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We have been completely overwhelmed with everyone’s  enthusiastic response to the announcement and release of AlphaTricks this month! As we’ve worked with users, we’ve uncovered some common questions, as well as tips that it seems everyone would like to know about:

Tip #1:

Embrilliance software is all about customizing and creating unique designs easily – AlphaTricks is no exception!

When you combine lettering with designs, the intention is usually to create something personal. This baby cowboy design from one of our affilliates Charming Station, http://www.CharmingStation.com, is transformed into a special embellishment by adding the name and “future cowboy” arched above. We could have easily just centered each object – two lettering objects and the design object – with space between them and it would have been lovely. But by off centering the design – and placing it on top of the letter N as if he were really sitting there, and overlapping the arched text on the hat, it looks like this was the original interpretation of the design.

The object pane on the right hand side allows you to change the stitching order with a simple right click on the object and choosing a new location or by dragging and dropping the objects to new locations.

Tip #2:

If your folder that contains your alphabet designs only contains one size, the easiest way to map them is to use the Select All button and then Import button right next to it.

If your folder contains more than one size, you can use the SHIFT key and/or the Control/Command key to select only the files that you want to import. A green check mark displays on the selected designs so you know what will be brought into the mapping dialog when you click on the Import.

Remember that you can always add or delete individual letters from the mapping dialog.

Tip #3:

Assign Punctuation FIRST

Some alphabets will also include non-alphanumeric characters like #, &, @ and of course punctuation!  Because these characters reside on the keyboard, you can assign keyboard strokes to match.  However, there is no logical automatic mapping like A-Z, so they are not included in any of the shortcut buttons.  These characters would need to be assigned manually which is very simple to do.

Select the character with a single click and it will appear in the selection box between the two lines.  What key would you like to assign this character to?  Hit that key on your keyboard and that design will now be called up when you type that key!  Please remember that the SHIFT key is respected in the software – so if you want to assign this character the “&” key, you must type SHIFT+7 just like you would in any word processor.  If you forget the SHIFT and just hit 7, well you’ve just assigned this character to the 7 key.

TIME SAVING TRICK!!  Sometimes a designer will spell the character as the file name – for example ampersand.PES or period.PES or comma.PES.  If you imported all the characters at one time, they are shown alphabetically which would put the ampersand.PES after the “small a” which is named aa.PES.  If you were to click on the “A” and select the Aa-Zz button to map the alphabet, it would actually assign the keystroke of SHIFT+B, capital B, to the ampersand because it follows the pattern you have told it to expect.

During our research into making this the easiest to use alphabet mapping program on the market, we developed a feature to save you time during this mapping process when you have punctuation.

Map your punctuation manually first.  Click on each punctuation and type in the keystroke to assign it.

Now go back to the first letter that you haven’t assigned – that would be the capital A in this case – and select the Aa-Zz key.  The mapping algorithm will skip those characters that you have already assigned keystrokes to and just map those that have not been assigned yet!

So if your alphabet has punctuation, map those characters manually first, then use the shortcut mapping buttons to take care of the rest!

Sizzling HOT Topics!

The most common questions YOU are asking!

Q: How do you install and authorize AlphaTricks?

A: This was such a popular question we created a new video showing you exactly how!

Show Me How!

YES… the special pricing is still available on AlphaTricks through out webstore

YES… AlphaTricks is available as either a stand alone program or as a feature pack for the same price! The stand alone program does NOT have Essentials most loved features like Intelligent color sort, Basting Design, built in fonts, and more.

YES… you can add the Essentials Fonts 1 Collection to AlphaTricks to get these object based decorative lettering – may be added to EITHER Essentials or AlphaTricks stand alone.

YES… if you decide you want to add Essentials or Fonts 1 at a later date it can be done at any time!

It just occurred to me that we haven’t mentioned our new AlphaTricks here on the blog.

It’s a feature pack for Essentials, but it does run by itself. We just know that you’ll want to use it all together though. It makes those alphabet designs work like the built-in Essentials fonts.

