Serif DrawPlus 6.0 README.RTF, 14th April 2005.

Welcome to Serif DrawPlus 6.0

From decorative page elements and logos to full-page illustrations, scale drawings, and animated Web graphics—DrawPlus 6.0 does it all. With the power of scalable vector graphics at your command, you’ll see the creative possibilities open up right before your eyes! Whether you’re a beginner or an expert, you'll find Wizards and tools you can use right away. With version 6.0, DrawPlus has broken the price-performance barrier once again!

Sections of this README document:

•	Installing Fonts Contained on the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM
•	Installing Acrobat Reader Contained on the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM
•	What's New in Serif DrawPlus 6.0?
•	Plus these established features...
•	Registration, Upgrades, and Support
•	Installation

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Installing Fonts Contained on the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM
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The DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM contains over 400 TrueType fonts. To use font(s) you must first install them using the Control Panel\Fonts option from the Windows Start menu. The files for the fonts are located in the SERIF\FONTS folder of the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM.

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Installing Acrobat Reader Contained on the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM
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The DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM contains the DrawPlus 6.0 Companion in PDF format. To view the companion you must first install the Acrobat® Reader.  Version 7of Acrobat® Reader is supplied for you and located in the AcroReader folder of the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM. A shortcut is provided for you in the Program Files\Serif Applications\DrawPlus 6.0 folder of your Start menu.  If you’re running Windows 95/98/ME then this link will take you to the Adobe download page to get an appropriate Acrobat® Reader version for your system.

Once the Acrobat® Reader has been installed you will be able to view the Companion by clicking on the icon for “DrawPlus 6 Companion” in the Program Files\Serif Applications\DrawPlus 6.0 folder of your Start menu.

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What's New in Serif DrawPlus 6.0?
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Color Schemes
Whether you’re starting with a Design Wizard or creating new designs from scratch, interchangeable color schemes let you recolor everything in a flash! Simply tag objects with numbers... colors update instantly when the scheme changes.
Perspective Effects
Get a new slant on things... With a flyout full of presets plus a built-in tool for freeform adjustments, the 3D Perspective option lets you tilt and skew text (or any other object) for truly “spatial” results! 
Filter Effects
Drop shadows starting to wear a bit thin? Now you can enliven your text with fully adjustable Inner Shadow, Glow, Bevel, and Emboss filters... easy to apply and sure to impress. 
Cropping
Now any object can serve as a “cookie cutter” for trimming one or more other objects into a single shape... and the effect is reversible so you won’t lose your originals. Great for creating “reflections” of complex scenes!
Roughen Tool
For jagged, jaunty edges on text, lines, or QuickShapes, just drag the tool up or down for subtle or bold results.
Shadow Tool
By popular demand, we’ve added an easy-access toolbar button that lets you customize drop shadows... and (oh yes) beefed up the underlying code for faster, better shadow results.
Portfolio
Long a popular feature of Serif PagePlus, this addition to the DrawPlus Studio is sure to change the way you work. It’s a global repository for the designs you use most often... just drag and drop to store an object, then reuse it in any DrawPlus document.
Improved Line Control
New Line tab properties provide an extra measure of flexibility for precise results when resizing. Want to apply a gradient fill to a line? No problem—simply detach the line itself as a brand new object!
Improved Fill Control
Skillfully applied, gradient fills can be the key to a fine illustration... and now your skills can push new limits. With the nonlinear color contour adjustment, fine-tune how colors spread within the fill, for precise and perfect results.
Autotrace Bitmaps to Vector
Ever wished you could work with paint-type art as points, lines, and fills (instead of pixels)? With our Autotrace converter, you can preview and adjust quality before import, then bring the item into DrawPlus in fully editable vector format.
Download Time Estimator
Put away your calculator! For exporting Web graphics, where file size equals time (which equals money), we’ve included a handy drop-down that instantly shows how much each of those graphics will cost you. 
And More
Hold the applause... Especially for returning users, it’s often these “little things” that make the difference.  The multi-document interface lets you drag and drop between DrawPlus windows. QuickShapes now have settable line and fill defaults. The Layer Manager floats. Micro Nudge lets you adjust in teeny increments. The Pick Up Color button lets you choose any color you can see on your screen. The Undo History list makes backtracking easier. So let’s get on with it! 

