Tiger Software Suite 4.0 Manual
Revision: 20110311
Table of Contents
I. Preface
A. Preface
II. Tiger Formatter
A. Introduction
B. Operation with MS Word and Excel
C. Special Features in MS Excel
III. Tiger Designer
A. Introduction
B. Creating a File for Tiger Designer
C. Using Tiger Designer
D. Printing from Tiger Designer
IV. Tiger Translator Lite
A. Introduction
B. Using Tiger Translator Lite
V. Support
A. Support
I. Preface
A. Preface
Tiger Software Suite
Owners Manual
Welcome to the Tiger Software Suite (TSS), your complete solution for producing braille
and graphics. The Tiger Software Suite harnesses the full power of MS Word and Excel
for braille and tactile graphics production. The press of a button automatically formats
your documents created for an ink printer - TSS does the rest.
The Tiger Software Suite consists of these components:
The Tiger Formatter
The Tiger Designer
The Tiger Translator Lite
All products were developed exclusively by ViewPlus Technologies, Inc.
II. Tiger Formatter
A. Introduction
Braille is a code without a one-to-one relationship to screen characters. Consequently it
is necessary to translate text if standard braille is desired. ViewPlus' newest application,
the Tiger Formatter, is a text-to-braille translator and formatter for MS Word and MS
Excel. The features include:
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Translation of multiple languages simultaneously
Display of original text along with braille characters
Maintenance of your special text formatting & graphics
Adjustment of character size and line spacing automatically
The Tiger Formatter is not an independent executable program. On computers running
supported Microsoft Office versions other than 2007, a new menu, Tiger, will appear in
Word and Excel after installing the Tiger Software Suite. Clicking on the Tiger menu (or
pressing Alt+G) pulls down the Tiger menu options. On computers running Microsoft
Office 2007, the new Tiger menu will appear on the Add-ins ribbon in Word and Excel.
Clicking on the Add-ins ribbon and then the Tiger menu (or pressing Alt+X, then G) pulls
down the Tiger menu options.
A new command bar consisting of several command buttons may also be displayed on
the Add-ins ribbon in Office 2007 applications or directly in the main program window in
other supported Office versions. These buttons are Tiger command shortcuts. They
duplicate the most common commands available in the Tiger menu. Use the Toolbars
option from Microsoft's View menu to hide or show the Tiger command bar.
B. Operation with MS Word and Excel
To see the Tiger menu in MS Word, open up the application and choose the Tiger menu
(Alt+X, then G in Word 2007, Alt+G in all other supported versions of Word).
Figure 1: Tiger menu options.
It is recommended to set up a Tiger Profile before using the Tiger Formatter (refer to
'Formatter Settings' later in this section). The commands in the Tiger menu in MS Word
are described below.
Apply Tiger Layout
This command allows the user to "preview" the translated document before the text is
translated to braille. It applies the user's page size and margin options to the document
and approximates braille text size by increasing font size of text. This simple operation
gives the user a good approximation of what the final braille document could look like
and whether any of the formatting options need to be changed.
Translate Document
This command applies the user's Tiger Layout and translates the text in the document
into braille. All text is translated except text in any braille font or any Tiger font.
Previously translated parts or anything entered by hand in a braille font are not
translated, nor are the Tiger fonts that emboss as DotsPlus braille.
Translate Selection
This command translates selected text to braille, except text in any braille font or any
Tiger font.
Quick Emboss
This command applies the user's Tiger Layout, translates the text in the document and
sends it to the printer selected in the active Tiger Profile.
Formatter Settings
This option accesses the user's Tiger Profile information. It opens a dialog box
displaying translation settings, ink option settings and current printer and paper size
selections for the currently selected Tiger Profile. Tiger Profiles may be created, edited,
added from another source or removed using this dialog.
Figure 2: Tiger Formatter Settings dialog.

