The PC-SIG Library 10

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WP$ WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP TO RUN PHOTOPACK WITHOUT READING THE MANUAL! Use MENU only if you have a COLOR GRAPHICS system! Use MMENU if you have a monochrome system. INTRODUCTION Welcome to Photo Pack! Photo Pack is a collection of programs for amateur and professional photographers. With Photo Pack, you can: Examine diopters and distances Check motion or shutter speed Examine image size Explore enlarger head distance Study flash data Check depth of field Print model releases Print sets of labels Have a darkroom timer Use a negative/slide database INSTALLATION PhotoPack requires an IBM PC or 100% compatable. The machine should have a minimum of 256K of RAM. Photo Pack works best with a color monitor -- in fact, the darkroom timer feature requires a color monitor. While Photo Pack will run with one diskette drive, two drives give the best performance. FLOPPY SYSTEMS You must do three things to install Photo Pack. You must: 1) Place DOS on the Photo Pack diskette. 2) Add FILES and BUFFERS to your CONFIG.SYS file 3) Add a SET statement to your AUTOEXEC.BAT WPWP1WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP Adding DOS Make Photo Pack a bootable diskette! Format a blank diskette with the command: A> FORMAT B: /S This formats a diskette in drive B; it also places a bootable DOS on that diskette. Next, copy all the PhotoPack programs to drive B. Config.sys If you already use a CONFIG.SYS file, check that it contains at least the following statements: FILES=8 BUFFERS=16 You may have different values for FILES and BUFFERS. As long as the values are greater than or equal to 8 and 16 you'll be okay. Smaller values may work at a cost in performance. If you don't have a CONFIG.SYS file, here's how to build one: Boot your system with your DOS disk in drive A. At the A prompt, do the following: A> COPY CON CONFIG.SYS [Press the Return key] FILES = 8 [Press the Return key] BUFFERS = 16 [Press the Return key] ^Z [Press the Return key] After you enter the "COPY CON CONFIG.SYS" command, the cursor returns to a blank line -- there is no A prompt! Just type the "FILES" and "BUFFERS" statement and strike the Return key after each line. Does the "^Z" look funny? It's called a "Control Z". You can get it one of two ways -- you can press the F6 function key, or you can hold down the Control key and press the letter Z. Once you've built the CONFIG.SYS file, you must reboot the system. Autoexec.bat You may have several items in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You must add the following statement: WPWP2WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP SET TRANTRAK=xxxx where: xxxx = the drive/path identifer that holds the slide/transparency database. For example, if you want to use drive B as your data drive, then add SET TRANTRAK=B to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you want to use drive B, subdirectory PHOTO, then add SET TRANTRAK=B:\PHOTO\ to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file on your DOS disk, you'll probably want to copy it to your Photo Pack system disk. Then use your favorite editor or word processor to add the "SET" statement. If you don't have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you can build a simple one like this: Place the Photo Pack system disk in drive A. At the A prompt, type the following: A> COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT [Press the Return key] SET TRANTRAK=xxxx [Press the Return key] [set xxxx as defined above] ^Z [Press the Return key] Note that you must supply a value for "xxxx". Also, note you terminated the copy with a "Control Z". Photo Pack is now configured for a floppy system. Reboot the system and type MENU at the DOS prompt if you have a color system. If you have a monochrome system, type MMENU. HARD DRIVE SYSTEMS You must do three things to install Photo Pack. You must: 1) Place Photo Pack in a subdirectory 2) Add FILES and BUFFERS to your CONFIG.SYS file 3) Add a SET statement to your AUTOEXEC.BAT Subdirectory WPWP3WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP Place Photo Pack in it's own subdirectory. First, build a subdirectory as follows: C> MD PHOTO [Press the Return key] C> CD PHOTO [Press the Return key] You're now in the Photo Pack subdirectory. Copy all the Photo Pack files to this subdirectory. Config.sys If you already use a CONFIG.SYS file, check that it contains at least the following statements: FILES=8 BUFFERS=16 You may have different values for FILES and BUFFERS. As long as the values are greater than or equal to 8 and 16 you'll be okay. Smaller values may work at a cost in performance. If you don't have a CONFIG.SYS file, here's how to build one: Boot your system. At the C prompt, do the following: C> COPY CON CONFIG.SYS [Press the Return key] FILES = 8 [Press the Return key] BUFFERS = 16 [Press the Return key] ^Z [Press the Return key] After you enter the "COPY CON CONFIG.SYS" command, the cursor returns to a blank line -- there is no A prompt! Just type the "FILES" and "BUFFERS" statement and strike the Return key after each line. Does the "^Z" look funny? It's called a "Control Z". You can get it one of two ways -- you can press the F6 function key, or you can hold down the Control key and press the letter