- 7/15/93 ------------------- ImageFX README ------------------------------ Please take the time to read through this file; it contains some valuable information that did not make it into the update documentation. -------------------- Important Virtual Memory Note ------------------------ ImageFX 1.50 handles virtual memory a little bit differently. The changes were made to improve the reliability of the virtual memory, as well as the overall efficiency. In addition to the information covered in the addendum, it is important to note that ImageFX now allocates the RAM required for the virtual memory (the Max RAM setting, NOT the buffer size) _when ImageFX is first started_. So, depending on your Max RAM setting, you will have that much less RAM available for normal image processing operations. Because of this, it is important that you put a little thought into choosing your Max RAM size. A good starting point would be around 1MB-2MB. Larger values will result in less swapping to and from disk (thus improving the overall performance), but of course it will require that much more RAM. Never set the Max RAM to your total amount of RAM; you should always leave at least 1MB or 2MB of "headroom" below your maximum RAM (so that there is enough memory leftover for ordinary mundane things like opening screens and such). Also, the RAM required for the virtual memory must be contiguous; so if you have 16MB, and half of it is 16-bit RAM and the other half is 32-bit RAM, you only have a maximum of 8MB of contiguous RAM available for ImageFX's virtual memory. (To change the behavior of the buffer allocation, see the INITVMEMLATE tool type description below.) ------------------- Asynchronous vs. Synchronous Hooks -------------------- With ImageFX 1.50, there is now a distinction between asynchronous hooks (hooks that run concurrently with ImageFX such as Cinemorph and IMP) and synchronous hooks (hooks that simply perform a function and return to ImageFX such as Antique or BlackHole). Generally, you will not need to worry about this distinction except for these cases: - CineMorph/IFX must be run asynchronously. By default, hooks launched from ImageFX project icons are started asynchronously, so you will be safe if you start Cinemorph this way. If you start Cinemorph via. the Hooks button in the Toolbox, Cinemorph will work fine but you will not be able to return to ImageFX to adjust the Render module settings. Morale: The recommended way to start Cinemorph is through a project icon. -------------------------------- Viewtek ---------------------------------- Viewtek, a freely-distributable animation and picture viewing utility written by Thomas Krehbiel, is now being distributed with ImageFX. It may be used to show any IFF images or animations that ImageFX produces. Viewtek is installed automatically by the hard drive installation process in its own drawer (called "Viewtek"). Documentation on the use of this program is also contained in that drawer. (Please note that Viewtek is not a GVP product.) --------------------------------- MAGIC ----------------------------------- MAGIC is a system developed by Nova Design for sharing 24-bit image data between "aware" applications. Information on MAGIC may be found in the "MAGIC" drawer (also installed by the hard drive installation process). If you are developer interested in supporting MAGIC, libraries and include files may also be found in this drawer for your immediate use. ------------------------------- New Hooks --------------------------------- BlackOut Remove the black component (of CMYK) from the main buffer and store it into the swap buffer. You select the Under Color Removal (UCR), which affects how much of the black content is removed. A UCR of 100 will remove 100% of the black, while a UCR value of 50 will only remove 50% of the black. This hook is handy for separating an image before printing to, for example, a DeskJet 500C. With the 500C, you can only print with a CMY cartidge or a black cartridge; printing color images with the CMY cartridge will cause black areas to come out muddy. Using the BlackOut hook, you can separate out all the black component of an image, and print just the color component with the CMY cartridge, then print the black component with the black cartidge on a second pass over the paper. Deinterlace Separates a buffer into even and odd fields. The odd field is transferred to the swap buffer, and the even field remains in the main buffer. Whatever was in the swap buffer previously is destroyed. Interlace Combine the main and swap buffers by interlacing them. The swap buffer becomes the odd field, and the main buffer becomes the even field. The result will remain in the main buffer. Pixelize Perform the classic pixelization (also known as mosaic) function on the current buffer. RampEdge Another