The Arsenal Files 6/The Arsenal Files 6 (Arsenal Computer).ISO/os2/jvw10h.zip/JVWPNT.HLP

OS/2 Help File | 1996-02-26 | 24KB | 413 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. Paint Utility Add on ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The functions contained in this DLL are designed to work with the JView imaging
system.  You will need to reference JView's main help file for help on controls
that are common to all JView dialogs, such as the colorwell.  This particular
module is provided by:

                                 Crunch Products
                                  P.O. Box 392
                             Berkeley, CA 94701-0392
                                       USA


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Overview ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are two functions contained in the Paint Utility and they are designed to
be complementary.

Painting is unique in the image editing arena in that it is truly beneficial to
be running on a system with at least 15 bit video hardware.  While every pain
has been taken to provide functionality to those who are using system with 8
bit color depth, when a 24 bit image is being worked upon the displayed image
will have errors and the processing will be slower than optimum.  If your image
is 8 bit, it will display correctly and there will be no speed penalty, however
some of the more advanced features will be unavailable.

Color Depth  What exactly is the "depth" of the image and why is it important.
On the computer, an image is made up of a series of points, called pixels.
Each pixel is described by its three color primaries - red, green, and blue.
So, a certain shade of the color gray is made up of equal parts of red, green,
and blue. The concept of depth revolves around how accurately we can specify
the amount of red, green, or blue to use at a given pixel.  Going back to the
way OS/2 works, the intensity of each primary color can be specified as a
number between 0 and 255.  That is, there are 256 different levels of red, 256
levels of blue, and 256 levels of green.  In computerese, 8 bits is equal to
256.  So when we say that your system's display is 8 bit, we mean that it can
only display a maximum of 256 different colors at one time.  The alternative,
24 bit, means that any pixel can have a color that is specified as having 256
levels each of red, green, and blue for a total of 256 x 256 x 256  = 16.4
million possible colors.  So a 24 bit display system can show up to 16.4
million different colors.  As you can imagine, there is a big advantage to
having a 24 bit display system.  The big problem with 8 bit systems comes when
your image already is using 256 different colors.  If you want to add just one
more - sorry, we just can't do it.  This is not a problem with 24 bit systems.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Blank Canvas ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This creates a blank image of the specified size (pixels) in the specified
color.  If you are running at 24 bit color depth, you will have the choice of
creating your canvas at either 8 or 24 bit color depth.  If you have specified
in your JView Options to run your display at 8 bit color depth, then the canvas
has to be created at an 8 bit depth.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Paint Kit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

All the functions of the paint kit are contained in the Paint Kit dialog.  The
actual functions that you are presented with change depending on whether your
image is 8 bit color depth or 24 bit.  If you wish to use advanced painting
features, you will need to increase the color depth of your image with the Make
24 bit command found in the Colors Add on.

To truly take advantage of the paint kit you must forget about painting with
brushes, paper, and paint.  On the computer you have an applicator (which is
contained in the notebook of the right side of the dialog) and what is being
applied (which is contained on the left side).  It is by the combination of
these two that you apply your effect.  The help menus are designed so that the
Help button on the left side of the screen brings up help for the function
being applied, while the Help button on the right side brings up help on the
applicators.

In addition to the Notebook, there is a floating palette of applicators that
initially is located on the right side of the screen and another palette of
substances initially located on the left side of the screen.  These palettes
simply mirror what is available in the Notebook.  Hopefully they are easier and
quicker to use, if not they can be hidden.

A popup menu similar to the one always available under JView is provided, its
commands are similar to those available under other dialogs.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.1. Button Bars ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

There are several floating button bars available while painting.  At the bottom
of both the applicator and substance button bars is a question mark.  Selecting
this will cause help text to be available whenever you depress a particular
button.

The bars can be sized to whatever preference you choose.  In the case that you
have sized them so that not all buttons can be displayed, two new buttons will
be added.  These are an up and a down arrow.  With these available buttons can
be cycled through what is available to be displayed.

Double clicking on a button will cause the main Notebook to become visible so
that parameters associated with the particular button can be adjusted.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2. Applicators ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following are different ways of applying the selected function.  Remember
that an applicator can be chosen by either accessing the main Notebook directly
or using the floating buttonbar of applicators.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.1. AirBrush ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Airbrushes use compressed air to force paint through a nozzle and onto the
canvas.  The Paint Kit's airbrush starts with the paint (when the word paint
appears it means the paint function to be applied, i.e. the substance) coming
out as a solid circle of size Solid diameter.

Because the paint is coming out mixed with air, you can have the density of the
paint fall off as you get farther away from the point at which you are aiming.
Think of this as a mist of paint falling on the canvas.  How far this mist will
fall is determined by the Fade radius which is measured from the edge of the
Solid diameter.  So, if your solid diameter is 10 (pixels), then adding a Fade
radius of 5 will cause 5 extra pixels to be partly painted all around the
airbrush.

