Introduction

The Essential Flytier is an interactive flytying instructional program. It is designed to be easy to use, but contains a great deal of information and does require a degree of familiarity with the program to derive the full benefits it offers. This User Guide provides complete instructions for using The Essential Flytier.

Main Window

The main window contains three tabbed pages: Flybox, Pattern, and Help.

Flybox Tab

The Flybox tab contains a picture of each pattern this volume of The Essential Flytier shows you how to tie. To select a pattern, simply click it. The Pattern tab then shows you how to tie the selected fly.

Pattern Tab

The Pattern tab contains the tools that show you how to tie the selected pattern in detail. The title of the pattern tab is always the selected fly. The Pattern tab contains four panels, each of which presents instructions or other information pertinent to the selected pattern.

Virtual-reality (VR) Panel

The VR Panel shows you the selected pattern in various stages of completion. At each step, you can click-and-drag or click a rotation cursor to rotate the fly 360 degrees so you can see exactly how that step, and the fly to that point, is constructed. The VR panel also allows you to zoom in for a detailed view of a specific part of the fly, drag the zoomed image to a different position inside the VR Panel, and select the next or previous tying step. The following image points out all of the features the VR Panel provides.

Notice that the cursor changes depending on where it is in the VR Panel.

Video Panel

The Video Panel contains a video clip that shows you how to perform the current step in tying the selected pattern. When you finish the current step, the fly should look like the example shown in the VR Panel. The Video Panel allows you to play the current video clip, rewind the clip, move to a specific position within the clip and then play it, or select the next or previous step in the selected pattern. You can also change the size of the Video Panel, although the best picture quality is at the default size. The following image points out all of the features the Video Panel provides.

Text Panel

The Text Panel contains detailed information about the current step, the index for or an overview of the current pattern, or a description of a material or tool. Text in this panel can contain hyperlinks that jump to other text information or play a video. If you are in the process of tying a fly and read one or more different text descriptions of materials or techniques, for example, you can immediately return to the step you were on by clicking the Last Step button. The following image points out all of the features the Text Panel provides.

Materials/Tools Panel

The Materials/Tools panel displays a picture of the materials used to tie the selected pattern, in the order they are used, or tools commonly used to tie any fly. Click the image of a material or tool to display a text description of that item in the Text Panel. The following image points out all of the features the Materials/Tools Panel provides.

Help Tab

The Help tab contains overview information, similar to that provided in this User Guide although not as detailed, designed to help you begin using The Essential Flytier immediately. Use the Help tab as a reminder for using the features The Essential Flytier offers.