Copyright: Copyright (C) 1997 Robert Hansen


Contents
FreeView Graphics Viewer

Contents

•	Overview

•	Usage

•	Main Menu

•	Speed Buttons

•	Thumbnail View Window

•	Why

•	Contacting the Programmer

•	Legal Notice

•	Acknowledgements

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Acknowledgements

Thanks to Theodor Kleynhans for his tGIFImage component for Delphi.

Theodor Kleynhans

theodor@gem.co.za

http://members.gem.co.za/~theodor/index.html

Thanks to K. Nishita for the NViewLib.dll which handles much of the image decoding.

K. Nishita

e-mail: knishita@ibm.net

http://einstein.ae.eng.ua.edu/nishita/index.htm       (This web address is case sensitive.)

Thanks to Borland International for Delphi.  Delphi is the best Windows program development system available (my opinion).

Thanks to Jan Goyvaerts for his HelpScribble program which made the Help file you are reading.  This is an outstanding Help file creation program and as soon as I can I will register it.

Jan Goyvaerts

email: johnfg@tornado.be

http://www.tornado.be/~johnfg/

Thanks to Bob Dickinson who spent many hours testing this program and who made several recommendations as to how it should function.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Legal Notice

This program is copyrighted by R. Hansen and can be freely used ONLY IF YOU SEND ME AN E-MAIL to rghansen@hotmail.com.

<<DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTY>>

THIS SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES AS TO PERFORMANCE OF MERCHANTABILITY OR ANY OTHER WARRANTIES WHETHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED.  BECAUSE OF THE VARIOUS HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE ENVIRONMENTS INTO WHICH THIS PROGRAM MAY BE PUT, NO WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE IS OFFERED.

WHILE I HAVE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO TEST THE PRODUCT IN A WIDE VARIETY OF OPERATING ENVIRONMENTS, GOOD PROCEDURE DICTATES THAT ANY PROGRAM BE THOROUGHLY TESTED WITH NON-CRITICAL DATA BEFORE RELYING ON IT.  THE USER MUST ASSUME THE ENTIRE RISK OF USING THIS SOFTWARE.

***** LEGAL NOTICE for GIF Format ************************************

By US courts, UniSys Inc. (the inventors of the LZW file

format used by GIF) and Compuserve, who are the registered users

of the format.

***** LEGAL NOTICE for GIF Format ************************************

R. Hansen

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Overview

FreeView Graphics Viewer is designed to allow quick, easy locating and handling of graphic files.

Special features:

Supported file types: BMP, DIB, EMF, GIF, ICO, JIF, JPG, PCX, RLE, TGA, WMF

A fast Directory Scan capability to locate graphic files.

Thumbnail View Window with user control of thumbnail size.

Convert other picture formats to BMP or JPEG.

Supports Animated GIF files.

View images in a Tile mode to evaluate as a background.

Change your windows Wallpaper to the current image.

Slide Show option to automatically view images.

Select one or more images and copy to another directory.

It's FREE! Any donations to promote further development of this and other programs will be gratefully accepted.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Wallpaper

The Wallpaper function is used to make the current image the windows background wallpaper.  If necessary the current image is converted to a BMP file in the current directory and then the BMP file is made the current windows wallpaper.

The Wallpaper can be applied in the following ways:

Center	Position bitmap in center of background.

Stretch to fit	Stretch bitmap to fill entire background.

Tile	Tile the bitmap to cover the entire background.

If you really like a particular background image, I would suggest that you use the File Save As function to copy the image as a BMP file and put it in your windows directory.  The go to the windows directory load the BMP image and set it as your windows wallpaper.  This way if you delete the files in the original directory, you won't lose your windows background.

Icons (*.ICO) and metafiles(*.EMF or *.WMF) cannot be directly applied as wallpaper, however, you can use the File Save As function to first save these files to a BMP format and then load the BMP and apply it as the wallpaper.  The wallpaper function will be disabled when one of these file types are selected.

Note:  This feature not available for Windows NT (yet).

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Animated GIF files

Animated GIF is a reletively new type of GIF picture file that allows for automation of the image.  This type of file is commonly used in the design of WEB pages.  If you use a Web browser such as Netscape or Internet Explorer, you can see these images on the web pages.  In addition, these images can be saved by right-clicking on the image and selecting the save function.

