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1990-10-06
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V G A C A D
Copyright (c) 1988-90 Lawrence Gozum & Marvin Gozum, MD.
USER MANUAL
1. DISCLAIMER
This product is distributed AS IS. The authors specifically disclaim
all warranties, expressed or implied, including, but not limited to,
implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular
purpose with respect to defects in the diskette and documentation, and
program license granted herein, in particular, without limiting
operation of the program license with respect to any use or purpose.
In no event shall the authors be liable for any loss of profit or
damage including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential
or other damages.
2. LICENSING AGREEMENT
Freely use and EVALUATE ITS USEFULNESS for a 10-DAY TRIAL PERIOD. If
you find it useful, you MUST REGISTER by sending registration form and
check payable to Marvin Gozum; see last section for details/benefits.
Freely distribute UNMODIFIED copies (which include all files listed in
README.1st) provided you do not include it with commercial software,
and charge no more than $10, in lieu of recognized User Group
guidelines (e.g., Association of Shareware Professional, New York
Amateur Computer Club), for copying/distribution costs.
3. REQUIREMENTS
IBM PS/2 or IBM PC/XT/AT with VGA compatible graphics card capable of
displaying mode 13H (MCGA 300x200x256 color mode), 512k free memory,
analog or multifrequency monitor. We strongly suggest you get a mouse
since VGACAD was designed with a mouse device in mind.
Users with 512kb RAM (or less) must use the command line "/R" option
to reduce the RAM requirement. Variable disk space is required
(depending on Virtual Screen size used). A Hard Disk is highly
recommended but not required. High density dual drive users (1.2MB AT
drives or 720KB 3.5 inch drives) would have adequate space to run the
program and work on regular GIF files.
If you have extended or expanded memory, use a RAMDISK for the Virtual
Screen; a cache program will help accelerate the program since this
version uses a "chained environment". We can no longer support dual
360KB users; in any case, it is highly unlikely that you have VGA or a
PS/2 and are using dual 360KB floppies !
PLEASE READ 'README.2ND' REGARDING HARDWARE COMPATIBILITY.
Page ... 1
4. INSTALLATION
All required files in README.1st MUST be in the default drive and/or
directory. To use the keyboard, run "KEYME.com" prior to running
VGACAD; you can review the keyboard commands at start-up.
If you have a lot of TSRs, some may have to be removed (eg., SHELL of
DOS 4.01), or use the "/R" command line option is discussed below.
After initialization, the total amount of free memory will be shown -
which tells you how much resident software can be used with VGACAD.
5. COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
TYPE "VGACAD ?" TO SEE ALL COMMAND LINE OPTIONS.
Switch "/Q" ("Quiet") will silence all the audio feedback beeps except
error or warning messages. To totally "cut" all audio; we suggest
using a Shareware program called SILENCE.ARC (.ZIP).
Switch "/P" ("Palette" via BIOS) will use VGA BIOS read/write routines
instead of the default hard-coded register-compatible routines which
are MUCH faster.
Switch "/R" ("Reduced Memory") will cut VGACAD's memory allocation by
64KB and utilize a buffer called "UNDO.TMP" during certain operations.
Switch "/FM" ("Force Mouse") maintains your current mouse settings and
assumes a mouse is properly initialize; this allows initializing your
mouse with ANY program; make sure that the text cursor is set OFF !
Switch "/FK" ("Force Keyboard") will disregard any mouse device and
operate in mouse emulation mode through the keyboard. "KeyME.com"
MUST be resident if you use this switch or the system will HANG !
Switch "/SL:n" "SLow Mode" will require release of the mouse button to
proceed. The value "n" will determine a delay factor for the Spray
Paint function; a value of 1000 will be sufficient for Fast machines.
Switch "/MX:n" adjusts the mickeys/8 pixels ratio on the X axis. The
default is 8/8. "n" is any number from 1 and 16. "1" will make your
mouse travel 8x faster while 16 will make your mouse travel 2x slower
on the x axis.
Switch "/MY:n" adjusts the mickeys/8 pixel ration on the Y axis. The
default is 16 mickeys/8 pixels.
Switch "/MT:n" adjusts the "motion threshold"; the default setting is
64 mickeys/second. If your mouse seems to be returning to its same
position or seems restrained after zipping quickly from any direction,
its movement was successively doubled resulting in the mouse returning
to its former location; this is a function of your CPU speed. "n" is
any number between -32767 to 32767. Refer to your mouse manual for
more information.
Page ... 2
Use a batch file to keep your desired settings. The sample "*.BAT"
entry below, uses VGA BIOS palette routines, turns the sound off,
reduces the memory by 64K, triggers the SLow Mode with a 1000 delay
loop, doubles the speed in both the x and y axes, and keeps the motion
threshold at its maximum.
VGACAD /P /R /Q /SL:1000 /MX:4 /MY:8 /MT:-32767
6. TESTING & BUG REPORTS
VGACAD was tested on a 8MHz IBM XT compatible with a STB VGA Extra E/M
(w/ Princeton Ultrasync), a PS/2 Model 50 (w/ 8513 Monitor) and 386sx
with the ATI VGA Wonder. For comments, particularly bug reports, we
would appreciate E-Mail at CompuServe for Lawrence Gozum [73437,2372].
7. MAIN MENU
Click your RIGHT mouse button, the Main Menu screen will pop-up.
There are 8 boxes: Undo, ImgP(Image Processing Menu), Edit Menu, Text
Menu, Shps (Shapes Menu), Color Menu and File Menu.
┌──────────────────────────────────────────┐
Main Menu │┌───┐┌───┐┌───┐┌───┐┌───┐┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───<┼current
option ──┼┼> ││ ││ ││ ││ ││ │ │ │ │ ││background
filled with│└───┘└───┘└───┘└───┘└───┘└───┘ └───┘ └───┘│color
current │ Undo ImgP Edit Text Brsh Shps Color File │
foreground │{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒▒░░▓▓▒▒░░▓▓██▓} │ <─┐
color └──────────────────────────────────────────┘ ├─ Color
{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒▒░░▓▓▒▒░░▓▓██▓} <─┘ Bars
^ ^
└───────────── Scroll Arrows ───────────┘
You will, immediately, be in 'brush' mode and can begin painting. If
you move your cursor below the Main Menu, the menu will disappear and
will reappear when you press the RIGHT mouse button. Clicking a Main
Menu box will operate immediately or display another menu. To exit
without choosing any option, put your cursor below the menu. As a
rule, the RIGHT button will EXIT or ABORT, while the LEFT will be do
everything else or ACCEPT a change.
Use the color bars to select foreground or background colors. Place
the "arrow" cursor over a desired color and click the LEFT button for
a new foreground color or the RIGHT for background.
The color bars provide 32, 64 or 128 colors from your 256 color
palette at any time. At default, each color bar contains 16 colors.
Use the scroll arrows to change the colors selections. The upper and
lower color bars play an important role in colorizing grey pictures.
This will be explained further.
Page ... 3
8. UNDO
When the Main Menu screen pops-up, your current screen is saved and
your can 'undo' all the changes from the last time the Main Menu was
invoked. Regardless of changes made, your screen will be restored.
If the Main Menu is invoked and no options are selected, your next
UNDO will be based on that screen; the UNDO screen is generally the
screen last modified BEFORE invoking the Main Menu.
9. BRUSH MENU
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌────┐┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
────┼┼> ││ │ │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
Active │└────┘└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
BRUSH ┌─>normal <> MODE Rect Circ Line Diag MASK│
│ └───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
current mode
The Active box will show the current "brush" selected. The "<>" box
cycles through the different brush sizes or variations. There are 6
RECTangular sizes, 3 CIRCular, 3 Horizontal LINEs, 3 Vertical LINEs,
and 6 DIAGonal brushes. The "MODE" box cycles through five different
brush modes: normal, spray, air#1, air#2 and eraser.
Spray paint and airbrush (Air#1 and Air#2) modes work only with the
RECTangular or CIRCular brush; these brush modes will operate on the
rectangular areas defined by the brushes.
Air#1 is a REAL airbrush that "adds" a color mixture as you paint over
your picture, following the principle of Additive Color Mixtures (see
"Notes on Additive Color Mixtures" in Appendix B). Air#2 mixes colors
in a more gradual fashion. With Air#1, if you spray yellow over a red
area, the closest color to orange in your palette will be painted;
with Air#2, the closest color to yellow-orange in your palette will be
painted. Spray will paint random dots over a defined area; if used
with the MASK flag on, you will be able to spray over a selected color
as if you placed a stencil over the area to be painted.
Eraser mode uses the color BLACK (color 0) as the foreground color;
you cannot choose BLACK as a foreground color. Use large RECTangular
brushes for quicker erasures.
The MASK flag acts as a stencil; when this flag is set, only pixels
with the current background color will be replaced with the current
foreground color; this will work in all modes except Air#1 and Air#2.
Page ... 4
10. COLOR MENU
Selecting "COLOR" from the Main menu brings you to this sub-menu.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │ │ │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ OVRL SWAP FILL CBAR ZOOM AREA COLOR UNDO│
│ - Color - Menu - Colorization - MAP mode│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
"OVeRLay" replaces all pixels with background color with foreground.
