*********************************************************************** MicroStation Display Drivers *********************************************************************** READ THIS FILE COMPLETELY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE THIS PRODUCT ! ***************************** Contents 1.0 Supported Resolutions 2.0 Installation Notes for MicroStation Drivers 3.0 Known problems 4.0 User's Guide 5.0 Reporting Problems ***************************** 1.0 Supported Resolutions 256 colors 65000 colors 16.7 million 8 bpp 16 bpp 24 (bits per pixel) 640 x 480 2/4MB 2/4MB 2/4MB 800 x 600 2/4MB 2/4MB 2/4MB 1024 x 768 2/4MB 2/4MB 4MB 1280 x 1024 2/4MB 4MB 4MB 2/4MB - Supported on 2 or 4 Megabyte mach64 products 4MB - ONLY supported on 4 Megabyte mach64 products Note: Not all color depths are supported at all refresh rates. ***************************** 2.0 Installation Notes for MicroStation Drivers 1) Run INSTALL from Disk #1 of the mach64 diskettes. 2) Select Drivers Installation from the Main Menu. 3) From the Install Enhanced Drivers menu select MicroStation. 4) Follow the screen instructions to completion. 5) When INSTALL reports that the driver has been successfully installed, exit the install program. 6) Reboot the system (if you allowed INSTALL to modify autoexec.bat). If you have created a batch file for the set environment, run the .BAT file. 7) Reconfigure MicroStation for the ATI MicroStation display ***************************** 3.0 Known problems The mach64 is only compatible with the following Vibrant Graphics display driver options: ATI GRAPHICS PRO TURBO ATI GRAPHICS XPRESSION mach64 Selecting any other graphics display, may cause display problems and/or reports incorrect error messages. BREAK=ON Garbage screens and intermitant system lock-ups will occur if BREAK is set to ON. To correct the problem set BREAK OFF. The banner will flash when MicroStation 4.0 is loading. 1MB mach64 PCI products may be experience garbage left behind if pull down menus are closed when configured for 800x600 16bpp (65,000 colors). 1MB mach64 PCI products may experince split screen displays when configured for 800x600 16bpp (65,000 colors). ***************************** 4.0 User's Guide Table of Contents A.0 Introduction A.1 Key Features B.0 System Requirements B.1 Installation for MicroStation C.0 Included Files D.0 Technical Notes D.1 Anti-Aliasing D.2 The USCONFIG.EXE Program D.3 The UCONFIG.DAT File D.4 Becoming an Integral Part of MicroStation A.0 Introduction The MicroStation Driver is a protected-mode driver designed to improve the user interface of MicroStation products by implementing the full resolution of your graphics board and monitor and by providing the means to customize some of the presentation parameters. A.1 Key Features The most important features that our MicroStation Driver offers to Users include: * Full support for Microstation version 4.0, * Full 32-bit performance for all drawing operations, generally providing about 10% better performance than the drivers shipped with MicroStation. * Full dual screen support for dual graphics monitor support with the mach64 graphics boards. * Anti-aliasing for jaggie free displays. * Protected-mode design allows it to become an integral part of the application and requires none of the 640K DOS RAM. * Font selection with 6 different fonts ranging from 8 to 18-point font size. B.0 System Requirements To run the MicroStation Driver your computer system must be capable of running your intended application. * 386 computer with math co-processor * MicroStation (protected mode) or MicroStation SOLIDS (protected mode). * A mach64 graphics accelerator board. For dual monitor support, you will also need a monochrome graphics board. B.1 Installation for MicroStation Driver Your Microstation Driver can be easily installed with minimum effort: 1. Run INSTALL from Disk #1 of the mach64 diskettes. 2. Select Drivers Installation from the Main Menu. 2. Choose the 'Microstation' entry. 3. Follow the instructions as given by the Installation program. Use the F1 key to bring up context-sensitive help screens at any point in the installation process. C.0 Included Files The following files are included with the MicroStation 4.0 driver. README.USD This file in standard ASCII format. ATIU40R.EXP The executable driver file which is unarchived by INSTALL.EXE ATIU40L.EXP into the DRIVERS sub-directory, created by MicroStation when MicroStation is installed. The DRIVERS sub-directory is located just below the root MicroStation directory (C:\USTN40\DRIVERS). ATIU40R.MA This .MA file is required by MicroStation to interface ATIU40L.MA between the protected mode driver ATIU40?.EXP) and the MicroStation