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Text File | 1995-08-01 | 34KB | 709 lines

▄ ▄ ▄ ▄ ▀█▄ ▐██▄▄ ██▄ ▄▄▄███▌ ▄ ▐██ ████▀▀▄ █▀ ▄▀▀▄ ▀▀███▄ █▌ ███ ▐███ ▄▄ ▀ ▄██ ▐███ ██▀▀▀▐██▌ ███▌ ▐███ ██▌ ████ ███▌ ▐███ ▐███▄ ██▌ ▐██▄▄ ▐████▌ ▐████▄▄ ▀▀▀▀ ▀▀▀▀▀▀ ▀▀ ▀▀▀█████████ ▀█▀▀ D R A W ▀▀▀█▀ v1.2 ANSI Screen Editor Copyright (c) 1994-1995 ACiD Productions(tm) ∙ ∙ ∙ Designed By Sinned Soul of ACiD Productions Programming By Skull Leader of ACiD Productions ∙ ∙ ∙ Quality Assurance RaD Man of ACiD Productions Artwork By Sparr, Lord Jazz, Stone The Crow, Soul Blazer, and Gangstar ┌──────────────┐ │ Introduction │ └──────────────┘ ACiDDraw is a utility for manipulating ANSI and ASCII text. It is based upon Ian Davis's TheDraw (tm). Many of it's basic features, and their organization parallel TheDraw. In addition to these, however, it has many refined and added features. The authors of this utility have sought to include, within an efficient and tightly organized program, the most useful tools for manipulating ANSI and ASCII text that could be conceived. The ideas of some of the most experienced artists in these areas have been implemented in every way possible, to create, what we hope, is the most useful utility of this type to date. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ System Requirements │ └─────────────────────┘ ■ 286 processor or better. ■ DOS v3.30 or higher. (Not tested under Windows, or OS/2) ■ 480k Free memory. (Approx) ■ CGA video card and monitor. ■ MCGA video card and monitor for 50 line mode and VGA viewing. ■ SVGA video card and monitor for Hi-Res viewing. ┌────────────────────────┐ │ Suggested Requirements │ └────────────────────────┘ ■ 1 Meg of free extended memory (For multiple pages) ■ SVGA video card, with VESA support. ■ Mouse with a Microsoft compatible mouse driver. ┌──────────┐ │ Features │ └──────────┘ ACiDDraw v1.2 includes the following features : ■ Supports up 4 (2 for unregistered) pages. ■ Usage of XMS for multiple pages. ■ Dos Shell. ■ Pascal,Assembly and C saving ability. ■ Extended background colors (a.k.a. iCE Colour) ■ Full screen editing. ■ Global commands. ■ Block loading, and text alignment commands. ■ Undo command. (For block commands) ■ Sequential file saving. ■ File name guessing when saving. ■ Configuration file is built into the executable. ■ ANSI/ASCII/BINARY/COM/PCBOARD Saving formats. ■ Mouse support ■ VGA viewing modes. ■ And much more! ┌─────────────────────┐ │Unregistered Version │ └─────────────────────┘ ACiDDraw v1.2 is considered shareware, and is on a "try and buy" system. If you find ACiDDraw useful, then please feel free to register the program using the methods described at the end of this document. In order to encourage users to register ACiDDraw, several features have been removed from the program. These include, ■ Limit of 2 pages. ■ Tab position cannot be altered. ■ Intense background colour are not available. ■ Limit of 100 lines in .COM saving. ■ Preset .COM ending message. ■ No DOS shell available. With your registration and registration fee, you will receive the latest copy of ACiDDraw, personalized with your own name. All of the unregistered features will be removed, you will also receive free technical support directly from the creators of ACiDDraw. For more information on registration please see the end of this document. ┌────────┐ │ Notice │ └────────┘ This version of ACiDDraw is being release to you as is. All bugs should be reported to either Skull Leader or Sinned Soul. The authors take no responsibility for lost work, or damaged equipment caused directly or indirectly by this program. ACiDDraw cannot be modified in any way with out the written consent of either author. Finally, the charging of monetary fees by any unauthorized party for the circulation or use of this utility is expressly forbidden. ┌────────────┐ │ The Editor │ └────────────┘ The editor consists of either a 80x24 or 80x49 (80x25,80x50 in full screen mode) viewable area. There are up to 4 pages, at 1000 lines with 80 columns or 500 lines in 160 columns. The following keys will allow you to maneuver through the viewable page : Arrow Keys : This keys allow you to move the cursor to different positions around the viewable screen. The program will scroll the window to allow you to view the entire virtual page. Page Up/Page Down : These two keys are keys which will allow you to maneuver around the virtual screen quickly. It will move the screen either up a page, or down a page. Ctrl-Home : This key combination moves the cursor the first character present on the current line. Ctrl-End : This key combination moves the cursor