Contents

Contents:

The NeoPaint Screen

Painting and Drawing Tools

Menu Commands

Animated GIF's and Cartoons

Ordering NeoPaint for Windows

Technical Support

Acknowledgements

©1992-1999 NeoSoft Corp. All rights reserved. NeoPaint®, NeoBook® and NeoSoft® are registered trademarks of NeoSoft Corporation. All other brand or product names are trademarks of their respective holders. The GIF compression decompression capability included in this software is licensed under U.S. Patent No. 4,558,302 and foreign counterparts.


Selection Tools

NeoPaint's Selection Tools are used to select specific areas of your picture for further modification, as well as to copy portions of a picture to the Windows Clipboard.

	Rectangle Selection Tool
	Polygon Selection Tool
	Freehand Selection Tool
	Elliptical Selection Tool
	Color Selection Tool
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

After you have made a selection using one of these tools, a dotted outline or marquee will surround the selected part of the picture. Use the Selection Options on the Option Bar to adjust the behavior of the Selection Tools.

To unselect an area, simply move the mouse cursor outside the selected area and click the right mouse button once.

If you want certain parts of the the selection area to appear transparent (allowing the original portion of the picture underneath to show through), choose the Transparent Cutout Style setting from the Option Bar. The portion of the selection containing the picture's Background Color will become transparent. For solid selections, choose the Solid Cutout Style.

Once the desired area has been selected, you may move it by positioning your mouse cursor in the center of the selected area. The cursor will change to an open hand. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the selection to a new location and release. If you drop the selection in the wrong spot, use the Undo command to restore the picture.

If you wish to duplicate the selection (move a copy of the selection while leaving the original intact) hold down the CTRL key while dragging the selected area to the desired location. Holding down the SHIFT key while moving the mouse will leave a trail of paint, allowing you to use the selected area as a paint brush.

You may stretch or shrink the selected area by using the mouse to drag the handles which appear as small boxes at the corners of the marquee. When your mouse is properly positioned over one of these handles, the cursor will change to a pointing hand. Press down on the left mouse button and drag the handle to a new position. As you move a handle, the marquee will stretch or shrink. You also can use many of the commands under the Picture Menu to modify selected areas.

An area may be Cut or Copied to the Windows Clipboard, Copied to a File, or Deleted. Once a portion of your picture has been selected, these options are available under the Edit Menu.


Selection Rectangle
Use the Rectangle Selection tool to select square or rectangular areas. Press the left mouse button and draw a rectangle around the area you wish to select.


Painting and Drawing Tools

A selection of painting and drawing tools are displayed immediately below NeoPaint's Menu and Speed Bars, are . These tools are used to edit your pictures, and they contain some of NeoPaint's most powerful features. The time you take becoming acquainted with the various functions of these tools will pay off with results that better reflect your ideas.

The currently active tool will appear pressed with a shaded background. A new tool can be selected by clicking its icon with the mouse. Some of the tools contain a small arrow symbol [image] in the lower right corner. This indicates that you may select additional sub-tools by clicking the tool a second time.

For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

Remember: should you make a mistake using any of the tools, you can restore your picture’s previous state by selecting the Undo command from NeoPaint’s Edit menu.


Selection Polygon
The Polygon Selection tool selects polygonal areas. Click to draw line segments around the area you wish to select. You may complete the boundary by clicking a final time close to your starting point or by clicking the right mouse button. At this point, a Polygon Editor will appear allowing you to make changes to the selection boundary before finalizing the selection.


Selection Freehand
The Freehand/Lasso Selection tool selects free-form areas. Click the left mouse button and drag the cursor around the portion of the picture to be selected. Release the mouse button to complete the selection. At this point, a Polygon Editor will appear allowing you to make changes to the selection boundary before finalizing the selection.


Selection Elliptical
Use the Elliptical Selection tool to select circular, oval or elliptical areas. Press the left mouse button and draw a circle around the area you wish to select.


Selection Color
The Color Selection tool is used to select areas in a picture that contain a specific color or range of colors. Position the mouse cursor over a pixel that contains the color that you wish to select and click left mouse button. The selection area will contain only those pixels which match the color you clicked.

To broaden the scope of the colors included within the selection, increase the value of the Color Tolerance setting. A setting of zero will select only those pixels that exactly match the color that you clicked. Higher settings will expand the selection to include additional pixels with colors that fall within the tolerance range.


Polygon Editor

NeoPaint's Polygon Editor is used to adjust the boundaries of polygon objects and selections prior to final placement within a picture. Tools that use the Polygon Editor are Polygon Selection, Freehand Selection, Editable Rectangle, Editable Polygon, Editable Freehand Polygon and 3D Polygon.

After constructing your initial shape using one of the tools listed above, the Polygon Editor will appear and editing handles (shown as small boxes [image] ) will be added to the endpoint of each line. At this point, you may make changes to the polygon's shape.

To reposition one of the endpoints, place the mouse cursor over the endpoint's handle. (The cursor will change to a pointing hand when it is in the correct position.) Hold down the left mouse button and drag the handle. As you move, the shape will stretch or shrink. When you are satisfied with the shape, release the mouse button.

Should you need to add a handle, simply position the mouse cursor over the point on the outline where you would like a new handle and click the left mouse button. (The cursor will change to a pointing hand with a plus sign when it passes over a location where a new handle can be added.)

To delete a handle, position the mouse cursor over the unwanted handle. (The cursor will change to a pointing hand when it is in the correct position.) Hold down the Ctrl key and click the left mouse button - the handle will disappear.

To move the entire polygon, place the cursor in the center of the shape. The cursor will change to an open hand. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the polygon to its new location.

The entire polygon may be rotated left or right by clicking on the Polygon Editor's [image] buttons.

When the polygon's size, shape and position are satisfactory, click the OK button and the final object will be created.


Background Color

This is the color that is used for the surface or background of a picture. This is also the color that will be used by NeoPaint's Eraser tool and as the transparent color for clippings created with the Selection tools. Possible background colors include: White, Black, Red, Green, Blue, Brush Color and Line Color. The Brush and Line color choices allow you to change the background color on-the-fly by selecting colors from the picture's Color Palette.

A picture's background color may be changed at any time by selecting Picture Info from NeoPaint's Picture menu. Changing the background color does NOT modify the picture, but the new color will become the background for the next Erase or Selection action.


Selection Options

After you have chosen one of the Selection Tools, NeoPaint's Option Bar will change to include settings to modify how those tools work.

The Option Bar as it appears when one of the Selection Tools is active.

Cutout Style

The Cutout Style option indicates how the selected area will be displayed. If you want certain parts of the selection area to to appear transparent (allowing an original portion of the original picture underneath to show through), choose the Transparent setting. The portion of the selection containing the picture's Background Color will become transparent. For solid selections, choose the Solid setting.

Paint Mode

The Paint Mode option allows you to change the method NeoPaint uses to paint the selected area onto the picture. For most applications, you will leave this setting on Normal, but for certain types of special effects, you can select another mode to display the selection.

Edge Blending

Selecting one of the Edge Blending options will be subtly blend the edges of selected area with the background. You will not see the blending effect until the final placement of the selection. Select the None option to turn the Edge Blending off.

MouseCam™

The MouseCam displays a magnified portion of your picture as it might appear from the point of view of the mouse cursor. The rectangle in the center of the box represents the pixel at the actual cursor position. Use this tool to help make precise selections.


File: Open

Use the Open command to load a preexisting picture file from your hard drive, diskette, CD, etc. Selecting this command will display a list of available pictures using the familiar Windows File Selector*. Clicking once on any file name will display a tiny thumbnail representation of that picture in the preview window on the right side of the File Selector. If you prefer, you can turn off the preview by de-selecting the Preview check box. You can limit the types of files that appear in the File Selector by clicking the File Type list box. After selecting a file name, click OK to open that picture.

* For more information about selecting files, see your Microsoft Windows documentation.


NeoPaint Screen
NeoPaint's Screen

As you already may have discovered, your NeoPaint screen consists of a large workspace surrounded by several groups of tools, buttons and palettes. For information about a specific screen item, click the image below:

Menu Bar

The Menu Bar is a standard Windows component which appears at the top of most applications. NeoPaint's Menu Bar includes commands for opening, saving and modifying your pictures.

Speed Bar

The Speed Bar contains buttons that provide single click access to several often-used NeoPaint commands. The Speed Bar may be hidden or displayed by selecting the Show Speed Bar command from NeoPaint's Options menu.

Tool Bar

NeoPaint's Tool Bar contains a selection of painting and drawing tools. These tools are used to edit your pictures. The currently active tool will appear pressed with a shaded background. A new tool can be selected by clicking its icon with the mouse.

Some of the tools contain a small arrow symbol [image] in the lower right corner. This indicates that you may select additional sub-tools by clicking the tool a second time.

See Painting and Drawing Tools for detailed information about each of these tools.

Color Box

The Color Box displays the currently selected drawing colors and fill pattern. The appearance of the Color Box varies depending on which Drawing Tool is currently selected.

When using most Brush, Specialty and Line tools, the left side of the box indicates the color that will be applied when the left mouse button is pressed, while the right side indicates the color applied when the right mouse button is pressed.

When using Rectangle, Ellipse, Polygon and 3D tools, the outside border of the box represents the color of the object's border, while the interior shows the color and pattern currently selected to fill the object's interior.

When the Text Tool is active, the current font style and color are displayed. If an outline or shadow effect is selected that color will be displayed as well.

Click the [image] icon in the lower right corner of the Color Box to swap the left/fill with the right/line colors.

Option Bar

NeoPaint's Option Bar contains controls to adjust the size, shape and behavior of the currently selected Drawing Tool. The contents of the Option Bar change depending on which drawing tool is active.

Fill Selector

The Fill Selector's buttons allow you to choose whether the interior of an object will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern. Click on the Solid button [image] to fill objects with the current fill color. Click on the Hollow button [image] to draw transparent shapes. Click on the Solid Pattern button [image] to fill objects with the current fill pattern. Click on the Hollow Pattern button [image] to fill objects transparently with the current fill pattern. Alternate fill colors and patterns can be selected using the Color Palette and Pattern Palette. The currently selected fill color and pattern are displayed in the Color Box.

Pattern Palette

NeoPaint's Pattern Palette contains a selection of patterns and textures that may be used with the standard paintbrush or to fill the interior of objects drawn with the shape tools. Use the left mouse button to select a pattern. Use the Fill Selector to switch between solid and hollow fill patterns or restore the Solid Fill style.

You may edit individual patterns by selecting the Edit Patterns function from NeoPaint's Options menu. The Pattern Editor contains options for modifying, loading and saving custom patterns.

Color Palette

The Color Palette containing color choices is located in the bottom left section of the screen. When editing 16-bit (64,000 colors) or 24-bit (16 million colors) pictures, a color rainbow and color sliders appear in the palette. With 4-bit (16 color) and 8-bit (256 color) pictures, a selection of color blocks representing the image's "palette" will appear. One-bit (monochrome) pictures are limited to black and white.

You may select the color used to paint and fill objects by moving the cursor over the desired color and clicking the left mouse button. The border color (or second paint color when using brush, specialty, fill or line tools) may be selected by clicking the right mouse button. The selected colors will appear in the Color Box.

The color sliders that appear at the bottom of the Color Palette when editing a 16 or 24 bit picture can be used to fine-tune color selected from the rainbow. The three sliders represent the amount of Red, Green and Blue (RGB) pigment that comprise the selected color. You may use your mouse to move each slider to adjust the color. A preview of your changes is shown in the small box to the right of the sliders. The tiny "L" and "R" buttons below the preview box indicate which color is currently being affected by the sliders. When the "L" button is pressed, the Left or Fill color is affected, while a pressed "R" button indicates that the Right or Line color is affected. You may click on the raised button to make modifications to the other color.

With 16 and 256 color pictures, colors in the palette may be altered by selecting the Edit Palette option from NeoPaint's Picture menu. The Palette Editor contains options for modifying, loading and saving custom palettes.

Status Bar

The Status Bar contains data about the active picture as well as other information that changes depending on what task you are currently undertaking. If the Show Mouse Position item in NeoPaint's Options menu is active and the mouse pointer is inside a picture's Drawing Area, then information about the current mouse position will be displayed here. The Status Bar may be hidden or displayed by selecting the Show Status Bar command from NeoPaint's Options menu.

Drawing Area

The Drawing Area window occupies most of NeoPaint’s screen. This is the area where you will do the actual painting and editing of your pictures. You may open several drawing windows at one time, each containing a different picture. If your screen does not contain a Drawing Area, you can open one by selecting New or Open from NeoPaint's File menu.


Pattern Editor

NeoPaint's Pattern Editor contains options for modifying, loading and saving custom patterns.

For more information about a specific item, click the image above.

Pattern Palette

On the left side of the Pattern Editor window is a palette containing all of the patterns currently loaded into NeoPaint. Select a pattern to edit by clicking one of the boxes in the palette. An enlarged version of the selected pattern will appear in the Drawing Area.

Drawing Area

In the center of the Pattern Editor window, is the drawing area. To modify a pattern, first select one of the patterns from the palette to the left. Draw a pattern/texture by clicking on individual squares in the drawing area in the center of the window. Clicking on a white pixel will change it to black and clicking on black pixel will change it to white.

When drawing with a pattern, NeoPaint's Fill Selector determines how your pattern will be painted. When the Fill Selector's Solid Pattern button [image] is active, the selected pattern's white areas will remain white while its black areas will be painted with the selected Fill Color. When the Fill Selector's Hollow Pattern button [image] is active, the selected pattern's white areas will become transparent while its black areas will be painted with the selected Fill Color.

