[QuickTacBeta] QuickTac 4.0 documentation

[Peter Sullivan]

Dear Roger,

I think that you raise several issues:

1. The documentation will benefit from some further specifics.  I agree.
2. Tool use is nearly impossible for a blind person.  We expected this.  And
we certainly intend to improve this, but it is well beyond the scope of QT
4.0 to get the job done.  We'd like in time to have more of an "object"
focus to the drawing.  For now, I think it's best if we defer that
discussion for just a bit.
3. Menu and dialog use is difficult with a screen reader.  This surprises
me.  But, because the drawing tools weren't intended to be accessible this
time out, it wasn't a high priority for us to check this out immediately.
But I'll ask somebody to that now.
4. QuickTac might not be retaining your embosser setup.  If so, then this is
a bug.  I explain below how this is supposed to work within QuickTac.

QuickTac Embosser Setup for DBT Users:

DBT has two Embosser Setup dialogs.  Global Embosser Setup affects only
yet-to-be-created documents.  Document Embosser Setup affects only the
current document.  (Though, through the use of templates, the settings from
Document Embosser Setup can be propagated to yet-to-be-created documents
too.)

QuickTac has but one Setup dialog: Page Setup in the File menu.  When you
click on OK in QuickTac's Page Setup dialog, the setup information is
supposed to be stored in two locations:
  1. In your document file (if it is in .DXG format).
  2. In the registry settings, which are specific to each computer user.

In some sense, then, QuickTac's Page Setup dialog works as a combination of
DBT's Global and Document Page Setup dialogs.  The new setup is applied both
"globally" and to the current document.

But note that QuickTac is able to recall Page Setup from a saved file only
if the file is in .DXG format.

If you use Page Setup, save a document, and then read the document back into
QuickTac, the results may vary.  It depends upon whether you've been back to
Page Setup to select a different embosser, resolution, or margins in the
meantime.  If you've not been back to Page Setup at all, then you should
find that re-opening a .SIG file gives you the same Page Setup as you had
before.  But if you've changed the Page Setup -- even for another document
-- the new Setup will apply to you .SIG file when you reopen it is well.

Hopefully that's reasonably clear about what is intended.  If you have a
better idea of how things should work, please let me know.  But keep in mind
that .SIG files cannot stored page setup informtion without creating a
backwards-compatibility problem.

Of if you just want to let me know that things aren't working as I
described, please let me know whether your document is saved as a .SIG file
or as a .DXG file.

And, by the way, can you tell me what sort of Index you have?  And is it a
Version II or a Version III?

- Peter

-----Original Message-----
From: quicktacbeta-bounces at duxsys.com
[mailto:quicktacbeta-bounces at duxsys.com] On Behalf Of Roger Firman
Sent: Thursday, March 22, 2007 5:22 AM
To: 'David Holladay'; quicktacbeta at duxsys.com
Subject: Re: [QuickTacBeta] QuickTac 4.0 documentation

Dear David,
 
Peter might have a view on what follows as some of it relates to the program
itself, as well as the documentation.
 
In my very limited experience of using the program, I wonder if it might be
helpful to add something about embossing directly from Quicktac itself
rather than via DBT. When trying this out, I found that it was not quite the
same as embossing from DBT.
 
When I loaded a previously created file into Quicktac, ctrl-E gave me an
error message that no embosser had been selected although I had set one up,
or was pretty convinced I had done so. By selecting it, by linking the JAWS
cursor to PC and managing to locate Index, in my case, it was then possible
to emboss directly.
 
If there is an easier way of accomplishing the embossing process directly
from Quicktac, do let me know.
 
While writing, has any thought been given as to how users with access
technology might use Quicktac to use the drawing tools? Given some
pre-defined information, this should be possible, I would have thought.
Perhaps others on this list might say if they envisage situations where this
could be useful, I am thinking of students, or, possibly, artists.
 
Regards,
 
Roger.
 
 
 -----Original Message-----
From: quicktacbeta-bounces at duxsys.com
[mailto:quicktacbeta-bounces at duxsys.com] On Behalf Of David Holladay
Sent: 21 March 2007 18:09
To: quicktacbeta at duxsys.com
Subject: [QuickTacBeta] QuickTac 4.0 documentation



	As some of you may have noticed, I have tried to capture some of the
issues discussed on this e-mail forum and combined them into a sort of
starting documentation for QuickTac 4.0. Here is the URL:
http://www.tactileaudio.com/doc.htm
	
	Here is what the file looks like today:
	
	
	

	Some Notes on QuickTac 4.0
	
	
	


	What does QuickTac Do?

	QuickTac is a paint program building a grid of dots. Once an object
is drawn, it may be "undone" but otherwise it is no longer an object but
just existing dots. These dot pattens can be directly embossed, or saved
into a file that can be read into Duxbury DBT or MegaDots. 
	

