USA Bestseller/USA BESTSELLER Vol 1-95 (Hepp-Computer)(1995).iso/e226/ssflic.txt

Text File | 1993-12-01 | 20KB | 446 lines

SSFLIC 1.0 is an MS Windows 3.1 screen saver that plays Autodesk Animator
Flic (.FLI and .FLC) and script (.AAS) files.

SSFLIC Features:

- Full compatibilty with MS Windows 3.1 since SSLFIC uses the standard
  Windows screen saver capabilities. SSFLIC appears in the list of
  Windows 3.1 standard screen savers and supports password protection.

- Full compatibility with the AAPLAY flic and script (.FLI, .FLC and .AAS)
  files because SSLFIC uses the standard AAPLAY library (version 1.10).
  Files that play under AAPLAY will play under SSFLIC.

- Refined setup including animation speed, position and background. Script
  files can be created and editted from within the screen saver setup dialog.

- Optional random positioning of the animation to prevent screen tube
  burn-in.


SSFLIC 1.0, December 1993. Copyright (c) Bert Steenbeeke, NT Systems.

==============================================================================


SETUP DIALOG

The Setup dialog allows you to setup the Flic Player Screen Saver. You can
select an animation which will be displayed when the screen saver is
activated. Other options include Password options and Screen options.

You can activate the Setup Dialog from Control Panel's Desktop dialog. At
Screen Saver Name select 'Flic Player' and select the 'Setup...' button.
Please, refer to your Windows documenation for more information on Control
Panel and Windows Screen Savers.



Selecting an Animation File

This option allows you to select the animation that will be displayed when
the screen saver is activated. You can play either an animation or a script.
An animation is a Flic (*.FLC or *.FLI) file or a windows bitmap (*.BMP or
*.DIB or *.RLE) file. A script is a text file containing a list of the files
to be displayed including timing and transition parameters. A script file can
display both animation's and bitmaps. You can also add sound effects to a
script file.
Using the radio buttons 'Script' and 'Flic file' you can indicate which of
the two file types you want to use. Subsequently, you can select an
appropriate file by clicking the 'Browse...' button. An open file dialog will
appear that allows you to select an appropriate file.

If you have selected a valid Flic file you can also select the 'Options...'
button. This button is only enabled if you have chosen the Flic file option
and have selected a valid Flic file. When you click this button a
'Flic Options' dialog will appear. This dialog contains information about the
currently selected Flic file. Furthermore you can adjust the speed at which
the Flic file will be played and whether or not the file should be loaded in
memory prior to playing it. You should only check the latter option if the
Flic file is small enough to fit in free memory in its entirety during a
normal Windows session. You can see the amount of free memory at any time by
selecting Program Manager's About box. Remember, however, that if you are
running enhanced mode Windows the amount of free memory reported in this box
includes free virtual memory in your on-disk swap file.

When you have selected a script file, the Browse dialog allows you to select
a valid script file. Subsequently, you can edit the script file by clicking
the 'Edit...' button. When you want to create a new script file, select the
'New...' button. This allows you to create and edit a new a script.



Editing a Script File

When you are editing a script file, a window will appear that combines a
file open dialog with a list box for displaying and editing the script
itself. The file open controls and list boxes are on the right side of the
dialog. These are used to select animation's or sounds to be entered in the
script. To add an animation or sound to the script, the file is selected and
then you can press the Insert button or double click on the file name in the
file list box. This will insert the animation before the currently selected
animation in the script, or add the sound to the currently selected
animation. You can also double click on an animation in the script list box
which will insert the new animation before the selected animation.

The list box on the left contains the lines of the script. Each line is
identified by the name of the animation, followed by several characters
indicating which animation parameters are changed from the default. These
characters are:

    L   -The number of loops is not 1.
    S   -The speed is not the design speed.
    N   -Sound has been added.
        R   -The sound  is to  be repeated, if it finishes before the
             animation does.
    D   -The sound does not start with the animation.
    C   -Palette animation is inhibited.
    A   -The entire palette is reserved for animation.
    M   -The animation is loaded into memory before playing.
        F   -The animation is to play in full screen mode. Not to be used
             for the Screen Saver.
    E   -The last frame of the animation does not loop to the first
             frame.
    P   -The animation is paused at its end.
    I   -A transition has been added to the animation.

Using the buttons at the bottom left you can Cut, Copy, and Paste lines in
the script. Paste will paste text lines from other sources, if they are in
the format of a script file. The Clear button deletes lines from the script
without copying them to the Clipboard. The Undo button undoes the last change
made to the script.

The buttons at the lower right are used to exit the dialog, test the
animation, save the script, change an animation's parameters, and change the
sound for an animation. Pressing the Done button will exit the dialog and
leave the script as it was last changed. Pressing the Test button will test
the animation script, beginning with the selected entry. If no entry is
selected, the test will start at the beginning of the script. Pressing the
Save button will save the script as it is currently. When a single animation
is selected in the script list box, the Parameters and Sound buttons are
enabled. Pressing the parameters buttons will bring up the Animation
Parameters Dialog, described below, and allow parameters for the animation
to be changed in the script. Pressing the Sound button will change the mode
of the dialog from adding animation's to changing the sound for the selected
animation.