Preview Box

The Preview Box shows the effect your modifications have on the selected pattern when painted over a large area.

Menu Bar

The File menu allows you to load a previously saved set of patterns or to save your edited patterns to a file for future use. The Edit menu contains selections which allow you to Undo an operation and to Cut, Copy and Paste the current pattern. Functions under the Pattern menu let you Clear the pattern being edited, Invert (change all black pixels to white and white pixels to black), Flip, Rotate and Reset either the current or all the patterns to their original state.

Speed Bar

The Speed Bar contains buttons that provide single click access to several often used Editor commands.

Shift Tool

The Shift Tool allows you to move the entire pattern one pixel horizontally or vertically in either direction.

Command Buttons

The OK button in the lower-right corner saves your changes and returns you to the drawing screen. The Cancel button returns you to your drawing without saving your changes to the patterns.


Rectangle Tools

Precisely drawn rectangles and squares may be formed quickly using the Rectangle tools. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Rectangle icon. The border width of rectangles that you create with these tools is controlled by the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar. The Fill Selector allows you to choose whether the interior of a rectangle will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern.

	Standard Rectangle
	Gradient Rectangle
	Editable Rectangle
	Grid Tool
	Bevel Tool
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

Holding down the the Shift key while drawing will restrict rectangle objects to perfect squares.


Main Menu
Menu Commands

This section contains descriptions of various functions contained in the Menu Bar at the top of NeoPaint's screen. Select any of the topics listed below for more information on how to use the commands in the menu.

File
New...
Open...
Reopen
Browse...
Save
Save As...
Close
Close All
Delete/Recycle
-----------------------------------
Scan/Acquire Image	 	Select Source...
Acquire Image
Load from the Web...
-----------------------------------
Print...
-----------------------------------
Exit

Edit
Undo
Redo
Show Undo History
Undo On
----------------------------
Cut
Copy
Copy To...
Paste	As New Image
As New Selection
Inside Current Selection
Paste From...
Delete
----------------------------
Selection	Select All
Select None
Invert
Mask	Create from Selection
Invert
Delete
--------------------------------
Load...
Edit...
Save...
----------------------------
Show Clipboard

Picture
Clear...
Invert/Negative
Flip	 	Horizontal

Vertical
Rotate	 	Left 90°
Right 90°
180°
Any Angle...
Shear...
Resize/Resample...
Enlarge Canvas...
--------------------------------
Distort...
Crop
--------------------------------
Brightness/Contrast...
Color Balance	Red/Green/Blue (RGB)...
Cyan/Magenta/Yellow (CMY)...
---------------------------------------------
Gamma Correction...
Color Channels	Separate
Combine...
Edit Palette...
Convert To
--------------------------------
Special Effects...
--------------------------------
Picture Info...

Options
Show Speed Bar
Show Status Bar
Show Mouse Position
Show Preview
Show Stamp Pad
Show Picture Attributes
----------------------------------
Show Rulers
Ruler Settings...
----------------------------------
Snap to Grid
Show Grid
Grid Settings...
----------------------------------
Show Patterns
Edit Patterns...
----------------------------------
Set Preferences...

NeoGrab
Capture Full Screen
Capture Active Window
Capture Client Area
Capture Window Under Cursor
Capture Selected Object
Capture Rectangular Region
Capture Elliptical Region
Capture Freehand Region
--------------------------------------------
Multiple Captures
--------------------------------------------
NeoGrab Settings...

Window
Tile Horizontal
Tile Vertical
Cascade
---------------------
Duplicate

Help
Help Topics
----------------------------------------------------
Visit NeoSoft Corp. on the Internet...
----------------------------------------------------
Ordering Information
About NeoPaint...

In addition to the above items, there are three menu choices that appear only when editing certain types of pictures. These are described below:

Animation
Play/Stop
---------------------------
Insert Frame	Blank Frame
Copy of Current Frame
Picture on Disk...
Delete Frame
---------------------------
Global Settings...

Icon
Set Transparent Color...

Cursor
Set Transparent Color...
Set Hotspot...
Test


Text Editor

After using the Text tool to select a location in your picture, the Text Editor will appear, allowing you to enter and format text.

For more information about a specific item, click the image above.

Speed Bar

The Speed Bar contains buttons that provide single click access to several often used Editor commands. Click the [image] button to import text from an external file or click the [image] button to select special symbols (like © and ®) from the current font's character set. The remaining buttons allow you to access the Windows clipboard, change the text alignment and select font styles. Below the speed buttons, you will find a drop down list for changing the Font face and point Size of your text.

Editing Area

This is where you will enter the text that you wish to add to your picture. Click the mouse cursor in the editing area and begin typing.

Text Effects

Several special text effects can be selected from this drop down list. Available effects include Drop Shadow, Block Shadow, Outline Block and Normal. Selecting an effect other than Normal will enable the two slider bars on the right and bottom edges of the Text Effect preview box. Use these sliders to adjust the direction and size of the effect.

Options

Selecting the Antialias option will blend the text with the background of your picture. This works best with 16 million color pictures and produces smoother, less jagged text. The antialias effect won't appear until the text is permanently placed onto your picture.

The Word Wrap option allows you to control the location of line breaks and automatically formats text to fit in a specific rectangular space. When placing wrapped text, you may reformat it by dragging the handles which appear as small boxes at the corners of the text.

Command Buttons

Select the Show Font in Editor button to preview the selected font and size as you enter text into the Editing Area.

The OK button in the lower-right corner saves your text and returns you to the NeoPaint screen. The text will appear on your picture at the location that you specified, ready for final positioning. See Text Tool for more information on positioning text.

The Cancel button returns you to the NeoPaint screen without adding text to your picture.


Ellipse Tools

Precisely drawn circles and ovals may be formed quickly using the Ellipse tools. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Ellipse icon. The border width of the ellipse you create with these tools is controlled by the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar. The Fill Selector allows you to choose whether the interior of an ellipse will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern.

	Standard Ellipse
	Gradient Ellipse
	Editable Ellipse
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

Holding down the the Shift key while drawing will restrict ellipse objects to perfect circles.


Polygon Tools

Drawing multi-sided figures is greatly simplified by using NeoPaint's Polygon tools. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Polygon icon. The border width of shapes that you create with these tools is controlled by the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar. The Fill Selector allows you to choose whether the interior of a shape will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern.

	Standard Polygon
	Freehand Polygon
	Editable Polygon
	Editable Freehand Polygon
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

Holding down the Shift key while drawing polygons will cause the line being drawn to snap to angles in 45° increments.


3D Tools

Use NeoPaint's 3D tools to construct simple or elaborate three-dimensional objects. Objects made with these tools may be rotated in three dimensions and moved prior to final placement on your picture. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the 3D tool icon. The border width of shapes that you create with these tools is controlled by the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar. The Fill Selector allows you to choose whether the interior of a shape will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern.

	3D Cube
	3D Pyramid
	3D Polygon
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

With a little experimentation, you can construct more complex 3D figures by combining multiple blocks, pyramids and other objects. For instance, a house might be made of a cube, topped by a pyramid, with windows and doors drawn in. Shading may be added to enhance the effect using NeoPaint's Fill tools.


Brush Tool

The Brush tool is used for most types of freehand painting. The Brush may be used either by clicking on specific points, or by dragging the mouse to produce a painted stoke. The left mouse button will paint with the color on the left side of NeoPaint's Color Box. The right mouse button will paint with the color on the right side of the Color Box. A pattern may be selected from the Pattern Palette to paint with a textured effect. The size, shape and softness of the brush can be modified using the controls on the Option Bar.

You can draw straight lines using the Brush tool by holding down the Alt key prior to clicking one of the mouse buttons. Drag the cursor to the point where the line should end before releasing the mouse button and the Alt key. A straight line connecting these two points will be drawn using the current Brush settings.

When using the Brush tool for precise pixel level editing (especially in zoom mode), make sure that you set the Size and Edge controls on the Option Bar to their lowest settings (one).


Specialty Tools

NeoPaint's Specialty Tools allow you to paint with realistic natural media, touch up photographs and fine tune images. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Highlighter icon. The size and behavior of the selected Specialty Tool is controlled by the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.

	Highlighter/Magic Marker
	Charcoal Pencil
	Crayon
	Chalk
	Watercolor Brush
	Oil Brush
	Custom Brush
	Quill Pen
	Sharpen Tool
	Soften Tool
	Smudge Tool
	Sponge Tool
	Blend Tool
	Clone Tool
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

The effect produced using the Highlighter, Watercolor, Oil, Soften, Sharpen and Smudge to a large extent tools will depend on the active color palette. NeoPaint tries to find the best matches available in the current palette to produce smooth transitions between colors. Although 16-million color and gray scale palettes usually work well, some palettes (especially those limited to 16 colors) do not have enough intermediate shades to produce smooth gradations. If you aren’t getting the effect that you intended, you might experiment with loading a different palette (see Palette Editor) or using the Convert To command in the Picture menu to increase the number of available colors.


Line Tools

Use NeoPaint's Line tools to easily draw various types of straight and curved lines. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Line icon. The width of lines is controlled by the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar.

	Straight Line
	Radiant Line
	Bezier Line
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

Holding down the the Shift key while drawing lines will cause the line to snap to angles in 45° increments.


Palette Editor

NeoPaint's Palette Editor contains options for modifying, loading and saving custom sets of colors called a palette. Palettes are only required for 16 and 256 color pictures so if you're working on a 16 million color or black and white picture you won't have access to the Palette Editor. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Color Selector

The left side of the Palette Editor contains a selection of colors that are associated with the current picture. Select a color to modify by clicking one of the boxes in the palette. The Red, Green, Blue and Brightness sliders on the right will change to reflect the color values that comprise the selected color.

Color Sliders

Four sliders representing the value of each of three tints (RGB) plus the brightness level are displayed in the center of the Palette Editor. You may use your mouse to modify the selected color by change the position of each slider. More precise adjustments can be made by entering a number (0-255) into the edit field next to each slider. The top three sliders represent the amount of Red, Green and Blue (RGB) pigment that comprise the selected color. The Brightness slider can be used to adjust all three color sliders simultaneously to lighten or darken the selected color. A preview showing the effects of your changes to the selected color appears at the top of the editing screen.

NeoPaint uses the RGB color model to control color balance and brightness. This is the same model used on color monitors and expresses each color as combination of Red, Green and Blue values. The table below shows how to set the three color sliders to produce common pure colors. Millions of additional color shades can be produced by making adjustments to the sliders.

Color	Red Slider	Green Slider	Blue Slider
Red	255	0	0
Green	0	255	0
Blue	0	0	255
Yellow	255	255	0
Magenta	255	0	255
Cyan	0	255	255
Black	0	0	0
White	255	255	255
Preview Box

The Preview Box shows the effect your modifications have on the selected color. The Index is the position of the selected color in the palette. The Used value indicates how many pixels in the current picture contain the selected color. The RGB field contains the selected color's Red, Green and Blue values expressed as a Windows Color Ref (useful if you're a programmer). Similarly, the HTML field contains the selected color in hexadecimal format as used by many HTML editors.

Menu Bar

The File menu allows you to load a previously saved color palette (or a palette used by another image), or to save your edited palette for future use. The Edit menu contains selections which allow you to Undo an operation or to rearrange the colors on the palette using the Cut, Copy and Paste functions.

The Color menu contains options allowing you to reset and optimize the palette. Select the Reset option to restore either the currently selected or all palette colors to their original values. The Add Windows Colors option can be used with 256 color palettes to insert the standard Windows colors into the current palette. The Add Color Gradient option allows you to select any two palette colors and automatically fill in the shades in between. The Show Unused Palette Entries option will flag colors (if any) in the palette that are not used in the current picture, and Show Duplicate Colors can be used to flag colors (if any) that appear more than once in the current palette.

Speed Bar

The Speed Bar contains buttons that provide single click access to several often used Editor commands.

Command Buttons

The OK button in the lower-right corner saves your changes, updates your picture and returns you to the NeoPaint screen. The Cancel button returns you to your drawing without saving your changes to the palette.


Eraser Tools

NeoPaint includes two types of Eraser tools - Standard and Color. You may choose between the tools by clicking a second time on the Eraser icon. The size of the Eraser is controlled by the Size Selector box on NeoPaint's Option Bar.

	Standard Eraser
	Color Eraser
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.


Text Tool

A variety of text styles and fonts may be placed within your picture using the Text Tool. Click the location in the picture where you would like the text to appear. For larger blocks of text, you can use the mouse to drag out a frame to contain the text. Following either of these operations, NeoPaint's Text Editor will be displayed allowing you to enter and format your text.

After finishing with the Text Editor, text will be ready for positioning. At this point, you may move the text by positioning your mouse cursor in the center of the text box. After the cursor changes to a small hand,.hold down the left mouse button and drag the text to a new location and release the mouse button.

If you enabled the Text Editor's Word Wrap feature, you may modify the shape of the text box by using the mouse to drag the handles which appear as small squares at the corners of the text box. When your mouse is properly positioned over one of these handles, the cursor will change to a pointing hand. Click the left mouse button and drag the handle to a new position. As you move a handle, the text box will stretch or shrink. When you are satisfied with the new shape, release the mouse button and the text will be reformatted to fit.

If you need to make changes to the text, click the [image] button on the Option Bar. You also may change the font, size, style and alignment of the text using the controls on the Option Bar.

