Ask EQ! - January 2010
- Who are you?
- Error 42
- How do I open EQ5 projects in EQ6?
- How do I move EQ projects from my old computer to my new computer?
- How do I link Judy Martin STARS & SETS with EQ6?
- How can I print from EQ6 if my printer is hooked to another computer?
- Can I print a whole stencil border as a pantograph?
- Can I print a whole notecard?
Q: Just who are you Mr. Mouse?
Thank you for asking. I am the official EQ Mascot. I have held this position since a winter night in 1993 when Penny noticed me running across her desk and hired me on the spot. At that time the EQ headquarters was housed in the basement of the Neumann/McMorris residence. I had come in from the woods for a bit of warmth and to see if Penny had left lunch crumbs behind. She took me by surprise, we both screamed, then she invited me to join the technical support department of Sara, Andrea and Penny.
So my job is to collect questions from you and to answer them, at times with their help. Do you have a question? If so, send it to the Tech Support email address (techsupport@electricquilt.com). Subject: Ask EQ. I'll answer your question, and you may see it in one of my columns.
January 2010 note from EQ the Mouse: Happy New Year everyone! 2010 will be a special EQ year as we have many fun surprises planned for you. I adore surprises!
Q: What do I do about an error 42 when installing EQ6 on Vista or Windows 7?
This error 42 is Vista's way of asking you for more permission. Here's what to do:
Hold down SHIFT and right-click the red and white EQ6 icon on your computer desktop.
Choose Run As Administrator.
Choose to Allow this.
Now continue with the activation.
Q: I received EQ6 as a present. I already have EQ5. How can I open my EQ5 projects up in EQ6?
To open an EQ5 project in EQ6:
Please see page 107 in the EQ6 User Manual. You will, in step 4, navigate to C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > PJ5.
You will do step 6, choosing Previous EQ Versions. You will then see all your EQ5 projects listed.
To save an EQ5 project in EQ6, making it an EQ6 project:
Once the EQ5 project is open, you can save it in EQ6 so it will appear in your “Existing Projects” list in EQ6.
Close the Sketchbook if your project is open.
Please see page 109. Click Save > do step #4, 5 and 6. Note that your EQ5 project will be “Untitled,” so you’ll need to rename it when you save it in EQ6.
Once you save your EQ5 project in EQ6 you will have two files: Your original PJ5 file and your new PJ6 file.
IMPORTANT NOTE:
EQ5 projects are here: C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > PJ5
EQ6 projects are here: My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6
Note the difference: to find EQ5 projects you first click C drive, then find the My Documents folder on C drive.
To find EQ6 projects, you just click My Documents (this is a different My Documents folder, not on C drive).
Importing from other projects
Alternatively, from the EQ6 Library, you can import blocks, fabrics or layouts (unfilled blank layouts) from EQ4, EQ5 or EQ6 projects, and can import photos and embroidery from EQ5 or EQ6 projects. So it will be quick and easy to merge items from various projects as you work (something you can’t do in EQ5). If you want a completed quilt (filled with blocks, fabric etc.) you need to open the project file with FILE > Open, rather than importing from the Library.
Q: I got a new computer for Christmas. How do I get all the EQ projects I’ve saved on my old computer onto my new computer?
The EQ files you'll want to move should be in the same place on both computers:
PROJECTS:
- EQ5 project files will be here: C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > PJ5
- EQ6 project files will be here: My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6
BLOCKS & FABRICS SAVED IN LIBRARY:
- EQ5 User Library files will be in the same place: C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > USER
- EQ6 My Library files will also be in the same place: My Documents > My EQ6 > USER
[NOTE the difference -- to find EQ5 files first open C drive; to find EQ6 files go right to My Documents. (You have several different My Documents folders on your computer; EQ5 and EQ6 project files are in different My Documents folders.)
COPYING EQ5 PROJECTS from old computer to new computer.
1. Get on your old computer > go to My Computer > find the EQ5 PJ5 folder by going to C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > PJ5. Open the PJ5 folder and copy the projects.
2. Save them onto your thumb drive.
3 Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
4 Go to My Computer (Computer in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open that.
5 Copy the projects.
6 Navigate to C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > PJ5. Open the PJ5 folder and paste the copied projects.
COPYING EQ6 PROJECTS from old computer to new computer.
1. Get on your old computer > go to My Computer > find the EQ6 PJ5 folder by going to My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6. Open the PJ6 folder and copy the projects.
2. Save them onto your thumb drive.
3 Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
4 Go to My Computer (Computer in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open that.
5 Copy the projects.
6 Navigate to My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6. Open the PJ6 folder and paste the copied projects.
COPYING THE EQ5 USER LIBRARY from old computer to new computer
1. Get on your old computer > go to My Computer > find the EQ5 USER folder by going to C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > USER. Open the USER folder and copy the files inside.
2. Save them onto your thumb drive.
3 Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
4 Go to My Computer (Computer in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open that.
5 Copy the files.
6 Navigate to C drive > My Documents > My EQ5 > USER. Open the USER folder and paste the copied files.
COPYING EQ6 MY LIBRARY from old computer to new computer.
1. Get on your old computer > go to My Computer > find the EQ6 USER folder by going to My Documents > My EQ6 > USER. Open the USER folder and copy the projects.
