The Business Master (3rd Edition)

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MAGIC BRUSH and MAGIC SHOW Version 1.50 Tutorial Copyright (C) 1988, 1989 by Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Member, Association of Shareware Professionals MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE SOLD "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OR MERCHANTABILITY. THESE PROGRAMS ARE SOLD WITHOUT ANY EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES WHATSOEVER. THE USER IS ADVISED TO TEST THE PROGRAMS THOROUGHLY BEFORE RELYING ON THEM. THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THE PROGRAMS. ANY LIABILITY OF SELLER OR MANUFACTURER WILL BE LIMITED EXCLUSIVELY TO PRODUCT REPLACEMENT OR REFUND OF THE PURCHASE PRICE. SOFTWARE LICENSE MAGIC BRUSH, MAGIC SHOW, SNAPSHOT, MB.TP, and MBDEMO are Copyright (C) 1988,1989 by Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush. All Rights Reserved. You may use, copy, and distribute this software provided that all of the following conditions are satisfied: - The software is distributed complete and without any modification, addition, or omission, including all text and ancillary files. No fee may be charged in connection with the distribution of this software except as specified in the file called VENDOR.DOC which is part of this software. - It may not be distributed on the same diskette with other software or text or other files without express prior written permission from the author (except as indicated in the accompanying file VENDOR.DOC). Files on distribution diskettes shall not be compressed. - No part of the Reference Manual may be copied or distributed in any form. - The software is not distributed as part of or in conjunction with any other software package, or in conjunction with or as part of or installed on any computer or hardware system, without the express prior written permission of the author. - ii - MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush TUTORIAL Version 1.50 Please read the README.DOC file (type README) * CAUTION: Do NOT run SNAPSHOT before reading this file * The following tutorial is intended to allow you to start using MAGIC BRUSH and MAGIC SHOW right away. It is not intended to replace the Magic Brush Reference Manual, which you should consult for detailed information, and for many features that cannot be covered in a quick tutorial. The Manual also contains many hints and suggestions. This tutorial will guide you, step by step, through various commands in order to acquaint you with the mode of operation of the program. After you go through it, please read the Reference Manual in order to be able to fully utilize all the features of MAGIC BRUSH, MAGIC SHOW, SNAPSHOT, and MB.TP provided as part of Magic Brush. Also please refer to the Manual if you would like to configure MAGIC BRUSH to read picture files and library files by default from subdirectories or drives you specify, or if you would like to configure it to work with a mouse or joystick (including modifying the function of the mouse or joystick buttons). Run Magic Brush Load MAGIC BRUSH: type MB and press ENTER Cursor movement The cursor appears in the middle of the screen. To move the cursor, press one of the eight cursor keys (on the numeric keypad) in the desired direction. If the cursor does not respond, it may be that Num Lock is "on": press the Num Lock key once to set the keypad in the cursor mode. Each press of a cursor key moves Cursor lost? the cursor one pixel. If you lose the cursor, [H] press [H] to put it in the center of your screen (if that fails, perhaps you inadvertently changed its color to the background color: try pressing the + key on the numeric keypad to change pen color. Pen down [Ins] Press [Ins] for PEN DOWN. Now moving the pen up [Del] cursor will allow you to draw freehand. For PEN UP, press [Del]. Cursor interval Press 5 (at the top of the keyboard). Press a [I] cursor key: the cursor moves five pixels. You can chose any cursor INTERVAL from 1 to 10. This allows you to move quickly over the screen, and also to move by equal increments or draw lines of equal length. Press I to enter an INTERVAL greater than 10 (up to 99). Help Screen Press function key F1. The on-line Help Screen [F1] is displayed. This shows the MAGIC BRUSH commands arranged in fairly logical groupings, within the space limitations of the screen. - 1 - MAGIC BRUSH TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Under the section