• Windows 7 or higher.
• Possibly it will run under Wine for Linux and Mac OS X.

KnotMaker is a "portable" app, meaning that there's nothing to install. Simply unzip the downloaded file (as described below) and double-click the KnotMaker.exe file to run KnotMaker. It can also be run from a USB flash drive on any Windows PC or laptop because it uses a local .INI file to save the configuration info rather than writing anything to the Windows registry.

To use KnotMaker, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the following link, then download the KnotMaker_2.3.zip file to your computer (in most browsers the download option is called "Save Link As"): KnotMaker_2.3.zip (2,889K).
2. Unzip the file that you downloaded (search online to learn how to unzip a file). This will create a new folder called "KnotMaker_2.3" that can be moved to any folder on your computer.
3. In the KnotMaker_2.3 folder, double-click the KnotMaker.exe file to run KnotMaker.

To remove KnotMaker, simply delete your KnotMaker_2.3 folder.

When you run KnotMaker for the first time, you might see a message that says you need to install the .NET Framework 3.5. This is needed for running older programs written in Microsoft languages such as C# (which is the language used by KnotMaker). Simply click "Download and install this feature" and follow the prompts. If nothing happens after a few minutes then download the .NET Framework 3.5 installation file by clicking "Download .NET Framework 3.5 SP1 Runtime." After the file has been downloaded, go to your Downloads folder and double-click dotnetfx35.exe to execute it. This will download and install the necessary Microsoft files. It takes about 5 minutes, then you'll probably need to restart your computer.

In every folder, all of the files are set to the exact same date and time. This makes it easy to see which files you've modified in a previous version of KnotMaker because those files will have a different modified date/time than the rest of the files.

If you have a previous version of KnotMaker, run it and click Help/About to see what version it is. To upgrade from version 2.1 or higher, follow these steps. For simplicity, let's assume that the previous version is in C:\KnotMaker, and the new version is in C:\KnotMaker_2.3:

1. Change the name of the new C:\KnotMaker_2.3 folder to something like C:\KnotMaker_2.3_Original.

2. Make a copy of the C:\KnotMaker folder (the previous version) and change the name of the new folder to C:\KnotMaker_2.3. Now you have two identical copies of the previous version.

3. Copy the KnotMaker.exe file, the Help folder, and the KnotTyer3D folder from the C:\KnotMaker_2.3_Original folder to the C:\KnotMaker_2.3 folder.

Now you can double-click the KnotMaker.exe file in the new C:\KnotMaker_2.3 folder to run the new version of KnotMaker, and all of the customizations that you've done in the previous version will be available in the new version.

Let's assume that KnotMaker is in the C:\KnotMaker_2.3 folder. Here's a description of the files and folders that come with KnotMaker:

• C:\KnotMaker_2.3 - This folder contains the executable file plus some configuration files that can be modified within KnotMaker. Double-click the KnotMaker.exe file to run KnotMaker.
• C:\KnotMaker_2.3\Drawings - This folder contains drawings of knots, which are saved as .KM or .KMA files. A number of drawings are provided in KnotMaker_2.3.zip, and you can save your own drawings into this folder (or any other folder).
• C:\KnotMaker_2.3\Help - This folder contains the Help files. In KnotMaker, press F1 to bring up the main Help file.
• C:\KnotMaker_2.3\KnotTyer3D - This folder contains the free KnotTyer3D program that can display your drawings in 3D.
• C:\KnotMaker_2.3\Tilesets - This folder contains a sub-folder for each tileset (a "tileset" is a set of tiles for drawing knots). These are the default tileset folders that come with KnotMaker, and you can create your own tilesets (as described under the Help menu in KnotMaker):

  • Basic Rope
  • Solid Rope

  Each tileset folder contains the following sub-folders:

  • Base Images - This folder contains the base PNG files that are used for building the tileset. Don't modify these files.
  • Tileset Config - This folder contains the configuration files for the tileset. You can modify these files in any text editor to customize the way that KnotMaker handles the tiles (see the online Help for more information).
  • Tileset Images - This folder contains the image files for the tiles that are displayed in KnotMaker.

You are hereby granted permission to freely distribute and use this software program, at no cost. You are free to use, copy, distribute, publish, etc., any drawings/pictures made with this software program, at no cost. The source code is owned and copyrighted by Derek Smith and Dave Root. Please email any KnotMaker bugs, issues, or questions to me (Dave) at dave.root@live.com.

No warranty of any kind is expressed or implied. This software program is provided on an "AS-IS" basis. By using this software program, you agree to do so at your own risk and assume all responsibility for any results from using it. The authors of this software program shall not be held liable for any data loss, damages, loss of profits, or any other kind of loss whatsoever that may result, directly or indirectly, from the use of this software program.