surething user guide

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© 1994–1999 MicroVision Development, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, transcribed, stored in aretrieval system, or translated into any language in any form by any means without thewritten permission of MicroVision Development, Inc.

MicroVision Development, Inc.P.O. Box 130023Carlsbad, CA 92009

The Sentry Spelling-Checker Engine © 1993 Wintertree Software, Inc.

MicroVision™ and SureThing™ are trademarks of MicroVision Development, Inc. Otherbrands or products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders andshould be treated as such.

Restrictions

You are encouraged to make a reasonable number of backup copies of the Software for yourown use. You are not allowed to make unlimited copies. The Software is protected by thecopyright laws and international treatises that pertain to computer software. It is illegal tomake copies of the Software except for backup purposes. It is illegal to give copies toanother person, or to duplicate the Software by any other means, including electronictransmission. The Software contains trade secrets, and in order to protect them you may notdecompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, or otherwise reduce the Software to human-perceivable form. You may not modify, adapt, translate, rent, lease, or create derivative worksbased upon the Software or any part thereof.

Warranty

MicroVision warrants that the original disks are free from defects in material and work-manship, assuming normal use, for a period of ninety (90) days from the date of purchase.If a defect occurs during this period, you may return your faulty disk to MicroVision, alongwith a dated proof of purchase, for a free replacement.

EXCEPT FOR THE EXPRESS WARRANTY OF THE ORIGINAL DISKS SET FORTH ABOVE, MICROVISION GRANTS NO

OTHER WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, BY STATUTE OR OTHERWISE, REGARDING THE DISKS AND

RELATED MATERIALS, THEIR FITNESS FOR ANY PURPOSE, THEIR QUALITY, THEIR MERCHANTABILITY, OR

OTHERWISE. THE LIABILITY OF MICROVISION UNDER THE WARRANTY SET FORTH ABOVE SHALL BE LIMITED

TO THE AMOUNT PAID BY THE CUSTOMER FOR THE PRODUCT. IN NO EVENT SHALL MICROVISION BE LIABLE

FOR ANY SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR OTHER DAMAGES FOR BREACH OF WARRANTY.

iii

CreditsEngineering: Robert Bushner

Jim MayallJohn H. GabyPatrick Wright

User Guide: Sean Cavanaugh

Online Help: Jim Law

SmartDesigns: Sean CavanaughJim MayallDenise Pyfer

Testing & Support: Pete CalkinsBen Douglas

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Contents

Introducing SureThing CD Labeler 6About this manual 6System requirements 6Installing SureThing CD Labeler 7Registration 7Getting Help 7Technical Support 7

The SureThing Environment 9Label Blocks 11

Turning blocks on and off 11Selecting Tools 14Using Object Tools 14Setting Program Options 14

Entering User Information 15Zooming In and Out 15

Working with the Software 17Starting SureThing 17Creating a New Label 17SmartDesign Basics 19Working with Text 20

Editing Text Frames 20Adding a New Text Frame 21Changing the Size and Position of a Text Frame 22Inserting Merge Fields in Text Frames 22Formatting Text in a Text Frame 23Editing Text Effects 24Selecting different types of Text Effects 25Adding a New Text Effect 25

v

Working with Logos and Clipart 26Editing a Logo 27Adding Clipart to Your Label 27

Working with Backgrounds 28Using Your Own Backgrounds 29Using a Background Color 29

Acquiring Images 30Changing the Label Stock 30Duplicating a Design 30Saving Your Label 31

Saving a design with a new filename 32Calibrating Your Printer 32Printing 33

6

Introducing SureThing CD Labeler

Welcome to SureThing CDLabeler—intelligent labelingsoftware that gives you the tools

to create attractive labels quickly andefficiently.

You can use SureThing CD Labeler tocreate any type of CD label. Our Smart-Design system is perfect for music CDs,interactive multimedia titles, PhotoCDs, oreven simple backups, for example. And itdoesn’t matter whether you’re a novicedesigner or an art director, SureThing CDLabeler gives you ease of use and profes-sional results at the same time. Smart-Designs are capable of building just aboutany type of layout simply by clicking yourchoices, but you can also modify them oreven build your own layouts from scratch.

There’s no need to worry about measure-ments or lining things up properly becauseSureThing CD Labeler handles that for youautomatically. It’s pre-configured to workwith popular label stocks from a number ofmanufacturers, leaving you free to becreative and focus on your designs.

SureThing CD Labeler also comes with alarge collection of backgrounds, texturesand clipart you can use in your labels anddesigns, and of course you can alsoincorporate your existing images andartwork into any label design.

You can even merge information from adatabase or CSV file, and print sets oflabels, or numbered series.

About this manualThe SureThing CD Labeler User Guideprovides the essential information youneed to get up and running as quickly aspossible. The goal of this manual to giveyou a good overview of the program’sfeatures and functionality. It’s not so mucha command reference as it is a generalreference. The program’s built-in Helpsystem is the best place to find typicalcommand reference information. The Helpsystem also contains a number of usefulmini-tutorials, tips and techniques forusing SureThing.

We assume you have a basic workingknowledge of your computer and operatingsystem, including how to choose menucommands, operate the mouse, and workwith files (opening, closing and saving, forexample).

System requirementsHere are the bare bone requirementsneeded to run SureThing:

• PC with 486 or faster processor

• Windows 95, 98 or NT

• 8 MB RAM and 10 MB of free hard diskspace (18 MB recommended)

• Inkjet or Laser printer recommended

SURETHING CD LABELER

User Guide7

Installing SureThingThis section describes how to install theSureThing CD Labeler software on yourcomputer. Before proceeding, have yourserial number handy. The installationprogram requires you to enter your serialnumber before it copies the program toyour hard drive.

