Welcome to IntelliDraw. Get ready for a new adventure to new horizons. Your drawings are no longer limited to being static and lifeless, and a chore to change. IntelliDraw opens a whole new world of possibilities.
HERE ARE SOME HELPFUL NOTES AND LATEST NEWS
WINDOW SIZING AND POSITIONING
The size of your working window is initially dependent on the IntelliDraw Defaults document, which is the master for all your New documents. This document is named IntelliDraw Defaults, and it is placed in your System Folder's Preferences folder (System 7), or in the System Folder itself, under System 6.
The default document is 640 x 480 pixels, which matches the Apple 13" monitor, but is larger than a Macintosh Classic, SE, SE/30, and the 12-inch Apple Monitor. For these smaller monitors, the window resizing controls will not be visible on screen. However, there is a simple, and permanent adjustment you can make:
Choose New View from the View menu, then, when the small document window opens, click its zoom box, and the window will resize itself to fit your screen perfectly.
Next make any changes to page orientation, magnification, text setting choices, printer choices, and page setup.
Finally choose Save as Default from the File menu. All your future New documents will use this window size, page orientation, text settings, etcetera.
You can change the settings of the default document any time, and use the Save As Default command to establish the change.
POSITIONING PALETTES
IntelliDraw has several palettes that you can move, reshape, collapse, and hide completely. Their initial position is determined by the preferences document, which is named IntelliDraw Preferences. This file is stored in the System Folder's Preferences folder (System 7) or System Folder itself (System 6).
After you launch IntelliDraw, arrange these palettes as you see fit. Every time you quit the program, IntelliDraw remembers which palettes were open and where you left them. The palettes will reopen at those positions the next time you use the program.
Because IntelliDraw has both Short and Full menus, there are separate settings for the Short and Full versions of the Tool palette, and Action Button palette. This means that the placement of the Full Menus Tool palette will not affect the location of the Short Menus Tool palette. Each must be positioned in its own mode.
If you lose a palette, where the menu indicates that it's open, but you can't see it check the following:
- Another palette may be on top of it
- It may be beyond the visible area of the monitor, perhaps put there when you worked with a larger or a higher resolution monitor. To bring it back, do the following:
- Quit IntelliDraw
- Delete the IntelliDraw preferences document IntelliDraw Preferences from the System Folder's Preferences folder (System 7) or System Folder (System 6).
- Launch IntelliDraw, which will open with no palettes. Use the View menu to open all the palettes you need, and place them where you want them. Be sure you set your palettes up in both Short and Full menus.
- Quit IntelliDraw to establish the changes.
PLACEMENT OF PREFERENCES AND DEFAULT DOCUMENTS
With System 7, the IntelliDraw Installer will create two sets of Preferences and Defaults documents. One set will be placed in the in the System Folder's Preferences folder, and the other set in the System Folder itself. The set that is directly visible in the System folder is never used and never updated when you make changes to IntelliDraw's preferences or defaults. You may use this set as a backup set, or you may delete it.
With System 6, the IntelliDraw Installer will create two sets of Preferences and Defaults documents. One set will be placed in a Preferences folder that it creates in the System Folder, and one set will placed be in the System Folder itself. The set that is in the Preferences folder is never used and is never updated when you make changes to IntelliDraw's preferences or defaults. You may use this Preferences folder as a backup to hold your IntelliDraw preferences and defaults, or you may delete it.
PERFORMANCE NOTES
On a color or grayscale Mac, IntelliDraw does best in 2400K or more. The more the better, especially for complex documents or documents that have multiple colored scans or paintings.
When initially installed, IntelliDraw is set up to use 2400K of memory. If you receive low-memory warnings, and generally for larger projects, you can increase the memory allocation with the following procedure:
- Quit all your applications
- Locate the application icon
- Select the icon, and choose Get Info from the File menu
- An information dialog will open. Keep this dialog open.
- From the Apple menu, choose About this Macintosh
- The display will show the size of the largest unused block. You can allocate up to that much RAM into the Current Size box of IntelliDraw's Info dialog. In practice, you should leave some RAM left over, so for example if the largest unused block is 3500K, you might use 3200K
- Close the Info dialog and the About This Macintosh dialog
- Launch IntelliDraw with its new memory allocation.