2. Save them onto your thumb drive.
3 Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
4 Go to My Computer (Computer in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open that.
5 Copy the files.
6 Navigate to My Documents > My EQ6 > USER. Open the USER folder and paste the copied files.
If you have files you want to save from EQ4 and EQ3 the easiest thing to do would be to open those files, on your old computer, from inside EQ6. (See page 107 in the EQ6 User Manual and pay attention to step 6.)
You'll find the location of the EQ3 and EQ4 files listed in the "notes" at the bottom of page 107.
Once you have a project open in EQ6, then choose FILE > Save As to make it an EQ6 project file.
(See page 109 for Saving instructions, and be sure to note step 4, the "if necessary" note.)
Q: I got Judy Martin’s Stars & Sets for Christmas. How do I link everything to EQ6?
You can find linking instructions for all EQ products here on the EQ website. But here are specific steps for Stars & Sets.
LINKING JUDY MARTIN STARS & SETS BLOCKS
1 In EQ6 click Libraries.
2 Click Block Library.
3 Click the Link Library button.
4 Click the Add button.
5 Type Martin Blocks (or some name for the library, just remember what you call it).
6 Click the Browse button.
7 Navigate to find the Lib folder inside the Judy Martin folder. The default location for this product is: C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\Judy Martin\Lib\
8 Be sure to click on the Lib folder.
9 Click OK to close the Browse window. Then click OK to close the Add Library window. Click Close to close the Linked Libraries window.LINKING JUDY MARTIN STARS & SETS FABRICS
1 In EQ6 click Libraries.
2 Click Fabric Library.
3 Click the Link Library button.
4 Click the Add button.
5 Type Martin Fabrics (or some name for the library, just remember what you call it).
6 Click the Browse button.
7 Navigate to find the Lib folder inside the Judy Martin folder. The default location for this product is: C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\Judy Martin\Lib\
8 Be sure to click on the Lib folder.
9 Click OK to close the Browse window. Then click OK to close the Add Library window. Click Close to close the Linked Libraries window.JUDY MARTIN STARS & SETS LAYOUTS:
The layouts in Judy Martin Stars & Sets are not Library files, so they can't be linked. They are project files, so they can be opened.The default location for the files is C:\Program Files\Electric Quilt Company\Judy Martin\PJ5\
The projects are divided into folders. Open a folder. You will not see anything. In the file name box, type: *.wz3. Click open.
In the Files of Type box, below, choose "Previous EQ Versions."
You will now see the projects.
After you have opened the project in EQ6, it will still be a PJ5 (EQ5 project). You will need to close the Sketchbook > click FILE > Save as > navigate to My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6 > name the project, then click Save. It will now be an EQ6 project.
You can also save the individual layouts in the EQ6 Layout Library. To do so, you must first create a space (see page 143 in the EQ6 User Manual). Then you must save (see page 144).
Q: I have EQ6 on one computer, but my printer is hooked to another computer. How can I print?
Only EQ6 can open and print EQ6 files. So you don’t need to install EQ6 on your other computer. You can download and install a free PDF program (if you do not already have one). We use www.cutepdf.com.
Then, on your regular computer, choose the PDF program as your "printer." When you print it will create a PDF file rather than printing on a piece of paper. Take that PDF file to the computer hooked to the printer, and you'll be able to open the PDF file and print on paper.
Q: How can I print a whole border of quilting stencils, so I can use it as a pantograph?
If you want to print an entire border of 66", to use that size as an example, then you need to create a stencil block that contains all of the repeats that you want in one long block, and use that block to print from.
For example, you would go to the BLOCK worktable > click BLOCK > New Block > PatchDraw block > Applique tab.
Click VIEW > Precision bar (if not checked) to put the Precision bar at the top of your screen.
Make your block size the size of your border -- for example 6" x 66".Now either draw your stencil, or copy and paste your stencil design as many times as needed to create the long border strip you want. (See more copy/paste directions below.)
Then add this to your Sketchbook (it will look odd in the Sketchbook because it will be square), then set this into a plain border space (such as "Corner Blocks") on your quilt. The border will stretch to fit the space, and when you select the border and print it from Layer 3 choosing FILE > Print > Block > selecting Stencil as the style, you'll get a whole long strip.
COPYING AND PASTING:
To copy Block A to Block B:Get Block A on the worktable. (The block with the stencil you want to use.)
Click EDIT > Select all.
Click EDIT > Copy.
Get Block B on the worktable. (To do so: click View Sketchbook, double-click on your block in the Sketchbook.) Block B should be the block that you will make 66" x whatever width you want.
Click EDIT > Paste. Block A will paste down on Block B. Block A will be selected so you can move the resize it on Block B.Then, on Block B, copy that stencil that you made the perfect size. Paste the copy next to it, move it into place, then Paste another copy, and so on, until you have pasted and moved all that you want to fit onto this block, and they all fit perfectly as you want them to.
Q: Can I print a whole notecard?
The easiest way to do this is as a screen print. Display the notecard > hold down your keyboard ALT key as you press your Print Screen key.
Now open a Word document and choose Edit > Paste to paste down the copied screen print of your notecard. You can then move and resize this notecard copy on the page and print from Word.
Do you have a question? Send it to Ask the Mouse (techsupport@electricquilt.com).