Computer Buyer 1996 April/BYER_0496.iso/utils/neopai/np4.cmp/README.DOC

Text File | 1994-11-02 | 25KB | 728 lines

               NeoPaint - Version 3.0
              (C)1992-94 NeoSoft Corp.

              * IMPORTANT INFORMATION *

--------
CONTENTS
--------

* About NeoPaint
* New Features in Version 3.0
* System Requirements
* Supported Video Cards
* Starting NeoPaint
* Command Line Options
* NeoGrab Screen Capture Utility
* Optimizing NeoPaint
* Acquiring Additional Fonts
* Acquiring Additional Stamps
* Special Effect Considerations
* Mouse Driver Mysteries
* Problem Images
* Customer Services & Technical Support
* Registering NeoPaint
* Other Products from NeoSoft


--------------
ABOUT NEOPAINT
--------------

NeoPaint is the ultimate image editing program for DOS!
Until now sophisticated image editing has required
spending hundreds of dollars on software and hardware. At
$45 (U.S.), NeoPaint sets a new standard in
price/performance. NeoPaint is as simple to use as any
paint program, yet with many powerful features usually
found only in high-end picture publishing systems. Better
still, NeoPaint is NOT a Microsoft Windows program, so
it's easy to install, set up and use. NeoPaint's state of
the art GUI interface allows you to edit and view
multiple images at the same time in resolutions as high
as 1024x768.

When you compare NeoPaint with high end graphics packages
costing hundreds of dollars we think you'll discover that
NeoPaint gives you tremendous power at any price!

NEOPAINT FEATURES:
-----------------

o  File Formats: PCX, GIF, TIFF and BMP

o  Video Modes: Hercules (720x348x2), EGA (640x350x16),
   VGA (320x200x256, 640x480x2, 640x480x16), Super VGA*
   (640x480x256, 800x600x16, 800x600x256, 1024x768x256)

o  Multiple Images: View and Edit multiple images in
   adjustable on-screen windows

o  Drawing Tools: Brush, Air Brush, Eraser, Color
   Eraser, Flood Fill, Tile Fill, Gradient Fill, Color
   Convert, Text, Line, Bezier Line, K-Line, Rectangle,
   Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse/Circle, Polygon, Freehand
   Polygon, Editable Polygon, Grid, 3D Cube, 3D Pyramid,
   Gradient Rectangle, Gradient Ellipse/Circle, Magic
   Marker, Smudge Tool, Blend Tool, Charcoal Pencil,
   Crayon, Water Color Brush, Oil Brush, Quill Pen,
   Clone, Color Similarity, Stamp Pad, Solid and
   Transparent Patterns

o  Fonts: Multiple Styles and Sizes with Bold, Italic,
   Underline, Outline and Shadow effects; Additional
   fonts available from NeoSoft and third party vendors

o  Selection Tools: Rectangle, Polygon and Freehand
   Polygon/Lasso, Bezier Ellipse (Transparent and Solid)

o  Effects: Invert, Flip, Rotate, Scale, Stretch, Skew,
   Distort, Acid Wash, Average, Blend, Border, Emboss,
   Equalize, Soften, Screen, Smear, Pixelize, Lattice,
   Blur, Darken, Lighten, Fade, and more.

o  Zoom: Multilevel Zoom allows precise editing;
   Scrolling and most drawing tools also work in Zoom
   Mode.

o  Color Control: Works with 2, 16, 256 and 16 Million
   Color Images; Color Balance, Brightness, Contrast and
   Color Reduction/Conversion are supported

o  Output: Supports over 300 printers! Produce high
   quality halftones on HP DeskJet, HP LaserJet and
   Postscript or compatible printers; Scaling and
   Orientation controls; also supports Epson/IBM
   compatible dot matrix and color printers such as HP
   DeskJet 500/550C.

o  Memory Management: Supports Expanded (EMS), Extended
   (XMS) and Virtual Disk Memory for working with very
   large images


