File: README.TXT for Chartist Shareware Version 1.02 _______ ____|__ | (R) --| | |------------------- | ____|__ | Association of | | |_| Shareware |__| o | Professionals -----| | |--------------------- |___|___| MEMBER For a general description of the Chartist application, see the file DESCRIBE.TXT in this distribution set. All material in this software release is Copyright 1991, 1992 by Novagraph. The contents of this release are listed in the section entitled "Contents of Distribution Set" below. See the DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE AGREEMENT below for how may use this software. TO INSTALL CHARTIST FOLLOW THE INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS BELOW, AFTER YOU REVIEW THE DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE AGREEMENT. Contents of this file: DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE AGREEMENT REGISTRATION INFORMATION Installation Instructions Contents of Distribution Set Sample Chart Files Information Tips: "Shape File Not Found, Exiting..." Fitting Text Into Symbols Making Symbols a Uniform Size Where the Tool Bar Icons Are Defined Routing Lines Help File / Documentation Errata Other WordPerfect For Windows 5.1 Issue Library Shapes **************************************************************** DEFINITION OF SHAREWARE Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it beyond the trial period, you are expected to register. Copyright laws apply to Shareware software products, and the copyright holder retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. The author specifically grants the right to copy and distribute the software, either to all or to a specific group. For example, some authors require written permission before a commercial disk vendor may copy their Shareware products. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. You should find software that suits your needs and pocketbook, whether it's commercial or Shareware. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try before you buy. And because the overhead is low, prices are low also. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you do not use the product, you do not pay for it. ***************************************************************** DISCLAIMER AND LICENSE AGREEMENT Users of Chartist must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Chartist is supplied as is. Novagraph disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. Novagraph assumes no liability for damages, direct or conse- quential, which may result from the use of Chartist." Chartist is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you continue to use Chartist after 30 days, you must make a registration payment of $69.95 (plus $3.00 shipping and applicable taxes) to Novagraph. Payment of the registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it is being used at another. Commercial users of Chartist must register and pay for their copies of Chartist within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by con- tacting Novagraph. Anyone distributing Chartist for any kind of remuneration must first contact Novagraph at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the (ASP) as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering Chartist immediately (However Novagraph must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of Chartist). You are encouraged to pass a copy of Chartist along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the Chartist system, a printed user's manual and technical support for 1 year. ***************************************************************** REGISTRATION INFORMATION To register your copy of Chartist, call or write: Novagraph 10014 Lawler Rd. Dallas, TX 75243-2612 (214) 231-2169 (800) 858-8606 (Registrations Only, Please) The registration fee for Chartist is $69.95 + $3.00 shipping/handling. Registered users get the latest version of the software, a printed user's manual and technical support for 1 year. Texas residents must also add state tax as follows: $5.29 if you do NOT live within Dallas Area Rapid Transit Authority $6.02 if you are lucky enough to live within D.A.R.T. When you register please indicate which disk format you prefer: 3 1/2" or 5 1/4". (Default is 5 1/4".) If you want the optional Shape Library Technical Document/Support Package (see the notes below on Library Shapes), so indicate on your order and include an extra $25 (plus applicable taxes for Texas residents). You can send a check or money order, or use Visa/MasterCard. If you are mailing in a credit card order be sure to give us the information on your credit card, including name, type of card (Visa or MasterCard), your card number INCLUDING expiration date. Also, please sign the order. Chartist is a trademark of Novagraph. ***************************************************************** Installation Instructions To install the software, copy all files from the distribution into a directory on your hard drive. To set up the Chartist icon in the Program Manager, refer to "Adding Program Items and Documents to a Group" in Chapter 3 of the Microsoft Windows User's Guide. To set up an association in Windows with Chartist Documents, refer to "Associating Documents with an Application" in Chapter 4 of the Microsoft Windows User's Guide. Chartist Documents have a file type of "CHT." ***************************************************************** Contents of Distribution Set. Program files: CHARTIST.EXE Program file CHARTIST.HLP Windows Help file for Chartist CHARTRFN.FON Reduced scale screen fonts SHAPES.SHP Shape library Documentation Files: README.TXT This file (Plain Text File) DESCRIBE.TXT Describes the function of Chartist (Plain Text File) OMBUDSM.TXT Describes ASP problem resolution procedure (Plain Text File) 1STARTUP.WRI Getting started tutorial (Windows Write file) 2SYMBOLS.WRI Working with symbols (Windows Write file) 3LINES.WRI Working with lines (Windows Write file) 4FILE_OP.WRI File operations (Windows Write file) 5OPTIONS.WRI Setting options (Windows Write file) Sample Chart Files: SAMPLE.CHT General sample chart DATAFLOW.CHT Sample data flow diagram DEPLOY.CHT Sample deployment diagram JACKSON.CHT Sample Jackson data structure diagram RELATE.CHT Sample free-form relationship chart X224.CHT Sample SDL flow chart ***************************************************************** Sample Chart Files Information All sample files were created with an HP LaserJet IIIP printer selected. All text uses the fonts available with that printer. If you print these charts using a different printer, the fonts may not