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Text File | 1992-07-20 | 12.2 KB | 257 lines

=========================================================================== (C) 1992 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt. Type XJM11877,GEnie and hit RETURN. The system will prompt you for your information. =========================================================================== Desktop Publishing/Graphics Real Time Conference July 20, 1992 Guest Speaker: Harlan Hugh, Power Thought Software, Author of INVISION Elite <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Good evening. Our guest this evening is Harlan Hugh of Power Thought Software. Harlan is the author of INVISION Elite... a new graphics program for our favourite computer. Harlan has offered a special door prize... a free copy of INVISION Elite. Here's a hint : check the interface on your demo....I will be typing for Harlan who is at my side... don't get confused ;-) (Ed. Note: The actual names have been inserted for clarity). Harlan.... tell us a little about yourself. <[Harlan] H.HUGH> I have been programming since I was eight years old and I have been using Atari's for the past six years. I have always been interested in computer graphics and thus, INVISION Elite was a natural development. I have also been doing a bit of graphic design using the Atari system and Calamus, but I found I was always looking for a raster graphics package. This is how INVISION Elite was started. Although I had no idea I would invest so much time in INVISION when I started, after two years of development INVISION Elite has become a very powerful program that I am quite proud of. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Great! Who would like the first question from the floor? Please /rai your hand. Buffalo Bob... your question please. <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> OK... how hard would it be to add the code for TT medium? Not necessarily full color... just TT res... GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Hmm.. that would require color support. If you want to do monochrome using the TT medium, INVISION Elite allows limited editing. <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> The demo kinda sorta works... but when I try gradient circles, they're erased after theyre drawn. <[Harlan] H.HUGH> This is happening because you are using a color resolution. Have you used it in TT HIGH? <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> Just put that on the wish list for me... one color editng is fine... Yes, TT high is great! <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks Bob. Next question is from Joe. <[JOE] J.PASQUINI> Will ENVISION Elite support GEM files and EPS??? GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Joe, it does not support directly but they can be imported through the clipboard accessory which IS included with the INVISION Elite release version. <[JOE] J.PASQUINI> OK very good. What about exportability? GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> INVISION will export to the clipboard or in any of the supported file formats - IMG, PI3, R01. More formats are supported for import. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Do you have another question Joe? <[JOE] J.PASQUINI> Okay, very good. Thanks... <LYRE> Harlan, I recently started work on a map for the Silvernet (Elfquest) Holt in the COMICS RT. I ran across an interesting problem. I wanted to create a new "fill pattern" and pour it into the map. Is their a way to do this? I'm not talking about a standard block function, more like a paint programs ability to color an item with a fill pattern (aka the "paint can" icon on most painting programs). <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Yes... put the fill pattern in its own window, activate custom patterns in the INFO Line, select the 3rd icon down (Pattern) and GRAB the Pattern. Then, with Patterns ON, use the CONTOUR fill to fill the area. <LYRE> ah - thanks. All those little palm trees by hand was killing me. :) GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> INVISION Elite supports unlimited size patterns and you can have up to 16 defined at once! <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks LYRE... does someone have the next question or would you like more info on the program? Here is a summary of the features: Custom Ergonomic Interface - INVISION Elite's interface is, in my opinion, (and others who have sent me comments on it) the easiest interface ever to appear on Atari computers. It works using a column of icons. This avoids the confusion of other iconic interfaces. When one of the icons is selected, a row of icons appears which allows you to select the specific command you want. While incorporating this easy to use interface, INVISION Elite still uses the GEM standard. This means you can have many different windows open at a time, and even use desk accessories while running INVISION. Gradient Fills - INVISION Elite has lets you do gradient fills and gradient ellipses, using one of two diffent sets of grays. The results that can be achieved are superior to those produced by other raster graphic programs. By allowing you to choose which type of grays you want to use, INVISION Elite can create a fine pattern of grays, or one which smoothly changes from light to dark. INVISION Elite also lets you set the percentage of gray you want to start and end with. The gradient ellipse command lets you create ellipses which smoothly change shading. Image Bending and Distorting - These commands let you bend an image along a curve or distort an image by moving the corners or a rectangular section. Special Effects - INVISION Elite has a wide range of special effects which all perform in fractions of a second, even for images larger than the whole screen. These include: two kinds of outlining, thickening, thinning, smoothing, image clean up, and inversing. Rotation, Skewing, Mirroring, Scaling - INVISION Elite lets you do all these operations easily. You can even rotate in one degree increments. .CVG importing - import Calamus Vector Graphics. Atari Clipboard Support - INVISION Elite even comes with a desk accessory that allows you to put things into the clipboard in programs that don't support it! Instant Access Panning - By dragging the mouse with the right mouse button held, you can easily move the image at any time, even if you are in the middle of a command. This is not possible using any other program. Color file importing - INVISION Elite supports color importing of Degas .P?1 files as well as .GIF files of any size. It lets you specify how large the resulting image should be, making accurate conversions a breeze. Lots more - INVISION Elite has many other powerful features. