CG5: Creating Clip Catalogs for Distribution

ID: Q244830

The information in this article applies to:
  • Microsoft Clip Gallery 5.0 for Windows
IMPORTANT: This article contains information about editing the registry. Before you edit the registry, make sure you understand how to restore it if a problem occurs. For information about how to do this, view the "Restoring the Registry" Help topic in Regedit.exe or the "Restoring a Registry Key" Help topic in Regedt32.exe.

SUMMARY

Clip Gallery 5.0 allows you to create a catalog of new clip art files or a collection of corporate clip images for use in official documents, by creating your own custom clip catalog (*.mmc file).


MORE INFORMATION

Steps for Creating Custom Clip Catalogs

Step 1: Back Up Current Artgal50.mmc File

If you have already created personal or custom Clip Gallery catalogs or categories, back up your current Artgal50.mmc file:
  1. First, you must locate the Artgal50.mmc file that Clip Gallery creates.


    • In Windows NT, the file is located at
      C:\WINNT\Profiles\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Catalog\Artgal50.mmc
      where username is your login ID for your computer.


    • In Windows 95/98 the file is located at
      C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Catalog\Artgal50.mmc
      -or-

      If you have enabled Windows 98 user profiles, the file is located at
      C:\Windows\Profiles\username\Application Data\Microsoft\Media Catalog\Artgal50.mmc
      where username is your login ID for your computer.


  2. After you find the Artgal50.mmc file, rename its .mmc file name extension to .old.


NOTE: Later, if you want to restore your original artgal50 catalog, locate the file you renamed to Artgal50.old and rename it back to Artgal50.mmc.

Step 2: Create a Clip Collection Folder

Collect all the clip media into one or more folders or subfolders. Next, determine whether the people who will access the clips will be doing so from their local computers or from a network share?
  • Network Server Share: If you plan to have people access the clip files from a network file share, create a folder on the network server share that you intend to use. Make sure that the share is one that all your users can access.


  • Local folder: If you plan to have people place the new clip media files on their hard disk drive, Microsoft recommends that you put the clip collection folder in the \Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Clipart folder. This makes installation easier later on.


After you have created your clip collection folder, begin copying the various clip media you want to include in this new clip catalog.

NOTE: If you put more than 5,000 clip media files into a folder, it slows down your access that folder. You might want to create subfolders in your main folder to help further organize your collection into subcategories.

Step 3: Import Files into Clip Gallery

  1. Open one of the following programs: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint, or Microsoft Publisher.


  2. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click Clip Art.


  3. Click the Import Clips button on the toolbar and navigate to the folder you created in Step 2: Create a Clip Collection Folder earlier.

    Make sure to click Let Clip Gallery find this clip in its current folder or volume. This lets Clip Gallery know to look for the clips outside of the default file locations.


  4. You can import the clip files one at a time or all at once.

    To add all the files at the same time:

    1. Select all the files by selecting the first file in the list; then hold down SHIFT, and select the last file in the list.


    2. Click Import.


    3. In the Clip Properties dialog box, type a description of the clip. On the Category tab, select which categories this clip should belong to. On the Keywords tab, add keywords to assist searches.


    4. If you want all the art to have the same description, categories, or keywords, click to select the Mark all clips with the same properties check box, and then click OK. After the Inserting Multiple Clips progress dialog box closes, the new clips and categories you created are now available for use.

      -or-

      If you choose to provide descriptions to each clip individually, click OK. The preview of the clip is visible in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. Click OK. Repeat this process until all the art you selected is added to the category.


    -or-

    To add each file one at a time:

    1. Select the clip you want to import. Click Import.


    2. In the Clip Properties dialog box, type a description of the clip. On the Category tab, select which categories this clip should belong to. On the Keywords tab, add keywords to assist searches. Click OK. The preview of the clip is visible in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. Click OK.


    3. Repeat these steps for each clip file you want to import.




  5. Close the Insert ClipArt dialog box.


Step 4: Move and Rename the Artgal50.mmc File

Return to the folder where you had first found the Artgal50.mmc file in Step 1: Back Up Current Artgal50.mmc File. You now have a new Artgal50.mmc file. This .mmc file contains the information and the thumbnail images of the clips you just imported.
  1. Move the Artgal50.mmc file to your clips collection folder.


  2. Rename the Artgal50.mmc file to something appropriate for the clips you imported. Make sure it has the .mmc file name extension.


  3. Return to the folder from which you just moved the Artgal50.mmc file, and rename the Artgal50.old file back to Artgal50.mmc. This restores all your old settings.


Step 5: Importing New Clip Catalog

  1. Open one of the following programs: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Publisher.


  2. On the Insert menu, point to Picture, and then click Clip Art.


  3. Click the Import Clips button on the toolbar and navigate to the folder you created in Step 2: Create a Clip Collection Folder.


  4. In the Files of type list, click Clip Gallery catalogs.


  5. Select the Catalog_name.mmc file that you moved to that location, where catalog_name is the name of the Artgal50.mmc file that you renamed in Step 4: Move and Rename the Artgal50.mmc File. Click Import.


  6. Close Clip Gallery.


Creating a Custom Registry Key

At this point, if your clip collection is on a network share, then you can have each user import the new catalog file as you did in step 5 above, or you can create a distribution package to ease the installation of the custom Clip Catalog. This requires you to create a custom registry key and a transform file for the Windows Installer.

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

For information about how to edit the registry, view the "Changing Keys and Values" Help topic in Registry Editor (Regedit.exe) or the "Add and Delete Information in the Registry" and "Edit Registry Data" Help topics in Regedt32.exe. Note that you should back up the registry before you edit it. If you are running Windows NT, you should also update your Emergency Repair Disk (ERD).

Creating the Registry Key File

  1. On the Windows Start menu, click Run.


  2. In the Open box type Regedit.exe and click OK.


  3. In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key (folder)
    HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ClipArt Gallery\Catalogs\UserImportedX
    where UserImportedX the last imported catalog you created in the Clip Gallery.


  4. Click to select the UserImportedX key (folder).


  5. On the Registry menu, click Export Registry File. Use the same name you assigned to the custom Clip Catalog for the registry key file. Click OK.


  6. Quit the Registry Editor.


Edit the Registry Key

  1. In Microsoft Notepad, open the registry file you just saved.


  2. Change the following line in the file
    [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\ClipArt Gallery\Catalogs\UserImportedX]
    to read as follows
    [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\ClipArt Gallery\Catalogs\5.0\ConcurrentDatabase\CatalogName\CatalogName]
    where CatalogName is the name you assigned to the custom Clip Catalog you created earlier in this article.


  3. Save the file and close Notepad.


Now move the registry file into the folder you had created for the clip collection.

Next, you need to create the transform file so that you can install the custom clip catalog with Office 2000 from a network share. For more information, refer to the following information on the Office Resource Kit Web site:

Customizing Your Office 2000 Installation:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/two/40ct.htm
How to Add Files to the Installation:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/two/40t2_4.htm
How to Set Registry Entries:
http://www.microsoft.com/office/ork/2000/two/40t3_3.htm

Additional query words:

Keywords : kbdta kbclip
Version : WINDOWS:5.0
Platform : WINDOWS
Issue type : kbhowto


Last Reviewed: December 2, 1999
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