Z. Once you've built the CONFIG.SYS file, you must reboot the system. Autoexec.bat You may have several items in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. You must add the following statement: SET TRANTRAK=xxxx WPWP4WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP where: xxxx = the drive/path identifer that holds the slide/transparency database. For example, if you want to use drive B as your data drive, then add SET TRANTRAK=B to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you want to use drive C, subdirectory PHOTO, then add SET TRANTRAK=C:\PHOTO\ to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. If you have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, use your favorite editor or word processor to add the "SET" statement. If you don't have an AUTOEXEC.BAT file, you can build a simple one like this: Boot your system. At the C prompt, type the following: C> COPY CON AUTOEXEC.BAT [Press the Return key] SET TRANTRAK=xxxx [Press the Return key] [set xxxx as defined above] ^Z [Press the Return key] Note that you must supply a value for "xxxx". Also, note you terminated the copy with a "Control Z". Photo Pack is now configured for a hard drive system. Reboot the system, switch to the PHOTO subdirectory (CD PHOTO), and type MENU at the DOS prompt if you have a color system. If you have a monochrome system, type MMENU. MAIN MENU The Main Menu shows all the options. There is a one digit transaction identifier followed by a short description of each transaction. To select a transaction, just press the key noted by the transaction description. Photo Pack will load the proper transaction. When the transaction completes, you'll return to the main menu. TRANSACTION 1: CLOSE UP WPWP5WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP Do you like closeup photography? Have you ever used a closeup filter? If so, the closeup program could give you a hand. Closeup filters screw on the front of camera lenses. They're called diopter lenses and are usually number +1, +2, and +3. You can use diopters one at a time or you can combine them. For example, combine a +2 and a +3 for a +5. The closeup program shows what happens when you combine diopters. It also suggests a shooting distance. Knowing the shooting distance helps you decide on a tripod or other camera support. The closeup program asks for a focus setting for any particular photograph. It then displays a table of distances (in inches) for a diopter set. There is an image size feature on the main menu. Use it with the closeup program for more information on closeup photography. TRANSACTION 2: MOTION OR SHUTTER SPEED This programs gives you a chance to see if you can really shoot that speeding car! Photographs information suggests the proper camera settings. The required data are: 1) Distance to the subject in feet 2) A direction factor 3) The top speed of the object in MPH 4) Focal length and standard focal length of the camera and lens This information goes into a table that shows the suggested shutter speeds for a set of distances from the camera. The direction factor allows the speed to be adjusted by the direction the object is traveling in relation to the photographer. A factor of 1 means that the object is moving across the field of vision from left ot right or right to left. For a photograph, this type of motion requires the least compensation for calculating the shutter speed. The factor of 2 means an object is moving at an angle in relation to the camera; for example, from upper right to lower left. WPWP6WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP A factor of 3 means the object is moving toward or away from you. If this action is very fast, we advise the photographer to be concerned about his equipment and health as well as the exposure! The request for the standard focal length lens for your camera lets the program adjust for different film formats. Use the following values as a guide: for 35 MM film, use 44 MM as the std lens for 120 MM, use 75 MM for std lens for 6x7, use 80 MM for 6x8, use 90 MM for 4"x5", use 5.5 inches for 5"x7", use 7.5 inches for 8"x10", use 11.5 inches It may be necessary to estimate between values in some situations. TRANSACTION 3: IMAGE SIZE Sometimes you need to know the film image size when you're planning to print pictures. Photographers with larger format cameras may find this information especially useful. Image size can also be used for calculating magnifications and indicates the focal length lens for the desired result. The program asks for the following information: 1) Distance to subject 2) Focal length of lens 3) Magnification required TRANSACTION 4: ENLARGER When you print a photograph, sometimes you change the magnification of the print or the size of the final print. This program takes the information from a good print and supplies a table for changing the enlarger head to paper distance. You may optionally print a copy of this table. Required data are: 1) The name of the paper (for reporting) WPWP7WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP 2) Height of the good print 3) F/Stop of the good print 4) Exposure time for a good print 5) Min and Max height values for table. TRANSACTION 5: FLASH Flash photography can be confusing. This feature helps you work with electronic flash units. One number always used when talking