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MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Users Guide for Version 1.04 31 August 1988 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton Michael Burton 15540 Boot Hill Rd. Hayden Lake, Idaho 83835 (208) 772-9347 (after 6 p.m. Pacific Time) MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Program Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 MCD as ShareWare . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 Association of Shareware Professionals . . . . . . . . . 4 Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Running MCD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 The Main Menu. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 The Screen Mask Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 The Cursor Mask Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Screen/Cursor Mask Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Building a Cursor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 See-through Cursors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Overlay Cursors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 Animated Cursors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Creating Source Code. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 Appendix A - MCD Error Messages . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 Appendix B - Software Discrepancy Report Form . . . . . . . . 13 Appendix C - MCD Revision History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 Page 2 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Introduction Overview MCD, the Mouse Cursor Designer, is specifically tailored to help graphics programmers design mouse cursors for applications that use a Microsoft compatible mouse driver. MCD uses a computer's graphics capabilities and its mouse to modify the two mouse cursor masks. The user may save cursor designs and reload them. MCD can produce source code in Pascal, Basic, C and assembly language for the currently displayed cursor. MCD was written in Borland International Turbo C, version 1.5. It requires a graphics display adapter and a Microsoft compatible mouse. Purpose The purpose of this users guide is to provide help with running MCD, as well as helping you to get the most out of the program. It will explain how to run MCD, how to use the Main Menu options, how to use the screen mask and cursor mask options, how to create mouse cursors and how to create computer language source code from a mouse cursor. Program Specifications Program date: 08-31-88 Program version: 1.04 Program size: 62078 Disk Drives required: One for file storage/retrieval Display required: A graphics adapter (CGA, EGA, VGA, EEGA, Hercules, etc.). Special hardware required: Any pointing device with a Microsoft compatible mouse driver (Microsoft, MSC, Logitech, Key Tronic, Kraft, Mitsubishi, MicroSpeed, etc.). MCD as ShareWare The MCD program and this manual are both Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton. They are being distributed under the 'ShareWare' concept. This means that if after trying out MCD, you decide to use it on a regular basis, you are expected to register the program by sending $15 to Michael Burton 15540 Boot Hill Rd. Hayden Lake, ID 83835 In return for your registration, you will immediately receive via first class mail the latest version of MCD and a printed version of this guide. Page 3 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 You are encouraged to copy and distribute MCD to anyone with the following restrictions: 1. The MCD program, the example cursor files and the file for this manual must be distributed as a set. It is important that the manual be included. 2. No changes may be made to either the program or this manual. MCD and this manual are both copyrighted and should remain unchanged. 3. You may not charge for MCD's distribution or copying. The exception to this is User Groups, who may make a small charge for the cost of disks and copying, not to exceed $8. 4. Commercial use of MCD in any manner is prohibited without the express written consent of the author. Commercial users of MCD MUST register the number of copies that they will be using. The MCD program and this accompanying users guide are provided 'as is' without warranty of any kind. The correctness, accuracy, reliability and currentness of MCD and this users guide is not warranted. The entire risk as to results and performance of MCD is assumed by the user. Association of Shareware Professionals The author of this program is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP) and has agreed to comply with its standards: Programming Standards - 1. The program meets ASP's definition of Shareware. 2. The program has been thoroughly tested by the author and should not be harmful to other files or hardware if used properly (although ASP cannot warrant this; therefore, the user should take normal precautions in trying new software). Documentation Standards - 1. Sufficient documentation is provided to allow the average user to try all major functions of the program. 2. The program author has explained the Shareware concept in a professional and positive manner. Page 4 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Support Standards - 1. The program author will respond as described in the documentation to people who send registration payments. At a minimum, the author will send an acknowledgment of payment. 