marked ** Colors: you can Pen color see that [+] will change PEN COLOR. While [+, -] displaying the Help Screen, press [+]; the drawing screen returns and the cursor color is changed. If you move the cursor with PEN DOWN, you will draw in the new color. Notice that you can enter your commands directly from the Help Screen, which makes it a "quasi menu". Press [+] several times; the cursor cycles through four colors, including the background color (cursor invisible). Pen Thickness With PEN UP ([Del]), select a (visible) PEN [Ctrl-T] COLOR ([+]). Press Ctrl-T and enter 3 <CR> to choose a pen THICKNESS of 3. Press [Ins]), and move the cursor to draw. Dot mode Press [;] (semicolon) to select "dot' mode. [;] Select pen down ([Ins]), THICKNESS of 5 (Ctrl- T), and cursor INTERVAL of 6 (press 6 at the top of the keyboard). Now move the cursor to draw "dots" 5 pixels to the side. Change the THICKNESS or the cursor interval, and try again. Press [;] again to toggle "dot" mode off. Erase screen Clear the screen by pressing Ctrl-Home. [Ctrl-Home] Now press [U] to restore it. [U], in many cases "undoes" the last operation if no Undo intervening keys are pressed (see Reference [U] Manual for list of operations that can be reversed with [U]). Make sure pen is up ([Del]) and clear the screen again to start afresh. Paint Select PEN COLOR cyan ([+]), and pen THICKNESS [P] 4 (Ctrl-T). Select PEN DOWN ([Ins]), and draw a polygon or any figure that is fully enclosed. Select PEN UP, and move the cursor inside the figure. To paint the inside of the figure magenta, first select PEN COLOR magenta (([+]), and press [P]. Enter the number that corresponds to the the color of the border (1, in this case, since the polygon sides are cyan) followed by <CR>. The figure will be painted magenta. Note that painting is with the currently selected PEN COLOR and the paint spreads from the cursor location to the "border" of the color you specified. If paint "leaks", that would be because either your figure was not completely enclosed, or you entered the wrong number corresponding to the border color: press [U], make sure your figure is completely enclosed, then repeat the operation. (please refer to the Reference Manual for a more complete explanation). - 2 - MAGIC BRUSH TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Lines To draw Lines between any two points on the [L] screen, the ends of the lines must first be Mark points Marked: select PEN UP, place the cursor at the [M] beginning of the desired line, press [M] to Mark the point (notice the word "Marked" flashes in the top left corner of the screen to confirm that a point was marked). Mark the end of the desired line ([M]). Select PEN COLOR ([+]), and press [L] to draw the line. Mark another point, and press [L] to continue the line. Or mark two new points and draw a line between them. Press [U] to remove the last line you have just drawn. Rectangle Clear the screen (Ctrl-Home). To draw a box or [R] a Rectangle, Mark first the upper left corner, next Mark the lower right corner of the Rectangle. Press [R] to draw a Rectangle. Change PEN COLOR ([+]), and press [R] to change its color. Change pen color again, and press [F] to Fill it with chosen PEN COLOR. Change pen color again and press [R] to draw a border (rectangle) around the filled rectangle. Circle: Clear the screen if you like (Ctrl-Home). Center Press [C] to draw a circle, its center & Radius will be the first point marked (top left corner [C] of the Rectangle drawn above) and the circle will pass through the second marked point. Notice that the old marked points remain until replaced with new points (see Magic Brush Reference Manual for a complete discussion Circle: of marked points). Now try to press [D]. A Diameter circle will be drawn whose diameter lies on the [D] two marked points. Thus to draw a circle when you specify its diameter, mark the two points defining the diameter and press [D]. Cut & Paste Draw any figure. Mark ([M]) the upper left corner first, then the lower right corner of a rectangle that contains the figure you want to cut. To see the exact location of the marked points and the rectangle that they define, Status screen press and hold [Shift]. The screen now shows [Shift] two Status lines (at the top and the bottom) indicating the current status of many of the program parameters. The center section of the screen shows the exact location of the marked points surrounded by two small circles, and a diagonal line