Network Notepad Freeware Edition Help 

The Tool BarToolbar

 

  Forwards Backwards    Back and Forward buttons. These are used to move back and forth through previously loaded diagrams.   Align Buttons     Align Horizontal and Align Vertical Buttons are used to align objects and text.
  Open    Open a network diagram file.   Auto Align    Auto Align Button. When selected, objects are automatically aligned horizontally or vertically with the previously pasted object.
  Save    Save the current file.   Send to Back and Bring to Front    Send to Back, Bring to Front Buttons. These change the order that objects are drawn.
  Print     Print Diagram   Connection Points    Connection Points Button. Selects between linking to a single point on an object or linking to any part of an object. 
  Object Library    Object Libraries Button. This button opens the current Object Library and displays available objects to use in the diagram.   Link Mode    Link Button. Toggles link mode on and off. Left click on objects to link them.
  Online Library    Online Library button opens a web browser window and navigates to the Online Library.       Link Selection Drop Down List.
  Cut    Cut button. Delete selected objects and place on clipboard.   Remove Links    Unlink Button. Removes links between selected objects
  Copy    Copy Button. Copies selected objects to the Network Notepad clipboard.   Zoom    Zoom Out.
  Paste    Paste Button. Switches to paste mode. Left Click will paste objects from the Network Notepad clipboard or selected from the Object Library.   Display IP Addresses    IP Addresses Button. Toggles the display of IP Addresses.
  Paste Multiple    Paste Multiple Button switches to paste mode and remains in paste mode for multiple paste operations.   FN Buttons    Programmable function buttons.
  Delete    Delete Button. Delete selected objects.   Exit    Exit Button.
  Text Mode    Text Mode Button. Toggles text mode on and off. Left click will position a text cursor at the current mouse position.    


Navigating

To pan around diagram, hold down the right mouse button and move the mouse (The mouse pointer needs to be position over the background of the diagram).
To follow a link to another diagram - Right click the object and select "Goto next diagram". Objects which link to other diagrams have a blue caption.
The tool bar back and forward buttons may also be used to jump to the previous or next diagram.

Adding Objects To A Diagram

Click the Object Libraries Button Object Library to display the current Object Library.
Drag and drop Objects from the Library to the diagram. You may also paste Library objects by selecting the object from the library and then closing or minimising it.
Point the cross hair where you want to place the objects.
Click the Paste Button again to finish pasting.
To automatically hide the Object Library whenever you select a new object, enable "Auto Hide" in the setup dialogue.

Tip: Double right click the background to toggle the last used mode (Paste, Text, or Link) off and on. 

Cutting And Deleting Objects From A Diagram

Highlight the objects you wish to cut or delete by left clicking them and then hit the Cut Button Cut to place them on the clipboard. Alternatively hit the Delete Button Delete to remove them completely.
Pressing SHIFT+Delete on the keyboard is another way to delete selected items.
 

Selecting/ Deselecting Single/ Multiple Objects

Objects need to be selected (Red highlight) and deselected  for cutting and pasting. To select an object, left click on it.
To select or deselect multiple objects at once, drag a "rubber band" around them with the left mouse button.
You must start selection with the mouse pointer positioned over a blank piece of background.
To select or unselect additional objects, hold down the CTRL key while selecting.
To select no objects from the main ring choose Edit and then Select None, or type CTRL-A.
Clicking the background of the diagram also resets all selections.

Aligning Objects

To align objects, select them and choose Format and Align Horizontal or Align Vertical from the Ring Menu.
When pasting objects and drawing links, objects and lines are automatically aligned if the Auto Align button Auto Align is selected.

Resizing Objects

Use Shift + and Shift - to adjust the size of the current object.
From the ring menu select Format > Resize Mode and then either Both, Horizontal or Vertical to set the quick resize function.
Objects can also be resized in the Object Properties form.

Moving and Copying Objects

To move objects, first select the objects you wish to move (Red highlight) and then hold down the Shift Key while dragging one of the objects to the new position.
To copy objects, select them and then click then Copy ButtonCopy. Click the Paste Button Paste to enter Paste Mode and the position the cross hair and left click to paste copies of the objects. To finish pasting, click the Paste ButtonPaste again.

