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@M ================================================================ ROTORxx.DOC Documentation for ROTORxx.EXE ================================================================ A paint program with a twist. Copyright 1990 by Michel Robert Version 0.9 2460 Peachtree Rd. NW Suite 612 February 1990 Atlanta, GA 30305 ================================================================ Distribution notice: This version of ROTOR(tm) is NOT public domain or free software, but it is being distributed as Shareware. BBS operators are encouraged to post ROTOR(tm) for downloading by their members. Mail order distributors of public domain or user-supported software who wish to include ROTOR(tm) in their library must make this request in writing. This is to ensure that only the latest version of ROTOR(tm) is distributed. ---------------------------------------------------------------- Registration Notice: All users [no-exceptions!] are expected to register their copy of ROTOR(tm). This is FREE if you send along a diskette and a diskette-mailer stamped with the necessary return postage. Otherwise send $15 to cover duplicating, shipping and handling. A filled-in registration form must accompany all orders. Business and Institutional users must obtain a site license. The site license fee is $75 per workstation. To encourage registration/licensing, this version of ROTORtm) is "crippled" with two limitations: - It has a 20 minute session limit, after which ROTORtm) returns to the DOS prompt. - It only allows one Screen Save operation per session. Registered users receive the latest version (new features are being added daily) encoded with their name and uncrippled. Technical support is available at (404)240-0410. ---------------------------------------------------------------- ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) the one and only. ================================================================ Purpose : To create beautiful computer graphics, including animated graphic effects. ROTOR(tm) is a paint program with a twist: its cursor can be animated. As a result, ROTOR(tm) excels at drawing elaborate patterns of all sorts, from spirograph moires to quilt squares. In addition, it lets you type text over an image and it features an automated border-drawing command. ROTOR(tm) is great fun to play with, hypnotic and addictive. Yet it is also a sophiticated engine that will allow graphic designers to produce crisp graphics for use in desktop publishing and other such applications. ROTOR(tm) saves its screen to PCX files (latest format) which are compatible with many popular graphic programs. Required : As with all graphic-based programs, the faster Hardware your computer the better. An AT is recommended. Graphic Adapters: ROTOR(tm) supports Hercules, CGA , EGA and regular VGA adapters. It automatically detects which adapter is in your computer. It supports various modes on each adapter. Note that VGA 640 x 480 is the preferred graphics mode, not only for its colors, but mainly because of its aspect ratio of 1. The other modes require automatic aspect ratio correction, which results in some loss of precision. Mouse: A mouse is not required at all, but is handy when available. Any Microsoft compatible mouse (or graphic tablet) will work. Memory: ROTOR needs approximately 240 kb of free memory to run. Disk Space: The ROTOR.EXE file doesn't take up much space, but saved screens do, particularly those of high resolution modes. Make sure you have enough room on the current drive\directory before starting the program! ---------------------------------------------------------------- The Files : ROTORxx.DOC : The "manual". You are looking at it right now. To print it, type: COPY ROTOR.DOC PRN <enter> ROTORxx.EXE : The program file. This is the only file needed to run the program. ROTORxx.REG : This file contains the Registration form, the User Questionaire and the License Agreement. Print these by typing: COPY ROTOR.REG PRN <enter> These three files are compressed into ROTORxx.ZIP when distributed by BBS. xxx stands for the current version number. -------------------------------------------------- To start : Type ROTORxx and press enter. xx stands for the current version number. For help : Press [?] or [/]. A menu of all the available keyboard commands pops-up. To exit : Press ESC. -------------------------------------------------- The Screen : When you first load ROTOR(tm), an animated logo appears. Press any key to enter the ROTOR(tm) working screen. The working screen features: -A Status line at the top of the screen -A Drawing area enclosed by a thin border line -A cursor box within the drawing area -An animated shape within the cursor box -------------------------------------------------- ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : The status line. ================================================================ The