joining the marked points. Note that [untitled] appears on the top status line indicating that the drawing has not yet been written to disk, and has not been given a name. - 3 - MAGIC BRUSH TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Cut [\] Release the [Shift] key and press [\] to cut the Paste [/] marked area (speaker "ticks"). Move the cursor to a new location, and press [/] to paste. Pasting Paste modes can be done in TRANSPARENT, OPAQUE, or MERGE [Ctrl-\] modes (selected by pressing Ctrl-\). Try pasting using the three modes. Once cut, the figure stays in memory until a new figure is cut (or until you exit the program); it can therefore be pasted repeatedly (please refer to the Reference Manual for a more complete explanation of the paste function). Flipping Press Ctrl-V: you will hear a ticking sound as [Ctrl-H, Ctrl-V, the program flips the figure you had cut Ctrl-D] vertically; when the ticking sound ceases, paste again (Ctrl-/). Try Ctrl-H (horizontal 90 degree flip) in a similar manner. Ctrl-D flips along rotation a diagonal. Combining diagonal, horizontal, and vertical flips allows you to rotate the cut figure (and Text, see below) 90 degrees. Text To add Text, choose PEN COLOR ([+]), then press [T] [T] and write your text followed by <CR>. Only one line of text can be entered. Text entered can now be pasted at the cursor position by pressing [/]. Multiple lines can be entered and pasted, one at a time. Any figure you had previously cut will no longer be in memory (it will be replaced by the text you entered). Plot With PEN UP, you can draw or PLOT one point at [`] a time by pressing [`]. The size of the point is determined by the pen THICKNESS (Ctrl-T). Spray Pressing [*] selects SPRAY mode ON or OFF. [*] Select SPRAY ON, and with PEN DOWN you can "spray paint". You can experiment with Spray size different PEN COLORs on the same area. The [Ctrl-Y] width of the spraY can be selected by pressing Ctrl-Y. Try PLOTting in SPRAY mode: this Spray burst provides very good control since it sprays in [`] single bursts. Writing to disk Pictures can be Written (saved) to a disk file [Alt-W] by pressing Alt-W. You should enter a file name. The program adds an extension .MB to the name. Press Shift, and note that the name of the file now appears on the top Status line. Reading from disk A MAGIC BRUSH picture file can be Read (loaded) [Alt-R] and displayed on the screen by pressing Alt-R and entering the name of the file. - 4 - MAGIC BRUSH TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Symbols Draw a figure, mark it, and cut it. Save it on [Alt-X] your disk as a "symbol": press Alt-XW and enter a file name (MAGIC BRUSH will add an extension of .SB). Erase the screen (Ctrl-Home) and draw another figure, cut it, and paste it somewhere else on the screen. Now read the "symbol" file by pressing Alt-XR. It is now "cut" and can be pasted on the screen ( / ). Second Screen You can display another screen on which you can [F6] draw by pressing [F6]. You can quickly toggle between the two screens using [F6]. You can cut from one screen and paste on the other. (Please see the Reference Manual, particularly with reference to the relationship of marked points on the two screens.) Libraries You can display successively a number of [F7, F8] picture libraries that are included on your disk by pressing [F7] ([F8] displays them in reverse sequence). You can cut a figure from one of these library screens and paste it on your drawing screen. You can make your own library screens which you can then access using [F7] and [F8] (see Reference Manual for details). Palette To change the color palette you are using, [Q] press [Q]. Pressing [Q] repeatedly allows you to cycle through the four palettes available on the CGA adapter. You can configure MAGIC BRUSH to always start with the palette of your cnoice (see the Reference Manual for configuration). Background color Press [B] repeatedly to cycle through all [B, V] background colors. [V] allows you to cycle background colors in the opposite direction. See the Reference Manual if you would like to always start MAGIC BRUSH with a background color different from black-- however BLACK or a background color that is NOT one of the palette colors is strongly recommended when drawing (see Reference Manual for a discussion of this point). Other Experiment. Make use of the help screen to features try out various commands and features. See the Reference Manual for detailed description of