to the last character present on the current line. Tab : This will position your cursor to a position preset by the tab configuration. (See tab setup) Shift-Tab : This will position your cursor to the previous position set in the tab configuration. (See tab setup) Ctrl-Left : This will shift anything on the right hand side of the cursor over to the left by one. This affects the entire length of the virtual screen. (See undo function.) Ctrl-Right : This will shift anything on the right hand side of the cursor over to the right by one. This affects the entire length of the virtual screen. (See undo function.) Ctrl-Y : This will move every line below the cursor up one, deleting the row below the cursor. (See undo function.) Ctrl-I : This will move every line below the cursor down one, deleting the very last row. (See undo function.) F1-F10 : These keys will display special ASCII characters, these ASCII characters are preset in the program. The current character which will be display by press any one of these keys are listed on the top right corner of the screen. There are 15 sets of these characters all preset, and each set can be selected. ALT-F1 to F10 : This will change the set which is currently being used, sets 1 through to 10 can be selected using the ALT key. Ctrl-F1 to F5 : This will allow you to select the current sets from 11 through to 15. ALT-C : This command will prompt you if you want to clear the screen, if you agree it will proceed to clear the current page. ALT-E : This command will allow you to switch between two possible pages. Each page is separate from the other page in contents and SAUCE description. ALT-J : This command will cause ACiDDraw to drop to a Dos shell. ACiDDraw will look for the Comspec environment command for the path to Command.Com. If XMS or a disk space is available, then ACiDDraw will be able to provide more memory in the dos shell. Note - You must have multiple pages in order to be able to switch between pages. See configuration for more information. Ctrl-PrintScreen : This command removes the status bar from the top for full screen editing. Allowing you to edit the screen in either 80x25 or 80x50. To retrieve the status bar simply hit Ctrl-PrintScreen again. Numbers and alphanumerics can be displayed by pressing the corresponding key on the keyboard. All shift combined with the numeric and alphanumeric are also valid entries. Special ASCII codes can be entered by holding down ALT key, typing the ASCII code in the keypad and then releasing the ALT key. ┌────────────────┐ │ Color Changing │ └────────────────┘ The editor has the ability to select between 16 normal foreground colors, 16 blinking foreground colors, and 8 background colors. With the ability to selection between blinking and intense background colors. (See blinking/intensity option) The current color determines what attribute the next character displayed will have. Escape : This key will pull down the quick palette menu, (Quick Palette) which allows you to easily change colors with arrow keys. The up and down arrows allow you to change the foreground colors. The BB beside the foreground colors represents a blinking color. The left and right arrows change the current background color. The mouse can also be used to select the colors from quick palette. (see section on mouse support) To select a color, place the cursor on top of the colors you want and press the left button. If ACiDDraw is in intense background color mode, this menu will change and allow you to choose between 16 foreground color and 16 background colors. Ctrl-A : This key will bring a menu which allows you to select which color you want. All the colors are displayed, and both the foreground and background colors must be entered. Either arrow keys or numeric entry will work in this menu. Ctrl-Left : This key will select the previous background color available. Ctrl-Right : This key will select the next background color available. Ctrl-Up : This key will selected the next foreground color available. Ctrl-Down : This key will selected the previous foreground color available. NOTE - Some of the Ctrl keys may not work if you do not have an enhanced keyboard. Alt-U : This key will change the current color to the one located just under the cursor position. Scroll Lock : If the Scroll Lock is on, then ACiDDRAW is in a "color pickup" mode. This mean that the current color is automatically changed to the color under the cursor. ALT-Z : This command, which is only available in the registered version allows the toggling of 8 more background colors. This is a function which removes the blinking ability of the