Questions and Answers about DDTitle

Q: I can work with the program without any functionality restrictions, but I have grid on all region images, and this grid is present even when I save region image to external file on disk or when I copy it to another program via clipboard. How can I remove this grid?

A: You must register the program to remove grid from region images. Please visit registration page and read all instructions carefully.

Q: When I download a new version, will I need to uninstall the older one first and will my registration code work with the new version?

A: You don't need to uninstall a previous version that you have. Just download new version, extract archives files to a temporary folder, run setup and install new version over previous one. You won't need to re-enter your registration information in this case.

But if you uninstall the program first, you will have to enter your registration information again.

Q: I had DDTitle on my old machine that had Windows 95, and really enjoyed the program to make graphics for my web site. I have a new computer which is running Windows ME, the Millennium Edition. I need to know if DDTitle will run on a computer with this operating system.

A: DDTitle should work on any Microsoft Windows system starting from Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. We tested it on Windows 95, 98, 2000, and Windows ME.

Just install the program on the system that you have and try to work with it. If you have any problems, feel free to contact us via email. Describe your problems, and we will try to help you to resolve them.

Q: One feature you could put in with few changes would be something that automatically writes web pages. With the object-based layout in DDTitle, it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to write a table-based layout for a web page. Is it possible?

A: No, DDTitle isn't a web editor. You can prepare perfect-quality titles and images with DDTitle, but then you will have to use any web-preparing software. Possibly we will include some web-preparing tools with DDTitle in the future.

Q: I prepared some images for my webpage with DDTitle. How can I convert the region file to GIF or JPEG?

A: See answers to next two questions.

Q: After I saved my regions to files with *.rgn filename extension, I want to open them in other graphic program (Adobe Photoshop, Paint or other), and use images for my webpage, but I can't open *.rgn-file. What's wrong?

A: Regions are saved to files with *.rgn filename extension in internal format of DDTitle. You can open such files in the future, edit them again etc. But you can't open them in any other program. You have to save region image in one of graphic formats that is supported by other programs.

There are two ways to use images designed in DDTitle in another program:

Copy image via Clipboard (in Windows bitmap format). Use File menu, select Save region Image.../to Clipboard command from it. Use Paste command in other program (Adobe Photoshop for example) after that to insert image in it.
Save region image to a file on disk in one of graphic formats. DDTitle can save images in the following formats: Targa (*.tga filename extension), Bitmap (*.bmp, *.dib), Portable Network Graphics (*.png) and JPEG (*.jpg). Use File menu, select Save region Image.../to File.

It will open standard dialog box for saving files, you will be able to select any supported format for saving image to file. See also next question for more details.

Q: When saving region image to a JPEG file, I see no way to select quality of JPEG compression. Where can I find it?

A: Use Options/Formats menu before saving region image to an external file. You will be able to tune desired options for all graphic formats supported by DDTitle: Targa, Bitmap, PNG and JPEG.

See also previous question for more details.

A: No. DDTitle does not support any graphic formats with indexed colors and palette. Save your images to files in any lossless format (Targa or Bitmap for example) and convert them to GIF with other graphic software that allows converting to GIF format (Adobe Photoshop for example).

Q: If you create a *.bmp, file with your software, then try to import it into Microsoft PowerPoint for graphic display, PowerPoint indicates that the *.bmp file is corrupted. So do some other programs. What's wrong?

A: Possibly program that you use does not support 32-bit bitmaps (note that most programs that support BMP format can work with 8/16/24-bit bitmaps only).

Please check image format settings in DDTitle: open the Options/Formats menu, select Bitmap tab and choose "24 bit/pixel" instead of "32 bit/pixel". Save picture to BMP file now and check it with PowerPoint or other program again.

Q: I want to save images with transparent backgound to use them on my webpage. How can I do it?

A: DDTitle allows you to save semi-transparent images in Targa format only (actually, other formats like JPEG supported by DDTitle have no transparency at all). But this format has no compression (images in this format are too large for using them for web-design), and it is not supported by any web browser.

The only web-compatible format with trasparency is GIF, but it is not supported by DDTitle. You will need to open your image in other program that allows converting to GIF format (Adobe Photoshop for example). See answers to previous questions for more details.

Q: When trying to use the regions in other programs I keep getting the background (which I don't want) and the object I have created (which I do). What to do?

A: We recommend saving images with transparency using Targa format only.You can set needed format in the Export Image Properties dialog box. Choose the Formats... command in the Options menu, open Targa panel and select 32-bit/pixel in drop-down list named Type. Other programs should work with this format correctly.

You can also save separate alpha-channel (transparency only) using menu File/Save region Image.../Alpha to file.

Q: If I indicate a 100% transparent background behind my object, then export the image to a file, the background becomes "black" rather than transparent in the *.tga file when I import the image into a PowerPoint slide. What's wrong?