Nudging Objects

To nudge all selected objects hold the Shift and press one of the cursor keys.

Changing The Name (Or IP Address) Of An Object

To change the name of an object or change it's  IP address, Double Left Click on current name or IP address and type in the new details. Press Enter to complete.
You may also change these details by right clicking on the object and selecting "Properties". See Object Properties below.
When specifying IP addresses, you may include additional information, eg. subnet mask, following a "/" character. Eg. 192.168.55.2 /28 or 192.168.55.2 /255.255.255.240. The "/" character and any text which follows is ignored when using the programmable function buttons.
You may insert a Carriage Return in an Object or IP Label using Shift + Enter.

Adding Text To A Diagram

Click the Text Mode Button Text Mode and then Left Click when the cross hair 1 is where you want the text to appear. The Text Mode button will indicate you are in Text Mode 2.
To finish entering text, click the Text Mode button again or press the Escape key.

Tip: Double right click the background to toggle the last used mode (Paste, Text, or Link) off and on.

 

Entering Text

Editing Text

To Edit text in text box, double click on it.. The Text Mode button will indicate you are in Text Mode.
Press ESC to finish editing the text, or click the text mode button on the tool bar.
To delete a Text Box, double click it and then hit backspace. Press ESC or click the text mode button to complete.

Formatting Text

Right-click text and select Format Text to bring up the Format Text Form:

Format Text

From here you can set the font, colours and effects for the text.
Make This The Default Text Format - Sets the font, colours and effects for any default formatted text.
To set text to use the default font, right click and choose Set to Default Font and Colours.

Text Style - Configure preset text styles (Pro, Enterprise and Client Editions only).
Foreground and Background colour transparency slider and textbox - Set text colour transparency (Pro, Enterprise and Client Editions only).
Rotate - Rotate Text to any angle (Pro, Enterprise and Client Editions only).

Moving Text

To move text, hold the SHIFT key down and drag the text.

 

Adding Float Text To Objects

Information can be displayed when the pointer is held over an object for a few seconds.
To Add or Edit Float Text, right click the object and select Edit Float Text.
Enter text into the Float Text entry box and hit escape when complete.

Adding Horizontal And Vertical Backbones

 

To insert a horizontal or vertical backbone, select Insert from the Ring Menu and then either horizontal or vertical backbone.
Position the cross hair roughly where you want the centre of the backbone to be and click the left mouse button.
Click the Paste Mode Paste button to finish adding backbones.

Resizing And Moving Backbones

To resize a backbone, position the cursor over either end then hold the left mouse button down to drag the backbone larger or smaller.
To move a backbone, hold the shift key down whilst dragging the backbone to a new position.

Linking An Object To A Backbone

To link an object to a backbone, click on the link mode button  and then join the backbone to the object. It does not matter what Link Type has been selected when doing this.

Hiding IP Addresses

To Reveal or Hide IP addresses, toggle the IP Address Button Show IP Addresses.
 

Using The Programable Function Buttons

The programmable function buttons FN Buttons can be programmed to execute external applications. The application may be supplied with the IP address or hostname of the most recently clicked object. F1 for instance is pre-programmed to Telnet to the IP address of the most recently clicked object.
The 5 programmable function buttons are also present in the pop up menu when you right click an object.
See the Setup section for information on configuring the Programmable Function Buttons.

Printing

To print a diagram use the print button on the toolbar. If you have a large canvas size the objects will appear small when printed. Drag the canvas smaller or reduce the Canvas width and height in the Diagram Properties form to make the objects to appear larger when printed.
The Zoom Out button on the toolbar functions similar to a Print Preview function and enables you to see how the page will look when printed.
The ratio of height to width of the Canvas also determines whether the page is printed in landscape or portrait mode. If you ensure the ratio setting shown in the Diagram Properties form is 1.414 then the Canvas will match an A4 page in landscape mode. A ratio of  0.707 matches an A4 page in portrait mode.

 

Searching Diagrams

To search a diagram, press CTRL-F and enter some text to find.

 

Use F3 to Find Next.

Tip: Network Notepad Files are stored as plain text. Use Windows "Search for Files" to scan through all your diagrams and find what you are looking for.

 
  < Contents Linking Objects >

 

© Copyright
J.A.Green