SPACE 1/SPACE - Library 1 - Volume 1.iso/apps/526/av_demo/av_help.txt

Text File | 1991-09-23 | 14KB | 334 lines

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                  AVANT VECTOR® 1.2 DEMO VERSION
                     Software © 1991 Max Böhm
                    Notes © 1991 Roger Davies


The program, supporting example files, and these notes are
copyright.  The suite of files comprises AV__DEMO.PRG, DESIGN.IMG,
OASIS.CVG, DOODLE.CVG, and AV_HELP.TXT.

None of these files may be distributed commercially in any form
without the express written consent of Brandt Fernandes Ltd
trading as System Solutions (in Europe), or CodeHead Software (in
North America).  They may only be distributed as a complete suite
of files and they may not be modified or amended in any way.  PD
libraries and Bulletin Boards may distribute them without prior
consent providing no charge is made other than a reasonable
charge for connect time and/or the direct cost of disks and
postage.

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INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the Avant Vector demo!

Avant Vector has just one menu bar and one icon board. A lot of
effort has gone into keeping Avant Vector simple to use, and this
camouflages the sheer power and elegance of the program.

Avant Vector is about as "state of the art" as you are likely to
get. In a recent comparison of seven vector graphics programs for
the ST, the PC and the Macintosh, Avant Vector came out tops. For
speed. For power. And for ease of use.

Avant Vector needs one megabyte of memory and runs in ST High, TT
Medium and TT High resolutions. This demo version has had the
"Save" routines completely removed (though you can print out from
it) and some of the other functions have been cut down. The last
page of this document tells you where you can order yours.


WHAT DOES AVANT VECTOR DO?

Avant Vector takes a raster image and automatically turns it into
a vector graphic. It is also a vector graphics package enabling
you to create illustrations. Later in these notes, we talk you
through, step by step, some of the auto-tracing and drawing
features so you have hands on experience of how it works.

No matter which DTP package you use you will find Avant Vector
helpful.  It creates .CVG vector graphics for use in Calamus,
Repro Studio or Genus, and .GEM/3 Metafiles for use in other DTP
packages for the ST, PC or Macintosh.  With .EPS on the Plotter
version, you can print to a PostScript printer or you can save
files in HP-GL or GP-GL format for use with plotters and cutters.


AUTO-TRACING IMAGE FORMATS

Avant Vector is perfect for producing logos and vector art. There
are two big advantages to Vector graphics. The first is that they
can be enlarged to any size with little loss of quality: the
second is that vector graphic files are very small and compact.

You can use existing clip art or specially scanned in images for
auto-tracing. These can be .PI3, .PC3, .IMG, .BLD, .PIC or .PAC
formats as well as .IMG, .TIF, or .IFF (for Macintosh, PC or Amiga
computers). The Plot version imports and exports .EPS files too.


USE THE BUILT-IN HELP!

Avant Vector has extensive built-in help. The help messages are
accessed from the "Help" menu at the end of the drop down menu
bar. The help available is as follows:

-    "Menus help"  Select this and you get a help message when you
     click on any of the drop down menus.

-    "General help" is just a brief message to get you going. It
     explains that you can help for any icon function by right-
     clicking on the icon.

-    "Mouse help" explains the functions you can perform using the
     mouse in combination with shift, control and alternate keys.

-    Additionally, a message appears in the top right hand corner
     of the screen, with a brief description of the icon function.


GETTING GOING WITH THIS DEMO VERSION

Avant Vector is driven by drop down menus and the icons on the
icon board.  You can use the icon functions either by left
clicking on them with the mouse, or by typing the keyboard
shortcut (letter shown in the bottom right corner of each icon
box).

Because we can't show you a picture of the icons in this tutorial,
we describe operations using a mixture of keyboard shortcuts and
mouse operations.  This is ideal for two-handed operation -- one
hand using the keyboard, the other maneuvering the mouse.


