@database Colors.guide @index INDEX @node MAIN @title "Colors Help - ©1993 Ian J. Einman" @{" Colors Version 39.19 " link HISTORY}@{" ©1993 Ian J. Einman " link IE} Colors 39 is a color palette editor designed for Workbench 3.0. It allows you to modify the colors of any screen using the color capabilities of your computer. Colors @{"requires" link WB_30} Workbench 3.0 and a 68020. I have not completed cross-referencing this guide. Please use the "Browse" gadgets to read all of it. Thanks. @endnode @node WB_30 "System Requirements" Colors requires Workbench 3.0 to run. Colors 39 is ideal for AGA graphics, but does not require AGA. It is a very powerful palette editor without AGA. Colors is programmed directly in 68020 machine code and uses special 68020 addressing modes for speed and efficiency. If you do not have a 68020 or better processor, Colors will not function properly. Colors requires the following files: libs:iffparse.library (included with Workbench 3.0+) libs:asl.library (included with Workbench 3.0+) libs:systemplus.library (included with Colors 94+) libs:gadgets/colorwheel.gadget (included with Workbench 3.0+) Colors requires the following files to use on-line help. libs:amigaguide.library (included with Workbench 3.0+) HELP:colors.guide (included with Colors) Be sure to never install an older version of systemplus.library over a newer version. Programs with installation scripts handle this for you, but if you are doing it manually, chack the date with the Version command. @endnode @node Overview Colors 39 is a screen palette editor with many features: * One million shades of color (with AGA chips) * Red/Green/Blue, Hue/Saturation/Intensity, and Cyan/Magenta/Yellow mixing * Copy, Swap, Undo, Reset * Spread from one color to another smoothly and easily * Cut, copy, paste, load and save entire palettes * Process ranges of colors, or all colors at once * On-line documentation * Jump from screen to screen * Resize window to any size * Efficient 68020 assembly language coding @endnode @node Palette The palette gadget is used to select colors you wish to operate on. To select a color, click on the color. To select a range, click on the first color and then on the second color. The arrow keys also allow you to move around the palette. To select a range with keys, select the first color, then hold shift and press the right arrow until you have selected the range. Sliders: In RGB or CMY mode, these are the percentages of Red, Green, and Blue, or Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow respectively. In HSB mode, Saturation and Brightness are given as percents, but Hue is given in degrees around a colorwheel. 0 = Red, 120 = Green, 240 = Blue, 360 = Red again, in a circle. In RGB mode, for example, 100% red, 0% green, and 50% blue is a bright pink. Percentages are less cryptic for users than hexadecimal or decimal powers of two, and do not vary depending on your system. 50% red is 50% red no matter whether red has 16 possible values, 64 possible values, or 256 possible values, AGA or ECS or 24 bit color. This is an easier way to learn color mixing than "9 red, 9 green, 4 blue" (which is an UGLY color by the way). You may also type the numbers into integer gadgets. Button Gadgets: OK: Select when you are done and colors are OK. CANCEL: Select if your colors are barfy and you give up trying to make them look better. Will set them back to where you started and quit. UNDO: Select to undo the color you are editing. This will also undo swaps, copies, and spreads. RESET: Reset to palette effective when program was loaded. Note that CANCEL is the same as hitting RESET and then OK. Color Mode: RGB: Additive colors - Components are Red, Green, and Blue. CMY: Subtractive colors - Components are Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow This is sort of like printing ink, but there is no black component. HSI: Hue, Saturation, and Intensity. Hue is the color you want (RED, YELLOW, PURPLE). Saturation is how "pure" that color is. Low saturation has less color (greys, pastels) and High saturation is purer color. Brightness is how bright the color is. Experiment with HSB, it is the easiest mode to learn. Edit Mode: EDIT: Edit current color. COPY: Will copy the current color to a new location. Hold SHIFT to select a new color to copy from without copying to it. SWAP: Swap two colors. Hold SHIFT to select a new color without exchanging it. SPREAD: Spread from one color to another. Hold SHIFT when selecting a new color if you want a new starting point but don't want to spread to it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 030's rule! 7/17/92 1:09 PST (WA) Till later ---- /- ---- Ian Einman -/- Master of Machine Language @endnode @node MENU_Control "Control Menu" You may move Colors to a different screen. Front: Reopens Colors on the frontmost screen. To use this, put the screen you want in front and hit right-amiga F. Next: Reopens Colors on the screen behind this one. Help: Read this help file. Same as HELP key. Quit: Quit program. Same as Close gadget. @endnode @node MENU_Palette "Palette Menu" The entire palette can be copied to and from the system clipboard. Cut: Copies the palette to the clipboard, and resets the palette. Copy: Copies the palette to the clipboard. Paste: Copies the palette from the clipboard into Colors. When you are experimenting, you may not like a change you have made. Undo: Undo the last color changed or operation made. Reset: Reset all colors to the original colors of the screen. The palette can be stored on disk as well. A file requester will appear, prompting you to select the palette you wish to load or save. Load: Loads a palette from an ILBM palette/picture file. Save: Saves the palette as an ILBM palette file. Colors can use a CMAP from any IFF file, so if you have copied a brush in a paint program you can paste its palette into Colors. You may also load palettes from any picture file. @endnode @node SmartSizing SmartSizing is the ability of Colors to intelligently determine the size of its gadgets and window. When Colors opens on a new screen, SmartSizing will automatically choose a size for the window based on the display mode and number of colors of the screen. A screen that is low resolution will cause Colors to open a smaller window. If the screen only has 4 colors, the window will be smaller than if the screen has 32 colors. SmartSizing will resize all gadgets whenever you resize the window. The only limit on the maximum size is the size of the screen Colors is on. SmartSizing will prevent you from making the window too small for the gadgets to be seen. SmartSizing will lay out all gadgets with the current screen font as of 94.12. @endnode @node IE "Author" Program and Documentation by: Developed on: Ian J. Einman A3000/25MHz 68030 (the Slayer) P.O. Box 5711 240+50MB HD, Workbench 3.1 Bellingham, WA 98227 USA i.einman@genie.geis.com This program was written using: 74271.2766@compuserve.com HiSoft Devpac 3 assembler ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Please write me with any suggestions, questions, or complaints. If you use this program regularly, I would appreciate a contribution of $5.00 U.S. This will ensure that I continue to update the program and post the updates. I may update the program for my own use, but not post it if no one responds. You may copy this program freely, but it is not to be altered in any way. Keep this documentation with the program when you distribute it. @endnode @node HISTORY "Colors History" Colors 94.12: Made font-sensitive, now uses screen font Colors 94.9: Integrated with systemplus.library Colors 39.19: Nov 19, 28 - 1993 Added Range functions for RGB, CMY, and HSB. Colors 39.18: Nov 14 Changed Color mode selector. Colors 39.17: Nov 14 Added AmigaGuide online help. Added size gadget and @{"SmartSizing" link SmartSizing}. Added Front Screen and Next Screen menu items. Colors 39.16: Nov 14 Added menu items for most common functions. Added Load Palette, Cut, Copy, and Paste. Colors 39.15: Nov 13 Transition version with Save Palette feature. Colors 39.14: Sept 21 Integer Gadget support!!! A few more optimizations. Still only 200 bytes bigger than 39.7, even though so many improvements. Colors 39.13: Sept 21 Underwent dramatic looks transformation: new beveled box, etc. Colors 39.12: Sept 21 Added key equivalents. F1-F4 are mode, F6-F8 are editing system mode. Other buttons are marked. NOTE: ALL OF THESE MAY CHANGE because this is only a transitionary version while I still am completing menus, which don't show up yet. Escape = cancel, return = OK (not marked). Colors 39.11: Sept 21 Fixed all bugs in CMY code. Works perfect now... ? More optimizations/improvements of code to prepare for future features. Colors 39.10: Sept 20 Optimized internals of program Made Undo work for multiple colors (spreads). Undo even works for a Reset. Colors 39.9: Sept 19 Made spreads into TRUE HSB spreads. Look much better. Colors 39.8: Sept 19, 1993 Added colorwheel.gadget conversion routine support because I still haven't figured out how to do it myself. Requires classes/colorwheel.gadget to function. Colors 39.7: July '92 First release, written before AGA chips even were out! (I'm good, huh.) Problems included improper HSI/RGB conversion and barfy spreading. I released this just to be the first person on earth to make a good palette editor for Kickstart 3.0. Worked pretty good and everybody liked it. 39.0 - 39.6: Pre-Release development phases @endnode