about flashes is BCPS (Bulb Candle Power Seconds). BCPS has a limited use in comparing flashes. BCPS is really a way of measuring the output of a flash unit with a self contained reflector. The Guide Number generated by this program represents the product of a distance and aperature that creates the proper exposure for a given film and flash. The required data are: 1) BCPS (If not known, computer will calculate) 2) F/Stop of a good exposure Once the Guide Number is determined, a table of distances and aperatures is generated. Use these numbers to approximate the correct exposure for a flash. Remember that it's always a good idea to bracket exposures whenever trying anything new. You can optionally print the table after it's created. TRANSACTION 6: DEPTH OF FIELD Depth of field is a useful photographic tool. The depth of field in a picture determines what objects will be in focus. The actual depth of field is the range between the closest point in which everything will be in sharp focus and the most distant point. Hyperfocal distance is the buzzword used when talking about depth of field. If you set a camera lens at infinity, the hyperfocal distance is the closest point from which all objects are in acceptably sharp focus. In other words, everything from the hyperfocal distance to infinity will be in focus. This feature creates a table from the input data that WPWP8WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP notes the near and far focus distances for specific lenses and f/stops. These figures indicate what to expect from your lens. Required data are: 1) Maximum (smallest) f/stop 2) Focal length of the lens 3) Focus point of the lens in feet TRANSACTION 7: MODEL RELEASE Many times a photographer needs a model release to use a picture of a person. This feature prints a "BLOCKBUSTER" model release. This release provides the photographer with a suitable release for general use. This release will not protect a photographer from illegal or malicious use of a photograph, but it is a good starting point for a generalized release. This option requests your legal name (no commas, please). You may also add some text of your own to be included in the release; be sure your text doesn't contradict the release. The data requested will be used if the release is needed for a specific date; in general, it's best to leave the date blank and write it in when you actually use the release. This is a general release; please check with your lawyer to make sure it will suit your particular needs. TRANSACTION 8: A DARKROOM TIMER NOTE: This option requires a color monitor! Using a computer as a darkroom timer lets the computer become an integral part of the darkroom. This program functions as a darkroom processing timer. The timer handles up to 16 processing steps; these steps may run in a darkroom or in a "lights-on" mode. The darkroom mode uses a black screen background with red digits. NOTE: Color monitors differ; test yours to find the proper brightness for "safelight compatability". Each of the steps may be entered separately; you must enter a description, minutes, and seconds for each step. Once you've defined a step, you may save it for later use. Stored steps may be called from memory and used at any time. You can set tones or "beeps" to help you with developing WPWP9WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP and printing. You can toggle tones for 30 or 60 seconds; these cue you to agitate film or paper. The one second tone acts as a metronome. When the "end option" is selected, a tone sounds at the end, as well as a special tone 10 seconds before the end. During the timer countdown, two function keys and the space bar are active. Function key "F1" skips the current step and continues with the next step. Function key "F2" toggles the tone -- if the tone is off, F2 turns it on; if the tone is on, F2 turns it off. This only works for the one second tone. The space bar pauses the current step. When you press the space bar, the current step temporarily halts. Press the space bar again and the current step resumes. You may save step sequences in "procedures". A procedure may be fetched from the data disk to invoke a pre-defined set of steps. For a procedure to work, all of the steps must be stored in the step file as individual steps. The combination of step and procedure files makes it possible to create a set of commonly used routines. TRANSACTION 9: LABELS Photographers always need labels -- return address labels, equipment identification labels, slide labels, or whatever else labels you can think of. This feature gives you a flexible way to print multi-purpose labels with your Epson or Epson-compatable printer. This programs uses "one-up" labels and offers three options: Option 1: Standard labels, 5 lines per label, 36 characters per line. Option 2: Non-standard labels, You enter number of lines per label and the width of each line. Option 3: Slide mount labels. This printing is much smaller than standard size printing and allows twice as many lines on a label. Check your labels to be sure, but most labels show that a maximum of 5 lines of text can fit on a 35mm slide mount. Suggested options for slide labels is 8 text lines and 2 lines spacing between labels. This maintains proper alignment and allows for use of standard size labels. NOTE: You'll have to cut