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PIXREAD.ME
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PixFolio - Windows Image Viewer and Catalog Manager (Shareware)
Pre-release version 2.0 (Beta)
(c) Allen C. Kempe, 1992. All rights reserved.
Portions (c) Microsoft Corporation, 1985-1992. All rights reserved.
WARNING!!!
This version is test software and as such may contain potentially damaging
bugs. The user should take the necessary precautions to insure that valued
information on his or her system is protected and backed up.
The author would appreciate being notified of bugs and problems that you
encounter. If you report a problem, please try to fully detail what steps you
took to encounter the error. The preferred contact method is via CompuServe.
My address is 71220,23.
****************************************************************************
PixFolio is a Microsoft Windows program that can view a
variety of bitmapped graphics formats and maintain multiple catalogs of
images.
The graphics formats currently supported are:
BMP/DIB-Windows Bitmap
CLP - Windows clipboard file
DRW/GRF - Micrografx draw and graph files.
EPS - Encapsulated Postscript with imbedded TIFF preview images.
FLI/FLC - Autodesk Animator and Animator Pro (tm) files.
GIF - CompuServe Graphics Interchange Format
ICO - Windows Icon
IFF - IFF/LBM (Amiga) used by Computer Eyes frame grabber.
IMG - GEM/IMG (Digital Research).
JPG - JPEG
MAC - Macintosh MacPaint files.
PCX - Microsoft Paint & PC Paintbrush
RLE - Compuserve Run Length Encoded
TGA - Targa
TIFF- Tag Image Format. Most formats including 24 bit color
are supported.
WMF - Windows Metafile.
WPG - WordPerfect Graphics
Note: Not all variations that may be possible in the above file formats have
been tested due to lack of suitable test files.
The major feature of PixFolio is the ability to build catalogs of
images, that may reside on different disks. The catalog can then be searched
and images can be easily located. Provisions are made for saving a primary and
backup location for the image concurrently. To enhance searching for a
particular image the program can display postage stamp images in a matrix.
The ability to read an image in one format and to save it in another allows
the program to be used as a file conversion utility.
PixFolio version is test software under development. The author requests that
copies of this version of PixFolio not be distributed to other parties without
the author's permission.
THE AUTHOR RESERVES ALL RIGHTS TO THIS PROGRAM. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT
THIS PROGRAM'S FITNESS OR SUITABILITY FOR ANY PURPOSE. ALL USERS SHOULD USE
IT AT THEIR OWN RISK.
The author will make a reasonable effort to correct problems and software
bugs relating to documented features of the program for registered users.
The author intends to make continuing improvements to the program including
supporting additional file formats. To this end, comments and suggestions are
welcomed.
Users may contact the author, Allen C. Kempe on CompuServe (71220,23), on
GEnie at A.KEMPE or in writing at:
Allen C. Kempe
298 W. Audubon Drive
Shepherdsville, KY 40165-8836
USA
The Author is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals.
Main Features
PixFolio utilizes Microsoft's MDI (Multiple Document Interface) so that
multiple images can be open concurrently.
File Menu:
New File - create a blank image suitable for pasting from the
clipboard.
Open File - Open a new file for viewing.
Save File - Save an image, possibly in a different format.
Move/Copy file - Move or copy a file.
Delete - Delete a file.
Print - print all or part of an image.
Select Printer - select a printer
Close
Catalog Menu:
Select catalog: Create, delete, select or rename an image catalog.
Catalog. Create or update a catalog entry for a displayed image.
Browse Catalog. View catalog entries one by one; select a subset
for viewing.
Build Catalog. Create catalog entries for groups of images.
View thumbnails of catalog entries.
Print Catalog Entries. Two formats are provided.
Export - Export the contents of a catalog for input to a database
or spreadsheet.
Rebuild Catalog Index. Recover lost space in file and compact it.
Edit Menu:
Paste palette and image from clipboard.
Copy all or part of an image to the clipboard.
Cut a selected area from an image.
Crop an image.
Expand an image to fill the dimensions of the current window.
Resize an image by a percentage amount or fit to a given dimension.
Options:
Set background color used when image is expanded.
Set whether to use a solid or pattern background color.
Display DIB or Bitmap format.
Control whether warning messages will be displayed.
Establish default operating options.
Palette Options:
Palette manipulation (Brightness and contrast).
Convert to gray scale.
Dither to Black & White or color palette.
Play a GIF animation sequence.
Single step through a GIF animation sequence.
Change the speed of a GIF animation sequence.
Capture:
Capture the contents of another screen or the Windows desktop.
Other:
Using the mouse in the main viewing window, a marquee can be
selected for copying or cutting to the clipboard. The right mouse
button can be used to draw a stretch marquee where the selected
image rectangle is copied.
