Thank you for downloading Microsoft VML Generator!
Microsoft VML Generator allows the creation and modification of vector-based Web pages. The code generated is based on the Vector Markup Language (VML) used in Microsoft Office 2000.
Its visual and interactive editor permits both the authoring of generic VML Web pages and the modification of Microsoft Office 2000-generated VML pages in a flexible and efficient way.
Running the Microsoft VML Generator
Description of the User Interface
Refreshing the Internet Explorer 5.0 Preview Pane
Customizing the Microsoft VML Generator
· 166 MHz Pentium or later
· 1 MB of available hard-disk space
· Windows NT4 Service Pack 4 or later, Windows 2000 or Windows 9x
· Internet Explorer 5.0 or later
· 800x600 or higher resolution
1. Run Setup.exe. The installation wizard will guide you through setup.
2.
If prompted, choose Run this program from its current
location.
Do not choose Save file to disk because setup will fail.
Click the VML Generator icon on the Programs menu.
The following screenshot shows the main components of the VML Generator user interface.
|
|
Open a text-based file (HTML, TXT, etc.) |
|
|
Save the text from the current edit pane to HTML or XML. |
|
|
Cut the selected text from the edit pane. |
|
|
Copy the selected text from the edit pane. |
|
|
Paste the text from the Clipboard to the edit pane. |
|
|
Undo manual editing only. Does not work after a refresh. |
|
|
Select all the text from the edit pane. You can then copy, cut, or delete it. |
|
|
Clear/delete all the text from the edit pane and restore the VML header data required for rendering. |
|
|
Refresh the Microsoft Internet Explorer preview pane. Required after each manual editing. |
|
|
Display program version and copyrights information. |
|
|
Quit Microsoft VML Generator. |
|
|
VML Elements. Clicking one of them brings up all the attributes associated with an element. |
|
|
By clicking an element (i.e. Textpath), all its attributes are displayed. |
|
|
The Attribute Data box allows the user to define custom data instead of using predefined data. The data must be entered before clicking an attribute button. |
|
|
Add the custom data to the Attribute Data box for future use. |
|
|
Copy the data from the Attribute Data box. |
|
|
Insert (paste) the data from the Attribute Data box into the edit pane. The data is placed at the location of the pointer. This is particularly useful if the user wants to change attribute values without having to delete the whole attribute. Tip Use Find to locate the data you need to change. |
|
|
Enable custom data. If User-defined is selected, the text in the combo box will be used each time an attribute button is clicked. Be sure to uncheck it when finished using a value. |
|
|
Choose a predefined vector-based shape. |
|
|
To save time, allows an element to be inserted or deleted automatically from all the shapes. |
1. Select Rectangle from the Shape Types (templates) box located at the bottom of the VML pane.
2.
Click the Fill element, located at the top of the VML
pane (this brings up all the fill attributes).
3.
Click TAG to insert the Fill tag (<v:fill
/> should appear in the edit pane).
4. Select the Gradient attribute, located in the Type box of the VML pane.
The following rectangle should appear in the preview pane
Note The attribute data can be customized by selecting User-defined and typing text in the Attribute Data box. The next time you click an attribute button, the text you type will provide the attribute data.
Important Elements or attributes will be inserted wherever the pointer is located. However, the pointer will be positioned automatically for the following cases:
· After inserting a shape type
· After inserting a tag
· After inserting an attribute
1. Select Oval from the Shape Types (templates) box located at the bottom of the VML Pane.
2. Select User-defined for the Attribute Data box.
3. Type “yellow” in the Attribute Data box.
4.
Click the Fill element, located at the top of the VML
pane (this brings up all the fill attributes).
5.
Click TAG to insert the fill tag (<v:fill
/> should appear in the edit pane).
6. Click the Color button.
The following oval should appear in the preview pane.
You can find any string by typing it in the Find box, as illustrated below where the string "90" has been typed. Once the text is found, it becomes highlighted and you can click Find Next to move on to the next appearance of "90".
Note If the query is successful, your string will be added to the Find box for later use.
The preview pane is refreshed automatically when you use any object from the VML pane.
However, if you type or paste some text, then you must click Refresh
You can save the current document of the edit pane in the following formats:
· HTML
· XML
· User-defined text extension
You can open any text-based file for editing, for instance, a Microsoft Office 2000-generated HTML document.
When you open a file, VML Generator switches automatically to the From File view, which allows you to work manually with VML.
Important: Opening a file overwrites any previously opened file in the From File view of the edit pane.
This feature allows the user to apply an element (for example, Stroke) to more than one shape at once.
1. In the Auto Edit box, type an element with as many attributes as you need.
2. To insert (add) the element, click Insert.
If the element already exists, it will be removed and the new one will be added in its place.
<v:fill color2="red" type="gradient"/>, for example, adds this specific fill effect to every shape.
3. To remove (delete) the element, click Remove.
<v:fill deletes all Fill elements from every shape.
Note VML syntax requires attributes to be separated by one or more spaces.
Also, make sure that there is a space between the element and its first attribute. For instance, <v:shadow on=”true”/> would work unpredictably. In order to comply with Vector Markup Language (VML) syntax, <v:shadow on=”true”/> must be used.
All the UI tags and attributes (buttons, static groups and combo boxes) are built based on the INI file--VMLSpec.ini-- at run-time. Therefore, if the VML language is updated, all you need to do is change the appropriate VML section in this file.
For instance, if the fill Color attribute needs to be changed to FillColor, then do the following:
1. From the folder where you installed the VML Generator, open VMLSpec.ini in Notepad.
2. Locate the fill section [FILL].
3.
Replace IDC_FILL_3=Color with IDC_FILL_3=FillColor.
(Do not change IDC_FILL_3, but only the text to the right of
the equal sign.)
4. Save the file.
5. Click the Fill button for the update to take effect.
You now see FillColor where Color used to appear, and clicking the button inserts FillColor as the attribute name.
Important Do not alter the other INI file: "VMLCtrlID.ini".
The following steps show how to modify the rectangle shape.
1. From the folder where you installed the VML Generator, open Rectangle.htm in Notepad.
2. Modify the text.
3. Save (overwrite) the file with the same name: “Rectangle.htm”.
The next time you use the rectangle shape template, the values used will be the ones you just saved.
If you don’t want VML Generator to automatically generate VML for you and you need only the functionality of Notepad, you can still use VML Generator. Here is how you do it:
1. Select the vertical splitter.
2. Drag it to the left completely to hide all the VML elements and attributes.
3. Use the edit pane as you would use Notepad. But now you have more editing capabilities as well as a preview:
The following VML elements are not
represented in the user interface but can be inserted manually in the edit
pane:
Shape <v:shape>
Formulas <v:formulas>
Path <v:path>
Textbox <v:textbox>