Check out the page on the product at embrilliance.com/products/alphatricks

And get started using all those alphabet designs you’ve collected but never used!
Happy Easter!
-Brian

Let me preface my thoughts with this; I’ve been writing programs since 1981 on my Apple 2+. I had early Macs, I had early PCs. I’ve used them all for 30 years continuously. I’ve consulted for many clients and taught professionals as well as seniors how to use them. Naturally I’ve developed opinions over the years. What I’m relating here is opinion. I’ll try to ignore words that normal people don’t need to know like Skeuomorphism.

There is a new style of computer just beginning to be sold today. Sony makes one (in the Windows 8 ads) and Microsoft makes one (not out yet – the Surface with Win 8). These are touch based computers. Microsoft figured out that iPad is not a Mac and that is iPads’ shortcoming. So Microsoft created Win 8 to power touch-based PCs. It is the future (well, present actually). And early adopters will enjoy the products.

Apple actually has the advantage here, but uses their iron fist to control what software people have access to on their touch devices. One thing people have demonstrated time and again; they prefer an open system. So Microsoft is seizing some opportunity. And they are copying Apple.

Whereas Windows and Mac had been so similar in recent years, deciding was simple preference; now there is a big difference!

Steve Jobs favored pretty user interfaces that are photo-realistic and reflect the world we all see, feel and touch. (see the above word you do not need to know.)

Microsoft recognized that a universal Windows system (phones, tablets, etc.) running on inferior hardware (like a simple phone) couldn’t handle the graphics and be speedy. Also it appears they want to be as far away from Apple as possible (a la Samsung). So their new interface is minimalist in the extreme. You can’t find things because they don’t exist on-screen unless you know their ‘secret location’. The colors are flat. Transparency is gone. Minimalists will love it, until they actually go to use it; It is not designed for productivity with a normal PC. But those who love ‘modern art’ and actually understand what that is will love it. (the idea of it anyways.)

So what is it designed for? Touch systems. It seems it all comes back to the new computing metaphor; iPad and iPhone popularized touch in the computing world. And a touch system does require a different user interface. I’m not certain that Microsoft has figured it out. Apple has done a better job in my opinion, and that is the first time anyone will have ever heard me say that. On the whole Apple’s software engineering is simply not competent compared to Microsoft. They leave products unfinished and never get around to fixing them. (Ever used the Mail app on the iPad/iPhone?)

Don’t get me wrong: Microsoft also went down the poor-quality rabbit hole too with Vista, and before that ME. But MS simply does more for the actual user.

Today however, Microsoft has something unusual: A brilliant piece of code in Windows 8. It is smaller, faster, smarter and runs on all kinds of systems. They really got the Big Brains involved.

Then they destroyed it.

How? Windows has for a long time been flexible; that was what allowed users to be productive. For instance, some users use the Start menu all day. I do. There’s no other way to run the hundred programs I use daily. Other users don’t know why anyone would ever need that because they have all three of their favorite programs pinned to the taskbar.

As far apart as those users were in terms of need, the Windows platform was useful for both with little or no wasted effort.

Naturally, Microsoft has done away with both of those things in Windows 8. Now you have the ‘other’ desktop. Microsoft has usurped the term ‘Modern UI’ which Win 8 is not. It looks more like Windows 3.1. on top of the nice Windows 7. It is therefore somewhat like using a phone to control your PC. And programs are represented by big ugly tiles with a supposedly user-defined ordering scheme. But it takes forever to find anything to run it. Oh, but if you know the name, you can type it. What? Who knows the executable name of Word? Or worse, SnagIt? Or that thingy I use occasionally to make CD images? I don’t even remember what its called until I see it in my Start menu. Now I don’t even have a list. And I have to ‘swipe’ between using programs and running them. In the words of Homer Simpson, “Doh!!!”