------------
NEW FEATURES
------------

The following features are new to version 3.0:

o  Support for additional video cards and chipsets (see
   System Requirements below for details)
o  24-Bit/True Color (paint with 16 million colors on
   supported video cards)
o  320x200x256 Mode (256 colors on a standard VGA card)
o  Read/Write BMP files (Windows and OS/2 formats)
o  DOS Shell (File menu)
o  1° Image Rotation (Picture menu)
o  Free Form 3D Objects (below 3-D Cube icon)
o  New Gradient Fill Type (Pyramid)
o  NeoGrab Screen Capture utility now works in Text Mode
o  Image Preview added to Palette/Contrast Adjustment
   tools
o  Circular Selection Tool (below Scissors icon)
o  Mount option to change paper size of existing
   images/cutouts (Edit menu)
o  Quill Pen Tool (below Marker icon)
o  Oil Brush Tool (below Marker icon)
o  Improved Water Color Brush Tool (below Marker icon)
o  First and last palette colors are no longer required
   to be black and white
o  Enhanced Palette Editor (File menu)
o  Enhanced Pattern Editor (File menu)
o  Enhanced Special Effect filters (twice as many as
   before and their faster!)
o  Image/File Delete Function (File menu)
o  ASCII Text Import (draw a box with text tool)
o  Moveable Text Entry Field
o  Fly-Out Palettes
o  Window Iconize (new button on window title reduces
   image to a small icon)
o  Faster Printing w/multiple copies
o  Improved/Faster Special Effects
o  Stamp Directory may be changed from within Stamp Pad
   dialog. Removed option from Preferences.
o  Font Directory may be changed from within Font
   dialog. Removed option from Preferences.
o  Use the shift key with the Color Eraser to replace
   target color with the line or fill color instead of
   white.
o  Option added to the Airbrush Setup that allows the
   airbrush to fade from one color to another.
o  We've also added dozens of other small enhancements
   not listed here...


-------------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------

To use NeoPaint you will need the following:

o  IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or 100% compatible computer. A
   286 or better CPU is recommended.

o  EGA, VGA, Super VGA, Hercules monochrome or
   compatible graphics card and monitor. See Supported
   Video Cards below for information on compatible Super
   VGA cards.

o  640K minimum RAM

o  A hard disk

o  MS-DOS, PC-DOS 3.1 (or higher) or DR-DOS

o  Microsoft, Logitech or compatible pointing device

o  Printer (optional)


---------------------
SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS
---------------------

NeoPaint will run on any computer system equipped with a
100% compatible EGA, VGA, Super VGA or Hercules graphics
card. To operate NeoPaint in 256 or 16 Million color
video modes, you must have a Super VGA video card
equipped with one of the following chipsets (or a close
compatible):

Advance Logic
Ahead Systems
ATI
Cirrus Logic
Compaq QVision
Oak
Paradise/Western Digital
S3*
Trident
Tseng ET3000
Tseng ET4000
Video Seven
Weitek
XGA
or any VESA compatible chipset.

* Some S3 video cards require special command line
options in order to work properly with NeoPaint. If you
have an S3 chipset and you experience problems, contact
NeoSoft Technical support [phone].

NOTE: There may exist either now or in the future, video
cards based on revisions of the above chipsets which may
not be recognized by this version of NeoPaint. If you
experience problems related to your video card, please
contact NeoSoft Technical support [phone].

CGA USERS: Due to severe limitations inherent in their
design, CGA video cards are not supported. This includes
many Tandy 1000 systems which are essentially CGA.


-----------------
STARTING NEOPAINT
-----------------

For the steps below, we assume that you have installed
NeoPaint in the directory C:\NEOPAINT. If you installed
NeoPaint in a different DOS subdirectory, then substitute
that name for C:\NEOPAINT below.

o  Your mouse driver (usually MOUSE.COM) must be loaded
   before running NeoPaint. Please refer to your mouse's
   user manual for more information.

o  To change to the NeoPaint directory, at the DOS
   prompt (C:\), type CD\NEOPAINT and press Enter. This
   places you in the NeoPaint subdirectory.

o  Once you have switched to the proper directory,
   NeoPaint can be started from the DOS command line by
   typing NEOPAINT followed by the Enter key.


--------------------
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
--------------------

You can specify several command options when starting
NeoPaint. An option consists of a slash (/) followed by
an option letter and information about that option.

LOADING NEOPAINT'S OVERLAY INTO EXPANDED MEMORY
-----------------------------------------------

USAGE:    /E

EXAMPLE:  NEOPAINT /E

PURPOSE:  NeoPaint's overlay file (NEOPAINT.OVR) can be
          loaded into expanded memory, thus speeding up
          execution of some NeoPaint functions. When
          exiting NeoPaint the overlay is removed from
          memory. This option requires approximately
          400K of expanded (EMS) memory.