"SWAP" exchanges all pixels with background color with foreground and
vice-versa. "UNDO" mode cancels "OVRL" and "SWAP" implementation.
Clicking "ColorBAR" (CBAR) will make the Scroll Arrows cycle through
16, 32, or 64 COLOR RANGE colorbars. Use the 32 or 64 COLOR RANGE to
view and select more colors at any time. COLOR RANGES are extensively
used by the "AREA colorization" and "ZOOM" functions.
│{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒█▓▒▒░██░░▓▓▒▒░░▓▓██▓}│ <─┐
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Color
{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒▒░░▓▓▒▒░██▓▓█▓▓▓▓██▓} <──Bars
^ ^
└─────────────── Scroll Arrows ──────────────┘
In "Area" (colorization), the upper and lower colorbar selections are
significant. When selected, all colors in the lower colorbar will be
replaced by all the colors from the upper colorbar with a one-to-one
correspondence. Once selected, on exit, the arrow cursor will appear
instead of your current brush.
THE APPEARANCE OF THE ARROW CURSOR GENERALLY INDICATES A BLOCK FORM OF
EDITING OR SETTING OF A STARTING POSITION WHEN PERFORMING ANY AREA
PROCESSING FUNCTION.
Pick a starting point on your screen and drag the cursor (pressing
LEFT button). Upon releasing the LEFT button, all colors in the upper
colorbar will replace all the colors in the lower colorbar. The
"colorized" area will be have a blinking outline; click RIGHT to
reject or the LEFT to accept.
Grey images provide the luminance information of your picture (16, 32
or 64 grey scales); by altering color ranges, you can select/replace
the colors within the range with any other color range defined in the
COLOR MAP. The minimum range you can affect is 16. Use the OVeRLay
color function or MASKed brushes to replace individual colors.
Page ... 5
"ZOOM" (colorization) works like "Area" but on a "zoomed area". ZOOM
has three modes - NORMAL, XCOLOR and PROCESS. XCOLOR (eXchange COLOR)
mode replaces individual colors using the colorbars as reference; only
selected colors on lower color bar are replaced with upper colorbar.
ZOOM (in XCOLOR mode) lets you change those "difficult areas" where
objects border other objects or the background.
NORMAL mode is like any other ZOOM function where you paint over any
color;other options while "ZOOM" editing. The PROCESS mode uses color
image processing algorithms; these are discussed later.
"COLOR MAP" shows all 256 colors. Colors are arranged in 8 rows of 16
color boxes. The first 128 colors are arranged from the LEFT to RIGHT
starting from TOP to BOTTOM (COLORS 0 to 127). The next 128 colors
(COLORS 128 to 255) are arranged in the reverse order from RIGHT to
LEFT starting from the BOTTOM to the TOP; this shows its inverse
organization. See Appendix A (Palette Organization Map) for details.
Each color box is configured to show its complimentary or inverse
color for experimenting with creative "color inversing" techniques.
┌────────┐
Main Color ─────┼>████ │
│█████ │
│ <┼───── Inverse color
└────────┘
You can pick any foreground color EXCEPT COLOR 0 (see Appendix A); to
use COLOR 0 (normally BLACK), you will have to use the ERASER brush.
Click LEFT over any color to select a foreground color or RIGHT to
select background; these will be appear at RGB boxes (at lower left).
┌─────────────────────────┐
│ R=63 G=20 B=10 │
│ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ ┌────┐ │
│ │ ^ │ │ ^ │ │ ^ │ <┼───── background color
│ └─┼──┘ └─┼──┘ └──┼─┘ │
└───┼───────┼────────┼────┘
│ │ │
└── foreground color
Palette editing is accomplished by altering the RGB values of the
foreground color. Place your cursor on any of the 3 boxes labelled
[R]ed, [G]reen or [B]lue. Clicking the RIGHT quickly increases RGB
values. Clicking the LEFT decreases RGB values by one. As you modify
the mixture, you'll see the color change. You cannot select COLOR "0"
as foreground; if you want to modify it, use editing functions below.
See Appendix B for more information on color mixing.
IF YOUR COLOR MIXTURE RESULTS IN TWO INVERSELY RELATED COLORS IN A
COLOR BOX TO BE EXACTLY ALIKE, YOUR CHANGE WILL BE REJECTED !
To the lower right corner are four boxes. Copy, Swap, Digi and Reset
provide extensive palette editing functions.
Page ... 6
COPY is very useful in making very subtle color changes since an
increase in the "quanta" of R(ed), G(reen) or B(lue) by 1 may not be
noticeable. To copy a color, select the source color as BACKGROUND
then select the destination color as FOREGROUND. Click the COPY box
with your LEFT mouse button. SWAP works like COPY but exchanges the
selected foreground color with the selected background color; use this
to rearrange your entire palette.
RESET restores a selected color's registers or the whole palette after
any modification BEFORE selecting a new foreground or background color
to edit.
DIGI will "fill-in" or "spread" all colors between selected foreground
and background colors. The colors generated between the two "anchors"
follow the Principle of Additive Color Mixture (see Appendix C). To
select a range, pick a foreground color as the start of the range, and
a background color as the end of the range. Click the DIGI box and
all the colors in the range will "spread" between the two "anchors".
CLICK THE RESET BOX TO RESTORE YOUR PALETTE IMMEDIATELY AFTER THIS
FUNCTION; THIS IS YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO UNDO !
To exit, click EXIT box with the LEFT button; for quicker exits, click
both buttons in succession. After selecting a new foreground color,
BEFORE releasing the LEFT button, click the RIGHT; OR after selecting
a new background color; click the LEFT button before releasing the
RIGHT button.
The last option in this menu is the "Fill Menu"; clicking this box
transfers you to the border tracing, pattern/gradient fill functions.
11. FILL MENU
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │███│ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ CBAR UpDn DnUp LfRt RtLf PTRN TRACE EXIT│
│ ------ Gradient Fill ------ Pick Shape Menu│
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The FIRST box you MUST select is TRACE Shape. Select any object with
a solid color or the background; place your cursor at the center of
the shape; press the LEFT button. The shape will be filled with the
foreground color. All pixels in that shape with the same color (i.e.,
whatever was under the cursor) will be filled. Keep that filled
object as is, or pick a new color and repeat the process indefinitely.
TRACE Shape was designed for complex shapes NOT complex patterns
within pictures. INTRICATE PATTERNS INSIDE PICTURES HAVE COMPLEX
'TRAPS' OR REQUIRE TOO MUCH MEMORY - RESULTING IN A WARNING BEEP. You
can always retrace and fill 'unfilled' portions; be patient and wait
for the warning beep in rare cases when TRACE gets 'trapped'.
Page ... 7
Gradient fills are ranges of colors spread evenly throughout your
traced shape. The range of the gradient fill is determined by CBAR
(ColorBAR); four types of gradient fills are available: UpDn, DnUp,
LfRt and RtLf. The selected range is the upper Color Bar; use the
scroll arrows to select different color gradients.
Pattern fills can be selected by invoking the PTRN (PaTteRn) PICK box;
when you slide your cursor out of the menu, an entire screen of 16x16
patterns (256 colors maximum) will be presented. Point your arrow
cursor over any pattern; the LEFT button will underline your selected
pattern. Press the RIGHT button to EXIT and fill your shape with the
selected pattern. Pressing the RIGHT button over any pattern will
immediately select that pattern and EXIT to fill your shape.
You can fill a traced shape with any gradient or pattern fill option
indefinitely ! If EXIT is selected or another shape traced then the
fill is set; you can UNDO fills ONLY from the Main Menu. GRADIENT OR
PATTERN FILL FILLS REQUIRE A COMPLETELY TRACED OBJECT.
Editing any pattern is similar to editing a picture. PATTERN.BLD has
all the patterns. Each pattern is a 16x16 matrix of colors arranged
on the screen and is located at every 20th pixel (horizontally and
vertically). Use the ZOOM editing features to edit or create you own
patterns. PATTERNS PROVIDED WITH VGACAD USE THE DEFAULT.PLT; THE
APPEARANCE OF PATTERNS WILL CHANGE WITH OTHER PALETTES. THE FILENAME
PATTERN.BLD IS RESERVED; "PTRN PICK" WILL ALWAYS LOOK FOR THIS FILE.
To create a new pattern file with a different palette, copy/rename the
PATTERN.BLD file; load a different palette and edit the PATTERN.BLD
file to your heart's content.
12. ZOOM MENU
ZOOM features are compiled in a "chained" module for easy update as a
separate component; all UNDOing must be performed before exiting this
module. When ZOOM is selected from the COLOR Menu, a "Viewing Window"
will appear as your cursor; place the cursor over any section to be
"zoomed" and click the LEFT button; the RIGHT button exits back to the
Main Menu. While in "ZOOM" mode, other options will appear. After
editing and exiting (i.e., clicking "*OK*") you can continuously
select another area for "ZOOM" editing until you click the RIGHT
button. The edited area is always displayed in the Viewing Window.