These images are automatically saved in a cache file for the browser.  You can use FreeView Graphic Viewer to view the images in the cache directory.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


It's FREE

Why it is free

To be honest, I originally intended to make this a shareware program.  I have a my computer habit to support and three great kids to get through college.  I couldn't afford to put any money (only time) into this program.  I ran into a problem with the use of LZW  image compression without obtaining a license (which isn't cheap).  I could have left out support for GIF and JPG images, but these formats account for a very large percentage of the  images in use these days.  If the program is free, then no licensing is required.  So, it is free; use it in any way you like. But you may not sell it or charge for distributing it without my expressed written consent.

If you find it in your heart to make a donation to help me develop other programs well I would be very greatful and will inform you (through email) of new programs and give you a 50% discount on the registration of any future programs that I create as shareware.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Usage

The main window contains a menu, drive select box, directory listbox, file list box and the view area.  The main form may be resized to show more file names and/or to enlarge the view window.

Main Menu allows most functions to be accessed by keyboard.

Speed Button Barat the top of the form below the menu.

Status barshowes useful information.

The File Name Panel is used to select the desired directory.

When the program is started it will show the files available in the home directory.

The main window can be resized as desired.  The image in the view window can be resized to fit the window.

Sample Images are included with the program to try out the features.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Sample Images

The sample images are included as a part of the install options.  These images include images usable as wallpaper as well as animated GIF images, bitmaps, metafiles and an icon.  Use them to try out FreeView's many and unique features.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Status bar

The status bar shows the following:

Left: Acitivity for Directory Scanning "Scanning..." and File Loading "Loading...".

Center: The currectly selected file name (image width by image height) and file size.

Right: Slide Show progress bar indicates time until next slide.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Main Menu

Most of the menu functions are available through the speed buttons or by a hot key combination.

•	File Submenu

•	Options Submenu

•	View Submenu

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


File Name Panel

The file name panel contains the controls for locating the graphic files.

At the top of the panel is a Drive Combo Box. Use this to select the drive to be searched.

Below the drive Combo Box is a Directory List Box.  Clicking on a directory will select it and show any files that match the file filter (See Options View Options.) Double clicking  does the same as clicking except that subdirectories are also scanned. Read about the Directory Scan feature and how it affects the directory(s) that are searched.

The third control is the File List box.  This box contains a list of all the graphics files found that match the search file types.  To select a file for viewing and/or processing, click on it.  To select multiple files by holding down the shift key to select a range of files, or the control key to click on individual files for inclusion in the selected files.  Files may also be tagged through the Thumbnail View Window.

Between the Directory List Box and the File List Box is shown the number of the file currectly shown in the view window and the total number of files found.

There is also a small button to the right.  This button toggles the size the Directory and File List Boxes between the default size and a size that will show the complete path of the file.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


File Submenu

Copy to Clipboard

See description for Copy To Clipboard.  Hot key combination is CTRL + C.

Delete

The File Delete function is available through the main menu or by CTRL + D.  When used a confirmation dialog will tell you how many files are tagged for deletion.  If confirmed then all files that are selected in the file list box will be deleted.  Be Careful.

Multi Copy

The Multi Copy function allows selected (tagged) files to another directory.

Hot key combination is CTRL + S.

Save As

See description for File Save Button.  Hot key combination is CTRL + S.

Show Hints

Disable this to remove the automatic hint windows.

Untag

Unselect or untag selected files as seen in the file list box.

Quit

Quit the program, CTRL + Q.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Options Submenu

Options - View Options

This function is used to determine which type of graphics files are include in the file list box.  A dialog box will appear which contains a check box for each file type.  When a box is checked that file type is included.  There is an "All" button to check all file types and a "None" button to un-check all the check boxes.  Select OK when done.

Options - Wallpaper

The Wallpaper function is used to make the current image the windows background wallpaper. Select the desired method to apply the wallpaper from the submenu choices.

This feature not available for Windows NT (yet).