We recommend that you quit all currentlyrunning programs. Doing so frees upmemory and resources and minimizes thechance of installation errors.

1 Insert the SureThing installation CD intoyour CD-ROM drive.

2 If you’ve turned off Auto-run, double-click the file named Setup.exe. Thislaunches the installation that will walk youthrough the process of installing SureThingCD Labeler on your hard disk. If Auto-runis turned on, the Setup program will loadautomatically when you insert the Sure-Thing CD.

RegistrationPlease take a moment to register Sure-Thing. Registering the software entitles youto technical support as well notification ofprogram updates and upgrades. To registerthe software choose MicroVision on theWeb from the Help menu, then selectRegister SureThing to go directly to ourregistration web page. If you don’t haveaccess to the Internet, you can register bycalling MicroVision at 800.998.4555, or760.438.7781.

Getting HelpSureThing CD Labeler has a complete helpsystem accessible anytime the program isrunning. Much of the help is context-sensitive. In other words, it will jumpdirectly to the specific topic related to thefeature or command you are working with.When no specific feature or command isdetected, choosing Help takes you to thehelp system’s index or topic list. The Helpsystem also contains a number of helpfultutorials, tips and techniques.

To access help:

• Press the F1 key any time you are usingSureThing CD Labeler, or choose theContents command from the Help menu.

• In most dialog boxes you can press aHelp button, which opens the help topic forthat dialog box (and even if you don’t see aHelp button in a dialog box, you can stillpress F1).

Technical SupportIf you have a question or problem withSureThing CD Labeler that you cannotadequately answer or solve using themanual or help system, technical support isavailable from MicroVision Development.

Online support via the web – www.mvd.com

If you have access to the Internet, this isdefinitely the best option. Our web site iskept current with answers to frequentlyasked questions (FAQs), program updatesand patches. Visit our website atwww.mvd.com 24 hours a day, sevendays a week.

8 CHAPTER 1Introduction

You can access our web site directly fromSureThing’s Help menu. Options areavailable to register the software, order labelsupplies, and check for software updates.Choose MicroVision on the Web from theHelp menu at any time to automaticallylaunch your web browser and go to our site.

E-mail support

You can send us e-mail by visiting ourwebsite, or send it directly [email protected].

Fax or mail support

You can mail or fax questions to us at thefollowing:

MicroVision DevelopmentP.O. Box 130023Carlsbad, CA 92009

Fax line: 760.438.7406

Telephone support

You can also phone us directly and speakwith a technical support representative.Telephone support is available Monday–Friday 9:00am–4:30pm Pacific time.

Support line: 760.438.0305

9

The SureThing Environment

The SureThing environment is nottoo different from what you’realready used to with other Windows

applications. It includes a menu bar at thetop of the screen, the tabbed label window(the number of tabs depends on the brandof label you are using), and a collection of

tools for creating and editing elements suchas label text, text effects, backgrounds,images, borders, etc.

At the bottom of the screen are buttons youclick to cycle through the various Smart-Designs.

Menu bar

Speed Tools

Control Strip

Design barVariation bar

Command bar

10 CHAPTER 2The SureThing Environment

Label Design Area

The Label Design Area is where you createand edit your label. Each label block has itsown tab at the top of the design area. Thenumber of tabs displayed here depends onthe label stock you are working with(specific to each label manufacturer). Theexample above contains blocks for the CDlabel itself, a jewel case title and a jewel casespine. By default, only the CD Label block isactive – the others appear grayed out.Clicking a tab activates the block, however,and also turns it on in the Print dialog box.If you don’t want to edit and/or print theseblocks, you can turn them off again by

Sample Text frame

Tabs for each component ofthe label stock (referred toas “Blocks”)

SampleText effect

Label edge

Bleed area

Rulers (click and drag to createalignment guide lines).

In Text Mode, the ruler changes to aparagraph indent and tab ruler (right).

choosing the Blocks command from Viewmenu, and then selecting Show/Hide.

The area displayed in crosshatch indicatesthe unused portions of the label. If youplace an object, such as a text frame or logo,over the crosshatch, the portion thatoverlaps the crosshatch will not be dis-played on screen (nor will it be printed).You can turn off crosshatching by togglingthe Clip to Label command under the Viewmenu. When Clip to Label is turned off, allobjects are displayed and printed regardlessof their placement on the label.

Non-printing area(crosshatch)


User Guide11

Label BlocksWe mentioned the concept of “blocks” in apreceding section. A block is a group ofsimilar labels determined by the labelmanufacturer. The most obvious block isthe one for the CD face itself, but certainmanufacturers have designed their labelsheets to contain blocks for jewel cases andjewel case spines as well. Depending on thebrand of label and applicator you are using,your label sheets may contain two CD faces,for example, two spines, and two jewel casetitles. Or it may contain CD faces only andno jewel case blocks. Label blocks varyfrom manufacturer to manufacturer.SureThing has been designed to work withlabels from all the major manufacturers.When you create a label, the very first thingthe program asks you is to specify aparticular label manufacturer’s label stock.

Consider the following example. The circlesin the center are, of course, the CD labels.The first tab in the design window corre-sponds to this block. The thin rectangles tothe left and right of the CD labels are jewelcase spines, and correspond to the secondtab in the design window.