Tiger Profile box:
o Current Tiger Profile: This combo box allows the user to choose which
Tiger Profile to use when translating documents. Tiger Profiles store
complete sets of Formatter Settings so that users may easily switch
back and forth between commonly used setting information. Use the
Add button at the bottom of this section to load an existing Tiger profile,
the Delete button to remove the currently loaded Tiger profile or the
Save As button to save the current Formatter Settings under a different
Tiger profile name.
o Tiger Layout box: This box allows the user to control all settings for
translation, page setup, ink and printing. The Tiger Layout will be
applied after the user formats or translates the document to Braille.
 Language/Type/Font: Displays the current selections for Braille
translation language, Braille type (grade) and which font to
translate.

Language Settings button: Opens a separate dialog that allows
the user to change Language/Type/Font/Math Braille settings.
Figure 3: Language Settings dialog.
- Primary Language group: This group has three
combo boxes, three check boxes and a list containing a
set of options selectable by check boxes.
> Language: Shows all languages
available and the one currently
selected.
> Braille Type: Permits choice of
Computer Braille, non-contracted
Braille, and other options for some
languages.
> Translatable Font: Permits the user to
select the screen font to be used for
primary language translation. Do not
choose unless everything in the
document is to be translated identically.
> Braille Options: Permits selection of
advanced options for Braille output (not
available for all languages). Options
include: automatic spell checking,
indicate case at the beginning of words,
do not indicate case inside words, use
foreign accented letters, do not use
computer braille for internet addresses,
keep numbers and spaces at math
symbols, disable group numbers,
disable maths signs, disable drop-down
numbers, disable insertions of grade 1
braille in grade 2 text, disable insertions
of 6-dot computer braille, convert to 6dot computer braille, enable direct copy
of text between curly braces and enable
name processing for text between
square brackets.
> There are also two check boxes, 'No
Capitals' and 'Jumbo Braille.' The first
allows the user to effectively remove
capitalization marks from his or her
Braille document. The second will
produce Jumbo Braille output in the
translated document.
- Secondary Language group: Has the same combo
boxes and check boxes shown in Primary Language
option and is activated by checking 'Translate
secondary language' in the Primary Language group.
Used to select a different screen font to permit portions
of the text to be translated into another type of Braille,
or for another language to be translated into the proper
Braille for that language.
- Tertiary Language group: Has the same combo
boxes and check boxes to permit a third language or
type of Braille to be indicated by a third screen font and
is activated by checking 'Translate tertiary language' in
the Secondary Language group.
- TSS Display Language: Allows the user to select the
language in which TSS menus and dialogs appear. All
available options appear in a combo box.
- Math Braille Type: Allows the user to select the math
braille code to be used for translation of math objects.
All available options appear in a combo box. NOTE: To
use the math capabilities of TSS, MathType 5.0 or
higher is required. MathType is available from Design
Science.
- OK and Cancel buttons: OK will save the selected
parameters and close the dialog box. Cancel will restore
the previous settings and close the dialog box.
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Interline Ink/Overprint Ink: Displays the current selections for ink
options.
Braille and Ink Settings button: Opens a separate dialog that
allows the user to change ink settings.
Figure 4: Braille and Ink Settings dialog.
- Braille Settings group: Not available in all languages.
This group consists of four checkboxes. The first,
Preserve Italics, inserts emphasis marks for italics into
the braille document according to the rules of the
selected language. The second, Preserve Bold,
performs the same functionality for bold original text.
The third, Preserve Underline, does the same for
underlining in the original document. The fourth
checkbox allows hyphenation of braille text according to
the rules of the selected language.
- Ink Settings group: This group consists of two
checkboxes and three combo boxes.
> Overprint Original Text: When
checked, will cause the document, if
printed to an ink print capable ViewPlus
embosser, to ink print the ASCII
representations of the braille on top of
the braille. Checking the Overprint
Original Text option will uncheck and
disable the Interline Original Text
option.
> Interline Original Text: Can be
selected only when Overprint Original
Text is unchecked. Checking Interline
Original Text allows the original text to