To free up the RAM (real or virtual) otherwise required by IntelliDraw for its off-screen buffer, you can try turning off that mode. Use the View Settings command to do this, and uncheck the Use off-screen Buffer option.
VIRTUAL MEMORY AND REAL MEMORY
If you use Virtual Memory (System 7), and IntelliDraw is forced to use this virtual memory extensively, it may seem sluggish. At that point, the performance is directly related to the speed of your hard disk.
To free up some real RAM you can turn off your Disk Cache (RAM Cache), or allocate less space to system add-ons such as Adobe Type Manager (if you have it), or turn off some INITS (Extensions) such as screen savers, screen-shot utilities, or other memory-hungry items. These can be disabled with a management utility, or you can simply drag them out of the System folder, and restart.
The best memory solution is to work with enough real RAM. That is a worthwhile purchase that will improve your entire working environment.
HOW COLOR MODES AFFECT PERFORMANCE
If you run in the Millions or Thousands color mode, IntelliDraw will need substantial memory for its off-screen buffer, especially if you have a large monitor.
The off-screen buffer is a viewing mode that produces a flickerless redraw as you work.
The memory required for this buffer is based on both the working window size and the monitor’s color mode (number of simultaneous colors). Using the off-screen buffer will tax your RAM, but if you have sufficient real RAM, it should not affect performance. If you're running multiple applications, or have 4 Megabytes or less of real RAM, there will be some limitations.
You can control the off-screen buffer via IntelliDraw's View Settings dialog, by checking or unchecking the Use off-screen buffer option.
To improve performance without turning off the off-screen buffer, reduce the number of displayable colors, say from Millions to 256, or to 16 or even black and white.
THE COMPUTER BEEPS WHEN YOU'VE DONE NOTHING WRONG OR SMART, LINKED GRAPHICS ARE LEFT IN A DISJOINTED STATE
Both these conditions are related to the speed of your CPU, and to the complexity of the special relationships in the graphic.
After you make a change to a graphic that has relationships such as objects attached to a shape, many objects inside a distribution frame, etcetera, IntelliDraw spends a certain amount of time figuring out where everything should be redrawn. The more objects are involved and the more complex the relationships, the more time this "link resolution" requires. Normally, it all works, and finishes in short order.
To keep IntelliDraw from spending a long time, possibly trying to resolve an impossible set of relationships, there is a time limit that you can set in the Preferences.
If IntelliDraw can't resolve the links in that specified time, it will beep, and possibly leave the drawing in an incompletely resolved state. On faster computers IntelliDraw completes its work well within the default time in the preferences. On slower computers you may need to allow more time.
To change the link resolution time, use the Preferences command (in the Full Menus mode) and double the "After dragging" value in the Link Resolution section of the Preferences dialog. Close the dialog and make a change to your graphic so that IntelliDraw re-resolves it.
If this time change doesn't correct you particular problem, you may have established a set of relationships that are mutually exclusive, and could never be completely resolved. In that case, examine or undo your most recent actions, which may have caused this condition. If all else fails, select the objects involved and choose Clear Links from the Links menu, and start fresh.
SYSTEM 6 NOTES
On the Mac Plus and SE Under System 6, IntelliDraw cannot use its off-screen buffer to smooth out the drawing activities. When you move, reshape, or align objects, there will be some flickering. This is not a technical problem, but a limitation of System 6 without 32-bit QuickDraw.
Upgrading to System 7 would enable the use of the off-screen buffer.
On color Macs, you should be using 32-bit QuickDraw, which is supplied with System 6. This will enable the proper display of color bitmaps and will provide much better grayscale and color rendition on screen or in print.
32-bit QuickDraw is found on the System 6 installation disk named Print(ing) Tools, in the Apple Color folder. Place the 32-bit QuickDraw file into your own system folder, and restart your Macintosh.
SHORT MENUS AND FULL MENUS
IntelliDraw will initially open in Short menus. Some tools and capabilities mentioned in the manuals or video tape are found only in the Full Menus mode.
Full Menus mode allows you to access the Preferences settings, as well as the Layers palette, and special tools.
To switch to the Full Menus mode, choose Full Menus from the Edit menu.
A few menu items are relocated under different menus depending on which mode is active. The menu grouping is still logical, however.
The reference manual refers to all tools and menu items in Full Menus mode.