VIEWING ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
WINDOW │┌─────┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
└───────┼┼> │Mode │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
CURRENT │└─────┘ │ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
MODE ────┼>NORMAL <┘ UNDO FIND MARK CBAR COLOR *OK*│
│{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒█▓▒▒░██░░▓▓▒▒░░▓▓██▓}│ <─┐
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘ Color
{▓▓▒░░▒░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒░░▒▒░░▓▓▒▒░██▓▓█▓▓▓▓██▓} <──Bars
^ ^
└─────────────── Scroll Arrows ──────────────┘
Page ... 8
13. NORMAL & XCOLOR ZOOM MODES
Clicking the Viewing Window (with the LEFT button) will cycle the ZOOM
mode between the XCOLOR (eXchange COLOR) mode, NORMAL mode and PROCESS
mode. The NORMAL and XCOLOR modes will display the above menu. As
explained in the AREA colorization function, XCOLOR mode replaces each
pixel belonging to the range of colors specified in the lower color
bar with corresponding colors in the upper color bar.
NORMAL mode lets you change any pixel with the foreground color. In
XCOLOR mode, all incidences of any color in the lower color bar will
be replaced by the upper color bar. Only colors belonging to the
lower colorbar will be affected. If no color exists which belong to
the lower colorbar then nothing will be modified ! Clicking "zoomed"
pixels with the LEFT button will be replaced by the foreground color
in NORMAL mode or replaced with the corresponding colors in XCOLOR
mode; all changes are reflected in the Viewing Window. Clicking the
"RIGHT" mouse button will reset any particular pixel to its original
color before "zoom" editing, despite the number of times you have
changed the pixel color in ANY mode !
"Mark" will place an "*" on all "zoomed" pixels that match the fore-
ground color to identify "hard to distinguish" colors due to subtle
differences. Select a foreground color from the color bars then click
"FIND"; all matching pixels will be marked with an asterisk ("*").
"Find" is the reverse function of "Mark"; it will find any color (by
locating it on the appropriate LOWER colorbar). Simply click "Find"
then click any pixel in your "zoomed image"; VGACAD will look for the
correct LOWER colorbar and color, then highlight it.
ColorBAR (CBAR) is basically the same function in the COLOR menu.
This is an added convenience so that you can change the lower and
upper color bar ranges while you work on the "Zoomed" image.
"Color" - calls the COLOR MAP for palette editing; all functions COLOR
MAP functions are replicated here for your convenience.
"UNDO" - will restore ALL of the "zoomed image" to its original state
despite ALL changes in ANY mode.
"*OK*" - will replace your "zoomed area" in your picture and return
you to the main screen; all changes are final. You can now select
another area for "ZOOM" editing or exit.
14. COLOR PROCESS ZOOM MODE
In PROCESS mode, each pixel will be altered by color image processing
options: WASH, LITE, DARK, and BLEND. The boxes in the ZOOM Menu will
be changed as follows.
┌─────┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐
│ │Mode │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │███│ │ │
└─────┘ │ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘
PROCESS<┘ UNDO LITE HAZE DARK BLEND *OK*
Page ... 9
HAZE, "smooths" each pixel with 10 levels of "smoothing"; high levels
leave more detail but apply less "smoothing". DARK and LITE will
either add or reduce the amount of "white" in a colored pixel. BLEND
will "blend" your current foreground color with the color of zoomed
pixels and select the closest color that matches the "color mixture"
based on the Principle of Additive Color Mixtures (see Appendix C);
BLEND functions in the same way Air#1 (Airbrush #1) does. All color
processes select the closest matching color from your limited 256
color palette; the richer your palette, the better the match. BLEND is
useful for "tinting" or "shading" any pixel with ANY foreground color.
All functions (HAZE, LITE, DARK and BLEND) use a buffer of the image
in the Viewing Window; as such, once a pixel is modified (i.e., HAZEd,
or LITEened or DARkened) it cannot be modifed BUT it can be UNDOne at
any time and for ALL your ZOOMed edits. For example, if you wanted to
change a red pixel to pink, you would select the LITE box and the
appropriate setting (by clicking the LITE box until you have a
selected setting), then click that specific pixel. If you wanted it
to become "light pink", clicking that specific pixel again will NOT
make it lighter; either increase the LITE setting and click that pixel
again or click OK and repeat the above process. This non-recursive
rule applies to ALL color image processing ZOOM functions; this way,
you have much better control over the pixels your are "zoom editing".
NOTE: WHEN USING HAZE, LITE OR DARK, COLORBARS ARE DEACTIVATED.
15. PATTERN EDITING (ZOOM MODE)
To edit a 16x16 section for use as a PATTERN FILL, select the pattern
with the "Viewing Window" cursor; each 16x16 pattern is located at
every 20th pixel (vertically and horizontally). Once an area is
zoomed, check the alignment by clicking the RIGHT button over the
Viewing Window to see how the pattern looks in a "filled" rectangle;
misaligned patterns have unwanted borders replicated in each 16x16
section. Press any button to return to zoom editing; you can edit it
using ALL Zoom editing functions in ANY mode. Whenever, you want to
"see" the edited 16x16 pattern in a "test fill", click the Viewing
Window with the RIGHT button.
16. IMAGE PROCESSING MENU (LOCAL)
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │ │ │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ HAZE DARK LITE CNVT CONT BLUR KERNL GO │
│ -Color Process- -- Gray Image Processing -- │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The HAZE, LITE and DARK functions described in the ZOOM Menus work in
a similar manner here; the main difference is that they operate as an
area process; any defined rectangular area will be affected rather
than individual pixels.
Page ... 10
TO PROCESS ANY GIVEN AREA (any method in this menu), determine your
process and parameters by clicking the appropriate boxes successively;
then CLICK "GO". As in "Area Colorization", define an area to be
processed; it will be highlighted by a blinking frame for acceptance
(LEFT) or rejection (RIGHT). If rejected, you can define another area
or press the RIGHT button again to exit.
17. GREY SCALE CONVERSION
CoNVerT will convert color to grey shades; screens and palettes are
PERMANENTLY altered. Cycle through the options listed below by
clicking the CNVT box; then click "GO". After conversion, the picture
will be highlighted; as usual, LEFT accepts and RIGHT rejects.
"Stretched 64" - the highest grey scale resolution. Your picture will
be stretched to simulate 256 grey shades on a 64 grey continuuum.
"Stretched 32" - medium grey scale resolution (256 grey scale on 32
grey continuum). This is useful when you intend to increase contrast
or use more colors for colorizing after image processing.
"Stretched 16" - low resolution grey scale (256 grey scale on 16 grey
continuum). This has very high contrast and gets the most number of
colors for colorization.
USE ONLY PICTURES CONVERTED WITH THE "STRETCHED" OPTIONS FOR IMAGE
PROCESSING. THE OPTIONS BELOW ARE FOR COLORIZATION AND SAVING OF A
PROCESSED IMAGE. The included palette "GRAY256.PLT" will view all
pictures saved "STRETCHED nn" options.
"COLORS 16-31" - After processing your image, using any of the
"stretched" options, use this to change your image/palette to fit the
default 16 grey palette that the VGA/MCGA card initializes to. The
image is converted and looks like the "Stretched 16" option. When you
save an image converted with this option, your image can be "Bloaded"
in BASIC without any palette or loaded into VGACAD at start-up without
any palette. You will have 16 color ranges to colorize your image.
"COLORS 32-63" - This option works the same way "COLORS 16-31" option
does, but converts you image to correspond to the colors 32 to 63.
The image looks like "Stretched 32" option. "GRAY32.PLT" will show
all pictures converted with this option. This option allows 8 color
ranges for colorization.
"COLORS 64-128" - This option converts your image with as you would
view it with the "Stretched 64" option. The included palette
"GRAY64.PLT" will view pictures saved under this option. 4 color
ranges for colorization are possible.
Page ... 11
18. CONTRAST STRETCHING & ENHANCEMENT
CONTrast Stretching uses a "histogram" of your grey pixels. Each
pixel has a grey value (0-255); for this reason, it is important to
use only "stretched nn" options when converting for image processing.
Contrast Stretching equalizes the grey distribution to evenly span the
range of 0 to 255 values. A typically unequalized image may have the
following distribution of pixels. The low and high bins are the edges
of the histogram distribution. All pixels between the edges (i.e.,
the high and low bin) are stretched to fill the entire 256 grey range.
N ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ low ▓▓ high ║
P ║ bin ──┐ ▓ ▓▓▓▓ bin ║
i ║ │ ▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ │ ║
x ║ ▓ ▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓ ▓ ║
e ║ ▓ ▓ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓▓▓▓ ▓▓ ▓▓▓ ║
l ║ ▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
s ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
0 -------------------------127----------------------255
After Contrast Stretching the distribution will approximate this.
N ╔═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ ▓ ▓ ║
P ║ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ║
i ║ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ║
x ║▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓║
e ║▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓ ▓║
l ║▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓║
s ╚═════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
0 -------------------------127----------------------255
You will note that the pixels now span the entire range and contrast
is improved. Bright pixels are brighter and dark pixels darker, other
pixels in between are affected the same way. You will requested for a
"Minimum" number. This number is the threshold for selecting the high
and low bins. The higher the number, the more likely that the bins
will center on the middle and increase the Contrast Stretching effect.
