CD Action 12 B/cdactioncoverdisc/cc/xr20se/data.z/READ_ME.TXT

Text File | 1996-06-12 | 15KB | 394 lines

xRES 2.0.1 Special Edition ReadMe
May 1996

Welcome to Macromedia(R) xRes(TM) Special Edition - the
most powerful creative tool for hi-res images. No matter what
your  skill or experience level, Macromedia xRes Special
Editionoffers  you the tools to compose and create -- fast.

No matter what your needs -- image layout and design, retouch-
ing, creating compositions, collages, or photomontages, xRes
provides enhanced creative functionality and productivity with
its advanced handling of hi-res images. or combining painted
and photographic effects -- Macromedia

This file contains exciting information on the upgrade to the
full version of Macromedia xRes, late breaking news that you
should be aware of, and an explanation of how to get the best
results creating images for the World Wide Web.

And if you are creating for the web or for multimedia, you'll
find that xRes' Direct Mode provides you with an excellent solu-
tion for creating and editing images and compositions for online
display.

Web file formats like GIF89a, Progressive JPEG, and PNG
make creating web images from hi-res images a snap!

Macromedia xRes Special Edition offers a limited set of
features the full version of Macromedia xRes. As an owner of
this limited edition, you qualify for a special upgrade price to
the full version. (See the offer included with your packaging
for more information.) The complete version offers more
powerful features like:

*CMYK editing and color separations

*Unlimited floating objects

*Additional filters including Curves, Calculations, and artistic
 filters

*Additional artistic brushes and presets

*Additional textures

*Path functionality, including path import from Macromedia
 FreeHand(tm)

*Custom color libraries from Trumatch and Pantone

*Batch conversion to and from Macromedia xRes' native file
 formats

The full version of Macromedia xRes also includes other great
goodies not included with the Special Edition:

XTRAS
Kai's Power Tools 3.0 S.E. Macromedia Edition including the
Gradient Designer, the Texture Explorer, the Spheroid Designer
and a sampler  of Compact Filters using the new Lens FX
interface.These filters ship with over 700 Graphic Presets
exclusive to Macromedia customers!

STOCK PHOTOGRAPHY & GOODIES
Over 450 MB of high and low resolution photography in xRes'
native LRG format from vendors like PhotoDisc, Visual Language,
Texture Farm, Classic Photographic Image Objects, Image Kit,
Digital Stock Corporation and Xaos Tools.

GOODIES
Goodies include fonts and demos of other Xtras from 3rd party
 vendors!

ADVANCED IMAGING TUTORIAL
Included are sample files and a step-by-step of basic and advanced
techniques.

FULL DOCUMENTATION
Included are a Getting Started manual and User Guide.

To upgrade to the full version, contact Macromedia at 1-800-457-1774
in the United States and Canada, or 415-252-2000 in the rest of the
world.




LATE BREAKING NEWS

There is so much good stuff in Macromedia(R) xRes(TM) 2.0
S.E.,we just couldn't fit it all into the User Guide in time.
Included in this ReadMe is any last minute information that you
might need about third-party plug-in filters, file formats,
documentation, corrections, and more!

USING THE ACCESS SHELL

When trying to run the xRes application from the xRes 2.0 Access
Shell, it is possible on some configurations to run out of RAM.
If  this should happen, try closing other applications that may be
open.


INSTALLING xRES 2.0 WITHOUT USING THE ACCESS
 SHELL

Insert the xRes 2.0 CD. Click the start button (click File Menu in
Windows 3.1 and Windows NT) and then click Run. Type
D:\xres20\setup.exe (where D is the drive letter of your CD-ROM
drive.) Follow the directions in the installer.


USING PLUG-IN FILTERS

Windows 3.1
Plug-in filters do not work in Windows 3.1 in the S.E. version
The full version of xRes has complete plug-in support for
 Windows 3.1.

Windows 95 and Windows NT
To use plug-in filters, either install or drag already installed
plug-ins into the Xtras folder in the Program Files/Common
Files/Macromedia/Xtras directory. Then make sure
"Support Plug-ins" is checked in the Preferences > General
dialog. Access Preferences > Set Plug-In Folder, locate the
Xtras folder, and click Select at the
bottom of the dialog then relaunch xRes.

The following plug-ins have been tested with Macromedia
xRes:

*KPT 3.0(TM) (In Windows95 and Windows NT), by Meta
Tools
*KPT 2.0(TM) (In Windows 3.1), by Meta Tools


PLUG-IN TIPS

Correction to the documentation: Plug-ins are designed to work
in the Direct Work Mode and are disabled in the xRes Work Mode.

