Document describing the register mode paint program ------------------------------------------------------------ Last updated for version v2r8: ------- November 26th, 1990 ------------------------------------------------------------ ========================================================================= See the end of this document for a blow by blow description of the changes for each individual revision of this paint software. The main portion of this document is not organized to show those changes coherently; instead, it is intended as a users manual and an overall reference manual to the register paint software. ========================================================================= Register paint software project credits: ======================================== Programming ----------- Chris Genly ---- The font code portion. Pete Patterson - The IFF, GIF and 24 bit loader code portions, and the accompaning "convert" tool. Hal Schwab ----- The color space code portions. Ben Williams --- Remaining portions. Documentation ------------- Ben Williams Funding ------- Black Belt Systems - Support for the HAM-E project. System and Environmental Requirements: ====================================== This paint software requires an Amiga computer equipped with one megabyte or more or memory. Users with one megabyte will probably be unable to use the interlace mode of this software. Although not required for actual operation of the software, the Black Belt Systems HAM-E device is required for viewing these images in their true colors. You must have a stack of at least 35,000 set or paint will crash! In the programs icon, you can set the stack by clicking on the icon once, then selecting INFO from the main workbench menus. Fill in the little box labelled STACK with 35000, press return, and then click on SAVE. The icon on the release disk is already set to this value for you. From the Shell, CLI, WSHell, or etc, you use a "stack" command to set this value. At the prompt, before you start paint, type the following: stack 35000 You can make this permanent by placing it in various places, such as in the startup-wshell file for Bill Hawes' wonderful WShell product. Refer to the documentation that covers your shell for how to permanently set your stack value. Until you do this, remember to set the stack each time before you start paint! Introduction: ============= This paint program works in a fashion similar to most Amiga paint programs. To be able to use it effectively, you need to know: (1) how to invoke the program, (2) what the tool icons mean, (3) what keystrokes are available in its screens and windows, and (4) what ARexx commands are available. We suggest you take extra time to learn the keystroke commands, as they are a very powerful portion of this software, and many operations can only be done using the keyboard. Also, please read this document... it can save you a lot of wasted time! At the end of this document is a section called "User Notes" that describes useful techniques that you can use to good advantage. About updates to this software: =============================== Upgrades to this program are free. To obtain an upgrade, call the Black Belt Systems BBS at (406) 367-ABBS and download the latest software at no charge (other than what you and your long-distance phone company work out). This is the ONLY way to obtain an upgrade. If you don't have a modem, you'll have to have someone else obtain the upgrade for you - but we strongly suggest you purchase a modem instead. It's a good investment and will provide you with a great deal more capability for your Amiga. We truly believe that this upgrade method provides a much better upgrade quality for our users. For one thing, you can get upgrades as soon as we change anything - instead of waiting months while we gather together enough bug fixes and features to make a huge mailing worth doing. NOTE: We can not, and will not, upgrade this software by mail or other physical means - so please don't ask us to. We don't have the personnel to handle such an upgrade procedure. Get a modem! Starting the program ==================== From the command line, there are several "switches" that select what screen modes are used by the paint program. paint [ NTSC, non-interlace ] paint -i [ NTSC, interlace ] paint -p [ PAL, non-interlace ] paint -pi [ PAL, interlace ] From the WorkBench, just click on the programs ICON and choose Interlace Mode and/or PAL Mode from the small window that opens on the workbench screen. The program will load a configure file, if it can find one, before it presents you with the requester for PAL/Interlace, and it sets the buttons as the default configure file specifies. You can override this, of course, but it does provide an easy way to have the program start up. The configure file also loads the default image and brush paths. There are more details on the startup configure system later in this document. There is also a "text" window that opens on the workbench screen. Here, you may see messages such as the revision of the version of the paint program that you are currently running. You may also see error messages here if the paint program has problems, such as not being able to obtain enough memory and so on. You must go to the WorkBench screen in order to view these messages, but it's generally not important to do so as most of this information is only of use to the programmers when trying to remove "bugs" from the program itself. Some important issues concerning the editing of overscan images: ================================================================ The paint software can load HAM-E register mode images that are of any arbitrary size larger than the editing screen, which is always either 320x200 or 320x400. Image editing can only occur on the portion of the image that is visible on the screen. This means that area fills, brush activities and so on are limited to the portion you can see at the moment you are doing the action. This is a result of our keeping the area of the image that is not being displayed in fast ram, a consequence of the paint softwares ability to edit truly huge images. If you have the grid on, it will become mis-registered as you move into areas that were not visible on screen. You can use the "1" key to re- register the grid when this happens. Compatibility: -------------- Although any IFF viewer worth a nickel should be able to show HAM-E register mode images saved from the paint software with no trouble, they have no idea what to do about our sophisticated color cycling capabilities. The careful design of our IFF formatted HAM-E images should cause IFF readers (other than our own) to ignore the cycle and glow information and just show the images in a static fashion. If not, then it's time to find a new viewer program - almost every one we tried worked fine. One thing that is in our image files on occasion are odd- length data chunks. These are written in accordance with the IFF specifications, but some viewers, notably SuperView, don't handle them correctly and may crash as a result. Functions for Icons in the main control panel: ============================================= [Dotted Line] ---- Freehand unconnected draw with a single pixel predefined brush or the custom brush. The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti-alias mode, the pixel under the pointer is convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area. [Connected Line] - Freehand Connected draw with one of 8 predefined brushes or the custom brush The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti- alias mode, the pixels in the freehand line are convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area. [Straight Line] -- Draws straight line with one of 8 predefined brushes or the custom brush. The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti- alias mode, the pixels in the line are convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area. [Curved Line] ---- Draws an ARC by helping you draw a straight line from where you want the ARC to begin to where you want it to end; then you can "pull" the center of the ARC to the location you want it to hit. You can use any of the predefined brushes or the custom brush. The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti-alias mode, the pixels in the arc are convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area. [Square] --------- Notice that this ICON has two portions, separated by a diagonal line. The upper left portion will draw a hollow rectangle, using predefined or custom brushes. The bottom right portion will draw a filled rectangle using predefined or custom brushes. The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti-alias mode, the pixels in the square or in the filled rectangular region are convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area.If you select a filled rectangle, then the rectangle uses the fill mode(s) that are currently in effect - these are defined in the system window, using the fill icon located there. [Oval] ----------- Notice that this ICON has two portions, separated by a diagonal line. The upper left portion will draw a hollow oval, using predefined or custom brushes. The bottom right portion will draw a filled oval using predefined or custom brushes. The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors if the system is in COLOR mode. If in CYCLE, and the color selected is in the current cycle range, then colors move accordingly. If in MATTE, the single pixel brush acts the same as in COLOR mode, and the custom brush takes on the exact appearance of the area it was cut from. If in anti-alias mode, the pixels in the oval or filled oval region are convolved with the surrounding pixels in order to create a smooth transition in the area. If you select a filled oval, then the oval uses the fill mode(s) that are currently in effect - these are defined in the system window, using the fill icon located there. If you are attempting to fill an area, and it just won't seem to even begin, odds are that the pixel