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Looking for some setup help

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dsimon42

New Member
Hi everyone,

I’m new to this forum. I did some browsing and there is a wealth of information here, so I thought I would post my situation and see if anyone had any advice for me.

Recently, I picked up an Anagraph AE-70 plotter and a Windows PC computer with Ana Designart Pro 3.5 software from a friend.

I’ve used this actual setup at my friend’s house in the past with no problems. I’m no expert by any means – just looking to make simple text stickers and graphics that I’ve done before (i.e. for my boat, truck, friends, etc.)

I hooked everything up, including a security key (“dongle” as I’ve seen it called), and started the computer up. When I start the Designart Pro software, a dialog box pops up saying “Check security key”. I click “OK”, the dialog pops up again, and then the program closes. Unfortunately, I do not have the installation disks to try any re-installation activity. Is it the Designart software that needs the security key, or is it the plotter itself that needs the security key, regardless of the software type?

I’m not 100% sure that I have the right data cable. When I got the machine and equipment, it was sitting in storage and not set up. Could this possibly be causing the software not to read the security key? The cable looks to be a DB-25 serial cable. Is that correct? Is there some special type of communications cable that I need?

I was doing a bit of research, and it seems that getting rid of the Designart Pro may be an option as it looks like other programs are compatible with the Ana AE-70 plotter. This would be nice because then I could run the plotter off of my nice home Windows XP computer instead of having to use the separate computer. I downloaded a trial version of SmartCut PRO to my XP computer, but it looks like the only types of files I can import are .csv (Corel) files. I do not have Corel. I do have Adobe Illustrator 10. Is there a freeware file conversion program that can convert .eps to .csv? I did a bit of googling, but couldn’t come up with anything concrete. I found a software called “Magisign” that looks like a one-shot deal with a plugin for Illustrator, but it is only for Macs. Is there something similar for Windows based PCs?

Not sure if I’m on the right path here. Are there any other options that I have?

Sorry for the long-winded post. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks,
Danny
 
Techman

Techman

New Member
design are on XP wont work. Has to be win 98
Corel and cocut pro will work fine.

Better yet sell me your anagraph and let me cut yoru goodies.. You didn't pay more than $300 for did you?.

Good luck
 
Rick

Rick

Certified Enneadecagon Designer
They make Co-Cut for Illustrator too.And welcome..your just down the street from me....well down the street meaning in the IE....
 
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dsimon42

New Member
Geb: Thanks for the reply. No, I am not running Designart on XP. The plotter came with a Windows 98 computer that had successfully run the plotter in the past. The Win XP machine that I referenced is my existing personal computer.

ChicagoGraphics: I know, heaven forbid that someone wants to cut their own graphics. What a silly idea that is (sarcasm intended). Please calm down; I don’t think your livelihood is in any danger. If my request for help is so silly, please don’t bother replying. Nobody asked for your opinion. On a personal note, there are plenty of things that I happen to be really good at and I would NEVER belittle someone who is asking me for some insight into a subject with which I happen to have a lot of experience/knowledge. That’s a pretty crappy move on your part, in my opinion. And so what if I possibly am a hobbyist? Who says someone can’t start out as a hobbyist and become successful in the business (Note: This is not what I am trying to do - just a hypothetical scenario)? I’m sure you were magically born with all the god-given gifts of decal cutting and sign art.

Techman: Thanks for the info. So I can use Corel and this Cocut Pro that you mentioned with my Win XP computer and that should be able to communicate just fine with the AE-70 plotter? I actually got the plotter and computer for free from a friend, so dabbling and playing around sounds like fun!

Thanks for the legitimate input.

Danny
 
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dsimon42

New Member
Hi Pat,

No, I have not installed any updates. I will take a look at your link when I get home and have some more time.

This wouldn't really explain why the unit used to work fine before though, would it? Maybe I have a different dongle than what was there when the system was working before.

Danny
 
jiarby

jiarby

New Member
Ya gotta install the dongle drivers.

The dongle is for the software.

.csv is "Comma Separated Values" commonly used by spreadsheets to hold tabular data... NOT graphics.

Corel files are usually .cdr
 
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dsimon42

New Member
jiarby said:
Ya gotta install the dongle drivers.

The dongle is for the software.

.csv is "Comma Separated Values" commonly used by spreadsheets to hold tabular data... NOT graphics.

Corel files are usually .cdr
Click to expand...

What I don't understand is that as far as I know, this same system setup was working before (at my friend's place). It's possible that I have a different dongle than he was using. Would this explain why I would need to install the dongle drivers? Perhaps the dongle drivers got deleted or messed up somehow. I will try to install the drivers to see if that works.

If Corel files are .cdr, how would one import anything into SmartCut? It looked like the only option I had was to import .csv. Perhaps I read it wrong and it actually was .cdr. I'll have to play around a bit more. Just to clarify, if I don't use the ANA software, I wouldn't need a dongle, correct?

Techman said:
did u change teh cable?
Click to expand...

Techman, I've tried the cable that my friend *thought* he was using before, but who knows if it's the same one. I have tried a different cable to see if that took care of it, but no luck.


Thanks,
Danny
 
Ken

Ken

New Member
You can probably find an older version of corel on ebay for pretty cheap. Corel 12 is pretty good, offers a lot of file types import/export.
Ken
 
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dsimon42

New Member
Lunatic Taskbar said:
Have you called the Friend and asked? it may be a quirk he/she is aware of and forgot to mention.
Click to expand...

Lunatic: Yes, I asked. He's really no expert. It just always ran for him.


Pat Whatley said:
Ummm.....that would explain it too.
Click to expand...

Pat: Yeah, since the thing came from storage, I have no idea if I'm running the exact same dongle that ran successfully for us in the past. Maybe the one I have is just broken.


Danny
 
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dsimon42

New Member
Thanks for everyone's help so far. I'm going to be out of town this weekend, so I won't be able to try anything until next week.

I think my best bet is to just set myself up with Corel/Cocut or SmartCut and don't deal with the dongle.

I'll keep track of what I try and report back the results.


Danny
 
tommythesignguy

tommythesignguy

New Member
Proper cable may be an issue. I had one plotter that required what I think was called a null port adapter or cabling that was made with it built in.
 
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