show in the document and, if printed to
an ink print capable ViewPlus
embosser, allows the document to be
printed with ink.
> Three combo boxes are associated
with this option. The first allows the ink
font to be selected. Choose any font
installed on the computer. The second
combo box allows selection of the ink
font size. The third combo box allows
the user to select the ink text position:
above the braille, on top of the braille or
below the braille.
- OK and Cancel buttons: OK will save the selected
parameters and close the dialog box. Cancel will restore
the previous settings and close the dialog box.
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Current Document Paper Size, Current Printer and Printer
Paper Size: Displays the current selections for printing and page
setup options.
Document Settings button: Opens a separate dialog that allows
the user to change document and print settings.
Figure 5: Document Settings dialog.
- Printer Setup group: Allows the user to select the
printer to use from a combo box. Once the printer is
selected, the user may access the printer properties for
the printer using the Printer Properties button.
- Page Setup group: Allows the user to select the
desired paper size from a combo box or to set a custom
size. A set of radio buttons within the Page Setup group
allows the user to choose the page orientation.
- Margin group: Allows the user to set the desired page
margins for this Tiger profile.
- Format group: This section offers six check boxes for
formatting options.
> Translate headers and/or footers:
When checked, headers and footers
will be translated.
> Remove Headers: When checked,
this will delete headers.
> Remove Footers: When checked, this
will delete footers.
> Show original page numbers: This will
insert the original page numbers in the
header of translated pages, but will
remove the existing headers if any. If a
translated page has contents that come
from two original pages, a line will be
inserted in between to serve as a
separator, and an original page number
will be inserted to the right of that line.
> Print odd page numbers only: When
checked, page numbers are removed
from the footers of even numbered
pages. To use this feature, page
numbers must be in the footer of the
original document and the translate
headers and/or footers option in the
Format group on the Formatter Settings
screen must also be checked.
> Braille document saved as new:
When checked, the Formatter renames
the translated document with _BRL
following the original name of the
file. By default this box is
checked. When unchecked, the file is
not renamed when the document is
translated.
> Simplify document: When checked,
the document will be simplified
according to the document
simplification settings each time a
translation process is performed.
> Document Simplification Settings
button: Opens a separate dialog that
allows the user to change document
simplification settings.
Figure 6: Document Simplification Settings dialog.
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Text Format group: Allows the
user to select options regarding
text formatting.
o Font resized to braille
size: Resizes the text
to Braille font size
when any Formatter
operation is performed.
This option is checked
by default.
o Translate Body Text
Only: Active only when
the Formatter is in Text
Only translation mode
(selected directly from
the Tiger menu) and is
not checked by default.
o De-columnize: When
checked, takes text out
of columns when the
Formatter is run.
Paragraph Format: Traditional
Braille translation will format
the paragraph to a left
alignment. If the original
paragraph format should be
kept during formatting or
translation, select any of the
check boxes below.
o
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Keep center paragraph
alignment.
o Keep right paragraph
alignment.
o Keep paragraph first
line indent value:
Keeps indentation.
o Use new first line
indentation of (from left
margin): Changes
indentation of the first
line of a paragraph to a
certain number of
characters.
List Format: When the
automatic list function is used
in MS Word, certain care must
be taken when translating to
braille.
o Keep Original List
indentation: When
checked, original list
indentation settings are
used.
o Use first line indent
character of: Changes
indentation to a
number of characters
for the first indent on
the list.
o Use additional list
increment of: Changes
indentation to a
number of characters
for the second through
ninth lines of a list.
OK and Cancel buttons: OK will
save the selected parameters
and close the dialog box.
Cancel will restore the previous
settings and close the dialog
box.
- OK and Cancel buttons: OK will save the selected
parameters and close the dialog box. Cancel will restore
the previous settings and close the dialog box. NOTE:
Clicking Cancel will restore the previous settings not
only to this dialog but also to any deeper dialogs. Click
Cancel only if all previous settings on this and deeper
dialogs should be restored.

