SPACE 2/SPACE - Library 2 - Volume 1.iso/apps/374/applic/artst2.doc

Text File | 1989-04-20 | 20KB | 374 lines

                          ART-ST Version 2.2

                Copyright 1989, Robert M. Birmingham.
                         All Rights Reserved.



                            Introduction:
                            -------------

     Art-ST 2.2 is an easy to use, full featured, drawing program that
operates in all resolutions.  Among the program's many features are;
line drawing, squares, circles, area fills, text, copy & paste, and
fine pixel editing.  Art-ST uses all of the available memory to support
multiple picture buffers (A Mega ST4 can have more than 110 buffers!).
Frame animation using these buffers is also supported!



                          Shareware Notice!
                          -----------------

     Art-ST is shareware and may not be sold, but may be freely
distributed as long as the program, resource file, and documentation
are kept together as one package and are not changed in any way.  If
you like this program and wish to become a registered user, please
send $15.00 to:


                         Robert M. Birmingham
                         13630 S.W. 101 Lane
                         Miami, FL 33186


     Every effort has been made to make this program as solid and
dependable as possible.  If you find a bug, or would like to see your
favorite feature(s) added, feel free to write to me about your ideas!

     When an updated version of the program is available, all
registered users will be notified through the mail.  Upon receiving
this notice, the user may send a blank disk and a self-addressed
mailing envelope (with postage) to receive the latest version.


=====================================================================
Portions of this program reprinted by permission of:
Compute! Publications, Inc.
P.O. Box 5406
Greensboro, NC 27403
(C) Copyright 1987, All rights reserved.
=====================================================================


                           Getting Started:
                           ----------------

     Upon running the program you will see the display is divided into
two parts.  These are the menu area (on the left side of the screen),
which displays the drawing selections available, and the work area
where you will be doing your drawing.  The drawing function that is
currently selected will be shown in inverse (highlighted).  Aside from
choosing the drawing functions (by pressing the left mouse button
while the arrow is inside the desired box), you are also able to
change the color, the text style, the fill style, and the line
thickness, used in the various drawing functions.

     Note: any function that has an asterisk to its left has an
alternate function.  This alternate function is usually a slight
variation of the original command.  For example: *CIRCLE and *DISK or
*SQUARE and *BOX.  To choose the alternate function of a menu option,
select the desired function then press the mouse button on it again.

     When the menu is displayed, the area which you may draw on is not
an entire screen.  There are two ways for you to draw on the remaining
screen area.  The first is to use the scroll arrows to move the work
area over so the remaining area is displayed.  You may hold the mouse
button down while over an arrow and the screen will repeatedly scroll
in the desired direction.  You may also press the left mouse button on
the "FULL SCREEN" box and perform operations on the entire screen at
once.  To leave the full screen mode press the right mouse button.

     One of the more flexible features of Art-ST lies in its ability
to have several pictures or 'frames' in memory at one time.  To change
to a different frame, use the arrows next to the FRAME box located in
the lower half of the menu area.  Clicking the mouse button when the
cursor is over the left arrow will show the previous frame, and
clicking the right arrow will show the next frame.  As you will see
later this capability will allow you to produce some impressive
animation sequences.  The number of frames available depends on
whether you have a 520ST, 1040ST, or a MEGA ST and also if you have
any accessories or ramdisks installed.  It is recommended that you
disable any accessories and ramdisks you have installed, then reboot
your computer.  This gives you the maximum number of frames possible
and thus lets you use the program to its fullest.

     In addition to selecting tools from the menu area, you may also
choose a color, fill pattern, line style, and line thickness.  To
select a different color, click on the color boxes in the lower half
of the menu area.  Art-ST shows the currently selected color in the
box directly below the color boxes.  If the program was run in low or
medium resolution then the numbers denoting the RGB (Red, Green, Blue)
content of the color will be displayed in this box as well (RGB does
not apply in the high resolution mode).  To alter the RGB components
of the color, click on (or near) the number you want to change.  The
left mouse button increases the RGB values and the right button
decreases them.  By manipulating these values you can access all 512
possible colors supported by the ST.  Although you can't change the
RGB content of a color in the high resolution mode, you can swap the
two colors by clicking the left mouse button inside the box
representing the color currently selected.  This will allow you to
draw with white on a black background, or with black on a white
background.

     To select fill patterns and line styles, click on the arrows next
to the boxes where they are displayed.  You can flip forwards or
backwards through 6 different line styles, and 38 different fill
patterns.  To select line thicknesses, click inside the box which
displays the line styles.  There are seven different line thicknesses
to choose from, but only the thickness of the solid line (not of the
broken lines) can be changed.

     If you make a mistake while you're drawing, you may use the UNDO
key.  However, since the UNDO key will only negate the last drawing
operation you performed, be sure to use it before doing any other
operations.

     If you want to make a backup copy of this program, be sure to
copy the ARTST2.RSC file along with ARTST2.PRG.  If the resource file
is not copied to the same disk you will not be able to use the
program.


