Linux configurations tips

The floppy drama

Fixing floppy access on SUSE Linux.

Fixing USB floppy access on SUSE Linux.

Fixing Stäubli JC3 or JC4 floppy access on SUSE Linux

Printing problems

Installing newer printers, which are not yet supported in Linux. updated 3.Jun.2010

Printer stops responding: If you cancel print job during printing, or for some reason (printer cable disconnected, power failure, etc.) printer stops printing. In SUSE Linux, you must use the YaST tool to re-enable your printer.

Desktop setup

Default settings of window behavior (moving, resizing) are not friendly to ArahWeave - how to change them and improve ArahWeave's performance?

Double mouse click: After years of using Microsoft products, you can not adapt to single mouse click to open files or run programs in File manager and on KDE dekstop. Let's change the mouse click back to double mouse click.

You have a Wacom tablet and you want to configure it under Linux. This tutorial will tell you how to do it.

Making KDE4 usable

Does KDE4 look confusing and you are unable to use your desktop? Switch to classic menu style.

Does ArahPaint4 look weird with disproportionate icons and strange style? Then you need to install KDE3 style to make it behave normally.

In KDE3, you could simply drag the icon from desktop to the main panel, and you could use it all the time. In KDE4, you first need to add the icon to main menu, and then you can add it to the main panel.

For some strange reason, trash can is not present on the desktop. You have to add trash can to desktop by yourself.

Can I use the software on Windows or Mac?

Sorry, we do not have a Windows or Mac version of this software. Mac version is in the works, while Windows version is not foreseen. At the moment, we prefer improving our software, instead of wasting our time in porting it to other platforms. The design computer will most likely be dedicated to CAD in any company. So it really does not matter on which operating system does it work, as long as it is reliable and the hardware and the operating system are not too expensive. Linux excels at these points.

 

And if you still want to use some Windows applications, you can have a dual-boot system and use them in turns. If you dislike time spent in rebooting the computers to use the other operating system, you can also use VMWARE or VirtualPC or XEN to install one operating system within a different system. Owners of Macintosh computers can use Parallels to install Linux and use ArahWeave within their beloved Mac. In this way, you can use both operating systems contemporary, you just need more disk space and memory. Computer disk space and memory are cheap, while your time is precious. It looks like an easy choice.

Measuring colors with GretagMacbeth Spectrolino does not work

You are a lucky owner of GretagMacbeth Spectrolino, and you want to test measurements with ArahWeave, you must give read/write permissions to serial port (do this as root):
chmod a+rw /dev/ttyS0
chmod a+rw /dev/ttyS1
Note that you must click on a color or yarn prior to starting the measurements, so that you select the destination of measurement.

I have problems on Ubuntu

Try Kubuntu, and programs will work. If you wish to stay with your current Linux distribution, do
sudo apt-get install kdelibs
sudo apt-get install mtools
First command will install the necessary Qt library, which we use for the ArahPaint4 program. The second command will install tools to add support for writing and reading from floppies.

What do I need to run Arah Weave?

Check the System Requirements for our software.

Why do we need another paint program?

This package contains ArahPaint4, a textile oriented paint program. Textile oriented means that:

	•		it has good tools for working with reduced color images (palette)
	•		for color reduction
	•		for drawing in repeat (seameless patterns)
	•		for drawing in aspect ratio different than 1:1, as this is necessary for weaving
	•		works well with large images (16000x16000 and more)
	•		incorporates a nice image browser
	•		has unlimited undo/redo
	•		has keyboard shortcuts equal to Photoshop whenever possible
	•		has a couple of functions you will not find in any other program

 

This is a pixel pushing program, not a photo retouching program. You should look at Photoshop or GIMP if you need red eye reduction. Or just learn how to use the flash. The user's manual, keyboard shortcuts list and screenshots are available from Arahne's web site
http://www.arahne.si

With ArahPaint4, easy things remain easy, while complicated ones remain impossible ;-)

How to remove the ArahWeave DEMO?

If you want to remove the demo, open a terminal and type
rm -rf ~/arahne
You can throw the icons into trash or remove them manually by typing:
rm ~/Desktop/Arah*
rm ~.gnome-desktop/Arah*

What are the limitations of WIF format (saving in DEMO versions)?

The WIF format is a simple plain ASCII file format intended for the exchange of weaving files among different programs.

Things that WIF lacks (and ArahWeave supports):

	•		fabric background color
	•		colorimetry with CIE Lab specified colors (only RGB colors are supported, and only one color - no distinction between screen and print colors)
	•		the concept of repeat
	•		denting
	•		regulator
	•		yarn composition
	•		multicolor yarns
	•		mouline / melange / chenille / printed / slub yarns
	•		data necessary for fabric calculation of fabric consumption (total number of ends in warp, selvedges, reed width, finished width, ...)
	•		yarn coun!!
	•		well structured form, which would facilitate efficient and fault tolerant reading, storage, browsing

So any of this advanced features, or any jacquard capabilities will not be saved in WIF files. ArahWeave demo will automatically add .WIF to your filenames.

What WIF has (in ArahWeave's implementation):

	•	weave up to 99 shafts
	•	warp and weft pattern
	•	warp and weft colors
	•	warp and weft density (in the form of yarn space)
	•	yarn diameter; each yarn can have its own diameter

What WIF has (but ArahWeave does not support):

	•		Variable density, in the form of yarn space; it is presented in a form which is completely different from a weaver's view of handling density (via regulator and denting).
	•		tredling - does not exist in industrial use

What WIF has (but nobody needs):

	•		the possibility to have the same thread in two different shafts
	•		the possibility to specify the range of colors in RGB specification (like from 0-65536)

 

If WIF is so bad, why do you support it? To be fair - WIF just reflects the needs its user base - hobbyist handweavers. As such, it fulfills its purpose. We are grateful to WIF's authors, since even a poor standard is much better than no standard at all.