	Embosser Setup

	Embosser setup works like it does in Duxbury DBT, except that it is
accessed through File, Page Setup in QuickTac instead of Global, Embosser
Setup as in Duxbury DBT. One difference between embosser setup in QuickTac
and in Duxbury DBT is that in QuickTac, you only see embosser models that
can produce graphics. 
	

	Drawing Tools

	Drawing tools all appear on the toolbar and also in the Tool menu.
Once any tool is selected, it displays its own step-by-step instructions to
the right of the image. What has confused people most to date is the meaning
of certain terms in the list of fills. QuickTac says "remove internal dots"
for fill when it means that drawing a new shape will "white out" the
interior. "No fill" means that the interior will retain whatever dots were
already there before you began to draw. Please note that one of the line
patterns available for all drawing tools is "remove bounding dots". That
just means the dots for the object are removed rather than drawn. 
	

	Cut, Copy and Clear

	Cut, copy, and clear all work as they do in a basic "Paint" program.
But you must remember that you are cutting, copying, or clearing a
rectangular collection of dots, not an "object" as such. 
	
	Paste, however, is a bit odd. When you paste within QuickTac, the
pasted dots will show up somewhere on your image. If they show up where you
don't want them, then you must be sure that your next click is within the
area that was just modified by the paste. Click and hold to drag the pasted
dots around to where you want them. If you don't think to do that, and click
somewhere else instead, then all is lost except to Undo. 
	
	Cutting and pasting between QuickTac and other applications is not
presently supported. 
	
	There is one hidden feature. Shift-click any place, regardless of
what tool is selected, to toggle a single dot. Any other "hidden features"
that you might find are likely to be bugs. 
	
	And there is one "power feature" that does appear on the menus. If
an area is selected, then you can choose "Save as Fill" from the Edit menu
to save the selected pattern of dots for future use in filling new shapes
that you create. 
	

	Importing BMP files into QuickTac


	*	Draw a BMP in say Paint. The BMP may need to be small in
size to work with your embosser. 
	*	Save in the QuickTac folder 
	*	Open QuickTac and select Fill. The BMP will be listed under
the fills. The BMP will repeat as a fill if too small for page, but if it is
large enought will only get one version of it. 
	*	If you make a new fill. Open a new page or else the fill
wont show in the drop down menu. 
	*	To get an idea of how large the drawing area for the BMP
should be. Make a new fill in QuickTac. Go to Paint and open the fill up in
it. That is the drawing area available. 


	Another approach is a direct import of an already made BMP. (Copy it
to QuickTac folder). That worked too, but size seems to be important and
which embosser you use. You can see the effect of if with the picture open
in QuickTac (open Page set up and click on the different embossers).
Changing orientation (portrait, landscape), can change how much you get in
of the picture. 
	
	To reverse the procedure you can export: 

	*	Draw in QuickTac. 
	*	Select and make a fill. 
	*	The fill will be the BMP of your drawing. 



	Importing and Exporting SIG files

	The .DXG is the default format when you save a file in QuickTac.
(DuXbury Graphic) You can also "Save As" and select the alternative .SIG
format. At the current time, Duxbury DBT itself has not been modified to
accept the import of DXG files, hence you need to save your QT files as .sig
files to import into Duxbury DBT. 
	

	Q and A

	Q: How do you do a raised line grid? 
	A: This is best done by hand, with the line tool, assisted by guide
lines available through "View Grid". 
	
	Q: If you import a .sig file into DBT, does one need to change any
of the controls or does DBT work out automatically what to do? 
	A: You do need to make sure that you are importing a file which is
correctly sized. In other words, if you have designed something for let's
say "11 inch Wide" paper, you will have a problem if you try to import it in
to a "11 inch narrow" DBT document. 
	
	Q: How do you control the graphics resolution when you import a SIG
file into DBT? 
	A: DBT "infers" the resolution at which to emboss the image from the
image size. However, it sometimes infers something other than what you
intend. In this case, position your cursor at the graphic and select Layout,
Picture, and then the resolution you want. (The menu items are listed as for
Index embosser resolutions, but also work for ET embossers.) The hard part
of this procedure is positioning the cursor at the graphic. Ironically, this
is most easily done in coded view. Place the cursor just before the [gd]
code. If your image occupies the full page, you may also need to disable
headers, footers, and page numbering in DBT. These can be re-enabled
following the picture. DBT does not automatically suppress headers, footers,
and page numbering to make room for a large graphic. Instead, it might omit
the graphic. Carefully review your file before you emboss. 
	
	Q: What about BRG and BRF files? 
	A: These are imported and exported just like SIG files. Follow the
instructions above for SIG files. 
	
	Q: Can I import a QuickTac SIG file into MegaDots? 
	A: Yes, but it helps to use the latest MegaDots software. Caryn has
made some modifications to make this practical. Click here and send an email
requesting instructions on importing graphics into MegaDots
<mailto:caryn at duxsys.com?subject=Please Send me help importin QuickTac 4.0
files into MegaDots&body=Thanks for your help!>