Since the histogram distribution is based on your defined area, the
expected number of pixels per grey value will be much less in smaller
areas than a larger area. Selecting a large "Threshold Minimum" for a
small area may result in no change since no bins may be located. Try
different Threshold Values to attain a desired effect.
19. GREY BLURRING (ANTI-ALIASING)
BLURring results in a "smoothed" image with reduced "jaggies". The
"Threshold Minimum" adjusts the amount of "spikes" or details
retained; higher values result in smoother images (including all other
detail). You have to experiment with the right "Threshold Minimum"
that "smooths" your image yet keeps a lot of detail.
Page ... 12
This function uses "3x3 Pixels Averaging" with a variable threshold;
it adds grey levels in pictures with narrow grey scale distributions.
If you captured an 320x200x16 grey GIF with VGACAP, using this method
you will introduce intermediate grey values between the 16 grey scales
which will make it more lifelike and approach photographic quality.
20. GREY MEDIAN THRESHOLD FILTERING
There is a special mode. If you select a "Threshold Minimum" of 256,
a "3x3 Pixels Median Filter" is used; this mode is effective in
removing random noise while maintaining edge details. This method is
slower but results in a smoother picture with more edge detail. On
the "downside", it does not "add" intermediate grey pixel values.
21. KERNEL CONVOLUTION (EDGE DETECTION & BOOSTING)
KERNeL Convolution will detect edges in your picture. You can detect
only vertical, horizontal, diagonal or ALL edges. This Kernel detects
all edges:
╔═══╦═══╦═══╗
║-1 ║-1 ║-1 ║
╠═══╬═══╬═══╣
║-1 ║ 8 ║-1 ║
╠═══╬═══╬═══╣
║-1 ║-1 ║-1 ║
╚═══╩═══╩═══╝
If the value "8" is changed to "9" then this becomes a "High Frequency
Boost" which "feeds back" the edges of your image, resulting in a very
sharp but "noisy" image. The center value can be varied up to 12 for
creating "overexposed" effects.
All image processing option follow the same user interface. Select a
rectangular area to be processed. After processing an area, you can
accept it or reject (and start over) or exit altogether.
22. EDIT MENU
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ AUTO USER EDIT Port 90' Horz 180' Vert│
│ Size Size Menu -- FLIP & CONVERT SCREEN -- │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
AUTO Size shrinks or expands any defined area with its aspect ratio
intact. The image is always proportional regardless of resizing.
Select a starting point; keep the LEFT button down and define an area.
The captured area will be highlighted. Select a NEW starting position
and define an area which the captured image will either shrink or
expand into.
Page ... 13
After releasing the LEFT button, the image will "resize" into the new
defined area. Resized image are highlighted; as usual, accept with
the LEFT or reject (and repeat or exit) with the RIGHT. Once you
accept a change the image is permanently set; you cannot "undo" the
change after accepting it. This function uses a 5/6 aspect ratio and
will be distorted if you use the "1:1 aspect ratio" simulated by
[F2]-Size function key in VSCRN menu (discussed later).
USER Size works the same way AUTO sizing does without maintaining the
aspect ratio. Your new image will be stretched or distorted anyway
you like. Use this for special effects or to manually correct the
aspect ratio of a digitized image.
23. FLIPPING IMAGES
"Port" (Portrait) rotates you entire screen 90 degrees with corrected
5/6 aspect ratio; do not use this with [F2]-Size function key in VSCRN
menu. A frame will appear which you can set as the desired location
for your portrait. Use this to convert images captured sideways.
┌──────────────┐ ┌─────┐
│██████████████│ │█▓▓▒▒│
│▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓▓│ ---> │█▓▓▒▒│
│▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒│ │█▓▓▒▒│
└──────────────┘ └─────┘
BEFORE AFTER
"90'" will flip any captured area 90 degrees. Like portrait, it will
correct the image with a 5/6 aspect ratio. Almost no detail is lost;
the maximum size for conversion is the largest perfect square on your
screen. Do not use this with [F2]-Size function key in VSCRN menu!
"Horz" (Horizontal Flip) will flip any area as you would see it in a
mirror. No detail is lost.
"180'" (180 degree Flip) will flip any area as you would see it
"upside down". No detail is lost.
"Vert" (Vertical Flip) will flip any area as you would see it in a
mirror, but "upside down". No detail is lost.
24. EDIT SUB-MENU (CUTTING & PASTING)
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│COPY CUT FILE DRAG INVS NORM OVRLY EXIT│
│-Clipboard- Menu -----Paste Options----- │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
The "EDIT Menu" transfers you to a "CUTTING and PASTING" sub-menu.
YOU CAN ONLY EXIT THIS MENU BY CLICKING THE EXIT BOX. "FILE Menu"
will transfer to the file routines then return you to this menu.
Page ... 14
To capture an image, choose COPY or CUT; the latter option deletes the
image from your screen. Select area for COPY OR CUT; after releasing
the mouse button, the defined area is highlighted for acceptance or
rejection. If accepted, you can save it to a *.CLP file through the
FILE Menu transfer or use any of the 4 pasting options.
OVeRLaY will probably be your most often used mode. It will paste
an image without destroying the background. Images with a BLACK
(color 0) background will have a "lasso" effect, wherein only the
foreground portion of the "clipped" image is placed on the screen.
NORMal and INVerSe will replace any background image with the
captured image; INVerSe uses the inverse or complimentary colors.
DRAG will continuously OVeRLaY your captured image until you
release the LEFT mouse button - good for special effects.
To paste, simply select the mode then place your cursor at a starting
location. The moment you press the LEFT mouse button, the image will
appear (flashing); you can then move your captured image to the
desired location. Once you release the LEFT mouse button the image
will be set and highligted for rejection or acceptance. If rejected,
you can simply start all over. You can only paste after capturing an
image or retrieving one from a file. If you exit the EDIT menu, any
clipped images will be released; be sure to save it through FILE menu.
25. SHAPES MENU
Selecting SHPS ("Shapes") "chains" the Shapes module. Like ZOOM,
this module will take a bit longer to activate and return to the Main
menu; it is a separate module designed to "grow" and expand with
extensive geometric and 'CAD' functions.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │ │ │███│ │ │ │ 1 │ │ <─┼─┼───┼┼───┐
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│ │
│ UNDO FILL Poly Rect Circ Line Curve EXIT │ │
│{█▓▓█▓▓░░▓▓██▓▓▒▒▓▓██▓▓▒▒▓▓▒▒▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒▓▓▒▒▓▓▒}│ │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘resolution
{▓██▓▓▓▒▒▓▓██▓▓▒▒▓▓██▓▓▒▒▓▓██▓▓▒▒██▓▓▒▒▓▓▒▒▓▓▒} of splines
When constructing a shape, the RIGHT button aborts placement; pressing
the RIGHT button with the "arrow" cursor exits. The LEFT constructs
or sets a constructed shape. The UNDO function will UNDO the last
shape set; you can only UNDO shapes here. VGACAD supports (filled or
hollow) circles/ellipses and rectangles. Filled shapes paint over the
current screen up to borders with the foreground color regardless of
the image. Click the FILL box to fill constructed shapes. Use the
FILL Menu (sub-menu of the COLOR Menu) to fill complex shapes with
solids, gradient or pattern fills.
Page ... 15
For circles, ellipses and rectangles, pick a starting position (e.g.,
upper-right for rectangles or center for ellipses); drag your cursor
keeping the LEFT mouse button down; dragging the cursor down increases
the length of the rectangle or Y radius of ellipse; moving right
increases the rectangle width or the X radius of ellipse. When happy
with the shape, release the LEFT mouse button. Place new shapes
anywhere by moving your mouse even if an ellipse/circle was partially
clipped during construction; hit the LEFT to set or RIGHT to abort.
Rectangles can have borders (1 to 16 pixels thick); clicking the RECT
box will increase and reset the border (to 1 when it exceeds 16). The
border thickness in indicated in the LINE box.
LINEs begin when you hit the LEFT mouse button and end when released.
Once released, the line will blink. Hitting the LEFT button sets the
line while the RIGHT aborts.
CURVE will plot up to 32 points connected by straight lines. You can
plot less than 32 by hitting the RIGHT button. After plotting your
32nd point (or last point), splines are calculated and connected. The
number in the Curve Box is the resolution; the lower the number, the
smoother the curves (it will also take longer to calculate). During
calculation you will hear random beeps to tell you that it is working.
POLY works like the Curve plotting but has unlimited connected lines.
The last line (when RIGHT button is pressed) is always connected to
the first to close the polygon. Use the Fill Menu to fill your
polygons with the TRACE function.
26. TEXT MENU
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │███│ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│NORM INVS NORM INVS MIX ---- COLOR ----│
│--Overlay-- ----Replace------ BAR │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
NORMal (Overlay) writes in the selected foreground color without
destroying background (an "O" will have the image showing through its
center). INVerSe (Overlay) places an inverse letter in the selected
foreground color without destroying background; <spcbar> will leave a
trail of solid blocks since a blank is a filled block when inversed.
