Chapter One: Introduction

Welcome to A&L EXPRESS 8.5. This release contains an updated interface/look, new features, the reintroduction of popular tools, improved import/export filters and faster access to the professional quality tools and effects. Express is designed so that everyone from a child to the CEO can use the program. The default interface has changed from displaying 6 pages to one page presented on a desktop. It is easily sized for final output and display. While redesigning the interface to enhance simplicity and ease of use, we updated the code to take advantage of Windows display characteristics.

A&L stays true to the Founder's original vision, “Computers represent an opportunity to empower all people to create visual communications.” His concept of a database of art components, basic shape blocks, easy to use editing tools, and fully editable fonts will be expanded and Express 8.5 is designed to extend that vision. The Clip-Art Manager provides streamlined access to thousands of art components, designed to be assembled and composed into finished, professional output. We are working on thousands of new images and fonts. Express 8.5 is optimized to use these images as they become available.

For the untrained artist, EXPRESS offers the ability to compose and assemble unique finished artwork based upon a set of ready-made images and artforms. For the experienced artist, we’ve included advanced features, such as automatic spot and four-color separations for printing. For both the beginner and the expert, Arts & Letters EXPRESS offers easy freehand drawing and editing tools.

The challenge each of us must face in creating artwork is to realize that we can do it ourselves. We believe that your experience with Arts & Letters EXPRESS will be the first step in discovering skills and powers within yourself that you didn’t know you possessed.

Our goal from the outset has been to give you the power to present your unique ideas in both words and pictures without being limited by the mechanics of drawing. We live in a visual culture. EXPRESS 8.5 provides the tools for you to discover new ways to give life to your insights.

The On-Line EXPRESS User’s Guide

The Arts & Letters User’s Guide is provided as an on-line document, which offers many advantages. With the On-Line User’s Guide, you can:

• Access information instantly using the on-line index

• Full-text search by subject, a chapter, or the entire User’s Guide

• Copy, edit and paste the text into a word processor document for preparing training manuals

• Annotate the User’s Guide. Add your own notes, comments and explanations to the text for ready access

• Bookmark topics for a specific project or training course.

Each copy of the On-Line User’s Guide contains the very latest information about EXPRESS, about new features and enhancements.

Basic Terms

A comprehensive glossary appears in the Basic Help, which is started from the Help menu in EXPRESS. The following terms, in logical rather than alphabetical order, are indispensable for using EXPRESS:

Application — An application is any software applied to a specific task. EXPRESS is designed for drawing and is therefore a drawing application.

Command — A command is an instruction given to a computer.

Dialog Box — A dialog box is an area where an application gathers from the user additional information necessary for the carrying out, or executing, of a command.

Enter — Information is given to, or entered in, the application through the keyboard or mouse.

Mouse Button — EXPRESS uses both the left and right mouse buttons. In EXPRESS the right mouse button is called the Content Menu button because it typically displays menu pertinent to the task at hand. A click is a press of the mouse button, which refers to the left mouse button unless the right, or Content Menu button, is specifically named. The mouse moves an icon on your screen to select various tasks. The shape of the icon gives a clue to that task, as for example the pointer cursor, which is the cursor provided by default, that is, provided until you decide to change it yourself.

Object — An object is any single item on your screen. Smaller objects may be grouped into larger objects. A group is a single object, but can be broken apart into its smaller composite objects. Whenever an object is selected it is surrounded by eight small black boxes called object handles, and its name appears in the Object Viewer window. Whenever an object is edited as a freeform object, along its shape appear small empty boxes called freeform handles. Whenever one of these freeform handles is selected a dotted line will lead out from the freeform handle to a control handle if the point defines a Bezier curve segment (and if the control handle display is on).

File — A file is a unit of information written to a hard disk, to a floppy disk, or to the Clipboard. EXPRESS files are written in GED format. It can export and import files in many other different formats.

Content Menu button in EXPRESS

The Content menu button is the secondary, or rightmost button on your mouse. You will see a great increase in productivity once you get into the habit of pressing and holding the Content Menu button while pointing on an object that you wish to modify. This method offers the most direct access to EXPRESS functions. Doing so displays a content menu, with dialog boxes or functions appropriate for editing the selected object.

A click of the content menu button will always access the first item on the content menu that appears when you press and hold the Content menu button. That item will be a dialog box or function appropriate for editing the selected object.

Content Menu button Descriptions

On Button Below Click Press and Hold

Open Button Import dialog box Import/Open menu

Save Button Export dialog box Export/Save/Save As menu

Palette Button Custom color dialog box Custom color menu

Fill Button Custom fill dialog box Custom fill menu

Line Button Custom lines dialog box Custom lines menu

Type Button Custom Type dialog box Type styles menu

Styles Button Custom Style Bundles dialog box Custom styles menu

Eyedropper Button Save/Recall styles menu Save/Recall styles menu

Viewer Object List Window Opens Browser Browser, Lock/Hide/Name menu

Any part of Status Bar Menu to show or conceal Toolbox, Bars Menu to show or conceal Toolbox, Bars

Control Points Button Turns Control Points on and off Point display option menu

Snap Options Button Snap Options menu Snap Options menu

Accel-O-Draw Button Redisplays (redraws) screen Redraw Options menu

The EXPRESS Interface

The EXPRESS interface contains a toolbox, style bar, numeric bar, menu bar, hint line, and other useful buttons and indicators.

Control Buttons

At the top of your screen in the left and right corners are control buttons. They determine how much of the current program window is seen in relation to other active Windows program windows.

Clicking on in the upper left corner or holding down the Alt key and pressing the spacebar displays a control menu. It allows you to restore the entire program window to its last size, to move it, size it, maximize it, and minimize it to an icon (which is then accessible by holding down the Alt key and pressing the Tab key until it appears).

These buttons in the upper right corner offer quick access to window sizing. The downward-pointing button reduces the current program window size, and the upward-pointing one enlarges to the maximum amount your screen allows.

Menus

A menu is a command list. The eight conventional menus are shown in a row just under the EXPRESS title bar. They can be clicked on with the mouse or accessed by holding down the ALT key as you press the underlined character in the menu name.

Style Bar

The Style Bar, named so because it contains several buttons used to directly change the style of objects on your screen, is located just under the menu bar.

Toolbox

The Numeric Bar

The numeric bar at the bottom of your screen gives information about the position of the cursor and about the measurements of a selected object.

The x and y buttons always give the horizontal and vertical coordinates for the cursor. The r button indicates the degree of rotation for a selected object. The h and v buttons indicate respectively the horizontal and vertical slant for a selected object.

Clicking on the numeric button while an object is selected displays the Transform dialog box in various states.

A click on this button...opens Transform to adjust the object’s

x size proportionally, based on width

y size proportionally, based on height

r rotation, in absolute size

h horizontal slant

v vertical slant

The Hint Line

The Hint Line is the bar stretching across the very bottom of your EXPRESS screen, displaying a brief description of the item currently under the cursor. It should be your first resource for on-line Help.

Drawing Area

The drawing area, or work area, is the large white area of the EXPRESS window on which you place, select, draw, or manipulate clip art. It may be larger than the area shown on your monitor, depending on the current viewing level. This example below shows the default display, now showing one page. Based upon the paper size, margins and the document precision specified, you can show multiple pages pages as the drawing area.