Help:
Context sensitive help is included for all menu items.
**** Other Features ****
PixFolio version 2.0 supports OLE version 1.0 as a server only. PixFolio
will automatically register itself as an OLE server the first time that it
is executed.
PixFolio will accept "Drag and Drop" filenames from File Manager.
******** Equipment Requirements **********
While PixFolio will execute in a minimal Windows installation, for example, a
286 with 2 megabytes of memory, program operation will be severely inhibited
by a lack of memory. On such a configuration, large bitmaps, especially 8 or
24 bit images may fail. Other applications could be adversely affected as
well and fail with unexpected UAE's. Actual results will vary depending upon
the amount of memory used by other applications running concurrently.
PixFolio was developed and tested on a 20-MHz 386 with 8 megabytes of memory.
It is recommended that PixFolio be run on a machine with at least 4 and pre-
ferrably, 6 megabytes of memory. Running in 386-Enhanced mode will also
make available the benefits of virtual memory.
The display of images containing more than 16 colors requires that you have
a Super VGA or better video display and a 256 color Windows device driver in
order to display the full range of colors in the image. However, PixFolio
incorporates dithering functions that will allow display of a 256
color image using a 16 color driver such as the standard VGA driver. Such
operations are slow and the results are not as good as if you have a video
display capable of displaying 256 colors.
********** Program Limitations *************
PixFolio has no limit on the number of catalogs that can be created or the
size of these catalogs except those restraints imposed by your file system
and te amount of available memory. However, the following points should be
noted:
1. PixFolio 2.0 will only run under Windows 3.1 or higher. Catalog file
formats are compatible with PixFolio version 1.04.
2. The size of a catalog is limited by the amount of disk space where it
resides or 2,048 index entries. Catalog records are variable length and
depend upon the type of image and how big the comments are.
3. PixFolio may encounter difficulty with extremely large images, those in
excess of 1024 x 768 pixels. This is particularly true of color images
and even more so by 24 bit color or gray scale images. This is primarily
due to the increased memory requirements.
4. While PixFolio and Windows supports 24 bit color and gray scale images,
the display of such images using a video driver that only displays 256
colors, can result in some lengthy delays whenever windows has to realize
the 24 bit RGB data to an 8 bit palette. It may take 15 to 20 minutes to
realize a 640 x 480 image depending upon the speed of your machine.
Dithering a 24 bit image to 256 colors can take more than an hour in some
cases. If you plan to work with 24 bit images, you may wish to invest in
a video board that supports "high color". One such board that appears to
work quite well is the ATI VGASTEREO F/X card.
5. The support for GIF animation in PixFolio requires large amounts of free
memory. GIF animation files with a large number of frames or overlays may
unexpectedly fail if PixFolio runs out of memory.
Autodesk FLI/FLC animation files likewise require large amounts om memory.
To provide maximum performance, the entire image is loaded into memory to
reduce delays caused by reading from disk. A lack of physical memory that
requires Windows to utilize paged virtual memory (in 386 Enhanced mode)
can result in "jumpy" animations. In addition a high performance video
board and driver is recommended to optimally display animation files
without pauses that destroy the effect.
6. PixFolio has not been rigorously tested in a network environment. The
affect of network operations and more than one user accessing PixFolio
files concurrently cannot be predicted.
7. Not all graphics formats are supported equally with respect to reading and
saving a file. For example, not all of the compression options are
currently supported for saving TIFF images. GIF images can only be saved
in GIF87a format. Likewise, some of the more obscure or obsolete formats
such as 4 color CGA formats for PCX cannot be written although they can be
read.
CCITT Group 4 TIFF file comprssion formats are not supported at this time.
8. The author has not been able to test PixFolio with printers that print in
color in Windows 3.1 except for an Epson 2550.
One user has reported that PixFolio give very good results printing color
images on Start Micronics NX-1000 Rainbow and NX-1020 printers but you must
obtain the OEM driver from Star Micronics.
Printer performance when running under Windows 3.1 is much improved. It is
both faster as well as of higher quality. Changes to the printer drivers
also enable printing to color printers such as the Epson LQ-2550.
9. The implementation of Micrografx .DRW and .GRF files is not rigorous. Some
features of these files are not supported. Unless you have Adobe Type
Manager or scalable typefaces, the rendition of fonts used in these files
may not be optimal when Windows matches fonts.
10. Other program limitations, if any, can be determined by accessing the
online context-sensitive help.