A: It seems that PowerPoint does not support alpha-channel (transparency) in Targa files. Save your image to PNG format instead and then insert it into PowerPoint slide. Note that slide can have bad quality in preview (design) mode, switch to Slideshow mode to see image in its actual quality.

A: Possibly you have set 16 or 256-color mode of your display. It is highly recommended to work with DDTitle in 16-bit mode at least (65536 colors) or in True Color mode (24 or 32-bit). To do this, perform the following steps:

Exit DDTitle (it is very important!)
Close all windows and press right mouse button on your desktop (not over any icon)
Select Properties from local menu, Display settings dialog will be shown.
Select Settings tab and locate Colors section in it. Select High Color mode (16-bit) or True Color (24-bit or 32-bit).
Press OK and accept changes (answer Yes to all possible questions).
Run DDTitle again, open your region(s) and continue working with them.

Q: I want to create curved object with any shape. How can I do this?

A: DDTitle does not allow you to create curved objects, but you can import curves created in CorelDraw and saved in the Adobe Illustrator 3.0 format (file with *.AI filename extension). You must save all curve objects with a zero line thickness. It is not recommended to save objects with self-crossing contours, but it is not restricted.

A: Perform the following steps to create styles collection:

Select File/Styles Collection/New collection or press Shift+Ctrl+N, new collection will be created.
Create new region or open any existing one.
Select any objects with effects, for example text box, double-click at Styles collection window (be sure that object with effects that you want to add to collection is selected). Effects from selected object will be added to style collection.
Styles collection can be saved to a file from the menu File/Styles Collection/Save collection or by pressing Shift+Ctrl+S.

A: An example of style collection, as well as example regions, are included with DDTitle and are installed with it. You can open them in two ways:

Directly from the Examples folder in a folder where DDTitle is installed, typically C:\Program Files\DDTitle\Examples. Use menu File/Styles Collection/Open collection, locate this folder and open style collection.
From the Windows Start menu: locate DDTitle program group in it (typically Start > Programs > DDTitle), open Examples folder in it. It contains example.efc style collection, its image is presented on the web site. You can just drag this file and drop it in DDTitle working area from Explorer window, or open it from menu File/Styles Collection/Open collection.

You can also copy styles from the region examples to create your own style collection (see answer to previous question for more details).

Q: Some of the styles collection boxes do not display, so there appears to be nothing in the style box, although if you edit the style effect, you can see the letter. What is the problem?

A: Possibly you don't have some true type fonts that we have used in our styles collection. The system automatically replaces such fonts to others that are installed in your system, but there may be some problems with font substitution. Unfortunately we can't include all fonts that we have used for creating styles collections, because we have no permissions to distribute these fonts.

Q: In your example you have used 'rounded faska'. I do not have this effect in the collection. How do I get this?

A: Each effect has its default name, but you can change it manually in Effects List dialog box. This name will be saved with the region, and it will be shown next time when you open it. Name that you mentioned is now obsolete, we changed it to Bewel, but old name was saved with the example.
You can see names of all basic effects in the following way:

Open Effects List from the style local menu, object local menu or Object menu of main menu.
Click on the Add Above or Add Below button in the Effects List dialog, it will call Select Effect dialog box.
In this dialog each icon represents basic effect. Move mouse cursor over on an icon, wait for a few seconds until a tooltip with the effect name pops up.

A: Final image is a result of consequent mixing of effects in list from its top to its bottom. Priority can help you when you work with text objects. For each symbol in text object effects with priority A are always on top of effects with priority B, etc. For example, you have text line with Fill color effect (with priority A) and Shadow (with priority D). Usually Shadow has nonzero offset, and without priority it may be drawn over color filled areas. Setting priority of Fill color effect to A helps you to avoid this, and Shadow will be not drawn over color-filled areas of text.

Q: When I make a text box, the text is fine but the back is either black, or sometimes white. How do I get it transparent?

A: Possibly you have set black color for background. When you select all or part of text with a mouse, selection inverts color and you get white background. There are two commands from the Edit menu (when region window is active): Background image and Background color. With them you can select bitmap image and color for background.