The airbrush starts out round.  But why limit yourself?  You can Squish the
airbrush to distort its output.  And along with the distortion you might want
to add Rotation to the spray.

Finally, if your image is 24 bit you can specify an overall strength for the
airbrush. This is a percentage value where strengths less than 100 will cause
the airbrush affect to be blended into the image instead of just covering the
point(s) in question.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.2. Floodfill ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Floodfill works on a spreading principle.  You start by specifying a seed
position (a starting pixel).  Next, neighboring pixels are compared to see if
they are similar.  Those that are get added to the region to be changed.  Thus,
only pixels that touch one another will be changed.

You specify a Tolerance to control how close two colors need to be in order to
be considered similar.  Like most other applicators a strength value is
available when operating on 24 bit images.  This dictates how strongly the
substance in question will be applied.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.3. Objects ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Objects are different geometric entities that you specify and create.  You can
create rectangles, ellipses, or do freehand drawing.

There are two main states for an object, filled and non-filled.  If you are
creating filled objects, then in freehand mode they must be closed.  When you
create non-filled objects (Fill is not checked), the specified Line Width is
used to draw the object.

Choosing Rounded will cause all sharp corners to be rounded when the object is
drawn.  Since ellipses do not have corners, this option has no effect on them.

Strength is available when the image has 24 bit depth.  It dictates how
strongly the current substance will be applied.  It is a percentage term, with
100 meaning full strength.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.4. Pencil ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The pencil is a rectangular applicator.  Substances applied with the pencil can
go on much faster than with other applicators if the rotation is 0.

The size of the pencil is adjusted with the sliders.  Additionally, the
rectangle can be rotated if desired, units of rotation are degrees, size is in
pixels.

If the image has 24 bit color depth, the strength will allow you to specify how
strongly the substance will be applied.  Strength is indicated in percentage
terms, with 100 meaning full strength.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.5. Stamp ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

In stamping you take a copy of the selected area and then stamp out copies
wherever you want on your image.  You get to select the type of outline for
your stamp, namely Rectangle, Ellipse, et.c. Once you have created a stamp (by
using the left mouse button on your image), that stamp stays in effect until
you Clear  Once you have created your stamp, you apply it by using the left
mouse button.

The Since Hit option means that you will be required to click the left mouse
button each time you wish to apply the stamp.  With this option off, you can
paint the stamp causing interesting effects.

If your image has 24 bit color depth, the Strength parameter becomes active.
Strength is in percentage terms wherein a strength of 100 means that the
current stamp will completely cover the image underneath. Values less than 100
will cause the stamp to be blended.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.6. Selection ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The types of selection paths available are the same as those available in the
base JView product.  The one addition is that the selected region can be
specified as being inside or outside the outlined path.

A selected region could be used simply to copy specific regions to the
clipboard.  For painting, the real power of a selected region is that
operations outside the region are invalid.  In this way you can select part of
your image so that only the selected region will be operated upon. Keep in mind
that it is easy to place selection on and then forget about it because you have
scrolled such that the selection path is not being displayed. If this were to
occur, it would appear as if nothing is happening when you paint.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.7. Text ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Just like with other applicators, you create text that will use the current
substance when being applied.  The options available for creating text are
similar to those available in most word processing documents so detailed
explanation of fonts are not covered here.

In the text window, the specified Font, Style, Size, and Emphasis are applied
to the text being displayed.  These characteristics are applied to all the
letters, you cannot treat letters separately.  In addition to the
characteristics just listed, other options are available but they will not be
displayed in the text window as you are typing.

These other options start with Skew, which is an angle that represents a
shearing of the text.  Next comes Angle which represents a rotations of all the
text about the origin.  Last is Orientation, which specifies in which
directions the text will flow.

Text can be Left, Center, or Right justified by selecting the appropriate
button.

Once the options have been selected and the text entered, use the right mouse
button to drag the text onto the image as desired.

If the image has 24 bit color depth, the Strength parameter becomes active.
Strength is indicated in percentage terms and specifies how strongly a given
substance should be applied.  100 percent means full strength.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.2.8. User Defined ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

For our purposes, an applicator is nothing more than a series of black and
white pixels (on and off points, if you will).  To that end there is nothing
that prevents you from creating your own specialized applicator.

The format for you applicator is an image file format that JView can read. Such
a file is Loaded and converted to black and white.  Pixels that appear black
will be applied, those that are white will be ignored.  Your applicator can be
inverted by using the Invert button.

Some applicators, such as the airbrush, work well when used as a brush in the
conventional manner.  Other applicators, such as text really on work well when
applied in single doses.  Since it is unknown how to best use your unique
applicator, you have the option of specifying if it can only be applied in
single doses.  Use the Single application per hit checkbox to do this.

