Tips and Tricks

Figures appear to small?

On some modern screens FlexMax has got a problem. The figures appear to small, such that they don't fill the image frame provided for them. Consequently they appear to small both in the database and in a document.

The newest version 2.0.16 contains a solution to this problem. Select "Settings" fom the "View" command, click on "Korrektur Bildgröße" and set the value to 2. Check the result and adapt the correction value if necessary.

Use the Mouse Wheel

Working with FlexMax is much more efficient when you use the mouse wheel for turning the parts of a figure. And if your mouse should not have a wheel - you can buy a wheel mouse for little money in any computer shop.

Set Startup Image

You can use an image of your liking as the startup image. First create the image you want as startup, then select Settings from the View menu, and in the Start Image frame, select Current Image. Every time you launch FlexMax or select New from the Posture menu, this image will be present. Thus you can for e.g. use a startup figure which already has your preferred colors and line width. Or, if you are working on a series of variants to a base position, select the base position for startup.

The Hips of FlexMax

With version 2 FlexMax has grown hips. Yet all figures created with version 1 have no hips. If you want to improve any figure by adding hips, please proceed as follows.

Klick on the figure. In the window part to the right there is a list of body parts. Klick on the Hip entry. Further down there is a gadget called Length. Set this gadget to 100%. Below the body parts lists there is a Left / Right switch; change the switch position, and set the length gadget to 100% again.

You may also want to use the Connect Hips switch. If it is on, both hips move together when one of the hips is selected and you turn your mouse wheel.

Use the Database as Starting Point for your Work

Many users know the database only in the context of the Open and Save menu items. In this context you have a restricted view to the database. To use the full capacities of the database, open it through the Database command of the View menu, or still better: launch FlexMax from the Database entry in the Windows start menu in the first place. In order to use or edit a position or sequence, just doubleclick on it's picture, and the editor window opens automatically. You can also copy an entry to the clipboard and use it in your document directly, by clicking on the entry with your right mouse button and selecting the Copy entry.

On top of the full database view you find a menu with useful items. For example, you can add new columns to your database, to introduce your own criteria for sorting or searching the database. To do that, select Edit Attributes from the Settings menu. You can also create and use other databases, using the Create New Database and Change Database commands from the File menu.

With FlexMax version 2 you have the new commands Export and Import available. You can use them to export selected positions or sequences to a separate database, which you could pass to another FlexMax user. Or you can import a database you may have received from another FlexMax user into your own database.

Where is my Database?

Usually you don't have to worry about where your database is, physically. But you may want to make a backup copy, or you may need to move to a new computer, in which case this question becomes important.

The default database is a file named Database.mdb or Database, according to the folder view settings on your computer. The location of this file depends on the Windows version you use:

• Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows 10: C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\FlexMax
• Windows 2000, ME, XP, Vista: C:\Documents and Settings\[your username]\Application Data\FlexMax
• Windows 98: C:\Windows\Application Data\FlexMax

It may be that you don't see some of the folders mentioned above. In this case, go to the Extra menu of the folder and select the folder options item (Windows 10: go to the View menu of the folder and select the Options item), click on the View tab, find the Hidden Files and Folders entry, and select the option Show all Files and Folders. It could also be that you don't see the folder menu I was just talking about. In this case hit the "Alt" key on your keyboard to make the menu visible.

If you have used the command Create New Database before, your current database may be located elsewhere and have a different name. You can find out by using the Change Database command from the File menu. The dialog window will show you the name and location of your current database.

If you are using version 1, this procedure may not yield the correct result, and you may have to take a look into the Windows registry. But be careful, don't change any entries in the registry. In the Start menu, (select Run and) enter "regedit". In the left part of the window, by clicking on the "+" signs, navigate to "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Matzka\FlexMax" and click on the folder symbol named "General". Then you will see the path of your current database in the entry "CurrentDatabase".

Moving to a new Computer

Of course you install FlexMax on the new computer and enter your license key. But how does your database with all the figures you have already created move to the new computer?

First locate your database with the Windows explorer (cf. above). Then copy it to a folder of your choice on the new computer (using some memory device, e.g. a CD or an USB memory stick, or even by sending an E-Mail to yourself). On the new computer, click on the Start menu and select Database from the FlexMax group. In the File menu, select Change database, navigate to your database, and close the dialog by clicking OK.

Backup your Database

It is good practice to occasionally create a backup copy of your database. In particular if you plan to clean up your database, you should make a copy boforehand, just in case you happen to delete something you didn't intend to delete. Locate the database with the Windows explorer (cf. above). Right-click your database and select Copy. Then right-click to the background of the folder where you want to have your backup copy and select Paste. It is a good idea to have your backup copy on an external storage medium, such as CD or memory stick, just for the case of hard disk failure.