the labels after you print them. All labels may be optionally printed in enhanced mode. This means better print quality, but longer printing time. WPWP10WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP You may also print alignment labels to assist in lining up your printer. TRANSACTION A: SLIDE FILING PROGRAM "TranTrack" is a multi-keyed database that helps you track all those shoeboxes full of slides and negatives. TranTrack captures information about your slides and negatives. Describe your transparencies with multiple keywords in different categories. Later, retrieve this information by category and keyword. For example, you may display information about all the transparencies in the Nature category that have the keyword "AZALEA". Why do this? Well, since you can also assign numbers (Sequence & Box) to your transparencies, this information helps locate specific slides. "TranTrack" handles about 65,000 records in a single database. If you use floppy disks for your database, you can use multiple disks for an unlimited number of records. (NOTE: You can average from around 1400 to 1800 records per floppy disk.) New Data Files When TranTrack begins, it searches for data files. The first time you execute TranTrack, there are no data files -- you haven't created any yet! Reply "Y" to the prompt to create new data files. If you reply "N", the program will terminate and return to the main menu. SUGGESTION: If you store data on floppy disks, you can use different disks for different slide groups. For example, floppy disk number 1 refers to shoebox number 1, floppy disk number 2 refers to everything in your desk drawer, etc. You can start new files on a new floppy disk just by putting a blank, formatted floppy disk in your data drive. This works because TranTrack uses the same names for all data files. If you want to store data records by years, just write a label on a blank floppy diskette. Use this diskette in your data drive. Since it is blank, Trantrack will build a new set of files. You can use this diskette to enter that year's worth of slides. Ready for the next year? Get a new formated diskette -- again, label it with a soft-tip ink pen. Use it in the WPWP11WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP data drive and build a new set of files again. NOTE: A TranTrack database can hold thousands of records. If you lose a database, you can lose thousands of records! (How can you lose a database? You might crinkle a diskette, you could crash your hard drive, the dog could piddle in the wrong place, or UFO ALIEN ELVIS IMPERSONATORS COULD STEAL YOUR DATABASE AS DIET FOOD!) We recommend you use diskettes for your database medium and take plenty (PLENTY) of backups. It's a good idea to have two or three generations of backups. What's a generation? Consider every time you sit and "add/delete/modify" your database to be a "session". If you have one backup from before your session and another one after the session, that's two generations. SUGGESTION NUMBER TWO: Back up, back up, back up. Diskettes are cheap. Make plenty of database backups. It takes a lot of time to re-build a database because your dog diddles on the diskette -- it takes only a minute to make a backup. You may use DISKCOPY to make diskette backups. Place your DOS diskette in drive A. Type "DISKCOPY A: B:" and press ENTER. Place your data disk in drive A (remove the DOS disk) and a backup disk (doesn't even have to be formatted) in drive B. Press ENTER to finish the backup. For more information on this subject, please refer to your DOS manual. MAIN MENU The main menu provides four options. They are: F1 - Add new transparency and keywords F2 - Query or maintain existing transparencies F3 - Toggle Sound F10 - Terminate Program F1 - ADD NEW TRANSPARENCY AND KEYWORDS Use this option to add a new slide to the data files. When you press the F1 key, you'll see the "Add a Record" screen. Fill in the fields to define your slide. The Month data field is range-checked; it must be a value between 1 and 12. All the other fields are free-form fields. When you are entering data, you're using a mini word- processor. You can move the cursor back and forth with the left and right arrows. The Home key moves the cursor to the beginning of the data; the End key moves the cursor to the end of the data field. The BackSpace key is a WPWP12WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP "Destructive" backspace. The Delete key deletes the character on top of the cursor. You may also toggle between Insert and OverWrite modes by striking the insert key. When you complete the Description field, you'll be prompted "Write record to data file? (Y/N/A)". Press "Y" (YES) and the record will be added to your data file. Press "N" (NO) and you'll have a chance to re-enter your data. Use this feature to correct any errors. Press "A" (ABORT) to quit back to the main menu. The record will not be added to the data files. When you are satisfied with your data, press "Y". You're prompted for a Keyword Category. You'll see the KeyWord Category feature A LOT! Use the up and down arrow keys to highlight a specific category. When you are satisfied, press ENTER. Next, you're prompted for keywords. Type your keywords and press ENTER after each one. You may enter as many keywords as you want. If you press ENTER without typing a keyword, you