Contents

Common Ground MiniViewer Online Help

Contents

What is Common Ground?

Using this Common Ground MiniViewer

How to save time and reduce costs using Common Ground

Twenty-five ways to use Common Ground

Distributing Common Ground

Common Ground product line

Common Ground resellers

How to contact No Hands Software

To see help on a topic, click on it.

For information on using Help, choose How to Use Help from the Help menu.

Call No Hands Software today for information on our latest promotion.


Using This Common Ground MiniViewer

Document navigation

Printing a Common Ground document

Print Setup

Menus

Keyboard shortcuts


How to Save Time and Reduce Costs
How to Save Time and Reduce Costs Using Common Ground

Today’s world revolves around information.  The timely dissemination of information is critical to the success of almost every organization and individual.  Now, you’re probably producing most of your information electronically on a PC and printing to paper, then distributing the paper via the mail (internal or federal) or a courier.  This process is relatively slow and expensive.

With Common Ground, you can send any document electronically and have it arrive instantly to one person or thousands.  Electronic distribution is simpler and saves on printing, paper, and transport costs.  Your recipients can conveniently print on demand.  They see the document exactly as you intended with all graphics, fonts, formatting and color intact.  This is true no matter what computer platform, applications, or fonts your recipients are using.

There are other advantages to distributing electronic documents.  Recipients can reuse the text and graphics (only if you let them), and tools such as searching and thumbnails help them navigate around the document to locate important information quickly.

Since your recipients won’t be printing everything you send, you reduce the consumption of a valuable resource--paper.  So when you use Common Ground, you not only become more efficient, but you do something good for the environment.


Twenty-Five Ways to Use Common Ground

Here are some of the ways that others are using Common Ground to improve their efficiency.  These are just meant to get the wheels turning for you.  If you have any questions, we encourage you to contact us.  (See How to Contact No Hands Software.)

1.	E-mail users can enclose a Common Ground document in a message, and be certain the recipient will be able to view and print without worrying about their computer platform, applications or fonts.

2.	Internet and other on-line service users can send documents to another continent and have them arrive instantly with all graphics, fonts, formatting, and color intact.

3.	Marketing can distribute fully formatted materials to the sales force, confident that the "corporate identity" will be preserved.

4.	Organizations can publish information organization wide (e.g., press releases, reports, phone lists, human resource manuals, etc.).

5.	Project managers can distribute status or performance reports with Gantt charts, spreadsheets, charts and graphs, improving the effectiveness of their communication.

6.	Marketers can make their presentations portable--print them to DigitalPaper, then carry the resulting Common Ground file on a floppy, confident that they can give the presentation on any PC without worry as to whether the application or fonts are present.

7.	Documentation groups can distribute drafts of manuals for review.

8.	Anyone can send a letter on their own distinctive letterhead to anyone else.

9.	Legal can send contracts with boilerplate that can be copied and pasted into other documents for re-use.

10.	Finance can distribute management reports to the rest of the organization, without worry as to who is using which version of which spreadsheet on which platforms.

11.	Publishers can now distribute their newsletters electronically and have them arrive faster with the layout, pictures, and graphs preserved.

12.	Graphic artists can distribute to clients comps or final documents that can be viewed, printed and faxed as an exact representation of original.

13.	Job seekers can send or post their resumes electronically.

14.	Organizations can send or post their sales and promotional materials electronically, opening a new distribution channel.

15.	Sales reps can fax a form created by MarComm in QuarkXpress or PageMaker, saving them from purchasing or pirating these applications.

16.	Technical support can post fully formatted files on an electronic bulletin board, with assurance that anyone can view and print them.

17.	Companies can archive their documents in Common Ground knowing that they can be searched, retrieved and used by anyone in the organization.

18.	Publishers can distribute information with copying and printing disabled to limit undesirable dissemination of valuable information.

19.	Telecommuters can exchange formatted documents with the office, knowing the look of their work will be preserved.

20.	Engineers can deliver CAD drawings electronically for review or final approval.

21.	CD-ROM publishers can distribute their documentation in Common Ground, saving money and improving their time to market.

22.	Human resources can post employee handbooks, new job listings, and organizational charts for all employees to browse and print on demand.

23.	Customer service can take product collateral created on a Macintosh in FrameMaker, convert it to Common Ground, and embed it in a database where any customer service rep using a Windows PC could access it quickly when talking to a customer (i.e., Common Ground is an OLE 2.0 server)

24.	Lotus Notes users can easily convert documents created outside of Notes to Common Ground and embed them in a Notes database.  Other Notes users will be able to immediately search, retrieve, view, and print those documents, which appear exactly as they did when created.  The complete text of the Common Ground documents will be indexed automatically and can be searched by the Notes full text search engine.

