Release Notes and Installation Instructions for EDS IV Version 1.01

Release Notes and Installation
Instructions for EDS IV
Version 1.01
Part Number 14810 Rev. A
Important!
This document contains information about EDS IV Version 1.01 that may not be included in
the manual.
Minimum System Requirements
•
PC with a Pentium 200 MHz or higher processor (Pentium II 266 MHz or higher recommended)
•
Microsoft Windows 98, Windows NT 4.0, or Windows 2000 operating system
•
32MB of RAM (64MB recommended) for Windows 98; 64MB (128MB recommended) for
Windows NT and Windows 2000
•
Super VGA video adapter and monitor configured for 1024x768 resolution or higher, video
driver set to High Color or better for Windows 98; 32768 color or higher for Windows NT
and Windows 2000
•
Parallel port for EDS IV security dongle
•
CD-ROM drive (required for EDS IV installation)
•
Two or three button mouse (3 button mouse preferred)
•
Internet Explorer 5.0 or greater (included with EDS IV)
Incompatible Hardware
Testing has shown that the following hardware will perform poorly or not at all with the EDS IV
program.
•
Trident Accelerator video card
•
Scanmaker E3 and C6 scanners by Microtek
Critical Computer Requirement/Considerations To Look At Before Installing EDS IV
•
Installing EDS IV into Windows 95 will cause an error in Windows 95 operation and may
cause an error during the installation of EDS IV. If installed into Windows 95, Windows
Explorer will experience intermittent error messages. Melco does not support the installation
of EDS IV into a computer running Windows 95. A Windows 98 Second Edition Upgrade
CD costs about $90.00 retail. A Windows 98 upgrade should be purchased and the Windows operating system upgraded. The Windows 98 Second Edition also is Y2K compliant
without upgrades. All versions of Windows 95 and Windows 98 first release are NOT fully
Y2K compliant without upgrades available from Microsoft.
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EDS IV Release Notes
•
EDS IV is designed to take advantage of the latest video technologies. For proper operation
the video resolution should be set to 1024X768 Hi Color. Not all video cards are capable of
this resolution. To test or check if the video card in a computer is capable of this resolution,
follow the steps below.
1. Click on START/SETTINGS/CONTROL PANEL
2. Double Click on the Icon DISPLAY and Click on the TAB SETTINGS
3. Your Display should look like the illustration below.
4. There will be a Slide under the "Screen Area" properties of the screen. Click and Drag it
to the 1024X768 resolution and see if the "Colors" stay at Hi Color. If the "Colors" change
to 256 when changing the resolution to the higher setting, then the video card in the computer does not support the 1024X768 resolution setting in Hi Color mode and will need to
be replaced to get proper operation of EDS IV.
•
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When the video resolution is set to 1024X768, items displayed on the screen become
smaller. On monitors smaller than 17", the display will become too small for most people. It
is highly recommended to replace the monitor if it is smaller than 17".
Melco Embroidery Systems
EDS IV Release Notes
EDS IV Installation
The EDS IV dongle must be attached to an available parallel port of the computer before installing
the EDS IV program. If an EDS III, EDS EZ, or AutoFont dongle is installed on the computer attach
the EDS IV dongle to the back of the existing dongles. Failure to do so may cause these programs
to not operate correctly. If a Digitizing Assistant dongle is included with your EDS IV package attach
it to the back of the EDS IV dongle. The general rule of thumb for stacking dongles is to connect
the newest to oldest, with the oldest connected to the computer.
To install the EDS IV software insert the EDS IV disc into your CD ROM drive. The Setup program
should start automatically. If the Setup program does not start automatically, click on START/RUN
and type D:\SETUP (where D: is the drive letter of the CD ROM drive) and click on OK.
The EDS IV installation asks several questions during the installation. It will ask if you want to copy
the Lettering Styles from EDS III to EDS IV, and if you want to copy EDS III Alphabets to EDS IV. If
you have created Lettering Styles in EDS III, answer yes to this question. EDS IV is shipped with 80
alphabets. If you have purchased extra alphabets for your EDS III software, answer yes when asked
to copy the EDS III alphabets. If you have not purchased any extra alphabets, answer no. The copying process also insures the serial number is correct for the EDS IV dongle and re-serializes them to
the EDS IV dongle.