OK and Cancel buttons: OK will save the selected parameters and close the
dialog box. Cancel will restore the previous settings and close the dialog box.
NOTE: Clicking Cancel will restore the previous settings not only to this dialog
but also to any deeper dialogs. Click Cancel only if all previous settings on this
and deeper dialogs should be restored.
Translation Mode
This option allows the user to select the translation mode.
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Text and All Graphics: Selecting this will cause the Formatter to translate all text
found in the document, including text in text boxes or autoshapes, when it is run.
Please note that text that is part of a picture, such as a bitmap or jpeg image, will
not be translated because it is a picture of text, not actual text.
Text Only: Selecting this option will cause the Formatter to translate only the text
in the document that is text and not part of a drawing object when the Formatter
is run. All graphics in the document will be removed, leaving only text.
Display Mode
This option allows the user to select the display mode.
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Show Braille Dots: Choosing this will allow the translated document to show the
dot patterns for the Braille translation.
Show ASCII: Choosing this will show the ASCII representations of the dot
patterns in the translated document. The display mode can be changed at any
time to view the Braille dots or ASCII of a translated document.
Reload Original Document
This option loads the original document in the current window. NOTE: The original
document must be saved before formatting or translation in order to use this feature.
Help
This option allows the user to access support resources. The pull down menu includes
three options.
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Online Help: Launches an html file in the user's default web browser with links to
support resources online.
About: Pops up a dialog with information about the ViewPlus Formatter,
including the version number currently installed.
Check for Updates: Checks to see if an update for TSS is available. If so, the
user may elect to download the update or to cancel. By default, MS Word or
Excel is closed when the update begins downloading to allow automatic
installation of the update once downloaded. This may be prevented by
unchecking the box to automatically install updates once downloaded on the
updater screen. The user must be connected to the internet to use this feature.
Register Online: Launches the default web browser and accesses the software
registration page of the ViewPlus website. There the user can register his or her
software to help ViewPlus' customer service team respond quickly to technical
support inquiries. The user must be connected to the internet to use this feature.
C. Special Features in MS Excel
Operation of the Tiger Formatter in MS Excel differs somewhat from operation in MS
Word. In Excel, the Quick Emboss option is not available. Because of the nature of Excel
spreadsheets, the Translation Mode selection is unnecessary and does not show in the
Tiger menu. Also absent from the Tiger menu in Excel is the Reload Original Document
option. This option is unnecessary in Excel because the original sheet in the
spreadsheet is not changed when the Formatter is run.
The Formatter Settings screen differs in Excel. Some options available in Word are not
available in Excel. Those options that are not available for Excel are greyed out.
In Excel there are also two extra items in the Tiger menu, 'Refresh Ink Sheet' and 'Print'.
More information on these items appears later in this section.
Excel spreadsheets will translate and be formatted as they are in MS Word. The cells will
automatically expand to fit the larger braille font. When using the Chart Wizard function
to create a chart, selecting the option to place the chart on a new worksheet is
recommended. Charts that are part of the original data sheet cannot be translated. That
means the chart will be found on a different tab and the Formatter will be able to
translate the fonts in the chart.
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If a sheet is a chart sheet, Formatter will:
o Translate Column, Bar, Line, Pie, Scatter, Doughnut and Radar charts.
o Translate Chart Titles, x-Axis Title, y-Axis Title, Data Labels, x-Axis
category names in Column Chart, y-Axis category names in Bar Chart.
Formatter will NOT:
o Translate values or legends. The part that is not translated will be shown
in Computer Braille font.
o Translate the original headers or footers. It will insert the translated file
name in the center header, the translated sheet name into the left footer
and the translated page number into the right footer.
Once an Excel worksheet has been formatted, a copy of the original sheet will be saved,
and there will be two new sheets labeled Braille Sheet and Ink Sheet. If the workbook
also contains a chart, the original chart will be saved plus there will be a sheet labeled
Chart Braille and Chart Ink. The ink sheets may be used for printing interline.
Refresh Ink Sheet
1. Will reformat the Ink Sheet so that the column width of the Ink Sheet is adjusted
to that of the corresponding Braille Sheet.
2. If the Ink Sheet is a Chart Sheet, will adjust the width and height of each Chart
element so that they have the same dimension as those in the Braille Chart
Sheet.
3. Will perform reformatting whenever the Braille Sheet's format is changed and
this menu item is clicked (or the corresponding button on the new command bar
is clicked). Therefore, if the user sees a need to adjust the column width (or
Chart dimensions) in the Braille Sheet after the translation, he/she can do so
with a simple click, the Ink Sheet is also reformatted accordingly.
Print
This option opens a customized printer dialog for printing Braille Sheets. Options
available on this dialog are explained below.
Figure 7: Tiger Excel printer dialog.
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Printer: List of ViewPlus embossers installed on the computer.
Print to File Checkbox: Check this box to print the file to a Tiger Designer file
and preview it there before printing to a ViewPlus embosser.
Print What: Specify what to print.
o Active sheets - Will print all the selected sheets in the current window.
o Selection - Will print all the selections in all the selected sheets. (NOTE:
If there are selections in multiple pages, only the selected area for the
active sheet will be used, even the selected areas are different in other
selected sheets. For example, if sheet 1 has A5 to D5 selected, sheet 2
has A10 to C10 selected, and sheet1 is the active sheet but both sheets
are selected to be printed, then on sheet2, the selected area will
automatically be changed to A5 to D5). If there are multiple selections in
one sheet, each selection will be printed on a separate sheet.
o Entire workbook - All the sheets (ordinary sheets and chart sheets) will
be printed.
Print Mode
o Emboss - Emboss Braille text only.
o Ink - When emboss is checked, will print ink between lines of Braille dots
(not applicable here).
o 2 in 1 - Will print a Braille page, followed by an Ink page. The final result
is that both the ink and the braille will be printed inside a cell (or on a
chart).
NOTE: If an ink-attached printer is selected, all three checkboxes will
be enabled; otherwise, only Emboss is enabled. The user should set the
paper size on the braille sheet and the ink sheet will automatically be set
for the same size paper.

