New

A new barcode drawing is created by using the New command on the File menu. When a new barcode drawing is created and displayed on the screen, the default properties are copied from a template file. You can specify the template file from Tools | Options menu. If no template file is present, the default settings are used. The default barcode drawing bears Morovia logo and copyright.

Open...

A saved barcode file can be redisplayed by using the Open command on the File menu.

A standard Windows File Open dialog pops up to allow you to explore the file system to locate the barcode file you want to open.

Save/Save As

When you open a barcode drawing, Monterey Barcode Creator loads the contents from the disk to the screen. Changes made to the barcode drawing are temporarily stored in memory until you save them to the disk.

Barcode drawings are saved with Save or Save As command on the File menu.

If you use the Save command to save the barcode document and the selected barcode document is unnamed, the Save dialog will appear prompting you to provide a name. If you attempt to close the file to which you have made changes, you will be asked if you want to save the drawing. You can save the barcode file to any folder you want. In practice, we recommend you use a dedicated foler under My Documents folder and under the root disk drive.

We also recommend that you save your drawing often when making extensive changes, so that you avoid losing your work due to power outages or other unplanned events.

Export Image...

After you finish designing your barcode, you may desire to move the artwork to another program.

Monterey Barcode Creator supports the following graphics format: BMP, JPEG, GIF, TIF, PNG and EMF. The EMF (enhanced metafile) is a vector graphics format and used internally by Windows. All others are raster graphics formats.

If you export an image in a raster graphics format, such as JPEG, you need to be aware that raster image format does not hold all information, especially under a low resolution condition. A raster image can be though as a two-dimensional array of pixels, with each pixel containing the color information. Most of raster image formats do not have a field to specify the resolution information. As a result, you may need to specify the resolution when you export to another program.

The property of RasterImageResolution determines the resolution used when exporting to a raster image format. The default value of this property is 300.

Print...

Monterey Barcode Creator has a built-in database with 1,500 known label paper products. Most likely the label paper you are using is already in the database; if it is not, you can always add it.

Click the Use Label Settings... button to activate the label paper list. Select the paper you are working with and check the appropriate printing options. Otherwise the barcode is printed on the top left side of the paper.

Print Preview

To see how a barcode drawing will appear when printed, use the Print Preview command on the File menu or click the Print Preview button on the toolbar. Print Preview will show you an exact replica of the printed chart on your computer screen. The Print Preview command is also available directly from the Print dialog.

The buttons along the top of the Print Preview window allow you to print and change the view of the chart.

Print Setup

To select the default printer, paper size, use this command.

Recent Used Files

The four most recently opened or closed barcode files are displayed at the bottom of the File menu.

To open one, you can either click it with the mouse, highlight it and press ENTER, or choose the number (with the File menu displayed) that corresponds to the one you want to open.

Copy

The copy command allows you to transfer the graphics to Windows clipboard. The format used is Enhanced Windows Metafile, a format which records the frame size. Most of Windows graphics programs support this format.

Although Windows Metafile is a vector format, many programs rasterize the drawing using the screen resolution. It may cause printing problems. If this is the case, save the file as Bitmap at a high resolution (ex. 300 dpi) and import the file into the graphics program.

Undo

The Undo command has the effect of undoing the last document property modification. If nothing can be undone, it displays in grey.

Redo

The Redo command reverses the last Undo operation.

Toolbars

The toolbars are found below the menu bar ot the top of the screen. Each of the button on the toolbars represents a frequently used command in the Barcode Creator. See Chapter 1 for detailed information about using the toolbars.

Monterey Barcode Creator V3.0 features three toolbars: Standard, Format and Border.

Status Bar

The Status Bar is at the bottom of the Barcode Creator application window. It provides a description of the currently selected menu command in the first pane. The next 3 panes on the right provide information about the current symbology, overall symbol size and the current zoom ratio.

To display the Status Bar

Choose the Status Bar from the View menu, so that a check mark appears.

To hide the Status Bar

Choose the Status Bar from the View menu, so that the check mark disappears.

View the current symbology

The current symbology information is found at the second pane of the Status bar.

View the overall symbol size

The symbol size is expressed in inch. It is located at the third pane of the Status bar.

View the zoom ratio

The zoom ratio information is located at the last pane of the Status bar.

Properties

This command toggles the display of the Properties Window.

Monterey Barcode Creator 3 introduces a new window allowing you to fine control the barcode you created.

Use this window to view and change the design-time properties of the barcode object located in the designer window. Properties window is available from the View menu.

The Properties window displays different types of editing fields, depending on the needs of a particular property. These edit fields include edit boxes, drop-down lists, and links to custom editor dialog boxes. Properties shown in gray are read-only.

Zoom In / Zoom Out / Actual Size

The Zoom In and Zoom Out commands can be selected from the View menu or from the Standard toolbar. The Zoom Ratio is displayed in the Status bar.

The Zoom In command progressively zooms in on barcode drawing displayed on the screen. Each time the command is used, the more detailed the view of the barcode drawing.

The Zoom Out command changes the scaling to the previously zoomed state. For example, if you have used the Zoom In command to zoom in on the drawing four times, the Zoom Out command will take you back to the third zoomed view. Using it again will take you back to the second zoomed view, etc.

Rotate Left / Rotate Right

The Rotate Left and Rotate Right commands are selected from the View menu.

The Rotate Left command rotates the barcode drawing anti-clockwise in an increase of 90 degrees.

The Rotate Right command rotates the barcode drawing clockwise in an increase of 90 degrees.

Options

The Options dialog is used to configure the default template file to use when creating a new barcode. It also gives you options to configure the display attributes of the Properties window.

New Window

Use the New Window command to create a new window of the current document. This feature is useful when you want to have different views present. For example, you can have a window showing 100% zoom ration and another one at 400%.

Cascade

Use the Cascade command to arrange all open windows in a cascade-like arrangment in the Barcode Creator workspace

Tile

Use the Tile command to arrange all open windows in a title like arrangement in the Barcode Creator workspace.

Arrange Icons

Use the Arrange Icons command to arrange all document icons at the bottom of the Barcode Creator workspace. A document is minimized by clicking on the minimize button on the top right corner of the window frame.

Document List

At the bottom of the Window menu, the names of each open document are listed. A check mark designates the currently selected document.

To switch between documents using the Window menu, click on the name of desired document. You can also switch between documents by simply clicking directly on the desired document in the Barcode Creator workspace. The selected document has a unique heading background.

More Windows...

The last menu item is More Windows command, which pops up a dialog allowing you to activate, save, close or minimize any open window.

Help Topics

Use Help Topics command to view the online help. The help is in standard Microsoft HtmlHelp format. You can search by keywords, or read it topic by topic.

Morovia Web Site

Use this command to quickly access Morovia web site.

About...

The About command displays a window with information about your copy of the Monterey Barcode Creator, including the program version, build number, license to and registration code.

If you are using a trial version of the Monterey Barcode Creator, a register button displays. Press this button to pop up the registration dialog, from which you can type the registration information to convert your trial copy to the retail version.

Both LicenseTo and Registration code must match the ones appeared in the email we sent to you if you order online at Morovia WebStore or our affiliate shopping sites. Both fields must match. The registration information is written to the registry and checked every time you start the Monterey Barcode Creator.