LED Wizard 8 Documentation


Intro to LED Wizard 8 Docs
Getting Started
System Requirements
Installation
Screen Layout
LED Wizard Basics
Basic Workflow
Operating Modes
Defaults and Preferences
New in Version 8
Data Clean Up Tool
Module Filtering
LED Wizard Fonts
LED Wizard 8 Database
Population Scaling Tool
Graphical Population Scaling
Auto Stats and Title Block Merging
Auto Power Supply Loading
Auto Dimensioning
Single Run Populations
Create Guide Paths from Open Vector Paths
Freehand Drawing Tool
Power Supply Colors
New Auto Power Supply Loading Options
Multiple Document Interface
Power Supply Rotation
Population Library
Core Series Flexible Mode
Creating LED Module Layouts
Using the PowerFlow Tool
Creating and Editing LED Modules
Scaling LED Graphics
Working with Guidepaths
Working with Selections
Editing Existing Selections
Cabinet Layouts
Parallel Layouts
Module Rotations
Reusing Module Layouts
Target Density
LED Property Bar
Using Power Supplies
Using Title Blocks
Multiple Module Title Blocks
Title Block Variables
Using Guidelines
Copy and Paste
Importing Files
From Adobe Illustrator
From Corel Draw
From AutoCAD
Exporting Files
Editing Text
Zooming
Vector Editing
Loop Editing
Tools, Tabs and Property Bars
PowerFlow
PowerFlow Tool
PowerFlow Property Bar
PowerFlow Tab
PowerFlow Tool Keyboard Shortcuts
Semi-Automatic Populations
Layout Tool
Data Clean Up Tool
Auto Mounting Holes Tool
Assign Letters Tool
Scale Tab
Summary Tab
PS Tab
Objects Tab
Layers Tab
History Tab
Job Tab
Text Edit Tool
Vector Edit Tool
Keys for Vector Editing
Loop Edit Tool
On Screen Digitizing Tool
Object Property Bar
Group Property Bar
Guideline Property Bar
Measure Tool Property Bar
Bitmap Property Bar
LED Object Property Bar
Job Color Property Bar
Menu Reference
File Menu
New
Open
Open Recent
Save
Save As
Save Copy As
Close
Snapshots Menu
Import
Scan
Export
Export Scaled PDF
Email PDF
Email
Print
Exit
Edit Menu
Undo
Redo
Cut
Copy
Paste
Paste Special
Paste in Place
Delete
Duplicate
Select All
Vector/Node Tools
Vector - Insert
Vector - To Line
Vector - To Arc
Vector - To Bezier
Vector - Break Loop
Vector - Set St/End Point
Vector - Join St/End Point
Vector - Move Opening
Vector - Add Vertical Guide
Vector - Add Horizontal Guide
Reorder Loops
Unexplode Vector Paths
Purge Undo/History
Document Properties
View Menu
Zoom commands
Toolbox menu
Custom Toolbars
Refresh
Show Fill Colors
Show Stroke Colors
Show Grid
Show Guidelines
Show Rulers
Show Loop Direction
Show Job Color Palette
Show Side Bar
Show Info Bar
Show Help Bar
Show Group Member Names
Highlight Small Vectors
Transparent Background
Reset Toolbar Layout
Layout Menu
Layers
Guides commands
Shapes commands
Rounded Rectangle
Polygon
Arrow
Layout Properties
Size to Fit
Show Layout Size
Snap to Grid
Snap to Guidelines
Snap Dimensions to Graphics
Selectable Guidelines
Auto Square
Create Auto Dimensions
Arrange Menu
Align Tools
Distribute Tools
Group Tools
Locked
Editable
Select Only by Edge Click
Allow Options
Break Into Loops
Break Into Outer Loops
Combine
Close All Loops
Remove All Inner Loops
Horizontal Mirror
Vertical Mirror
Z Order Tools
Move to Layer
To Top
To Bottom
Move One Up
Move One Down
Text Menu
Text Tool
Break Apart
Live Spell Checking
Convert to Text
Change Copy
Change Case Tools
Font Wizard
Font Layout
Vertical
Add Variable Text
Edit Variable Text
Remove Variable Text
Image Menu
Vectorize
Crop Tool
Rasterize
Rotate +/- 90 Degrees
Flip Horizontal/Vertical
Invert
Commit Rotation
1:1 Zoom
Save (Image) As
Cut at Max Length
Reorder Tubes
Power Supply Template Setup
Multi Excel Update
LED Menu
PowerFlow LED Tool
Assign Letters
Statistics Menu
Update Statistics
Update Grouped Statistics
Recreate Statistics
Respace Stats
Uniformly Respace Stats
Merge Title Block Template
Remove Title Block
This Document is a Title Block
Optimized Title Block Text
Create Module Hole Layer
Create Router Layer
Auto Mounting Holes Tool
Update Vector Guidepaths
Remove Vector Guidepaths
Create Guide Paths from Open Vector Paths
Recreate with Bezier Curves
Rasterize-Vectorize Filter
Remove LED Modules