So if you use a monitor, a keyboard and a mouse. Stick with Windows 7 until Microsoft figures out what to do.

Meanwhile, Apple has decided to move away from Jobs’ interface. They are going to a blend, presumably. I think they are just being cheap; do it right, Apple, you have the cash! Hire some good programmers away from Microsoft if you need to. The ones in Redmond, not the ones overseas. And pay them decent. And tell them to finish the Mail program or at least allow other developers to make one. And let me use Flash on my iPad. Really, can there be that much bad blood between you and Adobe? Really? Don’t give me that ‘battery life’ line either. You can run a full length movie; you can play my silly greeting cards.

So it’s as simple as this folks:

Use Windows 8 when: You buy a new touch-based Intel computer. Don’t buy the Windows RT (it is NOT going to run you current programs!) I’m waiting until they have an iPad format (light, thin) real Intel computer. Then I’ll get one, maybe, if it has a hi-res display. Until that time it makes no sense. It doesn’t exist in the World today. So no Win 8 for me, except to know if we run on it. And don’t get it if you get confused easily!

Use Windows 7 when: You want a productive tool. Laptops, desktops, it doesn’t matter; it just works. I also still enjoy XP. And I am NOT the only one. Vote with your feet. Stay with what works. By the way: Lenovo Thinkpads are offered with a Windows 7 UPGRADE from Win 8. That means a large sector of the business community is in sync with what I’m stating.

Use a Mac when: You consume information, or produce video. Or if you like the interface. Most ‘right-brained’ thinkers I know seem to prefer the feel of OSX. (Sewing and quilting are usually thought of as right-brained activities, so if you’re reading this, it probably means YOU.) It is quite reasonable, albeit slightly annoying for some of us who use the aforementioned hundred programs daily. My wife has one and she navigates it without complaint (except the Mail program). However her old PC caused endless work for me. “Go ahead with a Mac for your spouse if you are the IT person in the household, and they are not.”

Use a Mac with Parallels and Win 7 when: You want it all. But get a newer Mac to do it. You’ll need memory and horsepower (more cores the better). The combination really is effective on good hardware. But run the Windows in its own Window. It works better that way for me.

Use an iPad when: You don’t need to be productive, but do need to stay in contact. There’s no decent Excel alternative (No, Numbers doesn’t do it). You can do some word processing, but not really anything other than a simple document. But if you read magazines, it’s second to none.

Use an iPad with Retina when: You have eyes as old as mine. I think this is the biggest differentiator. And I pooh-pooed it when it came out. But now, I don’t think I can buy a tablet device without it. So I am stuck with Apple for now. The iPad with Retina rocks. I might even trade in my Nook when they make an iPad Mini with Retina.

Use Android tablets when: You need Flash. Be aware though that there are lots of problems in the Android world. You need to be a technophile and love to play with settings, installing, reinstalling, upgrading, etc. Then you will be very happy.

I hope this helps some of you understand what you may have heard about Windows 8. And maybe it’ll help you decide what to get next, or to stay with what you’ve got.

Cheers!

-Brian

You can now create thread palettes of existing thread colors, and you can also place a check mark on threads that are in your inventory.

We have also added many user-requested threads including the full Coats and Clark lines, BFC, Jenny Haskins, etc.

This feature will appear in the next Mac update too. But we have it today for you on Windows, so we’re releasing it now.

Happy colorizing!

-Brian

Many users have asked for us to provide a Designer 1 Disk utility. In many cases the one provided by Viking would not be installable in Windows Vista or Windows 7.

We have added this feature in todays update of the Windows version of Essentials (1.094).

It will come soon in the Mac version too, but many, if not most Essentials users also have Convert It, Mac which has this feature. So we think it is OK to release this now for Windows in advance of the Mac version.

The Disk Utility is found on the “Utilities” menu. It supports both floppy drive and USB designer 1′s.

Note if you have an SE, you don’t need this. But older D1 owners will no doubt love this.

Cheers!

-Brian