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Compute! Gazette 1994 January
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1994-01b.d64
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autograph.doc
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AutoGraph v1.0 Page 1
AutoGraph v1.0
Welcome to AutoGraph, one of the most versatile graphics
convert/display programs to come along! This program allows you
to view and manage files created from many different types of
art programs, and also allows you to convert between any of the
formats supported. The program has been designed to be simple
and easy to use, and hopefully, it is.
When you start the program, you'll be asked to insert a
disk containing graphics files. The F1/F2 keys let you change
the device number that AutoGraph will search for files, and the
F3/F4 keys will let you change the drive number. For 1541/71/81
disk drives, the drive number has no meaning, and MUST be left
at 0. Dual drives such as the 4040 or 8050, or hard drives like
the Lt. Kernal will be able use the drive number to select disks
or partitions. 1581 users will use a different method to select
partitions, and should simply insert the disk and press RETURN.
AutoGraph will then read the directory and look for graphic
files that are in a format it recognizes. Not all graphic
formats are supported, but most of the major commercial art
program formats are supported. If AutoGraph can't find any
files that it recognizes on the disk, it will ask for another
disk before allowing you to proceed.
Once AutoGraph reads a directory containing graphic files,
it will display the main screen. Most of the screen contains a
window showing what files are on the disk. AutoGraph displays
the name of each file, without the prefix or suffix associated
with that file type, and places a two-letter code after each
file, which shows its type. The types recognized by AutoGraph
and the two-letter codes shown for each type are explained
below:
KO Koala Paint RB RUN Paint Bitmap
DD Doodle! RM RUN Paint Med-Res
GG Compressed Koala RH RUN Paint Hi-Res
JJ Compressed Doodle BP Blazing Paddles
OC OCP Art Studio SB SID/PIC Bitmap
AD Advanced OCP Art SM SID/PIC Multicolor
64 Artist 64 SH SID/PIC Hi-Res
You will see a "cursor" on one of the filenames, which you
can move around with the CRSR keys. The cursor shows which file
will be acted upon by a command that you give. The HOME and CLR
(Shift HOME) keys move the cursor to the first or last file on
the screen, respectively. Pressing HOME or CLR twice will take
you to the beginning or the end of the directory.
All of the commands that you will use can work on one file
AutoGraph v1.0 Page 2
or several files at a time. To specify a single file, simply
move the cursor to that file and give the command. To specify
several files to be operated on in a batch, use file selection.
The SPACE bar is used to select the file under the cursor.
When a file is selected, it appears in reverse video on the
screen. You can move the cursor around, selecting as many files
as you like, and when you give a command, all files that are
selected will be operated on by the command. Those of you
familiar with Fast Hack'em and other copy programs will
recognized this approach to file processing.
A quick method of selecting files is to use the toggle
command, "T", which reverses the selection status of all
filenames. Pressing "T" with no files selected causes all files
to be selected. Also, the unselect command, "U", quickly
unselects all selected files, so that you can select a different
batch to process.
Once you know what files you want to use in a command,
simply press the key that performs that command, and the command
will start executing. Note that in almost every case, you can
press the STOP key to cancel a command and return to the main
screen, so if you make a mistake, just press STOP. Pressing
STOP at the main screen will exit the program and put you back
at the Basic READY prompt.
Command Summary
Pressing the RETURN key starts the View command, which
displays files on the screen. You can view one file or select
many files and view them one after the other. While you are
viewing a file, you have several options that you can perform,
that are not shown on the screen. Pressing the F1 and F3 keys
changes the border color of the picture. If you press "I" while
viewing a picture, the bitmap will be inverted. This function
has been found to be helpful when viewing files created by
scanners or digitizers. Any other key (except "S") stops
viewing the file. If there are more files to be viewed, the
next one will be loaded and displayed. You can press STOP to
cancel a multi-file View.
Pressing "S" while viewing a picture starts a Save
operation. The picture on the screen can be saved to disk,
either in the same format or in any other format of the same
display type (multicolor or hi-res). A menu will appear showing
which types you can convert to. If you select one and press
RETURN, the file will be saved in the format you selected.
Details on source and destination drives will be explained
later.
AutoGraph v1.0 Page 3
If you press the "S" key from the main command screen, you
will start a Slideshow, which is a way of displaying pictures,
one after the other, with a timed delay in between. Unlike the
View command, which always returns to the main screen when
loading the next file, the Slideshow command loads the next
picture in the sequence while it is still displaying the
previous picture. Only when the picture finishes loading, and
then only after the inter-picture delay time runs out, then the
next picture is displayed.
When you start a slideshow, you are asked first for a time
delay between pictures. You can enter any value from 1 to 255
seconds, although it usually takes longer than 1 second to load
a picture. This time delay is measured from the start of
displaying one picture to the start of the next picture,
including load time. For instance, if you select a 30 second
delay, and the loading of the next picture takes 10 seconds, the
program will wait 20 more seconds before displaying the picture
that was loaded.
You are also asked if you wish to perform a continuous
slideshow. This means that after displaying the last picture in
a sequence, the first will be re-displayed, and so on. You must
use STOP to exit a continuous slideshow.
Note that only the files you select will be included in a
slideshow. If you select no files, then this command works
exactly like View.
There may be some cases in which you wish to pause a
slideshow for a moment, then let it resume. If you press down
the SHIFT LOCK key during a slideshow, the next picture will not
be displayed until you release the SHIFT LOCK key.
The "DEL" key allows you to delete one or more graphic