commands, saving your configuration (including that for a mouse or joystick), "hints", "in case of difficulty", etc. - 5 - MAGIC BRUSH TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Printing MAGIC BRUSH does not, at present, have a printing routine. You can print your picture if you have a dot-matrix printer compatible with the IBM Graphics Printer (includes many Epson printers and other printers that emulate them). To do so, you must first load GRAPHICS.COM from your DOS disk, then run Magic Brush, load a picture, and press Alt-P. Other graphics screen dump programs are available that offer more versatility and that support various printers. Exiting program To exit Magic Brush, press Ctrl-End. Be [Ctrl-End] sure to Write (Alt-W) your work to disk before you exit. Magic Brush reminds you to do so if you have made changes to either of your drawing screens and you have not saved these changes before exiting. Hints The Reference Manual has a chapter on Hints and In Case of another on In Case of Difficulty. Please Difficulty consult those. If you have registered your copy and if you have further questions, please do not hesitate to write to me: I will try my best to help you with Magic Brush. If you have any suggestions or if you find any bugs in the program, please let me know so that I can improve it. Because of the great commitment in time, effort, and material expense that goes into not only the initial writing but also the continuous development and maintenance of such software, I will be able to provide support only to registered users. - 5 - MAGIC SHOW TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush MAGIC SHOW MAGIC SHOW allows you to display your pictures as a slide show. You can instruct MAGIC SHOW to read your MAGIC BRUSH picture files into memory and display them according to a sequence you design. A simple script language allows you to control the palette, the background color, and the duration. You can "program" it to show a different sequence depending on which key you press. Several vertical "slides" and "wipes" can be used. This version of MAGIC SHOW allows you to load over 20 MAGIC BRUSH picture files in memory (depending on the amount of RAM available), making the program suitable for animation also. MS script The MAGIC SHOW script language has much language greater capability than that of the previous version, yet remains simple to use. This improvement, however, makes script files written for the older version incompatible with the current version. Creating a In order to write a MAGIC SHOW program (script script file file), you will need to use your ASCII editor or word processor. Make sure you use it to write an ASCII text file (also variously called Non-Document mode, Unformatted mode, etc.) The commands are written one command to a line, with <CR> pressed at the end of each line. Script file The file should be given a name with an name extension of .MS MAGIC SHOW commands and their syntax are: /label IFNKEY character,label BCOLOR color LOAD screen,filename CLS screen NEXT variable COPY source,destination PALETTE palette END PAUSE delay FOR variable,iterations RETURN GETKEY SLIDE screen,type GOSUB label WAITKEY GOTO label WIPE screen,type IFKEY character,label Example Following is a very simple example of a MAGIC SHOW script file. Please refer to the Reference Manual for many more examples that illustrate various possibilities. Let us make a script file which we shall call EXAMPLE.MS. We will use our editor or word processor to create an ASCII text file called - 6 - MAGIC SHOW TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush EXAMPLE.MS. In the following, please substitute for PIC1, PIC2, etc. the actual names of your MAGIC BRUSH picture files that you would like to use (these would have the file name extension .MB, but you do not need to include the extension, as MAGIC SHOW expects the files to have the extension .MB): Script file command explanation ---------- ---------------------------------- PALETTE 1 sets palette LOAD 0,PIC1 loads file PIC1 and displays it LOAD 1,PIC2 loads PIC2 into memory location 1 LOAD 2,PIC3 loads PIC3 into memory location 2 PAUSE 2000 pauses (displaying PIC1) for 2 sec SLIDE 1,10 "slides" PIC2 from mem location 1 BCOLOR 1 changes background color to 1 PAUSE 1000 pauses for 1 second (1000 ms) PALETTE 3 changes palette to 3 PAUSE 1000 pauses for 1 second COPY 2,0 moves PIC3 from memory location 2 PAUSE 1000 to the display (0), & pauses. FOR A,5 