FlightCheck Main Window

Main Window
The FlightCheck Main window contains six category buttons which
you can use to reveal all the details of the current document.

Application Link Button
The Application Link button will display the name and version number of the application which created the document. If the application location is unknown, as evidenced by the Application Link button data being displayed in red, or a red “X” appears to the left of the button, then FlightCheck will be unable to employ certain advanced functions.

Selecting the Application
The first step you will need to take is to locate and select the application that created the document. This is done by either single-clicking the Application Link button, or by selecting “Locate Application...” from the FlightCheck® menu.

FlightCheck will display a list of all possible applications that might have created the document. Select the appropriate application version by clicking once on its name to highlight it, then click the “Select” button. FlightCheck will then be able to update the display of the Application Link button, as well as other related areas such as the Printer Type and Print Info boxes on the Main window.

Applications Locations
As you work with various types of documents, FlightCheck will remember the locations of your major applications such as QuarkXPress, PageMaker, FreeHand, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc., and will automatically select them for you whenever you open a document created by one of them.

It is important to keep in mind that the application version you used to create a document should be the same as the one you intend to use to print the document. For this reason, if you are going to a Service Bureau, it is always advised you own a copy of the same application they will be using, otherwise the output may not be quite what you expect. However, it is sometimes acceptable to use a different minor revision number of an application (generally recognized as the second digit). For example, an application version of 1.02 might be equivalent with regards to the printing output to a version 1.01, whereas the application versions 1.0 and a 1.1 (their first digits differ) might be totally different with respect to the way text is flowed, and the varying preferences for each version of the application might also affect printing.

Launching the Document
Once an application has been located, you can thereafter launch it at any time by single-clicking the Application Link button, or by selecting “Launch Document...” from the FlightCheck® menu.

At this time you can also select the “Launch document” checkbox to send along a request to the application to open the current document.

You may work on the current document inside its application as desired, but keep in mind that any changes you make to the “live” document will only be in memory and therefore FlightCheck will be incapable of recognizing your changes to the document. However, once you save the document and then return back to FlightCheck, the document file will be rescanned in order to update all the data to the document’s currently saved state.

Printer Type Button
The Printer Type button will display the name of the Printer that has been selected according to the document’s internal Print record. This name is commonly the same as the PPD chosen from the application’s Page Setup window. When the Printer Type name appears in red, then either the application could not be located or the specific Printing device could not be found.

To obtain more detailed information about the Printer Type simply click
on the button.

The Printer Type Info window will appear giving you additional data regarding the output device.

This information includes the resolution, paper size, data format, halftone screen, paper offset, paper width, page gap and halftone angles (if known).

The 6 Category Buttons
You can click any one of the six category buttons at any time to expand the window to reveal details regarding the category.
	
Reclick the button to collapse the window and close up the category.

Resizing a List
You can resize the lists for the colors, fonts or images categories by dragging the area’s grow box  at the right side of the window. The entire window can be resized by dragging the grow box at the window’s bottom right corner, or by clicking the zoom box at the upper right corner, in which case all categories will be automatically adjusted in size.

Show/Hide Detailed Usage
You can hide the details of the status and usage icons for the colors, fonts and images categories by selecting “Hide Detailed Usage” from the Views menu, or by pressing command+Y. Reselect the menu item to again show the details.