top line on the screen is the status line. It displays the following information: - the current shape-mode. - the available toggle commands and their status. - a Help-key reminder. - the current colors and color-selection-mode. - the available colors and their assigned keys. Current shape-mode : GEO : the current shape is a geometric shape. LIB : the current shape is a library shape. DOT : the current shape is a single pixel (a dot). TXT : text mode: the keyboard now behaves as a typwriter. Toggle commands : These are activities which can be switched on/off by pressing the key corresponding to the first letter of the command's name. Example: [D] toggles DRAW on/off. When a command is activated (ON), it appears highlighted on the status line. Modes : Each command features a variety of operating modes. You can alternate between the various modes by pressing ALT-<command key>. Example: [Alt-D] changes DRAW>line to DRAW>apex. ([D] is the command-key for DRAW) As illustrated by the above example, the current mode for each command appears next to it, following a [>]. Help : There are two help-keys. They both list the available keyboard commands, but each does it in its own way: [?] (shift-/) : by keyboard location. [/] (unshifted-?) : by subject matter. Current colors : A little "box",(to the right of the ?=Help message) shows you the current DRAW and FILL colors. The border is the DRAW color, the center is the FILL color. Color selection mode : The lower case letter next to the current-colors box shows the current color-selection mode: f : you are in FILL-color-selection mode. d : you are in DRAW-color-selection mode. Available colors : The colors available with the current graphic adapter are displayed in a "Colors-strip". ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : The Cursor. ================================================================ At the heart of ROTOR(tm) lies its cursor. A boundary line defines the cursor's area and size. A shape appears within that boundary. This cursor is your "drawing" tool. You can move it around the screen with the cursor keys or a mouse. You can make it smaller or larger. When you startup the program, this cursor appears in the middle of the screen, busily drawing a star-shape, over and over. By giving you precise control over all the parameters that affect this cursor's operation ROTOR(tm) allows you to achieve a wide range of unusual graphic effects. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Sizing, changing and relocating the cursor * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [+] : Increase size of cursor. [-] : Decrease size of cursor. The amount of increase or decrease is set with the keys F3 and F4. [=] : Expands the cursor to full-screen size. [U] : This is the SQUARE/RECTANGLE TOGGLE. It shrinks rectangular cursors into squares. It expands square cursors into 4x3 rectangles. [DEL] : Change the cursor mode. The default mode is a rectangular(square) outline border. The other modes are cross-hairs: a small one, and a full-screen one which is handy when you are trying to line things up. [Alt-H] : HIDE-the-CURSOR TOGGLE. It turns the boundary line of the cursor on/off. (When the boundary line is off, only the shape in its center remains visible.) [INS] : Position the cursor onto the center of the screen. [CTRL-PgUp] : Position cursor in top-right corner [CTRL-PgDn] : Position cursor in bottom-right corner [CTRL-Home] : Position cursor in top-left corner [CTRL-End] : Position cursor in bottom-left corner ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Cursor Movement * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Mouse] : A mouse will allow you to move the cursor quickly and freely all over the screen. [ARROWS] : Move the cursor one "step". [F3/F4] : DECREASE/INCREASE the size of the "step" by which the cursor travels when a cursor key is pressed. This "step" is also the increment by which the cursor changes its size when [+] or [-] is pressed. [!] : SET the CURSOR STEP RATE to 1. [G] <GRID> : This is the GRID MOVEMENT toggle. This mode affects the cursor's movement. When ON, the cursor no longer moves in small increments. Instead, it hops across the screen in steps that match the size of the cursor itself. This is very handy when you want to avoid overlapping shapes. Note that GRID only affects the cursor keys. (not the mouse). [Alt-G] : The CHANGE GRID MODE key. There are 2 grid modes: set : this is the default, and it functions as described above. fit : In this mode, when you switch GRID ON, the cursor jumps to the Upper-left corner of the screen. In the process, it is resized so that exact number of cursors will fit on the screen, nicely and neatly. