formats

Select All

Find

Repeat Last Find

Replace


View
The View Menu

RFFlow Window Appearance

Grids and Alignment Marks

Layers

Pages

Ruler

Scroll Bars

Toolbars

Refresh

Show Bitmaps and Metafiles as Rectangles

Show Path and Filename in the Title

Full Screen


Stencils
The Stencils Menu

Add Stencils

Change Number of Columns Displayed

Properties of Selected Stencil

Rename Selected Stencil

Delete Selected Stencil

Delete All Stencils

Show Stencil Window

Make the Current Stencils the Default Stencils for New Charts

Load the Default Stencils


Tools
The Tools Menu

Align

Auto Charts

Auto Connect

Center

Font

Global Changes

Guidelines

Miscellaneous

Number Shapes

Size

Space

Spelling

Run RFShape

Run NetZoom

RFEdit Objects

Diagnostics


Zoom
The Zoom Menu

For general information about zooming see the section Zooming In and Out.

To zoom in, click on Zoom in the main menu and In in the drop-down menu or press CTRL + M on the keyboard.

To zoom out, click on Zoom in the main menu and Out in the drop-down menu or press CTRL +D on the keyboard.

To zoom so the chart fills the drawing area, click on Zoom in the main menu and To Chart in the drop-down menu. The entire chart should now be visible on the drawing area.

To zoom so one page is shown on the drawing area, click on Zoom in the main menu and To Page in the drop-down menu. One entire page of the chart should now be visible on the drawing area.

To zoom directly to a certain percentage, click on Zoom in the main menu and then click on one of the sizes in the drop down menu. This is faster than clicking on Zoom Out or Zoom In several times.


File Locations

Charts

Initial Stencils


Diagnostics
Diagnostics Menu

The Diagnostics menu is located in the Tools main menu. It is used by RFF Electronics' technical support to display the location of installed files, the parameters of drawn shapes, and other information. A user of RFFlow would normally not need to access any of the commands on this menu unless asked to do so by technical support.

See also:

Technical Support


Space

Space Existing Shapes

Space New Shapes


Font

The Font menu item in the Tools menu allows you to change the main font.

Since the main font determines the size of the chart, clicking on Tools in the main menu and Font in the drop-down menu takes you to the Size Chart dialog box.


Basic Commands

This menu of commands is displayed if you right-click on an empty portion of the RFFlow drawing area. This may be faster than clicking on a command in the easybar.

Move

Locked Move

Duplicate

Delete

Rotate

Size Shape

Select

Unselect

Edit Text

Properties

Edit Line

Open Linked File

Zoom In

Zoom Out


Properties of a Group of Selected Shapes

This menu is displayed if you right-click on a group of selected shapes.

Cut

Copy

Align

Space

Delete

Line Color

Line Width

Line Style (Dotted, Dashed, etc.)

Text Color

Text Background (Opaque or Transparent)

Layers

Stacking Order, Front/Back

Interior Fill Color and Pattern

Change Selected Shapes to a Different Shape

Combine Shapes and Put into a Stencil


Properties of the Selected Stencil

This menu is displayed if you right-click on the name of a Stencil.

Rename this Stencil

Delete this Stencil

Line Color

Line Width

Line Style (Dotted, Dashed, etc.)

Text Color

Text Background (Opaque or Transparent)

Interior Fill Color and Pattern


List of Objects

Each object in RFFlow has a structure that holds the object's parameters.  There can also be two strings attached to an object to hold the text that is displayed and the link file text that is hidden.  This dialog box displays the parameters and text associated with each object.

By clicking on Next, you can click through the objects.


Line Color

This section describes changing the line color of several objects or changing the line color of the entire chart. If you want to change the line color of just one object, click on it with the right mouse button and go to the Line and Color tab of the Shape Properties dialog box.

To change the line color of several objects on your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects whose line color you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their line color changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Line Color. You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Line Color in the menu that appears. The Line Color dialog box will appear.

Line Color Dialog Box

You can select a new line color by clicking on the Select a New Color button. This takes you to the Color dialog box. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new line color.

If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous line colors.


Line Width

The line width that you are changing can include the lines in the shapes as well as the lines connecting them. For example, you can make all your rectangles drawn with thick lines instead of thin ones.

