Does PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer add much size (and therefore download time) to my email messages?

What should I do when I receive an error message trying to download the PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer I purchased?

How can I tell if I have the most current version of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

How can I get PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer on CD?

I've inserted graphics (images) in my Stationery Designer-enhanced emails and they display just fine when I view the stationery. But, when someone else receives a Stationery-enhanced email from me, the graphics in the email does not display. (The stationery graphic is just represented by a red "X.") How can I get the image to display in emails that I've sent to others?

PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer allows you to create customized email stationery. You can include your company logo, photos, text styles, background textures, or other personal touches to your emails. PowerPlugs: Stationery, on the other hand, offers professionally created stationery templates that you can select from within Outlook or Outlook Express and instantly apply to any new outgoing email message with just a couple of mouse clicks.

Do I have to own PowerPlugs: Stationery in order to use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

No. PowerPlugs: Stationery is not required in order to use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer. However, we recommend PowerPlugs: Stationery because you can readily access the Stationery Designer tools right within the PowerPlugs: Stationery Picker dialog.

Can I use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer stand alone or in other applications besides Outlook and Outlook Express?

PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer can be run "stand alone" in the following way --

Go to the Start>Programs>PowerPlugs>Stationery Designer menu and click on Stationery Designer listed in the menu. Stationery Designer will be launched with a new stationery wizard.

PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer can be operated from within Outlook or Outlook Express. It cannot be operated from within any other applications.

Will my email recipients be able to see the stationery I have created when I use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer, even if they don't use Outlook or PowerPlugs: Stationery?

In most cases, yes. Although PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer will only create email messages in Microsoft Outlook and Outlook Express, the message format (which includes graphics and formatted text) is recognized and supported by almost all of today's popular email programs and Web browsers. Please see the list of compatible programs below:

Outlook Express
5.5 through 6.0

back to table

AOL 6.0

back to table

Netscape Mail

back to table

Hotmail

back to table

Yahoo! Mail

back to table

Does PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer add much size (and therefore download time) to my email messages?

Generally speaking, if you keep the file size of the graphics and images that you include in your Stationery Designer enhanced emails as small as possible, there should be no noticeable slowdown when these emails are downloaded. For example, the attractive graphics and formatting that PowerPlugs: Stationery adds to an email message only increases the file size by about 5KB, which is approximately 10% for an average 40K email (including attachments). When using a standard dial-up modem connection, this will add a negligible 2 or 3 seconds to the time it takes to download a message. Of course, for those using a broadband Internet connection, it will produce virtually no measurable slowdown at all.

Can I use animation in the stationery I create using PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

Yes. You can insert animated GIF image files in your email stationery. PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer also supports JPEG, GIF, PNG, PCX, TIF, WMF image file types.

Can I create messages with plain text or plain backgrounds when PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer is installed?

Yes. You can use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer to format your emails to plain background(s) and text.

Please read and follow the suggestions posted at our Download FAQ Web page (http://www.CrystalGraphics.com/download.support.asp).  Make sure you've followed the suggestions for setting the "passive ftp" mode in Internet Options. The majority of our customers who experience download problems are able to download once they set passive ftp mode.

If you continue to have problems after following the suggestions posted the Download FAQs Web page and still cannot download the file, please contact Technical support.

How do I install PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

After you have purchased PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer, download the software from the link(s) provided. Locate the downloaded file on your computer.

Before you proceed with installing PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer onto your hard drive, and if you have Outlook 2002 or 2003 installed, go to the Tools menu of Outlook (and Word), select Macro>Security. If the security level is set to "High," change it to Medium (or Low). Then, close Word and Outlook. If your computer is configured in a networked Windows environment, check with your system administrator to make sure that your local PC is granted full administrative rights – at least during the installation of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer (your normal user rights privilege level can be set back to normal after installation). And, it is also a good idea to temporarily disable your anti-virus software.

Once you have verified the conditions described above, go to the folder where the PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer file was downloaded, then simply double-click the file to begin installation.

Note: During installation, even after closing Outlook and Word, PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer may detect that some components of these programs are still running. In that case it will display a dialog box allowing you to close them down completely. Simply click the "Close Application" button to proceed with the installation.

How do I uninstall PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

Make sure Outlook and Word are both closed prior to uninstalling PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer. Then choose one of these two recommended ways to uninstall PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer:

1. Click Start > Programs > PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer > Uninstall
   -or-
2. Click Start > Settings > Control Panel, then double-click Add/Remove Programs.
   1. Select PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer from the Install/Uninstall tab.
   2. Click Add/Remove.

Note: During uninstallation, even after closing Outlook and Word, PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer may detect that some components of these programs are still running. In that case it will display a dialog box allowing you to close them down completely. Simply click the "Close Application" button to proceed with the uninstallation.

