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Smorgas'Border Demo TOOLBOX Software '87 Thank You for taking the time to look at this demo of TOOLBOX Software's latest utility program for PrintMaster(C) library files. This utility is specifically designed to make the most out of your border libraries. Like its predecessor, PM Utility, Smorgas'Border gives you the ability to use your border files in other programs by transforming them into clip-art files. This demo version of Smorgas'Border has been limited in such a way that you can use all of the functions but you cannot save your work AND you can only access the first 3 borders from any given border file. The maximum number of borders is 4. If you wish to purchase a fully working version of Smorgas'border along with the official documentation then please send a check for $15 to me, Marcos Zorola at the following address. ToolBox also has a utility for PrintMaster Picture libraries. PM Utility lets you do many of the same things to library pictures as Smorgas let you do to borders. PM Utility sells for $15 or if you wish to buy both PM Utility and Smorgas'Border at the same time the total cost is $20. The latest and final version of PM Utility is 5.0. Marcos Zorola 234 Bristol San Antonio, TX 78214 (512) 922-3537 If you have any comments, suggestions, or bug reports then please send them to the same address. Also, I do encourage uploading this demo to other BBS's after all you are the means by which word of this application gets around. Thank You, Marcos M Zorola How or Why to use Smorgas'Border Many times I have found myself needing a border for a specific purpose. Often I wanted to create my own border but there wasn't any 'easy' way to do so. Constructing a border from scratch 1 pixel at a time was hardly the method I wanted. When I wrote Smorgas'Border I wanted to provide an 'easy' method for creating borders, and so IMPORT and EXPORT came about. With EXPORT you can create a Degas(C) compatible file with a border in the center. What makes EXPORT useful is that the border has alignment markers on the outside. With these markers you can accurately dtermine where the border segments begin and end. You can then load in the border into your favorite drawing program and alter away... Just don't erase the outside markers, they come in handy later. When you are ready to reload the border just run Smorgas and choose IMPORT. You then line up the moveable grid with the markers on your EXPORTED border. When they align just press the mouse button and in a flash you have a new border. It made more sense to me to make an easy method for you to use your favorite drawing program for creating borders rather than make a complex editor full of commands for you to learn. For those of us who need only to make minor changes to the border, Smorgas has a mini editor that you can use for pixel-at-a-time manipulation. Whenever I need clip-art for my Publishing Partner works of art, I wished that I had borders too. Well with the clip-art function you can create all types of usable clip-art and borders for your Desktop Publishing uses. Actually, any program that can use Degas(C) files can use the clip-art produced by Smorgas. In my particular instances when I need a border I just get my border clip-art. In order to understand how these tiny little borders can be of any use to anyone you first have to understand how PrintMaster uses these borders. Each border is made of 8 segments. For example: +-+-------+-+ |1| 2 |3| +-+-------+-+ | | | | |4| |5| | | | +-+-------+-+ |6| 7 |8| +-+-------+-+ Each square with a number within it represents a segment. When a large border is needed, PrintMaster simply repeats the side segments to make a border taller or wider. For this reason then you must do the same thing when you need a large border. In my case with Publishing Partner I simply load in the clip-art file and cut out a segment then paste it to the document. If I need the border longer I just paste more segments side by side until I get the desired length. You can see that Smorgas'Border does open up your border libraries to another world of uses. Being able to include borders on my other graphic works really adds a special touch. Its also nice to customize and create create new border libraries. Smorgas'Border Instruction Overview Basic Operation... The basic method of operation is as follows: After starting the application you are presented with a blank form. You must load in a border file before anything can be done. After loading a border file you may do several things such as export and import borders, rename and delete borders, etc. Most of the functions require that you specify at least 1 border for the operation to act upon. You select a border by doing the following; first notice that at the extreme left hand side of the form there is a window that lists the borders currently loaded. You use this window to select specific borders for operations. The window displays only 8 border names at a time. If you wish to see the other border names then use the arrow button to scroll the list up and down. You can also use the scroll box located between the arrows to move within the list. Within the window the actual border names are displayed. These names can appear in many states. Normally they will appear as dark letters on white. When they are selected they appear as white letters on black. When a border has been marked for deletion its name appears shaded (checkered). To select a border name simply point to it with the mouse and click on it once. To de-select a border, point to the name and click. You can toggle a border in this manner from normal to selected