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Be sure to visit our tutorial
page for more help.
Congratulations on your choice of EQ5! You will find it is very easy
to get started on this program and will be designing quilts in no time
at all. Does EQ5 work with Windows XP? Yes. Can it be
used on a Mac? Yes. See our EQ5
for Macs article.
Start by working through the book that came with your program. The
six short lessons in the EQ5 Getting Started book will teach you the
basics of quilt designing with EQ5. Once you
have done all the tutorials in the Getting Started book, go on to
the tutorials in the EQ5 Design Cookbook. To reinforce all the great
techniques you have just learned, go to the EQ
Web site, do the lessons and try the Mystery Quilts.
If you get stuck, try the programs help files. These detailed files
are searchable, printable, and you can even make notes. You
also have a series of videos, narrated by Electric Quilt Company owner,
Penny McMorris. These videos are available to you in the project tools
and each little video illustrates the steps in one of the program's
basic procedures.
Consider
joining the on-line
chat group, too. This is an incredibly helpful group of EQ5 users at
all levels of ability. You will NOT be able to come up with a problem
this group can’t solve. Trust me. This group is one of the
"secret weapons" of the EQ5 group, always sharing their
successes and offering tips and inspirations. Visit the sites
suggested and study layouts, block choices, fabric choices, etc.
You will be amazed at how much EQ5 can do.
Don't forget to watch the videos! There are two different
sets. The ones relating to blocks will open if you have the block
worktable up, the ones relating to quilts will open if you have the
quilt worktable up. If you don't get the video but do get the
sound, try clicking on play, then pause, then play again.
My
computer is tight on space - how can I minimize the impact of EQ5?
Choose the "save for E-mail" option. This deletes all
unused blocks and fabrics. You can also save .prj’s to a floppy and delete the .prj from
EQ5
through Windows Explorer.
Save for Email?
- first, you click on Save Copy As
- then you click on Save for Email (to reduce the size of the file)
- then you click on Send Mail
EQ5 will open your E-mail client (Outlook, Eudora, etc.) and automatically attach the
project that is currently open.
What other options are available?
Take the time to explore the Preferences tab under File.
- Checking the "Automatically save project file when Sketchbook changes"
reinstates EQ4’s need to save on both the sketchbook tab and the floppy
disc drive.
- EQ5 now offers an automatic backup. Chose the time interval
on the preferences tab.
- You can also tell EQ5 to Remember the Open and Save directories,
so you will not have to navigate constantly when
you are opening and closing the program.
- The option of Save Palette as Default allows
you to create your own default fabric palette. By choosing this
option in the project that you have open, the palette you are using
at the time will become the Default for all future projects.
How
do I delete a project from Windows Explorer?
- 1. From your desktop Click on the My Computer icon.
- 2. Click on local disc (C:), My Documents, My EQ5.
- 3. Single click on the prj you wish to delete to highlight it,
then click the X in the tool bar or the delete button on your keyboard.
EQ5 yardage estimates are usually high!
How EQ5 figures yardage:
- It adds the seam allowance you select to each patch.
- It placed an imaginary rectangle around each patch.
- It places these rectangles on fabric of the selected width. Each
time a row is filled, it begins a new row counting the entire strip
as yardage. Then it automatically adds 1/8 to 1/4 yard to each
estimate.
- EQ5 does not put two triangles in
a square. Each triangle in your quilt will be figured as
though it takes a whole square of fabric. If you have a lot of
triangles in your quilt, this will increase the fabric requirements.
- Long border strips are estimated as if they were cut in one piece
on the vertical length of the fabric.
How do you rename the Libraries so you know what you put there?
When you're in Libraries, choose Add blocks. Left click on any of the labels
to select one, click again and you will have a solid block outlining the label.
Type in a new name. Click on Save Library to save your changes. You can only change the Style name when you go into My Library from Add
Blocks in the Libraries Menu.
To turn on the ruler in EQ5 :
Open EQ5, then click on Worktable -> Work on Block. Then
click on View -->Ruler .
Your ruler horizontal and vertical rulers are now visible.
How do you find out what color you have used in a block so you can
repeat it somewhere else? Or fabric?
 The
EQ5 Spraycan tool
is used for recoloring. Select the
new fabric first and then select the patch that you want to recolor.
The selected patch will then recolor with the selected fabric.
If you are having
trouble amending your existing EQ5 prj
go into the C:\My Documents\My EQ5\PRJ
folder (or wherever you have your prj files) right-click on the project
giving you trouble and choose Properties. Un-check "Read-Only" and click
OK.
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