Short:    2/256 color ILBM to cross stitch pattern
Uploader: jsailers@nh.ultranet.com (John Sailers)
Author:   jsailers@nh.ultranet.com (John Sailers)
Type:     gfx/misc
Requires: 68000, OS3.x, b&w graphics capable printer.

Cross Stitch Factory:

A small utility that will display register based IFF ILBMs, and allow you to
turn the displayed image into a cross stitch pattern.

CSF is NOT capable of altering the image you are using. To scale, correct the
aspect ratio of, or change from HAM into a register based screen mode, you
will need ADPro, Brilliance, ImageFX, etc.

CSF will NOT select or match any floss colors for you. At the present time,
this FREE software for Classic Amiga Computers has 100% manual entry of floss
color data. Your patience ( or 256 colors) is your limit.

CSF WILL allow you to load and display any IFF ILBM with a palette of 2
colors up to 256 colors (register based color mode). If your Amiga isn't AGA
capable, you can still use this software. For your sanity, ensure that you
are using the least amount of colors possible to keep the resolution you
want. If your picture has 20 very close shades of one color in an area, your
pattern will be very confusing. Sometimes less is better.

VERY IMPORTANT TIP  "right-amiga-t"
    Many picture palettes make no concession to Amiga display needs. If the
first two colors in the palette of the displayed picture are very close in
value, there will not be any contrast for the menu text, and you will not be
able to read any menu items. The first menu item is called SWAP COLORS, and
the hot key to remember is "right-amiga-t". This will temporarily swap the
first two palette colors with black and white to enable human eyes to read
the menus. If you load a picture, and the menus are unreadable, remember
"right-amiga-t".

When started, CSF will open a file requester on the default public screen,
which will most likely be Workbench. Selecting a picture file will start the
process.

Menu Item Description:

LOAD...

IFF PICTURE
    Will attempt to load a 2-256 color ILBM. Failure will be announced with a
requester in the upper left corner of the screen. If you can display the
picture, CSF can most probably make a pattern for you. If you can display the
picture, but don't have enough chip memory to open the color window and input
color info, you will need to take a few additional steps to make things work.
First, scale the image you want to a smaller size that you can display (for
the color info), and that will leave you with enough chip memory to open the
color info window. Load the scaled picture, type your color info in, print
what you have to get your color sheet, then load and print the original size
picture for your pattern sheets.

SAVED FILE
    Will load a previously saved file containing your previously typed in
floss color info, and the picture the color info belongs to. CSF doesn't save
your picture again. It just saves the path to your picture, along with any
color info entered into the color info window.

PATTERN SIZE
    Will allow you to select either a full screen or a smaller framed area of
the screen as your pattern area. "Full screen" will erase any previous framed
area you have selected and aren't happy with, and set your pattern sheets to
be the full image. Choosing "frame area" will turn the mouse and pointer into
your selection tool. Move the pointer over the upper left corner of the area
you wish to select from the full screen image, press and hold the left mouse
button while dragging the pointer down and to the right bottom corner of the
area you wish to select, releasing the left mouse button when you have
reached the lower limit of your choice. "Frame area" will only accept an area
taken from the upper left to the lower right. "Frame area" will also erase
any previous framed area that you aren't happy with. You can just keep
re-selecting "frame area" until you have framed the area you want.

NAME COLORS
    will open the color info input window, as long as chip memory allows.
The picture palette will be displayed in an area of color squares that you
may point to and click on to select as the current color. A list view in the
lower right corner will display any info typed in, and the current color may
be selected from the list view area, also. The current color info is edited
in the string gadget in the lower left corner. As you select color squares,
or list view lines, the current info, if any, is displayed in this string
gadget. There is a ten character limit on color names or numbers.

SAVE
    Will allow you to save the filename of the picture you are working on,
along with any color info you have typed into the string gadget. You can
return to this file as long as you do not move the picture it is for. CSF
does not save a copy of the picture, just the path it needs to find the
picture.

PRINT PATTERN
    Will allow you to print a color data sheet showing you the picture
filename, the number of colors in the picture palette, and a list of color
names that you have entered matched with the list of symbols used in the
pattern. After the color info sheet, CSF will print as many pattern pages as
your picture requires. A 640 by 400 hi-res picture will be 50 pages printed
out in pattern (64 characters by 80 characters). On 14 count fabric, this is
45 inches wide by 28 inches high. An ILBM with an NTSC type of screen mode
will print out squashed (aspect ratio). The best results will come from a
picture using a Productivity mode screen type. Productivity mode screens have
an aspect ratio of 1:1, which means your picture won't be squashed. This is
where ADPro or ImageFX will come in handy.

    You may click on the cancel button in the printing requester any time you
wish to stop printing. Remember, your printer may be working on some data,
and may not stop as soon as you wish. CSF stops sending data as soon as you
tell it to. The printer may have quite a lot of the data that has been sent
to it already sitting in the print buffer, so it may seem as if the printer
is not responding quickly.
 
CSF prints the color sheet in density 2, and the pattern sheets in density 1.
You can't change this. I spent enough money on printer cartridges testing and
debugging this thing to know just how quickly you can eat up black ink. I'm
using an Epson 640 (and Turbo Print). I love it.

QUIT
    Um, this should be the way out. Be sure you have saved what you want to
save. There are no "are you sure"s.

Written in assembler, using Devpac3 and Cygnus Ed, and Enforcer tested.

This version is free. (1 Sept 99, Version 1.0)

John Sailers
jsailers@nh.ultranet.com