A typical label sheet

Turning blocks on and offYou select the blocks you want to designand edit by clicking their correspondingtabs at the top of the design window, whichturns on a block and activates its designwindow if it wasn’t already. You can turnoff blocks using the Blocks > Show/Hidecommand under the View menu. Whenyou turn a block off, its tab appears grayedout, and it’s no longer displayed in blue inthe Print dialog box, indicating that it cannot be printed. If it is on, however, it will beprinted.

In the following Print dialog box, you cantell that only the CD label block has beenturned on, because it’s the only block thatappears in blue. The blue areas indicateactive blocks, letting you know which oneswill be printed.

After activating the other blocks, noticethat they now also appear in blue:


The buttons along the top of the designarea (New, Open, Save, etc.) perform thesame function as choosing these com-mands from the menu. They’re located herefor your convenience.

The Duplicate button makes a copy of thecurrent design. You can then edit the copy,changing background, text, and layout, forexample, leaving the original intact. TheDuplicate feature provides an easy way toproduce a series of labels where only

Command Bar

Variation Bar

The Variation Bar lets you cycle throughthe various SmartDesigns available to aparticular label stock. The first button,Background, lets you choose from variousbackgrounds for your label design. Thesecond button controls the overall layout of

your label. The third button contains fontand size variations appropriate for eachlayout. Click the arrows to the left or rightof a button to move back and forthbetween the variations, or click in thecenter of the button for a pop-up menu.

certain text or images change. The Prev andNext buttons move from one duplicate tothe next. These buttons correspond to theDesigns commands under the Tools menu.

(Note: The Duplicate command is not themethod you use to print multiple copies ofa label – use the Print command and enterthe number of copies you want to print forthat – but rather a means to create differentlayouts, backgrounds, text, etc., within thesame file.)


User Guide13

The icons along the left of the screenprovide easy access to libraries ofbackground images, clip art and texteffects you can add to your labels,and a tool for adding text frames.

PrintCalibrate PrinterPrinter Setup

Undo/RedoCut, Copy & Paste

FindReplaceFind Next

Bring to FrontSend to Back

Select AllOptionsShow Item

Set Merge FileChange Label StocksTemplate Info

Design bar Speed Tools (default set)

Text alignment menuVertical text alignment menu

Font color menuBold, Italic, Underline options

Font menuFont Size menu

Control Strip

Click the arrow to toggle thedisplay of the Design bar onand off. Turning it off givesmore room to the designwindow.

Text modeObject mode

Rotate toolTransparency tool

Object tools list

Zoom InZoom OutFit Page in Window


Selecting ToolsYou select a tool by clicking it with themouse. Some tools bring up dialog boxes(such as the Picture tool, for example),others change the shape of the cursor,indicating you can create an object basedon the type of tool you selected. These arealso known as the Object Tools.

When you move the mouse over a toolwithout clicking it, the name of the tool isdisplayed. For an overview of each tool, seethe online Help.

Using Object ToolsThe tools used to create objects work in thefollowing fashion:

1 Select the tool (either from the toolmenu on the Control Strip, or from theObject Tools list under the Tools menu).

2 Click and continue holding down themouse button at the location in the labeldesign area where you want to create theobject.

3 While still holding down the mousebutton, drag the size you want the object toappear.

4 When you are satisfied with the size ofthe object, release the mouse and the objectis created.

Most object tools work in the mannerdescribed above. Some tools display dialogboxes where you can open and insert files,enter text, etc.

Setting Program OptionsA number of SureThing’s settings can becustomized. These include startup options,display options, toolbar and ruler settings,etc. Some of these options are set in theOptions dialog box (choose the Optionscommand from the Tools menu), others areturned on and off under the View menu.These settings are saved each time you exitSureThing.

To change View Options:

• Choose View Options from the Viewmenu to turn the display of selected itemson or off. The commands under this sub-menu toggle on and off – a check marknext to an option indicates it’s on; select itagain to turn it off.


User Guide15

To change settings in the Options dialog box:

1 Choose the Options command from theTools menu, or click the button at thebottom of the Design bar.

Options dialog box

2 Make any changes you see fit. Press Helpfor more information about a specificoption.

3 Click OK to save your settings and closethe Options dialog box.

You can also turn on or off the display ofcertain items by choosing View Optionsunder the View menu.

Entering User Information

SureThing labels can be designed to usemerge fields from databases or from theUser Information tab of the Options dialogbox. We encourage you to take a moment tofill this information out.

Fill in information in any of the fields thatare appropriate for you. Leave any unneces-sary fields blank (you should delete thesample text).

Zooming In and OutYou can magnify or reduce your view of thedesign area using a couple of differentmethods. When you first open a file, orwhen you create a new one, the zoom levelis set to fit within the current window. Thismeans that the view size of the label isdependent upon the size of the window;increasing or decreasing the SureThingwindow zooms in or out of the label.

You can also set the view size to a specificzoom percentage, such as 50% to view it athalf the actual size, or 300% to view it atthree times the actual size, for example.When you choose a specific zoom level, thesize of the current window does not affectthe view size of the label.

To zoom in:

Do one of the following:

• Click the Zoom In button on theControl Strip. Each time you click itincreases the zoom level.

• Press Ctrl+Plus key (numeric keypad)

• Choose Custom Zoom from the Zoomsub-menu under the View menu and selecta zoom level from the list, or enter yourown zoom level (must be between 30% and400%).

To zoom out:

• Click the Zoom Out button on theControl Strip. Each time you click itdecreases the zoom level.

