How To UseTargetExpress

Using TargetExpress
- Starting the Application
- Opening a Target File
- Using the Thumbnail View
- What Do I See?

Printing Targets
- Printing the Target
- Handling Large Targets
- Saving Ink and Paper

TargetExpress Features
- Scaling for Distance
- Tiling Targets
- Adding 3rd Party Targets

Using the TargetWizard
- Starting a New Target
- Setting the Bull's-eye
- Setting the Rings
- Setting the Colors
- Setting the Font Size
- Editing an existing target

Using TargetExpress

Starting the Application

By default TargetExpress is installed in "C:\Program Files\MCW Technologies\TargetExpress\".  Shortcuts are added to the Start menu under "Programs", "MCW Technologies", and "TargetExpress".  A shortcut is also added to your desktop. Click the TargetExpress shortcut to start the application.

Opening a Target File

Click the "Open" button  or select the "Open" option from the "File" menu to display the open files dialog box.  Targets are located in the "C:\Program Files\MCW Technologies\TargetExpress\Targets" directory and sub directories. Select one or more files from a directory.  Hold down the "Shift" or "Ctrl" key while clicking to select multiply files.  Click the "Open" button to open the highlighted file(s).

Using the Thumbnail View

You can also view and open targets with the Thumbnail Viewer.  Click the "Thumb" button  or select the "Thumbnail Viewer" option from the "View" menu.  The Thumbnail Viewer is a Windows Explorer style window.  When a directory is selected in the left pane, any target or image files in that directory will show as small images (thumbnails) in the right pane.  Use the thumbnail size buttons  to change the their size.  To open a target from a thumbnail just double-click the image..

What Do I See?

Here is an example target view.

The blue rectangle shows the printer page.  The light blue dotted line shows the printable area of your printer.  Most printers cannot print all the way to the edge of the paper.  The target will be centered inside the printable area.  This is how the target will look on the printed page.
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Printing Targets

Open and select the target you wish to print.  If it is not the active window click somewhere in the window so it comes to the front and has a highlighted title bar.  Click the "Print" button  or select the "Print" option from the "File" menu.  This will bring up your printer's "Print" dialog box.

Handling Large Targets

Some targets are larger than a normal 8.5" x 11" sheet of paper.  TargetExpress will automatically switch to "Tile Pages" mode when a large target is opened.  Here is an example of a tiled target.

This target is tiled across six sheets of paper.  When printed, the six sheets can be trimmed and taped together to create the complete target.  A dotted line will be around each print. Trim only the bottom and right (or top and left) sides of each sheet.  This allows overhang on each sheet, which makes taping the pages together easier.  The tiling option can be turned on or off with the "Tile Pages" button  or by selecting the "Tile Pages to Target" option from the "View" menu.  Turning this option off can be useful if you just want to print the center part of a larger target.  The target can also be scaled down to fit the page by using the "Scale Target" button  or selecting the "Scale Target to Page" option from the "View" menu.  Note: A message will display on the screen and on the print when a target is being scaled.

Saving Ink and Paper

There are ink saving versions of most targets.  These targets will have a gray bull's-eye instead of black.  You may like these targets better when shooting indoors or against a dark background.  When printing multi-page targets, you can save paper by changing the page orientation.  Select the "Print Setup" option from the "File" menu.  Switch between the "Portrait" and "Landscape" orientations.  The target views will update to show the currently selected orientation.  Some tiled targets use less paper in one orientation versus the other.  Notice the example below. One requires nine sheet while the other requires eight.

 
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TargetExpress Features

To scale a target for distance click the "Scale Target for Distance" button  or select the "Scale Target for Distance..." option from the "View" menu.  The "Scale Target for Distance" dialog box will show.

Set the distance you will be shooting the target from under the "Distance to Target" options.  Set the distance to scalce the target for under the "Scaled Distance to Target" options.  Click the "OK" button and the target size will be scaled to match your distance selections. The printed target will show the scale in the upper left of the print. To turn this option off click the "Scale Target for Distance" button or select the "Scale Target for Distance..." option agian.

Tiling Targets

The tiling targets option allows you to display multiple copies of the same target if they will fit on the page.



If the target can fit multiple times on the page the "Tile Target" option will be enabled.  Click the "Tile Target" button  or select the "Tile Target to Page..." option from the "View" menu.  The "Tile Target Spacing" dialog box will show.  Set the number of rows and columns you wish to have.  Also set the spacing between the rows and columns.  Click the "OK" button and the target will be tiled to the page.  Selecting the "Tile Target" option again will turn off target tiling.

Adding 3rd Party Targets

TargetExpress can display any of the following image file types: JPG, WMF, and BMP.  Simply create or download your own target files and place them in the "My Targets" directory.  If you installed TargetExpress in the default directory the "My Targets" directory is located at "C:\Program Files\MCW Technologies\TargetExpress\Targets\My Targets".  You can now view, display, and print them along with the others.
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Using the TargetWizard

Starting a New Target

To create a new target click the "New TargetWizard" button  or select the "New TargetWizard..." option from the "File" menu.  The "TargetWizard" dialog box will show.  Set the ring parameters for the rings you wish to display.  Note that all measurements are in inches.  The target view pane on the right shows you how the target will appear.  Click the "OK" button and the new target will appear in a target view window.

Setting the Bull's-eye

If you wish to have a bull's-eye mark on the inner most ring click the "Bull's-eye" check box.  Set the diameter and line thickness.  Select the bull's-eye type and color.  The bull's-eye diameter is the distance across the circle the bull's-eye will fit in.

Setting the Rings

Start creating your rings from the inside out.  The software will display rings from the largest to the smallest.  This way all rings should be visible even if they are not in order.  Click the "Ring n" check box to enable the ring.  Set the diameter and thickness for the ring.  Select the ring type: Circle, Square, or Diamond.  The diameter is measured horizontally across the widest part of the ring.  The "Color" button sets the ring color and the "Fill" button set the fill color for the ring.  You can give the ring a label of up to 3 characters.  Leave the "Label" field blank if you do not want a label for this ring.

Setting the Colors

When you click the "Color" or "Fill" buttons the "Color Dialog" box will show.  Select one of the basic colors or click the "Define Custom Colors" button to create a custom color.  The "Custom colors:" array at the bottom shows the follow from left-to-right and top-to-bottom:
- The current ring's color
- Rings 10's thru 0's color
- 30% black
- 40% black
- 50% black
- Orange

Setting the Font Size

Just select the font size for the labels from the "Label Font Size:" pull down.

Adding a Grid

To add a grid to your target click the "Grid" check box to enable the grid.  Set the frequency and line thickness for the grid.

Editing an existing target

You can edit any target that was created with the TargetWizard.  All TargetWizard files have the ".MTW" file extension.  Open the target as you would any target.  The TargetExpress application will know you have opened a TargetWizard target and enable the "Edit with TargetWizard" option.  Click the "Edit with TargetWizard" button  or select the "Edit with TargetWizard" option from the "Edit" menu.  The "TargetWizard" dialog box will show.
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