GENERAL MAC/WINDOWS FILE SHARING NOTES
IntelliDraw documents created on Macintosh or Windows platforms are completely sharable between these platforms, across a network, or via properly formatted disks. However, the two operating systems have different file naming and file-typing requirements, and don't instantly recognize each other's files.
Sharing files: WINDOWS TO MACINTOSH
Because of the different file-typing methods, a document from Windows IntelliDraw transferred to the Macintosh can't be double-clicked to open it. You must first launch IntelliDraw, then open the document via the Open dialog. Be sure that the Show All option is checked in the Open dialog. Once you Save As... on the Macintosh, that same file will be double-clickable.
Sharing files: MACINTOSH TO WINDOWS
Macintosh files typically have names that are longer than 8 characters. Windows requires names of 8 characters or less, followed by a 3-character extension. In the case of IntelliDraw, the extension is IDW for working documents, and IDT for template files.
You can have Macintosh files recognized by Windows IntelliDraw by naming them with a name of 8 characters or less, and adding the proper extension. If you don't use an extension, you can still make IntelliDraw Windows recognize the file in the Open dialog by choosing "All files" from the drop down list.
TEXT, ATM AND TRUETYPE
For System 6.0.x, you will need the Adobe Type Manager (ATM), and a set of type 1 outline fonts in order to properly display type that is rotated, as may be found in angled dimension lines, and blocks of display type.
To obtain ATM directly from Adobe, you can call 1-800-521-1976. As of June 1992 the special offer price is $7.50 US. The offer is slated to expire in December 1992.
If you're using System 7, and your text still comes out strangely jagged or even as gray boxes, you may not have the outline fonts installed in your System. Consult your System 7 installation guide, and make sure that the TrueType or ATM outline fonts are properly installed.
We recommend using ATM regardless of your System version. The performance and screen appearance are preferable over TrueType. Other reasons to use ATM:
- You'll have a wider selection of fonts
- General character positioning will be more consistent between
Windows and Macintosh platforms.
TEXT APPEARANCE CHANGES WHEN DOCUMENTS GO BETWEEN MACS AND WINDOWS
One major factor is that Windows TrueType fonts don't have close equivalents to Macintosh TrueType fonts. This affects the size and spacing of text transferred from one document to another.
Even when ATM is used on both platforms, there may be differences introduced.
A text block in a cross-platform document may need to be size-adjusted to hold the same text it held in the platform on which it was created.
For example, the Windows TrueType font Arial will be interpreted as the TrueType font Geneva on the Macintosh. These fonts have different basic dimensions, and text blocks that contain these fonts will need adjustment.
Depending on your system's ATM/TrueType/and installed fonts, the IntelliDraw clip art, which has embedded text instructions on its use, may open with its text in an odd state, perhaps flowing out of the text blocks in which it was created.
Adjustments you can make include resizing the blocks, selecting the text blocks and choosing a different font, or changing the font size or line spacing. Other adjustments to fit the text back inside the blocks, include resizing a text block slightly, or typing a space in a text block, then deleting it.
GREEKING TEXT
When text needs to be displayed as extremely small characters, as in highly reduced views or extremely small point sizes, below 3 points, it is displayed as gray bars, each bar representing a line of text. This is not a problem with fonts. It's an intentional process commonly called “Greeking”, and it’s found in desktop publishing programs. It’s only a screen-display shortcut. Your text will print fine. Zooming in will reveal that your text is safe.
EXPORTING GRADIENT-FILLED SHAPES, TILED GROUPS AND CROPPED GROUPS
EPS is the format of choice for this type of graphic because it supports the necessary graphic commands for these effects.
The PICT format is not recommended for this purpose.
Exporting such graphics as PICT's may prove surprising. If an application attempts to interpret the PICT file on import, the resultant PICT image will look like the gradient fill has been unmasked, and the cropped shapes have been uncropped. The fill will be either rectangular or oval, depending on the type you specified in the original graphic.
Shading done with shape blends is a great alternative to gradients, and will export properly in PICT format.
COPYING/PASTING GRADIENT-FILLED SHAPES, TILED GROUPS, AND CROPPED GROUPS
If you copy such graphics to the clipboard and paste them in word processors, page layout applications, and other programs that do not themselves try to interpret the graphic, the image will look and print fine.
