New Features: PAr 2.25b IMPORTERS and EXPORTERS (Imp/Exp) Importers and Exporters have been improved. The import and export libraries have been rewritten and optimized. The way that importing and exporting works has been changed to make it more efficient and easier to use. Under the 'AmigaDOS Files' menu, in the center of the buttons you will find a new button labeled 'Imp/Exp' this button controls all the parameters of importing and exporting files. Import Chroma Filter: This works the same as it did before, when it is selected, color filtering for legal NTSC/PAL color values will be used. Targa Flip: If you are loading animation frames that were rendered on a PC, you may encounter files which have the fields reversed. This usually only happens with targa files rendered in 3DStudio. Selecting 'Targa Flip' will cause all the frames to be imported with reverse fields, this only works with TARGA images. Export Translate: (Quite possibly the coolest feature of all!) Translate forces other programs to see PAR animation files as if they are sequences of images instead of single animations. This means that any program that can load 24 bit iff's can now load images directly out of PAR animations without having to use ARexx or having to pre-export the files. This makes using the PAR for rotoscoping extremely efficient and easy to use. For instance if you wanted to use a picture viewing program to display PAR images on your computer monitor you just have to set the Export mode to 'Translate', then set the file type to any of the export types (IFF, SGI, PAR, TARGA, etc). Then from your image viewing software, select the par animation and the frame offset of the desired image, for instance if you want to have an animation called 'Boat' and you want to display frame 200, then from the file requester of the image viewer, select 'Boat' and edit the file name so that it has the frame offset appended. For frame 200, we would select 'Boat' and add .0200 to the end so the filename would become 'Boat.0200'. The PAR will automatically 'Translate' the request for the non existent filename and export the proper frame to your image viewer. The real power of the 'Translate' function is to allow the PAR to be a source of multiple image streams for use in rotoscoping and compositing software. Lightwave 3D To use the PAR as a source of one or more video streams for use in Lightwave 3D as animated texture maps (Rotoscoping), you would use the following method: 1. Select 'Translate' from the export buttons. 2. Select 'IFF' for the export file type. 3. From Lightwave, under 'Images' choose 'Image Sequence'. 4. Using the previous example, choose the animation you would like to use as the source, we would choose 'Boat' on the PAR hard drive and append the starting frame number to the end of the file name. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 for all the image sequences that you would like to import. From that point on, you can use the image sequences in place of any texture map in Lightwave 3D. This method should work for any software that allows you to specify a starting frame and that it will be loading a sequence of images. Note: Any software that attempts to physically scan the directory for all the images will not work. Some batch rendering software works this way, expecting all files to be available at once and since the PAR translates the files on the fly, only one file will appear in the directory at any one time. Frame The frame button will allow you to choose which form of 'field' handling you use for exporting. In short, each file consists of two fields, with each field consisting of either all the even numbered horizontal lines, or all the odd numbered horizontal lines. So for any given 'Frame' (two fields) or image, all the odd lines starting at line 1 are one field, and all the even lines starting at line 2 make up the other field. This is the same way your television works. If you choose any mode other than frame, you will only export one half of the image data. Choosing field 1 for instance would export your files as 752 pixels wide, but only 240 pixels tall because you are only exporting one field of data (every other line). To export full size images, See 'Field Double'. Frame, Field 1, Field 2, Field 1&2: Frame will cause the entire image to be exported. Field 1 will cause only the first field to be exported. Field 2 will cause only the second field to be exported. Field 1&2 will cause both fields to be exported, but as two separate files. For instance in our 'Boat' animation, with this button selected, we would be exporting 'Boat.0001' and 'Boat.0002', with each file only containing one field of information. Field Double: Field Double when used in combination with any of the previous single field modes will cause each field to be exported 'doubled'. Each line in the image will be doubled so that the exported image is the normal image height of 480 lines. Field Double is used most often to remove motion artifacting from the image data. For instance if you were to record some live video using the TBC-IV, and then step through each image one frame at a time, you would see some motion in each frame, this is known as 'motion artifacting'. The problem with using 'Field' modes