under the pointer is the same color as the mouse button you're using. Try pressing the other mouse button to start the fill. [Paint Bucket] --- This generates an area fill. There are a number of fill modes - the default fill mode is SOLID, where The left and right mouse buttons respectively generate the foreground and backround colors. To access the other fill modes, see Bucket Tools, next. The Anti-alias mode is fully functional with the fill tool, regardless of the fill method (solid, range, etc) selected. [Bucket Tools] --- This opens a new window with controls that allow you to select various options to do with the area fill functions. Fill modes available include horizontal and vertical color range, H & V moving window color range, solid, and brush TILE. With any of these fill modes, you may optionally select "Outline" or "Std", where "Outline" will outline the filled area with the backround (right button) color, and you may also select "Fill to Edge", where the fill operation also fills the edge where the fill stopped. There is a 4-way/8-way control in the fill window that affects the way edges are generated for area fills. If in four way, then pixels to the left, right, top and bottom of any pixel that was filled by the normal proceedure are considered "edge" pixels. If in eight way, then in addition to these, any pixel that is above and left, below and left, above and right, or below and right of a pixel that was filled using the normal proceedure is also considered an "edge" pixel. Briefly, four way edge generation is appropriate for oval figure types, eight way edges are much better for rectangular figures, or figures with "outside corners" in the fill area. Brush TILE obeys the transparent control in the brush control window. If both "Outline" and "Fill-to-Edge" are on, then "Outline" takes priority. The ToEdge/Inside gadget controls how flood fill operations operate. If set to "Inside" (the default) then fills work by examining the color under the pointer where the fill is started, and then filling the entire region where this color exists, connected to the original fill point. If set to "ToEdge", the fill operates by filling from the location under the pointer where the fill is started until it has filled all areas up to regions that are drawn with the backround color (the right button color at fill time). If you begin a fill operation by mistake, then simply press the space bar and the fill operation is cancelled. If the actual drawing portion of the fill operation has already commenced, then this will run to completion (it doesn't take long) and then you can eliminate the fill using the UNDO operation. [Scissors] ------- These allow you to "cut out" a custom brush by dragging a rectangle around an area of the image. If the current brush setting is "Transparent" (see the [Paint Arrow] icon for details) then any portion of the area in the rectangle that is drawn with the backround color will be transparent. If the current brush setting is not transparent, then the entire area is picked up as a rectangular custom brush. [Page->] --------- This copies the current picture into the spare page, where it can be recovered by simply clicking on the [Page<->] icon. Pages maintain independant knowledge of the following information: * The image itself (of course!) * Overscan (yes/no, how much) * Color palettes * Color ranges - speed, direction, pong * Glow ranges - speed, direction, pong, list This allows you to work on two completely different images during one paint session, if you desire. NOTE: Changing from an interlace to a non-interlace screen type, or vice-versa, deletes the spare page contents; Be careful! [Text] ----------- First this opens a "font" requester where you either pick a new font (like the first time it opens - there is no "default" font) or just hit the close gadget to keep the last font you selected. Then it opens a window where you type in a line of text. Text is generated as a custom brush, and it pays attention to the Transparent flag. If it's transparent, then it's text only, no backround, rendered in the foreground color. If the transparent gadget is off, then it's rendered as text of the foreground color against the backround color. The brush acts just like any other brush - you can save, load, zoom, flip, and etc. You can also use a text brush (like any other brush) as an anti-alias "template". For instance, you can stamp down your text using matte or color etc, then switch to anti-alias mode and (using the freehand draw) position the text directly over or to the left and down a bit, clicking once. This will anti-alias the exact region taken up by the text, or the text and a proposed shadow if you've offset the click somewhat. [Magnify] -------- Opens a magnify window on the right hand side of the display. Most operations operate in a normal fashion in either half of the screen. Use the cursor keys to scroll around. Note that the cursor keys will not bring you into the overscan regions of an image while the magnify window is open. You get a little "magnifying glass" pointer that you place over the center of the area that you are interested in. If you wish to cancel magnify at any time (including before you click in the main screen) just press on the magnify icon in the gadget window again. [Palette] -------- This opens (or brings to the front, if already open) the color palette. See the section on the color palette for more information. [Dot] ------------ The first icon is a predefined custom brush. This is Simply a one pixel-dot. [Pantogram] ------ This is the pantogram copy feature. A Pantogram is a device that allows you to trace an object in one portion of an area, as the device actually reproduces the contours of the obect you are tracing at another location. The pantogram tool in the paint software does this in full color. To use the pantogram tool, position the crosshairs or pointer cross over the target location you want to copy to. Then press the "M" key to mark this as the target area. Now move over the portion of the image you wish to copy to the target area. Press and hold a mousebutton and watch the two cursors to control the pantogram copy operation. [GRID] ----------- This turns the grid feature on. Default grid spacing for the system before you custom size it is 8x8 [Sten/Norm] ------ Turns the stencil function on and off, if you have defined a stencil from the SYS gadget. If no stencil is defined, this gadget will be ghosted. [Spray Nozzle] --- Turns on an Airbrush function for freehand draw modes. [Mode] ----------- Switches between Color, Matte, Anti-Alias and Cycle modes for custom brushes, fill, and so on. * Color: This mode draws the single pixel brush or the custom brush in either the foreground color or the backround color, depending on whether you press the left or right mouse buttons, respectively, to start the operation. * Matte: For the single-pixel brush, this mode is identical with Color. For the custom brush, the brush is drawn with the original color(s) it was when it was pciked up. * Anti-Alias: For any drawing operation, this causes the area to be blended into the nearest pixels. This operation is extremely compute-intensive due the the register nature of the pixels, so be patient. * Cycle: For any operation, this mode causes the brush to be drawn with sequentially changing colors from the current cycle range, if the start color when you begin drawing is within the range in the first place. [Pick F-B] ------- Click on this, then click in the main paint window with either button to set the current foreground (left button) and backround (right button) colors. [Colored Arrow] -- This is the custom brush icon. If you have cut out a custom brush using the scissors, then clicking once on this chooses the custom brush to be used with the currently selected tool (freehand, line, arc, circle, or rectangle). [Brush Tools] ---- This brings up a window that has tools in it that will allow you to perform various operations upon or with custom brushes. Operations include: Reduce brush size by 50% overall (25% of area) Reduce brush horizontal size by 50% Reduce brush vertical size by 50% Zoom brush to 200% Stretch (and optionally flip) brush arbitrarily Anti-Alias/Block modes for zoom, stretch, etc Select transparency On or Off Remap brush colors to current palette Invert the brush mask (mini-stencils) Flip brush horizontally Flip brush vertically Rotate brush 90 degrees Rotate brush 180 degrees Rotate brush 270 degrees Load HAM-E reg-mode brush (256 color) Load IFF brush (or image as brush) Save HAM-E reg-mode brush (256 color) For details on each of these operations, see the section headed "Functions for the gadgets in the Brush Tools window" [Page <->] ------- This icon swaps the current image with the one that has been saved in the current page. If you have not copyed any image to it from the current page, then the spare page is blank; has the color palette that is the default palette when the program starts; is not overscan; has no color cycle or glow ranges selected. [SYS] ------------ Opens the system wide function window. This currently includes: * CLS (Clear screen) * Set program defaults (new window) * Specify Stencil colors (new window) * Control how hi-res palette is calculated * Turn mouse co-ordinates on/off * Set mouse co-ordinates to relative during drag * Print the current image via Preferences * Create a new (empty) image of any size * Change from Lace to Non-lace and back * Exit program For more detail, see the section later in this document headed "Functions for the gadgets in the System window:" [Undo] ----------- Clicking on this icon removes the last change you made to your image, except for SWAP operations or after shifting in and out of magnify, or panning around an overscan image. [Disk] ----------- Opens the DiskIO window where you can save or load HAM-E or many other types of IFF images. See below for details on types of IFF images which are known to be compatible with our loader. When saving, you have a choice of either HAM-E REG mode images