NORMal (Replace) places text on the screen, destructively - background
is not preserved. INVerSe (Replace) will, destructively, place the
inverse text image.
MIX (Replace) will place text with both the selected foreground color
and background (e.g., yellow text on a blue background). COLOR BAR
will activate the colorbars for color selection.
Page ... 16
To place text on your screen, first select the mode. An inverse box
appears as the cursor. Place cursor at the starting point of your
text and hit the LEFT button. A rectangular box will appear and you
can begin typing your text. Text "wraps around"; pressing <return>
moves to the next line. <Backspace> will undo your typos and restore
the original image. Press <Esc> to keep your text, move to a new
location, and repeat the process. You can always "undo" everything
from the Main menu.
To be able to go back and change your text to different colors at the
their current positions, use the "Normal Overlay" mode and always
start your text cursor at the "HOME" position (extreme upper-left);
move around using <return> and <spcbar> to ensure text alignment.
27. FILE MENU
Changes to .CLP when in EDIT sub-menu.
┌─────────────────┼─────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │███<┘│OK │ │OK │ │OK │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│.BLD .PLT .GIF Meld Load Save VSCRN EXIT│
│ ---FileType---- │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
Over "FileType" are three types of extensions. You must select a
filetype before LISTing, SAVing or LOADing. ALL BOXES MARKED 'OK'
REQUIRE CLICKING THE 'OK' BOX, AT BOTTOM-RIGHT, TO PROCEED (to avoid
the inadvertent loss of your current screen and palette).
".BLD" are screens with "BLoaDable" format used in BASIC programs.
You can import CGA pictures with CGA2VGA, "readmacs" with MAC2GIF
or EGA/VGA 16-color pictures with EGA2VGA.
".PLT" are "PaLeTte" files, also in a "bloadable" format which can
be used to save and restore ranges of palette information by using
one BIOS call to reactivate the whole palette.
".GIF" are pictures saved in CompuServe's Graphic Interchange
Format. In this release, any image up to 2048x2048x256 can be
loaded, but interpolated to 320x200x256; use SQZGIF for large 256
color pictures or user the VSCRN options discussed below.
".CLP" are "CLiP" art files that were captured with the BASIC "GET"
command and can be reloaded with the "PUT" command in another BASIC
program. ".CLP" art files will can only be activated when in the
EDIT sub-menu and called using the File Sub-Menu transfer option.
To list files, click "BLD", "PLT", "GIF" (or "CLP") box; click again
to cycle through remaining files (if any) until you reach the end.
To change your drive or sub-directory click the word PATHNAME and
key-in your new drive and/or sub-directory.
Page ... 17
SAVE and LOAD will operate on files with .BLD, .PLT, .CLP and .GIF
extensions. Once you select this box, an inverse "text bar" will
appear; use that cursor to highlight a filename that you want to save
or load. If you want to create a new file, move the "text bar" to
FILENAME and click LEFT button; enter any name up to eight letters
long. Incorrect filename lengths result in an error beep and are
rejeced. Once a filename is selected by highlighting or keying-in a
new name, click the "OK" box and your filename will be saved or
loaded. The OK box is inversed while saving or loading.
BLD files are automatically loaded with their matching PLT file. If
no matching PLT is found then none is loaded; this is a convenience
that applies ONLY to the "LOAD" file function.
MELD lets you to load a different PLT file which the current screen
and palette will be modified to closely approximate the new colors in
the new palette. Both the PLT and MELD boxes will be "set" when MELD
is selected. As usual, after transformation, you can accept with the
LEFT or reject with the RIGHT. Meld is critical to mixing various
colored screens into a large screen using VSCRN (explained below).
Very divergent palettes will NOT MELD well; you have 262,144 color
combinations and ONLY 256 colors at any time.
The MELD function will perform at its best when you want to compose a
large GIF from several screens or "clips" that have moderate to minor
palette differences. If you are using a capture board, then try to
keep the same palette (i.e., rescan or capture without changing the
256 color palette); if you don't have that option then avoid melding
significantly different scans (e.g, "night scenes" and "day scenes").
"Exit" returns to the Main Menu or Edit Menu (if you used the File
menu transfer option). "End" will terminate the program and verifies
if you want to return to DOS; "Y"es ends the program. VSCRN options
create TEMP files; you will be prompted to delete them or not.
"Wipe" is basically a "clear screen" function. Clicking this box will
clear your screen and return; this step is irrevocable - no UNDO.
28. VSCRN MODULE & THE VIRTUAL SCREEN
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │OK │ │ │ │ │ │OK │ │OK │ │███│ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ ImgP iSCR View List NCod DCod BLANK EXIT│
│ Edit vDSK ---------GIF---------- │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
VSCRN is a separate module. It is virtually a separate program linked
to whatever screen you are working on; it is passed from one module to
another, along with your interface settings.
ALL BOXES MARKED WITH 'OK' REQUIRE CLICKING THE 'OK', AT BOTTOM RIGHT,
TO PROCEED; this is a verification step to avoid losing the
screen/palette currently loaded.
Page ... 18
iSCR vDSK (Image Screen Virtual Disk) is your link to VERY LARGE GIFs.
Pressing [F1] shows all the keyboard commands while the "iSCR vDSK"
functions are activated.
A Virtual Screen can be created by using the BLANK function or by
decoding a LARGE GIF file with any number of colors (preferably 256
colors since disk space is wasted with less than 256 colors). With
the BLANK function, only a specified selection of Virtual Screens are
available. With LARGE GIF files, you can edit virtually ANY GIF file
- up to 32KBx32KBx256 !!! Basically, a Virtual Screen is an image
that is MUCH larger than your screen; what you see is a "viewing
window" that scrolls all over the Virtual Screen.
┌──────────┐██████████████
│ Viewing │ ██
│ Window │ ██
└──────────┘ ██
██ Virtual Screen ██
██ ██
██████████████████████████
A 640x400 virtual screen, has four 320x200 screens in it. Think of
the "viewing window" as a "zoomed" portion of the total image; in the
case of 640x400, you are seeing 1/4 of the whole picture at any time.
Let us review what is an "aspect ratio"; it is the ratio of horizontal
pixels to vertical pixels that make a perfect square. The 320x200x256
mode has a 5/6 aspect ratio; for every 6 pixels, horizontally, you
need 5 pixels to make the vertical line appear as the same lenght on
the screen. 640x480 screens hav an aspect ratio of "1"; the horizontal
pixels match the number of vertical pixels for a perfect square. All
multiples of 640x480 have a "1:1" aspect ratio; this is why it is
suited for DTP (DeskTop Publishing) - "What You See Is What You Get"
(WYSIWYG) ! Divide 640x480 by 2; you get 320x240; sound familiar ?
Yes, 320x240 is the size of Jovian VIA scans which have a perfect
aspect ratio of 1. 800x600 ? 1024x768 ? Any picture that is a
multiple of 640x480 has a 1:1 aspect ratio.
On the other "camp" are the 5/6 aspect ratios. 640x400 is a multiple
of 320x200; so is 1280x800 and so forth. VGACAD uses 320x200 screens
to edit pictures; as such, if you edit a picture with a 1:1 aspect
ratio, it will look a little elongated. Pressing [F2] for 'size' will
alter your screen aspect ratio so that editing in 320x200x256 will
still give WYSISYG when editing a picture with a 1:1 aspect ratio.
Although you are editing in 320x200x256, any 320x200x256 section of
your Virtual Screen will be treated and look like it was created with
an aspect ratio of 1 !
"[F2]-size" toggles between the 5/6 aspect ratio and 1:1 aspect ratio;
you can edit both types of pictures accurately. The 5/6 and 1:1
aspect ratios cover the universe of IBM/MSDOS, Amiga, Atari and MacII
pictures. Occasionally, you will get GIFs with weird aspect ratios
(e.g. 360x480 and 320x400), which will look a bit distorted; despite
distortion, if you are merely touching-up or "smoothing" a "hot spot",
writing it back to the Virtual Screen will maintain its aspect ratio
as long as it is not resized or flipped.
Page ... 19
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ *** WARNING *** │
│ The [F2]-size option requires a 100% VGA compatible card! │
│ This option has not been tested for MCGA or PS/2 Model 25/30. │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
To create a BLANK Virtual SCreen, simply click "BLANK" and select from
the choices (eg., [A] 640x400, [B] 640x480 and [C] 800x600). Using
the 640x400 Virtual Screen maximizes VGACAD's editing capabilities
since it was optimized for the 320x200x256 mode. You can paste any
image created from scratch WITHOUT the [F2]-size option OFF or any
image originating from a picture with a 5/6 aspect ratio (e.g.,
320x200, 640x400, 1280x800).
If you opt for the 640x480 or 800x600 Virtual Screen, then toggle the
[F2]-size option ON. Images created with [F2]-size option ON will
have a WYSIWYG capability. Images "clipped" from pictures with 1:1
aspect ratios will retain its aspect ratio even if the [F2]-size is
OFF (it will look a bit elongated in VGACAD but will look correct when
viewed as a total picture). Thus, you can use any clip from a picture
with a 1:1 aspect ratio or create it from scratch with [F2]-size ON.