When the sound button is pressed, the script list box is disabled, the edit
buttons at the bottom left of the screen are disabled, and the parameters
button is enabled. If the animation already has a sound, the name of sound is
displayed in the edit control, and the directory is displayed in the list
boxes. At this point the user can either press the Flicks button which will
return the dialog to the animation mode, or selects a sound and press the
Insert button, which will add the sound to the animation, or press the Off
button at the bottom of the dialog, which will remove any sound from the
animation, or press the Continue button at the dialog which will continue
the sound from the previous animation to this animation. When any of these
actions take place, the dialog is returned to the animation mode.

Note:

Do not use the 'Full Screen' option in the script files. This may cause the
Flic file not to be displayed correctly.



Screen Options

The 'Screen Options' section allows you to specify whether the screen saver
animation should be centred on screen or displayed at random positions.
Centering the animation can be useful if you are playing an animation that
has a significantly smaller resolution than your display. If an animation is
too big to fit on your screen it can also be centred, effectively eliminating
a border around the animation. If you have selected the 'Random' option, the
animation will be displayed at random positions on the screen.

If you are playing a script file with animation's that are not equal in size
only the first animation will be displayed in the center. All subsequent
animations will have there upper left corner coinciding with that of the
first animation.

The 'Background' option lets you specify which color you want the background
of the animation to have. This background color will visible only if the
resolution of the animation is smaller than the resolution of your display.
The dialog in which you can specify this color is a Windows Common Dialog so
it should look familiar.


Password Options

Many Windows screen savers can be password protected. This means that the
screen saver can only be deactivated by entering a password. All Windows
screen savers share the same password. Whether or not this password is used
depends on the settings of the active screen saver.

By checking the 'Password protected' check box, you activate the password
option. If you have already set your password previously you need not set it
for this screen saver again. However, when the password option is checked you
can specify your password by clicking the 'Set Password' button. A dialog
will appear in which you will have to enter your old password, after which
you will have to enter you new password twice. Clicking 'OK' saves the
changes and brings you back to the screen saver setup window. Remember that
changes in your password are system-wide and therefore also affect the other
screen savers.

==============================================================================


FILE FORMATS SUPPORTED

The Flic Player can display the following image files:

BMP/DIB/RLE: The BMP, DIB, and RLE files are known as "Device Independent
             Bitmap" files, or "DIB's". These files commonly use different
             extensions for their file names: BMP, DIB, and RLE, according
             to where they are used. Although their file name extensions are
             different, the files themselves are the same.

FLI/FLC:     Flic files are a sequence of still frames which can be flipped
             through rapidly to achieve the illusion of movement - the
             software equivalent of movies.



BMP Files
BMP files can be created with Windows' Paintbrush and used as "wallpaper"
for the background when running Windows. See your Windows manual about using
BMP files as wallpaper.


DIB Files
DIB files can be used as image files in the Windows environment. They can
also be applied to computer multimedia systems that are emerging in the
marketplace.


RLE Files
RLE files are Windows "DIB" files that use one of the RLE compression
routines. Thus, saving an image as a "DIB" using one of the RLE compression's
would produce an identical file as saving the image as an RLE file. The only
difference would be the file name extension.


FLI Files
FLI files are of the older type of Flic files. They are limited to a 320x200
resolution. Both FLI and FLC files provide only 256 colors and do not contain
sound.


FLC Files
FLC files are of the newer type of Flic files. They use a faster compression
scheme and can have any resolution. Both FLI and FLC files provide only 256
colors and do not contain sound.

==============================================================================


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS

Playing animation's usually means that a lot of data has to be moved to the
video memory. In order to achieve a reasonable speed a fast video adapter is
needed. Furthermore, it may be wise not to use animation's that can not be
loaded in memory. Checking the 'Load in memory' option in the Options dialog
has effect only if the amount of free memory is sufficient. If not, the
player will constantly access the disk for frame updates.



Playback Speed

Playing animation's under Windows requires translation from Autodesk Animator
format to Windows format, which decreases playback speed. In designing
animation's, try to minimise changes from one frame to another. For example,
full-frame dissolves do not play well.



Colors Under Windows

Colors must be considered for animation's that are to be run in a window
under the Windows Environment. Two color problems can arise. Windows on the
standard VGA uses the 640 by 480 16 color mode. Animation's that use many
colors will not be displayed correctly, in this case. If you are making
animation's to be played on a standard VGA screen, you should limit your
color selection. The 640 by 480 16 color mode also does not support changing
colors in an animation.

For displays with more colors, a mechanism for managing color palettes was
implemented in Windows 3.0. This mechanism is used by the player to display
animation's in a window. There are some unpleasant side effects that can
occur when animation palettes do not conform to the Windows palette
management.

First, Windows reserves twenty colors for its own use, so only 236 colors
are available for the animation. However, if the colors in an animation do
not change, Windows will match colors in the animation and animation's using
256 colors will display correctly.