When you are satisfied with the position and appearance of the text, click the right mouse button or press the Enter key to affix the text to your picture. You may cancel the text placement by pressing the Esc key.

Remember, if you accidentally place the text in the wrong spot, use the Undo command to restore the picture.


Zoom Tool

When it comes time to touch up the details in your picture, you may want to get a closer look at the part of the image being modified. You can exercise precise, pixel level control by switching into the Zoom editing mode. To do this, click on the Zoom icon. Move your cursor near the area which you wish to enlarge. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the mouse to surround the area. A marquee will appear showing the boundary of the area selected. When you have enclosed the desired area, release the mouse button. Additionally, you can zoom in or out one magnification level at a time by clicking the left or right mouse buttons respectively.

You also can change the magnification of your picture by adjusting the zoom slider control that appears on the Option Bar when the Zoom tool is active. To return to the actual size (1:1) view of your picture, click the [image] button next to the zoom slider control.

The magnification level of your picture also can be adjusted using the zoom slider control on the Preview Window. The Preview Window also displays a thumbnail view of your picture.


Color Sampler

The Color Sampler may be used to select a color directly from the surface of a picture, rather than from the palette. This feature is particularly handy when working with 16-million color, 256 color or gray scale images, where it is either difficult to distinguish between individual shades, or when it saves time over searching through the palette.

To use the Color Sampler, place the cursor directly over the desired color in your picture. You should be able to spot the color at the center of the cursor's cross hairs. The color you choose will become the selected color in the Color Box. Press the left mouse button to choose a new fill color or the right to choose a new line color.

The Color Sampler also can be temporarily activated when using other tools by pressing and holding down the Ctrl key.


Fill Tools

NeoPaint’s Fill tools are used to fill a large, similar area with a color, pattern, etc.

	Standard Fill
	Tile Fill
	Gradient Fill
	Color Replacement Fill
For more information about a specific tool, click its icon above.

To broaden the scope of the colors included within the fill area, increase the value of the Color Tolerance control on the Option Bar. A setting of zero will select only those pixels that exactly match the color you clicked. Higher settings will expand the selection to include pixels with colors that fall within the tolerance range.

The area to be filled must be surrounded with a border of another color. Any gaps (even a single pixel) will allow the fill color to leak out. Should you inadvertently fill an area larger than you intended, use the Undo command to remove the fill, then examine the border for gaps (with the Zoom tool if needed) and patch the gap before filling again.


Airbrush Tool

The Airbrush tool is useful for subtle shading, blending and producing lines with indistinct edges. The Flow Rate control on the Option Bar dictates how quickly paint flows from the airbrush. A slower Flow Rate will give you more control, while a faster rate is better for bold strokes. Like the Brush and Specialty tools, the size and shape of the area covered can be adjusted using the controls on the Option Bar.

The Airbrush can be used by clicking once in a particular area, or by dragging the mouse while holding down the left or right mouse button. Just like a real airbrush or spray can, the longer you hold the tool over a particular area, the more densely the paint will build up on the screen.

Selecting the Fade style on the Option Bar will cause the paint color to gradually shift from the color on the left side of the Color Box to the color on the right side of the Color Box. (Or, if using the right mouse button, from the right color to the left color.) The speed at which the fade effect occurs depends on the Flow Rate and the number of intermediate shades available in the current palette.


Stamp Tool

Use the Stamp tool to “stamp” clip art onto your picture just like a rubber stamp. You also may drag the stamp cursor like a brush to paint with a stamp image. A selection of stamps may be viewed using NeoPaint’s Stamp Pad which can be opened from the Options menu, or by clicking the [image] icon on the Option Bar while the Stamp tool is active. Stamp images also can be rotated in 1° increments using the Rotate Stamp control on the Option Bar.


Rounded Rectangle Tool

Use the Rounded Rectangle tool to create rectangles and squares with rounded corners. To use this tool, position the cursor at the point in your picture where the top left corner of your shape will be located. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to the location where you would like the opposite corner. When your rectangle reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button.

To create a Rounded Rectangle without a border, set the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar to zero. The Fill Selector allows you to choose whether the interior of a rectangle will be filled with a solid color, hollow, solid pattern or transparent pattern.

Holding down the the Shift key while drawing will restrict rectangle objects to perfect squares.


File: Close All
If you have several image windows loaded into NeoPaint, you may close them all at once by using the Close All command. You will be prompted to save any modifications you have made before NeoPaint clears the workspace.


File: Acquire Image
The Acquire command provides access to most types of Twain compatible devices installed on your computer. Twain is an industry standard interface for use with scanners, digital cameras, frame grabbers, etc. NeoPaint's Acquire command interfaces directly with the software and driver included with your Twain device. Therefore, the interface that you will use to interact with your Twain device will vary depending on its type, model and manufacturer. For information about using your scanner, digital camera, etc., refer to that device's documentation. Once you have successfully processed an image with your Twain device, it will be loaded automatically into NeoPaint for editing.

If you have more than one Twain device installed, it's generally a good idea to use the Select Source command prior to the Acquire command to make sure that you have selected the correct device.


File: Reopen
This menu option contains a list of the most recently opened picture files. To load one of these pictures, click on its file name.


File: New
File: New Picture

Selecting this command will open a blank, untitled picture. NeoPaint will suggest a default picture type, size and color depth for your new image, which you may override by changing the New Picture settings. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Picture Type

Select the type of new picture that you would like to create from the drop down list. Picture types supported by NeoPaint include:

Image/Bitmap	Standard picture type used for photographs, art work, desktop publishing, etc.
Animated GIF	Animation format used by web site designers.
NeoBook Cartoon	Animation format used by NeoSoft's NeoBook multimedia authoring tool.
NeoPaint Stamp	Clip Art picture used by NeoPaint's Stamp Pad tool.
Windows Icon	Windows Icon (ICO) format.
Windows Cursor	Windows Cursor (CUR) format.
Transparent Web Image	Picture that contains transparency information. Used for web site design, presentations, etc. GIF/PNG format.
Picture Size

Here you will find a selection of sizes which are appropriate for the Picture Type that you have chosen. You may select from a list of preset sizes or manually enter a custom size for the new picture. You can change the unit of measurement used to specify the custom size by clicking on the measurement indicator (Pixels) to the right of the custom size fields.

The [image] and [image] buttons can be used to add and remove choices from the list of preset sizes. To add a new size, enter the desired dimensions into the custom size fields and click [image]. To remove a size, select it from the list and click [image].

Note: Only a few specific sizes are allowed for Windows Icon and Cursor picture types.

Number of Colors

Specify the number of colors you would like to use with the new picture. The number of color choices available depends on the Picture Type that you have selected. For example, the Animated GIF and Window's Icon formats do not support more than 256 colors.

The number of colors that you select here depends on what type of picture you are going to create, the purpose of the picture and where that picture ultimately will be used. For a picture that is to be included in a black and white desktop publishing project, your best choice probably would be black and white or gray scale. On the other hand, for a picture that will appear on a web site, you most likely would select 16 or 256 colors.

Background/Transparent Color

This is the color that is used for the surface or background of the new picture. This is also the color that will be used by NeoPaint's Eraser tool and as the transparent color for clippings created with the Selection tools. Possible background colors include: White, Black, Red, Green, Blue, Brush Color and Line Color. The Brush and Line color choices allow you to change the background color on-the-fly by selecting colors from the picture's Color Palette.

A picture's background color may be changed at any time by selecting Picture Info from NeoPaint's Picture menu. Changing the background color does NOT modify the picture, but the new color will become the background for the next Erase or Selection action.

For Window's Icon and Cursor Picture Types, this option is used instead to specify a Transparent Color. Icons and cursors are different from other picture types in that they include transparent or see-through areas. These areas are displayed in NeoPaint as the special transparent color that you specify here. The color you select here should be unique and not one of the colors from the picture's palette. The transparent color may be changed at any time by selecting Picture Info from NeoPaint's Picture menu.

Resolution/dpi

These values reflect the picture's internal resolution in dots (pixels) per inch (dpi). NeoPaint uses these settings to calibrate the on-screen rulers, calculate mouse coordinates and to adjust the picture for printing. Most computer monitors display images at 96 dpi. Entering this value into both the Horizontal and Vertical fields will enable you to create a picture on the screen that will be very close in size to the printed picture.

Command Buttons

Check the Default button to save the current New Picture settings. The next time you create a new picture, these settings already will be selected. This can be a great time saver if you most often create pictures of the same size and number of colors.

The OK button in the lower-right corner opens a new picture of the specified type and returns you to the main NeoPaint screen. The Cancel button returns you to NeoPaint without opening a new picture.


File: Close
This command Closes the active picture window. If you have made any modifications to the picture, NeoPaint will ask if you wish to save these changes before closing the window.


File: Save As
Save As

The Save As command displays a standard Windows File Selector* allowing you to:

Assign a name to a new, untitled picture you have just created.

Save a modified picture under a different name, preserving the original file.

Save a copy of a picture in a different file format.

To save an edited image using a new file name, all you need to do is enter a new unique name in the File Selector's File Name field and click OK. If you want to store the new file in a different drive or folder, you may use the File Selectors controls* to switch to the new location prior to clicking the OK button.

The Save as Type list box at the bottom of the File Selector allows you to save your work in a different file format. The number and type of file formats available depends on the type of picture you are saving. Some formats also have variants that can be chosen from the Sub Format list box. The best format for your picture depends on a number of criteria, including: size restrictions, number of colors, the picture's purpose, personal preference, etc.

If you have selected either JPEG or GIF file formats, the Optimize button to the right of the Sub Format list box will become enabled. This button provides access to a special optimization function that will allow you to influence the file size and quality of the saved picture.

* For more information about saving files, see your Microsoft Windows documentation.


File: Save
The Save command will write your picture to disk. Any changes you have made to the picture will overwrite the original copy stored in the file. If you wish to save both the original file as well as your latest modified copy, you should use the Save As command instead.


File: Load Image from Web

The Load from the Web command allows you to load a NeoPaint compatible picture file over the Internet* by entering a valid URL. For example, you can load a NeoPaint logo from NeoSoft Corp's web site by entering the following URL into the Load from the Web dialog box:

http://www.neosoftware.com/npwlogo.gif

*A valid Internet account is required to use this command.


File: Print
Print

NeoPaint's Print command allows you to output the active picture to your printer. The Print dialog box includes numerous options to control how your picture will appear when printed. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Print Preview

This window displays a preview of your picture as it will appear when it's printed. Rulers along the left and top of the window are provided to help you place and size your picture on the page.

You can move your picture to a different location on the page by positioning the mouse cursor in the center of the picture preview. The cursor will change to an open hand. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the picture to a new location and release. You also can change the position of your picture using the Picture Position controls.

You can change the printed size of your picture by using the mouse to drag the handles, which appear as small boxes at the corners of the picture preview. When your mouse is properly positioned over one of these handles, the cursor will change to a pointing hand. Press down on the left mouse button and drag the handle to a new position. As you move a handle, the picture preview will stretch or shrink. You also can change the printed size of your picture using the Picture Size controls.

click the [image] button in the upper left corner of the Preview Window to change the unit of measurement used by the rulers and other controls. You can choose pixels, inches, centimeters or points.

Picture Position

These controls allow you to precisely control the placement of your picture on the printed page. Select the Center on Page option to automatically center your picture on the page or select the Custom option to enter exact coordinates.

Picture Size

These options allow you to precisely control the width and height of your picture on the printed page.

The Auto Size using Ruler Settings option will calculate the printout size using your picture's resolution/dpi (dots per inch) and the dpi of the selected printer. If your picture contains a valid dpi setting, then this option can be used to insure that your printout closely matches what you see on the screen. If the picture's dpi setting is not valid, then using this option can result in a print out that is either too small, too large or distorted.

The Exact Size (1:1) option simply maps the picture pixel for pixel to the selected printer without regard for dpi settings. This can be useful when printing pictures that need to be output at an exact 1:1 ratio. However, when printing small pictures on a high resolution (300+ dpi) printer, this will result in an extremely small image.

Using the Stretch to Fit Page option will stretch the picture to the maximum printable area of the selected paper type. This works well for most high resolution images. Stretching low resolution, less detailed images can result in some degradation of the image.

The Custom option allows you to enter arbitrary width and height settings to precisely control the size of your printed picture. Select the Maintain Aspect Ratio option to size the picture without distorting it.

Changing a picture's size and position here does not affect the picture file, only how it is printed.

Copies

Enter the number of copies (1-99) you would like printed.

Command Buttons

Clicking the Printer/Paper Setup button provides you with options for changing the size and orientation of the paper, changing printer specific settings and even selecting a new printer.

Selecting the [image] button will instruct NeoPaint to add crop and registration marks to your printout. These are helpful for trimming a finished project or lining up color separations.

When the [image] button is selected, NeoPaint will add the picture's file name and today's date to your printout.

Selecting the [image] button will print a reverse image (negative) of your picture.

The [image] button will print your picture as a CMYK color separation. It will print four separate images one for each primary printing color - Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black. Also, be sure to select the crop/registration marks button so that your separations can be lined up easily.

Once you have finished configuring the settings for your picture, click the Print button in the lower-right corner to begin printing. The Cancel button returns you to NeoPaint without printing.


File: Exit
The Exit command will shut down NeoPaint and return you to Windows. If any pictures are still open in which edits have taken place, NeoPaint will give you an opportunity to Save the changes before these pictures are closed.


Edit: Undo
Undo

Selecting the Undo command will restore the active picture to the state it was in prior to your most recent modification. Use this command when you make a mistake such as using the wrong tool, erasing more than you meant, etc.