                          The Drawing Tools:
                          ------------------

     DRAW, With this tool you can draw freehand in the work area by
pressing the left mouse button and moving the mouse.  DRAW uses the
currently selected color, line style, and line thickness.  If you hold
the Alternate key down while drawing, then the paintbrush becomes
whatever is in the clipboard area (the buffer area used to hold the
material from COPY and MAGNIFY for the PASTE command).  See COPY and
PASTE.

     FILL, To fill an enclosed shape with the currently selected fill
pattern, select this tool, point to the area you want to fill, and
press the left mouse button.  The FILL tool uses the current color,
fill pattern and write mode.  (see MODES below)

     *CIRCLE, After selecting this tool, point to a spot in the work
area that will be the center of the circle and click the left mouse
button.  A "rubber-band" circle will now appear on the screen.  You
may control the circle's radius by moving the mouse cursor toward or
away from the center point.  When you get a circle you like, click the
left mouse button again to place it on the screen.  If, while you're
specifying the circle, you change your mind and don't want to draw a
circle, click the right mouse button.  The alternate to this function
is *DISK.  This lets you draw a filled circle or ellipsoid using the
current color and fill pattern.

     *SQUARE, To draw an outline of a box, press the left mouse button
inside the work area to specify the upper left corner of the box.
Next, move the mouse until the box is the desired size and shape, then
press the left mouse button to finish the box.  You may abort this
function when specifying the rectangle by pressing the right mouse
button.  This function uses the current color, line type, and
thickness.  *SQUARE also has an alternate function called *BOX; this
lets you draw a square filled with the current color and fill pattern
in a single step.  However, *BOX does not use the current line style
and thickness.

     LINE, To draw a line, specify the starting point of the line by
pressing the left mouse button.  You may then move the mouse around
the work area and the line will follow the cursor.  To specify the
ending point, press the left mouse button again.  You are able to draw
lines using the current color, line type, line width, and write mode
(see MODES).  After you have specified the starting point of the line
you may press the right mouse button to abort this function.

     K-LINE, This function is a variation of the above LINE function.
K-LINE allows you to continually draw rubber band lines.  After you
have specified the starting point of the first line, then whenever you
specify the ending point for the current line it will become the
starting point for the next line automatically.  To stop drawing
lines, press the right mouse button.

     TEXT, To print text, move the cursor into the work area and type
in the desired text.  You may then use the mouse to place the text
wherever desired.  To print the text at this location press the left
mouse button, to abort the text function press the right mouse button
or the Undo key.

     To change the text style used for the TEXT menu selection, use
the arrows next to the text display box in the lower half of the menu
area.  To change the size of the text, press the right or left mouse
button while the cursor is inside the text display box.  The left
button will increase the size of the text and the right button will
decrease the size of the text.

     PIXEL, This tool lets you perform fine editing on a section of
your picture (pixels are the the tiny screen dots that make up a video
image).  The first step is to select the area that you want to edit.
Move the cursor into the work area and you will see the cursor has
changed into a box.  Move this box over your picture until the desired
area is within its confines, then press the left mouse button.  If
it's difficult to see exactly what is inside the box-shaped cursor,
refer to the area that has replaced the lower section of the menu.
This area not only shows what is inside the cursor, but also shows the
surrounding area which can be used as a reference while you're editing
pixels.  While you're making the selection of the area you want to
edit, you may also turn the box in the lower menu area ON or OFF by
pressing the space bar.  This lets you see the exact area you're going
to edit as it appears in the main screen.

     After you have selected an area to edit, it will be displayed in
an enlarged form.  You may then edit it as necessary, choosing a new
color if you like.  If you make a mistake, rather than fix the picture
you may also press the UNDO key.

     To return to the normal-sized work area, press the right mouse
button.  You may then choose a new area to enlarge for additional fine
editing.  You may also select a different menu selection to get out of
the pixel mode.  (Note: while using the pixel tool, you cannot select
the SLIDE, MODES, SAVE, LOAD, DELETE and QUIT functions.)

     *COPY, To copy a section of the current picture into the
clipboard area, move the cursor into the work area, then press the
left mouse button to specify the upper left corner of the area you
want to grab.  Next, move the mouse around to change the size of the
rubber band box until you have found the area you wish to copy, then
press the left mouse button.  The area will then be copied into the
clipboard area.  To abort the rubber band box, press the right mouse
button.

     The alternate function of *COPY is *CUT, this acts exactly as
above except that it will erase the area selected after it has been
copied to the clipboard.  You may press UNDO to replace the area
erased by *CUT, but the area specified will still remain in the
clipboard.

     *PASTE, This tool allows you copy whatever is in the clipboard
and place it anywhere in your picture (Of course this assumes that you
have already copied something into the clipboard using the *COPY,
*CUT, or MAGNIFY tool).  After selecting *PASTE, move the mouse into
the work area of the screen.  You'll notice that the cursor changes
into the image of whatever is stored in the clipboard.  Position the
image as desired; then click the left mouse button.

     *PASTE even lets you move an image from one screen to another (an
extremely useful feature when you're creating frame animation, as
we'll see in a moment).  Normally, however, the color palette of the
screen that you want to copy the clipboard image to won't be the same
as the palette of the screen from which you copied the clipboard
image.  To paste an image with its original colors use the alternate
function *PASTE+.  Also to change the logic mode used to paste the
image use the MODES option which is discussed later.