This section describes changing the line width of several objects or changing the line width of the entire chart. If you want to change the line width of just one object, click on it with the right mouse button and go to the Line and Color tab of the Shape Properties dialog box.

To change the line width of several objects on your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects whose line width you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their line width changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Line Width. You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Line Width in the menu that appears. The Line Width dialog box will appear.

Line Width Dialog Box

Choose a new line width by clicking on the up-down box. For laser printers a line width of 2 works well. For pen plotters the line width should be 0. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new line width. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous line widths.


Line Style

The line style that you are changing can include the lines in the shapes as well as the lines connecting them. For example, you can make all your rectangles drawn with dotted lines instead of solid ones.

This section describes changing the line style of several objects or changing the line style of the entire chart. If you want to change the line style of just one object, click on it with the right mouse button and go to the Line and Color tab of the Shape Properties dialog box.

To change the line style of several objects in your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects whose line style you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their line style changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Line Style. You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Line Style in the menu that appears. The Line Style dialog box will appear.

Line Style Dialog Box

You can select a new line style by scrolling the list box and clicking on a style. The line styles include solid, dashed, dotted, dash-dot, dash-dot-dot, and invisible. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new line style. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous line styles.

See also:  Dimensions On Lines


Text Color

This section describes changing the text color of several objects or changing the text color of the entire chart. If you want to change the text color of just one object, click on the Edit Text button in the easybar and click on the object. See Entering Text.

To change the text color of several objects on your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects whose text color you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their text color changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Text Color. You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Text Color in the menu that appears. The Text Color dialog box will appear.

Text Color Dialog Box

You can select a new text color by clicking on the Select a New Color button. The Color dialog box will be displayed. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new text color. If you have shapes whose text includes several colors, the entire text of such objects will be changed to the new color. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous text colors.


Text Background (Opaque or Transparent)

The text background can be either opaque or transparent. With opaque, the area between characters of text is filled with white. With transparent, the area between characters of text is transparent so the background can show through. This is best illustrated with some text on a line.

This section describes changing the text background of several objects or changing the text background of the entire chart. If you want to change the text background of just one object, click on Edit Text in the easybar and then click on the object. See Entering Text.

To change the text background of several objects in your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects whose text background you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their text background changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Text Background (Opaque or Transparent). You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Text Background (Opaque or Transparent) in the menu that appears. The Text Background dialog box will appear.

Text Background Dialog Box

You can choose either Opaque or Transparent. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new text background. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous text background.

See also:

Interior Fill Color and Pattern

Globally Changing the Interior Fill Color and Pattern


Interior Fill Color and Pattern

This section describes changing the interior fill color of several objects or changing the interior fill color of all the objects in the entire chart. If you want to change the fill color of just one object, click on it with the right mouse button and go to the Line and Color tab of the Shape Properties dialog box.

To change the interior fill color of several objects on your chart, you first need to select them. Click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects will have their fill color changed. Next, click on Tools, Global Changes, and Interior Fill Color and Pattern. You can also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Interior Fill Color and Pattern in the menu that appears. The Interior Fill Color and Pattern dialog box will appear.

Interior Fill Color and Pattern Dialog Box

You change the fill color by clicking on the Change button. This will bring up the Color dialog box. You can select Transparent, Solid color, or one of the hatched patterns by scrolling through the list box and clicking on a pattern. You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these. When you click on the OK button, the chart will be redrawn with the new fill color and pattern. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous fill colors.


Change Selected Shapes to a New Shape

If you want to change just one shape to some other shape, click on it with the right mouse button and go to the Shape tab of the Shape Properties dialog box.

To change several objects to another object, click on the Select button [image] in the easybar and click on the objects you want to change, or draw a selection rectangle around those objects. To select the entire chart, click on Edit and Select All. Only selected objects are affected by this command. Then click on Tools, Global Changes, and Change Selected Shapes to a New Shape. You could also click on the selected objects with the right mouse button and then click on Change Selected Shapes to a New Shape. The Select a Shape dialog box will appear.