NeoPaint for Windows includes a powerful multi-level undo/redo feature that can keep track of multiple changes made to your pictures. The state of the undo buffer can be viewed by selecting the Show Undo History command from the Edit menu.

The Undo History window, which can remain open while you work, displays all available undo choices for the active picture. Each open picture has its own Undo History. The total number of items that can be stored here depends on the amount of available memory and the settings you specified in NeoPaint's Preferences dialog box. Each item in the list represents an edit made to your picture. The edits are listed in chronological order with the most recent ones at the bottom of the list. The history item that matches the current state of your picture will appear highlighted - normally this will be the last item in the list.

You may jump backward to one of your picture's previous states by clicking on one of the items in the history list. Your picture will change to reflect its state at that point in history. If history items exist ahead of your current location, you also may click any of those items to move forward or "redo" those edits. WARNING: Once you go backwards to a previous state and then make changes, you will loose all history items that existed after that point. (You can go back in time, but once you corrupt the time line, the future as you knew it will no longer exist.)

The Undo feature can be turned off or on at any time by clicking the [image] button located in the upper right of the Undo History window. It sometimes can be beneficial to temporarily turn off the Undo feature when making a series of minor changes to a large image. This will speed up the process as you will not have to wait for NeoPaint to update the undo buffer after each edit. When finished with the changes, the Undo feature can be turned on again.

If you no longer need the current contents of the Undo History, you can click the [image] button and free up some memory by purging those unneeded items.

The availability the Undo/Redo commands is subject to memory limitations and the restrictions specified in the Preferences dialog box.


Edit: Redo
Selecting the Redo command will move forward one step in the active picture's Undo History, restoring the picture to the state it was in prior to the last Undo command. See Undo for more information.


Edit: Show Undo History
Select the Show Undo History command to display the Undo History window. This window displays a list of available undo/redo choices for the active picture. See Undo for more information.


Edit: Cut
After selecting an area with one of NeoPaint's Selection Tools, you may use this command to Cut the area from your picture and place it onto the Windows Clipboard. If desired, you may use the Paste command to insert the selection into another open NeoPaint picture or into another Windows application.


Edit: Copy
After selecting an area with one of NeoPaint's Selection Tools, you may use this command to Copy the area onto the Windows Clipboard. If desired, you may use the Paste command to insert the selection into another open NeoPaint picture or into another Windows application.


Edit: Copy To
After selecting an area with one of NeoPaint's Selection Tools, you may use the Copy To command to save the area to a file. A Windows File Selector will appear prompting you to select a destination folder and enter a name for the file. See Save As for more information about saving files.


Edit: Paste As New Image
The Paste As New Image command takes the contents of the Windows Clipboard and places it into a new picture window ready for editing. The Clipboard must contain a bitmap image, created by NeoPaint or another compatible program, in order for this command to work.


Edit: Paste From
You may use the Paste From command to insert the contents of a disk-based image file into the active picture. The inserted picture becomes an active selection and can be moved, stretched, etc. before final placement. For more information about loading files from disk, see the Open command.


Edit: Delete
Choosing the Delete command will remove the current selection area (created with one of the Selection Tools) from the active picture.


Edit: Show Clipboard
The Show Clipboard command displays the Windows Clipboard Viewer allowing you to view the current contents of the clipboard.


Picture: Clear
The Clear command will fill the entire active picture or current selection with the Background Color. The Clear dialog box also provides an opportunity to change the Background Color used for the fill.


Picture: Crop
The Crop command allows you to extract a rectangular area from a larger picture, trimming away the unwanted portions. Use any of the Selection Tools to surround the area you wish to retain, then select the Crop command and the portion of the picture outside the selected area will be discarded.


Picture: Enlarge Canvas
To add more editing space or a border around the edge of a picture, use the Enlarge Canvas command. Select a new size from the list of presets or manually enter a custom size. (See the Picture Size instructions under Resize/Resample for more information about selecting sizes.) The Placement of Existing Image can be set to Top Left or Center, depending on where you want to add the extra space.


Picture: Invert
The Invert/Negative command will create a negative version of the current picture or selection. Depending on the colors available, each pixel will be changed to its RGB opposite (black will become white, red will become blue-green, etc.). The palette (if the picture consists of 16 or 256 colors) will not be changed by this function.


File: Select Source
The Select Source command provides you with a list of available Twain devices (scanners, digital cameras, etc.) installed on your computer. If you have more than one such device installed, then it's generally a good idea to use this command prior to the Acquire command to make sure that you have selected the correct device.


Edit: Paste As New Selection
The Paste As New Selection command inserts a copy of the image stored on the Windows Clipboard (see Cut and Copy) into the active picture. The pasted selection will appear surrounded by a dotted outline or marquee. You may reposition the selection by positioning the mouse cursor in the center of the pasted area. The mouse cursor will change to a small hand when the cursor is over the area to be moved. At this point, you may hold down the left mouse button and drag the selection to a new location.

At any time between pasting the selection and switching to another drawing tool, the pasted area may be Flipped, Inverted, Rotated, or manipulated with other Special Effects.


Edit: Paste Inside Current Selection
After selecting an area with one of NeoPaint's Selection Tools, you can use the Paste Inside Current Selection command to add the contents of the Windows Clipboard to an existing selection area. The clipboard image will be combined with the existing selection. If the clipboard image is larger than the existing selection area, it will be trimmed to fit within the selection boundary.


Edit: Select All
Use the Selection/Select All command to place the entire active picture into a selection. This is useful when you want to copy an entire picture to the Windows Clipboard.


Edit: Select None
Use the Selection/Select None command to deactivate the current selection. The selection will become a permanent part of the picture. If needed, you can use the Undo command to restore the picture to its previous state.

An active selection also can be deactivated by clicking the right mouse button or by choosing another drawing tool.


Edit: Invert Selection
The Selection/Invert command inverts the current selection area. The original selection area is unselected and the area previously outside the selection boundary becomes the new selection.


Picture: Flip Horizontal
The current picture or selected area can be flipped left to right using the Flip/Horizontal command.


Picture: Flip Vertical
The current picture or selected area can be flipped top to bottom using the Flip/Vertical command.


Picture: Left 90°
The Rotate/Left 90° command rotates the selected area (or the whole picture if no area is selected) to the left 90°.


Picture: Right 90°
The Rotate/Right 90° command rotates the selected area (or the whole picture if no area is selected) to the right 90°.


Picture: 180°
The Rotate/180° command rotates the selected area (or the whole picture if no area is selected) to the 180° producing an upside down version of the image.


Picture: Any Angle
The Rotate/Any Angle command allows you to specify a precise rotation angle for the current picture or selection area in one degree increments. A dialog box will appear containing a slider and an edit control for entering the desired angle. A negative angle will rotate to the left, and a positive angle will rotate to the right. A small preview window also is available to guide you in choosing the correct angle. When you are satisfied with your choice, click the Apply button to perform the rotation.


Picture: Distort
The Distort command can be used to stretch and add perspective to a selected area using one of the Selection Tools. After choosing this command, small handles will appear at the corners of the selection area and the Distortion Editor (see Polygon Editor) will appear, allowing you to make changes to the selection boundary. Use your mouse to drag each handle in the direction you want to stretch that part of the image. If you need another handle at a certain spot, click on the dotted outline marquee at that point to add a new handle. Once you have adjusted the area to your satisfaction, click on the OK button in the command’s dialog box.


Picture: Resize/Resample
Resize / Resample

You may stretch or shrink the size of your picture, or a selected area, using the Resize/Resample command. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Picture Size

Here is where you can enter the new dimensions of your picture or selection. You may select from a list of preset sizes or manually enter a custom size. (The first number represents the new width and the second represents the new height of the picture.) You can change the unit of measurement used to specify the custom size, by clicking the measurement indicator (Pixels) to the right of the custom size fields.

The [image] and [image] buttons can be used to add and remove choices from the list of preset sizes. To add a new size, enter the desired dimensions in the custom size fields and click [image]. To remove a size, select it from the list and click [image].

The Maintain Aspect Ratio check box helps prevent the picture from becoming distorted. When this box is checked, NeoPaint will come as close as possible to the custom size specified without stretching the picture out of shape.

Resize Method

Two resizing methods are available. The Stretch option simply expands the picture by enlarging some of the image's pixels. The Resample option, on the other hand, sizes the picture using interpolation and averaging to produce a much higher quality image.

Command Buttons

If you need to make a few calculations while mulling over a new size for your picture, you can click the [image] button to display the Windows Calculator utility.

The OK button in the lower-right corner performs the Resize/Resample operation and returns you to the main NeoPaint screen. The Cancel button returns you to NeoPaint without altering the picture or selection.


Picture: Shear
The Shear command allows you to distort the current picture or selection area into the shape of a parallelogram. A dialog box will appear containing a slider and an edit control for entering the desired shear angle (-45° to 45°). A negative angle will shear to the left or top, and a positive angle will shear to the right or bottom. The direction of the shear can be changed by clicking the Horizontal (left/right) or Vertical (top/bottom) buttons. A small preview window is also available to guide you in choosing the correct angle. When you are satisfied with your choice, click the Apply button to perform the shear effect.


Picture: Brightness/Contrast
The Brightness/Contrast command allows you to brighten or darken the active picture or selected area, or to adjust the luminance (contrast) of a picture or selection. The command's dialog box provides two slider controls, one for Brightness and one for Contrast, to perform these adjustments. Drag the Brightness slider to the left to darken the picture or drag it to the right to lighten the picture. Similarly, you can drag the Contrast slider to the left to decrease the contrast or to the right to increase the contrast. Two small preview windows are provided to guide you in choosing the correct settings. When you are satisfied with your choices, click the Apply button to apply them to your picture or selection.


Picture: Color Balance
Color Balance

You can use the Color Balance commands to change the intensity of color in an entire picture or a selected area. NeoPaint provides options for adjusting color balance using both RGB (red, green and blue) and CMY (cyan, magenta and yellow) models. All colors in the picture can be modified at the same time by adjusting the levels of these basic colors. This is quite useful for making subtle adjustments to scanned photographs, artwork, etc.

You may change the individual color levels by dragging the slider controls. For example, to increase amount of red in the picture, drag the Red slider to the right. To decrease the amount of red, drag the slider to the left. To leave a color level alone, position the slider on zero. The Reset buttons [image] can be used to clear any adjustments made to one of the sliders. You also can enter a value with the keyboard by clicking on the edit control to the right of each slider. A negative value will decrease the color level and a positive value will increase it.

The original picture and the effects of your changes are shown in the Before and After preview windows at the top of the dialog box. Click the [image] button to shrink the preview image so that it fits within the preview window, or click the [image] button to display the preview image actual size. If needed, you may move the preview to a different portion of the picture using the scroll bars or by dragging its center with the mouse.

Click the Apply button to save your changes. Choose the Cancel button to return to your picture without saving the color changes you have made.

For most applications, you will usually only need to make very fine adjustments to a picture's overall color balance. For 16 and 256 color pictures, you can adjust individual palette colors using the Picture menu's Edit Palette command.


Picture: Gamma Correction
The Gamma Correction command is used to adjust the intensity of colors in a picture to compensate for any differences between your computer's monitor and the original equipment used to create the image. Gamma is the value that is used to calculate this adjustment. Enter the desired value into the Gamma Value field. The Before and After preview windows at the top of the dialog box will help you choose an appropriate value. For most monitors, the gamma value should be in the range of 2.2 to 2.5. When you are satisfied with your choice, click the Apply button to apply the correction factor to your picture.


Picture: Color Channels
The Color Channel/Separate command allows you to separate a picture into individual color planes. Separation methods include RGB (red, green and blue planes), CMY (cyan, magenta and yellow planes) and CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow and black planes). When separated, each plane is opened as a individual grayscale picture. These pictures may be saved as they are or edited and recombined using the Color Channel/Combine command described below.

The Color Channel/Combine command is the counterpart to the Separate command. Although primarily intended for combining color planes created with the Separate command, this function also can be used to combine any group of pictures. This can be used to create some very unusual layering effects. Before using this command, you must first open all of the pictures you wish to combine.


Picture: Convert
Convert To

The commands found under the Convert To sub menu allow you to increase or decrease the number of colors (color depth) in the active picture. If you select a color depth that is lower than the picture's current color depth, a dialog box similar to the one below will prompt you for some additional information. When increasing the number of colors, no additional steps are necessary and the conversion will take place immediately. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Preview

Both the original picture and an approximation of the converted version are shown in the Before and After preview windows at the top of the dialog box. Click the [image] button to shrink the preview image so that it fits within the preview window, or click the [image] button to display the preview image actual size. If needed, you may move the preview to a different portion of the picture using the scroll bars or by dragging its center with the mouse.

Conversion Palette*

When converting down to 256 or 16 colors, these options will allow you to control how a picture's existing colors are converted. The different palette options are described below:

Optimized	Use this option to automatically build an optimized conversion palette containing the picture's most often used colors. Selecting the Include Windows Colors option sets aside room in the palette for the 20 standard Windows colors - the remaining colors will be optimized. With most types of images, this option produces excellent results.
Internet/Web	When converting to 256 colors, this option employs a standard palette used by the Internet Explorer® and Netscape Navigator® web browsers. This is a good choice when converting a picture for display on your web page.
Standard Windows	When converting to 256 colors, this option uses a generic palette containing a full spectrum of colors including 20 standard Windows colors. For 16 color conversion, the palette consists of 16 default Windows colors.
Custom	This option allows you to specify a custom palette for use in the conversion process. Palettes can be loaded from NeoPaint PAL files (created with the Palette Editor) or extracted from an existing picture. Click the [image] button to load a palette.
*When converting down to 2 colors, the Conversion Palette options will not be available since that mode does not support palettes.

