Signwave Auto-Illustrator




	Licensing Questions How much freedom do I get if I'm using the trial version, and what does the [DEMO] button do? You can use the software freely without time limitations, although it will become more and more annoying to use with time if you don't buy a serial number. You have the option of pressing the [DEMO] button, which will unlock all the features of the software for that session. You can only press the [DEMO] button a limited number of times, after which the software goes back to how it used to be: you can only use some features if you buy a serial number. How do I upgrade to the latest version without losing my existing license? Just download and run the software. You won't lose your license as version 1.2 uses the same preferences file as your previous version. You should move any custom plug-ins or automations from your old installation into your new 1.2 installation, and when you've tested you're happy with the new version, go ahead and throw away the old 1.1 or 1.0 copy. Will I still be able to run a beta version and the latest upgrade on the same computer? You're not supposed to still have old beta versions, so we cannot offer any support for this situation. You should delete the beta copy and make use of the new [DEMO] button in version 1.2 - this will give you the full potential of the software without having to purchase a serial number. General Usage Questions How do I make those cool designs? Explore some of the plug-ins and transformation features of Auto-Illustrator. Various plug-ins are provided that generate abstract geometry in a variety of ways - find one that you like and use it to your potential. Some of the more obtuse features of Auto-Illustrator, such as the Chop Corners off Polygons function, can also reproduce effects that you may like. Again, exploring the software and trying things out (often in varying combinations) will result in designs you like. Those that are really really stuck for inspiration may want to try out the Instant Tutorial Plug-In, available from the Filters menu. This utility produces endless advice on how to make cool designs, and will even do it for you if you're super lazy. Questions about features What use is the Automation Tool? When you record an Automation, it gets saved as a .xeo file and is stored in the Automations folder that sits alongside the application. You can move these .xeo files into your (or, hint hint, other peoples') Plug-Ins folder and have them accessible via the Filters menu. In essence, the Automation Tool allows you to be your own Plug-In developer. Enhancing the software Where can I get more plug-ins? We will publish plug-ins from our web site at http://www.auto-illustrator.com/support in the future. You can download plug-ins from there and drop them into your Plug-Ins folder and use them as you like. New plug-ins will also be provided with updated releases. Some plug-ins require a license to be purchased before they can be used. I've added a plug-in to the Plug-Ins folder, but it's not showing up You need to quit Auto-Illustrator and re-launch it for new plug-ins to show up. Apart from using the Automation Tool, how do I write my own Plug-Ins? Plug-Ins with a .xeo file extension are just text files. You can open them in a text editor and see how they are structured. A reference for this scripting language will be available online at http://www.auto-illustrator.com/support/. If the software misbehaves... The software runs very slowly on my computer. What can I do to speed it up? Auto-Illustrator is computationally very heavy. There are a few little tricks you can try out to speed it up. Minimal documents One of the slowest parts of Auto-Illustrator is the re-drawing of the document window. This happens everytime something changes in the document. If your document has a lot of objects in it, then Auto-Illustrator will take longer to update the window. Smaller windows The larger you have your document windows, the longer they take to draw, especially if you're using the Flicker-Free mode. Try reducing the size of your document window, and choose Fit in Window. Screen depth This depends very much on your computer and the graphics card you have installed, but sometimes running your monitor in Millions of colours (24 bit or higher) can slow down Auto-Illustrator, especially if you're using the Flicker-Free mode. If you can stand the lack of colour gamut, drop down to Thousands of colours (16 bit) as this might help a little. Bugs Avoid lots of bugs. They are very computationally heavy. If you must use bugs, adjust the bugs behaviour so that they do not keep turning on the spot all the time. The best way of doing this is to increase their Maturity. The software keeps on doing things by itself. It gets worse every time I run it. You should purchase a user license as soon as possible. Some options in the menus and dialog boxes are greyed out, but not always. It's a bit random. How can I get access to them? You should purchase a user license as soon as possible. I have the immense sense of guilt and shame that I am not supporting the artists who have created this wonderful piece of software. You should purchase a user license as soon as possible. I am using an illegal serial number that I have found on a warez site, but my copy of Auto-Illustrator refuses to start. Yes, that's right. That's what you get for being a lowlife scumbag. I sometimes get these cryptic text files on my desktop, what should I do with them? Email them to support@auto-illustrator.com. I sometimes get these cryptic dialog boxes saying things like "Unhandled NilObjectException" and some big meaningless numbers. The application quits once I click the button. These are unhandled faults. Normally they should be not cause the application to quit unexpectedly, but very rarely they do. You should email support@auto-illustrator.com explaining exactly what you were doing when you got the dialog box. Hints and Tips How do I trash my Auto-Illustrator preferences? Hold down the Ctrl and Shift keys while starting Auto-Illustrator. Keep them held down until you see a message saying that your preferences have been trashed. Please note that this will also erase your license if you have one, so you'll need to re-enter your serial number after doing this. Miscellaneous Questions How often will you bring out new releases? It is difficult to predict when we'll release a new version. Based on past experiences, expect two or three new releases every year. Maybe more. New releases will always be made available first at http://www.auto-illustrator.com/ What is KJX Technology? Take a look at the official KJX Web site for more details.