Remember, you CANNOT mix aspect ratios unless you resize it manually
(which can be a bit daunting) or create them from scratch with the
correct aspect ratio setting (with [F2]-size ON).
Use "DCOD" (DeCODe) to create a Virtual Screen from a large GIF or PCX
(256-color) file. PRESS [F3] TO TOGGLE BETWEEN PCX OR GIF. Click
"LIST" to see what GIFs are available (change the path if necessary).
Click DCOD and click "OK"; that's it!
A 640x480x256 GIF will need 307,200 bytes of disk space; 800x600x256
needs 480,000; 1024x768x256 needs 786,432 ! With a Virtual Screen you
can edit virtually ANY GIF (up to 32KB x 32KB x 256). There is a
special path called "VDSKpath" which tells VGACAD were to write/read
pixels to/from the Virtual Screen.
The speed of the "viewing window" is directly related to your disk
drive; RAMDISKs are fastest ! If you have extended or expanded memory,
use a RAMDISK for the Virtual Screen; a cache capability will help.
Once you have created a Virtual Screen, the next thing to learn is
moving the "viewing window". "iSCR SCRN" lets you view, get or put
screens from/to the Virtual Screen. <Return> "puts" your current
screen in any given location on the Virtual Screen; <Esc> "gets" a
screen from the Virtual Screen for editing and image processing and
replaces the current screen loaded in the "viewing window". Moving
around the Virtual Screen is done through numeric keypad keys. Press
[F1] for HELP; it provides a summary of these functions.
<Shift-Home> or <Shift-7> jumps to the upper-left section.
<Shift-End> or <Shift-1> jumps to the lower-left section.
<Shift-PgUp> or <Shift-9> jumps to the upper-right section.
<Shift-PgDn> or <Shift-3> jumps to the lower-right section.
<Shift-5> centers the "viewing window" on the Virtual Screen.
Page ... 20
*** ALWAYS KEEP THE NUMLOCK KEY UP ***
┌─────────┐ - - - -┌─────────┐
"viewing │ Shift- │ │ Shift- │
window"->│ Home │ │ PgUp │
├─────────┘ └─────────│
| ┌─────────┐ |
| │ Shift-5 │ |
| │ │ <---- Virtual Screen
| └─────────┘ |
├─────────┐ ┌─────────┤
│ Shift- │ │ Shift- │
│ End │ │ PgDn │
└─────────┘- - - - └─────────┘
By the same logic, all the arrow keys, Home, PgUp, End, and PgDn will
move the "viewing window" in variable increments of 4 to 64 pixels,
horizontally, vertically and diagonally. On default, the range of
pixel movement is 16. Pressing [+] increments the range, while [-]
decrements; [*] resets the variable "scroll" to 16. When you press
the [+],[-] or [*] keys, a rising tone indicates the increment level
(highest tone = 64); lower tones indicate decrements. For precise
movements, the shifted-arrow keys will "scroll" in the vertical or
horizontal axes by one pixel.
After editing, you can NCOD (eNCODe) your Virtual Screen into a LARGE
GIF - viewable with VIEW which "chains" MVGAVU (see MVGAVU.doc for
complete discussion of features and options).
29. VDISK: THE GIFPUB, GIFHEX & SQZGIF CONNECTION
VSCRN is the external utility integrator. Pressing the corresponding
function key transfers control to these utilities.
[F3]-SQZGIF(+EGA2VGA)
[F4]-GIFHEX
[F5]-GIFPUB(+GIFDOT)
GIFPUB/GIFDOT can be called to created a dithered B&W output for
desktop publishing (or direct printing on Epson/IBM dot matrix
printers) of your current 320x200x256 image or the entire Virtual
Screens; TEMP files are printed by simply selecting a new picture and
selecting GIF or PCX (which in turn detects TEMP files and prompts you
to use or not to use them). If you load a new picture (GIF, or PCX)
and opt not to use the TEMP files, then TEMP files are DELETED. If
you load a new Bload picture, the old image (directly transferred) is
retained when you return to VGACAD.
GIFHEX, the 256-color to 16-color dithering utility has similar image
passing characteristics.
SQZGIF/EGA2VGA creates resized 256-color USERSCRN files from 256-color
images or 256-color images generated using EGA2VGA functionality.
USERSCRN images are whole screens or 'clips' which can be 'pasted' on
LARGER SVGA or MVGA images with the IMGPRO 'iPut' function discussed
in another section.
Page ... 21
30. IMGPRO MODULE - FULL SCREEN MVGA/SVGA EDITING
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐ ┌───┐│
││ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ │ ││
│└───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘ └───┘│
│ xVGA iGet iPut Vars HAZE WASH Cnvrt EXIT│
│ Mode -Img Edit- ImgP Blur Lite Greys │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────┘
So far you have learned how to use virtual screen 320x200 editing
techniques. For full screen image processing and editing in MVGA and
SVGA modes, click the "ImgP Edit" box from the VSCRN menu; the IMGPRO
menu shown appears. It can only be accessed from the VSCRN menu IF
ONLY IF an image has been decoded to TEMP files or a BLANK virtual
screen has been created. IN THE IMGPRO MODULE, IF THE CURSOR
DISAPPEARS AFTER PRESSING A FUNCTION KEY, THEN PRESS A MOUSE BUTTON.
The "xVGA Mode" box triggers a menu to change the current SVGA or MVGA
video mode. PLEASE MAKE SURE YOU SELECT A VIDEO MODE AND CHIPSET THAT
YOUR CARD SUPPORTS OR UNPREDICATBLE RESULTS WILL HAPPEN.
"iGet" and "iPut" boxes copy or paste MVGA/SVGA screen "clips" or
USERSCRN images generated with SQZGIF/EGA2VGA. All screen images are
interpolated to fit the entire screen of the selected video mode; this
way having to experiment with aspect ratios is minimized.
SVGA/MVGA editing is "cutting & pasting". When VSCRN is invoked, the
user is prompted to save a 320x200 USERSCRN; if the 320x200 image is
saved then that section is used when the 'iPut' function is invoked;
conversely, when 'iGet' is selected, any image portion of the large
SVGA/MVGA screen can be "copied" and saved to USERSCRN files for
pasting. All "cut & paste" screens are color-matched to the fit the
decompressed GIF/PCX file or palette when you create a BLANK screen.
A BEEP AFTER SELECTING AN IMAGE WITH "iGet" MEANS INSUFFICIENT DISK
SPACE TO SAVE YOUR USERSCRN 'CLIP'. VGACAD WILL DELETE ANY USERSCRN
FILE TO FREE DISK SPACE. IF A SECOND TRY STILL RESULTS IN AN ERROR
BEEP, THEN TRY CHANGING YOUR USERSCRN PATH TO ANOTHER DRIVE (YOUR
RAMDISK, IF USED, MAY BE FULL).
SVGA/MVGA Editing is based on the video mode selected. If 360x480
mode is selected, then the virtual screen will "fit the screen".
Images that are copied or pasted must match this aspect ratio (ie.,
one should only copy and paste images with similar aspect ratios
(e.g., 320x200 with 640x400 or 320x240 with 640x480 or 800x600).
SVGA/MVGA 'iGet' mode first shows a 'cross hair'. The RIGHT button
exits the mode while the LEFT defines an area to be copied. After
defining an area, the area is XORed (highlighted) for verification;
pressing the RIGHT rejects the defined area for reselection (or exit)
while the LEFT saves the defined area to USERSCRN files for pasting.
Page ... 22
SVGA/MVGA 'iPut' mode first shows a rectangular area representing the
USERSCRN image. You can move the box anywhere for placement; pressing
the LEFT button copies the image; pressing the RIGHT button aborts the
pasting processes. After pasting, a flashing border indicates
verification; press the LEFT button to accept the 'paste' then another
copy can be pasted anywhere; press the RIGHT button to abort pasting.
PRESSING BOTH MOUSE BUTTONS UPDATES THE VIRTUAL SCREEN WITH
THE NEW SCREEN SIZE DETERMINED BY THE SELECTED VIDEO MODE.
If you saved a 320x200 USERSCRN when prompted, you can use SVGA/MVGA
paste function instead of the iSCR SCRN functions for more creative
but less precise positioning.
If you 'chain' SQZGIF, you can make variable-sized USERSCRN files from
LARGE 256-color GIF or PCX files via interpolation or color averaging,
and create a montage of smaller images. 2,4,8,16,32,64 and 128 color
images are processed with the EGA2VGA algorithm to generate 256 new
colors. USERSCRN files save their own palette and are MELDED TO FIT
THE VIRTUAL SCREEN'S COLORS WHEN USING THE SVGA/MVGA PASTE FUNCTION.
31. IMGPRO MODULE - FULL SCREEN MVGA/SVGA IMAGE PROCESSING
Please refer to previous section for menu diagram.
You can HAZE/BLUR or WASH/LITEn (Lite & Dark function) any portion or
the whole image (up to the video mode resolution you have chosen).
As with SVGA/MVGA pasting, you select an area then it is processed.
After processing, you are prompted to verify the change with the left
mouse button (or right to reject). If you press BOTH mouse buttons
then the change is updated to the virtual screen. If the left button
is pressed, you can 're-process' (iteratively) the same image again.