NETWORK SETUP FILES
-------------------

USAGE:    /S[file]

EXAMPLE:  NEOPAINT /Sf:\users\cindy.set

PURPOSE:  Normally NeoPaint stores its setup information
          in the NEOPAINT.SET file in the NeoPaint
          directory. This file contains information
          about the default settings such as video mode
          and memory usage options. In a multi-user
          environment with PCs of vastly different
          configurations it is necessary to specify
          setup files for different users and/or
          different machine types. The /S option allows
          users to load NeoPaint with their own
          personalized setup file.

          For example: if Cindy keeps her personal files
          in the PAINT directory on her C: drive then
          she might start NeoPaint by typing:

          NEOPAINT /Sc:\paint\cindy.set

LOADING IMAGES FROM THE COMMAND LINE
------------------------------------

You can also load images into Neopaint directly from the
DOS command line. Simply run NeoPaint with the names of
the files you wish to load as parameters. For example:

NEOPAINT  C:\PCX\VANGOGH.PCX  C:\GIF\IRISES.GIF

You may load as many files as will fit on the DOS command
line.


------------------------------
NEOGRAB SCREEN CAPTURE UTILITY
------------------------------

Included as part of the NeoPaint Package is an easy-to-
use screen capture utility called NeoGrab. NeoGrab will
capture graphics or text displayed on your monitor and
convert it into PCX format files which may be used in
NeoPaint and other programs.

To load NeoGrab, at the DOS prompt type:

NEOGRAB [Options]

To capture a graphics or text screen, press <Ctrl> <Print
Screen>. A small prompt like the one below will appear in
the center of your screen:
┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Press ENTER to capture entire screen, │
│ F1 to select area or ESC to cancel.   │
└───────────────────────────────────────┘
Press ENTER to capture the entire screen not including
the NeoGrab prompt. F1 will allow you to select a
rectangular portion of the screen using your mouse. Two
short beeps means the screen was captured successfully.
One long beep means an error occurred and the screen
could not be captured. An error will occur if you are in
an unsupported graphics mode or if your disk is full.
NeoGrab supports all standard video modes and most super
VGA modes so you shouldn't have any trouble using it with
popular software. NeoGrab will not, however, work with
Microsoft Windows.

Screen captures are stored as PCX files and placed in the
directory where the NEOGRAB.EXE file is located. Files
are numbered sequentially starting with 00000001. For
example the first captured screen will be named
00000001.PCX the second 00000002.PCX and so on. NeoGrab
will not delete files to make room - it simply selects
the next available file name in the sequence. Deleting
files is up to you.

NEOGRAB COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
----------------------------

You can specify several options when starting NeoGrab. An
option consists of a forward slash (/) followed by an
option letter.

ALTERNATE HOTKEY
----------------

USAGE:    /K

EXAMPLE:  NEOGRAB /K

PURPOSE:  Changes the hotkey from the default <Ctrl>
          <Print Screen> to <Alt> <Scroll Lock>. This is
          useful if another program is already using the
          default hotkey.

SPECIFY CAPTURE PATH
--------------------

USAGE:    /P[path]

EXAMPLE:  NEOGRAB /Pc:\pcx

PURPOSE:  This option allows you to specify a drive and
          directory for captured PCX images. By default
          captured screens are stored in the directory
          that contains the NEOGRAB.EXE file.

UNLOADING NEOGRAB
-----------------

USAGE:    /U

EXAMPLE:  NEOGRAB /U

PURPOSE:  Use this option to unload NeoGrab from memory.
          This will only work if NeoGrab is the last TSR
          loaded in memory.

BYPASSING THE NEOGRAB PROMPT
----------------------------

USAGE:    /B

EXAMPLE:  NEOGRAB /B

PURPOSE:  Causes NeoGrab to automatically capture the
          entire screen and does not display the "Press
          ENTER to capture the entire screen, or F1
          to..." message.


-------------------
OPTIMIZING NEOPAINT
-------------------

NeoPaint has been designed to run acceptably on a wide
range of DOS based systems and will automatically try and
take optimal advantage of all supported hardware
resources available to it. Some machines have processing
speed, disk space, and memory limitations which will
affect how NeoPaint can perform. Graphics programs by
their nature are demanding of system resources. Some
images, particularly 256 and 16 million color pictures in
larger sizes, can easily use more than 1 megabyte of
memory and storage space.

