Group Names

This is a new feature of EDS IV that replaces most of the functionality of EDS III's Step and Repeat with more powerful, distributed functionality. Group Names allows you to add a single replaceable lettering field to a project and a list of names to be stitched into that field to a project and a list of names to be stitched into that field whenever you save the project to condensed or expanded files. This list of names becomes part of the project and can be managed either within EDS IV or from the Windows Explorer, providing distributed access to this exciting new feature.

Group Names will always stitch last so it will always be fully visible regardless of its positioning relative to the other designs in your project. Choosing the position and lettering properties will often involve some experimentation and compromise considering that the length of names to be substituted often varies considerably. Preview capability allows substitution of any selected name into the replaceable field at design time to assist with those choices. The full range of lettering properties are available but cannot be varied from name to name. Similarly, the position of the Group Names field is fixed and cannot be varied from name to name during a single Save As operation. It is, of course, possible to select File Save As to generate expanded or condensed file output then adjust the position of the field, re-select long names, and generate another expanded or condensed file.

While Group Names will most commonly be used to individualize uniforms for members of sports teams, the capability is generally applicable to batch personalization of multiple embroidered garments. A simple database of available names is associated with the project and can be updated, altered, and multiple different sets of names can be selected from available names. Copying the project file copies the available names but the list can be cleared and repopulated with a new set of names, possibly for a different customer. Risks of stitching an incorrect, or misspelled name on a garment are reduced by allowing copies of the selected list to be made to the windows clipboard and then e-mailed or faxed to customers prior to actually generating the expanded or condensed files. Sending a copy of this list to your printer can provide identification of any particular name with the appropriately sized garment when not stitching on one-size fits all items.

The range of output options must be set prior to choosing File, Save As to generate either expanded or condensed files. These output options can be set from the same property page you will use to manage the lists of available and selected names. There are five options that result in generating from one file containing copies of the design and one name for all of the selected group names through separate files for each of the names. Understanding which option to choose from this list will allow you to shorten the total time required to stitch out embroidery machines that incorporate "SomeCodeName".

As you can see, there is considerable power and flexibility in the Group Names feature, but the workflow to add group names to any existing project could hardly be simpler. First, choose Tools, Group Names from the EDS IV menu. Position the resulting lettering relative to the rest of the design. Next, right click on the Group Names object clipboard or import from a text file. You can then select on or more names, or even the entire available list by selecting names and clicking > or >>. If you click on one of the selected names, it will replace the Group Names text as a preview and you can reposition the field after dismissing the Property Page. Remember that only a single position for the Group Names field is available each time you generate expanded or condensed files. Finally, you will choose File, Save As and set the file type to either expanded or condensed, navigate to the directory where you would like to store the resulting output, and click "OK". You should choose the output directory carefully when generating multiple group names files to avoid mixing these with designs that do not contain group names. To assist in making this distinction, the first two characters of multiple group name files are numeric, i.e. 01Bill.exp 02Mary.exp, etc. so they will sort to the top of the list in Explorer when the list is sorted on name.

All of this sounds more complex than it actually is and once you have used group names for one to two projects your productivity in using it to personalize designs will soar by comparison with any other method, in any other embroidery design system. Being able to allow the production department to manage the database of names form computers that do not necessarily have EDS IV installed allows the workflow to be distributed in shops where networks may include multiple production workstations but only a single EDS IV design station. This is the kind of functionality you will come to expect from your embroidery system and it is available exclusively from Melco.

Workflow

The first and last step handled form within EDS IV, i.e. choosing Tools, Group Names and later, File, Save As. These are easy and, as noted, must be completed from within EDS IV.

Managing the list of available and selected Group Names can be carried out either within EDS IV or within Explorer, by right button mouse clicking on the appropriate object or file and selecting Properties. The Group Names tab will contain a property page that allows you to add, import, paste, clear, copy to clipboard, and otherwise select names form the available list. Note that the list boxes are intentionally not self sorting so that names will remain in the order added and Clear will empty BOTH lists.

Clicking "Add" will make a small edit window available immediately above the "Add" button. You can type a list of names, separated by commas, into that edit window and then click "Add" again to place them in the Available Names List. Note that you can add names that include First Last names as, for example, "John Jones, Mary Jo Williams, ...;". After selecting an individual name you can then choose to substitute First Name only, Last Name only, or both but you should be aware that for Mary Jo Williams the first name will be considered Mary and her last name Jo Williams. If this is not what you want to happen to such names you should type Mary Jo as Mary_Jo. It will appear as Mary_Jo in the list but when stitched out the "_" will be replaced by a space.

Generally you will not Add names individually because of the possibility of making errors. Moreover, the list of Available Names cannot be edited after names have been added. There is, however, a very simple way to edit the list and the order of the names using NotePad or any word processor. Be sure the list of names has been saved to the project file if you just added them. First, click << to empty the list of Selected Names and then click >> to place a complete copy of Available Names into Selected Names. Select the "Both" radio button to assure that the complete name is showing for each. Next click "Copy to Clipboard" to copy the list of Selected Names to the Windows clipboard and then paste it into whatever text editor you regularly use. You may note some additional information enclosed parenthetically but you can ignore it as balanced parentheses and enclosed text will be removed when pasting or importing files. With the list in your favorite editor you are free to Edit, Copy to place it back into the clipboard. Returning to the Group Names Property Page, click "Clear" to empty the list and then Paste the edited names back into Available names list. If something goes wrong, click "Cancel" on the Property Page and whatever data was in the project file will be kept safely. If you are happy with the edited data list click "OK" to save it.

Note that you also can save your list of names into a text file, for example using NotePad. The value of doing this is that you can associate comments with each name in the list as in the following example:

John Jones (male 16-32 left pocket)

Mary Jo Williams (female small left sleeve)

And so on

Printing this list will assist the embroidery peripheral operator to associate the proper garment with the name. Note, as mentioned above, balanced parenthesis and their contents will be ignored and ends-of-line can be substituted for commas to separate names. Beware of open parenthesis without a balancing close as you may lose names from the list.

The real power of this multi-step editing process is that lists of Available Names can be quickly extracted form e-mail without risk of misspelling and copied back to e-mail or fax before stitching to verify the names with customers. The longer the list the more you'll appreciate this functionality. One misspelled name can turn profits into losses on expensive uniforms!

After making changes to Group Names properties be sure to click "Apply" or "OK" if you wish to save those changes to the project file. If you wish merely to experiment with the lists but not save changes, click "Cancel". Doing this in Explorer works directly with the project file but within EDS IV you must actually choose File, Save or click "OK" to save the project file before it will be permanently recorded on disk.

Output Options

Group Names must be processed into expanded or condensed files before they can be stitched on embroidery peripherals. This occurs when you File, Save As to either expanded or condensed. There are five optional output formats, the first four will result in the generation of only a single file, whether expanded or condensed. The final output option results in multiple files, named 01name1.exp, 02name2.exp, etc. being generated where each file can be sewn separately. When these files are placed on a diskette and viewed on a sewing peripheral, the numeric order will help the operator keep them in sequence.

The reason there are so many output options that result in a single file is that large Group Name jobs can be run simultaneously on multi-head machines using <<SomeCodeName>>. Generally, when stitching on a single-head machine you will use option 1, i.e. Design, Name, Design, Name and change garments on color changes after the name, or use option 5, File Per Name for greater control of the process.