foreground colors and replaces it with the ability to have 16 background colors. (Note, the quick palette and color changing menus will change when this mode is activated) NOTE - ACiDDraw will allows you to edit in this special mode, but under a normal DOS environment the regular blinking effect occur, causing undesired blinking in your picture. In order to view an image with intense background colors, please use the program BLINK.EXE included with ACiDDraw. It will allow you to turn on/off blinking colors in the outside environment. ┌──────────────┐ │ Viewing Keys │ └──────────────┘ ALT-M : This key toggles between a 25 and a 50 line display. (Line Toggle) A 50 line display is only available with a VGA adapter. ALT-V : This key allows you to view the current page in (VGA Viewing) a simulated VGA environment. It will try to convert the characters which are in text mode into a graphics mode. The resolution which it is first displayed can be selected in the configuration menu. F1 : While viewing in the 320x200x256c mode, ACiDDraw has the ability to change to higher resolutions. These higher resolutions are only available to people with a SVGA or Super Video Graphics Adapter. This key will display the vga at 320x200x256c mode. F2 : This will change the resolution to a 640x480x256c mode, which is only available on a SVGA video card. The video card is auto-detected. F3 : This will change the resolution to a 1024x768x256c mode, which is only available on a SVGA video card. The video card is auto-detected. It is possible to view each page in VGA, by selecting the proper page in text mode, then using ALT-V to view it. If the picture does not fit onto a single VGA screen, you will be able to scroll the VGA using the up, down, page up and page down arrow keys. It ESC to return back to the editor. ┌────────────────┐ │ Setup Commands │ └────────────────┘ ALT-T : This key combination will allow you to edit the position (Tab Setup) at which the cursor is placed when a TAB or Shift-Tab is placed. Each marker is a place where the cursor jump, the cursor will jump to the next marker from its current position. You can either set each tab location, or you can set the interval at which a marker is placed. ALT-O : This is the main configuration for the program. (Configuration) Since this function has the ability to change page sizes at run time, ACiDDraw will automatically ask if you want to save the current page. NOTE - Be careful to save all your work on all pages before changing page sizes. The configuration can also be edited, and reset without loading the program. To edit the configuration type ACiDDRAW !CONFIG <┘ This will bring up the configuration screen, and exit back to the operating system when done. If you need to reset the configuration for any reason, without loading the program, simply type ACiDDRAW !RESET <┘ This will reset all of the options in ACiDDraw to the default. This is a brief description of some of the commands available in the setup menu. Screen Width : This option sets the number of columns the screen will have at startup, either 80 or 160. Screen Resolution : This option will set the screen resolution at start up, either 80x25 or 80x50. Use XMS Memory : This option will allow you to choose whether or not ACiDDraw will use XMS memory. With out XMS memory ACiDDraw will not have multiple pages. Number of Pages : This will set the maximum number of XMS pages which ACiDDraw will use. (1 XMS page will take up 160k of XMS memory) Blinking Cursor : This option, if on will make the cursor appear to be flickering. This is useful when editing a screen which uses characters which hide the cursor. Length of ANSI : This option will set the method at which ACiDDraw determines which is the last line of the ANSI. Possible options are entire page, the position of the cursor (anything about will be saved), and auto-detect. Filename Guessing : This new option will cause ACiDDraw to try and determine what the file name should be called when saving. This is based upon the filename which was loaded and the saving format of the image. This option will become evident when you enter the filename to save an ANSI as. The filename can still be edited before saving. File Backup Format : This option will allow the user to select what action should be taken when trying to save a file with the same name as another. Possible options are overwrite, .BAK which will backup the existing file with the extension .BAK, and sequential. The sequential save is a unique feature, this option will automatically give the file an extension of .001 - .999 depending on what files already exist. This option can