The cover sheet Editor
The Zetafax cover sheet Editor allows you to create and edit a cover sheet in a single window. It works in a similar way to desktop publishing applications, so many of its features should be familiar to most users.
The cover sheet Editor allows you to import image files, such as a company logo, position and resize them, and overlay text and field objects. In addition, you can add boxes and lines to further enhance the presentation.
Foreground and background files
Zetafax cover sheets consist of two files: a foreground file which contains text which is different for each fax (such as the name and organization), and a background file, containing fixed information such as the company logo. The background file is optional, and can be omitted if all the fixed information is contained in the foreground file.
When you save the changes you make to your cover sheet design, the cover sheet Editor creates two separate files. The foreground is stored and is given an extension of .EPN. The background is a graphics file, with extension .G3F for fine mode faxing, or .G3N for standard mode.
Running the cover sheet Editor
To run the cover sheet Editor: Launch the Zetafax client program (Start menu, Programs submenu, Zetafax submenu). On the Tools menu, click cover sheet Editor .
Zetafax users must be assigned administrator privileges in order to create cover sheets. Refer to User edit - permissions for more information.
Alternatively, the network administrator can launch the cover sheet Editor using the cover sheets and Letterheads option in the Zetafax Configuration program, ZFSETUP.
1.Launch the Zetafax Configuration program (Start menu, Programs submenu, Zetafax submenu).
2.In the left pane, double-click the Zetafax folder, and then click cover sheets.
3.On the Action menu, click Add.
When you first run the cover sheet Editor you are prompted whether you wish to create a new cover sheet or open an existing cover sheet. The installation process installs some example cover sheets. The simplest way of creating a custom cover sheet is to modify one of the examples, and to replace the background with your company logo or letterhead.
Creating a new cover sheet
To create a new cover sheet from within the cover sheet Editor:
1.On the Zetafax Tools menu, click cover sheet editor .
2.You will then be prompted to select one of the installed cover sheet templates. Ensure New blank cover sheet is selected. Click OK .
The cover sheet Editor window will be displayed, showing the new cover sheet as a blank page.
Creating the background file
The first stage in creating a new Zetafax cover sheet is to create the cover sheet background file. This will make it easier to insert foreground objects later.
The cover sheet background file is similar to a company letterhead. It is stored as a TIFF FAX format graphics file, and contains the fixed part of the cover sheet, like a company logo and address of the sender.
As background files are an optional component of the Zetafax cover sheet, you can skip this section if you do not wish to use a background file, and go straight to the section Creating the foreground file.
To edit the background file:
•On the View menu, click Edit Background.
When you switch to editing the background file, any foreground objects you have already inserted will appear grayed and you will be unable to select or change them.
When editing the background file, you can insert bitmap images as well as cut, move, or resize areas of the graphics file.
Inserting bitmaps
To insert a bitmap:
•On the Insert menu, click Bitmap… .
You will be prompted for the file to insert.
You may insert a Windows bitmap file (.BMP) or any Zetafax format TIFF files (.G3N or .G3F).
•Browse to the file you wish to insert and click Open.
The mouse cursor will change to a + cross-hair to allow you to position the image.
•If you want a 3D shadow or watermark effect, click the Effects menu item of your choice.
•Drag the selected bitmap to the required position.
Note: If you attempt to insert a color bitmap file, the cover sheet Editor will try to dither the colors to gray scales. For best results you should convert color bitmap images to gray scale bitmap images prior to importing them into the cover sheet Editor.
To edit the foreground file:
•On the View menu click Edit Foreground.
Note: When you open the cover sheet Editor, you will initially be in edit foreground mode.
When you switch to editing the foreground file, any background objects such as bitmap images you have already inserted will appear grayed and you will be unable to select or change them.
Foreground objects are used for the variable information which is different for each fax sent, such as the name and organization of the recipient. The cover sheet Editor also includes other objects such as text lines and boxes as foreground objects. When using the cover sheet Editor, foreground objects appear as 'floating' objects above the background TIFF image.
When you save changes to your cover sheet design, these objects are saved in the foreground file.
To insert a Text, Field, Line or Box object:
•On the Insert menu, click Text , Field… , Line , or Box.
Alternatively, you may insert an object using the toolbar or the pop-up menu which is displayed on a right-hand mouse click.
