FlightCheck offers you a valuable feature of allowing you to create custom forms. Many Service Bureaus require a form to be filled out that describes the job and FlightCheck makes doing this work a lot easier for you. To create a custom form select “New Form...” from the Forms menu, or press command+N, and a Form window will appear. (Note that you can bring the Form window in front of all other windows by pressing command+R).
Form Template
After your Form is complete and you select “Save Form...” from the File menu, you can check the Template box and the Form will be saved as a Template (all fields will be cleared when later opening this Form).
Place EPSF
FlightCheck allows you to place a preview of an existing EPSF image on the window thereby allowing you to set your typing fields in the appropriate positions. Select “Place EPSF...” from the Forms menu, or type command+E, and locate the desired file. Note that you can move a placed EPSF by holding down the option and command keys, then clicking on and dragging the picture to the desired location. Select “Undo Move” from the Edit menu if you change your mind.
When printing a form, you will be offered a checkbox where you can elect to omit the placed EPSF from printing which will allow you to use your preprinted forms.
Tools Palette
The Tools palette offers you several items you can use to edit your Form.
The arrow tool can be used to select specific fields. You can hold down the shift key to select multiple fields, or click and drag the arrow cursor to surround a group of fields to select them. Once a field has become selected, as evidenced by it being highlighted on the screen, you can then perform various operations on the field, such as Cut, Align, and so forth.
The ASCII or text tool can be used to create new editing fields.
You click and drag to create a new field, its height depending on the currently selected font and point size.
The variable field tool can also be used to create new editing fields. You click and drag to make a new field of any size. Note that you can obtain this tool at any time by holding down the option key.
The hand tool can be used to move fields.
Creating a New Field
Select either the ASCII or variable field tool, then simply click and drag to size the new field.
Resizing a Field
Select either the ASCII or variable field tool and when the cursor hovers over the bottom right corner of the rectangle, click and drag the corner to resize the field.
Deleting a Field
Select the arrow tool, click on the desired field to highlight it, then either hit the delete key, or select “Cut” from the Edit menu. If you change your mind you can select “Undo Delete Field” or, in the case of a Cut, you should select “Paste” from the Edit menu.
Align Felds
Select the arrow tool, click on the desired field, or hold down the shift key to click and select multiple fields, or click and drag to surround and select a group of fields, then choose the desired Align type on the Forms menu. If you change your mind, you can select “Undo Align Fields” from the Edit menu.
Text Font, Point Size, Style and Alignment
Using the ASCII tool, select the text characters you wish to edit, then choose the desired parameters from the Forms menu to change the font, point size, style or text alignment. Note that if no field is active at the time, the text attributes selected will become the default parameters to be applied to newly created fields.
Insert List
Using the ASCII tool, click within the field in which you would like to insert a list, then choose the desired list item from the Insert List pop-up menu. The data for the selected list item will be inserted into the current field at the blinking cursor position using the current font and point size.
Checking the “Tab Delimited” menu item will cause the inserted data to be separated by tabs instead of carriage returns.
Custom Form Templates
When creating a custom form template you can use “Insert Field” to create a special “magic field” so that whenever you check a document, and then open the template form, the designated fields will be automatically updated. For example, if you create a field and select “Fonts” from the Insert Field pop-up menu and save the custom form as a template, then in the future when you check a document you can find and open your custom template form and the field will be automatically filled in for you with the list of the document’s fonts.
Insert Page, Move to Page and Remove Page
You can insert a page into your Form, go to a specific page, or remove the current page from the Form by selecting the appropriate item on the Forms menu.