which will view immediately using any viewer, GIF images, or 24 bit images (The CBM standard, R7-R0,G7-G0,B7- B0, not the orphaned R7G7B7-R6G6B6...R1G1B1 format generated by early Amiga products) which can be loaded by most other Amiga software which can read this file type, such as ASDG's "The Art Department". Functions for the gadgets in the Disk I/o window: ================================================= [Save] ----------- Used to save drawings or brushes. When invoked from the main panel, you can choose 24 bit IFF, GIF, or viewable HAM-E REG mode images by pressing the appropriate icon. [Load] ----------- Used to load a new HAM-E drawing, or HAM-E brushes, or used to load a "standard" IFF image as a brush or a picture. If as a picture, then Amiga register mode images will be directly mapped to the color registers, including half-bright (which gets 64 registers, naturally enough). If the picture being loaded is a HAM or 24 bit-IFF picture, or any other type of image with more than 256 colors, then there will be a considerable delay while the paint program figures out a reasonable register color mapping scheme for it. This process requires approximately 512k of additional memory during the color assignment process, which is freed when the color assignments are complete. For images which have 2-64 colors in them, the local HAM-E palette places the new incoming colors across the palette in a reasonable fashion, then performs a "spread" so that there are as many colors available between the incoming colors as possible. This sets up a situation where editing of previously generated images of less colors is most rewarding. If this explanation is confusing, just load a 2-64 color image and take a look at the HAM-E palette... you'll have from 4 to 127 registers available between those in the original image, depending on how many colors it had in the first place. A special feature is available when loading images that are "hi-res" horizontally. It is an option that is set by a control in the system window. "Map HiRes" causes the program to execute a procedure that does a wonderful job of "trading" the original image's higher spacial resolution for the HAM-E's higher color resolution. If you don't want to use this feature, turn it off in the system window. It's off when the gadget reads "SPRD HiRes"; in that case, the images 16 colors are spread just as lores images colors are. Please note that the paint program is not intended to be a renderer - you're advised to use our "convert" program to read in any HAM images, save them as 24 bit IFF, then render using our 'hame' render software for optimum results. If the image is being loaded as a brush (not a full pic) then the colors in the brush are kept around so you can use the "remap" function if you like, but the brush maps directly to the current colors. If the brush being loaded is a HAM brush, then it gets the color registers that are currently available, and is rendered as best as possible, given those registers. The image loader can handle these formats: - 2-16 color hi-res images (rez trade palette) - 2-16 color hi-res images (regen palette) - 2-32 color lo-res images (regen palette) - 64 color "half-bright" images (regen palette) - 256 color IFF images (original palette) - 256 color GIF images (original palette) - 4096 color photon paint images (make palette) - 4096 color DigiPaint images (make palette) - 4096 color Dynamic HiRes images (make palette) - 4096 color ARZ0 images ("TAD") (make palette) - 4096 color ARZ1 images ("TAD") (make palette) - 4096 color AHAM images ("TAD") (make palette) - 4096 color SHAM images ("info") (make palette) - 4,096 color RGBN images ("Silver") (make palette) - 16 million color RGB8 ("Silver") (make palette) - 16 million color 24-bit IFF images (make palette) - 16 million color QRT Trace files (make palette) - 16 million color DKB Trace files (make palette) - 16 million color RGB files (Sculpt)(make palette) NOTE: These image files can only be loaded using the "I" key from the main canvas screen. This is beacuse there are multiple files involved, and certain information has to be fectched from you - the image x and y size, and three file names. The normal loader doesn't have any way to ask this of you. Functions for the gadgets in the System window: =============================================== [CLS] ------------ This clears the screen to the current backround color [SETUP] ---------- This opens a configuration window where you can edit the brush and image path defaults. You can also save them to a file with the extension ".rpcfg"; if you save to "Default.rpcfg" or "s:Default.rpcfg" then the paint program will use these paths when it starts operating. Note that the file requester is set to add the ".rpcfg" extension to the file automatically, and that it assumes the name of the file will be "Default", which is usually the case. If you wish to save another configuration, just change the name, and possibly the extension (although we STRONGLY suggest you leave the extension so you will know what type of file this is when you encounter it later). Here you may also choose a default of Interlace and/or PAL mode for WB startups. You are still presented with the startup window, but the defaults are set for you. [Stencil] -------- This window appears very similar to the main palette window - What you do here is select colors that you either want to avoid drawing on, or that you specifically DO want to draw on. Any color that has a box around it cannot be drawn on using the custom brushes. There are four basic ways to change the colors that are selected here. (1) Click on a color with either the left or right button. This will change the state of that individual color - if selected, it unselects, and vice-versa. (2) Define a range using one mouse button to mark the start, the other to mark the end. Then press the "S" key to "Set" all the colors in the range to selected. (3) Define a range using one mouse button to mark the start, the other to mark the end. Then press the "C" key to "Clear" all the colors in the range to not selected. (4) Define a range using one mouse button to mark the start, the other to mark the end. Then press the "F" key to "Flip" all selected colors in the range to unselected, and all unselected colors to selected. Once you are satisfied with the color selections, press the close gadget to the right of the palette and the program will generate a stencil mask. Note that stencils are only valid for the currently displayed portions of an overscan image, and also become invalid when you SWAP to the alternate screen. If the Obey Stencil gadget in the SYSTEM window is deselected, then only custom brushes will obey the stencil that is in effect. [Obey Stencil] --- This gadget causes the tools to obey the stencil when it is on. If this gadget is deselected, then only the custom brush operations will obey the stencil. [spread] --------- This gadget causes any hi-res images that are loaded to have a special palette calculated for them. This technique literally exchanges the higher spacial resolution in a hi-res image for the higher color resolution in a HAM-E register mode image. [X:Y cords] ------ Turns mouse co-ordinates on and off. [Abs/Rel] -------- When set to Abs, if mouse co-ordinates are on, the values shown in the status line always represent the absolute position where the mouse is at the moment. If set to Rel, the mouse co-ordinates change from absolute values to ones that are relative to the starting point when you pressed one of the mouse buttons. This allows careful area measurement. If mouse cords are off, this gadget has no effect. [Set grid] ------- This returns you to the main painting screen, where you size a rectangle. This is one element of a grid; the program is sensitive to (1) the size of the rectangle, which will be the grid spacing, and the position of the top left corner of the rectangle, which is the location on the screen that the grid intersections will be registered to. See also the "1" and "2" keys from the main canvas screen. [Bru Corn/Ctr] --- This gadget controls where the handle on the brush is maintained by the software. If you have grid on, you'll almost certainly want to have this set to the corner. [printer] -------- This gadget attempts to print the current screen image to your printer, using the values you have set in the printer preferences. Due to serious shortcomings in the Amiga printer.device, this rendering will have a color resolution of 4096 colors, maximum. Of course this assumes that you are using a color printer. B&W renderings are limited to 16 grey scales for the same reasons. If and when CBM produces a better printer driver, we will support it immediately. [New Image] ------ This destroys the current image completely and allows you to specify the screen size of the new image. You may safely specify up to 1024 by 1024 at the present time without problems. Keep in mind that interlace mode images are intrinsically different from non-interlace mode images. If you create a 384x480 image in non-interlace, for instance, then it will NOT be an interlace image. You cannot create an image smaller than 320 horizontally, or shorter than 200 or 400 lines, depending on whether you're in interlace or not. A Caution: New images are cleared to the current backround color, and for overscan images, you are positioned to the left side of the image. If the backround color is zero, and you move the image to the right using the cursor keys, the REG mode will unlock unless there is something other than color zero on every scan line. Easy cure; using the palette, pick some other color than color zero as the backround color before selecting CLS or New Image in the System window. Not as easy cure: Draw a line (which may be removed later, if you like) from the top to the bottom of the image in other than color zero. As long as ANY pixel is in a visible portion of a line, the HAM-E will maintain a lock on the register mode image. [New Screen] ----- This allows you to change from an interlace screen to