Ask EQ! - May 2008
Technical questions answered this month by EQ the Mouse
Q: Just who are you Mr. Mouse?
A: 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. Subject: Ask EQ. I'll answer your question, and you may see it in one of my columns.
May 2008 note from EQ the Mouse: I try to pick
out the questions that would be of most help or interest to the most readers.
This month I've gotten several questions about how to take files from
an "old" computer to a "new" computer, so I'll
start with that...
Q: How do I move all my EQ5 and EQ6 files from my old computer
to my new computer with my thumb drive?
A: I love thumb drives, because they're so much easier than CDs for me to carry. But I digress. The EQ files you'll want to move are probably 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:
- Get on your old computer and find the EQ5 PJ5
folder by going to My Computer > C drive > My Documents > My
EQ5 > PJ5.
Open the PJ5 folder and copy the projects.
- Save them onto your
thumb drive.
- Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
- Go to My Computer (Computer
in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open
that.
- Copy the projects.
- 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:
- Get on your old computer and find
the EQ6 PJ6 folder by going to My Documents > My EQ6 > PJ6.
Open the PJ6 folder and copy the projects.
- Save them onto
your thumb drive.
- Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
- Go to My Computer (Computer
in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open
that.
- Copy the projects.
- 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:
- Get on your old computer and find the EQ5 USER
folder by going to My Computer > C drive > My Documents > My
EQ5 > USER.
Open the USER folder and copy the files inside.
- Save them
onto your thumb drive.
- Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
- Go to My Computer (Computer
in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open
that.
- Copy the files.
- 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:
- Get on your old computer and find the USER folder by going
to My Documents > My EQ6 > USER. Open the USER folder and copy
the files.
- Save them onto your
thumb drive.
- Take the thumb drive to your new computer.
- Go to My Computer (Computer
in Vista), and find the letter drive that is your thumb drive and open
that.
- Copy the files.
- Navigate to My Documents > My EQ6 > USER. Open
the USER folder and paste the copied files.
EQ3 and EQ4 projects:
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 resave it, which will make it an EQ6 project file. See
page 109 for Saving instructions,
and be sure to note step 4, the "if necessary" note.
Then, once you have saved it as an EQ6 project, use the directions above
(Copying EQ6 projects from old computer to new computer) to move a copy of
them.
Q: Why are my printed lines around the blocks and on the
quilt so very light? In FILE > Preferences, I changed the Printing
line size in pixels from 1 to 4 and I do not see any difference.
A: This one stumped me, so I asked Andrea who has just finished editing
the “EQ6 Applique Drawing” book by Angie Padilla. Take it,
Andrea!
Andrea writes: Have you thought about using the Spray Thread tool on the
quilt (set to black and with a thicker line)? Check out page 205 of the
EQ6 User Manual.
Q: How do I design a Lone Star quilt with 7 or 8 diamonds per row.
The Lone Star in the Layout Library has fewer diamonds.
A: If the Lone
Stars in the Layout Library do not give you enough options, try creating a block
with a grid (for my example, one with 6 squares
across and 6 squares down), and setting that into your star points.
- Get the first star layout from the Layout Library > Basics by Style
> Stars category. It's a simple 8 pointed star.
- Click WORKTABLE > Work on
Block. Click BLOCK > New Block > EasyDraw. Draw a grid with the number
of rows that you want -- perhaps draw a 6 x
6 grid. If you do not know how to do this, please see page 228 in the EQ6
User Manual. If you have EQ5, page 89 in the EQ5 Design Cookbook. (****Be
sure, if you want 7 rows, or 8 rows, that you change the number of Snap
units by going to BLOCK > Drawing Board Setup. You need to be sure your
grid number can be evenly divided into your Snap unit number.)
- Color all squares
in the grid white, then click Add to Sketchbook.
- Click WORKTABLE > Work on Quilt. On Layer 1 click the Set Block tool.
Now set the block in each of the star points individually. (Do not use
CTRL+click because you do not want the grid in *all* areas of your quilt
-- only in each star point.) NOTE for EQ5 users only: Click the arrow beneath
the block to get your white coloring before you try to set the block. (You
will not be able to see the change, because it will still look white.)
- Now you can color. When you want to print the pattern, click the Select
tool, click FILE > Print, choose the printing style you want, then be sure
the "Use size from quilt" box is checked, rather than typing
in a size. "Size from quilt" will give you the block the size it actually
is on the quilt -- therefore it will be a diamond shape, rather than a
square.
Q: How can I print a page full of hexagons to use as papers for English
paper piecing?
A: A page full of templates like this always reminds me of Swiss
cheese. Here's how to make it:
- In EQ6 or EQ5 click the Select tool and click
to select a hexagon on your quilt.
- Click FILE > Print > Block.
- Under Block Size, make sure "Use size from quilt" is selected.
- Under Printing Style, select "Outline drawing."
- Click the Options tab.
- Click to uncheck "Print block name" if it is checked.
- Click to check "Print as many as fit."
- Click Print.
Q: How many blocks are in the EQ6 Block Library? I've looked for
the number and can't find it.
A: There are:
1 Classic Pieced – 1001
2 Contemporary Pieced – 593
3 Foundation Pieced – 748
4 Classic Appliqué – 298
5 Contemporary Appliqué – 554
6 Motifs – 384
7 Quilting Stencils – 243
8 Overlaid Blocks – 97
9 Border Blocks – 404
That makes a total of 4322 designs. And now, pardon me if I refresh myself
with a bite of cheese?
Do you have a question? Send it to Ask
the Mouse.