• Press Ctrl+Minus key (numeric keypad)


• Choose Custom Zoom from the Zoomsub-menu under the View menu and selecta zoom level from the list, or enter yourown zoom level (must be between 30% and400%).

You can return the zoom level to the actualprint size or to the size of the currentwindow by choosing Actual Size or Zoom tofit in Window from the Zoom sub-menuunder the View menu. Clicking the button on the Control Strip does the samething.

17

Working with the Software

In this chapter, you’ll learn how to createa new SureThing label design, as well asthe basics of editing, saving and

printing labels. The information is oftenpresented in a step-by-step format intendedto give you a good overview of SureThing’sfeatures and capabilities. For more infor-mation about a specific command orfeature, please refer to the Online Help.

Topic Page

Starting SureThing 17

Creating a New Label 17

SmartDesign Basics 19

Working with Text 20

Editing Text Frames 20

Adding a New Text Frame 21

Changing the Size and Position of a Text Frame 22

Inserting Merge Fields in Text Frames 22

Formatting Text in a Text Frame 23

Editing Text Effects 24

Selecting different types of Text Effects 25

Adding a New Text Effect 25

Working with Logos and Clipart 26

Editing a Logo 27

Adding Clipart to Your Label 27

Working with Backgrounds 28

Using Your Own Backgrounds 29

Using a Background Color 29

Acquiring Images 30

Changing the Label Stock 30

Duplicating a Design 30

Saving Your Label 31

Calibrating Your Printer 32

Printing 33

Starting SureThingDouble-click the SureThing icon on thedesktop, or launch it from the Start menu(look under Programs > MicroVisionApplications > SureThing CD Labeler).

If this is the first time you’ve startedSureThing, the “SureThing New CDWizard” appears. If this is not the first timeyou’ve started SureThing, depending onhow you’ve configured your startupoptions (choose the Options commandunder the Tools menu), you may or maynot see this wizard. If it doesn’t appearautomatically, choose the New commandfrom the File menu.

Creating a New LabelThe New Label wizard steps you throughthe process of selecting a label stock andvendor, and specifying a backgroundimage.

Select a label stock

18 CHAPTER 3Working with the Software

Select a product type and label stock fromthe lists on the right side of the wizard. Thepreview image to the left should matchyour actual label stock. You can change thestock later if you need to using the ChangeLabel Stock command under the Editmenu. Click the Next button when you’resatisfied with your choice.

Select a background for your label

You have the option to select a backgroundimage for your label. To see a list ofavailable backgrounds specially designedfor SureThing, click the Browse button andselect an image. A preview of it will appearin the wizard. If you change your mind,click the Clear button to use no back-ground, or click the Browse button againand select a different background. Click theNext button when you’re satisfied withyour choices.

The last step of the wizard presents youwith the option of using SmartDesigntemplates, or designing a blank label fromscratch. Choose Use SmartDesigns.

Finish the label

Click the Finish button to complete thewizard and start editing your label.

The Design window appears with the labelyou just created using the wizard, and isnow ready for editing. The text you see isthe initial sample text, and the backgroundis the same one you selected in the wizard.

The Design Window

By default, all new labels start out with aSmartDesign for the product type and labelstock you chose in the New Label wizard.SmartDesigns are templates that act like a


User Guide19

design assistant. They provide a variety oflayout choices, sample text, and font andpoint size suggestions.

The sample text included in a SmartDesignis designed to give you ideas about the typeof information you might use in yourdesign. You can, of course, enter anythingyou like in each field. Several of theSmartDesign layouts also include sampleimages to use as placeholders until youinsert your own graphics, logos, etc.

SmartDesign BasicsSmartDesigns are interactive templates builtinto SureThing. Unlike traditional tem-plates that simply place a few objects on apage and leave the rest up to you, SmartDe-signs allow you to modify many aspects ofthe design with a few mouse clicks. We callthem ‘smart’ because they’re designed forspecific label stocks by people with a goodeye for graphic design. SmartDesigns letyou put together attractive label designswithout actually having to do anythingmore than click the mouse.

SmartDesigns display sample text, a varietyof layouts, and a series of font selections foreach layout. SmartDesigns don’t requireyou to draw and align objects (lines,rectangles, gradient fills, etc.) or formattext. You simply browse the SmartDesignfor a look that fits your taste and use it.

And of course, you can override or modifythe SmartDesigns at any time; you’re notlocked in to any designs.

SmartDesigns are manipulated using theVariation Bar at the bottom of the window.The Variation Bar consists of menus forBackground, Layout and Font variations.

To use SmartDesigns:

• Click the left or right arrows on one of thethree Variation menus. You can also click inthe middle of a Variation menu to display apop-up list of choices.

The first Variation menu controls thevarious backgrounds you can choose from;the second menu contains several pre-designed layouts appropriate for each of thebackgrounds included with SureThing; thethird menu lists font and size variations foreach of the layouts from the second menu.

When you’re satisfied with a backgroundand layout, you’re ready to move on toediting the various objects and text fields inthe label.

ÍTo get the most out of SmartDesigns, use the Variation Bar to

find a background, layout and font thatsuits your tastes before customizing thelabel.

The Variation Bar


Working with TextText can take a couple of different forms inSureThing: text frames and text effects. Textin text frames behaves much like it wouldin a word processing program, for instance– with characters, paragraphs, tabs, indents,etc. Text effects, on the other hand, behavemore like graphic objects – you can bend,warp, and twist the text, add drop shadowsand fill patterns, etc. You’ll need to knowhow to work with both types whiledesigning your labels.