"CNVRT Greys" converts the whole image to selected grey scale options
so that you can use local (old functions) and global SVGA/MVGA (new
funtions) for grey image processing and colorization.
The "VARS ImgP" box changes the image processing parameters. In HAZE
MODE (color processing), variable ranges from 0 to 9; LITE variables
are positive numbers while DARK variables are negative - the effect is
equivalent to WASHing grey shades over existing colors. Position your
cursor beside the parameter; press the right button to increment or
the left button to decrement the parameter.
IF THE HAZE FUNCTION IS INCREMENTED TO 10 OR ABOVE, THEN IT SWITCHES
TO GREY IMAGE PROCESSING - USE OF THIS FUNCTION ASSUMES THE VIRTUAL
SCREEN IMAGE HAS BEEN CONVERTED TO ONE OF THE STRETCHED GREY SCALES.
Click OK to exit parameter setting. A value of "0" triggers "Median
Filtering" instead of anti-aliasing; this is similar to the "local"
function for noise removal (ie., salt & pepper pattern/spike removal).
IN BLUR MODE (GREY IMAGE PROCESSING), LITE & DARK FUNCTIONS SWITCH TO
FASTER GREY SCALE ROUTINES.
Page ... 23
If Median Filtering is selected, a "boost" factor ranging from -20% to
+20% (in 10% increments) can be sleected by adjusting the "BOOST"
level. Boost levels can be modified from the ImgP Vars option when
Median Filtering is invoked; this new function is available ONLY at
the IMGPRO module.
32. VGACAD & MVGAVU INTERACTIONS
This section describes the interacting features between MVGAVU and
VGACAD. For a full description of MVGAVU's capabilities, refer to
MVGAVU.DOC (MVGAVU user manual).
Some GIFs have the same screen and image descriptors (e.g.CARMEN2);
resulting in distorted aspect ratio. You can correct the aspect ratio
by viewing it with one of MVGAVU's aspect ratio correction options.
Since VGACAD will load SVGA images based on the image and screen
information given in the file, GIF images are not adjusted the way
MVGAVU corrects it. In those cases, view the image with MVGAVU and
save/encode the adjusted image using the [tab] function. Simply view
your GIF in any SVGA 256-color mode with the corrected aspect ratio
and press the [tab] key. MVGASCRN.RAW and MVGASCRN.PLT files will be
created for GIF conversion with VGAFIL (discussed in another section
of this manual). Subsequent saves overwrite these files; encode with
VGAFIL and rename immediately.
MIGs (Multiple Image Graphics) are usually several 'overlayed' images
(e.g, Jim Burton's Mermaid series of GIFs or FAIRY.GIF) which simulate
animation. Since MIGs tend to change what you initially see from what
you see at the end of the GIF, you may want to save the final rendered
image rather than the first one for editing with VGACAD. Simply save
the final rendered image as you would an aspect ratio corrected image
(ie., using the [tab] key) and convert it with VGAFIL.
A quicker way to import MVGAVU adjusted images, saved as MVGASCRN.RAW
and MVGASCRN.PLT would be to follow these steps. Assuming you resized
a 'weird' image to 640x480x256 with corrected aspect ratio.
1) From VSCRN menu, create a BLANK 640x480.
2) Replace TEMP files; type "copy MVGASCRN.* TEMP.*" <ret>
MAKE SURE YOU COPY THE MVGSCRN FILES TO THE VDISK YOU
SPECIFIED WHEN THE BLANK VIRTUAL SCREEN WAS CREATED.
MVGAVU emulates "color" and "picture" adjustments "knobs" typically
found on your TV. View a non-posterized GIF or BLD/PLT and adjust
contrast and brightness through these "knobs". "Picture" will affect
the "brightness". "Color" saturation adjusts chrominance levels (ie.,
color) vis-a-vis luminance (ie., grey level). Virtually all contrast
and brightness adjustment can be emulated through these "knobs".
KEEP NUMLOCK KEY UP! [Esc], [ret] or [spc] will exit vewing.
Page ... 24
[->] increase "picture"
[<-] decrease "picture"
[dn] increase color saturation [*] reset palette
[up] decrease color saturation [A] Adjust Monitor
With VGACAD you can import the adjusted palette in your edited picture
by pressing [backspace] key. When editing SVGA GIFs via VSCRN (i.e.,
"virtual screen"); eNCODe that GIF and view it with MVGAVU; adjust the
palette, press [backspace] then exit to import that palette. ALL
ADJUSTMENTS ARE PERMANENT !
33. VGACAD, VGACAP & VGAFIL INTERACTIONS
This section describes the interacting features between VGACAP, VGAFIL
and VGACAD. For a full description of VGACAP's and VGAFIL's features
and capabilities, refer to VGACAP.DOC (VGACAP user manual).
If you capture a 640x480x256 or 800x600x256 screen (eg., SCREEN00.RAW
& SCREEN00.PLT) with VGACAP for direct editing in VGACAD then:
1) From VSCRN menu, create a BLANK 640x480 or 800x600.
2) Replace TEMP files; type "copy SCREEN00.* TEMP.*" <ret>
MAKE SURE YOU 'COPY' THE SCREEN00 FILES TO THE VDISK YOU
SPECIFIED WHEN THE BLANK VIRTUAL SCREEN WAS CREATED.
VGAFIl is not only a chained utility of VGACAD; it configures VGACAP
for fast SVGA grabs and encodes TEMP, MVGASCRN, NYBLSCRN AND USERSCRN
files in GIF or PCX format as a stand-alone utility.
TEMPorary files are used by VGACAD, SQZGIF/EGA2VGA, GIFPUB, ... (and
other utilities we may release). When TEMP files are detected by
VGAFIL, you will be prompted to convert it. If you forget to encode
your masterpiece and did not delete the TEMP files, you can use VGAFIL
to encode it in GIF or PCX format by calling VGAFIL from DOS.
MVGASCRN files are essentially similar to *.RAW files; notably the
outputs from MVGAVU are saved with this filename. USERSCRN files are
created with VGACAD and SQZGIF/EGA2VGA; these files have unusual
screen sizes and have additional support files like TEMP files.
NYBLSCRN (a "nybble" is half a byte or 4 bits or 16 colors) files have
special meaning for VGAFIL; these files are normally outputs from
GIFHEX (formerly VGA2EGA) and GIFBIT(B&W scanner utility). If VGAFIL
detects this filename, it immediately converts the file in TRUE
16-color format; this applies only to GIF files.
34. CGA2VGA UTILITY
CGA2VGA will capture/convert ANY VIEWABLE CGA picture for VGACAD use;
64kb RAM is required. CGA2VGA "bsaves" 4-color CGA screens. "Hotkey"
is <Alt-F2>. CGA2VGA DOES NOT SAVE A PALETTE; captured screens will
have 4 colors (Color 0-3); you can modify or add colors with VGACAD.
Page ... 25
35. REGISTRATION
REGISTRATION OF VGACAD IS BASED ON 'PERSONAL USAGE'. CORPORATE OR
ORGANIZATIONAL USERS *MUST* REGISTER ALL COPIES USED ON AN INDIVIDUAL
BASIS; A SPECIFIC PERSON (NAME) MUST BE EXPLICITLY ASSIGNED TO EACH
REGISTRANT WHO WILL BE PROVIDED WITH A CORRESPONDING REGISTER.OVL FILE
TO INDICATE REGISTERED USAGE. REGISTRATION GRANTS A SPECIFIC PERSON
(NOT A JURIDICAL PERSON OR CORPORATE ENTITY) THE RIGHT TO 'USE'
VGACAD.
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ ALTHOUGH WE WILL TRY TO RESPOND TO YOUR REGISTRATION IN 2-3 WEEKS,│
│ PLEASE ALLOW UP TO 4-6 WEEKS DELAY TO PROCESS YOUR REGISTRATION. │
└───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
As token of our appreciation (i.e., to registered users), we will send
you the the latest version of the VGACAD system with the latest
updated components; many of the programs listed below do not require a
graphics card.
GIFPUB/GIFDOT - converts 256 color GIF/PCX files to B&W images desktop
publishing (DTP) as .PCX (Ventura, First Publisher, Publisher's
Paintbrush, WP, Pagemaker). Variable sizing/contrast/brightness.
Includes printing on IBM/Epson printers. Several sizes. 8 pics/page.
Single/Double Pass printing. Preview in CGA/HGC/EGA/VGA/EEGA/SVGA.
Histogram-equalization. No graphics card required.
GIFBIT - converts B&W PCX files (e.g., scanner output to 32KBx32KB !)
to grey shades for VGACAD image processing, GIFPUB redithering or
printing, or GIFHEX conversion - it edits those "scan line jitters".
Viewing modes in MCGA/VGA/SVGA. No graphics card required.
SQZGIF/EGA2VGA - converts LARGE GIF/PCX pics (to 2KBx2KBx256) to
several sizes and video modes using "color averaging" to blend/smooth
"jaggies" or fast interpolation. Converts GIFs (2-128 colors) to any
sized image with 256 new colors. Variable sizing. No graphics card
required.