repeats following loop 5 times BCOLOR 0 COPY 1,0 PAUSE 500 BCOLOR 1 COPY 2,0 PAUSE 500 NEXT A END save script Now save the file (as EXAMPLE.MS) in ASCII form. To run it, enter, from DOS: run MAGIC SHOW MS <CR> and enter the name of the file (EXAMPLE). MAGIC SHOW should display the errors slide show you created. If you made a mistake in typing the script, MAGIC SHOW will display a message on the screen. In order to help you locate your error, MAGIC SHOW will also write the error message in your script file (EXAMPLE.MS) indicating the position of the error. You can go back and edit the script file to correct the error (pay attention to the spaces or lack of spaces in the example above), and erase the line containing the error message. Now run it again. You can experiment, for example, with more than 3 picture files loaded simultaneously in memory (depending on the amount of RAM available in your computer), and try nesting a loop inside another, and using the other commands to create a more complex script. - 7 - MAGIC SHOW TUTORIAL Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Hint When drawing pictures to be displayed by MAGIC SHOW as animation, you can take advantage of the two drawing screens available, and the fact that marked points are marked on the actual physical screen regardless of which picture is actually displayed. MAGIC BRUSH's cut-&-paste feature allows very accurate control of location of pasting through single pixel movement, through the aid of the STATUS screen (press & hold the shift key), and through the GOTO screen coordinate command (Ctrl-G). Registration If you use MAGIC BRUSH or MAGIC SHOW, please register your copy. Registered users receive a detailed printed Manual, a special, registered copy of the latest version of the program, one year of support by mail, and information on updates. Registering your copy makes it possible for me to continue improving the program (a registration form is included at the end of this tutorial). ------------------------- IBM Graphics Printer is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation. Epson is a registered trademark of Epson Corporation. - 8 - MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush A Note from the Author of Magic Brush ------------------------------------- My experience with computers began in 1981 when I was nine years old. For Christmas that year, I got a SINCLAIR ZX81 computer. I learned BASIC on the Sinclair. I then "graduated" to a Commodore 64. The Commodore's powerful graphics capabilities encouraged me to begin writing programs that used these capabilities. I wrote several graphics drawing programs that allowed the user to sketch figures and paint them. In 1985, when I was 14, we got an IBM PC. MAGIC BRUSH was my first large program on the IBM PC. The program, written in BASICA, grew in size and became unwieldy, and I was encouraged to use a compiled language. So we bought Turbo Pascal, which I learned sufficiently to rewrite Magic Brush in its present form. I also added MAGIC SHOW and other ancillary programs which I am distributing as part of the Magic Brush package and that I hope you will find useful. Magic Brush is, therefore, the result of several years of learning and hard work in between school and other activities. I hope that you will find it helpful in some way. If you do find it useful and use it on a regular basis, please register the program and encourage your friends to copy the program (but not the manual, please) and send their registration fees! The fees will help me, at the very least, in buying disks, books, printer supplies and software, and may even help with the cost of my future college education. I would like to continue to improve the program and to add new features to make it competitive with other similar programs as my programming and math get better, and as I receive your suggestions and support. I already have a number of important improvements in mind that I will be working on. I will, of course, notify registered users of new versions of the program when they become available. However, I can continue doing this only if you, as a user, register the program. I would like to thank Mr. Jeffrey H. Johnson for explaining to me (among other things) pointers in Pascal. My younger brother, Karim (13 years), contributed a lot to the program: he suggested the name MAGIC BRUSH, and he drew the pictures and libraries supplied with the program and used in the demo (MBDEMO). Nassib Nassar (SoftBrush) September, 1988 (modified January, 1989) (modified August, 1989) - 9 - MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Magic Brush History: Version 1.01 corrects a few errors in version 1.00: 1. When you typed the name of a non-existent MB file on the command line, you had to clear the screen. 