Normally, when Windows changes the palette, a message is sent to every window
begin displayed, informing the window that the palette has been changed.
While these messages are being sent, other activity in the system is
suspended, including playing other frames of the animation. So palette
changes, either within an animation or between to successive animation's in
a script, can cause pauses while the animation is playing. When the palette
is changed, Windows also may change the colors being used on the display.
This means that the animation really needs to be re generated in order to
correctly display. If the color change is between animation in a script, the
first frame of the new animation will correct the colors. But, if the color
change is within an animation, Windows can fix up the colors pretty well,
but not completely accurately. So some colors in the animation may change.

If color palette effects are desired, the player can reserve palette entries
to be used for the effects. Three options are provided, no color entries are
ever reserved, the color entries are reserved when the player finds that the
colors are changing, or all of the color entries are reserved. When color
palette entries are reserved, they are not available for color matching, and
so if more then 236 colors are used, some colors will be lost. Windows
reserves the color in the order they appear in the palette, so the twenty
entries at the end of the palette are generally the ones that are lost. To
overcome these effects you should use color judiciously. If at all possible,
don't use more than 236 colors in any frame and make these the first 236
colors in the palette. This limitation allows all of the palette entries to
be reserved. Use a common palette for as many frames as possible. If
animation's are to be sequenced in a script, the palette of the last frame
and the palette of the first frame of the following animation should be the
same.

==============================================================================



COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

SHAREWARE NOTICE

This is not a licensed copy of SSFLIC. It is a shareware copy for evaluation
purposes only. If you continue using SSFLIC beyond a 30-day trial period, you
must purchase a license for it. See Purchasing the licensed version for more
information. If you purchase the licensed version you will receive the latest
version of SSFLIC. This disk includes a Windows based installation program
and sample flic and script files.


You may use and distribute the NON-REGISTERED version of this program as long
as you do not alter it in any way. You may not charge for the program itself,
though you are free to charge for the media the program is distributed on.

No one may modify, or patch the program files in any way, including but not
limited to decompiling, disassembling, or otherwise reverse engineering the
program.

No version of the program may be distributed in conjunction with any other
product without a specific license to do so from the author.

This program is copyrighted (c) 1993 by Bert Steenbeeke, NT Systems.



LIMITED WARRANTY

The author of this program will assume no responsibility for any damage, loss
of data, or loss of income (including without limitation damages for loss of
business profits, business interruption, loss of business information and the
like) arising from the use or inability to use this product even if the
author has been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will
the author be liable for any amount exceeding the registration fee paid
directly to the author for this product, if any.

Use of this product for any period of time constitutes your acceptance of
this agreement and subjects you to its contents.



CONTACTING THE AUTHOR

You can contact me on CompuServe: Bert Steenbeeke 72624,1562.

==============================================================================



PURCHASING THE LICENSED VERSION

The licensed version of SSFLIC can be purchased from the Public Software
Library (credit card orders only) or directly from NT Systems (money
transfers only).

If you purchase the licensed version you will receive the latest version
of SSFLIC. This disk includes a Windows based installation program and
sample flic and script files.



Public Software Library

Credit Card orders only

You can order with MC, Visa, Amex, or Discover from Public (software)
Library by calling 800-2424-PsL or 713-524-6394 or by FAX to 713-524-
6398 or by CIS Email to 71355,470. You can also mail credit card orders
to PsL at P.O.Box 35705, Houston, TX 77235-5705.

These numbers are for orders only. Any questions about the status of the
shipment of the order, refunds, registration options, product details,
technical support, volume discounts, dealer pricing, site licenses, etc,
must be directed to NT Systems, phone: ++31 (0)50-266229, CIS Email:
72624,1562.

To insure that you get the latest version, PsL will notify us the day of
your order and we will ship the product directly to you.

When ordering, please tell the operator you are ordering part number 11036.
Please use this form when ordering by mail.


SSFLIC, Flic Player Screen Saver 1.0 (or latest version) - Part #: 11036


NAME:___________________________________________________________________

COMPANY:________________________________________________________________

STREET:_________________________________________________________________

CITY:___________________________________________________________________

STATE:___________________________________________ZIP:___________________

COUNTRY:________________________________________________________________

TELEPHONE NUMBER:_______________________________________________________


CREDIT CARD TYPE:_______________________________________________________

CREDIT CARD NUMBER:_____________________________________________________

EXPIRATION DATE:________________________________________________________


Disk Size prefered                               3.5" / 5.25"

Flic Player Screen Saver        ____ x US $ 24.95  = US $ ________

Shipping/Handling               ____ x US $  6.00  = US $ ________

                                                     _____________+

Total in US Funds                                    US $ ________



==============================================================================

NT Systems

Money Transfer only.

You can order SSFLIC from NT Systems by transfering US $ 24.95 + US $ 6.00
for shipping and handling to the following bank account:

Company:        NT Systems
Address:        Fongersplaats 108, 9725 LE  Groningen, The Netherlands
Account number: 48.59.53.951
Bank:           ABN/AMRO Bank
Address:        P.O. Box 147, 9700 AC  Groningen, The Netherlands