							We really need your feedback! If you have any comments, questions or suggestions regarding DDTitle, send e-mail to ddtitle@softlab-nsk.com

	(general questions - click at desired one to expand answer to it - for Internet Explorer users only) 1. How can I remove the grid from region images? Q: I can work with the program without any functionality restrictions, but I have grid on all region images, and this grid is present even when I save region image to external file on disk or when I copy it to another program via clipboard. How can I remove this grid? A: You must register the program to remove grid from region images. Please visit registration page and read all instructions carefully. 2. How should I upgrade to a newer version of the program? Q: When I download a new version, will I need to uninstall the older one first and will my registration code work with the new version? A: You don't need to uninstall a previous version that you have. Just download new version, extract archives files to a temporary folder, run setup and install new version over previous one. You won't need to re-enter your registration information in this case. But if you uninstall the program first, you will have to enter your registration information again. 3. What operating systems are supported by DDTitle? Q: I had DDTitle on my old machine that had Windows 95, and really enjoyed the program to make graphics for my web site. I have a new computer which is running Windows ME, the Millennium Edition. I need to know if DDTitle will run on a computer with this operating system. A: DDTitle should work on any Microsoft Windows system starting from Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0. We tested it on Windows 95, 98, 2000, and Windows ME. Just install the program on the system that you have and try to work with it. If you have any problems, feel free to contact us via email. Describe your problems, and we will try to help you to resolve them. 4. Can I create web pages with DDTitle? Q: One feature you could put in with few changes would be something that automatically writes web pages. With the object-based layout in DDTitle, it doesn't seem like it would be too difficult to write a table-based layout for a web page. Is it possible? A: No, DDTitle isn't a web editor. You can prepare perfect-quality titles and images with DDTitle, but then you will have to use any web-preparing software. Possibly we will include some web-preparing tools with DDTitle in the future. (graphic formats-related questions - click at desired one to expand answer to it - for Internet Explorer users only) 1. Is that there a converter from .rgn to .jpg files anywhere? Q: I prepared some images for my webpage with DDTitle. How can I convert the region file to GIF or JPEG? A: See answers to next two questions. 2. What image graphic formats are supported by DDTitle? Q: After I saved my regions to files with .rgn filename extension, I want to open them in other graphic program (Adobe Photoshop, Paint* or other), and use images for my webpage, but I can't open .rgn-file. What's wrong? A: Regions are saved to files with .rgn filename extension in internal format of DDTitle. You can open such files in the future, edit them again etc. But you can't open them in any other program. You have to save region image in one of graphic formats that is supported by other programs. There are two ways to use images designed in DDTitle in another program: Copy image via Clipboard (in Windows bitmap format). Use File menu, select Save region Image.../to Clipboard command from it. Use Paste command in other program (Adobe Photoshop for example) after that to insert image in it. Save region image to a file on disk in one of graphic formats. DDTitle can save images in the following formats: Targa (.tga filename extension), Bitmap* (.bmp, .dib), Portable Network Graphics (.png) and JPEG* (.jpg). Use File* menu, select Save region Image.../to File. It will open standard dialog box for saving files, you will be able to select any supported format for saving image to file. See also next question for more details. 3. I want to save image to a JPEG file. How can I select quality of compression? Q: When saving region image to a JPEG file, I see no way to select quality of JPEG compression. Where can I find it? A: Use Options/Formats menu before saving region image to an external file. You will be able to tune desired options for all graphic formats supported by DDTitle: Targa, Bitmap, PNG and JPEG. See also previous question for more details. 4. Can I save images from DDTitle to a file in GIF format? A: No. DDTitle does not support any graphic formats with indexed colors and palette. Save your images to files in any lossless format (Targa or Bitmap for example) and convert them to GIF with other graphic software that allows converting to GIF format (Adobe Photoshop for example). 5. I can't open BMP file designed in DDTitle in another program. What's wrong? Q: If you create a .bmp, file with your software, then try to import it into Microsoft PowerPoint* for graphic display, PowerPoint indicates that the .bmp file is corrupted. So do some other programs. What's wrong? A: Possibly program that you use does not support 32-bit* bitmaps (note that most programs that support BMP format can work with 8/16/24-bit bitmaps only). Please check image format settings in DDTitle: open the Options/Formats menu, select Bitmap tab and choose "24 bit/pixel" instead of "32 bit/pixel". Save picture to BMP file now and check it with PowerPoint or other program again. 6. How can I save image with transparency to use it on my webpage? Q: I want to save images with transparent backgound to use them on my webpage. How can I do it? A: DDTitle allows you to save semi-transparent images in Targa format only (actually, other formats like JPEG supported by DDTitle have no transparency at all). But this format has no compression (images in this format are too large for using them for web-design), and it is not supported by any web browser. The only web-compatible format with trasparency is GIF, but it is not supported by DDTitle. You will need to open your image in other program that allows converting to GIF format (Adobe Photoshop for example). See answers to previous questions for more details. 