If you paste them into other drawing programs that will try to literally redraw the graphic with their own methods, the resultant image will look like the gradient fill has been unmasked, and the cropped shapes have been uncropped. The fill will be either rectangular or oval, depending on the type you specified in the original graphic.
This behavior is similar with such graphics copied and pasted among other drawing programs.
The alternative is to Export as EPS. EPS is the format of choice for these types of graphics because it supports the necessary graphic commands for these effects.
CLOSING AND CLOSING ALL
If you have multiple windows open relating to the same document, the document is not considered closed until you close ALL the windows pertaining to it. This includes the symbol window, any group windows, page windows, and any multiple views onto the same page. You can close all those windows at once by holding the shift key down BEFORE choosing Close in the File menu. The shift key changes the Close command to a Close All command.
ROTATION BY NUMERIC VALUE IS BACKWARDS FROM DOCUMENTED BEHAVIOR
When an object is rotated via the dialog box: entering a positive value rotates the object counterclockwise and entering a negative value rotates the object clockwise. Our documentation calls for clockwise rotation with positive values.
THE RESHAPE POINTS OF LOCKED OBJECTS CAN BE SHIFTED BY A LINKED OBJECT
To use auto-align against the reshape points of an object, you must put it in reshape mode by double-clicking. If you then align and link an object to a reshape point of a locked object, then move the linked object, the point of the locked object point will move, as if it were unlocked.
WORKAROUND:
- Create a point with the point tool (Full Menus)
- Align the new point with the point on the reshapable object
- With the point objects selected, choose Move to Back from the Object menu
- Lock that point object.
You can then align other objects and dimension lines against that locked point, and nothing will unexpectedly shift. (The properties of a locked object in Reshape mode are misstated in the documentation).
You may run across this condition in the Space Planning exercise in the manual. One possible place is when you first set the space between the hallway walls, and when you set the space of the prototype lab doorway. Use manual dragging at 200% magnification to set these distances.
BREAKING APART TILED GROUPS
IntelliDraw lets you tile any object or group of selected objects. After creating an expanse of tiled objects you can break it apart into individual objects so you can edit them as if you had drawn them separately.
After the Break Apart operation, for easier management of complex tiles, IntelliDraw automatically groups the individual tiles. This may not be obvious, because even if the tiles are plain rectangles, they will be one-item groups.
Immediately after the Break Apart operation you can ungroup all the tiles (which will be selected anyway). This will make them fully editable as individual objects.
PRINTING BITMAPS (SCANS AND PAINTINGS) IN LOW-MEMORY SITUATIONS ON NON-POSTSCRIPT PRINTERS
If a gray box appears where the bitmap was, it is because you did not have enough memory to image it to the printer. Use these steps to attempt to solve the problem:
- Make sure you are running with 32 bit QuickDraw.
- Increase the application memory partition, using the Finder's Get Info command.
- To make more memory available, close other open documents that you are not using. Simplify the image by removing any scaling, rotation, flipping and slanting, that has been applied to the bitmap.
- If the memory partition for IntelliDraw cannot be increased, quit other applications that are running or try virtual memory under System 7.
- Purchase more RAM, which is an excellent investment for all your computing needs.
KANJI SUPPORT
IntelliDraw does not currently support the Kanji alphabet.
AVOID OVER-LINKING IntelliDraw introduces to the day-to-day user the ability to link graphics in all kinds of relationships.
There will be a natural tendency to link everything to everything else, and produce an amazingly tangled web which will only get in your way.
Consider links as the fasteners in a tool-kit. You only use them when it makes sense. You would not, for instance glue your cup to your desk, or bolt your car to the floor of the garage.
Remember that IntelliDraw offers other object management controls like grouping, and locking, which at the beginning are familiar, and easily manageable.
Use linking sparingly, and you'll better tap its power and convenience.
Because most links are not obvious, unless you change something and watch the results, it's perfectly possible to establish multiple identical links between the same objects. These are redundant, and don't hurt anything, but they can add processing overhead to otherwise simple actions. You can use Show Links to examine the "wiring" in your drawing, and check for multiple identical links.
Early in your linking experience, it's best, and least time-consuming to clear a link and re-establish it correctly. With gradual use, you'll become link-savvy, and you'll fly through your linked relationships, recognizing them on sight, and making swift changes.
FINALLY...
Thank you for purchasing IntelliDraw. We hope that the ideas we put into it will help you to bring your own ideas to life.