map into optimal selections on that printer, especially if the smaller fonts are not available. ***************************************************************** Tips: "Shape File Not Found, Exiting..." ================================== If you get this error message you have probably moved the Chartist application files to a new directory after having run Chartist at least one time. When Chartist runs for the first time it creates a file, CHARTIST.INI, in your WINDOWS directory. There, Chartist maintains various settings, including the path to the last loaded shape library. If you move the shape file, Chartist can no longer find it along the path indicated in CHARTIST.INI. The solution is to delete CHARTIST.INI from the WINDOWS directory. Chartist will then build a new one with the correct path information in it. Fitting Text Into Symbols ========================= The size of text in a symbol is displayed most accurately at 100% scale and with "View Text As Printed" checked. At reduced scales text may look as if it is too big for the symbol. Also if you use one of the type manager products, such as ATM, the View Text As Printed feature may not expand the displayed text enough to show its full horizontal extent. You can select the symbol in question and print it alone using the "Print Selection" Check box in the Print Chart dialog. This will give you a quick hard copy look at the symbol and text. Note: ==== The file CHARTRFN.FON contains raster fonts that are used to display very small text (i.e. at reduced scales). As the display scale is reduced, the actual fonts used by the symbol or line may be replaced by these fonts (for display purposes only). The result is similar to "greek", in that the text is not particularly readable, but it approximates the size it should be at the display scale. If for some reason this font file is deleted from the application directory, this "greek" effect will not operate. To restore the font, just copy the file back into the application directory from the distribution disk. Making Symbols a Uniform Size ============================= To make several symbols the same size as any symbol in your chart, select the symbol with the desired size. (Say that you stretched that symbol to hold some text, and want all the other symbols to be the same size.) Choose the Options Default Symbol Size... command (There is a Tool Bar button for this command. See the manual), click on the Copy From Symbol button. Then click on OK. Select the other symbols and choose the Symbol Reset Size command. (There is also a Tool Bar button for this command.) Where the Tool Bar Icons Are Defined ==================================== Each Tool Bar Icon button selects a command from the menu. To see what commands are tied to the Tool Bar, press F1 from the main Chartist Window. This brings up the top level Help Index for Chartist. There is a Tool Bar Topic that you can click on, and that will tell you what you need to know. Routing Lines ============= As described in the documentation, lines route automatically based on the designated entry and exit points on symbols, and the routing style. In complex charts, or in areas where symbol placement is constrained by the layout of the overall chart, lines may want to route "on top of" other symbols. You can control this easily with the use of symbols with the "Titl-Cent" shape. Symbols with this shape are typically used for areas of text in the chart that do not need borders (such as titles, notes, etc). Symbols with this shape also have a special property with respect to lines: Any lines connected to a symbol with a Titl-Cent shape run all the way to the center of that symbol, not just to the outside boundary. This means that you can use the Titl-Cent shape as a universal line connector/anchor. Just position the symbol where you need to turn a corner or otherwise constrain the routing of a line. Then run lines to and from this symbol as needed, using it as an anchor point. You can select individual lines and remove arrowheads if you want, for aesthetics. Remember that the entry and exit points of a line with respect to a symbol are designated when you draw the line, by how close to one of the four sides of the symbol you are when you click the mouse button. So do not make the Titl-Cent shaped symbol you are using for a connector/anchor so small that you cannot draw lines conveniently into or out of it. ***************************************************************** Help File / Documentation Errata In the Tool Bar, the sample line and line font description are now side-by-side instead of stacked as shown in the Tool Bar Help Topic. This minor change was made recently to avoid clipping that text on very high resolution displays, where the buttons get small-ish. The Accelerator Key for Symbol Reference... is Ctrl+F4, not Alt+F4 as documented. ***************************************************************** Other WordPerfect For Windows 5.1 Issue ================================= There is a problem in how WordPerfect For Windows interprets Metafile Pictures clipped from Chartist and other applications. It is our under- standing at this writing that WordPerfect is aware of their problem and plans to correct it in an interim release. If you use WordPerfect for Windows, you may experience problems with printed text appearance from Chartist metafile pictures. Chartist uses the MM_ANISTROPIC mode for metafile pictures, which is the most accepted format. Also, Chartist adheres to all other standard practices for clipboard data exchange. Library Shapes ============== A common question asked is about additional shapes to those available in the standard shape file. We generally add shapes to the shape file on user request. So far the additions have been very simple, and we have not charged extra for this service. Just about any shape that can be represented as one or more polygons or polylines can be quickly generated and added to the shape file. When you register just describe or sketch out the shape you want, and we will do our best to accomodate you. If you still want to "roll your own", there is a shape library technical document and support package available to registered users. Creating shapes is fairly technical, but the standard shape library provides many examples that you can build upon. The shape library technical document with 6 months of technical support for making shapes cost an extra $25 (plus applicable taxes). ************************************************************* Hope you like it, hope you buy it. Happy charting! Steve Goings President Novagraph