25. 	You can share any formatted document with anyone else with complete confidence they will be able to view and print an identical copy to your original, without worrying about what computer platform, applications or fonts are at the other end.


Common Ground Product Line

Common Ground

Common Ground, available for both Macintosh and Windows, consists of a Common Ground Maker, a Common Ground Viewer and a Common Ground MiniViewer.  The Common Ground Maker allows you to create Common Ground documents.  It also includes both a Common Ground Viewer and a Common Ground MiniViewer.

Anyone who wishes to create Common Ground documents will want to purchase Common Ground.

Common Ground is available from the listed resellers.  (See Common Ground Resellers.)    Contact No Hands Software for information on volume purchases, corporate licenses and publishing licenses.

Common Ground MiniViewer

The Common Ground MiniViewer, available for both Macintosh and Windows, allows recipients to view and print Common Ground documents.  It includes some basic navigation features such as next page, previous page and go to a specific page.  You can embed the MiniViewer inside a Common Ground document so that it can be opened by double-clicking, or you can send a copy of the stand-alone version of the MiniViewer along with your document.

The Common Ground MiniViewer is useful for distributing information when your recipients only need to be able to view, print, and have basic navigation capabilities.

The  Common Ground MiniViewer license allows you to freely distribute the Common Ground MiniViewer for non-commercial purposes.  If you wish to distribute the Common Ground MiniViewer for commercial purposes, contact No Hands Software.

Common Ground Viewer

The Common Ground Viewer has all the features of the Common Ground MiniViewer, plus several other advanced features:

It allows you to search for text within a document.

Documents can be magnified or reduced.

Text and graphics can be copied from a Common Ground document and pasted  into another application to be reused.

The Common Ground Viewer is useful for distributing information to a group who want to be able to quickly search the document or to copy text and graphics for reuse in other applications.

The Common Ground Viewer can also be licensed from No Hands Software.  If you wish to distribute the Common Ground Viewer with your documents, contact No Hands Software for licensing information.

These are our current products as of February 16, 1994.  In the future, No Hands will be introducing more products, releasing Common Ground on other platforms, and upgrading Common Ground for Windows and Macintosh.  Contact No Hands Software for current product information.


Common Ground Resellers

NATIONAL RETAIL STORES

Egghead Software (260 locations)

800-EGGHEAD	(800-344-4323)

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  821405

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  875666

CompUSA (75 locations)

800-451-7638

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  206734

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  264635

Computer City SuperCenters (40 locations)

817-390-3000 (for nearest location)

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  76-10863

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  76-11209

Software Etc. (350 locations)

800-328-4646  (for nearest location)

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  664204

NATIONAL MAIL ORDER CATALOGS

Mac Connection

800-800-2222	FAX 603-446-7791

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  8890

PC Connection

800-800-0005

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  14840

Mac Warehouse

800-255-6227	FAX 908-905-9279

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  GRA 0388

(PC)MicroWarehouse

800-367-7080	FAX 908-905-5245

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  UT4313

RESELLERS PLEASE CONTACT:

Ingram Micro

800-456-8000

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  218106

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  218108

Kenfil Distributing

800-74KENFIL  (800-745-3634)

Common Ground for Macintosh	Part number:  NHS11-80CX

Common Ground for Windows 	Part number:  NHS11-95

International Distributors

Austria

Target Distribution

Vorarlberger

Wirtschaftpark

Goetzis A-6840

Phone:  5523-54871

Fax:  5523-54873

Australia

Mitsui Computer Ltd.

14 Aquatic Drive

Frenchs Forest

NSW 2086

Phone:  452-0452

Fax:  452-0481

Belgium

Plus Products

Begoniastraat 17

B-9810 Nazareth

Phone:  091-85-58-00

Fax:091-85-60-16

France

Aware

21, rue Olivier Metra

75020 Paris

Phone:  (1) 46 36 46 47

Fax: (1) 46 36 82 54

Germany

Softline GmbH

Renchener Strasse 3

D-77704 Oberkirch

Phone: (07802) 924-0

Fax: (07802) 924-240

Italy

Pisoft

Via Cheisino, 8

56025 Pontedera

Phone:  0587 213640

Fax:  0587 213645

Japan

Software.too

Tango 33 Blgd.3F

3-25-11 Higashi

Shibuya, Tokyo, 150

Phone:  3797-5778

Fax:  3797-5799

Netherlands

Signal B.V.

