As with any program, certain limitations exist. The purpose of this site is to help users easily navigate through the program and find alternative work-arounds while designing within the Punch! programs; hence the name Punch! Alternatives. The main feature of our site are our galleries:

	THE POWER OF CREATION Create an item such as an object, window, door, trim, pool, template, etc., in any of the Punch! versions and upload them to the Punch! Item Gallery   to share with the world! SHOW off your skill, your passion, and your efforts. CLICK DOWN/UPLOADS.
	THE ELEGANCE OF DESIGN Create a plan, an object, a component, and export it as an image to share with the world and other creators for inspiration, motivation, and fun!! Upload to the Photo Gallery   and let others know what the program can do for you! CLICK DOWN/UPLOADS

Punch! Alterantives is mainly for the public; however, there are some additional features available to a registered member. Outlined below is a generic description of what's available at this site.

LEFT SIDE BAR:

Login Section:
You don't have to be a member to browse the site and download unlimited files from our galleries. There are some priviledges to becoming a member and this information is outlined below. Just know we don't sell anything and membership is free.

Registering: To become a member, click the "Register" link and fill out the information. An activation link will be sent to your email address to verify your email. Activate your membership and you're ready to roll. Additional options will be available to you once you sign in.
NOTE: We have received registration attempts but no activation to confirm an email. Please check your spam/junk mail for our email. If one is not there, sending an email to us directly will be confirmation enough. We can then activate your membership manually.

Who's Online:
We have installed a very unique module that informs the public the ongoing status of new and current members. It's geared to let you know how many members have registered, how many registered 'today', the total for the 'week', and total for the 'month'. The last bit of information informs the public of the last person that registered.
MEMBERS: when signed in it will list your name as being signed on.

Messages:
MEMBERS ONLY: when signed in, the message area comes into view. It will inform you if there are any new messages. To get to your mailbox, click on the words "Private Messages".

I have an idea! button:
If you have an idea for the site or even for the Punch! Program, just click the idea button and let us know!! We will review your idea and put it on our mile long list of things to do! If the idea is for Punch! we will pass your information along to a special area designed for us to submit requests to them.

Newsletter Subscription:
As a registered user you are automatically considered to receive newsletter; however, if you are not registered and wish to receive newsletters, just sign up. All we need is a name and an email, that's it.


RIGHT SIDE BAR:

Greetings:
We installed an automatic greeting that intuitively knows your timezone for day, afternoon, and evening. Each time you come to the site it will read the timezone of your compuer and welcome you back according to the time of day. It's pretty neat and adds a personal touch to the site.

Go Punch!:
This clickable image opens a new window and takes you to the official Punch! Software site where you can obtain upgrades and new programs. We don't sell on our site so if you are interested in upgrading or purchasing a Punch! program, contact Punch!

Events Calendar:
Ultimately we will be providing events to the Community. We've installed the calendar to test it's working ability. If it continues to work well, we will keep it as a means to keep track of Punch! Alternative events. These events will be listed below the calendar in a word format and a clickable link will appear on the calendar to obtain more information about the event.

Polls:
It's very interesting to us to know which program you are using. If you use more than one program, such as I do, you will need to vote for each program on a separate day. We didn't want people continually clicking a vote button several times to hike up the results.


TOP MENU BAR:

Home: clicking this link will always take you back to the front page.

Community:

• Tutorials: this sections contains a breakdown of various tutorials by programs and powertools.
• VRML Words: If you are someone who is into VRML, like I am, Punch! does export as VRML: These worlds will need a few adjustments and we are willing to convert them to a proper environment which would allow them to be posted on the net. Information about this process is provided on the link. Hopefully, we can build a city of VRML worlds whereby we can all congregate and communicate.
• Forum: we have a forum that's available for the public to read. You must be a member of the site in order to post. Here is where users can post questions and answers to one another and work together to develop work-arounds and solutions to problem areas.
• Punch! Chat: This chat is available to the public and members. If you are signing in as a member, you need to enter a name. A password IS NOT needed when logging in as guest. Next, click the checkmark to the right of the words "Guest Login" and then Submit. Members already signed into the site will automatically bypass this sign in process. NOTE: It is important to LOGOUT within the chat area otherwise you will incur problems with your browser.
• Newsletters: MEMBERS AUTOMATIC: When signed in as a registered member, there will be a link to the published newsletters of the site. Non-members can receive newsletters by subscribing to the newsletter located at the bottom of the left side bar.
• User Sites: MEMBERS ONLY: As a member, you have the option to create a website within our site. It doesn't have to be Punch! related but can be for your own purposes. This is offerred only to those who actively participate in the site such as someone writes tutorials or moderates chat rooms and more. Depending on your level of involvement will determine how many webpages you receive. This is a controlled environment as we are support site for a company and need to keep it clean.