Populate Menu
Populate
Populate All
Repopulate
Populate Along Guide
Populate Stroke Inline
Populate Single Horizontal Serif
Paste Selected Runs
Insert Parallel Guide Line
Add to Population Library
Respace Selected Runs
Auto Respace
Auto Join
Filtering Enabled
Calculate Stroke Width at Cursor
Modify Menu
Select All Modules in Run
Select All Modules in Letter
Select Stroke
Add Run to Selection
Rotate Menu
Reset Primary Rotation Angle
Reset Secondary Rotation Angle
Alternate Rotations
Rotate 90 degrees
Rotate 45 degrees
Rotate 45 degrees - Alternating
Rotate Counter-Clockwise (Left)
Rotate Clockwise (Right)
Flip Primary Rotation Angle
Flip Secondary Rotation Angle
Convert to Perpendicular Alternate Rotated
Density Menu
Increase Density
Increase Density For Entire Run
Decrease Density
Decrease Density For Entire Run
Uniform Spacing
Uniform Spacing For Entire Run
Add / Remove Density Segment
Show Density Segments
Clear All Density Segments
Append Module
Insert Single Module
Mirror Horizontal
Mirror Vertical
Fill To Cursor
Break Run
Move Opening
Convert To Line
Shift Menu
Shift Inward
Shift Outward
Slide Backward
Slide Forward
Slide to Max Spacing
Reconnect Runs
Center in Stroke
Center in Stroke w/Cleaning
Mouse Menu
Nudge
Nudge Faster
Delete Current Run
Delete Module(s)
Delete Module(s) and Break
Delete All Modules in Current Letter
Delete Modules in All Letters
Remove Overlapping Modules
PowerFlow Measure Mode
Ensure Reachability
Change All Modules
PS Menu
Power Supply Edit Mode
Add Selection Rectangle Modules to Power Supply
Connect Run to Power Supply
Remove Run from Power Supply
Add New Power Supply
Remove Power Supply
Add One Power Supply per Letter
Add One Power Supply per Letter (Auto Select PS)
Add One Power Supply for All Letters
Add One Power Supply for All Letters (Auto Select PS)
Add Optimal Power Supplies by Letter
Add Optimal Power Supplies by Run
Add Optimal Power Supplies by Modules (breaks runs)
Connect Current Letter to Power Supply
Remove Current Letter from Power Supply
Drawing Left
Drawing Above
Drawing Right
Drawing Below
Next Drawing Position
Hide Power Supplies
Arrange Power Supplies in a Grid
Options Menu
Show Connecting Wires
Show Run Numbers
Show Power Supply Wires
Show Power Supply Data Boxes
Show Power Supply Data Box Borders
Show Module Drawings
Show Letters and Stats
Show Vector Guidepaths
Show Stroke Width Line
Enable Dynamic Repop
Power Supply Color Mode
Auto Extend
Remove All Stray Modules
Refresh Run Numbers
PowerFlow Menu
Ctrl Enables Snapping
Non-Snapping Movement Auto Rotates
Non-Snapping Drag Auto Rotates
Show Stroke Circle
Excel Menu
LED Excel Link Setup
Update Excel
Reconnect
Auto Update Excel
Excel Enabled
Title Block Setup
Letter Statistics Setup
Legacy Statistics Template Setup
Power Supply Template Setup
Power Supply Pricing Setup
Module Pricing Setup
Filter Modules
Edit Face Materials
Legacy Letter Statistics Mode
Open Merged Titleblock File
Upload Log Files
Tools Menu
Options
General Tab
View Tab
Edit Tab
Save Tab
Text Tab
LED Tab
Tools Tab
Directories
Keyboard
High Color Toolbox
Switches
Update LED Database
Reload LED Database
Outline
Weld
Layout Tool
Vector Edit Tool
Loop Edit Tool
On Screen Digitize Tool
Freehand Drawing Tool
Data Prep Tool
Dimensions
Measure
Calculate Area
Channel Letter Return
Radius Corners
Convert Menu
Convert Beziers to Arcs
Convert Arcs to Beziers
Convert to All Lines
Convert Lines to Arcs
Convert Flat Blend to Simple Fills
Convert All Clippings Paths to Normal Paths
Convert All Clipping Paths to Normal Filled Paths
Detect Letters
Remove Coincident Loops Across Layout
Remove All Clipping Paths
Optimize Vectors
Find Self-Intersecting Loops
Force Loop Direction
Remove Duplicate Loops
Display Path Length
Reset Windows Explorer File Association
Open AppData Folder
Window Menu
Cascade
Tile Vertical
Tile Horizontal
[Documents]
Help Menu
Get Help
Login
Check for Web Updates
About LED Wizard
Misc
DXF Options
PDF Options
Shortcut Key Reference
Working with App Data Files
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8.16.12 Data Prep Tool