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Cursor Motion * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [M] <MOTOR> : This is the MOTORIZED CURSOR toggle. When ON, the cursor travels across the screen all by itself. The cursor keys are used to select the direction of travel, which may be changed at any time. [Alt-M] : The CHANGE MOTOR MODE key. There are several MOTOR modes available. The active one is indicated in lower case letters to the right of the word MOTOR on the status line. exit : This is the default mode. When the cursor travels off the screen, it remains out of sight till you make it come back. thru : Here, when the cursor disappears on one side of the screen, it automatically reappears on the opposite side, still travelling in the same direction. pong : In this mode, the cursor never leaves the screen. It bounces off the edges of the screen, like a ping-pong ball. scan : Similar to the thru-mode above. But here the cursor reappears one "step" below its original position. This results in a scanning action. edge : When the cursor reaches the edge of the screen, it follows it all around, until stopped. [B] : This is the BORDER toggle. Pressing [B] activates the border-drawing mode, which draggs the cursor all around the screen, following the edges, and rotating the shape 90 degrees every time it passes a corner. You can interrupt this process at any time by pressing [B] again. [Alt-B] : This is the FILLed-BORDER command. The difference between this one and the one above is that this one always produces "FILLed" borders, while [B] only does it when it starts with FILL in the ON position. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : The shapes ================================================================ The term "shape" refers to the form that appears within the boundary line of the cursor. No shape ever appears outside that boundary line. The default shape, at start-up, is a square. There are other shapes available. But there are never several shapes available simultaneously. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape selection * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Shift-TAB] : This is the GEO/LIB toggle. The status of this toggle is indicated at the very left of the status line. LIB When LIB is ON, the shape in the cursor is part of a built-in library. The letters used in the TXT typewriter mode account for most of the shapes in this library, but there are a few other miscellaneous ones as well: arrows, a lightening bolt, playing card symbols, a plane, a Xmas tree, the ROTOR logo, etc... Future versions of ROTOR(tm) will expand this library. GEO : When LIB is OFF (the default setting), the available shapes are geometric ones defined by their number of vertices. The default shape is a square, which has 4 vertices ("corners"). [F1/F2] : These keys allow you to tab-through the available shapes. In LIB mode , F1 decreases and F2 increases the current shape-number (each shape in the library has a number assigned to it). Pressing F2 gets you the next shape in the library while F1 gets you the previous one. In GEO mode, F1 decreases and F2 increases the number of vertices that make-up the current shape. F1 will turn a square (4 vertices) into a triangle (3 vertices), while F2 will convert a pentagon (5 vertices) into a hexagon (6 vertices). ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [`] This is the STAR-SHAPE tab-through key. (the left-quote key. On my keyboard, it is next to F2). It works only when LIB is OFF (geometric shapes). It converts shapes with 5 or more vertices to star-shapes of an equal number of vertices. In the case of a pentagon, there is only one corresponding star-shape, but as you increase the number of vertices, multiple star-shaped options become available. The [`] key lets you tab-through them to find the ones that you like. You will find that some star-shapes are missing a few of their "rays". This is one of the wonders of geometry, not the result of a flaw in the program's code. [.] : This is the DOT toggle. DOT When ON, a DOT reminder appears on the status line. It shrinks the cursor and the shape inside down to one pixel (a dot). This allows you to perform the kind of free-hand drawing that is commonly found in paint programs. A mouse is highly desirable in this mode. The mouse "draws" when you hold a button down. In DOT mode, the fill command works as it would in a normal paint program: it fills the area that surrounds the cursor with the current FILL-color. The edge of this enclosing area is defined by DRAW-color pixels. The mouse buttons will perform fills instead of drawing when FILL is ON. To help you keep track of the cursor's location, the cursor's outline is replaced with cross-hair. To exit the DOT mode and restore the cursor to its original size, hit [.] a second time. You can also exit this mode by expanding the cursor with the [+] key. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Tab] : This is the TXT toggle. TXT When ON, a TXT reminder appears on the status line. It turns your keyboard into a typewriter. Type 'Hello!' on the keyboard and watch it appear on the screen. You'll notice that the letters are all upper case (for now) and that they are the size of the cursor. Yes! Resizing the letters is as easy as shrinking or expanding the cursor. The next thing you'll notice is that you can no longer pick colors, since the corresponding keys are now dedicated to typing. To do so, you must exit the TXT mode. The TAB key allows you to quickly exit and re-enter the TXT mode, and perform such color changes in between. The default direction of typing is left-to-right, but this can be changed by pressing an arrow key. For instance, press DOWN for vertical text. The arrow keys will not move the cursor around the screen. Use the space bar for that purpose! When the current GRID mode is >fit, the TAB key positions the cursor in the upper left corner of the screen upon entering TXT. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape Manipulation * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [O] <OFF> : This is the OFF-CENTER POSITIONING toggle. When ON, the shape in the cursor no longer lies squarely in the center of the cursor. It is shifted "off-center", and shrunk down to fit, if necessary. [F9/F10] : DECREASE/INCREASE OFFSET These keys allow you to adjust the amount of "offset" of the OFF-CENTER mode. [Alt-F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE STARTING-ANGLE. The Starting-Angle defines the position of a shape relative to the horizon, before rotation. The default starting-angle is 0. The maximum is 359. Lets say the current shape is a Xmas tree. When the starting-angle is 0, the tree appears upright, with its top pointing toward the top of the screen. Should you increase the starting-angle to 90 degrees, the treetop would point toward the right side of the screen instead, and the tree would appear to be lying on its side. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape Animation * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [P] <PULSE> : This is the PULSE toggle. When ON, the shape in the cursor becomes animated. It shrinks down to nothing and then expands to fill the cursor, in a continual and endless cycle. By toggling PULSE on/off, one can adjust the size of a shape relative to the cursor. [Alt-P] : The CHANGE PULSE MODE key. There are two PULSE modes: up/d : This is default mode. It functions as described above. down : In this mode, the shape shrinks down to nothing, and then pauses. When a key is pressed, the shape is restored to full size, and shrinking resumes. [F7/F8] : DECREASE/INCREASE PULSE-STEP. These keys allow you to adjust the "speed" at which this "pulsing" occurs by changing the size of a pulse "step". [Ctrl-P] : This key turns PULSE OFF and resets the shape to full size. [R] <ROTOR> : This is the ROTOR toggle. When ON, the shape in the cursor becomes animated. It rotates within the cursor, around the point that constitutes the center of the cursor. Combined with PULSE, it produces a swirling-vortex effect. [Alt-R] : The CHANGE ROTOR MODE key. There are two ROTOR modes: reg : This is the default mode. It operates as described above. vib : In this mode, the shape in the cursor "vibrates". It is rotated first in one direction and then the other, endlessly. The effect is not very noticeable when using a 30 degree angle of rotation, which is the default setting of the program. Try reducing it to 5 or 10 degrees (with F5/F6). [F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE the ANGLE-of-ROTATION These keys allow you to adjust the "speed" of rotation by changing the angle of rotation. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Backspace] : This the REVERSE DIRECTION toggle. The direction of rotation can be reversed at any time by pressing this key. If PULSE is ON , it is also reversed. [Space] : This is the PAUSE bar. It immediately stops all shape and cursor animation. It is a handy "panic bar". All further keypresses are processed in SINGLE-STEP fashion. This allows you detailed control over animated sequences. Whenever the program seems to have "stalled", make sure it isn't just in a PAUSE state! [Enter] : This is the CONTINUE key. It turns the PAUSE state OFF. Use it to resume normal animation. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : The "Marking" modes. ================================================================ [D] <DRAW> : The DRAW toggle. When ON, the outline of the shape is drawn onto the screen. You use the buttons on a mouse to control this toggle (While a button is held pressed, DRAW remains ON). [Alt-D] : The CHANGE DRAW MODE key. There are three DRAW modes: line : This is the default mode. The shape outlines as drawn in the current line pattern. apex : The shape outlines are drawn with highlighted vertices. The effect is reminiscent of twinkling constellations. Try it! You'll see what we mean. fuzz : The shape outlines are "XOR'ed" onto the screen. What this means is that instead of covering each other, successive shapes are blended together. The result is a blurring reminiscent of television static. Once again, the best way to familiarize yourself with this feature is to try it. [Ctrl-L] : The CHANGE LINE PATTERN toggle. This key allows you to select line patterns. The default line pattern is a solid line. The other line patterns are dot and dash combinations. Line patterns affect the operation of the DRAW command. (shape outlines) The current line pattern is indicated by the cursor's border-line. [Alt-L] : The CHANGE LINE THICKNESS toggle. This key allows you to chose between thin and thick lines. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [F] <FILL> : The FILL toggle. When ON, the inside of the shape in the cursor is no longer empty. The "fill material" is defined by its color (the fill color) and its pattern (the fill pattern). Filled shapes are not "transparent". Whatever they are painted over is forever gone. [Alt-F] : The CHANGE FILL MODE key. There are three FILL modes: in : This is the default mode. It functions as described above. ex : In this mode, the whole cursor is filled with the draw color before the shape is stamped onto the screen. The result is a tile-like cursor. This mode is meant to be used with GRID in its ON state, which avoids overlapping "tiles". t. : This mode is for use in conjunction with the TXT typewriter. Normally, when you toggle TXT on, it only switches the DRAW toggle ON. This option forces TXT to also turn FILL ON. [Ctrl-F] : The CHANGE FILL PATTERN key. The default pattern is "Solid fill", which is basically no pattern at all. The other patterns are various forms of cross-hatching, dot fill and line fill. The current fill pattern is displayed on the status line next to the FILL toggle. [N] : Makes the cursor NON-MARKING. It turns all 3 toggles above OFF so that the cursor will no longer change the image on the screen. It's a handy short-cut. When the cursor is non-marking, the color of the shape within is NOT indicative of the color it will have when made "marking". Check the active colors box on the status line for the correct active color information. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : The Colors ================================================================ Colors- On the right side of the status line, there is a strip colors-strip which displays all the available colors. This colors-strip appears differently depending on your video hardware. In EGA and VGA modes, it displays 16 colors. In low-resolution CGA modes, it displays only 4 colors. In Hercules and High-resolution CGA black-and-white modes, it is barely noticeable, since it only shows 2 colors. Draw vs. When the outline of a shape is drawn onto the Fill screen, it is drawn in a color that we call the DRAW-color. When the FILL mode is ON, that outline is flooded with another color, which we call the FILL-color. Active To the left of the colors-strip, there is a little colors "box" that displays the current DRAW and FILL colors: indicator The border of this box shows the currently active DRAW-color. The center of the box shows the currently active FILL-color. Selecting The number keys on the top row of the keyboard a color are used to change the active colors. [0],[1],[2] : These are the COLOR SELECTION Keys. [3],[4],[5] The number that the colors-strip displays on each [6],[7] color tells you which key to press for that color. [8] : This is the COLOR-NUMBER toggle. In EGA and VGA modes, only half the colors have a number assigned to them. The [8] key toggles the number assignments between the low intensity colors and the high intensity colors, thereby giving you full access to all 16 colors. [9] : This is the COLOR-SELECTION-MODE toggle. When you select a color, you are selecting either the DRAW color or the FILL color. The [9] key allows you to toggle between select-DRAW-color and select-FILL-color modes. See that little letter next to the colors-strip? When its a 'd', the color selected with a number key is becomes the active DRAW-color; when its an 'f', the selected color becomes the active FILL-color. When you turn both FILL and DRAW ON, the program sets this toggle to select-FILL-color. [*] : This is the INTENSITY TOGGLE. It changes the intensity of the active DRAW-color when you are in select-DRAW-color mode. It changes the intensity of the active FILL-color when you are in select-FILL-color mode. Dark colors become bright, and bright colors are darkened. Matching : ROTOR(tm) does not allow matching DRAW and FILL colors. DRAW and When you select a color that would result in a FILL colors match, the program toggles the intensity of one of them to avoid a match. In select-DRAW-color mode, the FILL-color gets its intensity switched. In select-FILL-color mode, the DRAW-color gets its intensity switched. [Alt-E] : This is the NEW BACKGROUND key. Background It "paints" the active FILL-color over the entire color screen, covering any image that may be there. change