@database SmartBlur.guide @author "Volker Remuß" @(c) "Copyright © 1998, 1999 Volker Remuß" @$VER: SmartBlur.guide 1.0ß @node Main "SmartBlur - Manual" SmartBlur Plugin for ArtEffect2+ © 1998, 1999 Volker Remuß @{" Copyright Note " link Copyright} All rights reserved Manual for SmartBlur - PlugIn V1.0ß Freeware It is free what you give me for :) Contents ---------- @{" Introduction " link Introduction} What is it @{" Liability " link Liability} Legal stuff @{" Requirements " link Requirements} guess @{" Installation " link Installation} quite easy @{" Usage " link Usage} how to ... @{" Notes " link Notes} maybe interesting @{" History " link History} the story so far @{" Author " link Author} me @endnode @node Introduction "SmartBlur: Introduction" Introduction -------------- SmartBlur is a plugin for the famous image-manipulation-program ArtEffect2/3+. As a normal PlugIn it integrates seamlessly in ArtEffect's menu and waits happily for your attention. SmartBlur is a blurrer (Gaussian or average) that blurs a picture without loosing sharp edges. It can remove noise visible in large equal areas and leaving details untouched. It is well suited to remove moirés from scanned printings without smoothing the details out. Very useful if natural pictures are mixed with artifical graphics/text, e.g. cover of a CD. There is another similar plugin available: SmartMedian @endnode @node Liability "SmartBlur: Liability" Liability ----------- With the usage of SmartBlur you agree to the following announcement-declaration: THERE IS NO LIABILITY TO THIS PROGRAM-PACKAGE,IN REFERENCE TO THE ASSERTED LAWS. THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS, AND/OR A THIRD PARTY, PLACE THIS PROGRAM PACKAGE AT YOUR DISPOSAL "AS IS" (EXCEPT WHERE THIS IS FIXED ANYWHERE ELSE IN A WRITTEN WAY) WITHOUT ANY GUARANTEE IN ANY FORM (INDIRECT OR DIRECT FORM). THE FULL RISK OF QUALITY AND FUNCTIONALITY OF THIS PROGRAM IS AT YOUR OWN. IF THE PROGRAM HAS A BUG, YOU HAVE TO PAY ALL COSTS OF THE NECESSARY SERVICE-WORKS AND REPAIRS FOR YOURSELF. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, THE COPYRIGHT OWNERS OR A THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTING THIS PROGRAM PACKAGE, AS ALLOWED, JUST BEFORE, CAN NOT BE HELD RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE CAUSED IN ANY USUAL, SPECIAL, OR ACCIDENTAL WAY OR BY THE PROGRAM PACKAGE (SURROUNDING BUT NOT RESTRICTED ARE THE LOSS OF DATA OR NOTCORRECTLY DISPLAYED DATA OR LOSSES CAUSED BY YOU OR A THIRD PARTY OR BY A FAULTY WORK OF THIS PROGRAM PACKAGE WITH OTHER PROGRAMS), ALSO IF THE OWNER OR A THIRD PARTY HAS BEEN POINTED AT SUCH POSSIBILITIES OF DAMAGE. @endnode @node Installation "SmartBlur: Installation" Installation -------------- - copy the files from drawer plugins2/ to ArtEffect:plugins2/ - copy the Guide whereever you can retrieve it. After the next start of ArtEffect2+ the menuentry "SmartBlur VR..." should be available in Menu Filter/Blur. @endnode @node Requirements "SmartBlur: Requirements" Requirements -------------- - the only thing you need is ArtEffect2+ @endnode @node Usage "SmartBlur: Usage" Usage ------- The usage is quite easy, after calling the plugin via menu, you will see a little window. Just below the preview is a cycle gadget to select wether the plugin should work in color or grayscale. Operating in grayscale is faster and will convert the picture to gray on-the-fly. Radius is the radius around every pixel that will be taken into calculation for the actual calculated pixel. E.g. for a Radius of 10 the Matrix has a size of 21x21 pixels and is taking 441 surrounding pixels into calculation. Mode SmartBlur can do both a gaussian blur or a average. Compared to the two available specialized singlemode blurplugins (Gaussian Blur and Average) it has less options and is slower. SmartBlur is doing the same as a normal blurrer, but does not set the the new calculated pixel if it detects a high contrast within the radius. A high contrast is a detail or an edge. Most option influence the decision what a high contrast is and what to do with it then. Edge Hard There are two completly different modes, the first is Hard. When Hard is on, any contrast higher than the value set by the Threshold slider is seen as high contrast and the pixel will not be set. This mode is good for the mentioned (see @{"Introduction" link Introduction}) text on natural background thing. Edge Soft When Soft is on no there is no real border between pixel set and not set. All new calculated pixels are mixed with the original pixels weighted by the contrast. The lower the contrast the more the new pixelvalue is taken. The Threshold slider now varies the transfer function used for the weights. This mode is good for denoising natural pictures. Note: Simply switching between Hard and Soft doesn't help you much in comparing which one of the modes is better for your actual picture, because Threshold normally needs different adjustements for both modes. Radius: Well, as in a normal blur operator, the bigger the radius the blurrier the picture gets, BUT in SmartBlur the higher the radius the more likely a high contrast is found and the new pixel is not set. For most operations a small amount is probably the better choice. Adaptive shrinking Allows the radius to be temporally reduced when a high contrast is found. SmartBlur tries to shrink the radius until there is no longer the high contrast contained in it and then sets the new pixel. Afterwards it proceeds with the next pixel and the full radius. Adaptive shrinking can slow down the operation enormously. Due to the highly optimized implementation adaptive shrinking can lead to stripy artefacts in rare circumstances. @endnode @node Notes "SmartBlur: Notes" Notes ------- - SmartBlur was written on an Amiga 4000 with Cyberstorm MK1 060 and compiled with SAS/C 6.58. - This PlugIn has no AREXX-Interface and is not localized nor the documentation is avaiable in any other language than english (or whatever this is here). That may or may not change in the future. - If you are interested in getting the information how long an operation took try this: setenv VRPLUGINTIMING 1 @endnode @node History "SmartBlur: History" History --------- V1.0ß - changed: Made some changes to speed-up things with ArtEffect3 - changed: Filtereffect is adapted to Previewzoom. Zoomed Previews now should come close the real look. - changed: mask is respected in preview (as usual in ArtEffect only if maximum) - changed: some optimizations V0.9 - changed: almost everything just added :) - added: everything @endnode @node Author "SmartBlur: Author" Author -------- Volker Remuß Viktoria - Ufer 7 13597 Berlin email: remuss@cs.tu-berlin.de Telefon: +49-[0]30-3332391 Soon: http://user.cs.tu-berlin.de/~remuss/ Please report any bugs you came across and feel free to ask for new features Gimme feedback and if it only is to say: "I use it." @endnode @node Copyright "SmartBlur: Copyright Note" Copyright Note ---------------- This software product is copyrighted by the @{" author " link Author}. All rights reserved. It is not allowed to include this software product in any commercial package without written permission of the @{" author " link Author}. It is not allowed to boundle this software product with anything without written permission of the @{" author " link Author}. It may not be sold in any way. The only granted exception is the Aminet-CD. @endnode