a non interlace screen, or the other way. The image in the current screen and the other buffers (including the spare page) are lost. This is very similar to restarting the program, just more convenient. [Exit] ----------- This unconditionally causes the program to quit. No warnings are given, so make SURE you've saved your work! The Palette window: =================== General concepts: ----------------- The palette is used for several purposes. It serves as an area where you can choose any one of the 256 colors available. You can use tools in the palette to adjust any one, or a range, of the 256 colors. You can also create "color ranges" and "glow ranges" in the palette window. The palette display is an independant entity. The colors in it can be manipulated independantly of the main image in the canvas screen. Once changes in the palette are made, a single keystroke ("U") updates these changes back to the source image. If you've made changes in the palette screen, but wish to restore the original colors from the image, the "R" key will restore them. If you're using ARexx commands to set values in the palette screen, they are not sent to the main canvas screen. Likewise, if you're sending them to the main canvas screen, they don't go to the palette screen. Where they do go is determined by which screen is open at the time the command is invoked. Using ARexx or the color sliders, the palette can be directly manipulated in the RGB, HSV, HSL, and CMY color spaces. Under ARexx only, the palette may be additionally set to values in the CMYK color space. See the ARexx command listing, and the supplied sample ARexx macros for details on use from macros and scripts. There are a number of keystrokes that are used within the palette window which are listed in detail at the end of this manual for reference. Here is a quick summary: "fkeys f1-f10" - These keys select an already defined register range. "ALT-fkeys f1-f10" - These keys take the currently selected foreground and backround colors and make them the ends of the range for the fkey that was pressed. They can also select a GLOW range. "\" Selects from four color spaces: RGB, HSV, HSL, CMY. "P" Opens the palette if closed, closes it if open. "V" In the palette, causes the palette colors to be sorted by their "value" (brightness). "O" In the palette, causes the palette colors to be sorted by their H, S and V components. "B" Causes the colors from an IFF brush to be mapped into a location in the palette that you specify with the foreground color. "S" Spread luma from foreground color selection to backround selection. This is similar to a standard palette "spread" function. "M" Mirror Spread. Copies first color to center of range, and then copies last color to first color. Then spreads from both ends to the center of the range. "H" Spread HSV from foreground to backround selection. "R" Restore palette from screen "U" Update palette back to screen "C" Copy from foreground to backround color "X" Exchange the foreground and backround colors Area Overview: -------------- The palette window contains the following major items: * A "close gadget" near the center of the screen * A 256 color "picking" area * 3 "slider" gadgets to adjust individual color space components * 11 gadgets that perform various functions * 3 "slices" of the color space where colors can be picked visually * A color "preview" box for visual color picking * One each foreground and backround color boxes 256 Color Pick Area: -------------------- The 256 color pick area is used by simply pressing one of the mouse buttons over the color you wish to become the foreground or backround color. Pressing either mouse button in this area will set the sliders to the appropriate values, and update the slices of color space at the bottom of the screen to intersect at the location of that particular color in the color space. The left button selects the foreground and the right button selects the backround color. There are eight rows of 32 colors, for a total of 256 colors. The color at the top left is "color zero" and the color at the bottom right is color 255. Colors proceed numerically left to right and top to bottom: Row 1: 0- 31 [for genlocking, colors zero AND one are transparent] Row 2: 32- 63 Row 3: 64- 95 Row 4: 96-127 Row 5: 128-159 Row 6: 160-191 Row 7: 192-223 Row 8: 224-255 Sliders: -------- The sliders move a small amount each time you click in the container for that particular slider. You can grab the "knob" and sweep thru a range of colors. The numbers above the color space slices at the bottom of the display represent the current value for the R, G and B portions of the color you last picked, which may be either the foreground color (left mouse button) or the backround color (right mouse button). Using any slider will also update the slices of color space at the bottom of the screen to intersect at the location of the new color in the color space. The numbers at the right of the sliders represent the actual value of the slider - the relationship to the RGB values below depends upon the particular color space you are working in. The sliders operate by default in the RGB color space when the paint program is first invoked. This is indicated by the letters RGB at the left edge of the three sliders. By pressing the "\" (backslash) key or pressing the "Spac" gadget, you can cause the sliders to operate in other color spaces. There are four available: RGB, HSV, HSL, and CMY. RGB and HSV will be the most familiar to those who have already used other paint software. HSL is similar to HSV, except that the saturation of colors is highest when the V slider is at it's center and the S slider is at the right, unlike the HSV space, where saturation is highest when the S slider is at the right, regardless of where the V slider is. The CMY space is a space typically used when you are involved with estimating colors for printer output. CMY stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow. These are the three colors on a typical printer ribbon. Unlike RGB on a monitor, where adding colors gets you a brighter color, adding colors on a printer ribbon brings you towards black. This is because printer inks are "absorbtive" - they absorb light. Monitor colors are "emissive" - they emit light. There is a fifth color space, the CMYK space. This space is used with four color printer ribbons. The CMY stands for Cyan Magenta Yellow as before, and the K stands for black. Having an actual black color in the ribbon allows for very saturated black areas in an image that CMY printer ribbons have trouble making. For our purposes, since we have 100% control over the colors on screen, we can get 100% saturated blacks using just the CMY space. You can, if you like, manipulate the CMYK space using ARexx macros. See the examples on the release disk to see how this can be done. Gadget Area: ------------ Sprd ---- "Spread" - this gadget performs a standard RGB color spread between the current foreground color and the current backround color. HSpr ---- "Hue Spread" - this gadget performs an HSV color spread between the current foreground color and the current backround color. Mirr ---- "Mirror" - this gadget performs a mirror RGB spread. The first color is copied to the center of the range, the last color is copied to the first color, and then both ends are RGB spread to the center color. Brsh ---- "Brush" - this gadget takes the colors of the currently loaded brush and inserts them into the palette at the location beginning where the foreground color is located in the palette. If there are more colors to insert then there are colors left in the palette (because the foreground color is too close to the end of the palette) then the color insertion is moved back until there is enough room. Updt ---- "Update" - this gadget updates the colors in the palette back to the image on the canvas screen. Rstr ---- "Restore" - this gadget restores the colors from the canvas screen to the palette screen. Similar to a global UNDO. Copy ---- "Copy" - this gadget copies the foreground color to the backround color. Xchg ---- "Exchange" - this gadget exchanges the foreground color with the backround color. Vsrt ---- "Value Sort" - this gadget sorts the colors by their value, or brightness. Once sorted, the image on the main canvas screen is redrawn to match. Hsrt ---- "Hue saturation value sort" - this gadget sorts the colors by their hue, then for all hues that are the same colors are sorted by saturation, then for all hues that are the same where the saturations are also the same, colors are sorted by value. Once sorted, the image on the main canvas screen is redrawn to match. Spac ---- "Space" - this gadget allows you to change the color space that the sliders operate in. You can choose from RGB, HSV, HSL, or CMY. THe current color space is indicated to the left of the three sliders. Color Space Slices: ------------------- The slices of the color space are just that - try to think of the color space as being a cube which is 256 grid locations on a side. For any color in the palette, the R, G and B values are the same as a co- ordinate in that color space. It's a simple 3 dimensional concept. What the slices represent are the 3 flat planes of color space which intersect the RGB co-ordinates of the currently selected color. If you move the mouse pointer over these slices with the right mouse button pressed, you'll see that the planes are movable - you can move any two components at one time. If you press the left mouse button, not only will the planes move, but the current color will be updated as you do this. If you move the mouse pointer over a slice without pressing any mouse button, then the planes will remain stationary in color space, but the preview color will reflect the current location as updated by your position in the slice you're working with. This is a good bit easier to understand if you're looking and playing with the color space slices while reading this. The color slices are only drawn at a size of 64 by 64; this means that the values you can