Down/Uploads:
NOTE: the 2 galleries require separate logins apart from the main site! Because the program used to maintain the galleries is better than what the main site has to offer I've decided to keep it; however it requires a separate login because it's not integrated with the main site.

• Punch! Item Gallery: This is the first gallery that began in the year 2000! We have thousands of items for you to download. Many of them objects built by users from all over the world. There are downloads for powertool components such as doors and windows, avis created by the animator, and so on. There are downloads of plants created by other users and there are downloads of home plans created by users.
• Punch! Photo Gallery: This gallery also began in the year 2000! Like the Item Gallery, it contains thousands of images related to user designs. We also offer textures, photoviews that you can use, and images that display items created with powertools.
• Gallery Help: This section is a brief explanation about the galleries. More help is offered within the gallery itself.
• Punch! Images: We have pulled a few images from the photo gallery to give you a sample of what Punch! can do for you.

Resources:

• Punch! Chart: This is a matrix that compares the different versions of Punch! against one another to offer you information related to what versions contain what features. So when doing your shopping, look at the chart to know what you're looking for. This will help you make a decision on which program and version to purchase. NOTE: some versions are no longer available. To know which versions are available for purchase, click the "Go Punch!" on the front page to see what Punch! has available. NOTE: you can submit your own features to the matrix and once approved by the Adminstrator will be posted.
• FAQs: Have a question about the site? check here first before emailing us, your answer is most likely available. Questions and Answers about the program belong in the forum which is available in the Community link.
• Search: A useful utility to locate something you're looking for quickly.
• Site Map: A breakdown of the menu bar. To some, this is the easiest way to navigate; others prefer the current method with dropdown menus on the top bar. And another may prefer the Mind Mapper. Your choice.
• Mind Mapper: A visual chart of the site. Very cool!! It opens in a dynamic window embedded on the page. Just below the heading are gray circles. Hover you mouse over these to see other options available to you. Also, use your keyboard arrow keys to move the Mind Mapper around -- or -- click and hold on a blank area of the screen to move the diagram around.
• Admin Chat: This chat area is strictly for Adminstrators who can chat with users. Users will need to send an email to the Administrators requesting a chat session. The Adminstrators will respond with a time convenient to the user(s). This allows one-on-one sessions with experts in the program features.
• Contact Us: If there be a need to contact the webmaster or administrators of the site, use this form to do so. We usually respond the same day or within a day or two.
• Glossary: Under construction.

Weblinks: This area offers related links to Punch! designing such as home plans, interior decorating, blueprint information, landscaping and more!

My Place: MEMBERS ONLY: When signed in, this menu tab will appear in the top menu bar.
 

• My Details: Here you can edit your site details including your user name, email name, and password.
• My Messages: another way to get to your mailbox.
• My Content: If you have the priviledge set for you as an "Author", any articles, tutorials, etc., that you created will be listed for you in this area. You can also open up your articles and edit them. Once you save your article, click the "Check-In my items" on the MyPlace dropdown. This releases the lock on the backend.
• Submit WebLinks: As a member, you can submit weblinks to the site. Each weblink submitted will need approval from the administrator before it is displayed. This is a protection method for the site.
• Check-In my items: If you are an Author, you can always come back to the site and edit your articles. While you are editing the article is considered as checked out. Adminstrators on the backend see this and know to stay out until you are done. When you finish and save your article, click the Check-In my items to release the lock on the backend for Administrators. If you forget, no problem, we have ways of breaking thru the lock. :-)

BugTracks: If you experience what you consider to be a bug with the program, click on BugTracks. Please be explicit about the steps that lead you up to the bug, what program you are using, whether you are using a powertool, and what version. If you can submit a picture, that would be wonderful. We will attempt to duplicate the bug and if we do we will submit to an area set aside by Punch! for us to inform them of these bugs.


Article Bar:
The article bar contains 2 sections for articles:
 

1. Latest News: We have set this to show the latest 3 articles related to news about the site.
2. Most Popular: This will show the top 3 most popularly read articles.