Caïrostraat 51

3047 BB Rotterdam

Phone:  10-2081600

Fax:10-4157667


What is Common Ground
What is Common Ground?

Common Ground lets you easily convert any document from any Windows application to an exact representation that can be viewed and printed by anyone, regardless of their applications, computer platform, or fonts.

You can distribute Common Ground documents to others, confident that recipients will be able to view and print them as an exact representation of the original.

No Hands Software sells both Windows and Macintosh versions of Common Ground.  Common Ground makes it possible to view Macintosh documents within Windows and Windows documents on a Macintosh, provided you have the Common Ground Viewer or MiniViewer (described below).

Components of Common Ground

The Common Ground software consists of three parts:

1  The Maker

Creates a Common Ground version of your application document.

2  The Viewer

Lets anyone read, search, copy from, and print Common Ground documents.

3  The MiniViewer

Lets anyone read and print Common Ground documents.  Can be embedded within a document and freely distributed for non-commercial purposes.

The Common Ground Maker

From within any Windows-based application, you can create a Common Ground version of any document using the Common Ground Maker.

The Maker is actually a set of Windows printer drivers, one for standard applications and one for PostScript applications.  Either driver creates a copy of your document in Common Ground format, then prints it to a disk file.  The resulting document can then be read using either the Common Ground Viewer or MiniViewer.

The Common Ground MiniViewer

The MiniViewer supports document viewing, printing, and simple document navigation.

Embedded MiniViewer

The creator of a Common Ground document can embed the MiniViewer in the document at the time it is created.

A document with an embedded MiniViewer has a filename with an .exe extension to show that it is "self-launching".  When the document is opened, the MiniViewer starts up automatically and displays the document.

Stand-alone MiniViewer

The MiniViewer can also be distributed freely for non-commercial use as a stand-alone application.  In this form, it can be installed as an icon in a Windows program group.

You can open a Common Ground document from the stand-alone MiniViewer using the standard Open command on the File menu.

The Common Ground Viewer

The Viewer is a software tool for viewing, manipulating, and printing Common Ground documents.  It has all the features of the MiniViewer.  In addition,  it allows you to:

Search for text in a document

View a document one page or many pages at a time

View multiple documents at one time

View the document at a range from 25% to 400% of normal size

Copy text and graphics from a document to the Windows Clipboard

Save as into other file formats

For information on upgrading from the Common Ground MiniViewer to the Common Ground Viewer, choose the Information command from the Upgrade menu.


Document Navigation

Navigation is the process of moving around in a Common Ground document, either on a single page, or from page to page in a multiple-page document.

Navigating Within a Single Page

You may use any (or all) of the methods listed below.

Scroll Bars

Use the scroll bars to move the current page up and down or from side to side.

NOTE:  The vertical scroll bar does not move from page to page.  It operates only on the currently displayed page.

Keyboard

>  The up and down arrow keys move the current page in the specified direction in small increments.

>  The PgUp and PgDn keys move the current page in the specified direction in larger increments.

>  HOME and END move to the beginning and end of the page.

Navigating From Page to Page

To move from one page to another in a document, you must use the commands on the Page menu (or their keyboard shortcuts).

Command	      Shortcut	            What it Does

First	CTRL+HOME	Displays the first page

Previous	CTRL+PgUp	Displays the previous page

Next	CTRL+PgDn	Displays the next page

Last	CTRL+END	Displays the last page

Go to...	Displays the page you specify


Printing a Common Ground Document

When  a document is displayed in the MiniViewer window, you can print it to your local printer or to a disk file.

NOTE: If the document was created with print privileges disabled, the Print command will be dimmed and the document cannot be printed.

To print a Common Ground document:

1.	Choose Print from the File menu.  The Print dialog box opens.

2.	The active printer is listed at the top of the dialog box.  If you want to change it, do so in Print Setup.  See Print Setup.

NOTE:  If Common Ground Maker is the active printer, you must select a different printer in order to print the document.

3.	Select a print range option.  If you select Pages, enter the first and last page numbers in the "From" and "To" boxes.

4.	Select the desired print quality.

Click on the down arrow to see a list of choices.  They will vary, depending on which printer is active.

5.	Select other options, if desired, by clicking in the appropriate checkboxes.

Print to File prints the document to a disk file.  Common Ground prompts for a filename.

Print Text as Graphic may improve printing under some conditions.  (See the note below.)