How can I tell if I have the most current version of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

Open PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer. Click on the Help button in the Stationery Designer dialog. Select "About PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer." The version number is listed in the "About" dialog box. To verify if you have the most current version installed, go to the Support page at CrystalGraphics' Web site and check whether there is an "Update" link for PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer listed under "PowerPlugs for Microsoft Outlook."

I recently upgraded my version of Office / Outlook. Is there an update for PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

To verify if you have the most current version of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer installed, go to the Support page at CrystalGraphics' Web site and check whether there is an "Update" link for PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer listed under "PowerPlugs for Microsoft Outlook." Once you have verified that you have the current version of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer, yet you are unable to use PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer in the recently upgraded version of Outlook, open Outlook. Go to the Tools menu. Select Macro>Security. Set the Macro>Security level to Medium or Low (if it is currently set to "High"). Close Outlook. Uninstall PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer, then reinstall PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer. You should then be able to access PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer in your newer version of Office / Outlook thereafter.

How can I get PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer on CD?

PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer is available as a "Download-only" product. It is currently unavailable on CD-ROM. However, you may make a back-up copy of PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer file (i.e. for off-site safekeeping and archival purposes) that you have downloaded by burning your own CD.

I want to select PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer tools from the Stationery Picker dialog. But, the PowerPlugs: Stationery button / toolbar is not visible in Outlook / Outlook Express. What can I do?

Let's confirm that PowerPlugs: Stationery was properly installed. Open Outlook. Go to the Tools menu and select Macro>Security. Set the security level to Medium or Low (if it is set to "High"). Close Outlook. Go to the Windows Start button>Programs>PowerPlugs>Stationery. Select Uninstall. Then reinstall PowerPlugs: Stationery (see pre-installation tips outlined in "How do I install PowerPlugs: Stationery?"). Open Outlook and you should see the Stationery button displayed beneath Outlook's menu toolbar. Click the Stationery button (or access Stationery from within Outlook's Tools menu), then you should be able to access PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer tools from within the Stationery Picker dialog.

I've inserted graphics (images) in my Stationery Designer-enhanced emails and they display just fine when I view the stationery. But, someone else receives a Stationery-enhanced email from me, the graphics in the email does not display. (The stationery graphic is just represented by a red "X.") How can I get the image to display in emails that I've sent to others?

If someone receives a Stationery-enhanced email from you, but it does not display the graphic (images) in the email (only a box with a red X shows where the image “should be”), you may have sent the email without any text entry in the body of the email message. (You may be able to send a “blank” email message to yourself and see the graphics just fine because your Outlook/Outlook Express application can locate the graphic image files associated with your stationery on your computer. But, when you are preparing to send a stationery-enhanced email to someone else, the graphics associated with the stationery do not become embedded in the email until you've entered some text in the body of the email.) So, make sure you enter some text in the body of your email message before you send your stationery-enhanced email to others.. Also, go to the Tools menu of Outlook. Select Options>Mail Format. Make sure you have your outgoing email format set to "HTML." And, enable "Send pictures from Internet with emails." Click "OK" to close the Options dialog. Then, compose an email and send it out.

Can I edit existing stationery templates with PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer?

Yes, you certainly can. For instance, you can take any stationery template from PowerPlugs: Stationery to edit and customize.

How can I change the background color of my email stationery?

Just click the ‘Stationery using templates' button located in the Stationery Designer standard tool bar to easily add or change the background color of your email stationery. Or, you can move your cursor to the background area of the stationery, right mouse click to edit "Table Cell properties," and then change the background color.

How can I change the margins where my email message displays?

To change the page margins of your stationery, move your cursor to the background area of the stationery, right mouse click to edit "Table Cell properties," and then change the Dimension options (Height and Width). Click OK when done.

How can I display animated text in my stationery-enhanced emails?

To include animated text in your PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer-enhanced email messages, use the Marquee Animation tool. The Marquee Animation tool is located in the Stationery Designer toolbar menu or go to the Insert menu and select Marquee Animation. When the dialog box displays, you can enter your text, as well as select the font type, direction and speed that you want the text to scroll. You can also insert an image to scroll in your email message as well.

How can I change the background color of marquee animation that I've applied to my stationery?

Simply right mouse click on the inserted Marquee animation content and select Marquee Properties. The dialog box will display and you can then edit and customize the background as well as other components of the marquee animation.

Why don't the graphics always show up when the message is printed?

When Microsoft Outlook prints a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) message with pictures from the Internet, the pictures may not print correctly or may not print at all. Print Preview is also not available for HTML emails. These limitations are present in Microsoft Outlook even without PowerPlugs: Stationery Designer installed.

The omission of graphics when printing generally occurs after you install Internet Explorer version 5.5 Service Pack 1 (SP1) or Internet Explorer version 6.0. Microsoft suggests obtaining the latest service pack for Internet Explorer 5.5 or the supported fix for Internet Explorer 6.0. You will also need the supported fix for Outlook.

Another effective way to print a message with accompanying graphics is to set Word as your email editor, and then print the message from Word. Take the following steps to change your settings: