═══ 1. The Frame List ═══ The frame list displays all frames of the currently selected Project. Each frame is represented by an icon and several columns of information. If the frame is part of an animation, information about the number of the frame, its timecode, compression and its size are displayed. Also, if the frame has sound information associated, the frame icon will have a small note symbol and the size of the sound data is displayed. If the frame (or rather picture) is part of a picture list, its name, timecode, compression method and size is displayed. You can change the way the timecodes are displayed by using the Timecode Settings. Every frame has its own popup menu. Double-clicking a frame will display it. ═══ 2. The Project List ═══ The project list displays all currently loaded projects and occupies the left third of the main window. The frames of the currently selected Project are displayed in The Frame List. ═══ 3. Project ═══ All projects are displayed as icons in The Project List. A project is either an animation of a certain animation format or one or more pictures or sounds of the same format. All pictures of the same format will always be grouped together in one project, this project is named after the picture format. The same for the sounds. The frames of the currently selected project are displayed in The Frame List. Each project has its own popup menu, double-clicking on a project will play it back. ═══ 4. Open... ═══ Selecting the Open item of the File menu will open a file dialog. You can select any of the supported animation or picture formats. After loading, the new project will be displayed in The Project List. The file dialog supports multiple selections, that means that several files can be marked for loading. ═══ 5. Save As... ═══ Selecting the Save item of the File menu will open the save window. The All Frames item of The Save Window will be checked. ═══ 6. Exit ═══ Selecting the Exit item of the File menu terminates MainActor/2. ═══ 7. Select ═══ Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Select item in the Edit menu allows you to select all, or some of the frames in The Frame List. Select All Selects all frames available in the frame list. Select Range ... Allows you to select a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50. Select Compression ... Allows you to select all frames with a specific compression. For example, if you loaded a FLI animation, you can select all frames which have a FLI_LC compression method. ═══ 8. Deselect ═══ Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Deselect item in the Edit menu will allow you to deselect all, or some of the frames in The Frame List. Deselect All Deselects all frames available in the frame list. Deselect Range ... Allows you to deselect a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50. Deselect Compression ... Allows you to deselect all frames with a specific compression. For example, if you loaded a FLI animation, you can deselect all frames which have a Dummy compression method. ═══ 9. Invert ═══ Selecting the Invert item of the Edit menu will invert the selection status of all frames in The Frame List. All selected frames will be deselected and all deselected frames will be selected. ═══ 10. Project Info... ═══ Selecting the Project Info ... item of the Project menu will open a dialog window which displays information about the currently selected Project. ═══ 11. Cache Data ═══ Selecting the Cache Data item of the Project menu caches all the data of the currently selected Project in ram, which results in better access and playback times for the project. If the menu item is checked the data is cached in memory, if not the data will be loaded directly from disk (which is the default). Note, not all loader modules support caching, if a loader module does not support caching, the menu item is disabled. This is the case for most of the picture loader modules. ═══ 12. Global Timecode... ═══ Selecting the Global Timecode item of the Project menu will open a window which allows you to change the global timecode of the currently selected Project. Some animation formats (for example FLI/FLC) only support one timecode for all of the frames of an animation, that means that all frames will stop playback for the same amount of time. These animations often have dummy frames inserted into the animation to allow for better timing. If your project does not have a global timecode or does support a timecode for each frame, this menu item will be disabled. If it does support a timecode for each frame, you can select the frames you want to change the timecode of and select the Local Timecodes menu item of the Frames menu. ═══ 13. Play Project ═══ Selecting the Play Project item of the Project menu plays the currently select project. MainActor/2 uses DIVE for playback. The DIVE window will be opened centered on your desktop. If your system does support Full-Screen DIVE, you can switch to the full screen mode by pressing ALT+HOME. ═══ 14. Remove Project ═══ Selecting the Remove Project item of the Project menu will remove the currently selected Project from The Project List and frees all memory dedicated to the project. ═══ 15. Save Frames ═══ Selecting the Save Frames item of the Frames menu will open the save window. The Selected Frames item of The Save Window will be checked. ═══ 16. Local Timecodes... ═══ Selecting the Local Timecodes... item of the Frames menu will open a window which allows you to change the local timecodes of the currently selected frames. This option is only enabled if the animation format of your current Project supports a timecode per frame or if the project is a picture (list). ═══ 17. Show Frames ═══ Selecting the Show Frames item of the Frames menu will show the currently selected frame. MainActor/2 uses Dive to show the frames of a Project. The current number (or name) of the frame is displayed in the title bar of the show window. While showing a frame, you can choose menu items from two menus, the Options and the Frame menus. The Options Menu Snap 1/1 If you have sized the window you can snap it back to its original size using this menu item. Exit Will close the show window. The Frame Menu Previous Selecting this item shows the frame which is one location above the actual frame in the frame list. Next Selecting this item shows the frame which is one location below the actual frame in the frame list. ═══ 18. Sort Frames ═══ Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Sort Frames item in the Frames menu sorts all frames in The Frame List according to the selected sort method. This menu is only available when the currently selected Project is a picture list. Animations are mostly delta encoded and cannot be sorted, even when they are nonlinear, it would be too difficult to keep track of the different color palettes etc. Sort Frames by Name The frames are sorted, case insensitive, by their names. Sort Frames by Size The frames are sorted by their size. The pictures with the smallest size are at the top of the frame list, the pictures with the biggest size at the bottom. ═══ 19. Help Index ═══ Selecting the Help Index item of the Help menu displays the index of the online help document for MainActor/2. ═══ 20. General Help ═══ Selecting the General Help item of the Help menu displays a general introduction to the user interface of MainActor/2. ═══ 21. Using Help ═══ Selecting the Using Help item of the Help menu displays an introduction on how to use the online help facility. ═══ 22. Loader Modules... ═══ Selecting the Loader Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window which displays the supplied loader modules of this version of MainActor/2, as well as the supported codecs of these modules. The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as well. ═══ 23. Saver Modules... ═══ Selecting the Saver Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window which displays the supplied saver modules of this version of MainActor/2, as well as the supported codecs of these modules. The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as well. ═══ 24. Registration ═══ Selecting the Registration item of the Help menu will show an informational text about how to register MainActor/2. ═══ 25. Serial Number... ═══ Selecting the Serial Number item of the Help menu will allow you to register your copy of MainActor/2 once you received your personal serial number from us. ═══ 26. Release Notes ═══ Selecting the Release Notes item of the Help menu will show the latest information about this version of MainActor/2. ═══ 27. Product Info... ═══ Selecting the Product Info ... item of the Help menu will open a dialog window which displays the version number of MainActor/2 and the registration status of your copy. ═══ 28. The DIVE Window ═══ The DIVE window is used for graphically displaying a project and its frames. The window contains the Options and Control menus and the The Control Toolbar. Please use the online help for the menu items for information on the various functions. ═══ 29. Snap ═══ Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Snap item in the DIVE Windows Options menu snaps The DIVE Window to a specific size, relative to the project dimensions. Snap 1/1 Snaps the window size to the size required to contain the original project dimensions. Snap 2/2 Snaps the window size to the size required to contain twice the project dimensions. Snap 3/3 Snaps the window size to the size required to contain thrice the project dimensions. ═══ 30. Speed ═══ Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Speed item in the DIVE Windows Options menu adjusts the frame rate with which the frames in the The DIVE Window are displayed. Timed Selects the default frame rate of the project. This is the default. Maximum Selects the maximum frame rate possible. The project will be played back at maximum speed. 60 fps Tries to adjust the frame rate to 60 frames per second, if possible. 50 fps Tries to adjust the frame rate to 50 frames per second, if possible. 