pick from them are accurate only to 262144 colors. For finer tuning, use the slider controls once the color is set as near as you can get it with the slices. Odds are very good that the slices will be able to get close enough for you. Space limitations on the display prevent the slices being drawn at 256 by 256. Color Preview Box: ------------------ This is the box that is closest horizontally to the color slices. This box generally reflects the color that would be chosen if you were to click the left mouse button over the current location on any slice. It allows you to run thru a range of colors without actually modifying any of the 256 register colors at all, so if you decide you actually liked what you had, nothing has changed. Fore and Back color boxes: -------------------------- These boxes show the current front and back colors for reference purposes. They are located to the right of the color preview box. The one on the right is the backround (right mouse button) color, and the one in the center is the foreground (left mouse button) color. About Color Cycling: ==================== This software offers what may be the most sophisticated color cycling capabilities in any Amiga software to date. If you take the time to familiarize yourself with the options available to you, many interesting results can be achieved with comparatively little effort. Register Ranges: ---------------- There are 10 color register ranges available. A range can perform operations on a continuous series of from 1 to 256 registers. Range Functions: ---------------- We currently offer two functions for up to ten register ranges. Color cycling, which everyone (hopefully) is familiar with; and Glow, which takes one register and moves it thru an arbitrary series of colors over time. Range Function options: ----------------------- For any function (Cycle, Glow) you may select a direction, a speed, and you can engage "Pong" mode. For color cycling, direction reverses the direction of the cycle, again just as has been standard in most paint programs to date. For Glow, direction reverses the direction the series of colors are processed thru. Pong causes any of these operations to reverse (change direction) when it reaches the end of the range, automatically. Cycles go the other way, Glows do also. When Pong is on, if the direction of an operation is reverse at the start, then that controls how the operation starts - after that, the Pong takes over. Using Ranges: ------------- A range is defined by selecting the ends of the range as the foreground and backround colors in the palette screen using the left and right mouse buttons, and then pressing ALT+FKEY, where FKEY is one of the ten function keys. This assigns those two colors as the ends of the range on that FKEY, including all colors between them. GLOW ranges are more complex to define, but are extremely flexible and rewarding to use. A GLOW range is defined by clicking the left, then the right mouse button on the SAME color in the palette, then pressing ALT+FKEY. Once you have done this, there is another step - you must define the range of colors that are to be assigned to this key. To do this, click the left mouse button with the pointer over the color that starts the range, and the right over the color that ends the range... you can use spread functions, or define each color individually. When you are satisified that the colors in the range are the ones you want assigned to the GLOW register, press the "ENTER" key on the numeric keypad. At this point, the GLOW register is all set up; you can restore the palettes previous colors from the main image by using the "R" key. To select a range as current in either the main screen or the palette screen, hit the FKEY associated with that range without pressing ALT. It is possible to mix GLOW ranges and color cycle ranges for unique visual effects. Functions for the gadgets in the Brush Tools window: ==================================================== [.5x] ------------ This gadget will take any brush that is larger than 1 pixel in both dimensions and "halve" it, which produces a brush with 1/4 the original area. Pixels are taken from all the even positions accross the brush, and all the even lines of the brush. [.5x h] ---------- This gadget will take any brush that is larger than 1 pixel horizontally and cut it in half, but only horizontally. Pixels are taken from the even ones in each line of the brush (0, 2, 4 etc). [.5x v] ---------- This gadget will take any brush that is larger than 1 pixel vertically and cut it in half, but only vertically. Pixels are taken from the even ones in each column of the brush (0, 2, 4 etc). [2x Zoom] -------- This gadget is unique among Amiga paint programs. It takes any brush that is smaller than 1/2 the width and smaller than 1/2 the height of the screen and doubles it's size (four times the area). But unlike other programs, this function does not just have to replicate the pixels in the brush. If the Anti-alias or Block gadget is set to Anti-alias, each pixel is examined for it's color (from the registers) and the new pixels are given new colors if (1) they are available and (2) the proceedure determines that it is appropriate. The function works to the best of it's ability, but is rather "at your mercy" because it utilizes the current palette settings to find the nearest color matches for what it thinks should be in a particular position. A palette with a lot of colors near the ranges in the brush will yield the best (smoothest) zoom quality. If you need the standard "chunky" zoom, see the [2x Block] gadget, next. [Stretch] ------- This gadget allows you to drag out a rectangle on the main painting area so that the currently defined brush will match that new size. For a normal stretch, drag down and right. If you drag up, left, or up and left then the brush will be rotated as well as resized. When resizing a brush to a larger size, some "pixelization" is normal - that is, blocky looking pixels. Often a good solution to this problem is to run the anti-alias operation on the brush area(s) once it has been stamped down. If the Anti-alias/block gadget in the brush window is set to anti-alias, then the stretch operation will be anti-aliased. NOTE: For best results with anti-alias, do not stretch a brush more than 100% up or 50% down. Either use multiple stretches to get to your desired size, or use a combination of 2x Zoom and stretch. This creates the most accurate result. If you are using the BLOCK method, any arbitrary stretch will provide the same results as multiple stretches. [Trans] --------- This gadget controls whether a brush, when "cut" from an image, is evaluated and processed for "transparent" areas. Transparency for this program occurs when (1) this gadget show "Trans" clearly, and (2) a pixel in the brush is the same as the color that is selected as the backround color (right button) at the time that the brush is cut. Changing the backround color after the brush is cut will not affect the transparency of the brush; and brushes save this transparent status with them. Clicking on this gadget causes it to add a "not" circle over the word "Trans" - when this is visible, brushes will have no transparent area. [ReMap] --------- This gadget causes the colors in the brush to be replaced with colors from the current palette that are closest to the original colors in the brush. This function also is dependant upon just how many colors in your palette are near those that the brush was defined with. It's generally used or needed when a brush is loaded from disk that was taken from an image with an entirely different palette. [<-->] ---------- Flip the brush horizontally [v^] ------------ Flip the brush vertically [first curve] --- Rotate 90 degrees [2nd curve] ----- Rotate 180 degrees [3rd curve] ----- Rotate 270 degrees [Disk Icon] ----- This gadget opens a window with Save and Load gadgets in it. Choose one, and you get the file requester. Loading a brush completely wipes out the previous brush at this time, so if you're going to need it, save it to disk before loading a new brush. Additionally, you should know that when you remap a brush to a new palette, saving the brush saves the new palette and map with it. This is unlikely to be as high a quality an image as the original; the only exception is when a remap has an artistic effect you desire. Keystroke command definitions: ============================== From the normal paint screen: ----------------------------- On main keyboard: ----------------- "TAB key" - This key turns color cycling on and off. "fkeys f1-f10" - These keys select a register range to be used for area fills if the range fill option is selected in the fill control window. "space bar" - This will cancel any area fill that is in the calculation phase (this is a pause before it begins to actually draw the filled area and can be quite long). "Cursor Keys" - these move you around when you are in magnify mode. If you are NOT in magnify mode and the image you are editing is an overscan image, then these keys "pan" you around so that you can access the edges of the image. "H" cross Hair on/off. (most often used with "T" key) "M" Mark the target location for the pantogram tool. "T" Toggles the crosshair pointer on and off. Useful for operations with custom brushes - the pointer pretty much just gets in the way then. "U" Same as undo icon. "S" Swaps the currrent and spare screens "B" Takes the Brush palette and makes them the image palette; if the brush has 32 colors, then the 32 color palette is duplicated 8 times throughout our 256 color palette. For a more sophisticated method of taking brush colors into the local palette, see the "B" key under the Palette operations. If the brush has 256 colors, then all are mapped into the palette. "G" pops the gadget control panel front and back. "P" pops the palette screen front and back. "R" remaps the brush colors to match those in the current palette, as nearly as possible. This is for situations where you have cut a brush from one image where the palette is