Editing Text FramesText in SureThing is displayed in boxescalled text frames that function much likefields in a database. The sample text framesyou see are a bit different from the ones youcreate yourself—the sample text is linked tothe underlying SmartDesign to allowSureThing to automatically generate newlayouts and font variations.

Selecting text in frames

When editing a SmartDesign layout, thetext frames have been arranged so thatreplacing the sample text is like filling infields in a database.

• Press the Tab key to move to the next textframe in the design.

• Press Shift-Tab to move to the previoustext frame.

Maybe you’re wondering how to enter a tabin a text frame? Press Ctrl-Tab to insert atab without moving the cursor to the nexttext frame.

Moving between text frames with the Tabkey only works in text frames that werecreated with SmartDesigns. For new textframes you create yourself, you must clickinto the frame with the mouse. Pressing theTab key in a manually-created text frameinserts a tab (like Ctrl-Tab).

The fields are sometimes logically groupedtogether. For example, an address mayconsist of a street address, city, state andzipcode fields. So that they can be moved asa unit, they are grouped together. Whenyou select one with the Object Tool, youselect the entire group.

A text frame group consisting of two text frames

The fields in each SmartDesign reflect thetypical use for the label, but you can usethem any way you like. You can even turnoff selected fields if you find them unneces-sary by simply deleting them with the Delkey or the Cut command under the Editmenu.


User Guide21

Typical text frames. The frame on the left is actually an insert fieldcontaining the label’s creation date.

To edit the text in a text frame:

1 Select the Text tool if it’s not already (it’sthe one that looks like an I-beam). You caneasily switch between the Text and Objecttools by clicking the right mouse buttonand selecting the mode.

2 Click the mouse in the text field youwant to edit. Either backspace over thedefault text, or press Ctrl-A to select all andhit the Del key.

3 Type the new text in the field.

Adding a New Text FrameIn the preceding section you learned howto change the default text that appears in aSmartDesign template, but you can alsoadd your own text frames. SureThingprovides a couple of ways to do this.

To create a new text frame:

1 Click the “Adding Text” icon on theDesign Bar located on the left of thewindow. Doing so displays a menu.

2 Choose Create New Text Frame from themenu. A text frame is drawn in the upper-left corner of the CD label containing thedefault text “Your Text Here.”

3 Enter the text you want to appear in theframe. You can enter as little or as muchtext as you want. Notice how the text frameexpands (or shrinks) to accommodate thetext you type. You can use the Tab andReturn keys to insert tabs and line breaks. Ifyou don’t press the Return key, line breakswill occur automatically as they would in aword processor.

To create a new text frame (Method #2):

This method of creating a text frame issimilar to the one above, but with a coupleof subtle differences that highlight someimportant SureThing features.

1 Click the “Adding Text” icon on theDesign Bar.

2 Choose Use Text Frame Tool from themenu. The text frame tool appears.

3 Click and drag to create the frame. Whenyou release the mouse, the frame is drawnand the text cursor blinks inside it waitingfor you to enter your text.


4 Enter the text you want to appear in theframe. Unlike the first method, the textframe does not expand to accommodatethe text you type. If you type more textthan can be displayed in the frame, you’llsee a red bar in the bottom of the frame,letting you know you’ll need to either makethe frame larger, or decrease the font size ofthe text.

Under certain circumstances, the red barcan occur in the default text fields createdby a SmartDesign. The default text framescan grow to a point, but it is possible toreceive a red bar in a frame if you enter toomuch text or set the font size too large. Re-size the frame, edit the text, and/or changethe font size until you can see all the text inthe frame.

Changing the Size and Position of aText FrameFirst select the object (pointer) tool fromthe Control Strip, or right-click the mouseand select Object Mode, then click the textframe to select it. You can drag the frame toany location on your label. To change thesize of the frame, click one of the redsquares on the perimeter of the frame anddrag it to the desired size.

A selected text frame.

Inserting Merge Fields in Text FramesSureThing lets you insert merge fields intext frames. Examples of merge fields aredate and time, auto-incrementing serialnumbers, your name, company and addressfrom the User Information tab of theOptions dialog box, or even fields from anexternal database (dBASE or CommaDelimited text file)

To insert a merge field into your design:

1 Place the text cursor in the text framewhere you want the merge field to appear.

2 Choose Insert Field from the Insertmenu. The Insert Field dialog box appears.

3 Select the type of field you want to mergefrom the scroll list on the left, and any fieldoptions from the list on the right.

4 Click OK to insert the field into theframe.


User Guide23

If the “Show Field Codes” option is onunder the View menu, the field appears as acode, with the field name enclosed inbrackets. If this option is off, you will seethe actual data (except for fields from anexternal database, which will always showthe record you specify using the Set MergeRecord command under View Options)

The same field viewed with Field Codes off (left), and Field Codes on(right). Field Codes are turned on and off under the View menu.

A popular example of using merge fields isthe Serial Number function. Say forexample you were printing several CDlabels for a software product, and wanted aunique serial number printed on each label.A typical serial number might be some-thing like “MVD300-010-AC0001,” withonly the last four digits incrementing. Youwould type the text “MVD300-010-AC”and insert a Serial Number merge fieldimmediately after it (choose the Zero Filloption and set the maximum number to1000 to create a four-digit repeating fieldbeginning with “0001.”

The frame containing the serial numberfield might look something like this.

An example of a Serial Number field viewed with Field Codes off (left),and Field Codes on (right).