LED Wizard has several tools for cleaning up imported artwork, and LED Wizard 8 has put them together in an easy to use interface called the Data Clean Up Tool.

Because a high percentage of layouts created in the software come from imported files, and given that these files have a wide range of sources and formats, it is critical that we process these files in a consistent manner so that you get the best results when populating. Therefore the new Data Clean Up Tool will take you through these tools to process all imported files.

When you import vector files into a new layout, you'll land right in this tool. But you can also launch this tool from the Tools Menu - Data Prep Tool or use the shortcut key F11.

Here is a description of the individual tools that comprise the overall Data Clean Up Tool and the basic workflow of importing and cleaning up artwork.

Import Crop

Enables you to Crop into a file directly in the Import dialog box, to avoid having to import a large file with extraneous data. Remember that the Import Crop tool requires a vector file format, such as AI, EPS, DXF, and PDF. Pure bitmap formats, such as JPG, TIFF, or PNG are not supported through this tool.


Import Filters

Also in the Import Dialog box, there are several self explanatory import filters that you can turn on and off with check boxes. If a file is importing slowly and/or is very large, you may considering checking Skip Bitmaps and Skip Gradients.

Once you have clicked on the Import button, your file will import directly into the Data clean Up tool interface.


If your artwork is "perfect" and no scaling or data clean up is needed, you can simply click on Done in this tool without running any of the below options. But don't get in the habit of doing this without being sure! A cursory visual check of the data is not sufficient. If you're workflow is to pre-process your artwork in other sign or design program, then you can normally skip these steps, but anything that comes directly from a customer should go through the below steps.

Data Prep Tool (includes Scaling)

The first task here is to select the vector objects that you want to keep from your imported file. In some cases, this will be the entire file, and in other cases you will select just certain objects. To keep an object, just click on it or draw a box around it. Selecting multiple objects is easy, just draw a box around them. You'll notice as you move the mouse over an object, it will be highlighted with a dotted line, and when you click on it, it turns to a red dottted line.

Selected Highlighted Original

An additional option here that can be very useful is to select objects by color. Let's say you have a line of text in red, but with a gray drop shadow. In order to select all of the red letters at once, press the ALT key as you click on the first letter. All of the other letters with the same color will be selected.

If you wish to Deselect an object, click on it again, and the red dotted line will disappear. Or alternatively, hold SHIFT while you draw a box around the object or objects.

Part of this extraction process is the option to set a New Width or New Height for the selected objects. If you do not enter a value for either field, then the file will not be scaled. Do not enter both values; this tool will not change the aspect ratio of the artwork.

New Width

Enter a number here to specify the real width of the entire selection of objects, or what length the ruler maps to.

New Height

Enter a number here to specify the real height of the entire selection of objects, or what length the ruler maps to.

Ruler

The ruler is a handy feature of the Data Prep Tool, which allows you to define a simple ruler, where the New Width or New Height will be used with the ruler's length to calculate an accurate scale factor to use when scaling the extracted graphics. Initially the ruler is vertical, sized to the height of the entire set of graphics imported. You can grab the top or bottom to resize the ruler, and it will automatically snap to the top or bottom of the graphics imported. If you don't want to snap to graphics, hold down Control when dragging and it won't snap to any graphics.

Note: To switch between vertical and horizontal, click in the workspace (or drag the ruler at least once) and press Space.

Show Loop Starts

Select this to show a small black dot where the loops start.

Vector Handles

Select this to show the individual vector nodes in the second step of the tool. This is helpful to determining which, if any, additional data clean-up is necessary.