HOW TO AUTO-TRACE A BIT IMAGE

1.   Select "Load Bit Image" from the "File" drop down menu bar.

2.   Use the file selector to load "DESIGN.IMG". The image will be
     displayed in greys.

3.   Go to the "Vector" drop down menu and select "Medium". (Use
     "Coarse" to create a less detailed vector graphic, or "Fine"
     to create a more detailed one.)

4.   Type "U" (or left mouse click on the icon displaying "U" in
     its bottom right hand corner). This turns on auto-vectoring.

5.   Click and hold down the left hand mouse button then drag the
     "rubber band" that appears across the image.

6.   Release the mouse button and auto-vectoring starts. This
     takes a few minutes. As the vectoring takes place you will see
     lines being drawn by the program around the bit image. (Avant
     Vector has two modes: line-and-curve is called "Edit" mode;
     filled-in is called "Display" mode.)

7.   Display the result as a graphic by typing "O". This will show
     you the vector graphic as it will appear in DTP packages. If
     you have a printer hooked up you can print the graphic (but
     you can't save in the "Demo" version).

8.   Let's manipulate the vector graphic a bit. First, go back
     into Edit mode (type "E") and turn off the background image
     (press "P").

9.   Now left mouse click on any one of the points (small squares)
     in the "DESIGN" graphic. The point is now selected and
     appears as a bold square. Grab it by left clicking on it
     again and drag it to a new position. Using this click and
     grab routine, you can edit the shape of the vector freely.

10.  Use the plus (+) and minus (-) keys from the numeric keyboard
     of your computer to reduce or enlarge your view of the
     graphic. Next, we'll add some extra graphics. Nothing
     sophisticated: just a rectangle and a circle.

11.  First, type "D" to deselect all the points. Then type "L" to
     start drawing a line. You'll see a small box appear under the
     mouse pointer. Left click to make the first point of the
     rectangle. Then make three clicks in the positions where you
     want the corners of the rectangle to be, with the final click
     over the very first point you drew to close the rectangle.

12.  Now type "D" again to deselect the points in the rectangle
     you've just drawn. Now type "0" (zero) to draw a circle. A
     dialogue box appears showing the default size of 50mm and 4
     points. Edit this using the keyboard to 10mm and 3 points and
     click on the "OK" button. A circle is drawn in the middle of
     the graphic: grab one of its points and drag it to where you
     want. Now type "O" to show the graphic in "Display" mode.

13.  The last thing we'll do is look at some vector files that
     were done earlier. Open a new window (type "N" or click on
     "New Window" from the "Files" drop down menu). Now type "I"
     (or click on "Load CVG" on the "Files" drop down) and a file
     selector will appear. Use this to select either OASIS.CVG or
     DOODLE.CVG. These rely heavily on tints to create an effect
     (see "CREATING TINTS" below).


BASIC DRAWING SUMMARY

Before you start drawing, you need to open a work window to draw
in (you can have up to seven windows open at once). You can open a
window either using "New Window" from the "File" drop down menu,
or by typing "N". What follows is a summary of the drawing
commands for creating art using Avant Vector.

     Type "L" and mouse click to draw a line.

     Type "B" and mouse click to draw a bézier curve. (Drag the
     little crosses that appear on the line into position to
     create the curve.)

     Hit the space bar to toggle between line and bézier curve
     drawing. (And to change from "Display" to "Edit" mode.)

     Type "X" to delete the last point drawn.

     Use the Hammer (type "H" and left mouse click) on an existing
     line or curve to insert a new point into it.

     Use the Pliers (type "Z" and left mouse click) to delete any
     individual points. Type "Delete" to delete complete selected
     paths.


SELECTING POINTS/SHAPES

You can select points in a number of ways. They are:

     Left click selects one point.

     Hold down the left shift key and a left click selects a new
     point without deselecting the previous one.

     Hold down the alternate key and left click to select an
     entire path.

     Hold down the left shift key and the alternate key and left
     mouse click to select a new path without deselecting the
     previous one.

     Holding down the left mouse button and dragging a "rubber
     band" across points, select them.

     Type "A" to select all points. Type "D" to deselect them.


