VizEx Reader FAQ

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1. I open my CGM file and all I get is a blank screen!

Usually this is because older versions of some CAD systems create white-on-white or black-on-black images. The easiest way to fix this is to hit the color palette button and choose "optimize for printing", which forces the background to white and all other colors to black.

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2. When I print a CGM from I-DEAS, I get an unreadable black print.

This is because your image likely has a black background with light-colored lines. The easiest way to fix this is to hit the color palette button and choose "optimize for printing", which forces the background to white and all other colors to black.

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3. When I print the lines come out too grey and thin to read properly.

This is likely because the scale of the image is very large (over 36" or so) and you are printing to an A-size printer. The "optimize for printing" option under the color palette option can help with this, sometimes. Otherwise, you will need to either print to a larger printer or upgrade to VizEx Professional to allow pagination.

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4. How do I save a CGM in TIFF format in VizEx Reader?

An upgrade to VizEx Professional will give you the abilty to save CGM as TIFF or other formats

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5. How do I do scaled printing, such as 1:1, 1:2, etc?

The free VizEx Reader only does fit-to-page printing for up to 11 x 17 inch page size. If you want to control the scale of prints or need to print on large format printers, we recommend upgrading to VizEx Professional.

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6. I'm finding plotting of seismic data and large maps to be slow and unreliable with VizEx Reader.

VizEx Reader relies on the Windows print system to print. The Windows printing system was not designed for large format plotting. If you want to plot quickly and reliably, The RIP option for VizEx Professional or GeoTech is the way to go. It has the Larson CGM and TIFF rasterizer embedded in it, and will remove print processing and length limitations from the Windows system altogether. Try it - you'll be amazed.

Alternatively you can upgrade to VizEx Professional on newer plotters. You will have much more reliability, but it may still take a long time since it still relies on Windows print drivers. You do have control over scaling, however.

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7. May I distribute VizEx Reader with my application, website, other?

You cannot distribute VizEx Reader, it is for personal usage. The best thing to do is to create a link to the FREE VizEx Reader download page, as this will ensure that you are in compliance at all times. We do offer a Corporate License which permits distribution, please contact us for details.

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8. My website/project only works properly with an old version of your viewer

We do offer a Corporate License that includes support and updates for VizEx Reader, so if it is important to your business, we suggest a Corporate License or upgrading to VizEx Professional which is covered by our support and maintenance policy. With a support contract, you will receive advance notice of new releases. We always strive for backwards compatibility, but our priority is meeting the needs of our customers with support contracts.

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9. The install just hangs with no error message.

Look for a process called "_isdel.exe" and kill it, then try again. It is probably left over from some other installer. Or just reboot and try again.

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10. I get an error message about "ikernel.exe" when installing.

This may be an issue with the Install Shield, please follow the instructions on this page: http://consumer.installshield.com/kb.asp?id=Q108247

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11. Do you have an example of how to embed CGM in HTML?

Yes, here you go: http://www.cgmlarson.com/docs/webcgmview/webcgmdemo.html

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12. Why do you offer a free CGM viewer this good?

To enable the use of the open CGM format as it was intended, an electronic graphics exchange format. CGM is an open standard that is not owned by any single company. The advanced forms of it are supported in a very hit-or-miss fashion currently in typical desktop applications. It is very much in our interest for there to be a good, solid, freely available viewer that people can rely on. We sell proprietary software to work with this open standard format. Therefore, the more it is used, the more of a potential market we have for our software. Also, it's nice that people can get used to our technology through the free viewer, and hopefully come to us first when they need something more.

Currently major automotive and aerospace companies are standardizing on CGM in order to support their long term graphic workflow. When you have a fifty year lifecycle, you don't want to be locked in to a proprietary format. CGM has also been a standard format for the Oil and Gas Exploration industry, where it is now also used increasingly in electronic form as well.

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13. I downloaded your viewer and it doesn't work.

Could you be more specific, please send e-mail to support@cgmlarson.com