Installing and Configuring ENS with EDS III
EDS IV uses Melco ENS (Embroidery Networking Software) to communicate and send designs to
Melco embroidery machines. If EDS III is installed on the same computer, ENS will install using the
Melco Network Board and/or the Ethernet networking board setup of EDS III. If the computer does
not have EDS III installed on it, then ENS will need to be configured. Please refer to the ENS Manual
shipped with the EDS IV software. EDS III will use ENS for networking if it is configured correctly.
ONLY EDS III version 3.5 will work with ENS. To insure 100% networking compatibility, Melco has
decided to ship EDS III version 3.5 with all EDS IV orders upgrading from EDS III to EDS IV. The EDS
III version 3.5 software must be installed prior to installing EDS IV and configuring ENS. The first
release of EDS IV CD's will not configure EDS III to work with ENS automatically. Follow the steps
below to configure EDS III to work with ENS properly.
1. Click on START,RUN and type EDS III.INI into the Open line and click on OK.
2. The EDS III.INI file will open in the Notepad Program in Windows.
3. Page down in the file to the end or bottom of the file. Make a new entry in the file that
looks identical to:
[ENS]
PATH=C:\PROGRA~1\MELCOE~1\EMBROI~1
4. Once the entry above has been made, click on FILE/EXIT and answer yes to save it.
5. Click on START/PROGRAMS/MELCO APPS/CONFIG. This will open the EDS III Configuration
program.
6. Click on the HARDWARE button and in the EDS III Advanced Configuration Options Window, disable Starlan and Ethernet by clicking their enables and turning off the check mark
next to them. The EDS III Advanced Configuration Options Window should look similar to
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EDS IV Release Notes
the illustration below. Click OK, and OK again in the Main Configuration Window to close
and save the changes..
Note: Refer to the Known Problems area of this document for other issues concerning the installation of ENS with Windows 98.
General Notes
When EDS IV is installed on a computer where EDS III is installed, the installation process will
remove the EDS III non-DOS floppy driver. When EDS III is run an error message will appear stating
that "SYDEXFDD.EXE is not loaded", click on OK and EDS III will open. The end result of this is that
EDS III's non-DOS floppy support, or Import/Export functions will not be functional. All OPEN or
DOS functions from the hard drive, floppy drive, and CD ROM drive will operate normally. All nonDOS floppy operations should be done from within EDS IV.
Any EDS III OFM file that is read into EDS IV and then saved by EDS IV will make that file unreadable by EDS III (much like Word 6.0 converts older doc files into Word 6.0 format). EDS IV users
who use the Auto Save feature should be aware that when a file is automatically saved
the original file, not a temporary file, will be overwritten. If the original file needs to be preserved for use by EDS III, use the SAVE AS Feature of EDS IV when saving the file and save it as a
different name. EDS III users may wish to back up their EDS III OFM files prior to using EDS IV and
use the copied or backed up files with EDS III when desired. Melco Condensed or CND files created
with EDS IV will work fine in EDS III version 2.10B or higher. CND files created with EDS IV contain
complex commands that not all version of EDS software from Melco will understand. EDS II and
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Melco Embroidery Systems
EDS IV Release Notes
early versions of EDS III will not read a CND file created with EDS IV properly. Expanded or EXP files
created with EDS IV are compatible with ALL versions of Melco Software.
EDS IV, like many other high performance programs, is a memory intensive application. It is highly
recommended that the Windows swap file be set as large as possible for best EDS IV performance.
The default settings of the Virtual Memory Setting in Windows insures that the largest Windows
swap file is used. It is recommended to use the default settings. Problems may be encountered
should EDS IV run out of available memory. In addition, it is recommended that there be as much
free RAM as possible. Even though a computer may have 128MB RAM installed it may not have the
maximum RAM available if numerous other programs are loaded when Windows is started. When
you are working with large designs or with lettering, it is also recommended that you have only one
project open at a time.
Known Problems
The Embroidery Network System (ENS) version 1.01, which is included on the EDS IV CD, is not
compatible with Windows NT and Windows 2000. ENS should be run only on Windows 98. A separate dongle for ENS version 1.01 is not required.
Windows 98 installs a Dial Up Adapter even if there is not a modem in the computer. When there is
not a modem in the computer, and it has a Dial Up Adapter installed in Windows 98, ENS may not
work properly. To fix this problem, delete the Dial Up Adapter from the Networking Configuration
in Control Panel. Follow the steps below.