Use this key to change the background color. Matching : When you select a DRAW-color that matches the DRAW and background color, the shape in the cursor background becomes invisible on that background. colors ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key CYCLING * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [C] <CYCLE> : This is the CYCLE toggle. When ON, each successive shape is drawn with a different color, pattern, etc... [Alt-C] : The CHANGE CYCLE MODE key. There are five CYCLE modes: col : In this mode, each successive shape is drawn in a different color. pat : In this mode, each successive shape is drawn in a different pattern. mix : In this mode, each successive shape is drawn in both a different color and a different pattern b&w : In this mode, the color of each successive shape alternates between black and white. b&w : In this mode, the color of each successive shape alternates between black and white, and in addition, each successive shape is drawn in a different pattern. The colors used in the cycling process are restricted to those of the "color-cycling-range". There are no such restrictions for the patterns. Please note also that color-cycling always cycles the DRAW color, and that it also cycles the FILL color when both FILL and DRAW are ON. Color You may have noticed that some of the colors cycling on the Colors-Strip are highlighted by a range rectangle. This set of colors constitutes the color-cycling-range. It is defined by its "Bottom-color" and its "Top-color". '[' This key assigns the last color selected to become the new "Bottom-color" of the color-cycling-range ']' This key assigns the last color selected to become the "new Top-color" of the color-cycling-range Notes about When Color-cycling is active, the active- color colors box on the status line does not cycling reflect the colors in use. Upon exiting the color-cycling mode, the last colors used by the color-cycling mode become the active colors. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : Erasing techniques. ================================================================ [E] : This is the ERASE the SCREEN key. It clears the entire working area of the screen. The background-color remains unchanged. [Alt-E] : This is the FILL the SCREEN key. The entire working area of the screen is flooded with the current DRAW-color. [A] : AREA-erase key. (Erases cursor contents) It erases the area defined by the cursor with a background-color "patch". [Alt-A] : AREA-fill key. (Covers cursor contents) It erases the area defined by the cursor with a FILL-color "patch". -------------------------------------------------- In addition to the commands above, the cursor can always be turned into an eraser by "drawing" with it in a color that matches the background color. Also, when FILL is ON and DRAW is OFF, the current shape acts as an eraser. -------------------------------------------------- ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : Screen commands ================================================================ [;] : The SWITCH ADAPTERS key. This command allows you to produce CGA mode pictures on EGA/VGA monitors, but NOT vice versa. [,] : Toggle thru the various modes/resolutions of the current adapter. [S] : Saves the Screen to ROTORxxx.PCX These files are written to the CURRENT drive and directory. This is not neccessarily the location of the ROTOR.EXE file. (If you loaded the program by typing at the C: prompt B:ROTOR<enter> the images files will be written on drive C:, not drive B:) These are Zsoft compatible files. xxx is the number of "saves" executed during the current session. The screen is saved in the format corresponding to the graphic mode in use. The following programs read picture files saved in the PCX format: PC Paintbrush (Zsoft) ....... Paint programs Ventura Publisher ........... Desktop publishing Pagemaker .................... Desktop Publishing DeluxePaint II Enhanced ...... Paint program Pages ........................ Desktop publishing VPIC [Bob Montgomery] ........ Picture file viewer and converter. [W] : The WHITE screen toggle. Some of the programs listed above only support black and white PCX picture files. This command puts ROTOR(tm) in Black & White mode, so that its saved images will be usable by them. Please note that this command does not "translate" color screens into black and white ones. It only resets the graphic adapter to a black and white mode and in doing so loses all screen contents. You can return to the Color mode you started in by pressing [W] again. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) : Support commands. ================================================================ Help : There are two help-keys. Both of them pop-up a list of available keyboard commands. These are not just "help screens", however, for they double-up as menus. Lets say you can't remember how to erase the screen. You examine the pop-up menu and discover that [E] will do the trick. When you hit [E], not only does the "help screen" disappear, the screen is cleared as well. [/] : This is the primary HELP MENU key. The keyboard commands that it displays are arranged by subject: cursor, colors, animation.. [?] : This is the secondary HELP MENU key. [shifted-/] The keyboard commands that it displays are arranged by keyboard location: function keys, cursor keys,... [H] : The HIDE-the-status-line toggle. This commands removes the status line, leaving only your image on screen. You'll find this feature useful when photographing the screen or filming its animated effects. Please note that all keyboard commands remain available; you can continue to draw even though the status bar is missing. The status line will remain hidden until you press [H] a second time. [I] : REGISTRATION INFORMATION key. Pops-up the ROTOR(tm) registration message. Please register! [Alt-I] : Time-ON message key. Tells you how much time you have spent using ROTOR(tm) since you started it up. [ESC],[Q] : These keys exit the program. [X] ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Z] : The PARAMETER DISPLAY toggle. When switched on, the status line is replaced with a numeric display of various ROTOR(tm) parameters. This display gives you very precise and accurate control of them. These parameters are: - R : the radius of the current shape (in square pixels). This parameter is in constant flux when the PULSE command is active. - MaxR : the radius of the shape (in square pixels) when it is full size. This parameter changes when you change the size of the cursor. - A : the "starting-angle" (in degrees) which defines the position of the shape prior to rotation. You can change this parameter with the [Alt-F5/Alt-F6] keys. - AR : the current Aspect Ratio factor. This item changes when you switch modes or adapters. It is used to correct the distortion that occurs when the screen pixels are not square, thereby allowing the preservation of a shape's proportions across all supported graphic modes. This correction is achieved by multiplying all horizontal pixel dimensions by the aspect ratio factor. The remaining parameters can be adjusted at any time with the function keys that are linked to them: (The function keys increase or decrease their value by one unit each time they are pressed.) - Vrtcs : the number of vertices in the current shape, if the current shape is a "geometric" shape. This value can be dec/increased with F1/F2. - Cstep : the size of the step that the cursor takes when you move it by pressing one of the arrow keys (in square pixels). This value can be dec/increased with F3/F4. - Angle : the angle by which a shape is rotated when ROTOR is on (in degrees) . This value can be dec/increased with F5/62. - Pstep : the amount by which the shape's radius is shrunk or expanded when PULSE is on (in square pixels). This value can be dec/increased with F7/F8. - Offset: the amount of Offset that separates the center of the cursor from the shape's own center, when OFFSET is ON (in square pixels). This value can be dec/increased with F9/F0. ================================================================ ROTOR(tm) Keyboard commands summaries ================================================================ ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key The Function keys * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [F1/F2] : DECREASE/INCREASE the # of VERTICES (or the SHAPE#) [F3/F4] : DECREASE/INCREASE the CURSOR STEP RATE [F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE the ANGLE-of-ROTATION [Alt-F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE the STARTING-ANGLE [F7/F8] : DECREASE/INCREASE PULSE-STEP. [F9/F0] : DECREASE/INCREASE the OFFSET AMOUNT ================================================================ List of keyboard commands by function groups. ================================================================ ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Sizing, changing and relocating the cursor * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [+] : Increase size of cursor. [-] : Decrease size of cursor. [=] : Expands the cursor to full-screen size. [U] : This is the SQUARE/RECTANGLE toggle. [DEL] : Change the cursor mode. [Alt-H] : HIDE-the-CURSOR toggle. [INS] : Position the cursor onto the center of the screen. [CTRL-PgUp] : Position cursor in top-right corner [CTRL-PgDn] : Position cursor in bottom-right corner [CTRL-Home] : Position cursor in top-left corner [CTRL-End] : Position cursor in bottom-left corner ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Cursor Movement * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Mouse] : A mouse will allow you to move the cursor quickly and freely all over the screen. [ARROWS] : Move the cursor one "step". [F3/F4] : DECREASE/INCREASE the size of that "step". [!] : SET the CURSOR STEP RATE to 1. [G] <GRID> : This is the GRID MOVEMENT toggle. [Alt-G] : The CHANGE GRID MODE key. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Cursor Motion * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [M] <MOTOR> : This is the MOTORIZED CURSOR toggle [Alt-M] : The CHANGE MOTOR MODE key. [B] : This is the BORDER toggle. [Alt-B] : This is the FILLed-BORDER command. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape selection * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [Shift-TAB] : This is the GEO/LIB toggle. [F1/F2] : These keys allow you to tab-through the available shapes. [`] This is the STAR-SHAPE tab-through key. [.] : This is the DOT toggle. [Tab] : This is the TXT toggle. (Typewriter mode) ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape Manipulation * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [O] <OFF> : This is the OFF-CENTER POSITIONING toggle. [F9/F10] : DECREASE/INCREASE OFFSET [Alt-F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE STARTING-ANGLE. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Shape Animation * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [P] <PULSE> : This is the PULSE toggle. [Alt-P] : The CHANGE PULSE MODE key. [F7/F8] : DECREASE/INCREASE PULSE-STEP. [Ctrl-P] : This key turns PULSE OFF and resets the shape to full size. [R] <ROTOR> : This is the ROTOR toggle. [Alt-R] : The CHANGE ROTOR MODE key. [F5/F6] : DECREASE/INCREASE the ANGLE-of-ROTATION [Backspace] : This the REVERSE DIRECTION toggle. [Space] : This is the PAUSE bar. [Enter] : This is the CONTINUE key. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Marking commands * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [D] <DRAW> : The DRAW toggle. [Alt-D] : The CHANGE DRAW MODE key. [Ctrl-L] : The CHANGE LINE PATTERN toggle. [Alt-L] : The CHANGE LINE THICKNESS toggle. [F] <FILL> : The FILL toggle. [Alt-F] : The CHANGE FILL MODE key. [Ctrl-F] : The CHANGE FILL PATTERN key. [N] : Makes the cursor NON-MARKING. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Color commands * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [0],[1],[2] : These are the COLOR SELECTION Keys. [3],[4],[5] The number that the colors-strip displays on each [6],[7] color tells you which key to press for that color. [8] : This is the COLOR-NUMBER toggle. [9] : This is the COLOR-SELECTION-MODE toggle. [*] : This is the INTENSITY toggle. [Alt-E] : This is the NEW BACKGROUND key. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key CYCLING * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [C] <CYCLE> : This is the CYCLE toggle. [Alt-C] : The CHANGE CYCLE MODE key. '[' : This key assigns the last color selected to become the new "Bottom-color" of the color-cycling-range ']' : This key assigns the last color selected to become the "new Top-color" of the color-cycling-range ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Erasing commands * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [E] : This is the ERASE the SCREEN key. [Alt-E] : This is the FILL the SCREEN key. [A] : AREA-erase key. (Erases cursor contents) [Alt-A] : AREA-fill key. (Covers cursor contents) ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Screen commands * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [;] : Switch ADAPTERS. [,] : Toggle thru the various MODES/resolutions of the current adapter. [S] : Saves the Screen to ROTORxxx.PCX [W] : The WHITE screen toggle. ----------- -------------------------------------------------- Key Support commands * ----------- -------------------------------------------------- [/] : This is the primary HELP MENU key. (by subject) [?] : This is the secondary HELP MENU key. (by keys) [H] : The HIDE-the-status-line toggle. [I] : REGISTRATION INFORMATION key. [Alt-I] : Time-ON message key. [ESC],[Q] : These keys exit the program. [X] [Z] : The PARAMETER DISPLAY toggle. ================================================================ Acknowledgements ================================================================ Thanks to Borland International for RBO PASCAL 5.5. ROTOR(tm) makes heavy use of the functions and procedures of the Boreland Graphics Interface [BGI]. Thanks also to Genus Microprogramming for their PCX programmer's Toolkit. It has allowed us to implement ROTOR's screen save function gracefully and painlessly. Thanks to Keith Weiskamp and Namir Shammas. Their book Power Graphics using Turbo Pascal (1989 Wiley) provided the basic elements for ROTOR's mouse and pop-up window routines. Finally, thanks to the many programmers whose books and code have helped in implementing the myriad of minor details which give ROTOR(tm) its polish. ================================================================ Trademark Acknowledgments ================================================================ This manual refers to several paint and desktop publishing programs. The names of these programs are trademarks of their respective owners.