Select a Shape Dialog Box

You can display any of the stencils and select an object by clicking on it in the display on the right. You could also get shapes from the Clipboard or from files by scrolling to the top of the list of stencils. You can only change shapes to other shapes, lines to lines, and curves to curves. You cannot change lines to shapes or shapes to lines. After clicking on the chosen object in the Select a Shape dialog box, click on the OK button. All the selected objects in your chart will be changed into this new one. If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the previous shapes.


Bitmap Selection Dialog Box

See Saving Your Chart as a Bitmap File (.bmp) for a complete discussion of creating a bitmap file.

The Bitmap Selection dialog box lets you decide what part of your chart should be saved in the bitmap(.bmp) file. The selections are:

Entire Chart

If you choose this item, the entire chart will be saved to a bitmap file. The shapes will appear in the bitmap just the way they appear on the screen. If you are zoomed out and the shapes are small, they will be small in the bitmap file. If you are zoom in and the shapes are large, the bitmap file will become quite large, taking several MB of disk space.

Selected Objects

If you choose this item, only the selected objects or objects inside the selection rectangle will be included in the bitmap. You select items by clicking on the Select button in the easybar and then either drawing a selection rectangle around objects or clicking on them. Again the current zoom level determines the size of the shapes on the screen and the size they will be in the bitmap.

Screen Capture

If you choose this item, the bitmap file will look just like the drawing area of the RFFlow window. The easybar, toolbars, and stencils are not included, just the drawing portion of the screen. Objects not visible on the screen are not included.

After creating your bitmap file (.bmp) you can open it in Microsoft Paint to view the chart or edit the bits.


Alignment and Spacing Dialog Box

When you click on a shape in a stencil, type in the text, and click on the screen to place the shape, you can have RFFlow automatically align and space the new shape with respect to the shapes already in the chart. This automatic alignment happens only when you place new shapes.

The Alignment and Spacing dialog box is divided into two sections:

Alignment

You can choose any combination of these three items, however, it is usually best to choose only one or the other of the top two. If you are adding shapes that you want to be vertically aligned, put a check mark in the top item. If you are placing shapes that should be aligned side-by-side, then check the second item. If you want your lines to automatically move to connect to shapes, put a check mark in the bottom item.

Spacing

If you are making a vertical row of shapes and want them spaced by the same distance, put a check mark in the top item of this group. Enter the vertical spacing on the right. The units are the average width of a character in the main font. If you are placing shapes side-by-side and want them spaced by the same distance, put a check mark in the bottom item and type the spacing you want on the right.

You must place the new shape somewhere near an existing shape for automatic alignment and spacing to be active.

This automatic alignment and spacing only applies when you first click to place the new object. When you later move the object, automatic alignment and spacing is not in effect.

See also:

Aligning Existing Shapes.

Spacing Existing Shapes.


Select the RFEdit Group to be Modified Dialog Box

See Adding RFEdit Shapes for a full discussion of adding RFEdit shapes to your chart.

You are adding an RFEdit object to a stencil. The new object will be placed in a group with 23 other objects. In this dialog box, you have to select the group. If your object is a shape, then place it in one of the six Shapes groups. If it is a straight horizontal or vertical line, then choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Lines. If it is a diagonal line, choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Diags. If the new object is a curve, choose one of the four groups to the right of the word Curves. You must choose the correct group category for the objects to operate correctly. Then click on the OK button.


Select a Stencil Dialog Box

For a full discussion of moving Stencils from one RFFlow file into the currently opened RFFlow file, see Adding Stencils from an RFFlow File to the Current RFFlow File.

The RFFlow file that you selected may have one or more stencils in it. In this dialog box, you have to select which stencil you want. Click on the stencil in the list and click on the OK button.


Select a Shape Dialog Box

In this dialog box you first choose a stencil. This is done in the list on the left of the dialog box. If an item has a plus sign to its left, you can click on it and expand it to see the items it contains. The stencils have the green stencil icon to identify them. When you click on a stencil, the shapes in that stencil are displayed on the right of this dialog box. You may have to scroll the right list box to see all the shapes in a stencil.

After you have chosen the stencil, click on the shape. It will be shown in inverse video. Then click on the OK button.