in combination with 'Field Double' is that you lose one half of the effective vertical resolution. For most rotoscoping applications, this loss of resolution is negligible. Export File Format This allows you to choose how the PAR copies files back to the system drive. The available modes are SGI, IFF, YUV (proprietary), TARGA, and PAR. This is the same effective set of controls that you will find in the controls of the 'Export' button under the PAR files directory. There is a special new import/export mode called YUV. This mode is proprietary and is not recognizable by standard YUV loaders. YUV is useful for ARexx scripts which are copying files from the PAR to the Amiga and back to the PAR but are not going through any external processing. (You cannot use it with an external image processing program) For instance if you had accidentally rendered your entire animation at too high of a block setting you can write a script to export each frame, and import it back into a new animation at a lower block value. The YUV importer is extremely fast and efficient and is in fact lossless so your animation will not lose any quality in the export/re-import process. NOTE: There are no controls for file importing as the PAR automatically recognizes the type of file that it is trying to import or view. IMPORT Another new power feature of the PAR is the new 'Import' animation builder controls. Selecting the 'Import' button of the Amiga File directory will bring up a new set of controls. The new controls allow you to control how the PAR handles the way it looks at the file numbers before it brings each file into the PAR. In the past when you imported files, the PAR would step frame by frame through each of the files to be imported, and import then in order, in increments of '1'. Boat.0001, Boat.0002, Boat.0003 etc. The new controls allow you more control over the incrementing of frames. Increment: Increment allows you to control the number that the PAR adds to the previous frame number in order to calculate the next frame. For instance, normally the PAR would add '1' to the previous frame so that the next frame would be one frame greater than the previous frame. Boat.0001, Boat.0002, Boat.0003, etc.. Setting the 'Increment' number to any number other than '1' will cause the PAR to add that number to the previous frame. For instance setting the increment number to '2' will cause the Par to import every other frame. Boat.0001, Boat.0003, Boat.0005, etc.. This is used to control the effective playback speed of an animation and to make quick previews. You could create a quick preview of the animation you are working on by importing only every other frame. This would of course result in a your animation playing back twice as fast, so to restore normal 30 FPS timing, refer to the doumentation regarding 'Multiply'. Multiply: Multiply allows you to control the number of times each frame is imported. Normally the PAR imports each frame '1' time. Setting the Multiply control to any other number causes the PAR to import each frame 'x' number or times. Setting it to '2' would cause the Boat frames to be imported as Boat.0001, Boat.0001, Boat.0002, Boat.0002, Boat.0003, Boat.0003, etc.. Multiply only does one true import per frame, and then it writes the frame 'x' number of times out of its local memory so there is very little penalty in terms of time for doing a multiple import. CHART A new animation Charting function has been added. The new button is labeled 'Chart' and is found where the 'Format' button used to be, under the 'Projects' area. Chart allows you to get a graphical display of the size of each frame in the animation. (Number of blocks used per frame). This will allow you to see how efficiently your animation is being saved and to get some idea of how each frame is handled by the PAR. If you are doing live recording, you can get some feeling for which frames are near the block limit, and if it would be possible to re-record the sequence at a higher/lower block level. MAP A mapping function has been added that will give you a graphical display of how the drive is being utilized. When you choose map, the program charts the space on the disk that each file is using, starting at the left hand side, and filling up the screen towards the left. The area on the far right is the map of the still images on the drive. The currently selected file on the PAR files menu will show up as a highlighted section. Ideally you should have an unbroken 'map' from the left hand side of the screen to the last file. This would indicate that your disk is optimized and being utilized efficiently. Blank spaces in the map indicate areas of the drive that are not being utilized. If you see a large portion of the map that is blank or many smaller areas, then the drive is fragmented and needs to be optimized. Changes for 2.25 ARexx: FREE Returns the largest freespace in blocks. If you want to know the amount of space left on the drive, you can call FREE, and multiply the return value by 512 to obtain the number of bytes of freespace left on the drive. DOSSELECT This will return in standard ARexx fashion, all the files that are chosen in the Amiga Files directory. Other notes: Starting with version 2.50 of the software, the