We have not forgotten about Technical Tip # 22 ~ Part 2. We ran into an unforeseen "technical difficulty" that we are sorting out but will issue it very soon.  In the meantime, here is a fun tip on how to add your own unique graphic touch to your Custom Toolbar that was shown in a recent InRoads class Mark was teaching.  Mark wanted to share this step by step process with you because it's informative and fun!!!  

Here is the Zen Dude's response:

After showing everyone how to build a Custom Toolbar in a recent InRoads class that I was teaching, most of the class started playing around building their own. Because there was so much interest in custom toolbars, I showed them how to create their own icons from scratch and then everyone starting having fun with that. Getting a bit more sophisticated with this, but not being too serious, I just wanted to share this fun little tip. If you don't know how to make a custom toolbar, you are missing a very simple but powerful productivity booster. This tip will show you how to dress up a custom toolbar with your own graphics so it's more personalized.

1)  Open any picture up in Paint

2)  Resize the picture to 16 x 15 (it may not be exactly 16 x 15, so just make sure that neither side is greater than 16 H or 15 V)

3)  Apply that 'resize'. You now have a graphic (as best as can be reproduced by a couple hundred pixel; don't expect too much ; )

4)  Now, InRoads will only be able to use a graphic that is 16H x 15V so you have to mess around a little and widen or shift the graphic so it is exactly that size. I had to add a couple pixels on one side and another pixel column on the other. But it's MUCH easier than building a round-about in InRoads!! : )

5)  As you probably always have InRoads open while you are at work, go to InRoads > Tools > Customize. It doesn't matter what tab you are on for this one.

6)  Right-click on one of the tools on your custom toolbar and select Button Appearance.

7)  On the Button Appearance dialog, make sure the left toggle is on Image or Image and Text (whichever you want to show) and then on the right side toggle Select User-defined Image.

8)  Now click New, near the bottom, under the pre-made icons. This will bring up the icon creator, or the Edit Button Image as it's called. It's pretty basic, like the Paint program, but for 1st graders.

9)  Now go back to your resized Paint image and Select All and Copy.

10)  Then jump back into InRoads and Paste it into the Edit Image Button window using the Paste button in the lower Tools area. Now, I want to draw your attention to something. Notice the color of the graphic versus the available Colors on the color palette on that dialog box? InRoads doesn't have a 24-bit color map, and doesn't even come close to having 256 colors. And as you can see, you have a robust 20 different colors!! So that means that when you OK this image it will be 'converted' into the 20 available colors using the closest approximations. After you click OK you may open it back up and change some of the colors to something better, or not. Try it first and see how yours turns out.

11)  Now just click OK and it will be added to your User-defined Images catalog. (My graphic was originally turned yellow, and I clicked the Edit. . . and changed the yellow to green with the paint bucket tool.)

12)  Now just make sure it's selected and click OK on the Button Appearance dialog box to assign that graphic to that custom toolbar entry.

13)  OMG!! How fun and cool is THAT!!

Have Fun!!!

Civilly yours,  

-zen