executable file. This file loads and unloads, and handles all calls to the .EXP file at MicroStation's request. The .MA file is the file located by MicroStation when it reads its CONFIGUR.DAT file, located in the C:\USTN40\DATA directory, using the MicroStation environment variable MS_PMGRAPH. MicroStation only knows how to load a .MA file, not a .EXP file, so it is up to the .MA file to load the .EXP. ATIU40?.MA file is also unarchived by INSTALL.EXE at the time of installation and placed in the DRIVERS sub-directory along with ATIU40?.EXP. ATIU40R.MGL This file is just a text file whose first line contains the ATIU40L.MGL line Mach64 MicroStation 4.0, which is displayed by the MicroStation USCONFIG program to allow you to select this MicroStation 4.0 driver. The .MGL file is uncompressed by handled by INSTALL.EXE into the DRIVERS sub-directory along with the .MA and .EXP files (all three files should have the same name). ATICFGR.DAT This is the text file created by INSTALL.EXE to be read by ATICFGR.DAT ATIU40?.EXP file during driver initialization. D.0 Technical Notes D.1 Anti-Aliasing Anti-aliasing is technical jargon for the process by which graphics drivers create the effect of smooth lines on your screen. In normal graphics modes most lines exhibit a stair-step effect (jaggies) which detracts from the straightness of the line. Anti aliasing "blurs" those stair-steps to create the illusion of a straight line. Lines in standard graphics are a single pixel (screen element) wide, with that pixel being the actual color of the line. Anti-aliasing draws most lines using 2 pixels, with each pixel pair summing to a full intensity of the desired color, visually. In this way, the eye is fooled into seeing two pixels as only one, at some position midway between the two anti-aliased ones. Anti-aliasing is accomplished by using the palette entries (colors) above color 15 (16-255) to store graded shades of the first 16 colors (0- 15) compared to the background color. The graded shades of these 16 color are computed and loaded automatically by the driver once MicroStation communicates the base 16 colors and the background color to driver. The background color is user set with the AA_BACKGROUND_COLOR option in the ATIUCFG8.DAT file. By using this graded palette shading technique, the MicroStation driver is essentially trading the number of available colors (16 from 256) for smooth anti-aliased lines. If you try operating the MicroStation driver in anti-aliased mode in a 16 color graphics mode, the MicroStation driver will ignore the anti-aliasing and just use the 16 colors available for that graphics mode. This is done because the MicroStation driver assumes that your graphics board is only capable of 16 simultaneous colors and, since anti-aliasing requires at least 256 colors, ignores the anti- aliasing mode. D.2 The USCONFIG.EXE Program The MicroStation configuration program USCONFIG.EXE, when run, will search the DRIVERS sub-directory for all files with the extension .MGL and display the first line of each file found as an entry under the Vendor Supplied Driver selection menu. If the user picks a .MGL menu entry, an initialization program specified by the .MGL file's second line (if any) will be executed before continuing. D.3 The UCONFIG.DAT File There is a file called UCONFIG.DAT, located in the DATA sub-directory, created by MicroStation when User Preferences are saved during a MicroStation session. If MicroStation is configured to use a protected mode driver, the variable MS_PMGRAPH will be set in the .DAT file to the path(s) containing your protected mode driver that exist at the time the UCONFIG.DAT file is executed. If you subsequently exit MicroStation and reconfigure the display driver for a different protected mode driver, MicroStation will not recognize the new configuration unless you change the UCONFIG.DAT file. Using a text editor, change the line containing the MS_PMGRAPH to point to the new protected mode driver(s). Do not delete this file, otherwise you will lose all your other MicroStation customizations. D.4 Becoming an Integral Part of MicroStation Because the MicroStation Driver is for MicroStation applications only, it can become an integral portion of that program and is basically transparent to the user. The MicroStation Driver runs in protected-mode taking advantage of your 386 computing power. MicroStation Driver is not a TSR (terminate and stay resident program) so it does not have to be loaded in the valuable lower 640K of RAM that many other programs require. ***************************** 5.0 Reporting Problems If you experience any difficulties, open the file REPORT.TXT and complete the Problem Report form.