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Bob, back to you. Then Jim and Ringo. <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> The demo rally looks terrific... I'm not Invision-airy like yourself... what kind of features will you be adding? <[Harlan] H.HUGH> New features - color support if this version is well received. Right now I can't think of other items... do you have a request? <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> Nothing beyond the color option that I can think of... that TT mono wasn't mine. GA. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Too bad... you'd love it! <[Jim] J.KUDRON> What about hand scanner support, and, printer output (GDOS?)?GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Good question. Hand scanner support may come in the form of a Scan Lite - type interface ;-) Printer output is currently being developed more thoroughly. Currently we have Atari Laser and Epson 9 and 24 compatibility. GDOS is supported as a text import feature. <[Jim] J.KUDRON> Good, I already have ScanLite!(Thanx Dr Bob!) What about HP output? <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Jim, HP output is the next one... currently under development. Will be in the full version. ga <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks Bob. Ringo, your question. <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> First very good user interface! I would like to know the current price. GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Like the animation? ;-) Ringo...just happen to have a text block here on prices ;-) INVISION Elite has a suggested retail price of US $174.95. For a limited time, it is being offered for US $124.95 or CAN $139.95. This includes a large 8 1/2 x 11 inch manual and customer support. Power Thought Software will continue to develop INVISION Elite and will offer upgrades at reasonable prices as they are released. If this version is well received, a color version will be the next step. - Harlan Hugh Power Thought Software Box #98, 275 King St. East, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5A 1K2 Phone/FAX: (416) 594-9355 GEnie address: H.HUGH <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Go ahead Ringo... did you have a question? <[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Yes, are any plans for Auto tracing in the future. GA <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Not at this time. Again, it is possible as a future feature! <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks Ringo. Our next questioner is LYRE. <LYRE> Harlan, I have tried to use the large image size, but have not been able to due to memory constraints. Could you tell me the amount of memory that is required for a large picture? <[Harlan] H.HUGH> How large a picture... how much RAM? You could save RAM by turning off the UNDO buffer... <LYRE> Well, this was with the dialog box. Where their are buttons for the image size? I have a Mega ST2 - going to upgrade next Saturday to 4 megs. :) <[Harlan] H.HUGH> First get the upgrade ;-) You can edit any size image. At the dialog box type in the size of the image on the edit lines. Also, once created, you can use the INSERT Lines command to expand the "canvas". <LYRE> Can you INSERT both horizontally and vertically? <[Harlan] H.HUGH> YES! You can also remove space in both directions. <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> I'd like to see real-time bezier editing... as opposed to move then view... GA. <[Harlan] H.HUGH> That is a good request. I will consider it in the future. <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> Also, _love_ the insert and remove lines... ga. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Me too! I think we should give away the prize Harlan. What do you say? <[Harlan] H.HUGH> OK folks, here is the question. Wait for Lou's signal before hitting your return key. How many icon groups in the INVISION Elite ICON Bar? <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> I will give you all a minute before putting the room in talk mode. When you see the "talk" signal, hit Return. The first correct answer wins a copy of INVISION Elite. Here we go... Room is now in the talk mode. <[JOE] J.PASQUINI> Twelve (12) <LYRE> 7 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 8 <[Martha] M.DYCUS> 9 <[Jim] J.KUDRON> 6 <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> 8 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 7 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 6 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 5 <[Buffalo Bob] R.BEATTY3> 8 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 4 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 3 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 2 <[Swampy] D.D.MARTIN> 1 <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Any more DD? ;-) <LYRE> Hey, stop that Swampy. :) <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks folks... Q. How many icon groups in the INVISION Elite demo? A. Seven... Tools, Shapes, Block Tools, Special Block, Special Functions, Image Functions and File Functions. Our winner is LYRE... congratulations....hope you enjoy the program. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> LYRE, please leave EMAIL to H.HUGH with your address. Before we conclude our formal question period... are there any more questions? <LYRE> I'm sure that I will. It seems to fill a lot of the functions that some other art programs have missed / skimped on. I will email Harlan. :) <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Well, that about does it then. Thanks to Harlan Hugh for being my guest tonight and good luck with your sensational program. Any closing remarks... <[Harlan] H.HUGH> Thanks for inviting me and to all of you who attended. If you have any more questions, please leave them in the bulletin board in CAT 7, TOP 6, or send E-mail to H.HUGH. <[Lou] L.ROCHA1> Thanks again, Harlan Hugh, Power Thought Software. Thank you everyone. Our guests next week will be Dr. Bob and Chet Walters. See you then.