Coma is a tool originally developed to provide a mechanism for testing ColorSync calls. It is being included on the Developers CD disc to provide a means of becoming familiar with ColorSync.
Making Color Sync calls using COMA:
With COMA you can make ColorSync calls by either clicking on one of the call buttons at the top of the application window, or by selecting the call from the ColorSync menu.
Getting started:
When you launch COMA, the source profile and the destination profile to be used on subsequent Color Sync calls is set to nil. Note that this is different from the previous version of COMA which set the source profile to the profile whose resource type was 'prof' and resource id was 5000; and the destination profile to the profile whose resource type was 'prof' and resource id was 5001.
In the new version the profile whose resource id is 5000 will be selected in the source list, and the profile whose resource id is 5001 will be selected in the destination list. To make these profiles the current source and destination profiles click on the "Select from list" buttons under the "Source profile button" and the "Destination profile button", respectively.
Setting the source and destination profile:
You may select the source and destination profiles by either selecting one of the profiles built into COMA, or by reading the profile data from a profile file.
To select a source profile from one of the profiles built into COMA, select the profile resource item from the list on the left side and then click on the "Select from list" button on the left side. Likewise, to select a destination profile from one of the profiles built into COMA, select the profile resource item from the list on the right side, and then click on the "Select from list" button on the right side.
To select a source profile by reading the data of a profile from a file, click on the "Select from folder" button on the left side. A standard file dialog box will appear. Navigate to the folder that contains the profiles, select the profile file, and click open.
Similarly, to select a destination profile by reading the data from a file, click on the "Select from folder" button on the right side. A standard file dialog box will appear. Navigate to the folder that contains the profiles, select the profile file, and click open.
After a profile is selected, the name of the profile will be displayed in the log window.
Note: The profiles built into COMA have not been updated. If you wish to get a more accurate representation of color matching using Apple Profiles, use the profiles that are in theColorSync™ Profiles folder when possible.
Performing matching and gamut checking using COMA:
When you make the following calls using COMA - "MatchPixMap", "CheckPixMap", "MatchColors" and "CheckColors", the following sequence of calls takes place. First, a new color world is created by calling CWNewColorWorld with the current source and destination profiles. Then the Color Sync call "CWMatchPixMap", "CWCheckPixMap" or whatever call is being made is called. After the call is completed, the color world is disposed of.
When you make the DrawMatchedPicture call the current source profile is broadcast into the image read from a file, and the destination profile parameter is set to the profile selected as the current destination profile.
Note: When you click on the DrawMatched Picture button a standard file dialog box will appear. Select the image file and then click Open. The drawing commands in the image file will be matched. This is different from the previous version that matched the image in the source window.
Getting additional control over the calls:
To gain additional control over the calls MatchPixMap, CheckPixMap, MatchColors, CheckColors and DrawMatchedPicture, hold down the option key while clicking on the call button. This will cause a dialog box to appear. An explanation of one of the dialog boxes is explained below. The functionality of the other dialogs are equivalent in nature.
Draw Matched Picture Dialog:
Using this dialog you choose whether to match the drawing commands in a picture by clicking on the Pict File button, or to match the data in the source window by clicking on the OffScreen GWorld button. You can select whether to preview the image, broadcast the source profile into the image, and whether to print the image.
The text edit items "Source Match Options", "Source Match Flags" "Dest Match Options" and "Dest Match Flags" are present for testing purposes, to allow the match options and match flags of a profile to be set on the fly.
Known bugs and pitfalls to avoid:
If the source window is set to 16 bits per pixel, the system will crash if you attempt to create a HRamp from the "Fill Menu".
