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3_readme.jil: Feb 2, 1988 PLEASE READ THIS FILE IN IT'S ENTIRETY BEFORE ATTEMPTING TO USE JIL2D! JIL2D(tm) copyright 1987, JIL Corporation ----------------------------------------- Shareware Drafting Package This product is NOT in the public domain, although it may be freely copied and distributed so long as the following conditions are met: 1) no charge may be made for it's use (commercial or otherwise 2) no file, sector, or binary editor may be used to inspect or modify this program or any related data (including binary data or drawing files) 3) JIL 2D(tm) may not be included or distributed, in whole or in part, as part of any commercial product or service without the express written permission of JIL Corporation. THIS PROGRAM IS PROVIDED 'AS IS' WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED. THE ENTIRE RISK AS TO THE PERFORMANCE OF THE PROGRAM IS WITH YOU. JIL Corp. is not liable for any damages, including any lost profits, lost savings or any other incidental or consequential damages arising out of the use of this program. In exchange for the $50 (U.S.) shareware registration fee, you will receive user documentation and an update (if required). Your registration fee will also give you 2 (two) $25 credits, which you may use on any future purchase of JIL products (no more than 1 credit can be used on any given JIL product). System requirements: a monochrome monitor ONLY, a blank double-sided floppy disk (or at least 700K of free space on a hard drive), at least 1 Mb of ram, TOS in rom, no big .ACCs, and no ramdisks installed. >>>>>>>>>>>> NOW THAT THAT'S OUT OF THE WAY! <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< MONOVIEW.PRG: (a short slide show presentation of the JILCAD system components) ============ A monochrome file viewer (MONOVIEW.PRG) is provided. It reads the MONOVIEW.DAT text file and shows the monochrome slides in the order specified by that file. Simply execute MONOVIEW.PRG by double-clicking and following the instructions. Seven screen shots of various JILCAD components are also included: CMPINTRO MON an intro of JILCOMP, the 2D drawing composer (drafting) portion. COMMANDE MON a close-up of the mouse, with descriptions on its use. MODINTRO MON JILMOD, the 3D wireframe modeller. The model is an Atari mouse. EDITICON MON the JIL icon editor: Users can create and/or modify JIL's icons. IDFSAMPL MON a piece of an "Interface Definition File" showing macros. XLATE MON shows the JIL file translator, which supports IGES and DXF. SHUTTLE MON the AutoCAD(tm) COLUMBIA, transferred into JILCOMP via IGES through XLATE... then mirrored. The products shown in these slides are the copyrighted property of the JIL Corporation, who provides a range of software for professional engineers. All of the JIL products are currently available directly from JIL Corp. NOTE: files created with the Atari version of the JILMOD modeller are also compatible with the MS-DOS version of JILMOD (available in the spring of '88). JIL2D: (the JIL shareware 2D drafting package) ===== JIL2D is intended to be a trainer for the rest of the JIL product line. As much as possible, we've tried to make it like it's big brother: JILCOMP(tm). Some significant features that are available in JILCOMP are simply referenced in JIL2D... to use those features you will need to purchase JILCOMP. CAD systems are like word processors and graphic art programs in some ways, but to the uninitiated they seem to be much more complex (as indeed they are). Consequently, you will find that JIL2D cannot be totally learned in 5 minutes; or even 5 days. If you are not a professional engineer you may never gain a full comprehension of some of it's features. CAD is a tool that makes engineering tasks easier and more efficient, but doesn't automate the process any more than a word processor automatically writes a book. Any CAD package that can be learned in a few minutes is bound to have numerous limitations that limit its overall productivity. Like a word processor, you will need to learn how to move your "type in point" around in the database. In the JIL products, the "current point" (analogous to the type in point in a word processor) is represented by a diamond. The diamond is positioned automatically whenever a new point is added. The simplest way to add a new point is to click the left mouse button. A diamond will appear indicating the current point. When created with a single click (called "dropping" a point) the current point will automatically snap to the nearest database item or the intersection of two database items. If no points or intersections are near the cursor, the point jumps to the nearest grid point. The grid size may be controlled using the menus. If several points are created in succession, you will see a "polyline", which we generally refer to as, simply, a "LINE". You may end the line in several ways, but the easiest may be to use the LINE menu to start a new line. To do this: click on the "next" entry in the SYSTEM1 menu... this puts up a SYSTEM2 menu. When you click on "LINES" in the system menu, a new menu is created, called "LINES". On that menu you will find, among other things, an entry to "start ln" (ie. end the current line and start a new one). After you do this you may continue by making points on a new line. When you have several points on the line, you'll find that you have the ability to move the current point "forward" and "backward" on the current line, much the way that you can move the "type in point" forward and backward on a line in a word processor. You'll also find that you can move to the "next" and "previous" lines. You may use the LINE menu, keyboard, and/or icons to do this. The whole keyboard works as a set of function keys. Further, the keys: 's', 'SHIFT-s', 'CONTROL-s', and 'ALTERNATE-s' (for example) all have different meanings. The meaning of a simple 's' is the same as the "end" entry in the LINE menu. An 'x' means "advance the current point forward to the next point on the current line", whereas a 'SHIFT-x' means "retreat along the current line". In the same vein, a 'n' keypress means "advance to the next line", wheras a 'SHIFT-n' means "retreat to the previous line". The icons are simple to use, but will definitely require a bit (20 