If you have a system with speed and memory limitations,
one or more of the following suggestions may offer
relief:

o  If you have a choice between configuring your
   system's memory as either EMS (expanded memory) and
   XMS (extended memory) on your system, use EMS for
   NeoPaint. Using EMS memory can dramatically speed up
   many NeoPaint functions including rotating, flipping
   and special effects.

o  If you're using a memory manager (such as QEMM,
   386Max or EMM386) that draws EMS and XMS from the
   same pool, turn EMS on and XMS off in NeoPaint.
   Select Options/Preferences/Miscellaneous from the
   main menu to modify NeoPaint's memory management.
   This will free up some valuable conventional memory
   and speed up many of NeoPaint's functions.

o  Turn off the UNDO command under the SET PREFERENCES
   selection in the OPTIONS menu. UNDO keeps a record of
   the image prior to the last change you made. This
   takes up memory. If your system has limited RAM and
   disk memory available, you may want to disable this
   in any case. If your system is limited to 640K of
   RAM, then UNDO may use your hard disk to store
   changed items. Using hard disk storage is slower than
   using RAM, and turning off UNDO will increase
   NeoPaint's performance.

o  Do not run NeoPaint as a DOS application under
   Windows. Windows will slow NeoPaint's execution, as
   Windows will still be using up your system's
   resources while NeoPaint is running. If you do need
   to run NeoPaint from Windows, use the included
   NEOPAINT.PIF file located in your NeoPaint directory.
   Refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for
   more information about PIF files.

o  If disk storage space is a problem (and in many cases
   even if you have plenty of disk space) turn off the
   CREATE BACKUP FILES function in the PREFERENCES
   selection of the OPTIONS menu. Graphic files tend to
   take up a large amount of disk space, and creating a
   backup file (.BAK) each time you SAVE a picture can
   rapidly deplete the free space available on your
   drive. You might want to turn this feature back on,
   however, when working with particularly important
   images.

o  Try using the 640x480 VGA resolution in 16 colors as
   your default. Some video cards use a TSR program to
   display VESA compatible higher resolutions. Using a
   TSR program is a much slower method of interacting
   with your hardware.

o  When using the 3-D OBJECT icon, use the Wire Frame
   mode.

o  Turn the PREVIEW option off for STAMP PAD images.

If none of the above seem to help, you may wish to
consider upgrading your system's hardware. Four hardware
options are listed below, in ascending order of cost:

o  Add 2 or more megabytes of (RAM) memory to your
   system. NeoPaint supports both the XMS and EMS
   specifications.

o  Add a larger, faster hard drive.

o  Upgrade your CPU.


--------------------------
ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL FONTS
--------------------------

NeoPaint comes with a variety of fonts. Additional fonts
are available from NeoSoft. Our Font Pack contains three
720K diskettes full of typefaces. The ORDRFORM.TXT file
located in your NeoPaint directory contains pricing and
ordering information for the Font Pack.

Third party software that can generate GEM screen fonts
(used by the DOS version of Ventura Publisher) may also
be used to create fonts for NeoPaint. Simply follow the
program's instructions for generating screen fonts. Copy
the fonts to your NeoPaint directory and rename them so
that they use the .GFT extension.

The NeoSoft Bulletin Board also contains a utility
program that converts Microsoft Windows True Type fonts
into NeoPaint compatible fonts. Our BBS is open 24 hours
at [phone] (N81,300-14.4)


---------------------------
ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL STAMPS
---------------------------

If you're interested in acquiring additional stamps for
NeoPaint's Stamp Pad tool - you're in luck! NeoSoft has
created a NeoPaint Stamp Collection with tons of high
quality professional stamps. The ORDRFORM.TXT file
located in your NeoPaint directory contains pricing and
ordering information for the Stamp Collection.


-----------------------------
SPECIAL EFFECT CONSIDERATIONS
-----------------------------

With the advent of 24 bit color, NeoPaint now includes a
number a new special effects. Without the restrictions of
16 and 256 color fixed palettes these effects can produce
spectacular results. However, if you are working with 16
or 256 color images, the palettes used by these images
will greatly influence the effect and in some cases
produce totally unexpected results.


----------------------
MOUSE DRIVER MYSTERIES
----------------------

If your mouse behaves strangely when using NeoPaint, you
may need to update your mouse driver software. Problems
such as an invisible cursor or a pointer that leaves a
trail of pigment on the screen are typical of certain
older mouse drivers. Contact the computer store where you
purchased your mouse or the manufacturer for information
about updating your mouse driver.


--------------
PROBLEM IMAGES
--------------

NeoPaint is designed to read and write the popular PCX,
GIF, TIFF and BMP file formats. We tested literally
hundreds of images during the design phase of NeoPaint.
However, even with the best testing, it's entirely
possible that there are some images that either don't
follow the rules or employ a compression algorithm that
is not supported by NeoPaint.