30 fps Tries to adjust the frame rate to 30 frames per second, if possible. 25 fps Tries to adjust the frame rate to 25 frames per second, if possible. 10 fps Tries to adjust the frame rate to 10 frames per second, if possible. Custom... Requests a custom frame rate. Valid frame rates range from 1 to 1000. ═══ 31. Titlebar ═══ Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Titlebar item in the DIVE Windows Options menu sets the contents of the titlebar of The DIVE Window. Project Name Displays the name of the current project in the titlebar. This is the default for animations. Frame Counter Show the current frame number in the titlebar. This is the default for pictures. Frames per Second Shows the frames which are displayed per second in the titlebar. ═══ 32. Exit ═══ Selecting the Exit item in the DIVE Windows Options menu closes The DIVE Window. ═══ 33. Control Elements ═══ The items of the Control menu control the playback of the project. Most functions are also integrated in The Control Toolbar. Scan backward Scans back to the first frame. Step backward Steps back one frame. Stop Stops the playback. Play Starts the playback. Step forward Steps forward one frame. Scan forward Scans forward to the last frame. Goto Frame... Requests you to enter a frame inside the project. If you enter a valid frame number, The DIVE Window jumps to the frame. ═══ 34. Control Toolbar Layout ═══ Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Control Toolbar item in the DIVE Windows Control menu sets the style of The Control Toolbar Hover help Enables or disables the hover help support for the control toolbar. If hover help is enabled, help messages are displayed once the mousepointer is above one of the control elements of the toolbar. Top Displays the toolbar above the project. Bottom Displays the toolbar below the project. Left Displays the toolbar to the left of the project. Right Displays the toolbar to the right of the project. Floating Lets the toolbar float freely on the desktop. Hidden Hides the toolbar. ═══ 35. The Control Toolbar ═══ This toolbar controls The DIVE Window. For a description of the buttons of this toolbar, enable the Hover help subitem of the Control Toolbar item in the Control menu. ═══ 36. Goto Frame Window ═══ Enter the frame number of the frame which shall be displayed in the The DIVE Window. ═══ 37. Speed Window ═══ Enter the frame rate which shall be applied to The DIVE Window. ═══ 38. General Help ═══ The main window of MainActor/2 is divided into two parts. On the left of the window is The Project List, the rest of the window is occupied by The Frame List. You can change the relative size of the project and frame lists by dragging the vertical slider to the left or right. The slider is located between the lists. You can load a new Project with the Open item of the File menu, or by dragging the file into the project list. ═══ 39. Beta Notes ═══ Please read this page for information about this beta version of MainActor/2. This beta release will probably contain bugs and is missing features and modules of the final release. If you encounter any bugs or need a special feature please contact us, this is what this beta is for. Full-Screen DIVE is disabled for this beta release. We hope to get it up and running again soon. Known Problems with this Beta o None. Features of this version o Complete AVI and QT support with sound. o Other modules include loading of FLI, FLC, DL, PCX, IFF, IFF-Anim3/5/7/8/J and saving of AVI, FLI, FLC, BMP. o Lots of smaller improvements. For a detailed lists of changes see the history section of the MainActor/2 documentation. Features of v1.0 o Many loader and saver modules, including MPEG, AVI, QT, JPEG, M-JPEG, IFF-AnimX, WAV, .MOD and more. o Many animation processing and editing functions. o Graphical profiles. o Support for MMPM/2 (loading and saving). o Support for the Connectix QuickCam hardware. o Sound support for saving. In the long run, MainActor/2 will become a timeline based animation sequencer, including o An unlimited amount of video and audio tracks. o Fades, wipes and effects for both audio and video. o Developer kits for writing them, as will be the case with the loader/saver modules. ═══ 40. Load Error ═══ Either an error has been encountered while loading the project or you did cancel the loading progress. You can see the cause of the failure in the dialog box, as well as the project at which the failure occurred. ═══ 41. Module Info ═══ This window displays all loader or saver modules which are included in MainActor/2 v0.35. Each module supports various codecs, the codecs of the currently selected module are listed in the Codecs list. The author, copyright and version of the currently selected module are listed in the lower left of the window, along with the type field which identifies the format of the module, for example Animation or Picture. ═══ 42. Select Range ═══ The Select Range dialog window lets you select a specific range of frames in The Frame