entire manual will be available as an AmigaGuide format document, on the distribution disk. This upgrade is free to all registered owners. Printed manuals will still be available from DPS for a nominal fee. README 2.10 New Features: Micropolis 2200A series drives work! ------------------------------------ This version now supports the Micropolis 2210A and 2217A harddisks. These drives are now the recommended drives for the PAR. The 2210A is a one gigabyte IDE drive and the 2217A is a 1.6 gigabyte drive. These drives are 20% faster than the Seagate models and have no thermal recal problems. Conner CFA540A drive supported ------------------------------ This version now also supports the Conner model CFA540A harddisk. This drive is just slightly slower than the Micropolis drives, and also performs without any thermal recal problems. Using the Seagate ST-3600A Drive Efficiently ------------------------------------------------------------- The DPS Personal Animation Recorder software permits the adjustment of both the block limit and the Q-Factor. The block limit represents the number of 512 byte blocks that comprise each animation frame. Increasing the block limit increases the amount of data stored for each animation frame. This improves the image quality at the expense of playback time. If too large a block limit is specified, the disk drive will not be able to transfer the required data in time and the animation playback will break up. By testing a few frames of your animation at various block limit values, you can establish the most appropriate block size for your needs. A maximum block size of 220 can be utilized for the outer tracks of the Seagate ST-3600A drive, providing that PAR software version 1.14 or later is used. Smaller block sizes are typically required when storing animations on the inner tracks of the hard drive. 180 to 200 is the usuall setting for The Q factor is a relative measurement of image quality which is inversely related to compression. The Q factor will automatically change as frames are converted from IFF or Video Toaster Framestore files. The PAR hardware performs a number of automatic tests during the file conversion process to select the highest possible Q factor for a given block size and image complexity. By watching this level you assure the maximum preformance of the product. When using a DPS Personal TBC IV card to perform realtime hard drive recording, the Q factor and block limit values will differ from those used in single frame recording. This is because the 30 Hz frame rate of realtime recording provides insufficient time for the PAR hardware to automatically scale the Q factor and perform filtering. Rather, one must manually set the Q factor to a setting where the whole scene can be grabbed without generating any error messages. Feel free to experiment with values yourself. Also be sure to check the README file on all PAR software and upgrade disks for other hints or late breaking news. Seagate 3655A support --------------------------- The 3655A is the replacement to the 3600A. You must have a firmware version that is not commonly available. Contact DPS to find a source of drives with the proper firmware. Because the 3655A recalabrates every two minutes the longest segment of video that can be played back is 120 seconds. Sunrize Audio Support. Play audio and video at the same time! ------------------------------------------------------------- You can now cue the PAR from the AD516 boards SMTPE Generator. Set the time you want the PAR board to start playing in SMPTE time code by clicking on the SMPTE button in the VTR control area on the PAR software screen. Set pause mode on, then click on play. Go to the AD516 software screen and start the SMPTE generator. When the time code matches the value set in the PAR software the pause will flip off and Video will start playing. Changes /*******************************************************************/ Warning: PAR files are treated the same as any other format when copying them to DDR:, or Importing in the GUI. This means if you back up the drive, then restore with the Import mode set to Anim, all of your stills will turn into an animation. So set it to still when you want to copy them back. PAR anims are not effected. Added support for Micropolis 2205A Added ARexx command FIELD [ 1 | 2 ] Changed ARexx EMODE from 240 | 480 to DOUBLE (same with requester) EMODE also has a PAR option. External Importers. The importers directory has to be in the same directory as par. If PAR is not in the current directory when run from a shell, you will not be able to import. External Exporters have been added for IFF and Targa. The IFF importer/ exporter does framestore format too! Export(was Save) saves frame, field 1, field 2 or both fields (fields can be doubled) Confirm before saving over an existing file (but not from ARexx) View uses a Q-Factor of 23 Added Project Rename. Copy - Copies anims or stills to another project or drive. Move - Moves anims or stills to another project or drive. Changed Dup, Delete, and Export frames to use the startframe/endframe (loop display) values as default. Added ICONIFY. The icon is always on the WB (unless WB is not loaded), double-click it to uniconify or just