2. When you enter text, you no longer lose previously marked points. 3. In version 1.00 of MAGIC SHOW, PAUSE paused about 0.02 seconds depending on the the computer. In version 1.01 PAUSE pauses for 1 ms, and is independent of the speed of the computer. 4. The License conditions were added to the README file and to MBTUTOR.DOC. Version 1.02: circle routine is faster at aspect ratio of 1.00. Version 1.10: 1. Added ability to read and write part of screen as a "symbol" file. 2. Added diagonal flipping of cut. 3. Added ability to center a figure to be pasted (F2, F4). 4. Modified Software License and opening program information screen. Version 1.11: 1. Corrected error that caused MAGIC BRUSH to crash when trying to calibrate joystick if disk was full. 2. Modified README file & added ASP OMBUDSMAN statement. Version 1.50 (released August, 1989) I General. 1. A statement of SUPPORT policy has been added in the README file, in compliance with the requirements of the ASP. 2. The Tutorial has been revised and expanded to include MAGIC SHOW. 3. Some of the example/library files have been replaced with newer ones. 4. The file VENDOR.DOC has been added in accordance with the suggestions of the ASP. II MAGIC BRUSH. 1. The status screen now shows name of the file currently being edited. 2. A bug which allowed saving an empty symbol file (without having first made a cut) was corrected. 3. The cursor interval range has been increased to allow intervals greater than 10 (pressing [I] allows entering intervals up to 99). 4. The file directory (displayed by typing Alt-F) is now shown sorted alphabetically. 5. Library files (F7, F8) are now displayed in alphabetical order by file name. 6. Program no longer crashes if F7 or F8 is pressed when a very large number of .LB files is present. - 10 - MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush III MAGIC SHOW has been completely rewritten, with major enhancements in several areas: 1. The number of screens that can be in memory simultaneously is now limited only by the amount of free RAM available, improving the very limited animation capability of earlier versions, and allowing much enhanced rapid slide changes by reducing delays caused by frequent reading of files from the disk. 2. The script language has been enhanced significantly, adding labels, conditional and unconditional branching, subroutines, nested loops, and other controls and commands, allowing much more flexible control of the display. 3. The program now writes error messages in the script file itself identifying the type and location of syntax errors. 4. Vertical "slides" and "wipes" have been added. * * * To print the ORDER/REGISTRATION form on your printer, please place the Magic Brush diskette in drive A:, type: COPY A:REGFORM PRN and press Enter. - 11 - MAGIC BRUSH/MAGIC SHOW Copyright (C) 1988,89 Nassib Nassar, SoftBrush Magic Brush (includes MAGIC BRUSH & MAGIC SHOW) Registration / Order Form Please send order form with check or money order to: Nassib Nassar 4035 Livingstone Pl. Durham, NC 27707 Name: ______________________________________ Company:______________________________________ Address:______________________________________ ______________________________________ City: ___________________ State:___________ Zip:____________ 1.5 0124 ================================================================== |Quantity Description Unit Extended | |---------|----------------------------------|--------|----------| | | Magic Brush Program & Manual* | $25.00 | | |---------|----------------------------------|--------|----------| | | Magic Brush Manual only* | $20.00 | | |---------|----------------------------------|--------|----------| | | Magic Brush Trial diskette only**| $ 7.00 | | |---------|----------------------------------|--------|----------| | | | Subtotal $ | | NC residents please add Sales Tax $ | | | | Total $ | |----------------------------------------------------------------| * Includes registration. ** Does not include registration Prices subject to change without notice. Magic Brush will be shipped post free within the continental U.S.A. Please indicate diskette size: ___ 5.25" diskette ___ 3.5" diskette