Conversion Method

These options allow you to apply dithering to your picture during the conversion. When converting a high resolution picture down to 2 or 16 colors, dithering can help make up for the loss of image detail that occurs with such a dramatic reduction in color. By adding subtle shading and cross hatching, dithering can give the impression that the picture contains more colors than it actually does. You may choose between several dithering methods using the drop down list. The difference between the dither methods is subtle and the best choice will vary from picture to picture. The best way to choose between dither methods is by experimentation.

For many conversions, the best quality may be achieved by selecting the Match to Nearest Solid Color option. As the name implies, this option will change each color in the picture to the one in the palette that is the closest match. When converting to an optimized 256 color palette this will often yield better results than using one of the dither methods.

Command Buttons

The OK button will convert the active picture using the parameters that you specified and return you to the main NeoPaint screen. The Cancel button returns you to NeoPaint without altering the picture.


Picture: Special Effects
Special Effects

NeoPaint includes a large assortment of special effects and filters that allow you to alter a selected area or an entire picture. For information about a specific item, click the image below:

Preview

The original picture and an approximation of the modified version are shown in the Before and After preview windows at the top of the dialog box. Click the [image] button to shrink the preview image so that it fits within the preview window, or click the [image] button to display the preview image actual size. If needed, you may move the preview to a different portion of the picture using the scroll bars or by dragging its center with the mouse.

After selecting an Effect Type, you must click the Update Preview button to apply the effect to the After preview image.

Effect Type

Each of NeoPaint's effects are listed here, with similar effects organized into groups. Making a selection from the list will update the Effect Options panel to include any controls necessary to adjust the behavior of that effect. (Some effects do not have options.) Once the desired effect has been selected and its options adjusted to your satisfaction, click the Update Preview button to view the results. Once you are satisfied with the effect, click the Apply button to apply it to your entire picture or selection.

Effect Options

This panel includes controls (if any) necessary to adjust the behavior of the selected effect. (Some effects do not have options.) The number and types of control will vary depending on the effect selected.

Command Buttons

Click the Apply button to apply the selected effect to the active picture or selection. After applying an effect, the dialog box will remain open allowing you to select additional effects. To close the Special Effects dialog box, click the Close button.

Remember: should you make a mistake using any of the tools, you can restore your picture’s previous state by selecting the Undo command from NeoPaint’s Edit menu.


Picture: Info
The Picture Info command displays important information (file size, format, dimensions, color depth, etc.) about the active picture. Controls to change the picture's Resolution/dpi and Background Color are also available here. If the picture is a Stamp or GIF / Web Image, a option will be provided to change the image's transparency settings.


Options: Show Speed Bar
Use this command show or hide NeoPaint's Speed Bar.


Options: Show Status Bar
Use this command show or hide NeoPaint's Status Bar.


Options: Show Mouse Position
This command turns the Mouse Coordinate display on and off. When this feature is enabled, the position of the mouse cursor relative to the active picture will be displayed on the Status Bar. Other information such as the width and height drawn objects will also be displayed when appropriate for the active drawing tool.


Options: Show Preview
NeoPaint's Preview Window provides you with a thumbnail view of your picture. Additionally, the Preview Window includes a handy zoom slider control that can be used at any time to adjust the current picture's magnification level. When a picture is too large to fit in the edit window, you can also drag the Preview Window's thumbnail to bring additional portions of your picture into view.

The Preview Window can be turned on or off by selecting the Show Preview command from NeoPaint's Options menu.


Options: Show Stamp Pad
Use this command show or hide NeoPaint's Stamp Pad Window.


Options: Show Picture Attributes
Use this command show or hide NeoPaint's Picture Attributes Window. This window provides quick access to several global properties of the active picture, including the current Background Color, Resolution/dpi, transparency status, etc. The options available here are similar to those provided by the Picture Info command.


Options: Show Rulers
Use this command show or hide Rulers along side the active picture. Other ruler settings, such as unit of measurement and color, can be changed by selecting the Ruler Settings command from the Options menu.


Options: Snap to Grid
Use this command to enable or disable NeoPaint's Snap to Grid function. If Snap to Grid is enabled, a check mark will appear next to this menu selection. When using most drawing tools, this will cause the cursor to snap to the nearest point on a grid as specified under the Grid Settings.


Options: Show Grid
Use the Show Grid command to show or hide a visible grid on top of the active picture. When the grid is visible a series of horizontal and vertical lines corresponding to the current Grid Settings. will appear on top of your picture. These lines are not actually part of the picture, but harmlessly floating on top. When using most drawing tools, this grid can aid you in drawing precise lines, rectangles, etc.


Options: Grid Settings
Use the the Grid Settings command to specify the spacing for the grid used with the Snap to Grid and Show Grid commands.

Enter the desired horizontal and vertical spacing for the grid. You can change the unit of measurement (pixels, inches, centimeters or points) used to specify the spacing, by clicking on the measurement indicator to the right of the size fields. You also may specify a color for the optional visible grid which can be activated by enabling the Show Grid option.

Check the Default button to save your grid settings. The next time you open a picture, its grid will automatically use these settings.


Options: Show Patterns
Select this command to show or hide the Pattern Palette that appears along the left side of NeoPaint's screen. If you do not intend to use the patterns often, you can turn them off and provide more space for the Color Palette.


Options: Set Preferences
Set Preferences

The Preferences dialog box is used to change NeoPaint's global configuration settings that govern how the program works. Typically, once configured properly, you will seldom need to make changes to these items. At the top of the dialog box are two tabs (General and Undo) that you can click to switch between two pages of configuration options.

General

The first page contains several general purpose settings that you can use to change NeoPaint's behavior. These are described below:

Two styles of Brush Cursors are available. The brush cursor is displayed when the mouse pointer passes over a picture's Drawing Area when using one of the free hand drawing tools (Eraser, Specialty, Brush, Airbrush). The Standard style displays the cursor as static icon (shaped like a paint brush, spray can, pencil, etc.). The Precision style displays the cursor as an outline of the actual size shape that the drawing tool will paint with. Which of these styles you select is primarily a matter of personal preference as both styles produce identical results.

Enabling the Create Backup Files option will instruct NeoPaint to create a backup copy of the previously saved version of each picture. The file name of the backup will be the same as the original except the extension will be changed to BAK. Should you inadvertently save changes you did not intend to, you can rename the backup file and recover your previously saved version.

The Save Picture Browser Files to Disk option will save the thumbnail images in the Picture Browser to a special disk file. This will greatly speed up loading images next time you browse the same folder. When enabled, a separate file will be created and stored in each folder that you browse. You even can save these files when browsing CDs if you enable the Save Browser Files from Removable Media on HD option. Since CDs generally cannot be written to, this option instructs NeoPaint to save the thumbnail files in the following folder on your hard drive:

c:\Program Files\NeoPaint for Windows\Browse

If you installed NeoPaint in a different folder, then you will need to substitute that for the one above.

Selecting the Resize Picture Windows when Zooming option automatically will adjust the size of the active picture window to best fit the size of the image. For example, zooming out will reduce the amount of space required on screen to display the image. When this option is enabled, NeoPaint will shrink the picture window to accommodate that change in size. Similarly, when zooming in, NeoPaint will enlarge the window.

Finally, the Warn when JPEG Compression Factor Exceeds... option allows you to be notified when a potentially damaging compression level is about to be applied to a picture. Since JPEG is a "lossy" type of compression, a high value can result in a degradation of picture quality. When the JPEG compression factor exceeds the number entered here, you will be warned and given the opportunity to select a new setting before saving.

Undo

NeoPaint for Windows includes a powerful multi-level Undo/Redo feature that can keep track of multiple changes made to your pictures. This is a convenient feature for recovering from mistakes, however, it does take up memory and may slow your computer when editing large pictures. If you have a slow computer, or one with limited memory, you might wish to turn this feature off to improve performance. Conversely, if you have a fast system with abundant memory, you may want to adjust these settings to take full advantage of your computer's potential.

You can influence memory usage in two ways:

First, you can increase or decrease the number of changes to each open picture that will be stored in the Undo History by entering a value into the Maximum Items in Undo History field. The best choice here can vary depending on a number of factors. If you generally work with small pictures, this value can be quite high without affecting performance. For large pictures, a lower setting will yield improved performance but limit your ability to recover from mistakes. The default settings should be adequate for most types of computers, so you only should need to change this setting if you are having problems.

Secondly, the Memory Usage slider can be adjusted to set the percentage of system memory you wish to be made available for undo operations. NeoPaint will keep track of the amount of memory used for undo purposes by all open pictures and make efforts to limit that usage to the specified percentage of total memory.


Help: About NeoPaint
Select this command to display copyright and version information about this copy of NeoPaint. If you have purchased the full version of NeoPaint, an option will be available here to Register your copy and remove the annoying reminder screens and other limitations.


Help: Internet
If you have a active Internet account, you can select this command to automatically start your browser software and visit NeoSoft Corp's web site. Updates, news, technical support and other information about NeoPaint can be found here.


Help: Help Topics
Use this function to display the Table of Contents for NeoPaint's on-line Help.


NeoGrab: Capture Full Screen
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture the entire Windows' screen.


NeoGrab: Capture Active Window
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture only the currently active window.


NeoGrab: Capture Client Area
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture only the client area of the currently active window.


NeoGrab: Capture Window Under Cursor
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture only the window underneath the mouse cursor.


NeoGrab: Capture Selected Object
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture only the currently selected object. The selected object can vary depending on the application. In a dialog box, foe example, the selected object is usually the one with the input focus and often is surrounded by a dotted rectangle.


NeoGrab: Capture Rectangular Region
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture any rectangular area on the screen. Once activated your mouse cursor will become a large cross hair. To select an area, simply click the left mouse button and drag a rectangle around the portion of the screen to be captured.


NeoGrab: Capture Elliptical Region
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture any elliptical area on the screen. Once activated your mouse cursor will become a large cross hair. To select an area, simply click the left mouse button and draw a circle around the portion of the screen to be captured.


NeoGrab: Capture Freehand Region
Select this command to activate the NeoGrab screen capture utility and capture any irregular free form area on the screen. Once activated your mouse cursor will become a large cross hair. To select an area, simply click the left mouse button and draw an outline around the portion of the screen to be captured.


NeoGrab: Multiple Captures
Enabling NeoGrab's Multiple Captures option allows you to capture more than one screen before returning to NeoPaint. Simply enable this option and choose any of the normal capture modes. Press the NeoGrab Hot Key when you're ready to make each capture. When you've finished, click the NeoPaint program icon at the bottom of the screen to switch off NeoGrab and return to editing mode.


NeoGrab: Settings
NeoGrab Usage and Settings

NeoPaint's integrated screen capture utility, NeoGrab, is an extremely useful tool for creating screen shots for manuals, training, newsletters, web sites and many other uses.

To activate NeoGrab, select one of the capture modes from the NeoGrab menu. A brief message will pop up reminding you of the Hot Key to be pressed when you are ready to perform the capture. The NeoPaint window will then be minimized to move it out of your way. Locate the items on the screen that you want captured and press the capture Hot Key (The default key is F11 but may be changed. See Settings below). If the capture was successful, the NeoPaint window will be restored and the captured image open for editing, saving, etc. At any time before pressing the Hot Key, the capture may be canceled by clicking the NeoPaint icon at the bottom of the screen.

NeoGrab Settings

After you activate NeoGrab by selecting a capture mode from the NeoGrab Menu, you must press a special Hot Key to perform the capture. The default key is F11. However, if you prefer to use a different key, you may select one from Hot Key list.

The two options below the Hot Key list determine how soon the capture will occur once the Hot Key has been pressed. Select the first option to Start the Capture Immediately or select the Wait for x seconds option to delay the capture for a specified number of seconds. The delay can be helpful if you are trying to capture a timed event or a moving object.

Enabling the Multiple Captures option allows you to capture more than one screen before returning to NeoPaint. Simply enable this option and choose any of the normal capture modes. Press the NeoGrab Hot Key when you're ready to make each capture. When you've finished, click the NeoPaint program icon at the bottom of the screen to switch off NeoGrab and return to editing mode.

Use the Show Cursor Position During Capture to display the mouse cursor's coordinates relative to the upper left corner of the screen when capturing a rectangle, ellipse or free hand area.

The Include Mouse Pointer in Capture option can be enabled if you would like to include the mouse pointer icon as part of your capture. This may not work in all programs as the pointer may not always be visible to NeoGrab.


Window: Tile Horizontal
Use the Tile Horizontal command to arrange open pictures horizontally across NeoPaint's screen.


Window: Tile Vertical
Use the Tile Vertical command to arrange open pictures vertically down NeoPaint's screen.


Window: Cascade
Use the Cascade command to arrange open pictures in overlapping windows.


NeoBook

Create Your Own
Multimedia Windows
Applications

Now it's easy to create and publish your own 32-bit Windows applications - no programming required. Even inexperienced users can quickly combine text, sound, graphics, animation and other elements to create interactive, multimedia software programs such as: electronic books, presentations, disk-based brochures or greeting cards, educational and training materials, catalogs, electronic magazines, games, sales tracts, and many other types of applications.