different from that of the image you currently have in memory. "1" Locate Grid - This causes the current grid to be repositioned such that it will register a corner exactly where the crosshairs are positioned when this key is pressed. The grid size is not affected. "2" Grid From Brush - This causes the grid to be resized to the exact size of the current custom brush. The registration is not affected. "I" This invokes the 24 bit R,G,B file loader. This format is a very poor, very large "raw" data format generated by certain products such as the Sculpt series of ray tracing tools. The RGB data is contained in three separate files which have no identifying information in them whatsoever. As a result, you, the user, MUST know several things about them: * The three file names - might be any name at all. * Which file is red, which is green, which is blue. * What resolution the files are (320x400, etc). If you have all of this information, then the paint software can load the file for you. Pressing "I" once brings up the file requester three separate times. If you press it in error, then just cancel any one of the requesters and the operation will terminate. You need to select the red, green and blue files in that order. Then you are presented with a text requester, which you fill in with the "X" width (320, for instance). Then a Y size requester, which you fill in with the image height (400, for instance). If you get all of this right, and you have enough memory, the file will be loaded and converted. We suggest that you then save the file in REG mode, GIF, or 24 bit IFF. Keep in mind that once loaded into the register paint software, the image will contain only 256 colors. You can use our "convert" utility to change from RGB files to 24 bit IFF files with all 24 bits of data intact; once this is done, you can safely delete the original individual RGB files. On keypad: [Cycle Control Operations only] ------------------------------------------ "8" increases the speed of the currently selected register range "2" decreases the speed of the currently selected register range "4" Restarts/Sets dir 1 for the currently selected range "6" Restarts/Sets dir 2 for the currently selected range "5" Stops off the currently selected register range "7" Turns PONG operation on for this register range "9" Turns PONG operation off for this register range From the Stencil Screen: ------------------------ On main keyboard: ----------------- S - Set all colors in range chosen by left/right mousebuttons C - Clear all colors in range F - Flip all colors in range From the Palette screen: ------------------------ On main keyboard: ----------------- "fkeys f1-f10" - These keys select a register range to be used for area fills if the range fill option is selected in the fill control window. "ALT-fkeys f1-f10" - These keys take the currently selected foreground and backround colors and make them the ends of the range for the fkey that was pressed. To select a "GLOW" range, make the foreground color and the backround color the same - click one mouse button after the other on the color you want to have the glow attribute in the palette. Now create a range of colors in the palette that you wish the glow to cycle thru... it can be any arbitrary sequence. Once you are satisfied with the colors, click one button over the start of the range, and the other over the end. Now press the "Enter" key on the keypad, and your glow range is set. Note that you can now use "R" to restore your palette colors from the main image, as the glow range has memorized the colors you set and does not need the palette information any more. This allows unlimited glow range specification of up to 256 colors in a glow range. "V" In the palette, the "V" key causes the palette colors to be sorted by their "value" (brightness) with the darkest colors placed earliest in the palette, and the brightest colors placed latest in the palette. The main image is redrawn to match the new palette ordering. See also the "O" key which does the same thing to all three components; H, S, and V. "O" In the palette, the "O" key causes the palette colors to be re-ordered, after which they are passed back to your original image. Keep in mind this will modify your image in some ways. This function is best used on images that have been rendered to 256 colors, which you wish to seriously paint in. The re-ordering of the palette makes it much easier to locate colors that are related to each other. "B" Here, the "B" key causes the colors from an IFF brush to be mapped into a location in the palette that you specify with the foreground color. Click on the color where you want the brushes palette to begin, and then press the "B" key. If there are more colors in the brush than will fit in the remaining space in the palette from where you select the start position, then the brush palette will start back at the nearest location to the end of the palette where it can fit. Other colors in the palette are not affected by this operation. If the result is not as you desire, use the "R" key to restore the palette from the source image and try again. "S" Spread luma from foreground color selection to backround selection. This is similar to a standard palette "spread" function. "M" Mirror Spread. Copies first color to center of range, and then copies last color to first color. Then spreads from both ends to the center of the range, resulting in a "mirror" spread: From:to:From. "H" Spread HSV from foreground to backround selection. This function is designed to spread the palette like the "S" function, but instead of using the RGB values to do the spreading, it spreads the HSV values. "R" Restore palette from screen "U" Update palette back to screen "C" Copy from foreground to backround color "X" Exchange the foreground and backround colors "P" Opens the palette, if closed, closes it if open. ARexx commands available: ========================= Without parameters: CLOSE terminate program GADOFF close gadget window GAD open gadget window PALOFF close palette window PAL open/unhide palette PALHIDE hide palette DOCOPY create copy in undo UNDO restore copy frm undo SCLEAR clear screen to backround color GETH fetch (0-360.0) Hue - can be used after READHSV or READHSL GETS fetch (0-1.0) Sat - can be used after READHSV or READHSL GETV fetch (0-1.0) Value - can be used after READHSV GETL fetch (0-1.0) Luma - can be used after READHSL GETC fetch (0-1.0) Cyan - can be used after READCMY or READCMYK GETM fetch (0-1.0) Magenta - can be used after READCMY or READCMYK GETY fetch (0-1.0) Yellow - can be used after READCMY or READCMYK GETK fetch (0-1.0) Black - can be used after READCMYK GETR fetch (0-255) Red - can be used after READRGB GETG fetch (0-255) Greeen - can be used after READRGB GETB fetch (0-255) Blue - can be used after READRGB With parameters: LINE x1 y2 x2 y2 - draws a line with current brush COLOR c - sets current FOREGROUND color c BACK c - sets current BACKROUND color c CIRCLE x,y,r - draw circle in current brush OVAL x,y,xr,yr - draw oval in current brush PLACE x y code - write x y code [code is brush, 1-8 predef, 9=custom] SAVEI filename - save IFF image LOADI filename - load IFF image SAVEB filename - save 256 color brush IFF image LOADB filename - load 256 color brush IFF image PREAD x y - read a pixel MSG text string - send text string to satus line (50 chars, max) READHSV reg - calculate HSV value of register (see GETH,S,V) READHSL reg - calculate HSL value of register (see GETH,S,L) READCMY reg - calculate CMY value of register (see GETC,M,Y) READCMYK reg - calculate CMYK value of register (see GETC,M,Y,K) READRGB reg - calculate RGB value of register (see GETR,G,B) WRITEHSV reg - set reg to HSV value (see PUTH,S,V) WRITEHSL reg - set reg to HSL value (see PUTH,S,L) WRITECMY reg - set reg to CMY value (see PUTC,M,Y) WRITECMYK reg - set reg to CMYK value (see PUTC,M,Y,K) WRITERGB reg - set reg to RGB value (see PUTR,G,B) PUTH value - Set Hue to value (0-1.0) [HSV, HSL] PUTS value - Set Sat to value (0-1.0) [HSV, HSL] PUTV value - Set Value to value (0-1.0) [HSV] PUTL value - Set Luma to value (0-1.0) [HSL] PUTC value - Set Cyan to value (0-1.0) [CMY, CMYK] PUTM value - Set Magenta to value (0-1.0) [CMY, CMYK] PUTY value - Set Yellow to value (0-1.0) [CMY, CMYK] PUTK value - Set Black to value (0-1.0) [CMYK] PUTR value - Set Red to value (0-255) [RGB] PUTG value - Set Green to value (0-255) [RGB] PUTB value - Set Blue to value (0-255) [RGB] Functions of gadgets in the File Requester window: ================================================== [Assigns] -------- A adds any "Assigns" in your system to the "Roots" list. this makes it easy to get right to directories that are of special interest to you. See the AmigaDOS documentation on the CLI "Assign" command. [Sort] ----------- Causes the lists to be sorted when selected [Confirm] -------- Causes the file requester to request you to confirm your selection when you save something and the file with that name already exists. [2 Clk] ---------- This allows you to make your selections in the FILE list by double-clicking on the item, you won't have to press the action button at the far right of the file requester. [Parent] --------- Changes to a directories parent, if it has one. [Cancel] --------- Exits the file requester without making a selection. This performs the same function as the close window gadget at the upper left hand corner of the window. [*Action*] ------- May be named "Load Pic", "Save Bru", etc. Always is the button that will perform the intended function the file requester was brought up for. Lists in the File Requester: ============================ [Roots] ---------- This is a list of all devices in your system that can support file saving and loading. It may, depending on the state of the "Assign" button, also show you all of the assigned volumes in your system. Clicking on one of these changes the current path to that place in your filesystem. [Directories] ---- This is a list of all directories that exist in the path position the file requester is now