@DATABASE Be_DataType.guide
@AUTHOR "Edmund Vermeulen <edmundv@grafix.xs4all.nl>"
@$VER: Be_DataType.guide 43.0 (2.11.96)
@WIDTH 76

@NODE MAIN Contents

@{B}Contents@{UB}

 @{" Description " LINK Description}		What is Be DataType?
 @{" Installation " LINK Installation}		How to install it on your system.

 @{" Know problems " LINK "Known problems"}	Other datatypes that conflict.
 @{" Source " LINK Source}		Programming source code included.

 @{" Release history " LINK "Release history"}	What has been changed?
 @{" Acknowledgments " LINK Acknowledgments}	Who I'd like to thank.


This is the AmigaGuideŽ documentation for:

@{B}Be DataType 43.0@{UB}

This software is public domain. No restrictions on distribution or usage.

Author:	Edmund Vermeulen
	Primulastraat 2
	3202 RN  Spijkenisse
	The Netherlands
	Tel. 0181-613925

Fidonet: 2:286/407.48
Internet: edmundv@grafix.xs4all.nl

@ENDNODE

@NODE Description

@{B}Description@{UB}

Be DataType is a picture datatype for displaying BeBox screen dumps under
Amiga OS release 3 or higher.

The BeBox has the ability to save the current visible screen to disk, simply
by pressing the 'PrtSc' button on the keyboard. With this datatype you are
able to view these images on the Amiga. Image clips created by the
ImageViewer application have the same format and can be viewed as well.

Both 8 bit and 32 bit images are supported, but you need to have the V43 (24
bit) picture datatype installed to be able to view 32 bit screen dumps.

If you don't know what a BeBox is, you should visit Be's web site at
'http://www.be.com'. In short, it's a dual PowerPC computer with a
completely new OS. Some say that it's the spiritual successor to the Amiga.


@{B}Usage@{UB}

You can use MultiView, or one of the dozens of picture viewers that support
datatypes, to view Be screen dump images on your Amiga. You can even use
programs like Personal Paint or ImageFX to edit one.

I've included two 256 colour Be images. A screen dump named 'screen1' and an
image clip named 'clip'.

If you try to view a 32 bit image without the V43 picture datatype
installed, you will simply get an 'object is not of required type' error.

Here's a good tip. You can use MultiView to convert Be screen dumps to IFF
ILBM by simply choosing 'Save As...' from the menu. This also works with the
V43 picture datatype. 32 bit screen dumps will be saved out in IFF-24
format. This is true even if you view them in 16 colours on an ECS machine.
The output file will always be IFF-24.


@{B}Requirements@{UB}

Release 3 or higher of the Amiga operating system is required. Picture
datatype V43 is only required if you want to view 32 bit screen dumps.

@ENDNODE

@NODE Installation

@{B}Installation@{UB}

Installation can easily be performed by running the included 'Install Be
DataType' installation script. Below are the instructions for doing the
installation by hand.

@{B}1.@{UB} Copy the file 'Classes/DataTypes/be.datatype' to the directory
   'SYS:Classes/DataTypes'.

@{B}2.@{UB} Copy the file 'Devs/DataTypes/Be' and its '.info' file to the directory
   'DEVS:DataTypes'.

@{B}3.@{UB} Activate the Be DataType by double-clicking its icon or by executing the
   Shell command 'AddDataTypes REFRESH'.

@ENDNODE

@NODE "Known problems"

@{B}Known problems@{UB}

The following datatypes are known to cause trouble:

 - QRT

   Prevents many other datatypes, including Be DataType, from being
   recognised.

 - MacSND

   Seems to take forever to find out that a Be screen dump is not a MacSND
   file.

Remove these from your system if you are having problems. Moving them to the
Storage drawer and then rebooting will do.

If you run the automatic installation then this will will be taken care of
for you.

@ENDNODE

@NODE Source

@{B}Source@{UB}

I've included the complete source code of the Be DataType. Most of the code
was taken from the BMP DataType written by David Junod. It's available on
the Amiga Developer CD. I used SAS/C V6.56 to compile the code. Just change
the current directory to the directory containing the source code and then
type 'smake'. You do need to have the extra header files for cybergraphics
library and picture datatype V43 installed (these are included).

The datatype descriptor contains a custom function written in assembly. I've
included it under the name 'dthook.asm'. You need to assemble it and then
load the executable in DTDesc through the 'Load Function...' menu.

The file format of a Be screen dump is very simple. It's a raw memory dump
of the bitmap with a 24 byte header stuck in front. An 8 bit screen dump has
one byte per pixel. Each line of pixels is long word aligned. The colour map
in 8 bit is a fixed one. I wrote a little program for the BeBox to rip it. A
32 bit screen dump consists of four bytes per pixel. The order is blue,
green, red, and alpha.

@ENDNODE

@NODE "Release history"

@{B}Release history@{UB}

Version 43.0 released 2-Nov-1996

- Added support for viewing 32 bit screen dumps with picture datatype V43.

Version 39.0 released 13-Sep-1996

- First public release.

@ENDNODE

@NODE Acknowledgments

@{B}Acknowledgments@{UB}

Thanks to David Junod for the bmp example datatype from I which I snatched
most of the code.

Thanks to Arthur Pijpers for letting me peek at the source code of his Targa
datatype.

Thanks to Ralph Schmidt for creating picture datatype V43.

@ENDNODE