If you are using a plug-in that is not on the approved list, then
try it on a dummy file before using it in an important project.


USING KPT FILTERS

Take note of the following issues when using KPT filters:

The Gradients on Paths features of KPT 3.0 may not work on
larger files.

The Angular Shapeburst of the KPT Gradient Designer will
apply as a Rectangular Shapeburst.

If you are working in the CMYK Mode, keep in mind that the
filters in KPT 2.1 and 3.0 preview the effect as if it were
applying in RGB
Mode.

Macromedia is currently working on ensuring compatibility
with other
plug-in vendors.

WORKING WITH FILE FORMATS

Recommended File Format:
Macromedia recommends that, whenever possible, you use the
TIFF file format to go back and forth between xRes and other
applications.

DCS
DCS 2.0 has no TIFF preview in this version of xRes.

JPEG Documentation Correction:
The xRes User Guide states that Progressive JPEG's are lossless.
This is incorrect. Progressive JPEG's, like all JPEG's, use a
compression scheme that may cause data loss in files. When
you are saving JPEG files, a Quality slider may be set between
1 and 100; a value of 100 generates a lossless JPEG file.

Photoshop 3.0 Files:
In order to open Photoshop 3.0 files in xRes, make sure that 2.5
Compatibility is turned on in the Photoshop General Preferences.
When exporting a PSD file for use in xRes, you must have a
background layer in the file. If you make the background into
a regular layer, then the file may cause problems in xRes.

PERFORMANCE & COMPATIBILITY

Rendering Times:
The time it takes to render a file depends on the type of machine,
the processor and memory installed, the size of the image, the
number of objects in the image, and the commands applied to
the image. Note that painting operations take longer than others
to render because xRes must play back each individual brush stroke.
Do not be disillusioned if you have done a lot of painting and
the image takes a long time to render; simple image editing
operations will render in a fraction of the time.

Updating:
In the current version of xRes, there are situations in which the
application updates without an Updating Composite slider
appearing on the screen. The program may appear frozen. In
a few seconds the cursor will re-appear.

Importing files into Indexed 256 Mode Files
Importing Grayscale or Indexed files into Indexed files will
cause problems because this type of import yields two different
color tables that are incompatible. To bypass this situation, open
the Grayscale or Indexed file you wish to import, then change
the color mode to RGB or CMYK using Modify > Color Mode.

Low Disk Situations
Macromedia recommends that you have at least 50 MB free swap
disk space at all times. To view the amount of free swap disk space,
access Window > Inspectors > Info, and check the number next to
Free Disk. xRes may operate at a slower pace or may experience
update problems in low swap disk situations. If you are experiencing
low swap disk problems, save your file as an MMI file (other file
formats may not save in low disk situations), exit xRes, free up
swap disk, then relaunch xRes.

Text at Large Sizes:
Some fonts are designed for use only up to a specific point size,
after this size, they will not appear in the rendered document.
 (A rendered document is a file you have exported to any file
format except MMI.) If you are using text at a point size of 400,
test it out in a dummy document before using it in an important
project.

Preview Box
The preview box will only work in True Color (24-bit) mode. It
does not work in 16-or 8-bit mode.

Switching the Color Depth of the Monitor
If you are switching to or from an 8-bit display mode, quit xRes,
switch modes, then relaunch. Switching to 8-bit while running
xResmay result in corrupted floating panels.

Wacom Drivers in WINDOWS NT
Eraser support for the Art Pad II and Art Z II does not work in
xRes in Windows NT. For more of the latest information
concerning xRes tablet support, see New Pressure-Sensive
Preference under Working with Brushes, Textures, & Gradients
 below.

CUTTING, COPYING, & PASTING TO THE CLIPBOARD

The Cut and Copy commands are used to copy information to
the clipboard. The Cut command cuts the entire object from the
document, even if there is a selection. When you Paste after
applying the Cut command, the entire object will be pasted. The
Copy command copies the image area inside of a selection. When
you Paste after applying the Copy command, only the image area
inside of the selection will be pasted.

When you paste an object into a document, that object appears in
the top left corner of the zoomed out view of the document. You may
not see this object if you are in a zoomed-in view; to see the object
 (and move it around), zoom out until you can see the entire image within
the image window.

To copy and paste between different applications (such as from
xRes to Photoshop(TM)), use the Cut or Copy commands from the
Direct Mode of xRes. The Direct Mode will copy the information
 to the system clipboard.

WORKING WITH OBJECTS

New Objects:
When you click on the New Object Icon in the Objects Window,
a dialog allows you to specify the size of the new object. For
most new objects, you will want to uncheck the Transparency box
in this dialog; otherwise, the object will appear as a clear sheet of
acetate in the document.