1. Click on START/SETTINGS/CONTROL PANEL.
2. In the Control Panel double click on NETWORK
3. Click on Dialup Adapter listed in the Network Window so it highlights and then click on
REMOVE. If Windows 98 asks to restart, do so. If Windows 98 does not ask to restart, close
the Networking Window and click on START/RESTART and then click on OK.
Some computers report an error when an attempt is made to start the EDS IV help system. This
error, which refers to a newer version of the file NNCTRL.ocx being needed, can be fixed by running
the Hhupd.exe utility in your EDS IV directory. Hhupd.exe is a Microsoft distributable file that will
update a computer's HTML help system. To run Hhupd.exe follow the steps below.
1. Click on START/PROGRAMS/WINDOWS EXPLORER
2. Click on the folder Program Files and then click on the folder Melco Embroidery System,
then click on the folder EDS IV so it opens.
3. In the right hand window of Explorer, double click on the file Hhupd.exe. The Explorer window should look similar to the illustration on the following page.
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EDS IV Release Notes
Alphabets created with Autofont work correctly with EDS IV but Autofont is not capable of copying
the alphabet file to the EDS IV Alphabets folder. If the computer has EDS III and EDS IV installed in it,
then let Autofont create the alphabet and put it in the C:\EDS III\ALPHA folder. The alphabet it creates can then be copied using Windows Explorer to the C:\Program Files\Melco Embroidery Systems\EDS IV\Alphabets folder. If the computer has only EDS IV installed on it, Autofont will default to
save the alphabet to the C:\Autofont folder. Copy the file from the C:\Autofont folder to C:\Program
Files\Melco Embroidery Systems\EDS IV\Alphabets folder. Alphabets created with Autofont require
the Autofont Dongle to be programmed to the same serial number as the EDS III and/or the EDS IV
Dongle.
Note: For information on how to copy files with Windows Explorer, click on START/HELP. The Windows 98 Help System will open. In the CONTENTS Tab, click on EXPLORING YOUR COMPUTER/FILES AND FOLDERS/MANAGING FILES/COPY A FILE OR FOLDER.
For small lettering jobs, Auto Density may adjust the density such that it is too loose. Should you
experience this condition, turn off Auto Density and manually select a density.
When using the Oesco Block CP closest point alphabet with multiline text jobs, the third line of text
will sometimes have extraneous stitches. The selection of a different alphabet will provide a
workaround.
Wireframe points and lines are not visible when the selected background color is gray (RGB value of
128, 128, 128). Should this occur, try selecting a different background color.
When an EDS IV ofm file is open, it may not be previewed from the File Open dialog box.
Do not run EDS III and EDS IV at the same time. They will both try to use ENS to communicate to
Melco Embroidery machines and could cause unpredictable behavior.
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Melco Embroidery Systems
EDS IV Release Notes
Some computers have shown a tendency to lose communications with the floppy drive when performing Import and Export operations. Should this occur communications can be restored by terminating the EDS IV application and then re-entering the EDS IV application.
Currently EDS IV Lettering Styles is just for reading and writing files compatible with EDS III. It therefore does not allow the user to save lettering preferences for new things like secondary underlay and
Zigzag stitches. Lettering Styles does not update the underlay type combo box correctly in all cases.
Also the fill type is not updated correctly when styles are read in and out.
Lettering Note
In addition to being able to change the spacing between letters through the lettering properties tab
(mentioned in the help system and User’s Guide), you may also change spacing on individual letters.
1. Create a lettering job (please refer to help system or User’s Guide for instructions if needed).
2. Select the lettering by left clicking on it (there will be an box around the lettering with eight
square handles showing that it is selected).
3. Hold down the <Shift> key, left click on a letter, drag it the desired distance.
Note: This type of spacing will not be displayed on the lettering properties tab.
Custom Factory Files
This note applies to users that have previously installed EDS IV, created decorative stitches and/or pattern fills and are now re-installing EDS IV.
A new menu item has been added under the Custom Menu. This new menu item is Insert Custom
File. Open Windows Explorer by right clicking on your Start Menu, browse to your EDS IV directory. In
your EDS IV directory you will have a CustomFactory.cff file that contains any decorative stitches and
pattern fills that you have created. To keep these decorative stitches, you will need to copy the CustomFactory.cff file and paste it into another directory other than EDS IV (Temp directory for example).
Now re-install EDS IV. The new install will overwrite the existing CustomFacotory.cff file. After the
install is complete, open EDS IV. Click on File Menu, New. Click Custom Menu, Insert Custom File.