Formatting Text in a Text Frame

You can format text in text frames much asyou would in a word processor or pagelayout program:

1 Select the text you want to format withthe text (I-beam) tool.

2 Choose the Character command fromthe Format menu. You are presented withseveral options for formatting your text,including font, size, color, style, underlin-ing, and spacing options. Many of theseoptions can also be changed directly fromthe Control Strip.

Character formatting applies only to theselected text in the frame. If you want it toapply to all text in the frame, press Ctrl-Ato select all text. You could also switch toObject mode (click the pointer tool on theControl Strip, or right-click the mouse) andselect the frame. Now the formattingoptions you choose will be applied to theentire text frame.

Character formatting commands on the control strip.

3 Choose the Paragraph command fromthe Format menu. The Paragraph dialogbox lets you change indents, line spacing,


alignment, and tab positions, as well asother options such as border lines and fillpatterns.

Note that when you click the text cursorwithin a text frame, you can change manyof the paragraph formatting options fromthe ruler bar at the top of the designwindow. If you don’t currently see rulerbars to the top and left of your CD label,you can turn them back on by choosingView Options from the View menu, andthen selecting the Show Rulers command.

Editing Text EffectsText Effects in SureThing let you applyspecial effects to text, such as circular text,slanted text, perspective text, drop shadowsand more. Text Effects add spice to CDtitles, for example, but are also useful formore ordinary tasks such as copyrightnotices, trademarks or even track titles.

Text Effect used to create a title and company name.

To edit a text effect:

1 Double-click the Text Effect object in thedesign window (or right-click it with themouse and choose Object Properties) todisplay the Text Effect dialog box:

2 Edit the sample text (make sure you’re inthe Effect tab of the dialog box). Click OKwhen you are satisfied with your changes.

Adding line breaks in the Text Effect dialogbox (press Enter at the end of a line) causestext in the effect to align in different ways.For example, notice how the first line wrapsaround the top of the CD, and the secondline wraps around the bottom ... actuallythere are three line breaks: the first line willbe on top; the second line (in this examplea blank line) will be in the center of the CD;and the third line will wrap around thebottom. You can experiment with your textto see how it will appear in the label. Justpress the Preview button in the Text Effectdialog box to see how your text will appearbefore accepting it.


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Selecting different types of TextEffects

There are several types of Text Effects youcan choose from. To select a different style,click the Type tab in the Text Effect dialogbox.

Click the button to see the availablecategories of text effects. If this button isgrayed, you are already viewing categories.Click the button to view variations onthe selected category. Double-click on avariation to select it.

aIf you select another layout fromthe Variation Bar after you’ve

formatted text in any of the sample TextEffects or Text Frames, SureThing warnsyou that your edits will not be included inthe next variation. This only applies to thesample text frames & effects, however.New frames and effects are not affected.

Adding a New Text EffectIn a preceding section you learned how tochange the sample text that appears in atext effect object. Here you’ll learn how tocreate a new text effect object from scratch.

1 Click the “Text Effects” icon on theDesign Bar located on the left of thewindow. Doing so displays a menu.

2 Choose Use Text Effect Wizard from themenu. The wizard guides you through theprocess of creating a text effect.

3 Select the type of effect you want tocreate, then click the Next button.


4 Select a variation on the type you chosein step 3, then click Next.

5 Select from a list of preset colors. Thecheck boxes at the bottom of the wizard letyou turn certain characteristics on or off.You can always change your mind later.Click Next when you’re satisfied with yourchoices.

6 Enter the text you want to appear in thetext effect (first delete the sample text).

7 Change the font and style options to suityour tastes. For certain types of effects, youcan also choose whether or not they are tobe created with perspective, stretched to acurve, or drawn flat (Normal). Click the

Preview button to view your edits in thewizard. Click the Finish button when youare ready to create the effect.

The effect is created on your label. The nextthing you’ll need to do is adjust its size andposition.

You can edit the text effect later simply bydouble-clicking it.

?Why does text appear jagged in TextEffects on screen? Text appears jagged

in text effects because the software has towork with it as if it were a graphic. Eventhough the text in text effects does notalways appear very legible on screen, itwill print crisp and clear.

Working with Logos andClipartThere are a couple of ways of working withgraphics in SureThing. Some of theSmartDesigns include placeholders forgraphics (such as a company logo,). Youcan easily substitute your own graphics forthe placeholders simply by double-clickingthem and selecting your own file.


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For SmartDesigns that don’t includeplaceholders, you can easily importgraphics and clipart yourself using thepicture tool (under the Tools menu), or byselecting a file from the Clipart menu onthe Design Bar.

We’ll discuss editing existing graphics inSmartDesigns first, then move on toimporting your own graphics and clipart.

Editing a LogoMany of the SmartDesigns containplaceholder logos. These placeholders havebeen sized and positioned in such a way tolook good with the other text elements ofthe label design, but it’s highly unlikelyyou’d want to leave the placeholder in yourdesign. Replacing the logo with one of yourown, however, is a piece of cake.

The following SmartDesign layout containsa placeholder logo:

To change a logo or clipart image:

1 Double-click the image or logo you wantto change. The New Picture dialog boxappears where you can choose a differentimage file. Several useful images areprovided with SureThing.

2 Select an image from the list, or choose adifferent directory and select an image ofyour own.

3 Click OK. The image you just selectedreplaces the placeholder image.

Adding Clipart to Your LabelAdding graphic images such as logos,clipart and symbols to your labels is a snapwith SureThing. A number of useful imagesare included with SureThing, and werecopied to your hard drive during installa-tion.