return to the category select option. (That's also known as a "Null Response") This lets you enter multiple keywords in multiple categories for a single transparency! When you're finished with keywords, press the F10 function key. You'll return to the main menu. F2 - QUERY OR MAINTAIN EXISTING TRANSPARENCIES When you select the Query/Maintain function, you see another option menu. You may select the following query/maintain functions: F1 - Access by Chronological Order F2 - Access by KeyWord F3 - List all known KeyWords F10 - Return to Main Menu F1 - Access by Chronological Order WPWP13WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP This option lets you scroll through the transparency database in date order. When you select this option, you must enter a beginning month and year. Enter '00' for the month and year to begin with the earliest date. Database records are displayed with several options These option let you scroll through the database (query functions) and change or delete records in the database (maintain functions). You may also add new keywords to existing records. Use function keys F1 and F2 to scroll back and forth. When you've reached either the beginning or the end of the data, you'll receive a prompting message. Function key F3 lets you re-enter a beginning date. This lets you begin viewing from a different date. When you select F4, you switch into "Edit" mode. This lets you make changes to the data fields in the current record. (The current record is the one currently being displayed.) The cursor moves to each data field EXCEPT the date fields. You may change these fields. NOTE: There is no way to change a date field. This is because the dates are KEY fields. If you need to change a date field, you must delete the record and re-add it with the proper date. Function key F7 lets you delete a record. Before the record is actually deleted, you must confirm the delete. The program prompts you to see if you really want to delete the record -- you must press the "D" key to actually perform the delete. Any other key aborts the delete. (That means the record is left alone.) Function key F5 lets you add new keywords to the current record. It's similar to adding keywords when you are adding a record. You must select a category with the up and down arrows. When you are satisfied with the category, press ENTER. Enter as many keywords as you wish; strike ENTER after typing each keyword. Hitting ENTER without typing a keyword lets you select a new category. Striking F10 during the category select terminates the "Add a keyword" process. When you are finished scrolling and maintaining, press the F10 key. You'll return to the main menu. F2 - Access by KeyWord When you select the "Access by Keyword" option, you'll see a list of keyword categories. Use the up and down arrows to highlight a desired category. Strike ENTER when you are satisfied. WPWP14WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP Next, you're prompted for a keyword. Type the keyword; then press ENTER. TranTrak searches for records that fit the keyword/category specification. When it finds a match, it displays the record. You now have several options. Just like the chronological display, you may scroll back and forth between different records, add keys, and edit or delete data records. HOWEVER, now you can also delete keywords. You may not delete a chronological key without deleting the entire record. You can, however, delete a category key without deleting the data record. Use F1 and F2 to scroll back and forth between data records. You'll see all data records that match the keyword/category specification. Use F3 to enter a new keyword/category. Press F4 to enter "Edit" mode. You may now edit the data record. Note that you still may not edit the date fields. Press F5 to add new keywords to the record. You must select the proper category before you enter the keywords. Press F6 to remove the current keyword from the current record. The current keyword is the keyword/category you entered to display the current record. Press F7 to delete the data record. You must confirm the delete by pressing the "D" key when you are prompted. Press F10 to return to the main menu. F3 - List all known KeyWords The whole idea of TranTrack is to let you rummage through your transparency files, right? As you've seen, you can move back and forth fairly easily both chronologically and by keywords. TranTrack also lets you examine what keywords are being used. Why? Suppose you need photos for a regional garden periodical. What keywords would you scan? What keywords have you used? Maybe you know off the top of your head. Then again, maybe not. That's where the "List all known KeyWords" option comes in. When you select this option, you're prompted for a category. Use the arrow keys to highlight a desired WPWP15WP WPWPWash 'n Ware Photo PackWP WPWPWP WPWPWP category, then press ENTER. You'll receive a screen listing all the known keywords within that category. There may be more than one page of keywords -- if so, you're prompted to scroll to the next page. Once you've seen the known keywords, you can select promising looking topics. Use the "Query by Keyword" option and try these topics. When you're finished scanning keywords, press F10 at the category select screen; you'll return to the main menu. WPWP16WP WP$