Name the Objects Dialog Box

The new shape, or combination of shapes which you created, needs to have a name. This name will show up in the tooltip when the mouse pointer is left over the new shape in a stencil. Type the name into the box and click on the OK button. The name can be 32 characters long.

See also:

Drawing Combination Shapes


List of RFFlow Linked Objects Dialog Box

This dialog shows a list of the objects in this RFFlow file that are linked to some client(s). The numbers describe the area of the chart that is linked. The center of the drawing area is at 0,0 and each unit is one grid distance.

See also:

Linking


Add or Change an RFEdit Object Dialog Box

RFEdit objects are added to groups that hold 24 objects; the objects are labeled from a through y. To change an existing item, click on it and click on the Change Item button. To clear an item, click on the item and click on the Clear Item button. You can either click on the object itself or the round button. To add an item, click on an empty box and click on the Change Item button.

When you are finished, click on the OK button.

See also:

RFEdit


Line Width, Color, Style, and Interior Fill Color Dialog Box;
Line Width, Color, Style, and Interior Fill Color Dialog Box

This dialog box is displayed when you are selecting a new automatic connector. For most lines, the interior fill color refers to the color inside the arrow head. The line color is the color of the actual line.

Interior Fill

If the color displayed near the words Fill color: is not what you want, click on the Change button and you will be able to select a new color. Then select a pattern of solid, transparent, or one of the hatched patterns.

Line

If the color shown to the right of the words Line color: is not what you want, click on the Change button and select a new color. Click on the up-down box to select a line width. Each unit is .1mm. Thus, a 5 unit line is .5 mm wide. A line width of 2 works well for laser printers. Finally choose a line style of solid, dotted, dashed, etc.

See also:  Dimensions on Lines


Change Layers of Selected Objects Dialog Box

Put a check mark on each of the layers on which you want the selected objects displayed.  All the selected objects will be modified so that they are displayed on the layers you check.  Clicking on a checked item removes the check mark.

You can also specify whether this change should be applied to Shapes, Lines, Diagonal Lines, Curves, or some combination of these.  When you click on the OK button, the selected shapes will now be viewed only on the layers you selected.  If you decide that this is not what you want, click on Edit and Undo to restore the chart to the way it was before this change.

See also:

Layers


Changing the Printed Grid Size

To display this dialog box, click on Tools, Font, and click the Change Grid Size button.  You could also click on Tools, Size, Size Entire Chart, and click the Change Grid Size button.

This dialog box allows you to select a grid size directly.  This is the grid size that will be used when the chart is printed.  The grid size is selected in .1mm units.  RFFlow is metric.

If you specify a grid spacing of 2.000 mm and draw lines along each grid point, when you print, the lines will be separated by 2.000 mm.  You could make your own graph paper in RFFlow.

When you change the grid, you also change the size of the entire chart.  The width and height of the total chart are also shown in this dialog box.  The RFFlow program may select a different main font when you change the grid size.  This makes sure the text will fit inside the boxes in standard flowcharts.

If you want RFFlow to use the selected grid size each time RFFlow runs, then you should put a check mark in the box near the words "Make this grid size the default grid size for new charts."


Disable Editing and Printing

RFFlow allows you to select a group of objects and change them so that they can no longer be edited or printed.

If you disable the editing of objects, they can no longer be moved, copied, deleted, selected, etc. They show up in your drawing but cannot be changed.

This feature is useful when you create a template for a group of users and want certain shapes to remain unchanged. It is also used in creating guidelines.

If you disable the printing of objects, then they will never be printed. This is useful when creating guidelines.

To disable editing or printing of a group of objects, follow these instructions:

1.	First you must select the objects. Click on the Select button [image]. Draw a rectangle around the objects, or click on them individually to select them. To select the entire chart, click on Edit, and Select All.

2.	Next click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow, Global Changes, and Disable Editing....

3.	A dialog box will appear. If you check the Disable editing box, you will no longer be able to modify the selected shapes. If you check the Disable printing box, the selected shapes will no longer be printed.

4.	Finally click the OK button.

If you change your mind and want to edit the disabled shapes, click on Tools in the main menu of RFFlow and then click on Guidelines.... Place checks in both boxes and you will now be able to edit and print all objects. When you are done making changes, go back to Tools, Guidelines and remove the check marks.

See also:

Guidelines