Unexplode

The next option in the Data Clean Up tool is to "unexplode" the data, if necessary. "Exploded" data is data that normally comes from a DXF file and has individual arcs and lines that are not connected. The "Unexplode" option connects these vectors together so that the data can be used for LED population.

It can be difficult to know if you have exploded data, because the start and end points of each vector are coincident. But in LED Wizard, when you are working in wireframe mode (Show Colors is turned off), a loop will have one of three colors: blue for a closed outside loop, red for a closed inside loop, and black for an open loop. Exploded data will show up as black, since all loops are open.

You can also see from the example that there are multiple Loop Starts, as shown by the small black boxes on the artwork. Clicking on a vector in an attempt to select the whole object only selects a single vector. Therefore in order to select the whole object, you must draw a box around it.


In the property bar, to use the Unexplode tool, check the box and also select Auto or an "Unexplode Tolerance" from the drop down list. This value refers to the distance that the software will look for another vector to connect. In some cases, the points will be right on top of each other, but in other cases, the points may be a small distance apart.

Note that if you are Scaling the artwork, then it will be scaled prior to running the Unexplode feature. If you aren't sure what value to use, then Auto is the safest bet.

Extract & Scale

Once you have selected the objects you want to keep, have entered a New Width or New Height, and checked Unexplode if required, you are ready to click on the Extract & Scale button.

This will scale the selected objects and run the Unexplode routine if selected. But please note you are still in the tool at this point. Extract & Scale is an intermediate step; there is more to do! You can adjust the Width or Height or the Unexplode settings and click on Extract & Scale again.

After you click on Extract & Scale, you now see the objects you've selected, and if you have Vector Handles checked, you will see all the vectors and nodes of the artwork. This display option is to help determine the next step, which is to use one of the automated data clean up tools, if necessary.

The second line in the property bar contains the options for data clean up. These tools are "global" tools in the sense that they work on the entire artwork in one operation. This is different from vector editing tools, such as those found in the vector editing pop up menu or ALT Smoothing (add link).

Recreate with Bezier Curves

The first tool to consider is Recreate with Bezier Curves, which will convert the artwork to Bezier curves. If the original artwork is in arcs and lines, or especially just lines (chords), then this function will reduce the number of nodes considerably. If the artwork is already in Bezier curves, which is common in files that were designed in Adobe Illustrator or Corel Draw, then the effect may be minimal.

496 Chords 40 Bezier Curves

The goal of the function is to increase the quality of the artwork. Recreate with Bezier Curves can be a great tool to smooth out rough artwork and minimize the number of nodes. You can toggle back to the original artwork by clicking on the Reset Cleaning button at the right of the property bar.

Rasterize/Vectorize

Another option for data clean up is Rasterize/Vectorize, which will convert the artwork to a bitmap and then (re)vectorize it. There are options for Round Corners and Sharp Corners.

In some cases, this can be a dramatic improvement, but it depends on the artwork. Rasterize/Vectorize works well when the vector data is rough, and cleaning up the vector data would be time consuming. Sometimes artwork can look clean, but when you turn of the colors to see the wireframe data, you can see rough edges, overlapping sections, or open loops.

Top image shows the new vector nodes, bottom image is the original.

Optimize Vectors

The third and final data clean up option is Optimize Vectors. This will convert the artwork to lines and arcs, while minimizing the number of vectors. Multiple arcs will be converted to a single arc and extra points on a line will be deleted.

Optimize Vectors is similar to Recreate with Bezier Curves, but with arcs and lines only. If additional vector editing is needed, and you prefer to work with arcs and lines, then this is the right tool to use.

Conversion to arcs and lines with node reduction.

As you become familiar with these tools and how they handle various kinds of artwork, you can test each one before you commit. Just click on one of the options, view the results, and then click on Reset Cleaning to go back to the original. Click on another option to see those results, etc. When you find the one you like best, click on Done.

Remember that the original artwork may be fine and these tools might not be necessary.

The goal of the tool is to get your data ready for LED population. In some cases, additional vector editing work will need to be done, and those tools are covered in Vector Editing.

Assign Letters

This tool includes the Assign Letters feature, where you can select a letter "name box" below the letter, and press that key on the keyboard to set that letter as the name of the object. Please note that you can only assign letters after using any clean up buttons, otherwise your letter assignments will be lost.

Done

When you're finished, be sure to click on Done. This will bring the final artwork into the main layout window at the proper scale.



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