Suzy B Software 2/Suzy B Software CD-ROM 2 (1994).iso/picmanip/pic_r2z/spc_3375/readthis.1st

Text File | 1995-05-05 | 11KB | 220 lines

-- What should have been in the folder ---------------------------------------
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    ReadThis.1st   This file.
    Spc-3375.PRG   The STe Spectrum Viewer.


-- What this is --------------------------------------------------------------
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This is a really simple program that displays Spectrum pictures.  Yes, I
know... there's already a whole bunch that do that.  But this one also displays
STe Spectrum pictures--on an ST--in 3,375 colors.  It also works at 50Hz _or_
60Hz, and handles .SPS, .SPC, and .SPU formats.  And it even includes a fix for
out-of-sync computers, and slows down Mega STe's to 8MHz to properly display
the pics!


-- Freeware notice -----------------------------------------------------------
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Spc-3375 is, by itself, Freeware.  You can give it to anyone else you like, as
long as:

1)  You give them the program and this file, both completely unaltered.
2)  You don't charge for the copy, except for reasonable charges to cover
    the cost of the media (disk).  This charge should not exceed $10, or the
    nearest equivalent in the local currency.

Spc-3375 is also distributed as part of DMJ GIF, which should be available
wherever you found this.


-- Using Spc-3375 ------------------------------------------------------------
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This is so simple you've probably already figured it out.  Double-click on
SPC-3375.PRG in any ST color resolution.  A fileselector will appear; select
either a single .SPS, .SPC, or .SPU picture, or a wildcard (like *.*).
Spc-3375 will only load a picture if its extension is .SPS, .SPC, or .SPU.

If you selected a single picture, it will load and display.  Press any key to
return to the fileselector.  Select more files until you're finished; click
"Cancel" from the fileselector to exit the program.

If you selected a wildcard, Spc-3375 goes into slideshow mode.  You can use F1
to F10 to change the speed (F1 is REAL fast, F10 is REAL slow), RETURN to
advance to the next picture, SPACE to pause, and ESC or UNDO to return to the
fileselector.  When paused, any key resumes the slideshow.

Now see, that wasn't so hard.  Here come the tricky bits.  There is a situation
that occurs occasionally with ST's (and frequently on STe's) in which the video
chip and the central processor are "out of sync"--that is, the Spectrum routine
and the display are slightly off.  This results in "spots" or vertical lines in
Spectrum pix.  The usual fix for this is to turn off your computer for a few
seconds, then turn it back on; it helps to have a sync program in your AUTO
folder to tell you if you're in sync or not.  Resetting the computer will not
do; you must actually turn the machine off.  If you're using an STe, though,
you'll find your machine is out of sync more often than not.  And turning the
computer off and on so many times just to look at a picture is, of course,
nonsense (not to mention hard on the machine).  So if, while you're looking at
a picture in Spc-3375, you notice your computer is out of sync (with those
telltale spots, remember?) you can just press the TAB key.  Voila!  Instant
sync.  Spc-3375 will remember whether you're in-sync or not, and adjust all
further pictures accordingly, until you exit the program.

If your computer is normally out of sync, though, it's a nuisance to have to
press that TAB key every time you load the program.  So, once you've got the
program the way you like it, just press CTRL-S (while viewing a picture).  Your
current sync mode (and, incidentally, your slideshow speed) will be saved to
Spc-3375.  Then whenever you load the program, your favorite sync mode and
slideshow speed will be automatically set.  Don't pack the program, though, or
it won't be able to save the settings.  (Just pack it AFTER saving the
settings.)

Mega STe owners will no longer have to manually slow their machines down to
8MHz; Spc-3375 will do it for you.  This way your pictures decompress at 16MHz,
but still display correctly at 8MHz.


-- Howzit work? --------------------------------------------------------------
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Spc-3375 just displays Spectrum pictures on the screen, if you're using an STe.
If you're using an ST, though, it "flickers" the colors between lighter and
darker shades to simulate the shades in between--the ones the ST can't display.
This flickering isn't all that noticeable--especially if you can pop your ST
into 60Hz (NTSC) mode (which US machines normally are).

The sync-fix just shifts the entire image one pixel to the left.  This will
clobber the leftmost pixel (which will be restored if you press TAB again), but
it's much better than all those wretched spots on the screen--especially since
on most pictures you'd never notice it gone!  But there is a catch--the sync
fix isn't perfect.  You may still see some spots in some pictures.  If this is
the case for you, your best bet is to try to get your machine in sync.

Spc-3375 was written in GFA BASIC, with some very hacked-up Spectrum routines
in assembly.  It detects Mega STe's via the cookie jar, so ordinary ST's with
TEC boards won't cause any problems.  And yes, that HAS been tested.