2. The author will respond to written bug reports from registered users when the user provides a self-addressed, stamped envelope (some authors will respond by phone, but this is not an ASP requirement). 3. Incompatibilities with other software or hardware, major or unusual program limitations, or known problems are noted in the documentation that comes with the Shareware version of the program. General - 1. The author keeps his/her membership in ASP current. 2. The author recognizes that any user may appeal to ASP for any unresolved dispute that arises. If you feel that the author has not complied with these standards in some manner or if you register the program with the author and subsequently have any disputes with the author which cannot be resolved, please contact the ASP on CompuServe in the IBMJR forum. While ASP cannot warrant programs nor the actions of members, ASP will do what it can to assure that all authors who claim membership comply with ASP standards. These standards are the assurance of quality and support that you will get when you register Shareware produced by ASP members. Getting Started Running MCD Running MCD is very simple. The only file required is MCD.EXE. It may be anywhere on your disk, as long as it is accessible via the PATH variable. The only things you need before running MCD is a graphics display adapter and your mouse driver loaded. To invoke the program, simply type MCD No command line options are available. MCD will display a screen of text explaining what MCD does and explaining that MCD is a ShareWare program. You may hit any key to continue to the MCD main display. Page 5 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 The Main Menu The Main Menu contains general MCD functions. These include loading a saved cursor image, saving a cursor image, generating a source code fragment from a cursor image, changing the working directory, setting a hotspot for a cursor, swapping between the normal MCD cursor and the one being worked on and exiting to DOS. A previously saved cursor image may be reloaded by clicking on 'Load Cursor Image'. MCD will show you what files exist in the current directory and will request a filename. The filename extension (.MCD) is not required. MCD will load the selected file and return to the MCD main display, where you will see the new cursor image. The currently displayed cursor image may be saved for later retrieval by selecting the 'Save Cursor Image' function. MCD will show you what files already exist in the current directory and will request a filename. The filename extension (.MCD) is not required. MCD will create a file containing the cursor image. MCD will write over any file already present without asking permission, so be careful. Source code may be generated from the cursor image for one of four languages by clicking on the 'Generate Source' function. The main MCD screen will be cleared and a menu of the four language choices will be displayed. Select one of the languages by pressing its letter, or return to the MCD main display by pressing Esc. If you select a language, MCD will show you what files already exist in the current directory and will request a filename. The filename extension (.C, .PAS, .BAS or .ASM) is not required. MCD will create a file containing the current cursor image and its hotspot values, written in the appropriate language. MCD will write over any file already present without asking permission, so be careful. You may change the current working directory by clicking on 'Change Directory'. MCD will display the current drive/path and let you enter a new one. The files contained in the current directory are also displayed by this function. You may select a hotspot for the cursor you are working on by clicking on the 'Set Hotspot' function. The hotspot is the place within the graphics cursor that is referred to by all the mouse functions, i.e., it is the 'center' of mouse activity. Interrupt 33h function 9 requires that you give it the coordinates of the hotspot when you select a new graphics cursor. The variables hsx and hsy in each source code file that MCD generates contain the hotspot coordinates. Hsx and hsy are also displayed on the main MCD screen, and are indicated on the cursor mask by an 'X'. You may do an actual 'test drive' with the cursor you are building by clicking on 'Swap Cursors'. This function selects the cursor being worked on as the cursor for your pointing device, and also Page 6 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 uses that cursor's hotspot. Be Careful - you could actually lose track of where the cursor is if you select this function with the screen and cursor mask defaults. You should also be careful about the hotspot - if you are test driving a cursor, the hotspot is probably in a different spot than on our default pointing finger cursor, so you could end up clicking on something you didn't mean to. You may exit MCD to DOS by clicking on 'Exit to DOS' in the Main Menu, or by pressing the Escape key on the keyboard. When you exit, all current work will be lost, so be sure to save it first (if necessary) before exiting. The Screen Mask Menu The Screen Mask Menu allows you to perform mass pixel operations on the screen mask. Each operation is explained below. Clear - Set all the pixels in the screen mask to off. This is the opposite of the default condition. Invert - Set all the pixels in the screen mask that are on to off. Set all the pixels that are off to on. This function can be used after a Clear to reset the screen mask to its default condition. It can also be used to make a reverse image of the cursor mask after Transferring the cursor mask. Transfer - Copy the cursor mask into the screen mask. This is usually done after the cursor mask has been finished, in order to make an outlined cursor. Mirror - Create a mirror image of the original screen mask by flipping pixels left to right. Up - Move each row of pixels in the screen mask up by one row. The top row of pixels is lost. Down - Move each row of pixels in the screen mask down by one row. The bottom row of pixels is lost. Left - Move each column of pixels in the screen mask left by one column. The left column of pixels is lost. Right - Move each column of pixels in the screen mask right by one column. The right column of pixels is lost. The Cursor Mask Menu The Cursor Mask Menu allows you to perform the same mass pixel operations on the cursor mask as can be performed on the screen mask. Each operation is explained below. Clear - Set all the pixels in the cursor mask to off. This is the default cursor mask condition. Page 7 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Invert - Set all the pixels in the cursor mask that are on to off. Set all the pixels that are off to on. Transfer - Copy the screen mask into the cursor mask. Mirror - Create a mirror image of the original cursor mask by flipping pixels left to right. Up - Move each row of pixels in the cursor mask up by one row. The top row of pixels is lost. Down - Move each row of pixels in the cursor mask down by one row. The bottom row of pixels is lost. Left - Move each column of pixels in the cursor mask left by one column. The left column of pixels is lost. Right - Move each column of pixels in the cursor mask right by one column. The right column of pixels is lost. Screen/Cursor Mask Operations Building A Cursor Creating a graphics mouse cursor can be kind of a confusing process if you haven't done it before. You must keep the following in mind while constructing your cursor: 1. The screen mask is logically ANDed with the display area that it is to overlay. This means that all the places in the screen mask that contain ones will remain unchanged, while all the places that contain zeroes will be blanked out. 2. The cursor mask is logically XORed (exclusively ORed) with the results of the screen mask ANDing. This means that all the places in the cursor mask that contain zeroes will remain unchanged, while all the places that contain ones will have their bits flipped (ones for zeroes and zeros for ones). 3. As you build a cursor with MCD, the results of what you are building can be viewed immediately to the right of the cursor mask. This display gives you a true picture of what the cursor will really look like, on both a black background and a white one. The recommended procedure to use MCD to build a mouse cursor is listed below. 1. Make sure that you start with the screen mask filled with pixels and the cursor mask empty. Page 8 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 2. Build your cursor in the cursor mask area using the pointing finger. To toggle a single pixel on or off, just point at the pixel and click a mouse button. To toggle many pixels on or off, press and hold the mouse button, then drag the pointing finger around. 3. When you finish with the cursor design, you must decide whether the cursor is to be a see-through cursor, overlay cursor or an animated cursor. Overlay and animated cursors require changes to the screen mask. 4. Be sure to save your work when you have finished designing the cursor. Save a cursor image as well as generating a source code fragment. See-through Cursors A see-through cursor allows you to see most of the object that the cursor is overlaying. A see-through cursor is simply one where the screen mask pixels are all set. This means that the only places that get changed are the places in the cursor mask that are ones. The HAIRS cursor included with this program is a good example of a see-through cursor. Overlay Cursors An overlay cursor is drawn on the display so that it completely overlays whatever is underneath it. Most overlay cursors have their hotspots at one edge of the cursor, so the user may see what the cursor is actually pointing at. Examples of overlay cursors are PENCIL, FINGER and ARROW. To create an overlay cursor, the following must be done. 1. After you have drawn your cursor in the cursor mask, go over to the screen mask menu and click on 'Transfer'. This moves the cursor mask image into the screen mask. 2. Click on 'Invert' in the screen mask menu to make a negative image of the screen mask. 3. Go into the cursor image on the screen mask and clear all the pixels within the image. 4. If you want the cursor to be outlined (if there is enough room to do that), go around the outside of the cursor image on the screen mask and clear out one more layer of pixels. 