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Plus these established features...
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Great Display, Performance, and Output
With anti-aliased screen display and smooth color blending, jaggies and banding are a thing of the past. You’ll get superior printed results, with smooth color blending. And DrawPlus supports Transparent GIF, Animated GIF, and PNG for forward-looking Web page design. 
Total Ease-of-Use
DrawPlus makes powerful features available to anyone with a host of ease-of-use features designed to zap that learning curve. You’ll find accelerated learning tools like ToolTips, context-sensitive Hints & Tips and colorful QuickTours. The tabbed Studio—storing hundreds of preset lines, fills, transparencies, fonts, and design elements—is always convenient and ready to use. Especially for working at high zoom levels, the Navigator tab affords a thumbnail of your entire drawing with the visible area shown as a draggable view box. And the Library tab adds scores of pre-built elements so you can take advantage of new tools and features.
QuickShapes
Can’t draw? Won’t draw? QuickShapes are the answer! They work like intelligent clipart… or the most powerful set of drawing tools you’ve ever envisaged. Even extremely complex shapes like spirals, petals, and webs are simple to draw and customize using QuickShapes.
Professional-Standard Drawing Features
Features like converting text to curves, defining custom envelopes, fully customizable drop shadows, layers, and scalable vector graphics give complete creative power. Plus special commands like Contour for outlining and edge effects... Add to composite two shapes into one... Subtract for cropping and masking... Intersect to carve out unique shapes and regions.
Advanced Fill Support
Apply high-end conical, ellipse, 3-Color, 4-Color, Square, and Plasma fills to any text or shape for exciting, professional results. Simply drag solid colors from the Studio’s Color tab onto a fill path to add or replace colors for more subtle gradients. Use Bitmap fills—with over 200 supplied bitmap images in a range of categories for textures and backgrounds. Even import your own bitmaps and use them as fills on DrawPlus objects! Plus Mesh Fills for impressively varied gradients using a path-node network—easy to customize with the special toolbar.
Transparency Effects
Transparency can make the difference between flat, ordinary visuals and sparkling realism! And DrawPlus provides it all—a full range of transparencies for shading, shadows, reflections, depth effects, and more. Achieve multi-level transparency effects just by dragging grayscale tones to set levels.
Chain Lines
Here’s the ultimate in decorative line effects: easy to apply from the scores of pre-supplied choices, just as easy to edit or create from scratch! Chains take drawn objects and link them in sequence along a designated line, for marching footprints, themed borders—uniquely patterned, endlessly variable effects anywhere you want to apply them. 
Dimension Lines and Scale Setting
Click a couple of times to take linear or angular measurements of any object on the page—DrawPlus displays the dimension using your choice of ruler units, at your specified scale (say, one inch to two feet). Dimensions update when objects are moved or resized! Design room layouts, make maps, draw scale models... the choice is yours.
Connectors
For drawing dynamic flow diagrams, schematics, family trees, and org charts, connector objects let you link your boxes and symbols and then rearrange at will. Connection points stay put on each object... keeping connections intact. Auto Connectors intelligently display bridges at line crossings, and even route themselves around obstructive objects.
Natural Curve Editing
No need to fumble with Bezier nodes... Simply click and drag to break and redraw a curve at any point. Apply smoothing selectively to freeform curves to eliminate that “shaky hand” appearance. Who says you can’t draw like a pro?
Animation Mode
Tap the power of QuickShapes and Wizards to turn out Web animations in no time—using advanced features like onion skinning, backgrounds, overlays, and frame management. Use the time you save to make more movies!
Web Image Slices and Image Maps
Beat the pros at their own game by using these techniques to add links to your Web graphics! With a few clicks, divide images into segments —each with its own hyperlink and popup text—or add hotspots to specific regions. Of course, DrawPlus outputs all the necessary HTML code to wrap the segments together.
Rollover States for Web Buttons
Take image slicing even further—let DrawPlus create interactive Web graphics that highlight or change state when users mouse over or click! Just create your variant graphics on the special layers, then export as usual. 
Web Browser Preview
One click lets you see how your graphics will display in a Web browser, so you can quickly check quality, transparency, hyperlinks, and rollover behavior prior to final export.
Backdrop and Watermark Elements
Adding abstract or themed backgrounds, for dazzling presentations or space-styled scenes, is easy with Backdrop elements. And Watermark elements make a notoriously difficult effect a snap to create with a wide range of customizable watermark designs on hand. Access both Wizards via the Studio’s Library tab.
Border Wizard
Vastly flexible Border Wizard instantly adds borders to the page or to individual objects. Choose a border from the extensive library, or be creative and let Border Wizard guide you through building a unique design. 
Image Export Optimizer
The Export Optimizer lets you see how your image will look (and how much space it will take up) before you save it! Its multi-window display provides side-by-side WYSIWYG previews of image quality at various output settings, so you can make the best choice every time. 
Professional Print Output
Now your artwork can be prepared for professional printing straight from DrawPlus.  Whether you’re creating color-separated PostScript® output or printing from your desktop, process color (CMYK) separations for full color printing will save money and time, every time. 

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Registration, Upgrades, and Support
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If you see the Registration Wizard when you launch DrawPlus, please take a moment to complete the registration process. Just call Serif toll-free and provide the installation number and code shown. We’ll give you a personalized registration number in return. Remember, if you need technical support please contact us. We aim to provide fast, friendly service and knowledgeable help.

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Installation
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What you need to run DrawPlus 

Serif DrawPlus 6.0 runs with Windows 95 or later, so you’ll need a PC setup that runs Windows adequately. If you need help installing Windows or setting up your printer, refer to Windows documentation and help.
•	IBM compatible Pentium PC with CD-ROM drive and mouse (or other Microsoft compatible pointing device)
•	Microsoft Windows® 95, 98, 98 SE, 2000, or Window NT®4.0 or later operating system
•	16MB (Windows 95/98), 24MB (Windows 98 SE), or 32MB (Windows NT), or 64MB (Windows 2000) RAM
•	70MB (recommended install) free hard disk space
•	VGA (256-color display) monitor or higher. For optimum display quality and performance we strongly recommend that a “Hi-color” (16-bit) or “True color” (24/32-bit) display setting be used.
Additional disk resources and memory are required when editing large or complex documents.
Optional components include:
•	Windows-compatible printer
•	TWAIN-compatible scanner and/or digital camera
•	Stylus or other input device
•	Internet account and connection required for accessing online resources
First-time install
To install DrawPlus 6.0 simply insert the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM into your CD-ROM drive. The AutoRun feature automatically starts the Setup process. (If it doesn’t, follow the manual install procedure described below.) Just answer the on-screen questions to install the program.
DrawPlus 6.0 Design CD-ROM
If you also have the DrawPlus 6.0 Design CD-ROM, it’s a good idea to install that as soon as you’ve finished installing from the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM. Again, the AutoRun feature will automatically start the Setup when the Design CD-ROM is inserted into your CD-ROM drive.
Manual install/re-install
To re-install the software or to change the installation at a later date, select Settings/Control Panel from the Windows Start menu and then click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. Make sure the DrawPlus 6.0 Program CD-ROM is inserted into your CD-ROM drive, click the Install… button and then simply follow the on-screen instructions.