variety of edge detection; this one results in much thicker edges. This makes a good basis for alpha channel masks. --------------------------- New Arexx Programs ---------------------------- Create.ifx A handy program for creating image buffers; it allows entering the image size in inches and setting the aspect ratio and DPI directly. Especially useful for desktop publishing purposes. PrintFax.ifx Reads and prints out a FAXX file (such as those created by PhonePak VFX) using the Prefs2 printer module. ScanMultiple.ifx This will scan several monochrome images from an ADF-equipped Epson scanner, rendering and saving each image as a 2-color black & white ILBM file in RAM:. You must enable the ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) via. the Epson module's Extras menu before running the Arexx program. ScanFax.ifx Similar to ScanMultiple.ifx, but saves the resulting images as a FAXX file suitable for use with PhonePak VFX. Snapshot.ifx Scans a directory and creates one or more "snapshot" images consisting of thumbnail representations of all the images in the directory. The resulting montages are by default rendered as 16-color hires images and saved to RAM:. Where possible, image aspect is maintained in the thumbnails. Useful for creating an "index" of your image collection. --------------------------- New Drawing Modes ---------------------------- FeltTip This mode simulates the use of a felt-tip pen when drawing. Trail This mode only works on freehand drawn tools (such as the freehand line and airbrush tools); it will "fade in" the tool as you draw. Sharpen This mode provides an interactive sharpening function. Note that you must have UNDO enabled for this mode to work. ---------------------- Last Minute Arexx Additions ------------------------ CREATEBUFFER The CreateBuffer command has three new arguments for selecting the color of the buffer being created. The new syntax is: CreateBuffer Width/N,Height/N,Grey/S,Vmem/S,Force/S,Red/N,Green/N,Blue/N Where the RED, GREEN, and BLUE arguments specify the background color for the new buffer (each color must be in the range of 0-255). For greyscale buffers, only the RED value is significant. TEXT The TEXT command has new options for creating bold, italics, and/or underline text from ARexx: Text Font,Size/N,Aspect/N,Italic/S,Bold/S,Underline/S,Text/F The ITALIC, BOLD, and UNDERLINE arguments select the style of font used in rendering. Any or all of the style switches may be specified. LEARN The LEARN command has an additional option to disable the state information at the top of every recorded macro: Learn File,Stop/S,NoHeader/S,Quiet/S The NOHEADER switch will disable the collection of state information output at the beginning of every recorded macro. The QUIET flag will disable the requester that appears to indicate that learning is stopped. HOOK The HOOK command has a new option to run hooks asyncronously: Hook File,Async/S,Args/F The ASYNC argument will cause the hook to be run in the background; control will be returned to ImageFX immediately. Note that some hooks *must* be run asynchronously (namely Cinemorph) for full functionality (see discussion of hooks above). ----------------------------- New Tool Types ----------------------------- SCREENMODE= Select the screen mode that the ImageFX menu and palette screens use. Requires Kickstart 2.0 or later. The mode name must be one of the mode names listed in the ScreenMode preferences program (the name must be exactly correct, too). This tool type is especially useful in conjunction with the new SuperAmiga preview module. HOOKSYNC ImageFX hooks launched from a project icon with the HOOK tool type are by default launched asynchronously (ie. ImageFX and the hook run concurrently). This tool type causes the hook to be launched synchronously (ie. the hook must complete before ImageFX will continue). LOADERPATH= Sets the directory where ImageFX looks for Loader modules. SAVERPATH= Sets the directory where ImageFX looks for Saver modules. DRAWMODEPATH= Sets the directory where ImageFX looks for DrawMode modules. ASSIGN= Sets the logical assign where the main ImageFX directory resides. This is normally IMAGEFX:, but this tool type can be used to change that if, for example, you need two separate directories with two different copies of the ImageFX software on the same system. INITVMEMLATE By default, ImageFX 1.50 will allocate the RAM it needs for virtual memory buffers as soon as the program runs. By setting this tool type, ImageFX will not allocate the virtual memory buffer until the first time it is needed. Generally, if you use the virtual memory a lot, you will not want to set this tool type. But if you only use the virtual memory sparingly, it is probably a good idea to set this tool type. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- - TEK