Collate Copies prints all pages in sequential order for multiple copies.

6.	Enter the number of copies desired in the Copies box.

7.	Choose the OK button.

NOTE on Print Text as Graphic:

When you print a document, Common Ground converts the text to soft fonts, which it downloads to your printer.  This conversion causes the document to print faster.

However, for some documents that contain numerous fonts, or for some printers, this conversion can slow printing, distort the characters, or overflow the printer's memory resources.

If your document prints too slowly, if the fonts in the printed document don't look quite right, or if your printer misbehaves while printing, select the Print command again and check this box.  It will prevent the conversion of characters from text to soft fonts and ensure a faithful printed copy.


Print Setup

Print Setup lets you specify the active printer, paper orientation and size, and access additional setup options via the Options button.

There are two ways to get to Print Setup.

1.	Click on the Setup button (if present) in the Print dialog box.  OR,

2.	Choose Print Setup from the File menu.

Print Setup Dialog Box

Printer

The default printer is the one that is automatically selected when you first open this dialog box.  You set the default printer (and change the setting) in the Printers Control Panel  in the Windows Program Manager.

To temporarily change to a different printer, select the Specific Printer option button.  Click on the down arrow to see a list of printer options, then select one.  This selection remains in effect until you change it or leave the Common Ground program.

NOTE:  You cannot select the Common Ground Maker as your printer while in the Common Ground program.  Doing so will give you an error message.

Orientation

This setting allows you to specify how the document text will be oriented on the page.

Portrait is the standard vertical orientation, in which the page is longer than it is wide when the text is upright.

Landscape is the horizontal orientation, in which the page is wider than it is long when the text is upright.

Paper Size and Source

Set your paper size and source to match the size and source in your printer.  Available choices vary with the active printer.  Click on the down arrow to see the choices.

Options

Choose the Options button to open the Options dialog box.  In it, you can choose settings that ensure your Common Ground document will print as desired.  In general, they control various aspects of the print quality (intensity, grayscale, etc.).

The exact appearance of the Options dialog box and the settings available vary from printer to printer.  The active printer will determine which settings are available.

See also

Printing a Common Ground Document


Menus

File Menu

Open...

Document Info...

Print...

Print Setup...

Exit

Page Menu

First

Previous

Next

Last

Go to...

Upgrade Menu

Information...

Help Menu

Contents...

Search for Help on...

How to use Help

About Common Ground...


Print Command
Print Command   (File Menu)

Prints the open Common Ground document to a printer or disk file.

Keyboard shortcut:	CTRL+P

Print is dimmed if:

No document is open, OR

The open document was created with print privileges disabled.  (The creator specified that printing was not to be allowed.)

When you choose Print, the Print dialog box opens.  You can choose to print all pages or just specified pages.

If Common Ground Maker is listed as the active printer, you must choose the Setup button and select a different printer to print the document.

See also

Printing a Common Ground document

Print Setup


Print Setup Command
Print Setup Command  (File Menu)

Lets you specify the active printer, as well as select paper orientation, size, and source.  Also gives you access to other setup options via the Options button.

Since different printers have different capabilities, the exact contents of the Print Setup dialog box will vary with the printer selection.

See also

Print Setup

Printing a Common Ground document


Exit Command
Exit Command  (File Menu)

Closes the Common Ground document that is open and exits from the program.

Keyboard shortcut:	ALT+F4


First Page Command
First Command  (Page Menu)

Goes to the first page of the displayed document.

Keyboard shortcut:	CTRL+HOME

If you are viewing the first page of the document, First is dimmed.


Previous Page Command
Previous Command  (Page Menu)

Goes to the previous page of the displayed document.

Keyboard shortcut :	CTRL+PgUp

If you are viewing the first page of a document, Previous is dimmed.


Next Page Command
Next Command  (Page Menu)

Goes to the next page of the displayed document.

Keyboard shortcut:	CTRL+PgDn

If the document has only one page, or if you are viewing the last page, Next is dimmed.


Last Page Command
Last Command	  (Page Menu)

Goes to the last page of the displayed document.

Keyboard shortcut:	CTRL+END

If the document has only one page, or of you are viewing the last page, Last is dimmed.


Go to page Command
Go to Command  (Page Menu)

Opens a dialog box in which you specify the number of the page to display.

If the document has only one page, Go to is dimmed.


Information Command
Information Command (Upgrade Menu)

Displays a window containing information on contacting No Hands Software to upgrade the Common Ground MiniViewer to the complete Common Ground Viewer, or to license the Common Ground MiniViewer or the complete Common Ground Viewer.


