"Spiro Draw" Written by: Jon G. Walke Lompoc, CA Version 1.0 July 1987 This program is freely distributable for noncommercial use as long as the credit screen and this file remain with the program and no charge is made for the program. (SMALL duplication and distribution fees may be charged to redistribute this program on public domain disks). This program lets you setup and draw "Spirograph" pictures. This version of SpiroDraw was written in AmigaBasic and compiled with AC Basic. You can setup any two wheel com- bination and draw with 16 different colors. Although it takes a while (2.5 mins to read, 1.5 mins to write), you can save and restore the SpiroDraw pictures in IFF format. The archieve should contain a file called "wait.p". This file contains a "WAIT" message sprite used by the program and must be in the same directory as the program. Execute the file "execute.me" to rename the .info file for this program. INSTRUCTIONS: For those who are unfamiliar with "Sprirograph", there are two wheels, a larger one and a smaller one. The smaller wheel can be put on the inside or outside edge of the large wheel (actually, the large "wheel" is a ring). Then a pen is put in a hole in the smaller wheel and the smaller wheel is rotated around the edge (inside or out) of the larger ring and a pattern is produced (You get different patterns depending on the sizes of the ring and the small wheel and where the pen is placed in the smaller wheel as well as whether it is rotated around the inside or outside). A "Spirograph" set actually has other shapes that can be used, but this program only does a ring and a wheel. The program is run by two menus: PROJECT and SETUP. Each of these menus have the following selections (Highlight the desired selection by pressing and holding the right mouse button and move the mouse to the right selection, then release): PROJECT: Erase Screen - This will erase the entire screen to start a new picture. Draw Setup - This will draw a pattern using the setup that is presently set in the SETUP menu. (There is a default setup when the program is first run.) After the selection is made, a color bar will appear at the top of the screen. Select the desired color to draw the pattern with and the drawing will start. Anytime while the program is drawing, you can hit the space bar to stop the drawing and change colors or quit drawing the present pattern. This way multiple colors can be used in the same pattern. NOTE: THE ONLY WAY TO STOP DRAWING THE PRESENT PATTERN IS TO HIT THE SPACE BAR AND THEN CHOOSE QUIT, OTHERWISE THE PATTERN CONTINUES TO BE DRAWN AND THE MENU SELECTIONS DO NOT WORK. EVEN IF THE PATTERN IS COMPLETE, IT WILL CONTINUE TO DRAW OVER ITSELF UNTIL YOU HIT THE SPACE BAR AND SELECT QUIT. Open IFF - This will open a previously saved picture from disk. You will be prompted for the name of the file (include the drive: path/). If a nonexisted file is entered, the program will just stop with an error message. Just start the program again. The loading of a file takes approximately 2.5 mins. This is long, but the best I could do with BASIC. Actually, any 640x200, 16 color picture can be loaded. If the file exists, but is not a 640x200, 16 color picture, the program will give a message saying so and continue. Save as IFF - This will save your present screen as an IFF standard format picture which can later be loaded into DPAINT or printed out with other software. The saving process takes about 1.5 minutes, but the best I could do with BASIC. The picture is not saved in a compressed format, so you will need approxi- mately 64K of space to save a picture. Quit - This does just what it says and quits the entire program. SETUP: Center - This determines where the center (in pixels) of the pattern will be. The screen is 640x200 pixels. Big Wheel Radius - This sets the radius (in pixels) of the big wheel (ring). The radius is to the inside if the little wheel is set to rotate on the inside and it is the radius to the outside if the little wheel is set to rotate around the outside. Little Wheel Radius - This sets the radius (in pixels) of the little wheel. Toggle IN/OUTside - This toggles whether the little wheel will rotate around the INside or OUTside of the big wheel (ring). Radius to Pen - This sets the radius (in pixels) from the center of the little wheel to the pen in the little wheel. Orientation Angle - This determines where the little wheel will start around the circumference of the big wheel (the result is that the pattern will be rotated by this angle). Zero degrees is to the right and the angle increases couterclockwise. ie: 90 is up, 180 left and 270 down. Angular Step - This sets how many degrees (around the big wheel) the little wheel will be moved for each step. If your pat- tern is not solid enough, then decrease this value. The pattern will be more solid the lower this value, but it will also take longer to draw. Change Palette - This will allow you to change the RGB value for each of the sixteen colors. Click on the color to be changed and the present value will be displayed and you will be asked to enter a new RGB value. NOTE: SINCE THE PROGRAM IS NOT PHYSICALLY CONSTRAINED, VALUES FOR THE SIZES OF THE WHEELS AND RADIUS TO THE PEN CAN BE USED THAT WOULD NOT BE PHYSICALLY POSSIBLE WITH A "SPIROGRAPH" SET. IE: THE RADIUS TO THE PEN CAN BE LARGER THAN THE RADIUS OF THE LITTLE WHEEL, OR THE LITTLE WHEEL CAN BE LARGER THAN THE BIG WHEEL AND STILL ROTATE ON THE INSIDE. THESE TYPES OF COMBINATIONS CAN PRODUCE SOME INTERESTING PATTERNS. Please let me know if you have any suggestions or improvements for furture upgrades of this program. Have Fun!