1 Click the “Logos/Clipart” icon on theDesign Bar located on the left of thewindow. Doing so displays a menu.

2 Choose Browse for Logos/Clipart fromthe menu. A dialog box is displayed whereyou can choose from a selection of ready-to-use images, or to other drives anddirectories.

3 Click an image, then click OK.

The image is placed on your label, at whichpoint you can change its size and positionto fit within your design.


Adding your own images

If you’d like to add your own clipart to alabel design, click the “Logos/Clipart” iconon the Design Bar, and choose Use Logo/Clipart Tool from the menu. The Picturetool appears.

Click and drag a rectangle about the size ofthe image you want to insert. When yourelease the mouse, a dialog box appearsprompting you to select an image file. Allthe popular graphics formats are supported(BMP, JPEG, TIF, EPS, etc.) Select the driveand directory where your image is located,choose it from the list and click OK. Thepicture appears in your label. You canchange its size and position to fit yourdesign (and your fancy).

Working with BackgroundsBackgrounds are images SureThing placesin the background of a label design. Allother objects – text frames, text effects andclipart – appear on top of the backgroundimage.

You can select a background from the NewLabel Wizard, but you can always changeyour mind later. A number of backgroundimages are included with SureThing thathave been specially designed for CD labels.You can choose your own images to use asbackgrounds as well. Or you can decide touse no background at all.

To change the background image:

1 Click the “Backgrounds” icon on theDesign Bar located on the far left of thewindow. Doing so displays a menu.

2 Choose Browse SmartDesign Back-grounds from the menu. The followingdialog box appears:

3 Select a background image from thedialog box by clicking it, then click OK.Your CD label now displays the back-ground you just selected.

Here’s another way to change backgroundimages:

The Variation Bar at the bottom of thewindow provides a quick way to changebackgrounds, layouts and font choices. Theleft-most variation bar lets you selectbackgrounds.

• Click the mouse in the middle of theVariation Bar on the left. A list of back-grounds appears. These are the same onesfrom the dialog box.


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• You can also click the left- and right-pointing arrows on either side of thevariation bar to cycle through the back-ground images one at a time.

Using Your Own BackgroundsThe background images supplied withSureThing have been sized correctly to fitthe CD label area. Before using your ownbackgrounds, you should make sure thatthey have been sized properly in an imageeditor such as Photoshop or Paint ShopPro. In other words the aspect ratio, i.e., theratio of height to width, should be roughlyequal. Images should be no larger in filesize than 4 megabytes (and even that wouldbe whopping big). The images we supplyare generally no larger than half a megabyteand they look great when printed.

If you wish to use your own backgrounds,you’ll also need to know the directory, orfolder, they’re stored in (duh).

To use your own Background image:

1 Click the “Backgrounds” icon. A menu isdisplayed.

2 Select Use Your Own Background. TheBackgrounds dialog box appears.

3 Select the drive and directory where theimage you want to use as a background islocated, Click the Browse button to viewthumbnails of any images in a directory.

4 Choose an image from the list and clickOK. The image appears as a background inyour label.

Using a Background ColorIf you decide not to use a backgroundimage, you can specify a background color.You can even create interesting fill patterns,shades, and gradients (blends).

To change the background color:

1 If you are currently using a backgroundimage, you must first clear it. Click the“Backgrounds” icon on the design bar, thenchoose Clear Background Image from themenu.

2 Click the “Backgrounds” icon on thedesign bar, then choose Set BackgroundColor from the menu. A dialog box appears.

3 Choose shades or patterns, and/or pickcolors from the color menus. You can mixcolors and shades, or colors and patterns.To create a gradient blend, choose aforeground color and a background color,then chose the type of gradient you want tocreate from the Blend menu (you can alsoclick the Blend button for a dialog withmore specific options).

4 Click OK.


The background color options you selectedare applied to the label. If you later apply abackground image, the color options youspecified will no longer be displayed, butyou can get back to them by choosing the“No Background” option from thebackground menu on the Variation Bar.

Acquiring ImagesSureThing supports TWAIN, an interfacethat lets you create images using a devicesuch as a scanner or digital cameraattached to your computer and import theimages without leaving SureThing. Yourdevice must support TWAIN in order foryou to take advantage of this feature.

You can acquire images for use as regulargraphics or as backgrounds.

Changing the Label StockSureThing lets you change the label stock atany time. Say, for instance, you’ve createdsome label designs for Memorex CD labels,but you later purchase a box of Avery CDlabels. You don’t have to re-create yourdesigns to work with the Avery labels, butrather change the stock. SureThing adjustsyour design to print properly on the newlabels.

To change the label stock:

1 Choose the Change Label Stock com-mand from the Edit menu. A dialog boxappears.

2 Select the stock you want to use from theNew Stock list.

3 Click OK.

You have the option to apply the stock onlyto selected blocks. For example, you couldapply the Avery stock to the CD label face,but keep the spine and jewel case blocks setto a stock from a different label manufac-turer. In the Blocks to apply list, click a blockto deselect it; click it again to re-select it.

Duplicating a DesignThe Duplicate button on the Command Barcan be used to make copies of the currentlabel. You can then edit the copies, chang-ing background, text, and layout, forexample, on each copy while leaving theoriginal intact.

Some users have mistakenly assumed theDuplicate command is how you printmultiple copies of a label. While you couldin fact use it that way, it’s much simpler toset the number of copies you want to printfrom the Print dialog box. So when shouldyou use the Duplicate command?