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


View Submenu

All of the View menu commands are available and described as speed buttons above.  The hot key combinations are shown below

Zoom	Alt + V, Z

Reduce	Alt + V, R

Tile	Alt + V, T

Slide Show	Alt + V, S

Animate	Alt + V, A

Next Frame	Alt + V, N

Background Color	Alt + V, B

Thumbnail	Alt + V, H

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Speed Buttons

•	Directory Scan Button

•	File Save Button

•	Copy To Clipboard

•	Zoom Button

•	Reduce Button

•	Tile Button

•	Slide Show Button

•	Animate Button

•	Next Frame Button

•	Background Color Button

•	Thumbnail Button

•	Help Button

Between the Background Color Button and the Thumbnail Button is shown the total size of the selected files.  This is useful when copying files to a floppy drive or determining the amount of disk space to be gained if the files are deleted.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Directory Scan Button

The scan button is used to initiate a scan of the current directory and all of its subdirectories.  When the program is scanning, the scan button changes to a stop button.  Clicking on the stop button will terminate the directory scan.  The directory scan can also be started by double-clicking on a directory in the directory list box.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


File Save Button
File Save As Button

The Save As button will initiate a file save dialog so that the currently displayed image can be saved in its original format or as a BMP or JPG file.  By default the file will be saved in its original format.  To save as a BMP or JPG file change the file extension accordingly or select the file extension from the Extension Box.

Note: In the case of Animated GIF files, if the file type is changed to BMP or JPG,  the first frame in the sequence is copied.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Copy To Clipboard

The Copy To Clipboard button is used to copy the current image to the windows clipboard.  You can then "paste" the image into another application (paint, word processor, spread sheet, etc.)  For example, to print an image, copy it to the clip board; open the paint program; create a new file and paste it into the file.  Then print it.

Note: In the case of Animated GIF files, the first frame in the sequence is copied.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Thumbnail View Window

The purpose of the thumbnail view is to allow a very fast scanning for a particular image or type of image.  Once the file or files are found and tagged, they can be copied, saved or deleted as described in the main window menu options explained above.  In addition, the thumbnail pages can be printed.  The aspect ratio is not necessarily preserved in the thumbnail image, this is due to the size and type of the original image.

The thumbnail view window provides a view of all the images found in the image list on the main window.  These images are presented in pages.  The page can be selected through the tabs at the top of  the thumbnail window.  The thumbnail image size can be set from 20 images per page to 99 images per page.  The file name may be truncated to keep the text under the thumbnail image. Files may be tagged by clicking on the desired file's thumbnail image. When a thumbnail image is selected that image appears in the main view window.  When in the slide show mode is running, thumbnail images can not be selected.

When a directory is selected or scanned the tabs at the top of the thumbnail window will be updated, however, the images (if any) displayed in the thumbnail window will not be updated until one of the tabs is selected.  When the Thumbnail page images do not match the current file list the LED at the bottom of the Thumbnail View Window will be red.  When a tab is selected, the LED will change to green indicating the the Thumbnail view matches the current file list.

If the size of the thumbnail image is changed, the number of tabs will change and when a tab is selected the thumbnail window will be drawn with the new size for the thumbnail image.

Thumbnail Copy to Clipboard

The Thumbnail page image may be copied to the windows clipboard for saving or printing.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Zoom Button

The Zoom button is used to enlarge small images to fill the view window.  When zooming, the image aspect ratio is maintained.  Zoom does not affect images larger than the current view window.  At start up, zoom is not enabled.  NOTE: Icon files (.ICO) cannot be zoomed.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Reduce Button

The Reduce button is used to reduce large images to all the full image to fit the current view window.  When reducing the aspect ratio is maintained.  Reducing does not affect images smaller than the view window.  At start up, reduce is enabled.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Tile Button

The Tile button enables and disables the tiling of the current image to the view window.  This is especially useful to evaluate the  image for use as a wallpaper or web page background.  The state of the tile button is used to determine how to apply the current image as the windows wallpaper when the Option-Wallpaper function is selected.  The effect  of Tiling is not visible when the image is larger than the view window.

If the image height or width is greater than the view window tiling will not occur.  Resizing the view window to be larger than the image will allow the image to be tiled.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Slide Show Button

The slide show button is used to start and stop the automatic displaying of the images listed in the file list box.  The time that the image is shown is controlled by the setting of the adjacent edit box.  The display time can range from 1 to 999 seconds.  If you wish to stop the slide show, simply click on this button.  If the File Save or File Copy functions are called, the slide show will stop until the save or copy function is completed.  An indicator is displayed in the satus bar above the view window.  Default is off.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Contacting the Programmer

The latest version of FreeView Graphics Viewer can be found at:

     http://www.geocities.com/SiliconValley/Vista/8125

Contacting Me

Snail Mail Address

Robert Hansen

13435 Ketron Ave.

Poway, CA  USA

92064

Email Address:

rghansenb@hotmail.com

Please contact me and give me your feed back good or bad.  I am truly looking forward to hearing your opinions. Please include your city and country in your message.