7. How can I transfer images with semi-transparency to another program? Q: When trying to use the regions in other programs I keep getting the background (which I don't want) and the object I have created (which I do). What to do? A: We recommend saving images with transparency using Targa format only.You can set needed format in the Export Image Properties dialog box. Choose the Formats... command in the Options menu, open Targa panel and select 32-bit/pixel in drop-down list named Type. Other programs should work with this format correctly. You can also save separate alpha-channel (transparency only) using menu File/Save region Image.../Alpha to file. 8. Can I transfer images with transparent background to PowerPoint? Q: If I indicate a 100% transparent background behind my object, then export the image to a file, the background becomes "black" rather than transparent in the .tga file when I import the image into a PowerPoint* slide. What's wrong? A: It seems that PowerPoint does not support alpha-channel (transparency) in Targa files. Save your image to PNG format instead and then insert it into PowerPoint slide. Note that slide can have bad quality in preview (design) mode, switch to Slideshow mode to see image in its actual quality. (other questions - click at desired one to expand answer to it - for Internet Explorer users only) 1. The quality of picture is bad, while examples on your website are excellent. What's wrong? A: Possibly you have set 16 or 256-color mode of your display. It is highly recommended to work with DDTitle in 16-bit mode at least (65536 colors) or in True Color mode (24 or 32-bit). To do this, perform the following steps: Exit DDTitle (it is very important!) Close all windows and press right mouse button on your desktop (not over any icon) Select Properties from local menu, Display settings dialog will be shown. Select Settings tab and locate Colors section in it. Select High Color mode (16-bit) or True Color (24-bit or 32-bit). Press OK and accept changes (answer Yes to all possible questions). Run DDTitle again, open your region(s) and continue working with them. 2. Is it possible to create irregularly shaped objects in DDTitle? Q: I want to create curved object with any shape. How can I do this? A: DDTitle does not allow you to create curved objects, but you can import curves created in CorelDraw and saved in the Adobe Illustrator 3.0 format (file with .AI filename extension). You must save all curve objects with a zero line thickness. It is not recommended to save objects with self-crossing contours, but it is not restricted. 3. How to create my own styles collection? A: Perform the following steps to create styles collection: Select File/Styles Collection/New collection* or press Shift+Ctrl+N, new collection will be created. Create new region or open any existing one. Select any objects with effects, for example text box, double-click at Styles collection window (be sure that object with effects that you want to add to collection is selected). Effects from selected object will be added to style collection. Styles collection can be saved to a file from the menu File/Styles Collection/Save collection or by pressing Shift+Ctrl+S. 4. Can you give me an example of style collection? A: An example of style collection, as well as example regions, are included with DDTitle and are installed with it. You can open them in two ways: Directly from the Examples folder in a folder where DDTitle is installed, typically C:\Program Files\DDTitle\Examples. Use menu File/Styles Collection/Open collection, locate this folder and open style collection. From the Windows Start menu: locate DDTitle program group in it (typically Start > Programs > DDTitle), open Examples folder in it. It contains example.efc style collection, its image is presented on the web site. You can just drag this file and drop it in DDTitle working area from Explorer window, or open it from menu File/Styles Collection/Open collection. You can also copy styles from the region examples to create your own style collection (see answer to previous question for more details). 5. Some styles from example style collection do not work. What's wrong? Q: Some of the styles collection boxes do not display, so there appears to be nothing in the style box, although if you edit the style effect, you can see the letter. What is the problem? A: Possibly you don't have some true type fonts that we have used in our styles collection. The system automatically replaces such fonts to others that are installed in your system, but there may be some problems with font substitution. Unfortunately we can't include all fonts that we have used for creating styles collections, because we have no permissions to distribute these fonts. 6. I can't find effect used in your example in my list of effects. What's wrong? Q: In your example you have used 'rounded faska'. I do not have this effect in the collection. How do I get this? A: Each effect has its default name, but you can change it manually in Effects List dialog box. This name will be saved with the region, and it will be shown next time when you open it. Name that you mentioned is now obsolete, we changed it to Bewel, but old name was saved with the example. You can see names of all basic effects in the following way: Open Effects List from the style local menu, object local menu or Object menu of main menu. Click on the Add Above or Add Below button in the Effects List dialog, it will call Select Effect dialog box. In this dialog each icon represents basic effect. Move mouse cursor over on an icon, wait for a few seconds until a tooltip with the effect name pops up. 7. In your Effects list I don't know what the Priority does. A: Final image is a result of consequent mixing of effects in list from its top to its bottom. Priority can help you when you work with text objects. For each symbol in text object effects with priority A are always on top of effects with priority B, etc. For example, you have text line with Fill color effect (with priority A) and Shadow (with priority D). Usually Shadow has nonzero offset, and without priority it may be drawn over color filled areas. Setting priority of Fill color effect to A helps you to avoid this, and Shadow will be not drawn over color-filled areas of text. 8. I'm having trouble getting the background to be transparent. Q: When I make a text box, the text is fine but the back is either black, or sometimes white. How do I get it transparent? A: Possibly you have set black color for background. When you select all or part of text with a mouse, selection inverts color and you get white background. There are two commands from the Edit menu (when region window is active): Background image and Background color. With them you can select bitmap image and color for background.