Copies: Select the number of copies to print.
NOTE: When printed in 2 in 1 mode, both the Braille Sheet and the Ink
Sheet need to be sent, and they must have the same page break
settings to allow the ink at the correct, desired position. Currently, only
the Braille Sheet's setting is used, it is necessary to edit the page break
settings on the Braille Sheet.
More detailed tips on using the Tiger Formatter can be found in the ViewPlus Tutorials,
which are on the ViewPlus web site (www.viewplus.com).
III. Tiger Designer
A. Introduction
Tiger Designer is the component of Tiger Software Suite that allows fine editing of Tiger
files. Use the Tiger Designer program to fine-tune documents without embossing them
on ViewPlus embosser. The Designer uses files with a .prn extension to show how a
document will emboss, displaying dots visually in greyscale on the computer screen. Use
Tiger Designer with the ViewPlus Pro Ink Attachment, Emprint or Emprint SpotDot to
preview the ink and Braille combined view. Start with a new document or print a
document to file to begin editing. After desired editing, print directly to a ViewPlus
embosser, powered by Tiger from Tiger Designer.
Designer has functions similar to MS Paint. Users can freehand draw, add shapes, move
items, erase items and add text vertically or horizontally.
The Tiger Designer can be found under Start>All Programs>ViewPlus>Tiger Designer.
Designer is a useful tool for proofreading and editing documents before printing on
paper. A hot key can also be set to access it.
B. Creating a File for Tiger Designer
Tiger Designer is used to can be used to view and edit *.prn files which are generated by
printing to file with a ViewPlus embosser. Here are the steps for creating a file for the
viewer:


