SignMaker is free for non-commercial use only; that is, personal web pages and your own enjoyment. Commercial use means any web page or product that is sold or ad-supported, with the only exception those poor souls whose web host (Geocities, Tripod, etc) inflicts ads on site visitors.

To use SignMaker online (no download required), go to http://www.kurumi.com/roads/signmaker/signmaker.html.

Downloading SignMaker
The rest of this page shows you how to download the class files and .GIF images to run SignMaker on your home system. You will then be able to use SignMaker without an Internet connection or even a browser. SignMaker will certainly start up faster and possibly run faster.

SignMaker requires a Java Runtime (v 1.0.2 or later) on your system. The "Runtime" is just a program that can run Java programs for you outside of a browser.

Follow these steps to install SignMaker on your system.

1. See if there is a Java runtime on your system. If so, you can skip having to download it in step 3. A browser plug-in doesn't count: the Java program must run on its own. Places to look:
   • Mac: File Find for "java"
   • Unix: /usr/local/bin/java, /usr/local/jdk/bin/java, or ask your sysadmin
   • windows NT: c:\winnt\system32\java.exe
2. If you found what looks like a java runtime, try it out: type java -help. You should get a usage statement starting with something like: Usage: java [-options] class. For Mac users, try the About box to confirm the version: it should be 1.0.2 or higher.
3. If you didn't find one, you need to download one, or find one on CD. Places to look are below, but try Google for the latest.
   • Mac: http://www.apple.com/java/ (8 MB)
   • Solaris, windows http://java.sun.com/products/jdk/1.1/jre/ (Solaris - 5 MB; win - 3MB)
   • Others: http://java.sun.com/cgi-bin/java-ports.cgi
   Follow the directions included with the CD or download to install Java.
4. Create a directory where you'd like the Java class files and GIFs to live.
5. Download and unpack the SignMaker bundle (sm230.zip, an 83K package). To unpack, use Stuffit (Mac), Winzip (Windows), or gunzip and tar (Unix). You should now have about 17 class files and 12 GIFs.

Starting SignMaker
You'll want to be in the directory where you unpacked the SignMaker files.

• Mac: start Java and open SignMaker.class.
• Unix: type java SignMaker.
• Windows: Open a Command Prompt and type java SignMaker. If you get a NoClassDefFound error, your runtime probably doesn't automatically search the current directory. If that happens, add a classpath argument: java -cp . SignMaker.

Quitting SignMaker
Click the close box on the green window or press Alt-F4.

If you run into problems...
Although the downloadable SignMaker is easier to use, getting it set up requires some familiarity with your system. I will not be able to provide personalized tech support on installing Java (or taking screen shots, or other FAQ/found in the manual questions).

If Java runs perfectly with other applications but not SignMaker, please let me know.

Thanks! - Kurumi

Home: www.kurumi.com