Filling Transparencies:
In this version of xRes, you may not fill transparent objects with
the Gradient Tool, the Bucket Tool, or the Edit > Fill command.

Resize Error:
A checkbox called Maintain Size appears in the Resize Document
dialog (Modify > Resize > Document.) In some very large documents,
xRes may generate an error message when you attempt to type in
a new height, width, or resolution. If this error occurs, change
the pop-up menus in the dialog to pixels before checking this checkbox.

Rotate Commands:
The Modify > Rotate > CW 90 and Modify > Rotate > CCW 90
menu commands rotate the entire document, not just the active
object as documented. These commands allow a fast and easy
way to rotate multi-object documents. The Modify > Rotate >
Arbitrary command can be used to rotate the topmost active object.

WORKING WITH BRUSHES, TEXTURES, & GRADIENTS

New Pressure-Sensitive Preference:
A new preference has been added to the General Preferences for
customers using pressure-sensitive tablets. The Tablet Pressure,
accessed by File > Preferences > Set Tablet Pressure, is now set
on a scale of 0 to 255 to allow more flexibility in setting the tablet
 pressure. "Set Tablet Pressure" refers to the minimum pressure
needed for xRes to register tablet input. Older tablets may require
higher values.

Scaled and Non-Scaled Textures:
The Scale checkbox on the Textures palette is used to scale textures
inxRes Mode. A texture is scaled according to the current zoom level.
Forinstance, if you draw with a scaled textured brush and then zoom
in or out, the view is magnified or reduced, respectively. If the texture
is not scaled, then the textured brush strokes are played back at the
screen size of each zoom level. In other words, non-scaled textures
appear differently depending on the current zoom level.

Therefore, Macromedia recommends that you use scaled textures to
ensure that the textured brush strokes will reproduce accurately in
the final rendered document.

Default Gradient Set:
A new feature has been added to Gradient Options--a menu command
called "Default Gradient Set." You can access this command by the
submenu on the Gradient Options Inspector. When you access Default
Gradient Set, xRes resets the preset gradients to the shipping
gradient set.

Adding New Gradients:
The list of gradients in the Gradient Options does not scroll at
this time. If you are working on a low-resolution monitor and wish
to add new gradients, it may be necessary to delete existing
 gradientsto makespace in the scroll-down list. To delete a
gradient, selectone and then choose Delete from the Gradient
submenu.

PREVIEWING FILTERS

One way to preview filters is to use the preview box, accessed by
checking Use Preview Box in the General Preferences. The
preview box previews the image as if you were applying the
effect at the 1:1 zoom level. If you are working at a zoom level
such as 1:4 or 1:8, the effect appearing in the preview window
will not match the effect as applied to the image at the current
zoom level. The preview box does not work in CMYK Mode
or Indexed 256 Mode.


CROP TOOL
The documentation states that a cropped area may be resized propor-
tionately by dragging out crop handles while holding down the Shift
key. This is incorrect. The Shift key may be used while dragging out
the initial crop rectangle to constrain this area to a square; however,
the key cannot be used to proportionately resize the crop area.

CROPPING OPTION

A new dialog has been added that appears when you have cropped
an image, applied alpha channels, and saved the file. This dialog
only appears if you are working with a one-object document and
saving the file as a format other than the MMI format. In this
instance, a dialog allows you to either: a) keep the cropped
boundaries of the document but delete any extra channels, or
b) return the image to its uncropped
size and keep the alpha channels.

KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Windows substitutions:
If you are reading the User Guide, make the following substitution for
all keyboard shortcuts:
*Use Alt instead of Option
*Use Ctrl instead of Command
*Ctrl-F4 is a reserved Windows(tm) shortcut used to close the current
 document.
*Ctrl-F6 is a reserved shortcut used to switch the active document.
*Ctrl-F may be used to toggle in and out of Full Screen Mode.
*Caps Lock (not Shift) turns all tool cursors into crosshairs.

Documentation Errors:
The keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+ and Ctrl- can be used to zoom
either in or out. The function keys F1 through F12 control brush
sizes; F1 creates a very small brush, while F12 creates a very large
brush. The keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-13, Ctrl-14, and Ctrl-15 do not
exist, because these function keys are not present on the Windows
 keyboard.

PATENT INFO

Macromedia has a license from the Unisys Corp. for the GIF
compression used in xRes. The compression scheme is licensed
under U.S. Patent No. 4,558,302 and foreign counterparts.

(c)1996 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved.