home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
CD ROM Paradise Collection 4
/
CD ROM Paradise Collection 4 1995 Nov.iso
/
graphics
/
model3d.zip
/
SURFIFF.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-09-29
|
3KB
|
53 lines
SURFMODL IFF SUPPORT
Ken Van Camp
9/29/91
Since I can't afford a VGA monitor right now, but I have a perfectly
good Commodore Amiga sitting next to my PC, I decided I wanted to be
able to display my SURFMODL pictures on the Amiga. I also wanted to
be able to take advantage of the full palette of the Amiga, which
isn't as large as the VGA but is adequate for most purposes.
My solution was to create a specially-compiled version of SURFMODL
which I call SURFIFF. You will find the executable in the SURFIFF
directory (or wherever you told SURFINST to put it). To use SURFIFF,
you will have to create a file called SURFIFF.CFG. It is analogous
to the SURFMODL.CFG file that is read by the regular SURFMODL
program, but I use a separate config file so that you can use the
two programs with two different system types.
To create SURFIFF.CFG, start by copying SURFMODL.CFG:
COPY SURFMODL.CFG SURFIFF.CFG
Then use any standard text editor to edit SURFIFF.CFG, and change
GRSYS to an 11 and GRMODE to a 0. You are now ready to run SURFIFF.
In SURFIFF, no plots will be displayed on the screen; they are all
written to an internal buffer and then dumped to a file after
plotting is complete. This is important, because unlike most other
programs that convert PC graphics into IFF format, this one is not
based on an image that was originally in PC format. Instead, the
bitmap is created in a form that is best suited to the Amiga, and the
color palette is selected specifically for the Amiga.
If your data file is called MYDATA.SRF, then the resulting IFF file
will be called MYDATA.IFF. If you make two plots, the second one will
just overwrite the first, so make sure you exit SURFIFF and rename the
file in between.
Now you can transfer MYDATA.IFF to your Amiga and display it.
Personally, I use a public domain program called IBMCOPY (available
on Fish Disk #158), which directly reads PC-format 3-1/2" disks and
converts them to Amiga format. If you don't have this or something
similar, you can use a Null modem to connect your two computers and
do a binary file transfer between.
Once you have the IFF file on an Amiga, you can use an IFF file
viewer to display the picture. I use a public domain program called
SHOW (I don't have the Fish Disk number handy).
WARNING: Not all IFF viewers seem to be able to display my IFF
files, for some reason. Commodore's IFFCheck program says there is
nothing wrong with my files, but some IFF viewers choke and Guru on
SURFMODL-generated IFF files (most notably, DPSLIDE).