After creating a Word document, go to the Print window.
Make sure a ViewPlus embosser is the selected printer.

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Check the "Print to file" box.
Click OK.
Select a file name and location where the document can easily be found. The file
extension should be .prn.
Click OK.
Open Tiger Designer. For frequent users of Designer, it might be helpful to
create a shortcut to this application.
Once Tiger Designer is open, go to file and open the file just saved. This is a
preview of the printed page.
C. Using Tiger Designer
Figure 8: Menu bar in Tiger Designer.
Tiger Designer has a standard Windows menu bar. The menus and commands are as
follows:



File menu
o New: If the user is creating a new page using Tiger Designer, the page
size must be entered. From the pull down menu, the user must select
whether an embossed page or an ink page is being created.
o Open
o Reload
o Save
o Save As
o Print
o Print file
o Print Options
o Exit
Edit menu
o Undo
o Redo
o Paste: This command may also be used to insert pictures (bitmaps or
jpegs) from other applications. Once pasted into Designer, an editing
tool pops up allowing the user to adjust the brightness, contrast and
edges.
o Copy
o Cut
o Insert Page After
o Insert Page Before
o Delete Page
Navigation menu
o Next Page
o Previous Page
o Last Page


o First Page
o Go To Page
o Shift
Magnification menu
o Zoom In
o Zoom Out
Colors menu
Colors can be selected from the Toolbar or from this function (0-7 plus Text). Seven
would be the heaviest punch. None can also be selected. If the user selects white or
none in combination with the editing tools, it is similar to using an erase tool.

Tool menu
Icons can be used for easy access to most of the tools.
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Pen: This tool makes the drawing of single line dots possible. It can
work like freehand in MS Paint. It also can be used to add additional
dots or replace dots with a white space if dots need to be removed.
Brush: This tool draws lines which can be several dots wide.
Brush properties: Once the brush is selected, this tool allows the user to
select the width, height, vertical and horizontal offset of the brush.
Line: This tool allows the user to draw lines. The line is displayed in red
until the drawing is completed.
Draw Rectangle: This tool allows the user to draw any size rectangle. As
long as the mouse is held down and the rectangle is displayed as red,
the size of the rectangle can be changed.
Fill Rectangle: Use this tool to draw a rectangle, and it will be filled with
the selected color dots. It can also be used to fill a previously drawn
rectangle.
Oval: This tool is similar to the rectangle tool.
Fill Oval: This tool is similar to the fill rectangle tool.
Fill Area: Use this tool to fill any shape drawn with any tool. This is
especially useful for filling a free form shape drawn with the pen. It can
also be used to fill other pre-drawn shapes. Just select this tool and
click on the shape to be filled.
Select Rectangle: Use this tool to draw around any shape to copy, cut or
move. Once the new location for the copy has been reached, release
the mouse. This tool can also be used to cut an object. Draw around an
object, then use the Cut option in the Edit menu. The Paste command
can also be used once an object has been cut. The pasted object can
then be dragged to any location on the screen.
Braille Label: The user can insert horizontal or vertical braille labels. The
user can select which braille font to use.
Line Width: This changes the width of drawn lines or the width of the
outline of unfilled shapes.
Antialiasing: This is a toggle which allows antialiasing to be turned off
and on.
Interpoint View: Use of this view provides a check to determine if the
current page should be printed using the interpoint feature. The areas of
the graphic which would interfere with the embossed second side will be
displayed in red. The user can either change the graphic or choose not
to print the page using interpoint.
Combined View: This view shows a combined view of the ink and the
embossed pages.

Transform menu
o Rotate: This will rotate the drawings 90 degrees clockwise.
o Shift: The user can set the number of spaces and the direction of move
for the entire page
D. Printing from Tiger Designer
Files with a .prn extension can be printed directly from the Tiger Designer. The print
menu allows the user to select the printer to use, the number of copies desired and the
pages to print.
IV. Tiger Translator Lite
A. Introduction
The Tiger Formatter will be used for most text-to-braille translations. In addition, TSS
includes the Tiger Translator Lite, which can be used as a text-to-braille translator for
working outside MS Office. It can:


Translate to braille in programs not suited for Tiger Formatter.
Convert clipboard text to braille for pasting into virtually any document.
B. Using Tiger Translator Lite
The Tiger Translator Lite should be used as a cut and paste clipboard. From the
application, follow these steps:

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
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


Select the text to be translated.
Copy the text (Ctrl+C).
Open the Tiger Translator Lite.
Select the desired properties of the Braille.
Choose the Translate Clipboard Text button.
After the message is displayed indicating that the translation is completed, paste
(Ctrl+V) the translated text back into the original document.
Highlight the translated text and change the font to Braille29 ASCII, size 29.
Figure 9: Tiger Translator Lite.
V. Support
A. Support
Tutorials and other support materials are available on the ViewPlus website. For these
resources and other support inquiries, please visit ViewPlus Support online.
Additional training and support is available for purchase through your authorized
ViewPlus distributor or from ViewPlus Technologies.