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The Duplicate command provides an easyway to produce a series of labels based on acommon design. Say you’re creating labelsfor a clipart CD collection – the first CDcontains clipart of animals, the secondsports, and the third cartoons. Let’s also sayyou want a different title and logo on eachlabel to identify each collection. Design thefirst label, “Animals” in this example, thenclick the Duplicate button. The Duplicate/Delete Designs dialog box appears:

Enter “2” in the No. of copies field and clickOK. You now have three copies of the samedesign. You can then change the title andlogo on duplicate labels #2 (“Sports”) and#3 (“Cartoons”) accordingly.

Click the Prev and Next buttons to movefrom one duplicate to the next.

The Designs command under the Toolsmenu lets you duplicate, delete andnavigate labels in case you’ve turned off thedisplay of the Command Bar.

Deleting duplicate labels

If you want to delete any duplicates you’vecreated, click the Duplicate button on theCommand Bar again, then click the DeleteDesign tab and specify which duplicatesyou want to delete.

The No. of designs to delete field tellsSureThing how many duplicates to get ridof; the Beginning with design field specifiesthe first duplicate to be deleted. The tab atthe top of the Design Area indicates thenumber of the current design:

Saving Your LabelSaving a design in SureThing is a verysimple process, and one you should do withregularity. Every few minutes is recom-mended. That way, if anything unexpectedhappens (e.g., power outage, meteorimpact, etc.), you’ll always have a recentversion of your label.

To save a label choose the File > Save (orSave As) command. Select the drive anddirectory where you want the file to besaved, give it a name and click the Savebutton. You don’t have to enter a filenameextension; one will be added automaticallyif you don’t. Following are the specificsteps.


To save a new document:

1 Choose the Save (or Save As) commandfrom the File menu. If it’s the first timeyou’ve saved the label, the Save As dialogbox appears.

2 Select the drive and folder where youwant the label to be saved from the Save Inlist. If you want to create a new folder, clickthe new folder button and give it a name.

3 Type a name for your label in the Filename box.

You don’t have to type an extensionbecause SureThing automatically gives alllabels the extension std.

4 Click Save.

The design is saved to your hard disk withthe filename you typed, and you canresume working with it.

After saving your design the first time, youstill need to save your work periodically.Choose Save from the File menu, or pressCtrl+S. The label is saved, with all of yourupdates.

Saving a design with a new filenameThere are times when you want to give aSureThing label design a new name, such aswhen you want to edit an existing design,but keep an unchanged copy of theoriginal. If you were to open the label, editit, and use the Save command, the editedversion would replace the original. TheSave As command provides a way to saveyour changes as well as retain a copy of theoriginal. After opening the original labeldesign, choose the Save As command fromthe File menu and enter a different file-name, or the same filename but a differentlocation on your hard disk (or a differentdisk).

Calibrating Your PrinterBecause each printer is full of workingparts, the precision in each is slightlydifferent. Sometimes this may causeSureThing to slightly miss the mark whenprinting. If this happens, you need tocalibrate your printer.

To calibrate the printer:

1 Choose the Calibrate Printer commandfrom the File menu. The Calibrate Printerdialog box appears.

2 Confirm that the correct printer is listedin the Printer field.

3 Press the Print Calibration Sheet button.

4 Fold the Calibration Sheet according tothe printed instructions and enter thevalues in the Offset fields.


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Your printer will now be offset by thesevalues to accommodate for any errors inprecision.

Before calibrating, be sure that you areprinting the correct template for the paperyou are using. Select About Template fromthe Help menu if you’re not sure.

PrintingPrinting your label designs is simple.SureThing manages the actual layout of thedesigns on the page, and sequences them asthey print. All you need to do is tell it howmany copies to print, and on which label tostart.

To print a label design:

1 Put the correct paper in the paper tray ofyour printer. Use plain paper if you aredoing a test-print; use your label stock ifyou are printing final output.

2 Choose Print from the File menu, orclick the Print button on the Commandbar. The Print dialog box appears.

3 Make sure that the correct printer isselected, and that the printer is setupproperly.

4 Enter the number of copies you want toprint in the Print field. You can specify thenumber of designs to print either by thenumber of labels needed or by the numberof total pages. Whether you choose Copiesor Pages, SureThing tells you how manysheets of label stock you will need (listedbelow the Sample window).

5 Under the Settings tab, choose All toprint all of the designs (i.e., any designsyou’ve created using the Duplicate com-mand); choose Current to print only thecurrent design; choose Range and identifythe beginning and ending design to beprinted if you want to print more than one,but not all of the duplicated designs, or toprint one design which is not the currentdesign.

6 In the Sample window, click the labelposition where you want printing to begin.Normally this would be the first label onthe page, but if you’ve already printed alabel in the first position, you’ll want toclick a different position. The beginningposition is indicated in blue. Also, only theactive blocks appear in blue (use the Blocks> Show/Hide command under the Viewmenu to turn blocks on or off prior toprinting).

7 If you are not going to print from thedefault paper tray, you can specify whichbin the paper should come from. This isuseful if you have more than one bin or


want to force the printer to use the manualfeed (if available).

8 Click OK to print.

aLabel manufacturers recommendthat you do not run label sheets

through your printer after you have peeledoff any labels. Doing so may damage yourprinter.

Printing Merge Jobs

If you’ve set a merge file for your design,you can control which records from themerged database will print. The Merge tabis available to select a range of records fromthe database you’re merging. Choose Noneto print the current design as you see it onthe screen without merging. Choose All toprint all of the records in the database.Choose Range and identify the beginningand ending records from the database youwant to print.

Unless you have chosen None, the numberof copies represents the number of sets toprint. If you select two, you will get twocopies of each design for each record in thedatabase.

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