Rockford! and this documentation are protected under U.S. and international copyright laws. Any unauthorized use or distribution of this program is prohibited.
Copyright, 1991, by George Campbell
RockFord! is a shareware program. You may use it for 30 days to decide whether or not you like the program. After this short demonstration period, continued use requires that you pay a registration fee to the author of the program.
Individual Users
To register your copy of Rockford!, send a check for $15, payable to George Campbell, at the address below:
George Campbell
1472 Sixth Street
Los Osos, CA 93402
All payments must be in U.S. dollars, drawn on a bank in the United States of America, and made payable directly to George Campbell. Checks not meeting these criteria will be returned, if sent from a U.S. address.
Professional Users
If you intend to use Rockford! in a business setting, you must purchase Rockford! Professional. This version of Rockford! includes special features designed to assist print shops and graphic designers. Registration for Rockford! Professional costs just $30, payable as described above.
THE ROCKFORD! INTERFACE
Unlike many other Windows programs, Rockford! uses command buttons and drop-down list boxes to perform most functions. The commands you need to create card designs are always right on the screen, grouped according to function. Traditional Windows menus duplicate most button functions, and offer some less-used commands.
Flashing Scroll Lock
You may notice that your Scroll Lock LED is flashing. Due to a missing feature in Visual Basic, this is necessary. Just ignore it, please.
Editing Text in Rockford!
Rockford!'s editing box works just like your Windows word processing program. You can simply type your text in the box. Normally, the program is in insert mode, but pressing the <Ins> key switches to overtype mode and back again. To position the cursor in your text, either use the cursor keys or click the mouse cursor where you want to type. If you select text by dragging with the mouse, new text you type replaces the selected text.
LEFT SIDE BUTTONS
On the far left of your screen is a vertical row of buttons, in three groups. These buttons handle basic file and printing operations.
The Text Group
This group has just two buttons:
[Edit] -- This button returns the cursor to the text editing box. Since Rockford! always returns control to this box, you'll rarely, if ever have to click this button.
[Exit] -- Click this button to leave Rockford! You'll be asked to confirm this choice.
The Card Group
Several buttons make up this group, which deals with files and your card design as a whole.
[Update] -- This button updates the WYSIWYG display. To prevent excessive delays, some commands used in Rockford! do not automatically update this display. Any time you want to see an updated version of your card, just click this button. Note: you can also update your display by moving the cursor to a new line of text in the editing box.
[Clear] -- This button clears your current card from the screen and from memory. You'll be asked to confirm this command.
[New] -- This button clears your current card and prepares Rockford! for an entirely new card, with no filename attached.
[Load] -- The Load command retrieves an existing card design from your hard disk. Card designs use the extension .CAR, unless you specify a different extension.
[Save] -- Saves the current card with the current filename. If no filename has been assigned to the current card, the Save As dialog box will appear.
[Save As] -- Lets you assign a new name for a card design. If you enter a filename without an extension, Rockford! will add the .CAR extension.
[Print] -- Drops the file menu down, highlighting one of the available printing options.
[AddPic] --Opens a dialog box for loading graphical images. Rockford! can use images in BMP, ICO, or WMF formats. To change the file listing, simply change the search mask from *.BMP to another search mask. To preview clip art images, click once on a clip art file in the filename box. To load an image onto your card, double click on the file name you want to load, or click OK.
The Layout Group
These buttons control the overall layout of your design.
[Horiz] -- This button selects the Horizontal card layout. This is the default.
[Vert] -- This button switches to a Vertical layout.
[Margins] -- This button lets you set customized margins for your card. These margins affect only the top and sides, and do not alter the position of any borders. The default is .1 inch.
[Offset] -- This button controls the spacing between the card edge and the borders drawn with the Border Type list box. The default is 0.
RIGHT SIDE COMMANDS
These commands deal with text formatting and graphics. Some are buttons, while others present options in list boxes.
Text Attributes (Insert Within Line)
These buttons allow you to insert boldfacing, italics, etc. within a line of type on your card. When you click one of these buttons, a code, such as <Bold>, is inserted in your text, telling Rockford! to change the attributes for all characters following the code. To remove a code, simply use normal editing tools to delete it. NOTE: You cannot place two formatting codes next to each other. At least one character or space must separate formatting codes.
