|
This page contains answers to
some commonly asked commercial questions.
"Can I install on multiple PCs"
Yes. we allow our users to install on up to three PCs as along as they are the principal
users of those PCs.
"I purchased the dog cat version of PedigreeExplorer
- how much is it for Herdkeeper or Hawkeye"
Its free! Once you purchase PedX or Herdkeeper or Hawkeye you can use any of the
other breed products without paying additional license fees.
"How long do I get support for and what
exactly do I get"
You automatically get one year of free support with each purchase. With the support
you also get to download upgrades for your product free of charge during that one
year period.
"Should I order the CD and Manual"
If you really want to, but its expensive and you don't need it because the manual
can be download free from our web site in PDF format and printed if necessary. We
also constantly update it so a printed version will date quickly. The CD isn't necessary
either because the installer you download from our web site can be burned to CD
and will function the same as one we send you.
"Is the upgrade a full installation?"
Yes. All of our installers are full installations and do not require any
previous version to be already installed. The term "upgrade" really just refers
to the discount pricing our existing customers receive.
"Can I save the installer for later installations?"
Yes. In fact we recommend it. After downloading the installer you can double click
it to run it and install your software. You should then burn the installer to CD,
flash drive or other suitable media. The saved copy can then be used for later installations
or for installations on other PCs like your laptop.
"How do I print champions in red ?"
Just select "Show Champions in red" from the toolbar.
My pedigree form doesn't show all the animals I have entered ?
Firstly, for any animal to be shown in a pedigree form, a record must have been created in the database for
it - it is not sufficient for just the name to appear in a sire or dam field.
Secondly the name in the sire or dam field must exactly match the name in the
name field of another record for the records to be "linked" and
therefore for your pedigree to be produced.
Breed Mate provides a number of features to simplify creating records in the
database. The simplest way to create a record for an animal which exists in the
Sire or dam field is to use the F5 key. This is done by selecting the field with
the name of the record to be created, then pressing the F5 key. This will create
a new record with the name of the currently selected field - no retyping is needed,
so typing errors are avoided.
"How can I spot missing links in my database?"
Breed Mate provides the Mark->No Match command to allow bad links to be identified, eg if you select the sire field and use Mark->No Match, it will mark all records whose sire field contains a name without a match..
By reviewing the marked records after using this command, mistakes in names can be readily spotted. Normally a record should exist for all names present in the Sire and Dam fields, so any records which have names highlighted in either of these fields should be investigated. If a record doesn't exist for the name, just select the field containing the name and press F5 to create the record. If a record with a similar name exists, it can be found by using the Edit->Find Similar command. This powerful command will find any name which is even closely similar to the name you have in the edit box (you must have the full name), eg if you are searching for "Anatolian von
Armested" it would find strings like "Antlina vno armsted" or even
"vom armsted antolania".
"How can I mark 'CH' and
'SGR' entries?"
Breed Mate allows multiple searches to be combined by using two mark 'colours'. First, mark records with the string 'CH' in red using the
Mark->Substing command, then selecting Mark->Mark Blue and mark records with the string 'Sg'
(Sieger) in blue. Now the seperate marks can be combined in two ways:Using the Mark->Red AND Blue command, only the records which contain red and blue marks will be left marked in red.
(i.e. the records which contain both the text strings.)
Using the Mark->Red OR Blue command all previously red and blue marked records will be marked in red.
(i.e. all the records which contain either 'CH' or 'Sg'.)
This method may be used in other ways, e.g. to select all animals with a particular kennel prefix, which are champions:
First select the champions in Red as above, then select the records with the Name field containing the prefix, e.g.
Gracelands, in blue. Now by using the Mark->Red AND Blue command, all records which contain the prefix
'Gracelands' and are champions will be marked in red.
"How do I insert photo's into my database?"
Photos or scanned images must be saved in .GIF, PNG or JPG format image files. Once you have your image file available, open up the database and select the Photo field for the record of the appropriate animal. Now use the Edit->Insert Picture command and navigate, using the open file dialogue box, to the image file to be used. With the appropriate file selected, click on the OK button to imbed the full filename of the picture image file in the database. This can then be used, where required, to display the image of the animal in the form.A special directory called "photos" has been set up as a sub-directory of the directory in which Breed Mate is installed (on Win95/98 this will be "\Program
Files\bmate". If you store your photos in here then you need only enter the name of the file rather than the full path, eg
"angie.bmp" instead of "c:\Program
Files\bmate\photos\angie.bmp".
"How do I add Watermarks to my pedigrees"
A watermark is simply an image file (JPG, GIF or PNG) which is suitable for printing as a background. To add a watermark in any form you will need to first prepare your image file as follows:
use a graphical editor to open your photo file
remove the background around the subject (usually a cats/dogs head or side shot) using a soft edge
lighten the image up by increasing the brightness
save the image as a JPG, GIF or PNG fileopen Breed Mate and select the form you wish to add the watermark touse the Tools-Add Watermark command
a File Open dialog will appear. Use it to select the image file.
"How do I change the Default Breed"
Use the View-Options command in the database view.
"I can't get any pedigrees or any forms to show"
This simply means that you do not have a form file open. Breed Mate comes standard with four form files, ie
DOGFORMS60.FMX, CATFORMS60.FMX, USDOGFORMS60.FMX and USCATFORMS60.FMX. Files starting with "US" are for US paper sizes and other US special conditions.The forms files are all located in your Breed Mate directory, which
is usually C:\PROGRAM FILES\PEDX5. Use File Open to navigate to this directory and then open the relevant file.Note that you should never close a form view (eg by clicking on the cross at top right of view or the little icon left of the File menu) as this means you will not have any forms available to display your
data.
"How do I add my signature to a show entry form?"
You will need right your signature on a piece of paper and scan it in then save as an image file
(JPG, GIF or PNG). The start BM and select the show entry form, go to design mode and use the Add Logo command to insert the
image.
"My show entry doesn't align with the pre-printed form"
Most printers have different ideas about the printable area of a sheet of paper, hence there can be some
misalignment when printing on to pre-printed forms such as show entries. This problem can be fixed by first viewing the form then going into design mode (click on green triangle). Fields (blue rectangles) can be moved by selecting them (click on them with the mouse) then moving by either dragging with the mouse or using the arrow keys - the field will move in steps of 1mm each time you hit the arrow
key. The entire form can be moved by doing an Edit-Select All (Ctrl-A) then using the arrow keys.
How do find out
which entries have no championship titles?
Some people enter in the basic details on a dog then later add information like
titles. Hence they have a need to identify which entries don't have titles so
they fill them in. Firstly always leave the Titles field blank when doing this -
so not put in special markers - this is because the "Mark Champions in
Red" feature (accessible from the forms toolbar combo) considers any non
empty title as champion. To find entries with an empty Title field, use Mark-Substring
with an empty search string.
|