NeoBook's easy-to-use, floating tool bar allows you to construct  publications using simple drag-and-drop commands. It's simple to setup hotspots, command buttons, text entry fields, check boxes and other interactive controls. Quickly create an interface that allows readers to turn pages, enter responses, pop up messages, play multimedia files, run other software, do math calculations, launch a web browser and more.

NeoBook's spelling checker makes sure your publications are error free. And when you're finished, you can compile your creations into a stand-alone Windows application (EXE) or screen saver (SCR), which you can distribute without royalties!

For more information about NeoBook for Windows or to download an evaluation copy, visit our web site: www.neosoftware.com

Copyright ©1992-1999 NeoSoft Corp. All rights reserved.


Picture Browser

NeoPaint's Picture Browser can be used to display thumbnail previews of an entire folder of picture files. Additionally, previewed files may be opened, copied, moved or deleted using the included file management tools.

For more information about a specific item, click the image above.

Speed Bar

The Speed Bar contains buttons that provide access to the Picture Browser's file management functions. However, before you can access most of these functions, you must first select a picture (or multiple pictures) from the Thumbnail Window. Below is a summary of the speed button functions:

	Open the selected picture(s) for editing.
	Display information about the selected picture.
	Copy the selected picture to the Windows Clipboard.
	Copy the selected picture file(s) to another folder or drive.
	Move the selected picture file(s) to another folder or drive.
	Rename the selected picture files(s).
	Send the selected picture file(s) to the Recycle Bin.
	Print a contact sheet of all pictures in the Thumbnail Window.
Current Folder

The Current Folder field displays the drive and directory where the thumbnail images currently being viewed reside. You can view a different folder by clicking the [image] button to the right of the Current Folder field. If changes have been made to the pictures in the Current Folder which have not been reflected in the Thumbnail Window, click the [image] button to refresh the display.

Thumbnail Window

The largest part of the Picture Browser, the Thumbnail Window, contains small thumbnail versions of each picture file in the Current Folder. A scroll bar along the right side of the window can be used to bring additional thumbnails into view.

Several types of file management actions may be performed on the pictures displayed in the Thumbnail Window. Before you can do this, however, you must select a picture or group of pictures. To select a single picture, simply click its thumbnail with the mouse. Multiple pictures may be selected by holding down the Shift or Control keys prior to clicking a thumbnail.

Status Bar

The Status Bar contains data about the Current Folder as well as other information that changes depending on what task you are currently undertaking.


File: Delete/Recycle

The Delete/Recycle command closes the active picture window and sends its associated disk file (if any) to the Windows Recycle Bin*. A file deleted with this command usually can be restored from the Windows Recycle Bin.

*See your Windows documentation for information about the Recycle Bin.


Window: Duplicate
Use the Window menu's Duplicate command to open a new window containing a copy of the active picture. Changes made to the copy do not affect the original and vise-versa.


Eraser Standard
The Standard Eraser will erase everything under the cursor when the mouse is clicked or dragged. The size, shape and edge of the eraser may be changed using the controls on the Option Bar. The color used by the eraser is the picture's Background Color. The Background Color can be changed by selecting the Picture Info command from the Picture menu.


Eraser Color
The Color Eraser will remove only the colors in the Color Box. Use the left mouse button to remove the color shown on the left side of the Color Box or the right mouse button to remove the color on the right side. The color used by the eraser is the picture's Background Color. The Background Color can be changed by selecting the Picture Info command from the Picture menu.

To broaden the scope of the affected colors, increase the value of the Color Tolerance control on the Option Bar. A setting of zero will select only those pixels that exactly match the color that you clicked. Higher settings will expand the selection to include additional pixels with colors that fall within the tolerance range.

You also may erase color-to-color (replacing the left color with the right color or the right color with the left color) by holding down the Ctrl key while using this tool.


Specialty Highlighter
The Highlighter tool works much like a felt-tipped marker, adding a color tint to your picture without removing the underlying image. The size, shape and edge of the Highlighter can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.

The results when using this tool will vary depending on the brush color and the colors already present in your picture. For 16 and 256 color pictures, the availability of suitable colors in the current palette also plays an important role. The best results can be achieved by painting with light colors.

A great use for the Highlighter is adding color to black and white line drawings. Simply use the Convert To command to change your line drawing to one of the available color resolutions (such as 16 million). Then use the highlighter to paint over the top of the image while leaving the drawing intact.


Specialty Charcoal
The Charcoal Pencil produces a random, scratchy line allowing portions of the underlying image to show through. The size and shape of the Charcoal Pencil can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Crayon
The Crayon tool produces a solid, waxy line with clumpy edges. The size and shape of the Crayon can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Chalk
The Chalk tool creates a soft, brittle line that blends slightly with the image underneath. The size and shape of the Chalk can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Watercolor
The Watercolor Brush allows the selected color to “bleed” into surrounding areas, producing a soft paint effect. The amount of bleed can be increased or decreased using the Edge control on the Option Bar. Controls to adjust the size and shape of the Watercolor Brush are also available on the Option Bar.

The Watercolor Brush is most effective when used with 16 million color pictures.


Specialty Oil
The Oil Brush produces a dense swath of color with a distinctive three dimensional effect. The size and shape of the Oil Brush can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Custom Brush
The Custom Brush tool derives its size and shape from special files stored on your hard drive. A selection of custom brush files are included with NeoPaint, but you also can create your own by saving any small picture to NeoPaint’s Brushes folder.


Specialty Quill
The Quill Pen works like a leaky fountain pen. This tool can be used to draw a line that is sensitive to the speed at which your mouse moves. Slower movements produce thicker lines, while fast movements produce thinner lines. The Flow Rate control in the Option Bar dictates how quickly ink flows from the pen.


Specialty Sharpen
Use the Sharpen tool to increase the sharpness or focus of a specific area of your picture. The size and shape of the Sharpen tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Soften
Use the Soften tool to decrease the sharpness and lightly blur a specific area of your picture. The size and shape of the Soften tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Smudge
The Smudge tool is used to blend areas of color into one another, much like smearing together oil pastels. The size and shape of the Smudge tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Sponge
The Sponge tool produces a “wet” smearing effect similar to dripping water on ink. The size and shape of the Sponge tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar. A control to adjust the "wetness" of the Sponge is also available on the Option Bar. Select between Wet and Very Wet to control the water content of the Sponge.


Specialty Blend
The Blend tool is used to mix areas of color by randomly swapping pixels as you move the cursor. This may be used with the Smudge tool to retouch coarse scanned images or to produce finer gradations between areas. The size and shape of the Blend tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Specialty Clone
The Clone tool allows you to paint an exact duplicate of one area of a picture onto another. This is useful for removing scratches, blemishes or unwanted items from a photograph. Some examples, taking one area of sky in a photo and using it to cover up scratches in another sky portion of the photo, cloning an area of landscape to paint out an offending feature, producing exact duplicates of a section of an image, etc.

After selecting the Clone tool, begin by clicking on the area you wish to duplicate. This is the Clone origin. Next, move the mouse cursor to the area where you wish to reproduce that part of the image. Once the mouse cursor is in the right area, press down the mouse button and drag the mouse to copy the original area. You may continue to hold down the button and “paint” a copy of as much of the original area as desired.

The size, shape and behavior of the Clone tool can be adjusted using the controls on NeoPaint's Option Bar. The Clone tool provides two operating modes - Fixed and Floating. The Fixed mode always snaps back to the point of origin once the mouse button is released. The Floating mode allows the Clone origin to follow the mouse cursor, maintaining a fixed distance.

You can change the Clone origin at any time by clicking the right mouse button to mark the new location. You even can use this method to place the origin on another open picture.


create your own Custom Brushes
Creating your own Custom Brushes

NeoPaint makes creating your own brush shapes easy! First, open a new, empty picture by selecting New from NeoPaint's File menu. The most versatile brushes are small (45x45 pixels or less), so keep this in mind when creating the new picture. Also, brushes work best when created in 256 shades of gray (gray scale), as this will later allow NeoPaint to easily add color to the brush.

Once you have a new picture open and ready for editing, you can use any of NeoPaint's Painting and Drawing Tools to create your brush. Remember, after you save the brush and and begin to draw with it, NeoPaint will convert your gray scale choices into whatever color is selected from the Color Palette. For example:

If your custom brush looks like this:

and you select a red shade from the palette and draw something, you will get this:

Notice how NeoPaint converted the original gray scale brush into shades of your selected palette color (red). If we had selected blue, yellow or green from the palette, then your brush would have been converted to shades of those colors. White areas in the brush are treated as transparent (see through - no paint being applied to those areas, allowing underlying portions of the picture to show through.

An easy way to quickly create a nice looking brush is to draw a simple shape using black. Be sure to leave some white areas in the brush for the transparent effect. After you are satisfied with the shape, select the Special Effects command from NeoPaint's Picture menu and apply a Blur or Soften effect. This will give your bush a soft edge just like many of NeoPaint's other tools.

When you have finished creating your custom brush, you must save it into NeoPaint's special Brushes folder. To do this, select Save As from the File menu. The Save dialog box will appear. From the File Type drop down menu, select "BMP - Windows Bitmap". Now, using the Save dialog box's navigation controls, go to the following folder:

c:\Program Files\NeoPaint for Windows\Brushes

(If you installed NeoPaint in a different location then you will need to substitute that folder for the one above.) After locating the Brushes folder, enter a unique name for your brush in the File Name field and click OK.

Once saved, you can try out your new brush by selecting the Custom Brush  tool and choosing your file from the list of brushes on the Option Bar.


UK Order Form
NeoPaint for Windows UK Order Form

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___	copies NeoPaint for Windows at £39.95 each: *	£_________

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You can pay by either cash, cheque, or credit card as detailed above. Please make cheques payable to "The Thompson Partnership".

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* Please contact The Thompson Partnership for Site License Pricing.


Fill Standard
The Standard Fill tool will flood an enclosed area with the selected color and pattern. The left mouse button will fill using the color on the left side of NeoPaint's Color Box. The right mouse button will fill using the color on the right side of the Color Box. A pattern may be selected from the Pattern Palette to fill with one of NeoPaint's predefined patterns.


Fill Tile
The Tile Fill tool works like the Standard Fill, but instead of a solid color or pattern, the area is filled with another picture. An unlimited variety of unique fills can be created by combining this tool with images containing complex patterns, textures, etc.

Click the Select Tile Image button on the Option Bar to select a picture file to use for the fill. The file may be in any format supported by NeoPaint. If the area to be filled is larger than the tile image, NeoPaint will automatically "tile" the image to produce a continuous pattern. For this reason, the best tile images tend to be those that can be duplicated, and the copies placed side by side, to produce a seamless pattern. For example:

A tile image like this:

will look like this when used to fill a larger area:

Since the tile image was designed so that its right and bottom sides perfectly match its left and top sides, it produces a seamless pattern.


Fill Gradient
The Gradient Fill tool fills an area with two colors that gradually blend into one another. Use the left and right mouse buttons to select the starting and ending colors for the gradient effect from the Color Palette. A variety of gradient styles are available from the Gradient Selector on NeoPaint's Options Bar.


Fill Color Replacement
The Color Replacement Fill tool will replace every occurrence of the color on which you click with one of the colors in NeoPaint's Color Box. As with many of NeoPaint's other tools, the left mouse button applies the color on the left side of the Color Box, while the right mouse button applies the color on the right side of the Color Box.


Stamp Pad

NeoPaint's Stamp Pad is used to select and manage collections of small clip art images for use with the Stamp Tool. The Stamp Pad can be displayed by selecting the Show Stamp Pad command from NeoPaint's Options menu, or by clicking the [image] button on the Option Bar.

For more information about a specific item, click the image above.

In addition to traditional stamp images, multicolor brushes, textures and splatters are some of the sophisticated custom tools which can be created with the Stamp Pad. A multicolor brush is an irregular area containing a combination of colors. When dragged, this can produce a rich, often impressionistic effect. Textures are large patterns containing a great deal of transparent white. When repeatedly stamped over wide area of other colors, they give a textured effect. Splatters are dots of color separated by transparent white space. When this stamp is clicked repeatedly, the effect is somewhat like that obtained from the Airbrush tool, except that a combination of colors may be used. Dragging spatters will create streaks.

Stamp Folder

This is the name of the current stamp folder or subdirectory where the stamp images displayed in the Stamp Selector are located. If you have a large number of stamps, you may wish to group these into several collections, placing each in its own folder. Because you will have to scroll through fewer selections, this can make it easier to find a particular stamp. You easily can change to another folder by clicking the [image] button.

Stamp Selector

The Stamp Selector contains a preview of the stamp images contained within the current Stamp Folder. If the current Stamp Folder contains more stamps than will fit in the Stamp Selector, a scroll bar will appear allowing you to bring additional stamp images into view.

Clicking once on an image will highlight that stamp's title.selecting it for use with the Stamp Tool. Once highlighted, a stamp also may be edited, renamed or deleted using the the Stamp Pad's command buttons.

Command Buttons

To create a new stamp image, select the Add button. You will be presented with an editing screen measuring 64x64 pixels. You may paint an image using any of NeoPaint's Painting and Drawing Tools. When your stamp is complete, select the Save command from the File menu. A dialog box will ask you if you wish to save the stamp, and if so, under what name.

By default, any white areas in the new stamp will be transparent, allowing those portions of your pictures to show through when painting with the completed stamp. You can change the transparent color by selecting the Picture Info command from the Picture menu.

Try to keep the stamps you create small in size. Large stamp images take up more disk space and sometimes can be difficult to paint with as they tend to move more slowly on older computers.