BUILT-IN EFFECTS

Avant Vector also has some built-in effects. They are:

     "1"  reduces/enlarges the entire graphic proportionally
     "2"  reduces/enlarges the graphic's width
     "3"  reduces/enlarges the graphic's depth
     "4"  rotates the graphic
     "5"  skews the graphic

     In each case, you can either grab a point with the mouse and
     "pull" the graphic into the shape you want, or enter the
     percentage/degree value into the dialogue box at the foot of
     the icon board.


CREATING TINTS

You can fill shapes either with white, or black or with a
percentage tint. The way you do this is easy:

1.   Select the path you want to fill by holding down alternate
     and left clicking on one of the points (little boxes). You
     can select more than one shape by holding down left shift and
     alternate, then left click.

2.   Once the points are selected, they are displayed in bold.
     Then type "D" for "Display" mode and you'll see a thin box
     around the selected shape. (You can also select a shape by
     alternate and left clicking on it in "Display" mode. But for
     complicated or overlapping shapes, it's easier to do this in
     "Edit" mode using the method described.)

3.   Type "?" and a dialogue box appears. Make sure the "Tint
     Infill" button is selected (black background), then enter any
     percentage value between 0% and 100% in the "Greyvalue"
     dialogue. If you just want an outline to appear, deselect
     "Tint Infill" (white background) and select "Outlines". Then
     enter an outline thickness in the "Thickness" dialogue. The
     line thickness is not displayed in Avant Vector but is added
     when the vector is printed, or displayed in a DTP program.

4.   You can mix outlines and tint infills, by giving different
     values and settings to each shape within the graphic. Simple
     geometric shapes can be made to look interesting like this
     (see OASIS.CVG and DOODLE.CVG).

HINTS ON TINTS AND AUTO-TRACING

     Vector graphic tints are built up on different levels or
     planes. They are not transparent so 0% is white and 100% is
     black. So if a small grey shape is OVER a larger black (or
     white) one you will be able to see it. But if the shape is
     UNDER the larger one, it will disappear. Use the "Object to
     the Front" (type "V") and "Object to the Back" (type "J")
     functions to build up layers in the right order.

     The direction in which the path of a vector shape is drawn is
     important. If you are drawing two circles, one within the
     other, the direction of the inner circle should run in the
     opposite direction to the outer one. Use "Reverse Path
     Orientation" (type "R" then left click on one of the points
     on the path to be reversed) to achieve this.

     Remember the "GIGO" principle: "Garbage in, garbage out". So
     don't try to get good results from auto-tracing very small
     bit images. In particular, the "sheets" of clip art in Degas
     PI3 or PC3 format, with up to 20 images per file, are
     unsatisfactory. Also, if the bit image is blurred or fuzzy, a
     poor vector will result.

     You will get best results from high contrast black and white
     images scanned at 200 dpi (most scanners create 400dpi by
     electronically processing a 200dpi scan and this can result
     in blurred edges). Grey-scale images cannot be auto-traced.
     Use "Medium" setting to start with: you can always change to
     "Coarse" or "Fine" if necessary.


WHERE TO GET AVANT VECTOR

The English language version of Avant Vector is available from:

 USA/Canada                       Europe/Commonwealth
 ---------------------            -------------------------

 Codehead Software                System Solutions
 P.O. Box 74090                   Windsor Business Centre
 Los Angeles, CA 90004            Vansittart Road
 USA                              Windsor, Berks GB-SL4 1SE

 Tel: [phone]                Tel: [phone]
 Fax: [phone]                Fax: [phone]

The retail price of Avant Vector is $495 US.  Avant Plot, which
features advanced plotter support and EPS import/export
capability, is $895 US.

If you would like a demonstration version of Avant Plot, send a
self-addressed, stamped envelope, two double-sided formatted
disks, and $5.00 shipping/handling to CodeHead Software at the
address above.


*** SPECIAL INTRODUCTORY PRICES!  ACT NOW AND SAVE! ***

Until December 31st, you may order Avant Vector for the special
introductory price of $445, or Avant Plot for $845, directly
from CodeHead Software.  Call us at the number above to reserve
your copy today!  (Most major credit cards accepted.)