     SLIDE, This function allows you to page flip through the frames
that you have edited.  Once you have chosen this function you will see
a dialog box in the work area asking you for the frame that you wish
to start flipping on and the ending frame that will be the limit of
the page flipping.  To select the starting or ending frame click the
mouse cursor on the appropriate left arrow to decrement the frame
number or click the mouse cursor on the appropriate right arrow to
increment the frame number.  You may also choose an option to either
wrap around when a limit has been reached or to reverse the flipping
direction when a limit has been reached.  When the program is actually
flipping through the pictures you may change the speed by pointing to
a different horizontal position and pressing the left mouse button.
Towards the left will speed up the rate and towards the right will
slow down the rate.  To exit the slide show option and return to the
main program, press the right mouse button.

     MAGNIFY, This tool lets you grab a section of your picture,
magnify it, and paste it back down like a rubber stamp.  After
selecting MAGNIFY, move the cursor into the work area and click the
left mouse button to specify the upper left corner of the section you
want to grab.  When the rubber-band square appears, stretch it out to
enclose the desired area, and click the left mouse button again.
After this is done, a dialog box appears on the screen.  It asks you
for the degree of magnification desired: 2X, 3X, 4X, 5X, 6X, 7X, 8X,
or 9X.  You can either select the magnification and click on the OK
button, or abort the MAGNIFY function by clicking on the QUIT button.

     If you click OK, there will be a delay of several seconds while
the program performs the calculations necessary to blow up the image.
The delay depends on the degree of the magnification and the area
magnified, but is usually less than 15 seconds.  When the magnified
image appears, the *PASTE tool is automatically activated so you may
place the image wherever you like.

     MODES, This option allows you to change the logic mode used for
the PASTE option and the write mode used for the other graphics
functions.  When you select MODES, a dialog box will be displayed on
the screen.  You may then change the modes by pressing the left mouse
button in the appropriate box.

     When REPLACE is selected the area affected by the paste or write
will be completely overwritten.  When TRANSPARENT is selected any
portion of the image that is to be placed in the work area will show
the background color as transparent.

     DELETE, This function lets you delete a picture file or any other
type of file from your disk.  When chosen, a file selector dialog box
will be displayed.  Enter the name of the file you want to delete,
then press the OK button.

     SAVE, With this function you are able to save your picture in
several different ways.  To save the current picture in DEGAS or NEO
format, select the appropriate box then press OK (NEO may only be
selected if the program was run in the low resolution mode).  You will
now be presented with a file selector.  Enter the name of the file you
want to save the picture as and press OK.

     To save a range of frames you have created, select MULTIPLE and
press OK.  You will now see a dialog box which lets you select the
beginning and ending frames of the range that you want to save.  Use
the arrows to increment or decrement the starting or ending frame then
press OK.  Finally, enter the name of the file in the file selector
dialog and press OK.

     The remaining two types of files that you can save are mostly of
interest to programmers.  They are "Clipboard -> .C" which allows you
to save the image in the clipboard buffer as a C source file, and
"Clipboard -> .S" which allows you to save the clipboard buffer as an
Assembly language source file.  These two options make it easy to
include the images you have drawn into your own programs.  In addition
to the data, the color palette, and the information that indicates the
size of the clipboard area is also saved.

     LOAD, When this option is selected you will be asked the type of
file that you want to load.  These are DEGAS, NEO, and MULTIPLE
picture files (NEO format picture files may only be loaded if you are
in the low resolution mode).  Select the type of picture file you want
to load and press the OK button.

     If you select DEGAS, you will see a file selector containing all
the ".PI1", ".PI2", or ".PI3" files on the disk (The file extension
depends on the current resolution).  Select the name of the file you
want to load then press the OK button.

     If NEO is selected you will be presented with all the ".NEO"
files on the disk.  Select the name of the file you want to load and
press OK.

     If you select MULTIPLE you will be presented with all the ".MP1",
".MP2" or ".MP3" multiple picture files on the disk (Again, the file
extension depends on which resolution the program was run in).  Select
the name of the multiple file you want to load and press OK.  (NOTE:
If you attempt to load a file that will extend past the highest frame
number, any extra frames will be ignored.)

     CLRSCR, This option allows you to clear the screen in three
different ways.  To quickly clear just the current work area, click
the left mouse button within the CLRSCR box.  If you clear the work
area by accident, you may press the UNDO key to restore your picture.
The drawback to this method is that it will only clear the portion of
your picture that is showing.

     If you wish to erase the entire picture, press the right mouse
button within the CLRSCR box.  An alert box will be displayed to
verify that you wish to erase your picture.  Warning: Once you have
selected OK, you will not be able to restore your picture by pressing
the UNDO key.

     In addition, while you are in the PIXEL edit mode, you may clear
the pixel edit area all at once by selecting CLRSCR.  You may press
UNDO to restore the area that you were editing.

     QUIT, Quit the program.  You will be asked if you want to leave
the program so as not to lose any important pictures.


==================== End of Art-ST user's manual ====================