[Normal] -- This inserted <Norm> code shuts off all other codes.
[Bold] -- Inserts <Bold> in your text. Any font may be boldfaced.
[Ital] -- Inserts <Ital>.
[Underline] -- Inserts <Under>.
[Subscript] -- Inserts <Subs>.
[Superscript] -- Inserts <Supr>
NOTE: You cannot use any of the above buttons on lines which have the Split at Tilde attribute.
[Bullet] -- This button inserts a standard bullet character at the current cursor position.
Text Attributes (Whole Line)
Unlike the previous set of commands, these commands affect an entire line.
[Line] -- Displays or sets the current line number.
[Dupe Previous] -- This button repeats the formatting of the line above the current line. This is useful whenever you want duplicate formats on several lines.
[Font] -- This drop-down list box displays the current font, and allows you to change a line to another font. Click on the arrow to drop down the font selection list. Scroll through the list, then click on your font selection. You'll see a sample of your selected font.
[Size] -- Displays and sets the current font size. Sizes range from 4 to 36 points, in one-point intervals for smaller fonts. If you want a font size not shown on the chart, enter the number in the size display area.
HINT: Changing the font size of a blank line affects line spacing. Use this trick to adjust line spacing in 1-point intervals.
[Border] -- This list box offers five options for card borders, ranging from none, to single, double, bold, and thin/thick double lines.
[Align] -- This control affects the alignment of the selected line. The current setting shows in the display area. You can choose, left or right aligned, centered, or split lines.
[Style] -- Four check boxes control text attributes for the entire line. The Normal box, when checked, overrides all the others.
The Graphics Objects Group
This group of commands controls line drawing, plus positioning and scaling.
[Object] -- This drop-down list box selects an individual object for editing. As a default, the word PIC shows in the display area, identifying a clip art image as the current object. If you do line drawings, each line, box, or circle gets an object number, which appears on the WYSIWYG screen with the object. To manipulate an object, click the down arrow, then select the object of your choice. You may create up to 12 line-drawing objects.
[Width] -- This box controls the width of line drawing elements. Widths range from 1 to 24 pixels on the screen, which translates roughly to point measurements on the printer.
[Draw] -- This check box enables line drawing. Click it before attempting to create a line. Rockford! will automatically select the next available object number.
[Line], [Box],[Circle] -- These options, only one of which can be highlighted, determine the type of object you want to draw.
Draw [Black] or [White] Options -- These options control the color of the object you are going to draw, or change the color of an existing object. Black is the default.
[Move], [Size] Options -- These options determine whether the scroll bars move or size the current object.
[Scroll Bars] -- Scroll bars control positioning of graphical elements. Depending on which of the option buttons above has the highlight, you can manipulate objects in .01 inch increments.
[Erase Selected] -- This button temporarily erases the current image.
[Restore] -- This button restores objects deleted with the [Erase] buttons.
[Erase All] -- This button removes all graphical elements from the screen. As with the erase selected button, the images can be restored with the Restore button.
MENU COMMANDS
Some button and list functions are duplicated in traditional Windows menus. Other functions are offered only in menus. For duplicated instructions, search for the equivalent button command.
FILE MENU
New Card Design -- Clears the current card and set up for a new design.
Open Card File -- Open an existing .CAR card design file.
Save Current Card -- Saves the current card with the current filename.
Save Current Card As... -- Allows you to save the current design under a different filename.
Insert Graphic File -- Lets you select a clip art image for insertion in your design.
Print Card Layout -- This command, whether selected here, or after pressing the Print button, prints your design in it's actual size, and as a double-sized image, with crop marks.
Print Sheet of Cards -- This command prints an entire sheet of actual-sized cards. In the horizontal format, you can print 10 cards per sheet. In vertical format, you're limited to 9 cards per sheet.
Exit -- Quits Rockford!, with a confirmation box.
EDIT MENU
To use this menu, you must first highlight text in the text-editing box by dragging the mouse over the text you want to use.
Copy -- Sends a copy of selected text to the Windows Clipboard. Shortcut: <Ctrl>+<Ins>
Cut -- Removes selected text from the editing box, then stores it in the clipboard. Shortcut: <Shift>+<Del>
Paste -- Copies text from the Windows Clipboard to the current cursor location in the editing box.. Shortcut: <Shift>+<Ins>.