minutes or so) of practice. To use them, DO NOT MOVE YOUR CURSOR INTO THE ICON REGION! When you do (and I'm sure you will) you will see an error message that tells you to USE THE RIGHT MOUSE BUTTON FOR ICONS. This is JIL's (somewhat stern) way of telling you how to use your mouse. The right button instantly access an icon. Which icon is access is controlled in the following manner: 1) Position the graphic cursor (a thin cross) as required 2) Press and HOLD the right mouse button. The graphic cursor will freeze, and the icon cursor will become visible, which you may move around in the icon region. This will give you the feeling of "dragging" the icon cursor to where you want it. 3) While you are dragging the icon cursor around, you will see a line of italicized text in the scrolling area. This text will change to briefly explain to you what the highlit icon does. 4) When you have highlighed the appropriate icon... let go of the right button. Some icons (as well as dropdowns and other methods of command entry) will require you to input information. When this is the case, several things will happen: 1) The cursor will change to indicate that you must type in a response. 2) A prompt will be issued in the scrolling text area. 3) A default value will be issued in the scrolling area, which may be chosen (by pressing the right mouse button or by pressing the RETURN key), edited (using the right and left arrows), overwritten (by simply typing in the value), or aborted (by pressing the DELETE key). Not all icons are visible at the same time. Use the 9 icons at the top to choose other icon pads. Practice using the "horizontal", "vertical", "angular construction", and "offset" icons. These will allow you to easily create construction lines, which are similar in purpose to the type used in manual drafting methods. After creating the construction lines, they may be traced with a current line and thrown away by using the appropriate entry in the DELETE dropdown menu. When you create horizontal, vertical, or angular construction lines, they are automatically snapped to the point or intersection nearest the cursor. Another method of command entry are "mouse strokes". For those adept at professional drawing, this is probably the easiest and fastest way to tell JIL2D what you want to do. For example: if you want to zoom in on an area in your drawing, you simply draw a circle around it! To do this, you press and hold the LEFT mouse button and draw the appropriate symbol, then release the mouse button when the stroke is done. The "zoom" stroke must be drawn starting and ending in the middle of the top of the circle. The stroke needn't be precise, but must start and end at the middle and top of the circle (an equilateral triangle starting and ending at the top also works). Take note, however, that you should draw the stroke fairly quickly. To zoom out and fit the entire drawing, stroke a 'Z' (start at the top left). Try to keep the 'Z' looking like a 'Z' though (squared up). There are approximately 35 strokes defined in JIL2D, but they don't all need to be learned at once. >>>>>>>>>>>> A QUICK NOTE ABOUT MARKETING <<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<< JIL2D is, essentially, an evaluation version of JILCOMP. We believe that if you are a professional engineer or draftsman, you will find the limitations (that we intentionally placed in JIL2D) an adequate incentive to purchase JILCOMP after you've seen just how comprehensive this product is. Even with its intentional limitations, you'll find JIL2D to be a valuable tool: you can create, measure, dimension, save, and restore drawings using JIL's unique interface. You can also make and use screen dumps, figure libraries, and parametric macros, just to name a few applications. No customer support is offered with JIL2D, but we are considering regional seminars. Training is offered on a contract basis for businesses and user groups (rates and schedules are negotiable). The development and documentation of the JIL products cost us a great deal of time, money, and determination. We've found that no matter how much work you do, someone out there would like to get the benefit of your labors without earning it. If everyone who uses this program pays for it (and gives it to someone who will) we will continue to develop products for the Atari ST line. We are a software engineering company, but now we are marketing our own product in our own way... COMPETITIVELY! To order any of the JIL products, or for more information about them, send GEnie mail to L.T.HALL or write JIL Corp.: JIL Corporation 6600 Sylvania Ave. Sylvania, Ohio 43560 attn: GEnie Announcement Or phone JIL Corp. at (419)882-2106 ext. 27 on weekdays between 8am - 6pm EST. JIL Order Form (CS0289A): Please fill out and mail to: JIL Corporation 6600 Sylvania Ave. Sylvania, Ohio 43560 Name: ______________________________________________________________ Company: ___________________________________________________________ Street: ____________________________________________________________ City: ______________________ State/Prov: ______ ZIP: _____________ Country: _________ Timezone: ______ Phone: _______________________ Type of Business: __________________________________________________ Intended use of product: ___________________________________________ Other products needed: _____________________________________________ Primary uses of your computer: _____________________________________ ____________________________________________________________________ Dear JIL Corp., Please send me the following *products and information (check as many as required): Order Info Product Prices (US) @ __ __ JILMOD 3D Modeller $499.00 __ __ JILCOMP 2D Drawing Composer $399.00 __ __ XLATE File translator $199.00 __ __ JIL Developer's Kit (includes $399.00 Interface Definition Files for JILMOD and JILCOMP, as well as EDITICON) royalty agreement and limited license. __ __ JILMOD Int. Def. File only $199.00 __ __ JILCOMP Int. Def. File only $199.00 __ __ EDITICON only $ 99.00 __ Maintenance Agreement (Request) __ Training (Request) * Please send check or money order. Do NOT send cash through the mail. Prices are subject to change without notice. If the price has changed we will contact you for adjustments. Allow 4 to 6 weeks for mailing.