-- A note about Spectrum Smooshed --------------------------------------------
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The only reason I added .SPS support was that I didn't have a slideshower that
displayed them, AND flickered colors on my ST.  I normally wouldn't bother even
then, since I don't use .SPS format, but somebody sent me a whole slew of .SPS
files, mixed in with some STe Spectrum pics.  So I decided to get around to
adding .SPS to Spc-3375.

Although .SPS provides better compression than .SPC, please remember that .SPS
does NOT handle STe Spectrum pictures!  Converting STe Spectrum pictures
(either .SPU or .SPC) to Smooshed format (.SPS) will trash the STe information,
since it is NOT preserved in the .SPS format.  You've been warned.  (This is,
though, a simple way of stripping the STe information from a picture, should
the need arise.)


-- More dmj software ---------------------------------------------------------
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Here's a few things to look for if you don't already have them:

o Spc Thumb - makes catalog pictures of your picture collection.  Very fast,
  easy to use, and quite flexible.
o BoinkSave - a screen saver; displays a bouncing, spinning ball on the screen
  to prevent burn-in.  Completely automatic.
o MoireSave - a monochrome screen saver--draws pretty moire patterns.
o DMJ GIF - as mentioned above.  Converts GIF pictures to Spectrum, DEGAS, or
  Tiny, using the ST or STe palette, plus lots of other options.  If you
  collect pictures, you NEED this program.
o Sound Lab - complete sample editing software, in color OR mono.
o MHz - lets Mega STe users switch speeds with a configurable hot key.

And don't forget ReNameIt!, which renames files, folders, and volume labels, in
upper case, lower case, and extended characters, on any floppy or hard drive,
in any res, as program, accessory, or .TTP.

All of these programs should be available wherever you got Spc-3375.


-- Where to reach me ---------------------------------------------------------
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It's not that hard... just send me a letter:

         (US / Canada)                       (Europe)
        Damien M. Jones                    Damien M. Jones
        PSC 8 Box 657                      Postfach 657
        APO AE 09109                       6541 Flugplatz Hahn
        U.S.A.                             GERMANY

I usually answer letters in a reasonable amount of time, but it depends on how
busy I am at the time.  (Even though this program is Freeware, it'd be nice to
hear from you if you do use it!)


-- Revision History ----------------------------------------------------------
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Version 1.7:

o Apparently Spc-3375 wasn't looking in the cookie jar to see if it was really
  running on an STe or was on a regular ST with TOS 2.06--so if you had a TEC
  board it wouldn't flicker colors.  This has been fixed.

Version 1.62:

o You can now toggle between 50Hz and 60Hz while the image is being displayed
  (if you have an AUTO program that lets you do that) without destroying the
  image.

Version 1.61:

o The Mega STe slowdown now works properly.  I don't actually have a Mega STe,
  so I have no way of verifying myself that any routine will work correctly
  for it.  Fortunately Tom Hayslett bailed me out, as he let me know only a
  few hours after I'd sent the program off that it didn't work.  And this was
  due entirely to a mistyped constant (I got "TMCH" instead of "_MCH"...)
  Anyway, it works now; with luck, nobody will have even received version 1.6.
  I *HATE* typos!
o I've also fixed it so that if you select no files, Spc-3375 assumes you
  mean all files in the specified path.  So you don't even have to enter the
  *.* wildcard anymore.
o I'm not sure when I put it in, but as I was looking through the code tonight
  I noticed that Spc-3375 will load pictures even if the extension is in lower
  case.  (Yes folks, I tested to make sure.)  These lower-case extension files
  won't appear in the fileselector, but will appear in a slideshow.  (Use
  ReNameIt! to get lower case extensions!)

Version 1.6:

o I finally installed the automatic Mega STe slowdown; no more headaches!
o I also tossed in a monochrome check; Spc-3375 will NOT run in monochrome.

Version 1.51:

o Nuts, a little bug in the sync fix squeaked through.  When shifting the
  image one pixel to the left, it didn't properly clear the last pixel.  Now
  it does.

Version 1.5:

o A HELP screen was added (press HELP) listing all keystrokes used.
o The sync-fix was added for out-of-sync computers.
o You can now save the sync mode and slideshow speed to the program.

Version 1.4:

o .SPS support was added.

Version 1.3:

o The flicker has been reduced by half.  Now you can't hardly tell it's there.
  (It was actually a bug that made the flicker so bad.)

Version 1.2:

o The program now displays pictures properly at 50Hz.

Version 1.1:

o The program now accepts wildcards as filenames, and slideshows the results.

Version 1.0:

This was the original release of the program.  It was written to accompany DMJ
GIF to allow ST users to see STe Spectrum pictures correctly.