to pop the screen up. Drag a picture over it to view. Changed record frames to time entry. Like others, frames can be entered, and will be converted to time. ST3655A firmware check. (says if it's the old one) Added "This is not a supported hard disk", if it doesn't recognize it. Format does not format the disk, but clears the projects. The 1.2 megs are allocated when PAR is run, and stays allocated until quit. Join handles joining from one drive to the other. Added mono button. Added palette in prefs window. Added film button (24 FPS). If you record, grab, or hit E/E, it automatically switches off. SMPTE time switches to 24 fps. SMPTE time is stored in each anim file. This could be confusing, since it controls the record also. If SMPTE is enabled and loop is on, playback will reset to frame 1 and pause when it hits the end, ready to play again. For 2 drives, DOS will see DD0: and DD1: Added lots of gas guage things. Changed lapse/manual requester "Recording animation" to "Recording Realtime Video" and "Recording Manual Video" Clicking on the frame counter pops up a requester. Enter a number for absolute, use a + or - prefix for relative. Clicking on the time counter pops up a requester. Enter a time for absolute, use a + or - prefix for relative. You can enter 5 for frame 5, 10:00 for 10 seconds, 1:00:00 for 1 minute. (Keyboard equivelents would be a good idea, eh?) Requesters with numbers (split,delete frames) don't need to hit return. SMPTE button. Click on it, a requester pops up. You can enter the time just like the new time counter requester. Hit OK/return to enable it. If Studio 16 is not running, it complains. To disable it, just click on the button again. To use the SMPTE for play, enable PAUSE and hit PLAY (like GPI). Realtime record: If GPI or SMPTE is enabled, it waits for either after the OK is hit. New ARexx: Changed ARexx SAVE to EXPORT STARTFRAME [num] ENDFRAME [num] EXPORT [output_name] [start end] [start_index] EMODE [FRAME | 1 | 2 | BOTH] [240 | 480] SPLIT [name] JOIN [proj/name] ... (join doesn't support 2 drives!) SMPTE [ OFF | ON | time ] CHECK COLORS ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARexx: (address is DDR) F1.ddr through F10.ddr (S1.ddr - S10.ddr = Shift+FKey) can be run from the F-keys. Note: All examples assume current address is "DDR" (Address DDR), and result option is set (Options results). The SAY command is only for programs run from a shell. You won't see anything if it's run from PAR. [] = optional argument <> = required argument Command Args Results ------------------------------------------------------------- APPEND [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Turn append on/off /* enable append mode */ Append On if result~='ON' then say 'Append enable failed. Select an anim first.' ------------------------------------------------------------- CAV [ MII | BETA ] MII | BETACAM Set output mode. /* Switch CAV output gain to Betacam */ CAV Betacam ------------------------------------------------------------- CHECK OPEN | CLOSED number Returns DOS anim build window status, and current frame. ------------------------------------------------------------- CLEANUP Optimize the disk. /* Optimize the PAR disk */ Cleanup ------------------------------------------------------------- COLORS Colors 555 000 999 500 /* Set the screen color palette */ ------------------------------------------------------------- DELETE [file] [start] [end] delete cuurently selected file or specified file or frames in an animation /* Select the file named "test" in project "Project1", and delete it */ Project 'Project1' File 'test' Delete -or- Delete 'DDR:Project1/test' Delete 'DDR:Project1/test' 10 20 /* delete frames 10,11...20 */ See also: Project, File ------------------------------------------------------------- DONE [name] Same as hitting done in the DOS animation build status requester. name is the optional name to save it as. (This command is also used for manual record, without the filename) /* Set convert mode to anim, convert all framestores, complete the anim */ Mode Anim Address command 'Copy DH1:FrameStore/#? 'DDR:Project1/TestAnim' Done See also: Mode ------------------------------------------------------------- EMODE [FRAME | 1 | 2 | BOTH ] [DOUBLE] FRAME|1|2|BOTH DOUBLE Set current export mode EMode FRAME /* saves full 480 line frame. */ EMode 1 /* saves field 1 as a 240 line file. */ EMode BOTH /* saves both 240 line fields as separate files. */ EMode 1 DOUBLE /* saves field 1 as a 480 line file. (every 2 lines are the same) */ See also: Export, Exporter ------------------------------------------------------------- ENDFRAME Set playback endframe (0 or OFF to turn off) ENDFRAME 200 See also: StartFrame, Loop, Play ------------------------------------------------------------- ETOE [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON /* Check the status of E/E */ ETOE Say 'E/E is:' result ------------------------------------------------------------- EXPORT [output_name] [start] [end] [start_ext] Save frames to curent DOS path as IFF24 or PAR images. OUTPUT_NAME changes the name of the output files (do not specify path). START and END are the range of frame for an anim. START_EXT is the starting number to use as the extension. Export /* Export still or current frame of anim */ Export 10 /* Export frame 10 of anim */ Export 1 30 /* Export frames 1 to 30 */ Export test 1 10 /* Export any name as test.0001, test.0002, .... Export test 120 130 400 /*Exports frame 120-130 as test.0400, test.0401, .... See also: EMode, Path, Exporter ------------------------------------------------------------- EXPORTER [name] Set export format Exporter IFF EMode FRAME Export 1 30 ------------------------------------------------------------- FILE [name] current file name Set file selection/play still or first frame of anim. /* Switch to the "TestPatterns" project, show the still named "SMPTE_Bars" */ Project 'TestPatterns' if result='' then say 'That project does not exist.' File 'SMPTE_Bars' if result='' then say 'That file does not exist.' -or- File 'DD1:Anims/Test1' /* optionally, the full path may be given */ See also: Project, Unit ------------------------------------------------------------- FILTER [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Set IFF conversion filter mode. /* Turn filter on */ Filter On ------------------------------------------------------------- FIELD [ 1 | 2 ] 1 | 2 Set field to display. Stunt On /* enable field display */ Field 2 /* show field 2 */ See also: Stunt ------------------------------------------------------------- FILM [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Turn film mode (24 fps) on or off. /* Turn on film mode */ Film On ------------------------------------------------------------- FPS [number] number Set frames per second playback, or record FPS. SLOW must be set to activate variable playback. /* Play an anim at 7.5 frames per second, and wait for end. */ FPS 7.5 Slow ON Loop OFF Play 'TestAnim' Wait Slow OFF ------------------------------------------------------------- FRAMES number of frames Get number of frames in currently loaded anim. File 'DD0:Anims/TestAnim' Frames n=result if n=0 then Say 'Not an anim.' else Say 'Anim has' n 'frames.' ------------------------------------------------------------- GENLOCK [ INT | EXT ] INT | EXT Set sync reference mode. ------------------------------------------------------------- GPI [ ON | OFF ] ON | OFF Turn GPI trigger on or off. ------------------------------------------------------------- GRAB [filename] Grab a live frame. Will request a name if not given. /* grab 8 frames from video source named "Test.1" thru "Test.8" do i=1 to 8 Grab 'Test.'i end ------------------------------------------------------------- HORIZ [number] number /* Set genlock horizontal to .28 deg. */ Horiz 0.28 ------------------------------------------------------------- JOIN [name] ... Join a list of anim files together. The first name will be used as the joined name. /* Join the files "test" and "test2" in the project "main" */ Join 'DD0:main/test' 'DD0:main/test2' 'DD1:Anims/endanim' ------------------------------------------------------------- JUMP [frame] frame Jump to frame number in anim/get current frame number (0=no anim) /* Load "TestAnim" and show frame 30 if it's an anim */ File 'TestAnim' Jump if result=0 then say 'This is not an anim' else Jump 30 ------------------------------------------------------------- LAPSE OFF | ON | seconds Set record time lapse speed, and turn on/off /* Record time-lapse, and play it. Always set Lapse, QFactor, and RecFrames */ Lapse On Lapse 4 QFactor 10 RecFrames 30 Record 'LapseTest1' Play ------------------------------------------------------------- LIMIT [number] number Set anim frame max encode size in blocks. /* set maximum frames size limit for record/convert */ Limit 156 ------------------------------------------------------------- LOOP [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Set anim looping mode. /* Play current anim over and over again */ Loop On Play ------------------------------------------------------------- MANUAL [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Enable manual record /* record a few frames */ RecFrames 10 Manual ON QFactor 12 Record 'testfile' Step /* same as hitting the GRAB button, or GPI */ Step Step Done /* same as hitting the DONE button */ ------------------------------------------------------------- MODE [ STILL | ANIM ] Still | Anim Set import mode. /* Import a framestore as a still */ Mode still Address command 'Copy DH1:FrameStore/000.FS.VT4000 DDR:Stills' ------------------------------------------------------------- MONO [OFF | ON] [OFF | ON] Turn monochrome on or off. ------------------------------------------------------------- PATH [dos_path] dos_path Set path in AmigaDOS file selector. /* Change DOS selector to RAM: directory */ Path 'RAM:' ------------------------------------------------------------- PAUSE [ OFF | ON | number ] OFF | ON Set pause state If a number is given, it will wait until that frame before pausing. /* Play selected anim, pause at frame 30, wait 2 secs, continue play */ Play Pause 30 call delay 100 Pause OFF ------------------------------------------------------------- PLAY [filename] 0 | 1 Show still/Start playing current anim, or start playing [filename] in current project. /* play some anims at 30 FPS in sequence, waiting for each to end */ Project 'Anims' Loop off FPS 30 Play 'Anim1' if result=0 then do;say 