looking at. All of these directories are "children" of the directory you are now in. [Files] ---------- All items in this list are actual files. If there is an extension specified in the extension gadget, then only files that have that extension are shown; all others are hidden. If the "2 Clk" gadget is selected, then double clicking on a file in this list will select the file AND cause the action specified in the Action button (top right button) to be performed. Text gadgets in the File Requester: =================================== [File:] ---------- This gadget contains the name of the file to be operated on. You can type right into it, or it will load automatically when you click on a file in the file list. [Path:] ---------- This gadget contains the complete path to the directory you are examining. You can type directly into it; When you press return, the new directory is scanned and all files and directories in it are displayed for you. [Ext:] ----------- This gadget is a "hide all but these files" gadget. For instance, if you like the extension ".pic" on your pictures, or ".iff", then setting this gadget to one of those causes only those files to be displayed in the file list. They are show without their extensions, since we already know what they must be if they are showing - they match the Ext: gadget. User Notes: =========== Anti-Alias of complex objects ----------------------------- If a complex object is located on any solid color backround and you'd like to anti-alias it, this is easily done. First, go into the fill tools window and select the "Edge" fill mode. This tells the fill operation that it is to fill until it reaches a region which is the backround color. Now select the anti-alias mode with the gadget that chooses Matte, Color, Cycle, and Anti. Click on the F/B gadget, and select the color surrounding your complex object as the backround color using the right button. Now select the fill mode on and click somewhere on the object where you want to fill, and the entire object will be anti-aliased. If you'd line the backround color to be anti-aliased at the edges of the object, the you simply select the "outline" gadget in the fill window before you start the operation. Preparing for best anti-alias effect: ------------------------------------- In order to anti-alias (smooth) an area, the paint program replaces certain pixels with others of a color that is in-between the colors surrounding that pixel. However, the paint program is in sense "at your mercy" because you have complete control over what colors are available via the palette. If you want anti aliasing to be it's most effective, you can help the software easily. Here is an example. Let's say that you have a white ball and you've placed it on a red backround. Remember that the anti-alias procedure requires colors in between those it is smoothing together. Before you attempt to anti- alias this region, go into the palette and create a spread of colors (using the "S" key in the palette) between the red in the backround and the white in the ball. It does not matter where in the palette these colors are located. Once you've created a range of colors (8 to 16 will usually be enough) use the "U" key to update the new colors back to the main paint screen. Now, if you anti-alias this area using any tool in anti-alias mode, the software will locate those colors you made in the palette and use them to smooth the area. Smooth (Anti-aliased) brush re-sizing: -------------------------------------- For anti-aliased brush re-sizing to operate most effectively, you should have additional colors in the palette that are near those that were originallyy in the brush. For instance, if you want to zoom a 16 grey level brush, it's worth your time to go into the palette and create (for instance) 32 grey levels. These are used to create new pixels that are of a brightness "in-between" the original pixels, which is where they are physically placed as well. Revisions, by revision number ============================= * * v2,r8: November 24th, 1990 - BW (sure - we work saturdays... :^) * ---------------------------------------------------------------- * - Added "Colors from brush" gadget in palette * - Fixed bug where stencil and sometimes palette screens would "drop" * 56 lines too low. This bug only appeared in v2r6 thru v2r7. * - Changed HAM color space slice area to an Intuition image, so that * it is rendered by the blitter instead of the CPU. Much faster! Here's * one more example of why the HAM-E system can be so much faster than * DCTV or ColourBurst... they can't use the blitter on sub-local * regions. :^) * * v2,r7: November 21st, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Fixed bug where old palette would come up over the new palette * - Added "normal" gadgets for all palette keystroke functions * * v2,r6: November 19th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Fixed potentially serious bug that could occur when loading an image * and selecting a new screen type. * - Added '\' key to select from four color spaces in the palette display: * * - RGB - [ Red, Green, Blue ] * * - HSV - [ Hue, Saturation, Value ] * * - HSL - [ Hue, Saturation, Luma ] * * - CMY - [ Cyan, Magenta, Yellow ] * - Moved the RGB color level indicators to above the slices of color * space, and annotated them for clarity. * * v2,r5: November 19th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Changed Palette requester some more... re-arranged color locations, * size... some other things. * * v2,r4: November 17th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Added standard palette tools, removed old stuff. * * v2,r3: November 14th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Added 'v' key to sort palette on value (luma) * - Added 'x' key to exchange fore and back colors in palette * - IFF24 save bug fixed, on occasion would save odd-byte-length scanlines * which would cause smarter IFF24 loaders to have problems. * - Changed default palette to write pure white to the last few color * registers (253,254,255). This will help the exclusive-or tool * preview operations to work better in the default palette. * * v2,r2: November 1st, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Crashing bug in "newscreen" involved with Stencils fixed. Ooops. :^( * - Added crosshairs ("H" key) * - Added "pantogram" tool * - Removed old rectangular anti-alias tool * - Fixed bug in anti-alias using custom brush shapes * - Added "I" key to load Sculpt-style separate RGB files. * - Added "1" (on main kbd) key to register grid where xhairs are now * - Added "2" (on main kbd) key to size grid to current custom brush size. * * v2,r1: October 22nd, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Implemented accelleration for generalized anti-alias mode * - Fixed bug in GIF loader that caused "interlaced" images to load * incorrectly * - 24 bit IFF loader modified to recognize RGB "CLUT" chunks written * by ASDG's "Art Department" for gamma and etc mapping. * * v2,r0: October 20th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Added ability to change from interlace to nonlace and back * - Added ability to choose whether lines are modified when you * load a non-conformant image. * - Revised >256 color IFF loader for greater speed in analysis * * v1,r18: October 19th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Added AntiAlias mode to all drawing operations * - Added support for direct loading of QRT (Quick Ray Trace) files * - Added support for direct loading of DKB Trace files * - Fixed r17 bug where images less than 320 wide loaded "funny" * - Added "define new image" operation in System window * * v1,r17: October 15th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - All loaders now handle full overscan * - Increased the built-in renderer's color space resolution so that * >8bit images which are loaded directly would be of better quality. * images can take much longer to load; but as was pointed out to us, * what's the point of having all this nice color if the loaded images * look like 4096 color HAM? * - Added Block/Anti-alias gadget in brush tools which affects * the Zoom and Stretch operations. Removed duplicate 2X gadgets * - Added CMYK color space handling; New ARexx commands for: * value=GETK, PUTK [value], READCMYK [reg], WRITECMYK [reg] * - Added SHAM (sliced ham) image load capability * - Added Dynamic HiRes load capability * - Added ASDG ARZ1 - (Similar to Dynamic HiRes) load capability * - Added ASDG ARZ0 - (Similar to Dynamic HiRes) load capability * - Added ASDG AHAM - (Similar to sliced HAM) load capability * * v1,r16: October 12th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Added ability to save images in GIF mode * - Changed loaders to load non-conformant x:y images better. * * v1,r15: October 12th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - changed load proceedures for non-conformant std IFF sizes in load * - Added 24 bit IFF file saves * - Added save of 24 bit IFF images, loadable by other software * - Changed internal definition of color conversion structures * to additionally handle HSL and CMY color spaces. * - HUGE change to the way the REXX scripting handles color * space commands. Old HSV and RGB setting commands removed. * Old HSV and RGB reading commands changed. Two new color space * types added, HSL and CMY. New method of handling is to: * * 1 - use a READxxx[reg] command to preset info on a register * a - READHSV n * b - READHSL n * c - READCMY n * d - READRGB n * * 2 - then use GETx and PUTx cmds to manipulate the fetched data * GETH, PUTH x, GETS, PUTS x, GETV, PUTV x, GETL, PUTL x * GETC, PUTC x, GETM, PUTM x, GETY, PUTY x, * GETR, PUTR x, GETG, PUTG x, GETB, PUTB x * * 3 - then use WRITExxx[reg] command to update a register * a - WRITEHSV n * b - WRITEHSL n * c - WRITECMY n * d - WRITERGB n * * Note that the old macros that handled HSV operations will no * longer function correctly. This is unfortunate, but the old * methodology was not particularly expandable, while this means * can be expanded to any number