List. Enter the first frame you want to have selected in the From field and enter the last frame in the to field. After that, you can select Ok to select the frames or Cancel to cancel the operation. ═══ 43. Select Compression ═══ The Select Compression dialog window lets you select the frames in The Frame List which have a specific compression method. Select the compression format and select Ok to select the frames with the specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation. ═══ 44. Deselect Range ═══ The Deselect Range dialog window lets you deselect a specific range of frames in The Frame List. Enter the first frame you want to have deselected in the From field and enter the last frame in the to field. After that, you can select Ok to deselect the frames or Cancel to cancel the operation. ═══ 45. Deselect Compression ═══ The Deselect Compression dialog window lets you deselect the frames in The Frame List which have a specific compression method. Select the compression method and select Ok to deselect the frames with the specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation. ═══ 46. Project Info ═══ The Project Info dialog window displays some of the more technical information of the current project. Name The name of the current project. Format The format of the loader module. Width The width of the project in pixels. Height The height of the project in pixels. Frames The number of frames of the project. Loop Frames The number of loop frames of the project. Average Image Size The average size, in bytes, of the image data. Average Sound Size The average size, in bytes, of the sound data (if any). Bits Per Sample The amount of bits per sample, typically 8 or 16 bits. The sound quality improves with the number of bits. This field is empty when no sound is associated with the project. Samples Per Second The samples which are played per second. More samples are equivalent with better sound quality. This field is empty when no sound is associated with the project. Total Project Size The total size, in bytes, of the project. DIVE Color Space Spec The color space format of the project. ═══ 47. Local Timecode ═══ The Local Timecode window allows you to change the local timecodes of the currently selected frames. The Local Timecode changes the timecodes of all currently selected frames in The Frame List to the new timecode. Note that only a few animation formats support a timecode per frame (for example all IFF-Anim formats). You can always change the local timecodes for pictures, but they will not be saved. The timecode has to be entered in milliseconds. ═══ 48. Error ═══ An error has been encountered. The dialog window displays the error message and the possible cause for the error. ═══ 49. The Save Window ═══ The save window is the interface to the save modules which are shipped with MainActor/2 v0.35. You can select the format in which you want to save the frames in the Modules list. Most modules support more than one codec, select the one you want in the Codecs list. If you are going to save pictures or an animation, you can select their new width and height in the Width and Height entry fields. You can now choose if you want to save all the frames of the project, or just those which are selected in the The Frame List. If you want to save all frames, enable the All Frames button, otherwise select the Selected Frames button. You can start the save process by clicking on the Save... button. Choose the name of the new project in the file dialog requester. Note that the save modules will append their suffix to the file name automatically, like ".fli". Also, if you save a series of pictures, the picture index will also be appended, like "0002.bmp". While saving you can stop the action by clicking on Cancel. Cancel will also close the window if no save progress is currently running. ═══ 50. Registration ═══ If you decide to register MainActor/2, we will send you a personal serial number which will be able to unlock all future versions of this software. The fee for MainActor/2 is $60 (99,- DM) or any equivalent sum in your local currency. Please no foreign checks (except EuroChecks). We do take Master/EuroCard and VISA. You can contact us at : MainConcept, GbR Moenig/Zabel Hermann-Heusch-Platz 3 D-52062 Aachen Germany Tel: +49-(0)241-4090444 FAX: +49-(0)241-4090445 BBS: +49-(0)241-4090446 Email: info@mainconcept.de http://www.ac-copy.com/maincpt.html ═══ 51. Personalisation ═══ Enter your personal serial number into the entry field and select Ok. If you do not yet own a serial number (you do not have registered MainActor/2 yet), select Cancel. ═══ 52. MainView/2 ═══ MainView/2 is the external player of MainActor/2. It should be used if you just want to play an animation or to view a picture. During the loading process, the name of the project, its format and the width and height are displayed. The progress indicator displays how much of the project has already been examined. If the project has been loaded the frames field is updated