During our research we discovered, much to our surprise,
that there is no real consensus or standard among
programs that use 16 Color TIFF images. Images created by
one program frequently cannot be loaded by another
program. With NeoPaint we employed what we believed to be
the most popular format for 16 color TIFF images. If you
have problems using 16 color TIFF images with other
programs, try saving them as PCX or GIF files instead. 2
color and 256 color TIFF images are not effected by this
problem.

Another dilemma facing connoisseurs of TIFF images is the
fact that there are so many different types. At last
count there were over 30 distinct dialects of TIFF. It
would be a tremendous task for NeoPaint to support all
those varieties. Even the most expensive image processing
software only support a few TIFF formats. So if you run
across a TIFF image that is unreadable then you may need
to translate it into a more basic format first. Better
yet use PCX or GIF files! All formats, PCX, GIF and TIFF,
are exactly the same when it comes to image quality, but
vastly different when if comes to compatibility.

If you happen to run across an image file in either PCX,
GIF, TIFF and BMP format that you are unable to load with
NeoPaint, upload the file to our BBS [phone]
(N/8/1/300-14.4) or place the image on a diskette and
mail it to:

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631

Include a brief note describing the image, where it came
from and if possible what program was used to create it.


-------------------------------------
CUSTOMER SERVICES & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
-------------------------------------

NeoSoft provides its registered software customers with
free technical support. We also provide limited technical
support to persons evaluating our products during the 30
day evaluation period.

We do, however, strongly encourage people to register.
Software development and support is very expensive and we
need your help if we are to continue to provide quality
programs at affordable prices. If you haven't already,
please take a few moments to register. This will assure
you of eligibility for technical support, product update
notification, special discounts, announcements, etc.

If you should encounter a technical problem or question
not covered in the manual, you may use one of the
following avenues to obtain technical assistance:

MAIL POSTAL CORRESPONDENCE TO:
------------------------------

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631
U.S.A.

TELEPHONE SUPPORT:
------------------

Technical support and product update information are
available between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM
(Pacific Standard Time), Monday through Friday.

Please have the following information available for the
support staff when you call:

o  Brand name and model of your computer system, mouse,
   video adapter and monitor.

o  Operating system (DOS) version number.

o  A listing of the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
   CONFIG.SYS files.

o  A description of the problem, how it occurred, and
   how to reproduce it.

Telephone support may be obtained by calling (503)
389-5489. You may also FAX your questions to (503)
388-8221.

ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE:
----------------------------------

Up to date product information, evaluation programs and
supplements may be obtained via modem from our BBS. The
telephone number is [phone]. The bulletin board
operates using N/8/1/300-9600 Baud.


--------------------
REGISTERING NEOPAINT
--------------------

If you purchased NeoPaint in a shrink wrapped package
with a NeoSoft logo on the back, a registration card was
included in the package. Please take a moment to fill out
the lower portion of the card and mail it to:

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Registration
354 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631.

This will enter you as a registered user in our records
and insure that you receive technical support, upgrade
notices and information about future products.

If you received NeoPaint from a friend, BBS, catalog or
anywhere other than from NeoSoft or an authorized
commercial software dealer or distributor, you may try
the program for a trial period of up to 30 days before
registering. To obtain a complete commercial package
including registration number and typeset manual call
NeoSoft at [phone]. We can process your order with
VISA or MasterCard over the phone. The purchase price of
NeoPaint is $45 + $5 ($10 outside United States) shipping
and handling. If you prefer, FAX your order to us at
[phone]. If you would like to mail a check or
money order, make sure it's drawn against a U.S. bank in
U.S. funds. Our address is:

NeoSoft Corp.
354 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631.

You may also purchase NeoPaint from any one of our many
dealers world wide. For a list of dealers see the
DEALER.DOC file accompanying this program.

If you would like to give a copy of this program to a
friend or associate please do so, but you may NOT give
anyone your registration/serial number. We hope you enjoy
the program and share it with your friends.


---------------------------------
OTHER GREAT PRODUCTS FROM NEOSOFT
---------------------------------

For information on the many exciting products available
from NeoSoft please refer to the CATALOG.TXT file in your
NeoPaint directory.

Evaluation copies of most NeoSoft products be obtained
from better shareware disk vendors or downloaded from
most major on-line services or from the NeoSoft BBS
service at [phone]. For additional information,
pricing or dealer information contact the NeoSoft Sales
Department at [phone].