****** Installation and Getting Started*******
If your copy of PixFolio was received on a distribution diskette, the
installation should be done from within windows by running "SETUP" from drive
A: or B: (whichever is appropriate). This is important as the files on a
distribution diskette are compressed. Otherwise, the following installation
procedure should be followed:
It is suggested that the files which constitute PixFolio be placed in their
own subdirectory on your hard disk. These files are:
PIXFOLIO.EXE
PIXFOLIO.HLP
SPIN.DLL
METER.DLL
PIXDLL.DLL
PIXIODLL.DLL
PIXHELP.DLL
PIXCATLG.DLL
PIXTIFF.DLL
PIXGIF.DLL
PIXFLIC.DLL
PIXWPG.DLL
PIXJPEG.DLL
PIXCNTRL.DLL
The following files are Microsoft supplied DLL's that are necessary to
provide dialog services and other functionality. Note if you have Windows 3.1,
you should already have these files.
COMMDLG.DLL
OLESVR.DLL
SHELL.DLL
Once the above files have been located in the subdirectory of your choice,
start Windows and then use the Program Manager "Add" command to add PixFolio
to the desired program group.
When PixFolio runs for the first time, it will establish a section in
your WIN.INI file with program variables. These default options should enable
you to start using PixFolio immediately. Once PixFolio is running you may
access the online Help command for specific instructions and explanation of
PixFolio menu commands.
A quick review of PixFolio features and operating procedures can be gained by
reviewing the user guide.
****** Credits ******
The author of PixFolio would like to recognize the efforts of Mr. Paul Hachey,
(CompuServe Id 76625,2644) who performed an invaluable service by getting
deeply involved in the extensive testing that went on over a period of months.
Paul is responsible for the design of the PixFolio cover page, Icon and
"About" dialog box and his many suggestions greatly influenced the "look and
feel" of PixFolio.
Other people who have participated in the testing of PixFolio include:
Luis Alvarez
David Brune
Monte Davis
Sean Gonzalez
James Horner
Tom Little
John Sabo
Their help is appreciated.
Recent Changes:
***** Version 2.0.27 *****
200. Correct problem with setting default tile type in File Save As.
201. Insure that default file save options are set properly before a File
Save is executed.
202. Eliminate error message "Cannot Render Bitmap" that occurs when copying
to the clipboard and the DIB to Screen option is turned on.
203. Insure that cancelling a read DRW file will terminate clean without
extraneous errors or UAE's.
204. Correct error that prevented creating a catalog on a removable drive
that was overridden with a "Primary Drive" parameter.
205. Correct a crash that occurs when clicking on a thumbnail's title in
Alpha sequence.
206. Added file size, date & time to Tech Info.
207. Added help to error and warning messages associated with creating a new
catalog.
208. Insure that thumbnail view gets re-drawn after a Catalog Build operation.
209. Dropping a file on Pix now works.
***** Version 2.0.28 *****
210. Got JPEG version 3 working.
211. Fix favorite directory commands so that they set the DOS current drive.
212. Correct TIFF and TGA write routines to pass the correct file name. Also,
correct error message if write fails to "Error writing file".
213. Allow Cancel button on Build dialog to be used while a Build is going
on to cancel the Build.
214. Check "Stop on Error" and if not on, proceed after an error during a
build operation.
215. Correct creation of thumbnails for 2 color images so that the colors
aren't reversed.
216. Display the same list of supported file types that appears for file
open for the Build dialog.
217. Add necessary logic to read Group 3 FAX files.
218. Add support for CompuServe RLE files.
***** Version 2.0.29 *****
219. Eliminate possibility of causing a GPF if user presses the "Update"
button while the thumbnail bitmap is being created.
220. Eliminated bogus error "file already exists at ...." when re-cataloging
an image.
***** Version 2.0.30 *****
221. Add '&' operator for searches to do a logical AND of search criteria.
222. Fix TIFF write compress option.
223. Allow up to 60k of Description data in catalog description entries.
224. Prevent a 2nd copy of PixFolio from running.
***** Version 2.0.31 *****
225. Correct display of status bar when copying files.
226. Improve status messages displayed while printing.
227. Got rid of "Undefined Error" and "Cannot Allocate Memory" messages that
sometimes occurred while reading files. This error occurred when the
current data directory contained DLL's from PixFolio 1.04; as a result,
the 1.04 DLL of the same name got loaded instead of the 2.0 DLL.
228. Correct a print error: "Play Metafile failed".
229. Make Slideshow more responsive to clicking with the left mouse button to
stop.
229. Correct file type list in Catalog Build.
230. Stretch to Window option now maintains correct aspect ratio.
231. Images that are larger than the screen in slide show will be shrunk
to fit.
232. Correct generation of DIB bitmaps for WPG & CGM files; image is no
longer upside down.
233. Correct translation of metafile formats to clipboard metafile formats.
***** Version 2.0.32 *****
234. Retrieve metafile from .CLP format if one is present.
235. Restore the PixFolio window to normal size if if is an icon and a file
is dropped on it.