be used to save images in a progressive order. Start ANSI With : This option will determine whether ACiDDraw will Default Color reset the color of a ANSI file to the default grey on black. This option, if on will place a esc[0m before an ANSI file. End ANSI With Default : This option is like the one above, except it Color sets whether or not to reset to a default grey on black after an ANSI file. Ascii Save Method : This option, either full or optimize will set whether or not to try and place a carriage return (if possible) for ASCII files which do not take up the entire line (Optimize) Write Tab : This option will set whether or not to Configuration save the tab configuration to disk after tab positions are set. Swap File Path : This is the path in which to place a swap file when ACiDDraw shells to DOS. (If no XMS is available) IMPORTANT - For this version, it is NO longer required to re-enter the program after changing a page size, but any work in the pages will NOT be saved. ┌─────────────────┐ │ Saving An Image │ └─────────────────┘ ALT-S : This is the key combination to save an ANSI. (Save ANSI) The following save methods are available ANSI : Standard method for storing graphics in text mode. The length of the ANSI is automatically detected on the first blank line. The characters per line option determine how many characters there will be before a carriage return. An extension of .ANS is automatically placed onto a file with no extension. ASCII : This method uses all the ASCII characters, but without ANSI color and movement codes. The line length is also auto-detected. BINARY : This is a raw binary dump of the entire virtual screen. No length and width data is mentioned in the file. You must use sauce to determine these. PASCAL : This format is used for the ability to import images directly into pascal programs. NOTE - Be careful when saving an image over 400 lines. This will cause the pascal array to be greater than 64k. C : This format is used to allow images to be imported in to the C language. ASM : This format is used with assembly programs. It creates a regular text file which contain all the necessary information to incorporate your art work into an assembly program. PCBOARD : This save format is used with the PCBOARD(Tm) type bulletin board system. The only codes supported are color changing codes. So far no PCBOARD commands are supported. COM : This is a self displaying file. Images can only have a width of 80 columns, and a maximum length of 400 lines. When the .COM file is create, the use of the up and down arrow keys, home, end, page up, and page down can all be used to view the file. Any image saved in this format will be AUTOMATICALLY make 80 columns and cut off at 400 lines. ┌──────────────────┐ │ Loading An Image │ └──────────────────┘ ALT-L : This is the load menu, it is allows you to choose which (Load ANSI) file you want to load. The use of the arrow keys allows you maneuver the selector to the correct file you with to load and hit the enter key. Directories and drives can also be accessed by selecting the proper drive or directory and hitting the enter key. A filename can also be entered by simply typing the drive, directory and filename followed by return. F1 : This key will select what type of load method ACiDDRAW should use on the current file. Usually this should be set to AUTO which will cause ACiDDRAW to detect the file format. ALT-D : This will allow you to delete a certain file, ACiDDRAW will confirm before deleting the file. ┌─────────────────────┐ │ Additional Commands │ └─────────────────────┘ ALT-D : This menu will allow you to choose whether or not SAUCE will be attached to the end of the file. It will also allow you to choose a name, group and title for your work. The date, size, dimensions, etc. are are automatically updated for you when you save. NOTE - Each page is capable of holding an individual description. Please see SAUCE.DOC included with the original package of ACiDDRAW, for more information on the SAUCE format. ALT-R : This command will restore a backed up file onto the screen. Before a BLOCK command, the image will be backed up. If after preforming a single block command (i.e Copy, Move, Fill, Load) or a commands such as delete/insert line, delete/insert column it is possible to retrieve the image as it was before it was modified. Note-This function is partially limited, you cannot undo multiple commands, nor can you reverse the undo command. This function is not available for simple key commands. ALT-B : This allows you to select a block and perform functions on this selected area of screen. After blocking a certain