If the image has 24 bit color depth, the Strength parameter will become active.
Use this to specify how strongly you want your applicator to apply the
substance in question.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3. Substances ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The following are the different types of substances that can be applied once
you have chosen an applicator.  The substances available will change depending
on whether the image has 8 bit or 24 bit color depth.  Images with 8 bit color
depth will have a subset of the substances available with 24 bit color depth.
Remember that a substance can be chosen by either accessing the main Notebook
directly or using the floating buttonbar of substances.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.1. Adjust ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The adjust substance in only available to 24 bit images.

Adjusting takes the area under consideration and adjusts each pixel, by color
channel, as indicated.  If Bright is selected, then all color channels are
adjust by the indicated amount.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.2. Black and White ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This substance is only available with 24 bit images.

This substance converts the pixels in question to black and white. The
conversion is based on the intensity of the underlying color.  Pixels with
intensities beneath the indicated Threshold are mapped to black, while others
are mapped to white.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.3. Blur ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Blur and Sharpen require your image to have 24 bit color depth.  The blurring
function takes the pixels being modified and does an averaging of them.

Sharpen is applied similarly to blur, but ideally the results are opposites.
Sharpen tries to increase the difference among a group of pixels.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.4. Color ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This substance will change depending on whether your image has a color depth of
24 bits or 8 bits.  If your image is 8 bit, the substance is simply a colorwell
where you edit the color by double-clicking or choosing the Select Color
button.

If your image is 24 bit, your options expand.  You still edit the color by
double-clicking on the colorwell.  In addition you can choose Intensity Mapping
which causes the intensity of your image to be preserved while the color (Hue
and Saturation) get changed to the new color.  For this reason when using
intensity mapping it is best to choose a high intensity color for the colorwell


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.5. Emboss ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Embossing and engraving are only available for use on images with 24 bit color
depth.

Emboss gives the illusion that the current applicator is pushing up through the
image.  Engrave does the opposite, giving the illusion that the applicator has
been pushed into the image.

Depth is an indication of how strongly the pressure will be applied. Higher
values equal greater pressure.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.6. Erase ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Erase is used in conjunction with the Update and Undo buttons.  Erase takes the
most recently updated copy of your image and uses that as the substance to be
applied.  With Erase, there is no need for your typical undo feature.  Instead,
you basically un-paint your picture!


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.7. Gradient ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Gradient refers to a series of colors that vary between endpoints.  Those
endpoints are other colors.  You may specify up to four different colors to
give your final substance a unique blend.  You do not need to use all four
colors, but a minimum of two needs to be specified.  Which two depends on which
radio button option is selected.

There are three possible blendings of colors available, L - R, U - D, and 4
point. Respectively these represent a 2 color gradient that is created from the
Upper Left color specified and the Upper Right color specified (L - R).  The
next gradient is also based on two colors and is made from the Upper Left color
and the Down Left color (U - D).  The final possible gradient is based on all
four specified colors (4 point).

The control located in the upper right corner of the notebook page is a
representation of what your gradient looks like.

Because the gradient is based on colors at fixed locations, you need the
ability to rotate the gradient to achieve additional effects.  Rotation is
given in degrees.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.8. Grayscale ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This substance will turn whatever it is applied to into its grayscale
equivalent.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.9. Pattern ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This substance requires your image to have 24 bit color depth. Because your
applicators are really smart, they can apply a pattern as well as simple
colors.  What is a pattern?  It's any image file JView can read!!! The pattern
you choose is tiled to fit the size of the image you are currently painting.
Initially, your pattern is aligned to start at the lower left corner of your
image.  Because you might wish it to be shifted from there, you can specify
both X offset and Y offset to shift the starting point.

Load you might guess, loads a new pattern.  Update on the other hand, takes the
current pattern and applies the indicated X and Y offsets.  Thus if you change
either of the offsets, you will need to hit the Update button to make the
changes effective.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.3.10. Replace ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Replace works with both 8 and 24 bit color depth images.  Replace takes the
color indicated with Current and replaces it with the color indicated with New.

You can also use a Tolerance in matching colors. The Tolerance ranges from 0 to
255 and works in the RGB colorspace.  By using a tolerance, not only will
colors that exactly match the Current color be replaced, but a range of colors
around the Current color (the range defined by tolerance) will be replaced.
So, a higher tolerance means more colors will be replaced.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3.4. Control Buttons, Popup Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The buttons located at the bottom of the Paint Dialog are used as follows.

Zoom  Aside from magnifying the entire image by use of the PopUp menu, you can
use the zoom feature.  This allows you to isolate a region of the image you are
interested in working on.  After a Zoom has begun, you either UnZoom when
finished or Cancel the zoom.

Done  Exits paint and the changes are saved.

Cancel  If in Zoom mode, this cancels the current zoom.  If not in Zoom mode,
the quits the Paint Kit and discards all changes to the image.

Undo abandons all changes made since the last time the Update button was used.

Update takes the current state of the image and saves it.  This is used in
conjunction with both the Undo button and the Erase substance.

Image makes the Image window active.

Tools will show all available tool (applicators, substances, etc.) windows.