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ARM Club 3
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TheARMClub_PDCD3.iso
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!AAPlay
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!Help
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1995-05-01
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AAPlay : Version 1.17 (01 May 1995)
===================================
by Michael Foot
AAPlay is a movie player for AutoDesk Animator
Flic files.
These animated files are created by AutoDesk Animator
on the PC and under MSDOS have the file extension FLI
or FLC.
I have been told that the Acorn allocated filetype for
Flics is &B9F. Previous versions of AAPlay have used
a filetype of &17F (FLI backwards (sort of :-)).
Filetypes of &189 and &F0F may also be used as
these correspond to types given by other authors of Flic
players (see notes below). Failing that, just drag a
file to the iconbar icon.
To load the program simply double click the !AAPlay icon
and a copy of the icon will appear on the icon bar.
Playing a Flic is easy. Simply double click on the file
or drag the file from the filer window to the AAPlay
icon on the icon bar.
The screen will clear and the animation will begin.
This animation will keep on repeating forever until you
tell it to stop by either pressing the menu (middle)
button on the mouse or pressing the ESCAPE key.
The control panel can also be used, see below.
To return to the animation press the select (left)
mouse button on the AAPlay icon.
The Main Menu
-------------
1) Info ->
Leads off to a window which contains the usual
information about this program.
2) Details->
Leads off to a window which shows details about the
Flic currently being played. Details can only be
viewed when the animation has been suspended.
Name: the filename of the Flic file.
also indicates if it is a FLI or FLC file.
Width: the width in pixels of the animation.
Height: the height in pixels of the animation.
Colours: how many colours the animation may be using.
Frame: the current frame being played when stopped
and how many frames the whole sequence
contains.
Speed: the speed at which the animation is being
played and how many frames per second this is.
3) Stop
Completely stops the Flic that is currently being
played.
4) Quit
Shuts down AAPlay.
The Control Panel
-----------------
The control panel is displayed for all FLI and some FLC
files depending on their resolution.
[] - stop
>> - play
|| - pause
>| - advance one frame
|< - reset to first frame
^_ - eject (return to desktop)
Notes
-----
FLI files have a fixed resolution of 320x200 pixels.
FLC files can be any resolution.
Any FLI or FLC file can be viewed through this player
provided that it has been created in accordance with
the AutoDesk Animator standards.
Handling of FLC files has not yet been fully completed
in this version, but it should still be able to play
most files.
Because data is always being read from the Flic file
it is recommended that the file be stored on either
RAM or Hard disc. Reading from floppy disc will work
but due to the slow transfer speed the animation will
appear jerky.
Flics are not displayed as well as they are with the
original MSDOS player. This is because they use a full
(320x200x256) screen mode which RISC OS does not have
as standard. I use mode 13 (320x256x256) which makes
the picture look a bit squashed vertically.
Also the 256 colour palette under RISC OS has a limited
number of colour shades when compared to VGA under
MSDOS, so colours aren't always as well defined.
The previous filetype of Flics (&17F) has not been
checked as being unique, so may be in use by another
program. Please let me know if this is the case.
Other Flic filetypes recognised are:
&17F - FlicPlay by Mark Bolton (New Zealand)
&189 - QuickFlic by Léon Neelen (Holland)
&B9F - FliPlay by K.F. Quinn (England?)
&F0F - TileFlic by Martin Lyons (Australia)
AAPlay has been tested on the following platforms:
A310 /ARM 2 /RISC OS 2.0
A5000 /ARM 3 /RISC OS 3.1
RISCPC/ARM 610/RISC OS 3.5
AutoDesk Animator is a trademark of AutoDesk Ltd.
MSDOS is a trademark of MicroSoft Ltd.
RISC OS is a trademark of Acorn Computers Ltd.
Improvements
------------
Later versions of this software may contain -
A fully multitasking player which displays the animation
in a window.
History
-------
1.17 (01 May 1995) - AAPlay will now install itself and run
a Flic when a Flic is double clicked and
AAPlay was not previously installed.
Filetype &B9F has been added.
1.16 (11 Feb 1995) - Fixed bug in colour translation if
colour block is less than 256.
1.15 (14 Jan 1995) - Added user controls.
General tidy up of code.
1.12 (10 Sep 1994) - Bug fixes for FLC and detection of
zero length packets.
1.10 (27 Oct 1993) - Added ability to play FLC Filc
files.
1.01 (14 Aug 1993) - General tidy up of code.
1.00 (14 Aug 1993) - Very simple player for FLI Flics
only.
---------------------------------------------------------
This application may be freely copied and distributed
provided that:
1) The program is not exchanged for money. A small fee
may be charged to cover the cost of a disc.
2) The program is not modified in any way. The !Boot and
!Run files may be altered however.
3) All the files in this directory are kept together.
Please send any money, bugs, queries or comments to :
Michael Foot
4 Beulah Avenue
Rothesay Bay
Auckland 1310
New Zealand
or phone NZ +64 9 478 3305.