area certain optional are available. Copy or Move : Copy allows you to stamp a block multiple times onto the screen, Block moves the blocked area to a new location. Flip X/V : This flips the block horizontally, "X" being a regular byte for byte flip, while a "V" will flip any ASCII characters which have a horizonal mirror image. Flip Y/W : This flips the block vertically, "Y" being a regular byte for byte flip, while a "W" will flip any ASCII characters which have a vertical mirror image. Fill : Allows you to fill a blocked area with either the current foreground, background, both, or fill the blocked area with a selected character, with or without the current attribute. Page : Allows you to paste your block onto a separate page, (if another one is available) Outline : Allows you to outline a blocked area with a single, double, or a mix. The selected set determines which is drawn, set 1 single line, set 2 double set 3 mix, set 4 mix. The color of the outline is determined by the current drawing color. Save : Allows you to save a block, using either of the formats. Load : This command will allow you to load another image into the selected area. After blocking an area, and hitting "L" another menu will appear, which will allow you to load another file. A blocked area will show you the area which will be taken from the loaded file and placed into the image. Hit "S" to load the image into your page. Text : Several text options are available, such as centering, left justification, and right justification. These will justify any characters, to a position with in the blocked area. Erase : This command will blank out the area behind the block. Delete : This command will shift everything to the left of the block into the blocked area. ALT-H : A multi-screen help menu can be called up using this key combination. Inside summarizes most of the commands. To page through all four screens, use either the page up or page down key. ALT-X : This command allows you to exit ACiDDRAW, if the ACiDDraw detects that the CURRENT PAGE has been changed before it was saved, it will prompt you if you want to save it. ┌──────┐ │ Bugs │ └──────┘ Although ACiDDraw has been through many hours of testing, it is not bug free. If you discover a bug, please notify the authors on the internet address below. All users who have a registered copy of ACiDDraw, will receive a free update of ACiDDraw. ┌─────────────────┐ │ How to Register │ └─────────────────┘ 1. Print out or duplicate order form below 2. Fill out the order form. 3. Mail order form along with Cheque or Money Order for $20 US or $25 CAN 4. Make all Cheques or Money Orders out to ACiD Productions Canada. ┌─────────┐ │ Pricing │ └─────────┘ A fully registered copy of ACiDDraw costs $20 US or $25 CAN. If you are outside of North America, send in either American or Canadian funds (US Preferred). With this you will receive the latest registered copy of ACiDDraw on the size of disk you requested. The registered version of ACiDDraw will allow have your personal name engraved into the program, and all of the features enabled. Plus technical support will be available to users who register. --------------[ CUT HERE! CUT HERE! CUT HERE! CUT HERE! ]-------------------- ┌────────────┐ │ Order Form │ └────────────┘ Name: __________________________________ Address: __________________________________ Apartment #: __________________________________ City: __________________________________ State/Prov: __________________________________ Zip/Postal Code: __________________________________ Country: __________________________________ Voice #: (___) ___-____ Ordering info Number of copies..................[ ] X $20US/$25CAN = _______ Sales tax (only in Ontario)................... Add 7% = _______ Total................................................ = _______ * Note: All residents of Ontario must pay PST. Comments and/or Suggestions: _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ _________________________________________________________________ --------------[ CUT HERE! CUT HERE! CUT HERE! CUT HERE! ]-------------------- Note: All information will be kept confidential. Send order forms to: ACiD Productions Canada P.O. Box 94535 2900 Steeles Avenue East Thornhill, Ontario CANADA L3T 7R5 ┌───────────────────┐ │ Where to Reach Us │ └───────────────────┘ Comments, bug report, suggestion, etc can be forwarded to either Sinned Soul or Skull Leader at the following locations : via the internet: aciddraw@cyberspace.com or try ACiD's *NEW* WWW Page: http://www.megamed.com/acid Note : We will try to the best of our abilities to answer all of the messages we receive.