Contents Command
Contents Command  (Help Menu)

Displays a list of the main topics in the Common Ground online Help system.  To display the Help for any topic, click on that topic.

Keyboard shortcut:	F1


Search for Help on Command
Search for Help on Command  (Help Menu)

A short-cut to the Search button within the online Help system.  Search lets you locate help on a word or phrase.

When you choose Search for Help on, the Search dialog box opens.

To search for Help on your topic:

1.	Type a word or phrase in the top box, or select one from the list.

Notice as you type that the list scrolls to show any words and phrases that start with the word(s) you typed.

2.	Choose the Show topics button.

Any Help topics keyed to the word(s) you selected in the upper list box are displayed in the lower list box.

3.	Select the desired Help topic from the lower list box.

4.	Choose the Go To button to display the selected Help topic.


How to Use Help Command
How to Use Help Command  (Help Menu)

This command takes you into a tutorial on how to use the online Help system.

The tutorial includes information on:

The different parts and features of the Help system

How to move around in Help

How to search for Help on your topic


About Common Ground Command
About Common Ground Command  (Help Menu)

This command displays a window containing some basic information about the Common Ground MiniViewer software.

The information displayed includes:

Product name

Version Number

Copyright date

Company Name


Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use key combinations to quickly execute certain commands on the menus or to scroll through a multiple-page Common Ground document.

To	Press

Print the open document	CTRL+P

Exit Common Ground	ALT+F4

Go to the first page of a document	CTRL+HOME

Go to the previous page	CTRL+PgUp

Go to the next page	CTRL+PgDn

Go to the last page	CTRL+END

Display Contents for the Help system	F1


How to Contact No Hands Software

No Hands Software, Inc.

1301 Shoreway Road, #220

Belmont, CA  94002  USA

In the USA:  (800) 598-3821

Main:	   (415) 802-5800

Fax:	   (415) 593-6868


Open Command
Open Command  (File Menu)

Starts the Open Dialog which allows you to choose a Common Ground document to view.

Keyboard Shortcut:	CTRL+O

The Open dialog provides you with the ability to navigate through your drives and directories and list the documents in them by type.  You can only have one document open at a time in the MiniViewer.


Document Info Command
Document Info (File Menu)

Displays information about the Common Ground document you are currently viewing.

Keyboard Shortcut:	CTRL+I

If no document is open, Document Info is dimmed.

The Document Information dialog box is divided into two sections:

1 Info	Basic information about the document

2 Security	Information about which security options, if any, are in effect

NOTE: The security options are more fine scale than what the Windows Common Ground Maker offers in order to support Macinstosh security features.


Distributing Common Ground

You can distribute Common Ground documents easily to business associates, customers, and friends for non-commercial use.  In addition, you can freely distribute the Common Ground MiniViewer that allows the recipient to view a Common Ground document.

If you want to distribute the MiniViewer or the complete Viewer for commercial purposes, contact No Hands Software.

Distributing Common Ground Documents

Once a Common Ground version of a document has been created, it becomes a file with either a  .dp filename extension or an  .exe filename extension.  (Files with an embedded MiniViewer have an .exe extension.  NOTE:  Macintosh users cannot open these files by double-clicking.  However, they can open these files using the Macintosh Viewer.)

You can send a Common Ground file via electronic mail, post it to a bulletin board, or simply copy it to a disk to be mailed or hand carried.

To read it, the recipient needs only a computer running Windows or a Macintosh (for the Macintosh version of Common Ground).  If they have the Common Ground Viewer, they can  open, read, manipulate, and print your document.

If they don't have Common Ground, you can embed the MiniViewer in the document itself.  The document thus becomes "self-launching".  Opening it automatically starts up the MiniViewer with the document inside it.

Distributing the Common Ground MiniViewer

Although the Common Ground Maker and Viewer must be purchased, the Common Ground MiniViewer can be freely distributed to anyone for non-commercial use.  The Windows MiniViewer can be used only on Windows systems.  For Macintosh recipients, do not embed the MiniViewer.  They must use the Macintosh Viewer or MiniViewer.

There are two ways to distribute the MiniViewer:

1.	Send the MiniViewer file (cgminivw.exe) to someone electronically, or copy it to a floppy disk and give it to the recipient.  OR,

2.	Send a Common Ground file with the MiniViewer embedded within it.  You can embed the  MiniViewer in the document as part of the creation process.

For information on distributing the MiniViewer or complete Viewer for commercial purposes, contact No Hands Software.