Browse to the location that you previously pasted the .cff file into (Temp directory). Once you have
selected it, click Open. This will merge the two .cff files.
Color Palette Drag and Drop
The following applies to Windows NT/2000 only. The color palette works like the rest of the toolbars in
giving you the option of dragging and dropping (moving) the toolbar buttons (color boxes in the case
of the color palette). To do this, press the <Alt> key and left click on a color (once selected you may let
go of the <Alt> key), drag the color to the desired place on the bar and let go of the left mouse button. If you drag the selected toolbar (color box) outside of the toolbar (color palette) area, it is deleted.
Unlike the other toolbars, you may also copy by pressing the <Ctrl> key and left click a color box,
drag it to the desired place, let go.
The original “start drag customization” and “end drag customization” menu items are gone.
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EDS IV Release Notes
EDS IV ALPHABETS
2 Color Full Block
3 Letter Circle
3 Letter Diamond
3 Letter Octagon
3 Letter Point
3 Letter Seal
4” Greek Tackle Twill
50 State Outline
Animals
Astra
Athletic Block
Athletic Fill #2
Athletic Flair
Bean Block
Block
Border Block
Brody Script
Brush Script
Casual Flair
Chain Alphabet
Children’s Block
Children’s Board 1
Children’s Board 2
Chivalry Block
Custom Hebrew
Custom Script
Cut Block
Cut Block Outline
Diane Script
End Scroll
Fishtail 2
Floral Block
Freehand Script
Full Block
Full Block Outline
Greek Block
Hebrew Block
Hector Block
Holiday BD SS
J. R. Block
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Minimum Sewing Size
Maximum Sewing Size
1.00"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
0.20"
0.50"
4.00"
1.00"
1.50"
0.50"
0.25"
1.00"
0.30"
0.16"
0.30"
0.50"
0.35"
0.50"
0.25"
1.00"
0.50"
2.00"
2.00"
0.75"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
0.35"
0.50"
0.50"
2.00"
0.25"
0.30"
0.75"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
1.50"
0.25"
3.00"
5.00"
7.00"
6.00"
6.00"
4.00"
4.00"
6.00"
6.00"
2.00"
3.00"
6.00"
1.50"
0.30"
2.00"
2.50"
4.00"
3.00"
3.00"
6.00"
2.00"
3.00"
3.00"
2.00"
2.00"
3.00"
3.00"
3.00"
4.00"
10.50"
2.00"
4.00"
4.00"
6.00"
4.00"
3.50"
3.00"
4.00"
6.00"
2.00"
Melco Embroidery Systems
EDS IV Release Notes
EDS IV ALPHABETS
Juliette Script
Knit Block
Legende Script
Mascot 1 SS
Mascot 2 SS
Mascot 3 SS
Mascot 4 SS
Mascot 5 SS
Melanie Script
Melco Block
Melco Borders #1
Melco Borders #2
Melco Script
Military Block
Modern Hebrew
Musical Symbols
Nautical Board 1
Nautical Board 3
Nautical Flags
OESCO Block
Olde English
Open Block
Oriental Script
Religious Symbols
Roman Block
Roman Script
Script
Special Occasions
Sports Symbols
Sports Symbols 2
Stencil Block
Tackle Twill 10”
Tackle Twill 2”
Tackle Twill 4”
Tackle Twill 6”
Tackle Twill 8”
Tall Block
Thin Block
Western Symbols
Zodiac Symbols
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Minimum Sewing Size
Maximum Sewing Size
0.50"
0.35"
0.50"
Varies per design
1.50"
1.50"
Varies per design
1.50"
0.75"
0.20"
0.50"
0.50"
0.20"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
1.25"
1.25"
0.50"
0.15"
0.30"
0.30"
0.50"
1.50"
0.50"
0.50"
0.50"
Varies per design
0.50"
1.25"
0.75"
10.00"
2.00"
4.00"
6.00"
8.00"
1.00"
0.50"
1.50"
1.50"
5.00"
2.00"
2.00"
6.00"
6.00"
6.00"
6.00"
6.00"
1.50"
0.75"
6.00"
6.00"
1.00"
4.00"
2.00"
3.00"
6.00"
6.00"
3.00"
1.75"
3.00"
2.25"
4.00"
6.00"
3.00"
4.00"
6.00"
Varies per design
6.00"
6.00"
2.00"
10.00"
2.00"
4.00"
6.00"
8.00"
6.00"
6.00"
4.00"
6.00"
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