with the number of frames of the project. MainView/2 will display warning messages of the loader modules in red at the bottom line of the window. After loading, the project will be shown. ═══ 53. Timecode Settings ═══ Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Show Timecodes as item in the Settings menu allows you to change the time system in which the timecodes in The Frame List are displayed. /1000 Sec This timecode setting displays the timecode for every frame in milliseconds. HH:MM:SS:MS The timecodes will be displayed as time offsets of the frames relative to the beginning of the project in hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds. The head of the timecode column will display the time of the whole project. HH:MM:SS.FF In contrast to the first two settings, this setting is based on a frames per second basis. The timecodes are, again, treated as offsets. First, MainActor/2 will determine the global frames per second rate of the project. Then it will display the timecodes, based on this fps rate, in hours, minutes, seconds and the frame offset. The frame offset is between 0 (the first frame of the second) and the frames per second rate minus one (the last frame of the second). The head of the timecode column will display the time of the whole project. ═══ 54. Remove All ═══ Selecting the Remove All item of the File menu will remove all currently loaded projects from The Project List. ═══ 55. Global Timecode ═══ The Global Timecode window allows you to change the global timecode of your current Project. The Global Timecode changes the timecodes of all frames to the new timecode entered in the window. This option is important for those animation formats who only support one timecode per animation (FLI/FLC). These animation formats often use Dummy frames for timing. The timecode has to be entered in milliseconds. ═══ 56. Remove Frames ═══ Selecting the Remove Frames item of the Frames menu will remove the currently selected frames in The Frames List. This menu item is only active when the current project is a picture list. You cannot remove frames from an animation. ═══ 57. The Custom File Requester ═══ This requester offers some enhanced functionality over the system file requester. You can select the drives in The Drive List and files and directories in The File And Directory List. Pressing the Load button will load the currently selected files, pressing Cancel will close the requester without loading a file. If the file requester is in single selection mode, the Select and Deselect submenu items of the Files menu will be disabled. Please use the online menu help for descriptions of the menu functions. ═══ 58. The Drive List ═══ The drive list contains the drives (disks) which are currently available on your system. Selecting a drive will display the current directory of this drive in The File And Directory List. Double clicking a drive will display the root directory. Note that the Drives menu is available as a popup menu inside of the drive list. ═══ 59. The File And Directory List ═══ The file and directory list contains the files and directories of the currently selected drive of the The Drive List. The directories are located at the top of the list, the files at the bottom. You can enter a directory by double clicking on its name. You cannot select directories, only files. Double clicking on a file will load it. Note that the Files menu is available as a popup menu inside of the file and directory list. ═══ 60. The Drives Menu ═══ The Drives menu contains the following items: Refresh This item will refresh The Drive List. Exit Closes the file requester without loading a file. ═══ 61. Select ═══ The submenu items of the Select item select all files or a part of the files in The File And Directory List. Select All Selects all files. Select To Selects all files up to the current file. Select From Select all files starting from the current file. ═══ 62. Deselect ═══ The submenu items of the Deselect item deselect all files or a part of the files in The File And Directory List. Deselect All Deselects all files. Deselect To Deselects all files up to the current file. Deselect From Deselect all files starting from the current file. ═══ 63. Load Files ═══ The Load Files item will load all currently selected files in The File And Directory List. ═══ 64. Custom File Requester ═══ Selecting the Custom File Requester item of the Settings menu will use The Custom File Requester for loading of files. ═══ 65. Repeats ═══ The sub menu items of the Repeats item in the DIVE Windows Options menu show and change the number of times the project is repeated while played in The DIVE Window. The first sub menu item, the Repeats: item, indicates the current number of repeats. The repeat value can be changed with the Change sub menu item. Note that projects with sound will always be played only once and you cannot change the repeat value. ═══ 66. Repeats Window ═══ Enter the number of times projects without sound shall be repeated while