5. Save your work. Page 9 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Animated Cursors Mouse graphics cursors can allow limited animation because of the way they are constructed. The animation occurs when the cursor is moved from a dark area to a light area on the display (and vice versa). Examples of animated cursors are FACEIT, SPERM and PACMAN. To create an animated cursor, the following must be done. 1. After you have drawn your cursor in the cursor mask, you must decide what pieces of it should disappear when the cursor moves from a dark area to a light area. Go over to the screen mask and turn the corresponding pixels off in that mask. For example, in FACEIT, the corners of the mouth and the frown are erased. 2. Decide what new pieces of the cursor must be on when the cursor is in a light area. Turn those pixels off on the screen mask. Make sure that those areas do not coincide with areas in the cursor mask that are turned on. For example, in FACEIT, the mouth is turned into a smile by erasing two small areas on the screen mask. 3. Save your work. Creating Source Code Once you have your cursor designed the way that you want it, MCD can create a file with a source code fragment in it that describes your cursor. You can pick C, Pascal, Basic or assembly language as the language that MCD will use to create the code fragment. The fragment will consist of an array named 'cursor' that contains the 32 words of screen mask and cursor mask, and two variables named 'hsx' and 'hsy' that contain the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the hotspot. Naturally, each language selection generates a different file. Typical files for each language is shown below. Pascal Example Const cursor: Array [0..31] Of Word = ( $ffff,$ffff,$ffff,$fc1f,$f88f,$f087,$e083,$ef7b, $e083,$f087,$f88f,$fc1f,$ffff,$ffff,$ffff,$ffff, $0,$0,$0,$0,$3e0,$7f0,$ff8,$0, $ff8,$7f0,$3e0,$0,$0,$0,$0,$0); hsx : Word = 8; hsy : Word = 7; Page 10 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Basic Example 10 DATA &Hffff,&Hffff,&Hffff,&Hfc1f,&Hf88f,&Hf087,&He083,&Hef7b 20 DATA &He083,&Hf087,&Hf88f,&Hfc1f,&Hffff,&Hffff,&Hffff,&Hffff 30 DATA &H0,&H0,&H0,&H0,&H3e0,&H7f0,&Hff8,&H0 40 DATA &Hff8,&H7f0,&H3e0,&H0,&H0,&H0,&H0,&H0 50 HSX = 8 : HSY = 7 C Example unsigned cursor[32] = { 0xffff,0xffff,0xffff,0xfc1f,0xf88f,0xf087,0xe083,0xef7b, 0xe083,0xf087,0xf88f,0xfc1f,0xffff,0xffff,0xffff,0xffff, 0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x3e0,0x7f0,0xff8,0x0, 0xff8,0x7f0,0x3e0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0,0x0}; unsigned hsx = 8; unsigned hsy = 7; Assembly language example cursor: DW 0ffffh,0ffffh,0ffffh,0fc1fh DW 0f88fh,0f087h,0e083h,0ef7bh DW 0e083h,0f087h,0f88fh,0fc1fh DW 0ffffh,0ffffh,0ffffh,0ffffh DW 00h,00h,00h,00h DW 03e0h,07f0h,0ff8h,00h DW 0ff8h,07f0h,03e0h,00h DW 00h,00h,00h,00h hsx: DW 8 hsy: DW 7 Page 11 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Appendix A - MCD Error Messages MCD only has four error messages. They are listed and explained below. Can't open the file MCD attempted to read or write the file that you specified, but was not able to. Make sure you have a legal file name. Can't find the directory MCD attempted to change to the directory that you specified, but was not able to. Make sure you have specified a legal directory, as well as one that really exists. MCD will not run with this display adapter MCD will only run on a graphics display adapter such as a CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules, etc. It will not run on a monochrome display adapter, and possibly not on IBM 8514, AT&T or 3270 displays. Mouse driver not found Since MCD uses a mouse, a Microsoft compatible mouse driver must be loaded before MCD is invoked. Load the mouse driver, then run MCD again. Page 12 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Appendix B - Software Discrepancy Report Form Software Discrepancy Report If you detect any errors in MCD, please fill out this form and send it to: Michael Burton 15540 Boot Hill Rd. Hayden Lake, ID 83835 Name: __________________________________________________________ Address: _______________________________________________________ City: _____________________________ State: ____ Zip: _________ Computer (PC, XT, AT, PS/2, etc.): _____________________________ Display adapter: _________________ Monitor Type: ______________ RAM size: _______ Operating System: __________ Version: _____ RAM-resident software loaded (in order loaded): ________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Describe any unusual hardware in your system: __________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Please describe the problem you encountered in detail: _________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Page 13 MCD - Mouse Cursor Designer Version 1.04 Copyright (C) 1988 by Michael Burton 31 Aug 88 Appendix C - MCD Revision History Version Description 1.04 Initial program release. Released with 42 example cursor files. 1.03 Beta Test version. Added multiple directory support. Cleaned up files interface. 1.02 Beta Test version. Created multiple .MCD examples. Changed default cursor from arrow to pointing finger. Cleaned up code generation. 1.01 Beta Test version. Added ASM support, hotspot support, cursor swapping. 1.00 Alpha Test version to verify design concepts. Support C, PAS and BAS code generation. Page 14