'Can''t play. File does not exist.';exit;end Wait Play 'Anim2' Wait Play 'Anim3' Wait Play 'DD1:OtherProject/Anim4' /* optionally give full path */ ------------------------------------------------------------- PROJECT [name] curent project name Set project selection. Project 'Project1' if result='' then Say 'No project by that name' ------------------------------------------------------------- QFACTOR 0-23 0-23 Set Q-Factor ------------------------------------------------------------- QUIT Quit PAR ------------------------------------------------------------- RECFRAMES [number] number Set number of frames for real-time record. Return value may be lower than requested depending on free space. ------------------------------------------------------------- RECORD [filename] Starts record. Asks for filename if not given. /* record 90 frames real-time at full speed */ Lapse OFF RecFrames 90 QFactor 11 FPS 30 Record 'Movie' ------------------------------------------------------------- REQUEST 0 | 1 | editline Open an OK/Cancel or string requester /* Request things. Intended to be run from a shell on Workbench */ ToFront Req 'Would you like to continue?' if result=1 then say 'You hit the OK button.' else say 'You hit the Cancel button.' ToBack ToFront Req 'Edit the string and hit return.|Hit Cancel to return "".;Test string' if result='' then say 'Cancel' else say 'The edit line was "'result'"' ToBack ------------------------------------------------------------- SLOW [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Turn slow motion on/off. /* Play anim at 15 FPS */ FPS 15 Slow ON Loop off Play if result=1 then say 'Playing....' Wait Say 'Stopped' ------------------------------------------------------------- SMPTE [ OFF | ON | time ] HH:MM:SS:FF ON | OFF /* Start playing when Studio SMPTE counter reaches one second. */ SMPTE 01:00 SMPTE ON Pause ON Play ------------------------------------------------------------- SPLIT [filename] Split current anim at frame . If no filename is given, it will request one. /* Split the file "test" at frame 20, leaving file "test" with 20 frames, and "test2" with the rest. */ File 'ddr:anims/test' Split 20 'test2' ------------------------------------------------------------- STARTFRAME Set playback startframe (0 or OFF to turn off) /* loop from frame 10 to 30 */ Startframe 10 Endframe 30 Loop ON Play See also: Endframe,play ------------------------------------------------------------- STEP 0 | 1 (1=done) Frame step durring manual record. /* record 30 frames, one per second */ Manual ON RecFrames 30 Record 'live_test' done=0 do while done=0 Step done=result call delay 50 end See also: Manual,Record,Done ------------------------------------------------------------- STOP [number] Stop playing. If a number is given, it will wait until that frame before stopping. /* Jump to the beginning, start playing, stop at frame 30 */ Jump 1 Play Stop 30 See also: jump,play,stop ------------------------------------------------------------- STUNT [ OFF | ON ] OFF | ON Set field/frame output mode. See also: Field ------------------------------------------------------------- SUB [number] number Set genlock sub-carrier See also: Horiz ------------------------------------------------------------- TITLE [string] Put text in the title bar. No text resets to default. Title 'Hello' call delay 150 Title ------------------------------------------------------------- TOFRONT Bring par screen to front ------------------------------------------------------------- TOBACK Push par screen to back ------------------------------------------------------------- UNIT [0 | 1] [0 | 1] Change to IDE drive 0 (master), or 1 (slave) ------------------------------------------------------------- VERSION current version ID Get version info. ------------------------------------------------------------- VIEW Show an IFF24 or Framestore filename can be full path+name, or name in current path ------------------------------------------------------------- WAIT [number] RC=0|5 Wait for anim to complete, or wait for frame number. RC will be 5 if not playing, or another arexx program is waiting. Loop OFF say 'starting to play' Play say 'playing' Wait say 'Done' ------------------------------------------------------------- Future ARexx commands: CONVERT you can always copy files to DDR: CREATE makedir could be used instead DUP ??? COPY MOVE GPI: The GPI trigger unpauses playback. Polarity is determined by the state when PAR is started. Use pin 4 on joystick port 2 (joystick right), and pin 8 (gound). The pulse must be at least 1/60th of a second. Keyboard hotkeys: Del - delete selected file. +/- and up/down arrows on keypad - move up/down thru files. HOME/END on keypad - select first/last file. PgUp/PgDn on keypad - go up/down a page. Cursor left/right - move thru anim. Shift Cursor left/right - move to start/end of anim. Alt Cursor left/right - adjust slow-play speed. Alt Cursor down - toggle slow play. Cursor up - play Cursor down - stop Space bar - pause toggle C - Convert E - E/E F - Field/Frame G - Grab I - still/anim convert mode Q - Quit (or ESC) R - Rename T - TBC-IV V - View Todo: A - Append D - Duplicate P - Parent or Prefs L - All/Clear Requesters: ESC - Cancel C - Cancel Return - OK O - OK