and back. You may select many border names. Most functions support the selection of multiple borders. After you have selected the desired borders you can select the operation. The border files is saved when you exit the application or wn you wish to load another border file. The Buttons Explained... FILE The file button has a dual purpose. You either use it to load a border file or to create a 'new' blank border file. To load a border file just select the FILE button. To create a new border file then select FILE while holding down the SHIFT key. The program automatically defaults to the current drive and sub directory. If you wish to use files from another drive or sub directory then alter the PATH specification on the top of the GEM File Selector. CLIP-ART This option will copy selected borders into a clip-art file. The borders are scaled to their smallest size in order to fit as many borders on a screen as possible. If you have selected too many borders to fit on one screen the application will inform you. These borders will be left selected so that you may place them in another clip-art file. There is only one option to this command. When you select Clip-Art you are asked if you want the borders exploded. Exploding a border put a 1 pixel space between each segment. This helps when you need to clip-out just certains sections. PRINT-OUT Print-Out will produce a hard-copy of your border library. You choose to print-out all or just selected borders. There is a configuration file called "PRINTER.CNF" that Smorgas'Border uses to send the correct codes to you printer. The file is composed of the following lines: {Printer INIT} The codes needed to properly set up the printer such as a form feed, adjustment of line spacing, etc. {Printer Prefix} These codes are sent before the actual bit image data is sent. Most printers need to know exactly how much graphic data is being sent. This amount is usually sent as 2 codes with one code being n/256 and the other as n MOD 256. Put a -2 where the n/256 code goes and a -1 where the n MOD 256 code goes. {Printer Suffix} These codes are sent directly after the image data is sent. It is usually a carriage return and linefeed. {Printer RESET code} These codes are sent after the print-out in order to return the printer to a certain state. It is usually a form feed and then some code for resetting the printer. {Resolution} This is one number indicating how many dots per line you have set your printer for. Generally this is 960 but you can go as low as 640. (If your printer supports it!) {Rows per page} This single number indicates the number of rows of borders that you wish placed on 1 page before a new page is started. EXPORT With export you can copy a border to a DEGAS(C) compatible picture file. In addition to the border alignment lines are added so that you can use this file for altering the border on you favorite paint program. This way when you wish to alter a border in a large way you can do it on your favorite paint program that has the many features you are comfortable with. You can then reload this border with the IMPORT command. If you select EXPORT without selecting any borders you are asked if you wanted to export a blank set of guides. You may do this if you wish to create a border from scratch. IMPORT With the import command you can read in borders from DEGAS(C) compatible files and have them converted to borders. After specifying the file, you are asked to align the guides on the image. This is where the guides on the exported image come in handy. You can match the mouse controlled guides directly with the guides generated in the EXPORT. When they align, press the mouse button and in 2 seconds you have a border. While having guides on the imported image helps it is not necessary. COPY-TO With this option you can copy border(s) to another border file or have them appended to your current file. You may wish to copy a border to the current file when you want to alter it but still keep the original. DELETE With delete you can mark a border for deletion. When you save the file the border is actually deleted. If you choose not to delete a border, simply "re-delete" it to unmark the file. RENAME You can rename selected borders with this command. EXIT Use to exit Smorgas'Border. If you have changed your file in anyway you are also given the option to save your changes to disk. And now for something completely different... On the right hand side of the form there is a view screen from which you may see any border by simply selecting the border(s) and clicking in the center of the view screen. An alternate method is to double-click the border's name. The view screen has many other uses in addition to viewing borders. As a border is drawn you will notice that each border is composed of essentially 8 pieces-- 4 corners and 4 sides. Smorgas'Border contains its own Touch-Up editor that you can use to alter any of those segments. To enter the touch-up editor simply click on any one segment. The Touch-Up editor is very basic. If you have large scale changes in mind, use the EXPORT command and use your paint program then IMPORT the border back in. Another unique function of the view screen is the block copy option. You can copy any segment to another like type segment. If you wanted to copy a corner to another corner you would press down the shift key then click and drag the corner to the other corner then release. All the corners are of the same type as well as top and bottom, left and right border segments. That's It! That covers most of Smorgas'Border's functions. Thanks once again for taking the time to try out this application Demo. Marcos M Zorola