Note: The bitmap object may only be used while editing the background file. If you are currently editing the foreground file and select Bitmap , the cover sheet Editor will prompt you whether you wish to switch to editing the background file.
The following sections describe object insertion in more detail.
Inserting text
To insert text:
•On the Insert menu, click Text.
•Click the position on the page at which you want the text.
•Type the text.
•If you want to insert a further line of text aligned below the first, press the Enter key and type the text.
•If you want to reposition any item, click on the text and drag the shaded outline box to the new position.
Formatting text
The first time you insert text using the insert text command, the cover sheet Editor uses the 12pt Arial typeface. To change the typeface you use or the appearance of the typeface used in text and field objects:
•Click the object you want to format.
•On the Format menu, click Font.
•Make the required changes.
•Click the OK button.
The cover sheet Editor will remember and use the new typeface and style you have selected for subsequent text and field objects.
Inserting a field
To insert a field:
•On the Insert menu, click Field.
The cover sheet Editor displays a tabbed dialog to allow you to select from the available fields.
•Click the tab corresponding to the type of field you wish to insert.
•Click the type of field you wish to insert.
•Click OK. Click the position on the page at which you want the field.
The Note field behaves slightly differently from the other fields and is described separately below.
You may change the formatting and style of cover sheet fields. If you choose to format a cover sheet field using a non-standard typeface, you must ensure that this typeface is installed on the Zetafax Server computer which is responsible for generating the cover sheet.
Aligning text
cover sheet field objects appear in blue text in the cover sheet Editor and they will normally appear alongside some descriptive text you have already inserted. When a fax is actually sent the field text will be replaced with real values which are meaningless unless they are qualified with such descriptive text.
For example, the field Full Name (Recipient tab) will be replaced by the name of the addressee as entered in the Zetafax client. It is advisable to use descriptive text such as the word "To" in order to identify the recipient clearly on the cover sheet.
To make this task simpler, the cover sheet Editor allows you to select multiple cover sheet fields and align them along one of their borders.
To align fields:
•Click a foreground text field.
•Hold down the Shift key and click one or more additional fields.
The fields you have selected will appear with a dotted line as a border.
•Drag the selected fields to reposition them on the page.
Once you have positioned the fields:
•On the Format menu, click Align and then the menu item of your choice.
Note fields
A cover sheet Notebox field (Other tab) is a special type of field used to insert cover sheet notes which may span several lines of cover sheet text.
Once you have placed the field, you can select one of the edges and drag it to resize the box. The box may be as large or as small as you like; however as a typical cover sheet note may contain up to 10 lines or more of message text, it may be sensible to be as generous as possible.
Inserting lines and boxes
The Zetafax cover sheet Editor allows you to insert lines and boxes to make the appearance of your cover sheet more professional. You may wish to insert a line to separate cover sheet text from your company address details, or insert a box to enclose the sender's or recipient's contact details.
To insert a line or box:
•On the Insert menu, click Line or Box .
The mouse cursor changes to a + cross hair to allow you to select a position for the object.
•Drag on the page to specify the start and end positions of the object.
Formatting drawing objects
To further enhance the look of your cover sheet design, you can modify the appearance of a drawing object:
•Click the object you wish to modify.
•Resize or reposition the object by dragging one of its edges.
To change the object's properties:
•On the Format menu, click Properties… .
•In the properties dialog that appears make any changes you require.
•Click OK.
Further features
Like most desktop publishing or word processing applications, the cover sheet Editor lets you change the view of the working area. This is controlled by the View menu:
•To display the page at 1:1, click 1:1.
•To display the page in the full window width, click Fit to Width.
•To display the whole page in the window, click Whole Page .
The cover sheet Editor is capable of supporting several different page sizes. A4, US Letter, and US Legal page sizes may be selected from the Page setup command (File menu). In addition, custom page sizes may also be specified.
To set a specific page size as the default page size for all new cover sheets:
•On the File menu, click Page Setup.
•Check the Set as default check box.
By default, the cover sheet Editor uses inches as the units of measurement. When the mouse cursor is positioned over the working area, the exact (X,Y) location is displayed in the status bar. You can change the units of measurement to centimeters or pixels by clicking Settings (Options menu).