236. Got rid of palette corruption that occurs before a slide change.
237. Make sure that file save options are set to previous values when the
options button is pressed.
238. Correct GPF that occured when selecting IFF format save. Correct
creation of 24 bit IFF files.
239. Correct realization of user selected color resolution when saving files.
240. Insure that file type dropown list is set to file type if a file is
slected from the listbox in File Save As.
241. Correct GPF that occurs after displaying a file that was just read in.
242. Implement compression option for LBM/IFF files.
243. Display status bar if a bitmap has to be built during a file save
operation so the user doesn't think the machine is hung.
244. Correct GPF that occurs when saving a 24 bit image in JPEG format.
245. Correct error whereby bitmap memory objects are not getting deleted
during a print catalog operation resulting in an "out of memory"
condition.
246. Eliminate some strange effects and probably a crash if the thumbnail
image is clicked during a Build operation.
247. Correct palette corruption that occurs after slide show is done.
***** Version 2.0.33 *****
248. Insure that input focus is set to the Title entry box in the
catalog information dialog box after the Thumbnail is drawn.
249. Fix palette corruption tot thethumbnail view window when another
image was opened or activated.
250. Eliminate erase of child windows when another was created or destroyed.
260. Correct percent display on print when certain larger font sizes were
being used.
261. Correct GPF's and crashes when cancelling a print of a WPF or CGM file.
262. Correct placement of Page number for thumbnail catalog print.
263. Correct print of WPG, CGM and DRW images printing blank.
***** Version 2.0.34 *****
264. Add code to allow 1 and 4 bit IFF file saves.
265. Move page number for full catalog prinout to lower right of page.
266. Add Verify Catalog and Display Status Bar options to Default Options
dialog box.
267. Add Delete Marked and Save Marked options to Process Thumbnails.
268. Correct error in reading 24 bit files that causes these images to
be written (if saved in a different format) without a palette.
269. Read the first frame of a FLIC animation when building a catalog so
that the thumbnail is not all black.
270. Add help topic for Print dialog box.
271. Add "omit description" option for Catalog Export function. If selected,
the description will be written out as a null field, i.e: "".
272. Add "Repeat Show" option to slide show. Make sure that cursor is turned
off during slide show.
***** Version 2.0.35 *****
273. Make better use of available space to create as many thumbnails as
possible in Thumbnail View.
274. Correct a problem with the "Export" button's text changing to "copy"
when the "Omit Description" checkbox is selected.
275. Insure that minimum timeout occurs after last slide in slideshow.
276. Correct writing of Slide repeat option to Win.INI.
277. Insure foreground palette for slide show to eliminate corruption of
colors.
278. Insure that the catalog for the active Thumbnail view is used for
a catalog print or export operation.
279. Display 0% when starting a new page to print, not 100% until 1st
thumbnail has been formatted.
***** Version 2.0.36 *****
280. Correct display of CGM images with non-zero origins.
281. Correct background color for CGM images.
282. Correct interpretation of colors in CGM images when no Color Selection
Mode is specified.
283. Correct erroneous display of help information after selecting Setup
option in the Print dialog.
284. Correct "Favorite Directory" display the next time when an existing
entry other than the first is selected.
285. Correct on-line help for error messages.
286. Display hidden now works.
287. Changed Export dialog so that checkbox now reads "Omit Description".
288. Omit default extension list in File Save As which sometimes displays
as a blank selection.
289. Apply horizontal scrolling to catalog tile entry to allow entry of
titles that are longer than the box.
290. A default font named "Helvetica", 10 points, will be the default font
when a printer is selected for the first time.
291. Eliminate extra screen repaint when moving the sliderbar in thumbnail
view.
290. Correct invalid display that occurs when DIBToScreen and Center image
options are active: when the window is maximized, the image is displayed
with part of the leftmost portion of the image to the right and then
Windows "hangs". These symptoms ocurred when using an 8514 type video
display (8414, ATI Ultra, ATI Vantage, etc.).
291. Change CGM read routine to eliminate realization of a new palette
during slide show resulting a corrupted pallete for the preceeding
slide.
***** Version 2.0.37 *****
292. Insure that favorite directory list gets appended to File menu even
when the child window is maximixed.
293. Allow thumbnail to be dragged to a location in the catlog that is
not currently in view by scrolling the thumbnail view when the thumbnail
is dragged to the top or bottom of the thumbnail view window.
294. Check for messages when displaying FLI files to insure that the user
can close the image.
295. Restore previous window dimensions when "undoing" an operation such as
a rotate or expand.
296. Double clicking with the right mouse button on an image will cause
the catalog card file dialog to be displayed.
297. Correct problem reading compressed PCX files resulting in either a
partially corrupted image or a GPF.