LAYOUT MENU
This menu duplicates the buttons in the Layout group.
Horizontal -- Changes design to the horizontal format.
Vertical -- Changes design to a vertical format.
Margins -- Sets margins for card text.
Offset -- Changes the offset for card borders from the edges of the card design.
FONTS MENU
Make Current Font Default -- this command sets all the lines of a card design to the font currently shown in the font selection list box. Lines already having another font name will not change. This command also sets the font for printing the descriptive lines on printed layout sheets.
Insert Character Styles in Line -- This command opens another menu, which allows you to insert character formatting commands inside text lines in the editing box. These functions are the same as those in the top group of buttons at the right of the screen.
PICTURE SCALING MENU
The functions in this menu are not duplicated with on-screen buttons. Here you can re-scale a clip art image you've added to your design. Scaling percentages affect the image as it currently appears -- not the original image. Click on the percentage of change you want.
Custom -- This button lets you enter a customized scaling percentage. Values ranging from 25% to 250% are best.
HELP MENU
Help with Rockford! <F1> -- This command opens a new window, which presents help information for Rockford! On the left of this screen is an index of topics covered in the main help screen. To get help on a topic, just click on the topic's name.
DRAWING AN OBJECT
To draw an object in the WYSIWYG screen, first select the type of object ([Line], [Box],[Circle]), then set the width for the lines used to draw the object. Click on the [Draw] checkbox, then move the mouse pointer inside the WYSIWYG display and depress the left mouse button at the starting point of a line, the upper left corner of a box, or the center of a circle. Drag the mouse pointer to a new location. A rubber-band image of your object will appear as you draw. When the object is approximately the right size, release the left mouse button to place your object on the screen. A number will appear next to the object to identify it.
MOVING AN OBJECT OR CLIP ART IMAGE
Start by selecting the object in the [Object] list box. Next, click on the [Move] option button.
To move the object in .01" increments, click on the [Up], [Down], [Left], or [Right] arrows on the appropriate scroll bar.
To move the object in .1" increments, click the scroll bar regions between the arrows and the position button on the scroll bar.
To move the object in larger increments, click and drag the position button on either scroll bar.
DRAGGING A CLIP ART IMAGE
You can move a clip art image by dragging it around the screen with the mouse. Position the image roughly with the mouse, then use the scroll bars for precise positioning.
SCALING A LINE DRAWING OBJECT
First, select the object you want to resize, then click the [Size] option button. Use the scroll bars to alter the size of the object.
SCALING A CLIP ART IMAGE
First, select the PIC object in the [Object] list box. Click the [Size] option button.
Use the scroll bars to change the size of your image. Once the image is the size you want, you can re-position it with the [Move] option.
NOTE: For true proportional scaling of images, use the Graphics Scaling command on the main menu.
EDITING YOUR DESIGNS
Once you've designed a few cards, you can use them as templates for future card designs. Rockford! Professional comes with a number of stock card designs you can use as templates. It's easy to make changes.
Editing Text
To replace existing text with new text, highlight existing text by dragging over it with the mouse, one line at a time, then type your new text, which will automatically replace the highlighted text.
Controlling Line Spacing
You can make fine changes in the spacing between lines of text. Position the cursor on a blank line and change the font size for that line. You'll see the changes on your screen. You can make changes in 1-point (1/72") intervals.
Placing Text Beside Clip Art Images
To position text next to or around clip art images, use the [Alignment] options. To position text to the right of an image, choose the Right Aligned alignment option, then add spaces after the text. Use the Left Aligned option to position text to the left of an image., and add spaces to the left of the text.
Working with Split Lines
Rockford!'s ability to split lines is very powerful, letting you position blocks of text on both sides of the card. Normally, the right half of the line is left-aligned, while the right half is right-aligned. Insert spaces to pad the text until it's aligned just the way you want. Click the [Update] button to view your changes.
Printing Samples
When working with complex card designs, print occasional samples of your design for checking. Your printed image may vary slightly from the image in the WYSIWYG screen. After printing a sample, make changes to correct slight misalignments.