The Edit button allows you to make changes to existing stamps. Select the stamp image you wish to change by clicking once on its image in the Stamp Selector window. Next, click on the Edit button. You may make changes to the existing image just as you did when creating a stamp using the Add button. When your changes are complete, select the Save command from the File menu.

To delete a stamp, highlight the unwanted image in the Stamp Selector, then click on the Delete button. If you accidentally delete a stamp, you may be able to restore it using the Windows Recycle Bin. See your Windows documentation for more information.

Similarly, you can rename a highlighted stamp by clicking on the Rename button. You will be asked to supply a new name composed of one to 255 characters. Stamps will appear in alphabetical order in the Stamp Selector window.

In addition to the Edit command, you also may create new stamps using the Selection tools along with the Edit menu's Copy To command to save an area from an existing picture. After selecting an area using one of the Selection tools, select Copy To from the Edit menu. Use the Save Dialog's File Type drop down menu to select “STW” for the file type, then locate the desired Stamp Folder, enter a name for the stamp and click OK. An entire picture also may be saved as a stamp, using the Save As command.


Roll Up Button
The Roll Up/Down button can be clicked to "roll up" NeoPaint's floating tool palettes, reducing the amount of screen space they consume. Once rolled up palettes can be restored to their original size by clicking the Roll Up/Down button a second time.


Line Straight
To use the Straight Line tool, click and hold down the left or right mouse button where you want the line to begin. Drag the mouse cursor to where you want the line to end and release the mouse button. A straight line connecting these two points will be drawn.


Line Radiant
The Radiant Line tool is used to draw lines from a center point to form star bursts and elaborate designs. To use this tool, move the cursor to the point in your picture where you wish to start the design (the lines will radiate from this point). Next, click and hold the mouse button and drag to form the first line of the design. When the line reaches the correct length and position, release the button and move the the cursor around the axis to form your design. To complete the design, click once more.


Line Bezier
The Bezier Line tool allows you to draw smooth, accurate curves. To draw a curve, move the cursor over one of the endpoints. Click and hold the mouse button and drag the cursor to the point at which the curve will end before releasing the button. A dialog box will appear at the top of the screen, and four nodes or handles will be located along the length of the line, along with a center point. You may drag the two inner handles (the control points) with the mouse to produce a curve. The endpoints may be dragged to adjust the length of the line. The center point may be dragged to reposition the line. Finally, the line may be rotated by using the rotate buttons on the dialog box. When the desired curve has been produced, click the OK button in the dialog box.


Rectangle Standard
The Standard Rectangle tool draws solid or hollow rectangle or square shapes. To use this tool, position the cursor at the point in your picture where you want the top left corner of your shape. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to where you would like the opposite corner. When your rectangle reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button.

To create a rectangle without a border, set the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar to zero. A hollow rectangle can be created by selecting the Hollow button on the Fill Selector.


Rectangle Gradient
The Gradient Rectangle tool draws a rectangle or square with a gradient fill. Use the left and right mouse buttons to select the starting and ending colors for the gradient effect from the Color Palette. A variety of gradient styles are available from the Gradient Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar.


Rectangle Editable
The Editable Rectangle tool allows you to draw a rectangle that can be distorted, stretched and rotated. As with the Standard Rectangle, click and drag out a shape of the desired size. Once you have completed your rectangle, the Polygon Editor will appear, allowing you to make changes to the object before it is drawn and filled.


Rectangle Grid
The Grid Tool draws a rectangle consisting of horizontal and vertical lines laid out in a grid pattern. Draw the grid just as you would a Standard Rectangle. The number of rows and columns for the grid can be set prior to drawing using controls on the Option Bar. When you draw the grid rectangle, its overall size will be automatically adjusted to produce even spacing between each row and column.


Rectangle Bevel
The Bevel Tool draws rectangles with a 3D border effect. The current colors in NeoPaint's Color Box are used to draw the upper and lower portions of the border. The interior of the bevel shape will be hollow.


Polygon Standard
Use the Standard Polygon tool to create shapes with straight edges. To construct an object using this tool, move the mouse cursor to a point where an angle in your object will occur. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the line for the first side. When the line reaches the desired length and position, release the mouse. Next, move the mouse to the point where the second side will terminate. A rubber-band line will follow the cursor.

When the second side has been correctly positioned, click once with the left mouse button to set the line. Continue constructing the sides of your object. When you click on the point at which you started, the Polygon will be complete, and the line width, color and object fill will be painted. You also may draw the last side by clicking once with the right mouse button.

To create a shape without a border, set the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar to zero. Similarly, a hollow shape can be created by selecting the Hollow button on the Fill Selector.


Ellipse Standard
Use the Standard Ellipse tool to draw regular circles and ovals. To use this tool, position the cursor at the point in your picture where the top left corner of your shape will be located. Hold down and left mouse button and drag the cursor to the location where you would like the opposite corner. When your ellipse reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button.

To create an ellipse without a border, set the Line Width Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar to zero. Similarly, a hollow ellipse can be created by selecting the Hollow button on the Fill Selector.


Ellipse Gradient
The Gradient Ellipse tool produces circles and ovals with a gradient fill. Use the left and right mouse buttons to select the starting and ending colors for the gradient effect from the Color Palette. A variety of gradient styles are available from the Gradient Selector on NeoPaint's Option Bar.

To use this tool, position the cursor at the point in your picture where the top left corner of your shape will be located. Hold down and left mouse button and drag the cursor to the location where you would like the opposite corner. When your ellipse reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button.


Ellipse Editable
The Editable Ellipse tool allows you to draw circles and ovals that can be distorted, stretched and rotated. As with the Standard Ellipse, click and drag out a shape of the desired size. Tiny handles will appear at the corners of the figure. You may drag the handles to modify the shape, add handles by clicking along the outline, and/or rotate the figure using the rotation buttons in the accompanying dialog box. When you are satisfied with the shape, click the OK button in the dialog box and the figure will be drawn and filled.


Polygon Freehand
The Freehand Polygon tool will produce shapes with complex, irregular sides. As with the Standard Polygon, you must first select a starting point in your picture. With the mouse cursor over this point, hold down the left mouse button and slowly drag the mouse to outline your object. When you have come around to the starting point (or close by), release the button and your object will be drawn. NeoPaint will draw a straight line between the starting point and the point at which you release the mouse button.


Polygon Editable
The Editable Polygon tool is similar to the Standard Polygon except that you will be provided with a chance to adjust the object’s outline before the final figure is drawn. To use this tool, draw your shape using the same method as the Standard Polygon. Once you have completed your shape, the Polygon Editor will appear, allowing you to make changes to the object before it becomes a permanent part of your picture.


Polygon Editable Freehand
The Editable Freehand Polygon tool is similar to the Freehand Polygon tool except that, like the Editable Polygon, it allows you to adjust the object’s outline before the final figure is drawn. To use this tool, draw your shape using the same method as the Freehand Polygon. Once you have completed your shape, the Polygon Editor will appear, allowing you to make changes to the object before it becomes a permanent part of your picture.


3D Polygon
The 3D Polygon tool allows you to create custom three-dimensional shapes. Like the Editable Polygon tools, you can adjust the object’s shape before rendering in 3D. To use this tool, draw your shape using the same method as the Standard Polygon. Once you have completed your shape, the Polygon Editor will appear, allowing you to make changes to the object in 2D before it is converted to 3D. Once you are satisfied with the 2D appearance of your shape, click the Polygon Editor's OK button. Your shape will be converted to 3D and the 3D Editor will appear, allowing you to rotate and position the object before it becomes a permanent part of your picture.


3D Editor

NeoPaint's 3D Editor is used to rotate and position three dimentional objects prior to final placement within a picture.

After constructing your initial shape using one of NeoPaint's 3D tools, the 3D Editor will appear providing you with controls that allow you to rotate your object in three-dimentions.

You can rotate your object along any combination of the X axis (vertical through the center from top to bottom), Y axis (horizontal through the center, from side to side), and/or Z axis (through the center from front to back). Use the Editor's arrow buttons [image] to rotate the object into the desired position.

You may use the Rotation Angle slider to increase or decrease the degree which the object rotates along each axis.

Two preview modes are provided - Wire Frame and Solid. The Wire Frame button [image] shows only a transparent outline of the object. The Solid button [image] removes hidden lines and displays the object filled in.

The entire object may be moved by placing the mouse cursor in the center of the shape. The cursor will change to an open hand. Press and hold the left mouse button and drag the object to its new location.

Once you have rotated the object to the desired position, click on the OK button to place the object in your picture.


3D Cube
The 3D Cube tool creates simple three-dimensional cubic rectangles. To use this tool, position the cursor where the top left corner of one side of your cube will be located. Hold down the left mouse button and drag the cursor to the location where you would like the opposite corner. When your cube reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button. Once you have defined the dimensions of your cube’s first side, the 3D Editor will appear allowing you to allowing you to rotate and position the object before it becomes a permanent part of your picture.


3D Pyramid
The 3D Pyramid tool creates a simple three-dimensional pyramid shape. To use this tool, position the cursor where the left corner of your pyramid's base will be located. Press down and hold the left mouse button and drag the cursor to the location where you would like the opposite corner. When your pyramid reaches the desired size and shape, release the mouse button. Once you have defined the dimensions of your pyramid’s base, the 3D Editor will appear allowing you to to rotate and position the object before it becomes a permanent part of your picture.


Ordering NeoPaint
Ordering NeoPaint for Windows

If you have not yet purchased the full version of NeoPaint for Windows, we strongly encourage you to do so. Software development and support is very expensive and we need your help if we are to continue to provide quality programs at affordable prices. The full version of NeoPaint is $59.95* (USD)+ shipping and includes:

The latest version on CD free of annoying reminder screens.

Additional stamp images and brushes.

A printed user's guide.

A collection of 200 classic art images.

Technical support.

Discounts on future upgrades.

Information about other NeoSoft products.

* Special site license, multi-user and educational pricing are also available. Please contact NeoSoft Corp. or one of our distributors for details.

To order NeoPaint for Windows, you may contact one of the Authorized Distributors below. If you cannot find a distributor near you, or if you live in the United States, you may order directly from NeoSoft Corp.:

Order from NeoSoft Corp.	International Distributors

We encourage you to purchase from the dealer nearest you to save you time, shipping charges and currency conversion.

Authorized International NeoSoft Dealers and Distributors:

 Denotes Major Distributor. • New dealer inquires welcome.

Argentina

ALEAN Srl

V. Virasoro 882

(1405) Capital Federal
Buenos Aires

Telephone: 5411-4582-2568

Fax: 5411-4958-0315

E-Mail: neobook@alean.com.ar

Web Site: http://www.alean.com.ar

Australia

MANACCOM Pty. Ltd.

Unit 23, Milton Village

Lang Pde., Milton

QLD 4064

Telephone: (07) 3870-4900

Fax: (07) 3870-9440

E-Mail : manaccom@manac.com.au

Web Site: http://www.manac.com.au

Callsoft Multilingual Solutions

2 Herbert Street

P.O. Box 81

Rosewater SA 5013

Telephone: (08) 8341 2291

Fax: (08) 8341 0279

E-Mail : ncutajar@tne.net.au

Portfolio Software

P.O. Box 443

1 Clifford Street

Panania NSW 2213

Telephone: (02) 9962 8468

Fax: +61 2 774 2190

E-Mail: portsoft@ozemail.com.au

Web Site: http://www.ozemail.com.au/~portsoft

Austria

PCC VERLAG, PCC Magazin
Paul-Ernst Weg 2
A-8430 Leibnitz
Telephone: 03452/73397
Fax: 03452/73497

Belgium

See Editions WSKA of France

Brazil

Maple Informatica Ltda

Caixa Postal 152

06402-970 Barueri, SP

Telephone: +55-11-826-5311

Fax: +55-11-826-5375

E-Mail: vendas@mapel.com.br

Web Site: http://www.maple.com.br/

Canada

Saskatoon Website Design / swdomains.com
2072 South Millway
Mississauga, ON L5L-1A5
Telephone/Fax: 905-820-4393

E-Mail: neosoftware@swdomains.com
Web Site: http://www.swdomains.com

SOFTCHOICE
173 Dufferin, Suite 110
Toronto, ON M6K-1Y9
Telephone: 416-588-9000
Fax: 416-588-9001
Web Site: http://www.softchoice.com

Chile

See Alean Srl of Argentina

Czech Republic

JIMAZ s.r.o.

