Meanders' Annotator for Microsoft Office

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Contents

1. INTRODUCTION
2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
3. SETUP AND CONFIGURATION
4. USER'S GUIDE
5. GETTING HELP
6. WHAT IS NEW IN THIS VERSION
7. KNOWN PROBLEMS OR LIMITATIONS
6. REGISTERING THE SOFTWARE
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1. INTRODUCTION

Welcome! You have chosen a powerful utility that works with Microsoft Office to allow you many new options. It lets you write directly in Microsoft Office (97/2000/XP/2003) documents with its intuitive ink and handwriting support. There are many things you can do, such as:

- Review, comment on documents, draw and annotate tables, charts, diagrams, etc directly with your handwriting inside Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel and Microsoft PowerPoint.

- Write and sign handwritten messages inside Microsoft Outlook when using Microsoft Word as your e-mail editor.

- Write anything in any language. Sign a document with a personal touch.

- Write difficult illustrations with ease, such as musical symbols, molecular formula or structural formula in chemistry, complex mathematical notations or equations, electrical and electronic circuits and so on.

- Fill forms and questionnaires quickly inside Microsoft Word with digital ink.

- Take notes intuitively and smoothly for a meeting. Alternate typing and handwriting at your will. Share the notes with others in native Office file formats without compatibility problems.

- Comment directly on Microsoft Excel worksheets when reviewing data and charts.

- Prepare handwritten Microsoft PowerPoint slides for clearer and faster illustration.

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2. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

In order to run the Annotator Pack, your system must meet these specifications:

- An IBM PC or compatible that meets the minimum hardware requirements for your version of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office.

- Microsoft Windows 9x/Me/NT/2000/XP is installed and configured on your system.

- Microsoft Office 97/2000/XP/2003 is installed and configured on your system.

- A mouse or other pointing device. A tablet with pressure-sensitive pen is strongly recommended.

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3. SETUP AND CONFIGURATION

3.1 Installation Instructions

The installation requires the latest version of Windows Installer(MSI). It is the latest Microsoft installation technology and already integrated in Windows Me/2000/XP but also available as upgrade for Win 9x/NT. Newer programs such as Microsoft Office 2000 automatically install Windows Installer so you may already have it installed. This installation package therefore does not include them in order to save the distribution size. If they are not installed on your machine, you can find and download the latest version from Microsoft.

- <Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows 95, 98, and Me>
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/release.asp?ReleaseID=32831

- <Windows Installer 2.0 Redistributable for Windows NT 4.0 and 2000>
  http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?displaylang=en&FamilyID=4B6140F9-2D36-4977-8FA1-6F8A0F5DCA8F

The Annotator Pack installation program ANNOTATE.MSI is a standard Windows Installer package (.msi) file. To install the product, perform the following steps:

1. Double click on the ANNOTATE.MSI file.

2. Follow the instructions given by the setup wizard for proper installation of the product.

3.2 Uninstall Instructions
If after installing the Annotator Pack, you find it necessary to remove the software from your computer, perform the following steps:

1. Go to the Windows Control Panel.

2. Open the Add/Remove Programs applet from Control Panel.

3. Select "Meanders Annotator for Microsoft Office" from the list of applications that can be uninstalled by Windows.

4. Click on the Remove button and follow instructions.

5. Click Yes or OK to confirm that you want to remove the program.

6. Click OK when the removal is completed.

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4. USER'S GUIDE

4.1 Start and Stop Ink Session

After successful installation, when opening Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint, you will notice a new toolbar with two buttons.

The first button is to turn on/off the Annotator, the second button "Undo" will undo a previous ink stroke and activate the next ink stroke that can be undo. (Note: this behavior is temporal and will be replaced by a more intuitive undo action.)

Clicking on "Ink On" will start a writing session, and the toolbar becomes

You can stop the writing session by pressing "Ink Off".

4.2 Floating Panel

After "Ink On" is pressed, a floating panel will appear as

Profile

The name of the active user profile is displayed on the caption of the panel.

Pen

This is used to select a pre-defined pen from a dropdown list.

Highlighter

This is used to select a pre-defined highlighter from a dropdown list.

Width

This is used to adjust the width of ink from a dropdown list.

Color

This is used to adjust the color of ink from a dropdown list.

Profiles

This is used to create new user profiles or maintain existing user profiles.

About

This will display the About information of the Annotator.

4.3 Use Floating Panel to Change and Define Ink Properties

Clicking on those buttons with dropdown arrows of the floating panel will expand more choices, as illustrated below. You can select them to change ink properties at runtime during writing, or pre-define ink properties and customize your own panel. All customizations can be conveniently saved to a user profile.

Pen

Important: Whenever there is double click arrow , you can double click on such an item (not the arrow itself but the control besides it) to edit its associated value. For example, besides the list box indicates that you can edit the friendly name of the pen that you will see from the dropdown menu by double clicking inside the list box. Similarly, near the color box indicates that you can select a new color through activating the color selection dialog box by double clicking inside the color box.

Highlighter

Width

Color

Profiles

About

4.4 Writing with Ink

The active pen or highlighter will be reflected from your cursor inside Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint. You can start writing freely.

Pen Mode

Highlighter Mode

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5. GETTING HELP

Meanders Software and author of this software is committed to providing reliable, high-quality products that are easy to use. If you have any problem installing or using this product, we want to know about it!
You can contact Meanders Software by mail or from web for fast response.
For news, updates and FAQs, check out

- http://asia.geocities.com/contact_meander

For technical support

- Email: contact_meander@yahoo.com

In any communication with us regarding a problem with the product, please clearly state the following:

- The product name and version number.

- Your name, address, e-mail address and telephone number.

- Your hardware and software configuration.

- A description of the problem, and what you were trying to do when the problem occurred.

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6. WHAT IS NEW IN THIS VERSION

v1.0.0 This is the first public release.

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7. KNOWN PROBLEMS OR LIMITATIONS

- Pressure-sensitive drawing is not supported yet.

- There is a loop problem with Microsoft Excel if you try to switch to another worksheet when the ink is turn on.

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8. REGISTERING THE SOFTWARE
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This product and its associated files are part of an evaluation package copyrighted by Meanders Software. This software must be registered if it is used beyond the 15 day evaluation period.

If you find it useful, please register. Registering will remove all the reminder screens, give you support for queries and problems, update notices about enhancement and the ability for us to keep the enhancement coming.

- Single-User License $25

- Multi-User License Open for negotiation

Please visit http://asia.geocities.com/contact_meander for the latest information on registration and pricing. The multi-user license entitles the licensed organization to install multiple copies of the software.

You need provide us information required by the registration, i.e. Name and Serial and you will receive Unlock Code subsequently. The Unlock Code immediately removes all registration reminder screens.

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If you have any suggestion or queries, please reach us at contact_meander@yahoo.com. Thank you!

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