of various and peculiar color * spaces. The goal here is to make the paint program general enough * to allow you to do _anything_ with color manipulations in _any_ * color space. * * v1,r14: October 12th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Fixed inability to load certain 8 bit file types from TAD * * v1,r13: October 11th, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------- * - Fixed one phase of the magnify/pan UNDO bug. * - Added getcH, getcS, getcV ARexx macro commands. See 'dim25.rexx'. * * v1,r12: October 1st, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------ * - Fixed (Finally! the bug in the HSV value generator; Now we'll * be able to add HSV gadgets. * - Added "ObeyStencil" for non-custom brush operations * - Added ability to load GIF images directly * - Fixed some bugs associated with stencils & magnify mode * - Fixed bug in drawing custom brushes that was causing a significant * extra slowdown when magnify window was open. Also when it was * not, but you probably didn't notice except in magnify. * * v1,r11: October 1st, 1990 - BW * ------------------------------ * - Refined pointer type handling; r10 introduced loss of clear ptr, etc. * - Added mouse co-ordinates (and char generator to go along with 'em) * - fixed fill mode gadget setting bug (harmless but annoying) * - Added ARexx command "msg" to send messages to status line * - Added GRID-snap feature - size and position, on and off. * - Moved Brush tools and Fill tools to main window * * v1,r10: September 30th, 1990 - BW * --------------------------------- * - made it so that file requesters remember last file name for * both brushes and images. * - Added "busy" indicator for filled box/oval operations. These take a * few moments on a 68k machine. * - Added "busy" indicator for any keystroke operation; many of these would * take quite a while also, now you'll know when things are ready. * - Fixed bug that caused a cycle range to be completely cancelled if * you used the "5" key on the keypad, which was supposed to stop * the cycling, but not _destroy_ it. The direction keys now restart * the range, as was originally intended. * - Fixed bug that caused hi-res images to be offset by 1/2 the image size * when the spacial->color conversion option was set in the SYSTEM window. * * v1,r9 - BW * ---------- * - Fixed bug which caused images to be somewhat scrambled after an "O" * re-order command was issued in the palette, IF the image was larger than * the screen (overscan). At the same time, the renderer has been modified * so that it will create images of any size, given enough memory. * - print output has been modified so that it can print images that are * larger than the screen (overscan) * - Added "stretch brush" operation in brush window * * v1,r8 - BW * ---------- * - Repaired VERY unfortunate bug that prevented loading of images with * color GLOW ranges in them. Sorry about that! * * v1,r7 - BW * ---------- * - Added ARexx commands to read R, G or B component of a particular * color register. * - Added load of RGBN (12 bit Silver) files * - Fixed custom brush icon not coming on after load of brush * - removed load iff gadgets, consolidated all load ops brush/pic * - Added anti-Alias rectangular area operation * - Removed "circle" operation, oval will do for all ops. * - Fixed bug where loading of HAM images caused lockups. * - Fixed bug that prevented correct load of 7 bitplane iff as image * * v1,r6 - BW * ---------- * - Fixed situation where clear screen to zero would unlock us. If the user * attempts to clear to creg zero now, the paint program will locate the * color register that contrasts LEAST with the C0 register, and draw a * line down the left side of the screen which prevents us from unlocking. * - Fixed dissapearing closebox in stencil requester - now color is * calculated before drawing so that there is maximum contrast. * - Fixed bug in HAM, 24 bit IFF, and RGB8 loads where color allocator * had major troubles when image was != screen size; images should now * load correctly regardless of source image size. * - Added option for paint software to generate pallete values that are * specifically designed to *replace* spacial resolution with color * resolution when loading hi-res images. Switch is in the SYSTEM window. * - Added new vertical window fill mode, similar to old horizontal window. * - Improved auto-line generation at the left edge after image loads; same * kind of problems that the CLS function had. * - Added Intuituion printer driver support. Screen dumps. Resolution * limited to 4096 colors/16 greys by printer drivers. Fooey! :^( * * v1,r5 - BW * ---------- * - Added RGB8 (Turbo Silver) image loading capability * - Added PAL capability via startup-requester and config file & requester * - Changed the way IFF 2-64 color images load up our palette. Mucho Nice now. * - Added "O" keystroke in palette to sort colors - for digitized images * - Fixed bug where palette values didn't update when you picked from main. * - Accellerated palette draw considerably. * - Added "Color" mode for custom brushes, back and foreground colors. * - Accellerated custom brush, removed transparent artifacts * - Added "stencil" gadget, function and control window * - "C","S","F" Clear, Set and Flip Stencil ranges set w r-l MouseButtons * - Added right button brush cut, zap to backround (lift-n-cut) * - Fixed undo bug that occured after overscan panning * - Added front-back color choice gadget, removed predefined brush #8 * - Added Cycle-Matte-Color gadget, removed predefined brush #7 * - Added AirBrush gadget, removed pre-defined brush #6 * - Added "mask" operation for brushes - It's a cookie-cutter * - Fixed palette so that it can recover to show current colors in 1 click * * v1,r4 - BW * ---------- * - Added routine to find contrasting color in palette. Better "picks" * - Fixed "lost crosshair" bug after opening fill window * - Added WorkBench ICON and WB-startup resolution choice window * - Added color cycling via tab key; ten ranges, page independant * - Added overscan load, save, page swap, and pan support * - Changed revision text to be short so it fits in the little WB window * - Added path configuration WB window, save, load from 'cd' or 's:' * - Loads 24 bit IFF as brushes or images. * - Load DigiPaint brushes * - Added "space bar" cancel operation for area fill * - Fills obey oval, rectangle and circle operations. * - Changed the way the "fill-to-edge" is calculated. Better ranges. * - Added 4-way/8-way gadget for better edge filling/outlining capability. * - Added ToEdge/Interior fill mode gadget. ToEdge fills to backround color. * - G got rid of "forever" key handling for color up-down in palette * - Added ALT-key accellerate to color up-down in palette * - Moved brush and fill operation windows to SYSTEM gadget. * - Added arbitrary creg "glow" capability * - Added "pong" capability for register ranges * - Enhanced the circle sizing method (see X pointer position now) * * v1,r3 - BW * ---------- * - Added "moving window" fill type * * v1,r2 - BW * ---------- * - Added New fill mode window * - Added Brush Tile fill mode * - Added horizontal CRANGE fill mode * - Added vertical CRANGE fill mode * - Added CRANGE variables - to be set (F1) from Palette. Default=1:255 * - Added Outline fill modifier * - Added Include Edge fill modifier * * v1,r1 - BW - Source Released! * ----------------------------- * - Fixed bug in HUE spread generator. Still not perfect, but better. * - Fixed bug in loading Photon Paint brushes where edges messed up. * * v1,r0 - BW * ----------- * - Changed Magnify button to allow user to select area and cancel * - Added "Magnifying Glass" pointer during position selection * - Fixed bug where the predefined brushes didn't show in MAG window * - Fixed bug in loading half-bright brushes - DPaint doesn't save * the 1/2 bright color registers, so we calculate them. * - Added "B" key in palette to do user-selected target of brush remap * * v0,r19 - BW * ----------- * - Added "Magnify mode" * - Added "T" key to toggle hide of crosshair sprite at users choice. * - Added the ability to load IFF brushes: std, half-bright, HAM * - Added ability to load IFF images: std, half-bright, & HAM. * - For oversize IFF brushes & pics, clipped them appropriately to fit. * * v0,r18 - BW * ----------- * - Added font requester for text generation * - Changed crosshair sprite to be "on the nose" and one pixel wide/thick * * v0,r17 - BW * ----------- * - Gave the brush save and load functions their own path "memory" * - Made the default paths NULL, rather than the ":" that was in there. * - Added text generation to brush function * - Fixed serious bug in memory handling related to brush color remapping * - Fixed yet another memory bug, cleanup on exit wasn't getting all of brush * * v0,r16 - BW * ----------- * - Added new SCLEAR to backround for ARexx * - Added LOADB for load brush from ARexx * - Added SAVEB for save brush from ARexx * * v0,r15 - BW * ----------- * - Added auto-quit to system/CLS operation * - Added 'U' key - causes "undo" * - Fixed bug in 'S'wap key, would leave goop around if brush was active * * v0,r14 - BW * ----------- * - Added 1/2 brush sizing. * - Added 1/2 "H" brush sizing * - Added 1/2 "V" brush sizing * - Added standard brush doubling (2x Block) * - Added smooooth brush doubling (2x Zoom) * - Added 90 degree brush rotation * - Added 180 degree brush rotation * - Added 270 degree brush rotation * - Added brush color remap ICON (additional to "R" keystroke) * - Added save & load of 256 color brushes w/transparency. :^) * - Added "B" key - take pictures color palette from current brush. * * v0,r13 - BW * ----------- * - Added interlace (-i) switch on command line, added support thruout * - program for interlace. Things remaining to be cleaned up are the * - predefined brushes, which are now oblate spheroids instead of circles. * - Added brush color remapping * * Pre v0,r13 (no id when starting up) - BW * ---------------------------------------- * - This is beta software - should not be running around.