Hermanova 37

170 00 Praha 7

Telephone: (02) 379498

Fax: (02) 378103

E-Mail: vondraek@jimaz.cz

England

See United Kingdom

France

Editions WSKA

46-48 Route de Thionville

57140 Woippy

Telephone: 33 / 87.30.85.57

Fax: 33 / 87.32.37.75

E-Mail: sales@wska.com

Web Site: http://www.wska.com/

CompuServe Forum: GO WSHARE

Germany

JDS Software

Jens Driese

Postfach 1269

D-26302 Varel

Telephone: 0049-4451-959195

Fax: 0049-4451-959196

E-Mail: bestell@jds-software.com

Web Site: http://www.jds-software.com

Glueck - Wenz Software
Silvia Wenz
Anne-Frank-Str:7
D-64354 Reinheim
Telephone: 0049-6162-914470
Fax: 0049-6162-914471
E-Mail: service@gwx.de
Web Site: http://www.gwx.de/index.htm

Holland/Netherlands

BroCo Software

P.O. Box 446

3760 AK SOEST

Telephone: (0) 35-6026650

Fax: (0) 35-6014012

E-Mail : eric@broco.nl

Web Site: http://www.broco.nl

Hungary

Renner
1281 Budapest 27
P.O. Box 53
Telephone/Fax: (36) 1 2758403
Mobile: (36) 30 9485472
E-Mail : prenner@hungary.net

Israel

Software Sources (Maagarey Tochna)

HaSharon Street 64

P.O. Box 639

Raanana 43106

Telephone: +972-9-7714578

Fax: +972-9-7712194

E-Mail: softsrcs@netvision.net.il

Web Site: http://www.softsrcs.co.il

Italy

Systems Comunicazioni Srl

Via Olanda, 6

20083 Vigano di Gaggiano (Ml)

Telephone: (02) 908.41.814

Fax: (02) 908.41.682

E-Mail: posta@systems.it

Web Site: http://www.systems.it

Luxembourg

See Editions WSKA of France

Malaysia

SEAMEO RECSAM
(S.E. Asian Ministry of Education Org)
Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah
11700 Gelugor, Penang
Telephone: 60-4-8583266 / 7
Fax: 60-4-6572541
E-Mail: razali@recsam.edu.my
Web Site: http://www.recsam.edu.my

Mexico

ABITSOFT Corp.
Mexico City

Telephone: 525-276-7078
Fax: 525-277-1600

E-Mail: baleman@abits.com
U.S.A. Office:

  5411 McPherson Rd, Suite 211
  Laredo, TX 78041

New Zealand

See MANACCOM Pty. Ltd. of Australia

Paraguay

See Alean Srl of Argentina

Spain

WSKA Ediciones, S.L.

Ruiz de Alarcón 7

28014 Madrid

Telephone: 91 360.51.15

Fax: 91 523.36.42

Sweden

MADCAP AB

S-685

93 Torsby

Telephone: +46 560 42395

Fax: +46 560 42320

E-Mail: sun.madcap@tordata.se

United Kingdom

The Thompson Partnership
Lion Buildings, Market Place
UTTOXETER, Staffordshire
ST14 8HZ

Telephone: +44 (0) 1889 564601
Fax: +44 (0) 1889 563219
E-Mail: sales@ttp.co.uk
Web Site: http//www.ttp.co.uk

UK Order Form

Uruguay

See Alean Srl of Argentina

United States and Unlisted Areas

To place an order or to find a dealer in an unlisted location or within the United States, please contact NeoSoft Corporation's Sales Department. New dealer and distributor inquiries also are welcomed.

NeoSoft Corporation

Post Office Box 5667

Bend, Oregon 97708-5667

U.S.A.

Telephone: 541-389-5489

Fax: 541-388-8221

E-Mail: sales@neosoftware.com

Web Site: http://www.neosoftware.com

U.S. Order Form

You either may call the telephone number listed or print out the order form (using the File/Print function) and send it via mail, fax, etc. Payments on items ordered directly from NeoSoft Corp. may be made by check or money order (payable in U.S. Dollars and drawn on a U.S. bank or affiliate), by major credit card (VISA, MasterCard, Discover or American Express), or by institutional purchase order (on approved credit).

Corporate Account Orders

Corporate Software & Technology
P.O. Box 5126
Norwood, MA 02062

Telephone: 781-440-1080
Fax: 800-677-4008
Web Site: http://www.corpsoft.com

See also NeoSoft Corp.

Educational Account Orders

See NeoSoft Corp.

Top


U.S. Order Form
NeoPaint for Windows Order Form

To find a dealer or distributor in your area, click here. To order directly from NeoSoft Corp., please print the following form and send it to:

Mail:	NeoSoft Corp.

P.O. Box 5667

Bend, OR  97708-5667

USA

Call:	541-389-5489 (weekdays 9:00-5:00 Pacific Time)

Fax:	541-388-8221 (24 hours.)

E-Mail:	sales@neosoftware.com

1. Enter your name, shipping address and telephone number below:

Name:	__________________________________________________

Company:	__________________________________________________

Address:	__________________________________________________

 	 	__________________________________________________

City:	____________________ State: _________ Zip: __________

Country:	__________________________________________________

Telephone:	_____________________ E-mail: ______________________

I heard about NeoPaint from: _________________________________________

2. Indicate the number of units and shipping method below:

___	NeoPaint for Windows 95/98/NT*	@ $59.95 ea.	$_________

___	NeoPaint for DOS*	@ $45.00 ea.	$_________

+ Shipping:

United States:	$5 US Mail, $10 FedEx

Canada/Mexico:	$7 Air Mail, $22 FedEx

Other Nations:	$12 Air Mail, call for FedEx	$_________

(Please note FedEx cannot deliver to PO Boxes)	==========

TOTAL	$_________

* please call NeoSoft Corp. for pricing on site licenses

3. Indicate the payment method below:

___	I've enclosed a check or money order payable to NeoSoft Corp.
(checks must be in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank)

___	Please charge my credit card:
(Please include credit card billing address if different than shipping address above)

         ___  VISA        ___  MasterCard       ___  Discover      ___  American Express

Card number: ____________________________   Expiration date:	________

Cardholder's signature:	__________________________________________

Credit card billing address:	________________________________________

________________________________________


Technical Support

The on-line help contains just about everything you will need to know in order to use NeoPaint effectively. If you should encounter a technical problem or question not covered in the on-line help, you may use one of the following avenues to obtain technical assistance:

Mail Postal Correspondence to:	NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
P.O. Box 5667
Bend, OR 97708-5667
U.S.A.

E-Mail Service:	tech@neosoftware.com

Web Site:	www.neosoftware.com

When contacting technical support, please include your NeoPaint version number, Windows version and a detailed description of the problem and how to reproduce it.


Acknowledgements

Many of the Stamp and texture images included with NeoPaint were provided by Glyn Hughes Design.

www.btinternet.com/~glynhughes/index.htm


Mask: Create from Selection
Use the Mask/Create from Selection command to build a Mask using the current selection area. Like painter's masking tape, a masked area will protect a picture from unwanted paint and other modifications. Only the areas lying outside the mask may be modified. Once enabled, a mask will remain in effect until removed using the Mask Delete command or the picture is closed.


Mask: Invert
The Mask/Invert command inverts the current masking area. The original masked area is unmasked and the area previously outside the mask boundary becomes the new mask. See Mask/Create from Current Selection for more information about masks.


Mask: Delete
The Mask/Delete command removes the current mask from the active picture. See Mask/Create from Current Selection for more information about masks.


Mask: Load
The Mask/Load command allows you to create a mask using a disk-based mask (*.NPM) or other compatible image file. The file is loaded and converted to black and white (if needed). Black areas of the image become the protected portion of the mask, while white areas will be unmasked, allowing painting and other modifications to occur. The new mask is enabled and placed on top of the active picture. The mask will remain active until removed using the Mask Delete command or the picture is closed. See Mask/Create from Current Selection for more information about masks.


Mask: Edit
The Mask/Edit command allows you to open a previously saved mask file (*.NPM) for editing. You may use any of NeoPaint's Painting and Drawing Tools to edit the mask. This feature is useful for fine tuning or correcting complex masks. Once your modifications are complete, save the mask file using the File menu's Save or Save As commands. See Mask/Create from Current Selection for more information about masks.


Mask: Save
The Mask/Save command allows you to save the active mask to disk in a special mask (*.NPM) file format. Once saved, the mask file may be loaded into the same or another picture using the Mask/Load command. See Mask/Create from Current Selection for more information about masks.


Options: Ruler Settings
Use the Ruler Settings command to modify the appearance of the active picture's on-screen rulers. Properties that can be changed include Foreground and Background color, Unit of Measurement and Visibility.

Available measurement types are Pixels, Inches, Centimeters and Points. The measurement type also can be changed anytime during editing by clicking the [image] button located at the upper left corner of the picture window when the ruler display is turned on.

When the Show Cursor Position on Ruler option is enabled, two small markers will appear on the ruler showing the exact position of the mouse cursor.

Check the Default button to save your ruler settings. The next time you open a picture, its ruler will automatically use these settings.


Help: Ordering Information
If you are using a 30 day trial copy of NeoPaint, you can select this command to obtain information about ordering the full version of this program.


Animation Play
When editing an Animated GIF or NeoBook Cartoon file, selecting the Play command or clicking the [image] button on the window will run the animation. To stop the animation, select the Stop command from the Animation menu or click the [image] button.


Animation Blank Frame
Use the Blank Frame command to insert a new blank frame into your animation.


Animation Copy of Current Frame
Use the Copy of Current Frame command to create a duplicate of the current frame and insert it into your animation.


Animation Picture on Disk
Use the Picture on Disk command to take an external picture file stored on disk and insert it into your animation.


Animation Delete Frame
Use the Delete Frame command to remove the selected from from your animation. Use caution as this command cannot be undone with the Undo command.


Animation Global Settings
When editing Animated GIF files, you can use the Global Settings command to specify several file wide settings that affect how your animation will play. (NeoBook Cartoon files do not have global settings.)

The Target playback size of the animation can be adjusted using the width and height fields. The width and height entered here should not be less than the size of the largest frame in the file. Use the Auto Size check box to automatically set the target size to that of the largest frame.

Select the Play Continuously check box to cycle the animation's frames repeatedly during playback. When the animation reaches the last frame it will automatically start again at the beginning. This will continue until you choose the Stop command or press the [image] button.


Set Transparent Color
Use this command to change the color used to indicate the transparent portions of Icons, Cursors and GIF images. By design, these image formats include transparent or see through portions that allow underlying objects to show through.

For icons and cursors, NeoPaint displays these areas in a unique color that you can change here. This color should not be one of the existing colors in the image's palette, but rather a unique color not used anywhere else.


Cursor Set Hot spot
When editing a Cursor, you can use the Set Hotspot command to specify the cursor's tip or focal point. For example, a pencil shaped cursor would have its hotspot set to the part of the image that represents the pencil's point.

The Hotspot dialog box displays a preview of your cursor. To change the Hotspot, click the desired pixel in the preview.


Cursor Test
The Cursor Test command displays a scratch pad area where you can test drive your cursor. Move the mouse pointer into the test area to see how your creation works.


Animated GIFs and Cartoons
Creating Animated GIFs and Cartoons

NeoPaint makes creating your own Animated GIFs and NeoBook cartoons easy. Both formats consist of multiple images displayed sequentially to produce the illusion of animation. They are kind of like the classic cartoon flip book.

GIF files, both animated and static, have become extremely popular thanks to the Internet. Just about every moving image you see on the Web: advertising banners, logos, buttons, etc., is an Animated GIF file. In fact, is just about impossible to visit a Web site that doesn't have at least one Animated GIF rotating or blinking somewhere.

Designed specifically for use with NeoSoft Corp's NeoBook multimedia authoring software, Cartoons are similar to Animated GIFs but are somewhat less complicated to create.

Except for some minor differences, NeoPaint uses the same interface for editing both formats. The exception is that Animated GIFs allow you to control the properties of each individual image in the file. Cartoons, on the other hand, only have a single speed control that affects the entire file.

Creating a New Animation

Creating a new animation file is very simple. Select the New command from NeoPaint's File menu. Under Picture Type, select either Animated GIF or NeoBook Cartoon depending on which type you want to create. Select the desired Picture Size and Number of Colors and click OK. That's it! You're ready to start animating.

As you know, animation files are composed of individual images or frames. In NeoPaint, individual frames are displayed in a list along the left side of the picture window. The active or selected frame will appear highlighted. The image associated with this frame is displayed in the window's Drawing Area. The selected frame will be the recipient of all NeoPaint's drawing and editing commands until a different frame is selected. Only one frame at a time may be selected.

A newly created animation will contain only a single frame which, admittedly, isn't very exciting. To add additional frames, use the Insert commands from the Animation menu. After you've inserted several blank frames into your animation, you will need to use NeoPaint's drawing tools to add something for your audience to look at. (Unless you're going for a polar bear in a snow storm type of thing.) Try drawing a simple shape or using the Stamp Tool to place the same image on each frame. Move the image a little in one direction each time before stamping again to create the illusion of movement. Choose Play from the Animation menu to make your stamp dance across the frame.

GIF Options

As mentioned above, Animated GIFs allow you to modify some of the characteristics of each individual frame. To access these settings, click the small [image] button just below the Play [image] button. The frame list will slide down and the Frame Settings panel will appear. To roll up the Frame Settings panel, click the [image] button.

The Frame Settings affect the currently selected frame only. To adjust the settings of another frame, you must first select that frame. The controls in the Frame Setting panel are described below:

Duration

Specify the amount of time, in 1/100 of a second increments, that the selected frame will appear during the animation sequence.

Undraw Method

Use the options in this list to specify how each frame is painted during the animation sequence.

None	Do nothing to the background before displaying the next frame.
Leave	Leave the previous frame as the next is drawn.
Background	Redraw the original background as the current frame is drawn.
Previous	Redraw the previous image as the current frame is drawn.
Left/Top

If the selected frame contains an image that is smaller than the Target Size specified in the animation's Global Settings, you can specify where the image will be drawn during the animation sequence.

Transparent Color

Enable this option if you want the image in the frame to be drawn transparently. Click the color box to select the color in the image that will be marked as transparent or see through.


Undo On/Off
The Undo feature can be turned off or on at any time by selecting the Edit menu's Undo On option or by clicking the [image] button located in the upper right of the Undo History window. It sometimes can be beneficial to temporarily turn off the Undo feature when making a series of minor changes to a large image. This will speed up the process as you will not have to wait for NeoPaint to update the undo buffer after each edit. When finished with the changes, the Undo feature can be turned on again.