WELCOME TO ELAN PERFORMER

                               Manual Supplement
                                  Version  1.0   
                                   March 1989

This document will assist you with some more detailed information and some

changes to the program that are not covered in the Elan Performer user's 

manual.  The changes are listed by chapter so its a good idea to refer to 

this as you are reading the manual.


First of all, be sure to send in the Owner Registration card!  This is the

only way we can keep you informed about new updates as well as new products.

We would also like to hear from you when you've had a chance to work with

the program . . . and let us know what you'd like to see in future programs.
 				CHAPTER 2

Page 21

Editor Buttons:

The last item on that page states that you can click on the mouse within

a button and type the number.  In actuality, the numbers will only change

if you click, hold and drag the left mouse button.  One hint on using

this feature is that while you select the button you can move the mouse to

the left or right a bit to see the numbers change more easily. 








Page 26

Environment Nesting:

The following are some hints on making the most of the Environment

Nesting feature:

1) If you assign the current environment file to a key on its own keyboard,

you can get back to your original display settings simply by pressing

the environment key and re-loading it.

2) It is possible to create a set of several environments each of which

calls the other, so that you can have quick access to many different

projects simultaneously.

3) By creating images with text in them that give the user choices as

to which keys to press, interactive and educational presentations can be

easily constructed.  Putting different environments on the keys would jump

the user to a new set of imagery, and a whole new set of possible options.

Page 28

LOAD: WAIT/FIRST

Load: WAIT has been replaced by Load: FIRST.

This is useful because an environment is saved with the currently

selected key as the first imagery that will start loading. This lets you

pre-select the first image. 

    


Page 30-31                       SAVING FILES

The program screen image on page 31 shows two ANIM formats.  Version 1.0 of 

ELAN PERFORMER supports the standard ANIM 3 format, because ANIM 5 was not a

firm standard during the development of the program.  The ANIM 5 format will 

be a part of future updates to ELAN PERFORMER.


The distinctions between RIFF and ANIM:

RIFFs can be saved out regardless of the color maps, number of colors, or the

size of each of the images. ANIMs must be made up of frames that have exactly

the same color maps and are exactly the same size.  

The tradeoff is that RIFFs usually take up more memory space, except in the 

cases where there are a lot of changes between each frame.
				SAVING FILES (cont'd)

When you open the SAVE window, PERFORMER calculates the size of the current

key when saved out in the different possible formats.  For large animations,

this can take a few seconds.  It is a good idea to keep the SAVE window 

closed except when you're actually going to save something.  To close the 

window, click on the SAVE button again.


Note that when you would like to save something, for example an animation

or a single image, the imagery you wish to save must be loaded in memory.

This loading is accomplished by entering the Display Mode and calling up

the imagery by pre-loading or pressing a key.

To save an ANIM (for example to convert it to a RIFF) use the Reverse: ON

setting to load it into Elan Performer uncompressed.



Also remember that when you save an environment you are not saving

all the imagery that is assigned to keys but only their Disk, Directory and

File names.  It is important that you don't change the name of or move any 

of the imagery that will be called up from a particular environment.  It is 

a good idea to keep an environment on the same disk as its imagery, and 

label your project disks consistently.







				CHAPTER 3

Page 42

Real-Time Editing:

When you return to the Control Screen from the Display Mode having 

created one or more "Append" keys, the editor window will not show

speed or loop settings until you save the imagery to disk and re-

load it.

 







				EXTRA STUFF

On your disk, in the IMAGES drawer, there are two screens for use with 

your environments.  They are both simply a solid black screen for use as

a pause between images, or at the beginning or end of a presentation.  The 

one called CLEAR is actually transparent (color 0) for use with a genlock

when you want the background video image to show through.


Also on the disk is a blank environment file, so you can easily load a blank

environment into memory as a starting point for a new project.  You can also

set your preferences for environment startup on that file, so you don't have

to set them each time you start a new project.


In the envelope with the disk, you will find a sheet with a diagram of the 

keyboard.  You can Xerox this sheet, and use the copies to help you remember

where your imagery is assigned.

   Have Fun!



	- Elan Design