MVGAVU - EGA/MCGA/EEGA/VGA/SVGA viewer for GIF and BLD/PLT files.
Smart slideshows - picks best mode. 320x400x256, 360x480x256 and
640x400x16 modes on regular VGA. EGA posterization. EEGA/SVGA
support. Auto-sizing. Contrast/Brightness. EGA/MCGA/VGA required.
VGACAP - resident utility to capture 256-color MCGA/VGA or SVGA
images. FAST SVGA 640x480x256 or 800x600x256 screen grabs.
VGAFIL - GIF/PCX encoding utility. Accepts ALL RAW file formats used
by our utilites as well as BLD/PLT files. This utility replaces
RAW2GIF, RAW2PCX and BLD2GIF.
VGA2CGA - converts 256 color GIFs to CGA! See "405" colors in an
unsupported 160x100x16 CGA mode. CGA/EGA/MCGA/VGA required.
MAC2GIF - converts .MAC ("readmac") pictures to 5-16 grey shades or
color and saves to .GIF or BLD/PLT file. EGA/MCGA/VGA required.
Page ... 26
36. WHAT'S NEXT ?
As you have seen in this release, VGACAD has undergone radical
transformation; notably we have consolidated the utilities to have
more interaction with each other. With our "chained environment"
updated components HAVE and WILL continue to be released on a modular
basis. Notably, the IMGPRO module will be updated in a new series
called VGAPIX; it will be the front-end of the IMGPRO module to
continuously upgrade MVGA/SVGA image processing capabilities yet
retain downward compatibility with MCGA 320x200x256 functions of
VGACAD. Planned enhancements to IMGPRO through VGAPIX will include:
(1) extensive grey MVGA/SVGA grey image processing algorithms such
as user-definable histogram equalization and related contrast
enhancement algorithms, local histogram equalization, image
sharpening and oversampling techniques, user-definable Kernel
convolutions and related filters, etc.;
(2) extensive MVGA/SVGA color image processing algorithms such as
local/global/variable TINT, WASH, SHADE, BLEND, GLASS, EMBOSS,
and SHARPEN functions with related HSV (Hue, Saturation,
Value) and/or HLS (Hue, Light and Saturation) controls, etc.;
(3) new MVGA/SVGA editing functions such as SCRAPE THROUGH, GRID,
RGB/HLS/HSV/CMY palette control, variable color ranges for
colorization, natural "Hue Mixture"-based airbrushes, etc.;
(4) conversion of old VGACAD functions to MVGA/SVGA algorithms
such as colorize, pattern and gradient fills, variable zoom,
text and font editing, etc.
VGACAD itself will expand to include, among others, a full-blown
SHAPES module to incorporate more CAD functions, a separate 3D module,
and support for other file formats such as TGA and TIF.
In the short term, we are developing RGBLAB. This is a color
reduction utility to 'downsize' 24-bit or 16 Million-color pictures to
256-colors. RAW red, green and blue files or TIFF (*.TIF) files or
TARGA (.TGA) files will be the main input source. IDTVGA dithering
(Improved Definition Television for VGA) will play a key role in
previewing or rendering 24-bit images in SVGA 256-color modes. It
will include OCUTIL, a video grabbing utility for the OCULUS video
grabber (if you want us to develop for your particular image grabber,
we would need a developer's working copy and complete information for
manipulating control I/O registers).
We are also, developing VGASHW (a 256-color presentation system),
VGACBT (the PROGRAMMABLE Computer-Based Training counterpart of
VGASHW) AND MANNEQUIN (what "Weird Science" tried to do in the movie
it will do on the computer screen with potential applications for
Advertising and Fashion Design, aside from creating your own artistic
nudes).
Page ... 27
All these planned enhancements and projects take a LOT of time and
effort. This entire endevour is just a 'hobby'; with your help we can
do it full-time. Support maverick authors like us, and we will
continue to develop innovative products like nothing seen commercially
- otherwise, they will, as many (sigh!) good Shareware programs,
simply "DIE" from lack of support ! Compare the cost/benefit ratio of
any of our products with commercial products; we want to continue
supporting, developing and creating new products. Please support the
User-Supported (Shareware) concept; you, and you alone, determine
whether it will be worthwhile to continue developing.
To register, send in the registration form and check payable to
Dr. Marvin Gozum
2 Independence Place Apt. 1105
6th & Locust Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
37. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
We would like to thank John Bridges for releasing VGAKIT.ARC which
included source code for 'bank switching' the Tseng, Paradise, Cirrus,
Trident, Everex, C&T and VGA Wonder, Oak and Tseng 4000 chips and
source for the now, popular 360x480x256 mode. Also, we would like to
thank Mike Abrash for publishing source code (in Programmer's Journal)
for the 320x400x256 mode. Seminal variants have been developed based
on their evolving work into MVGAVU. We are grateful to Don Babcock,
for QBASM's GIF adaptations of Tom Pfau's Public Domain LZW source (in
LZW.ARC) for QB4 linking, which provided invaluable guidance in
resolving QB4 memory allocation problems. Thanks a meg - John, Mike,
Don and Tom !
Page ... 28
Palette Organization Map
Appendix A
The following diagram shows where each of the 256 color registers of the
color palette are located. Please note the inverse color relationships
for each color box. For example, if you are modifying color 13, you must
ensure that color 242 is significantly different that color 13 to maintain
cursor visibility when placed over either color 13 or 242.
A 16 color set is a line of 16 colors as illustrated below. Colors 0 to
16 is considered a color set, as well as colors 255 to 240 or 48 to 63.
───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───┬┬───
0││ 1││ 2││ 3││ 4││ 5││ 6││ 7││ 8││ 9││ 10││ 11││ 12││ 13││ 14││ 15
───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───
255 │254 │253 │252 │251 │250 │249 │248 │247 │246 │245 │244 │243 │242 │241 │240
───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───
16││ 17││ 18││ 19││ 20││ 21││ 22││ 23││ 24││ 25││ 26││ 27││ 28││ 29││ 30││ 31
───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───
239 │238 │237 │236 │235 │234 │233 │232 │231 │230 │229 │228 │227 │226 │225 │224
───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───
32││ 33││ 34││ 35││ 36││ 37││ 38││ 39││ 40││ 41││ 42││ 43││ 44││ 45││ 46││ 47
───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───
223 │222 │221 │220 │219 │218 │217 │216 │215 │214 │213 │212 │211 │210 │209 │208
───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───┬┼───
48││ 49││ 50││ 51││ 52││ 53││ 54││ 55││ 56││ 57││ 58││ 59││ 60││ 61││ 62││ 63
───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───┘├───
207 │206 │205 │204 │203 │202 │201 │200 │199 │198 │197 │196 │195 │194 │193 │192
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Notes on Additive Color Mixtures
Appendix B
The Principle of Additive Color Mixture is the same principle used by
the television and monitors to generate images. The principle entails
the ADDITION of three primary quanta: Red, Green and Blue when mixing
any two colors.
To understand how it works, let us assume you have three flashlights:
one red, one green, and one blue. Since white is the maximum mixture
of all three quanta or components, shining all three beams at the same
spot will produce white. Since white results with maximum quanta of
red, green and blue, then if we have half of each red, green and blue
quanta, grey results !
Most of the rules for mixing colors with this principle follow our
commonly held view of color mixing. If you shine the red and blue
beams on the same spot you will get purple - so far everything seems
logical. If you shine the blue and green beams you get blue-green.
So where is yellow ? Now for the weird part; if you mix red and
green, yellow results ! Yes, yellow is red and green together.
Depending on the amounts of red and green, different shades of brown
will result. If you have more red than green, you will get orange. If
you have more green than red you will get yellow-orange.
Alas, the Principle of Additive Color Mixture is quite different from
the way we normally think colors mix. If you mix a pure yellow color
with pure blue, pure green should result, right ? Wrong !!! Remember
what white is made of ? Since we added pure blue to pure yellow,
which is made of pure red and pure green, we now have - WHITE.
The portions of red, green and blue that are common to all of the
three will result in white - which will show as shades of grey if we
have fractions of red, green and blue. If you mix, 50 quanta of red,
25 quanta of green and 33 quanta of blue, the common level of quanta
is 25 - thus you will have 25 quanta of white. The primary quanta
with the most portions will dominate; thus, in this example we will
have a light red shade with a touch of blue -> light magenta.
If you increased the portion of green to 50, such that R=50 G=50 B=33,
you will now have 33 quanta of white since that is the common level of
all three quanta. Since Red and Green = Yellow, and you have so much
White in it, the color you will get is Light Yellow. Now if you have
R=63 G=63 B=0 (pure yellow) "added" to R=0 G=0 B=63 (pure blue), the
resulting color is R=63 G=63 B=63 (pure white).
In VGACAD, you will notice that when using a blue airbrush on yellow
areas, the color will either become light yellow or light blue
depending on the RGB quanta - it will NOT turn green. Keep in mind
that [1] common portions of red, green and blue add white to your hue,
and [2] common portions of red and green add yellow to your hue.
Experiment with different RGB settings in the Color Map menu and see
what happens with different mixtures.
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