DCTV Viewer 1996! Not to be mistaken by Windows95 (95% data loss) By Alex Howell BYTE BUiLDERS INDUSTRIES We don't write software, we build it. Please take time and read over the documentation that's contained within this file, as it is simple, it is quite important and well worth the reading. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact me at Snailmail: 2546 Constable Road Mississauga, Ontario L5J-1W2 I sometimes am on IRC in #amiga, you can say hi to me there, I am GuruSR. Feel like dropping me a line, I'd like to hear from you, as I have plans on an OS friendly adaptation, but would prefer to find out how many of you out there REALLY want such. And if you like using the viewer, and are rich! Hey, share! :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- My "Disclaimer": I guarantee it works (except 1.3 with an 68030 seemed flakey but it does anyways, I need to find the right Setpatch for it). I guarantee it can't crash hard drives. (Why? Because it's a reader, not a writer, all it *DOES* save, is a small 512 byte-ish config in S:. Okay, mine is 66 byes long but hey, it can get longer.) I don't guarantee that it'll be fast on 68000 machines, but it WORKS. :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- DCTV Viewer's "Overview": The idea was, got a real nice picture, BUT, you can only see a small copy of it, on a normal screen, don't have a 24 bit card, BUT, you DO have a DCTV! But, all of the current DCTV JPEG/GIF viewers DON'T scroll! So, what I did was make something that viewed ".DCTV" files. Which are basically, `DCTV DISPLAY' files. Ones that you convert to DCTV with programs like "HamLab", "ImageFX", "ArtDepartment Pro" and there must be others. Just convert the picture right over and save it as a .DCTV file and then run the viewer. :) And enjoy! :) Oh yes, RTFM! :) ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- The file selection screen. ("File Selector") There are two boxes of concern to you, when using this screen, the largest being where files and devices/assigns will show up within, and the smaller one below it, which will display the current path or current pattern. ============================================================ | | | ======================================== GETDIR | | | | | | | Files and Devices/Assigns are shown | _ PARENT | | | here. To select directories or | ^ | | | Devices/Assigns, double click with | VIEW | | | your left mouse button. Selecting | ^ | | | files need only one click. Clicking | SELECT | | | with right mouse button over this | v | | | window will swap the listing to/from | CLEAR | | | Files and Devices/Assigns. | v | | | | ~ PATTERN | | | See documentation for RANGE selects. | | | | | CLOSE | | ======================================== | | | | ======================================== | | | Path and Pattern shown here *B* | | | ======================================== | | | ============================================================ *B* To use this window, you can do a few things: click on the "PATTERN" button or click on the actual window to edit the currently displayed information. The current path or pattern can be seen by clicking the RIGHT mouse button over top the window. It will swap the display inside that window for whichever of the two isn't being displayed when you click. To select a file or multiple files: Clicking once on a file inside the Files and Devices/Assign window, with the LEFT mouse button will toggle a highlight on it. Clicking the RIGHT mouse button will toggle between Files and Devices/Assigns being displayed within this window. The MIDDLE mouse button is used to select a RANGE. Simply select two pictures and then click the MIDDLE mouse button and the range will either select or clear the range, depending on the last selection's state. *IF* you don't have a 3 button mouse, don't fret! You can simply hold down the LEFT mouse on the second selected file that ends the range, and click the RIGHT one, while still holding down the left one (a left-hold and right click). Then the range will be selected. Another way would be to select files by changing the pattern and hitting either select or clear to make changes. Though this affects the entire list of files, you might want to hit GETDIR instead. That will read in according to the pattern you selected. NOTE: Selected files don't disappear after viewing. You must clear them out yourself. Typically, this is not a problem. Selecting volumes is as simple as double clicking on the volume or assign in the list. The same method is used to enter directories. NOTE: In the event that there aren't any files readable with the current pattern, changing the pattern when there are NO files listed, will cause the viewer to re-read the directory whenever you change the pattern. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Buttons: "GETDIR" This button re-reads the current path. IF the pattern is changed and NO files are on the list, getdir automatically tries again. "PARENT" This button will back out one directory entry. If at the actual device name, you'll be presented with the device/assign list (which can also be gotten with the right mouse button over the file list area). "VIEW" View with the left mouse button will view the currently selected files, the right mouse button will continue to view the selected files past the last one previously viewed (the next picture after the currently displayed one, which was seen after aborting the list of selected files). "SELECT" Select uses the current pattern to select only those files that match it. "CLEAR" Clear uses the current pattern to clear only those files that match it. "PATTERN" Pattern allows you to change the current pattern, as opposed to actually clicking the right mouse button over the directory path box and clicking in it. Once you've edited the pattern, the directory will return if it was being shown. Only valid paths will remain, if an invalid path is entered, it will return to normal. ESC will abort the current text being edited and the original text will be replaced. "CLOSE" This will cause the DCTV-Viewer to save it's defaults in the S: directory and exit. If the S: path is write-protected, it will not save the defaults, it will simply exit. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Keyboard Configurations: Using the keyboard, you can alter the current viewer's setup, as follows: Visual Display: Amiga Key + Cursor Keys: These will alter the size of the display, just experiment while a picture is onscreen. (This only affects the picture display area only and cannot be done after you've moved into a picture. See "INFO BOX".) ALT Key + Cursor Keys: These will allow the visual area to be properly aligned to the top left hand corner of your monitor. Do the actual picture display area FIRST, then you can move the file requestor screen accordingly, as moving the picture display around, *WILL* affect the file requestor screen. Experiment with this and get the results you want. NOTE: Some blitters MAY have troubles with your screen positioning, some   may not. If an image disappears or an image goes bad, reposition OR resize your view to make the blitter happy. (Blitter is that chip in your Amiga called an Agnus and is responsible for moving graphics.) If you own a computer with a numeric keypad (Sorry A600 owners, but I seriously doubt you'd be using this program anyways), the following keys on that keypad allow you to control the "BEEPS" you hear while using the Viewer. These ALWAYS work, in all areas of the viewer's usage, except during some text input. Key "*": This key will toggle the BEEPS On and Off, default is On. Key "-": This key drops the volume of the BEEPS down by one. Key "+": This key drops the volume of the BEEPS up by one. Keys 0-9: These keys turn on the TURBO (yup, like your real life car in the driveway). 0 is off, 9 is 9x's. (Warp 9 anyone?) Preferrably 1 for the new C= mice, 2 for the old C= ones. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Picture Viewing: Scroll the screen about with the mouse, clicking the LEFT mouse button will display the "Info Box" at the bottom of your screen. See "Info Box" usage for more information on that box. To exit the "Info Box", click the LEFT mouse button again. (Holding the LEFT mouse button down will show the "Info Box" only until you let go of the LEFT mouse button.) To select/move to the next picture, press the RIGHT mouse button, when either the "Info Box" is up or just while the picture is. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Info Box" Usage: The Info Box is to display all the information about the current picture being viewed. As well if the current picture being viewed is larger than the area being seen a box will show up within the right White Box area. The White Box area shows up when your visual area is smaller than the actual full picture. Simply cursor around and then press the RIGHT mouse button to `GO ON' to the next part of the image. Pressing the LEFT mouse button will abort this and exit out of the Info Box. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Features: If the visual (Chip memory) isn't large enough to accomodate the current `Visual Area' (Screen display area), it will shrink the screen down in size, until there's enough Chip memory to open the screen. Pictures Auto-Center. With them only centering horizontally when the "Info Box" is open. `Smart Screen' (no tm but it's fun) is a method of REUSING a currently opened screen (Screen display area), rather than closing and reopening one that's simular and could fit the next picture within. This helps cut down on memory fragmentation and also helps speed up the displaying process. `Smart Reselect' will not reload the next picture viewed, IF the same picture is selected as the next picture to see after the File Selector was used. IE: You select Picture A, then some others and select View, from the File Selector. Yet Picture A was the last one you were looking at before the File Selector came up. It won't re-load Picture A since it's already there. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Memory Problems: In the event, a screen can't be opened due to memory limitations (Chip mem is so frazzled there's not a nibble left), a requestor will hopefully pop up telling you it couldn't view the picture because it couldn't load it. You'll have two choices, IGNORE or INFORM. With the ALWAYS button down, it will always do those two items. NOTE: INFORM doesn't do anything without the ALWAYS button down. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------