*************************************************************************** C O L O R S 3 9 . X D O C U M E N T A T I O N *************************************************************************** REQUIRES: Workbench 3.0+, mouse, ability to see color, I.Q. > 10 THE EASIEST WAY to learn this program is TO JUST RUN IT!!! It is so easy. These docs are only for piece of mind, they will probably be totally useless to you. Add a hotkey to this program with FKey, and it will allow you to edit the colors of any screen by pressing a button. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Colors 39 is simply a palette editor; a replacement for the "Colors" tool that comes with your computer. It has a few more features, however. * Access a potential of one million colors (with AGA chips) * Uses new graphics.library v39 colormaps (Kickstart 3) * Faster, smaller, 100% assembly language * Hue/Saturation/Intensity and Cyan/Magenta/Yellow mixing in addition to Red/Green/Blue (now uses colorwheel.gadget for conversions) * Copy and exchange colors easily * Spread from one color to another smoothly and easily * Undo feature (a must have!!) In addition to these features, Colors still has the same features it has always: It will open its palette editor on the front screen, and allow you to edit the colors of that screen. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTRUCTIONS How to use...... Palette: Click on the color you wish to edit. (be sure to write this down :-) Percent Sliders: There are 3 percentage sliders that specify the percent of each component. In RGB mode, for example, 100% red, 0% green, and 50% blue is a bright pink. I feel percentages are less cryptic for users than hexadecimal or decimal powers of two. 50% red is 50% red no matter whether red has 16 possible values, 64 possible values, or 256 possible values. This is an easier way to learn color mixing than "9 red, 9 green, 4 blue" (which is an UGLY color by the way). The latest version allows you to type in numbers into integer gadgets. In HSI mode the top slider (HUE) is in degrees (0-360) around a colorwheel. 0 = Red, 120 = Green, 240 = Blue, 360 = Red again, like a circle. 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. EXCHANGE: 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. PLEASE SEND ME COMMENTS about this interface, I've had ideas to change it but want input from you (I have to change it to add my new features) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ** Note: this program (and docs) were actually written before AGA came out with pre-release Kickstart 3.0. Please excuse any future tense that I have not changed in the docs, like "when newer graphics chips are released" etc. Colors actually was developed on an A3000 with ECS, but has been tested on AGA (a year after it was written). AGA people like this program, so I'm giving it to you. FUTURE ENHANCEMENTS: * Global changes: the ability to adjust RGB/Contrast/Brightness of all colors at once, perhaps only selected colors (though this would require either a custom palette gadget or an improvemeny to gadtools.library) * Load/save ILBM CMAP, to allow storage of palettes, use of Colors 39 as a replacement Palette Prefs editor, and import of IFF pictures' colors. * Ability to deactivate certain features to allow a smaller window, as well as optional additional features, * Menus with additional features. * Color presets, to allow quickly setting a color to black or red, possibly defined. Each color may have a name, and colors could be accessed from a listview rather than sliders if desired. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- * 030's rule! 7/17/92 1:09 PST (WA) Till later ---- /- ---- Ian Einman -/- Master of Machine Language ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright Info: FREE to copy but... I "retain" copyright privileges over this program in the following manner: If this program is altered (my name removed, etc.) in any way I will get mad and pursue you with packs of lawyers but as long as only the executable code is distributed AS IS.... You may give it around. You may even include it in commercial packages as you see fit, no licence fee, although you may send me a modest contribution ($15?) and I will give you the latest version, even with your company/product name in the screen title bar: "MegaBase v1.2 ©1994 Hard Software - Color Editor 39.14" REGISTRATION???? Nah. Just use this program. If you want "service" send me money... or programs you have written. Register me for one of your nifty programs and I'll send you a bunch of junk. Also, if your from a different country, send me cool stamps, currency, postcards, unrecognizable objects inscribed with languages I do not understand etc. and I will be impressed and send you junk. Have comments? SASE envelopes will get some sort of half-cracked reply if you write to me in English. You can write to me in another language if you want, I will drink beer then I will understand. My answers may seem incoherent. Anyone who sends any money will always get the latest versions of my programs. Send me lots of money and I will send you programs, and even updates later. Send me even more money and I will heal you...... Ian J. Einman P.O. Box 5711 Bellingham, WA 98227 U.S.A. AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH! AAAAAAAMIGAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!