If you find it in your heart to make a donation to help me develop other programs well I would be very greatful and will inform you (through email) of new programs and give you a 50% discount on the registration of any future programs that I create as shareware.

If interest is shown I will continue to persue the development of FreeView.  Currently, my ideas for improvement are:

Add capability to save image as a GIF.

Add capability to extract Animated GIF image frames to bitmaps.

Add capability to assemble animated GIF files.

Add file name search.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Animate Button

The animate button enables or disables the animation of animated GIF files.  When selected (the default setting) an animated GIF file will be animated in the view window.  When disabled the first frame of the animation sequence is displayed and may appear blank depending on the first frame of the image sequence.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Next Frame Button

The Next Frame button is only enabled for GIF files and when the Animation button is off.  The Next Frame button will allow you to sequence through each frame of an animated GIF file.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Background Color Button

Background Color button

The background color button initiates a color selection dialog.  The color selected is then used to set the background color of the view window.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Thumbnail Button

The thumbnail button initiates a thumbnail view window.  The thumbnail view window showes pages of images in a thumbnail size.  See Thumbnail View Window for additional information.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Why

Why I wrote this program

One of my biggest frustrations with picture file viewers that I have tried, is that unless you know where the file is (which drive and directory) it is difficult and time consuming to find the desired file. I also  wanted to have a viewer that supported animated GIF files.

Another problem I have experienced is that my family likes to download and save images from the internet.  Over time this can lead to a very large chunk of disk space being occuppied by these files.  I wanted an easy way to see these files, know where they are located and then organize or delete some or all of these files.

Another use for this program is in web page design.  If you use images in web page design, then you need a way to locate and save images that you want to use in your pages.  You can save images directly from the internet through your browser, but sometimes you want an image that you saw yesterday, but don't remember where it was located.  Web browsers save these images in a cache directory under a very cryptic name.  With this program you can easily scan the images in the cache directory and save them to your "special" directory or simply delete them.

As a programmer, I am constantly using images for everything from a splash screen to the images on buttons.  Finding the one I want, converting it to a bitmap and saving it to my projects source directory has been a pain in the past.  It is a pain no more!

Why it is free

To be honest, I originally intended to make this a shareware program.  I have a my computer habit to support and three great kids to get through college.  I couldn't afford to put any money (only time) into this program.  I ran into a problem with the use of LZW  image compression without obtaining a license (which isn't cheap) from the owner.  I could have left out support for GIF images, but this format accounts for a very large percentage of the  images in use these days.  However, if the program is free, then no licensing is required.  So, it is free; use it in any way you like. But you may not sell it or charge for distributing it without my expressed written consent.

I would like feedback from anyone that finds this program useful or has suggestions for improvement.  If you find it in your heart to make a donation to help me develop other programs well I would be very greatful and will inform you (through email) of new programs and give you a 50% discount on the registration of any future programs that I create as shareware.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


Help Button

Present on line help.

This help file was created with HelpScribble.


HelpScribble

HelpScribble is a help authoring tool written by Jan Goyvaerts. This help file was created with the unregistered version of HelpScribble, which is why you can read this ad. Once the author of this help file is so honest to register the shareware he uses, you will not see this ad again in his help files.

Recompiling the help project with the registered version is all it takes to get rid of this ad.

HelpScribble is a stand-alone help authoring tool. It does not require an expensive word processor. (Only a help compiler as Microsoft likes keeping the .hlp format secret. Not my fault.)

Here are some of HelpScribble's features:

•	The Setup program will properly install and uninstall HelpScribble and all of its components, including registry keys.

•	Create, edit and navigate through topics right in the main window. No need to mess with heaps of dialog boxes.

•	All topics are listed in a grid in the main window so you won't lose track in big help projects. You can even set bookmarks.

•	Use the built-in Browse Sequence Editor to easily create browse sequences.

•	Use the built-in Window Editor to change the look of your help window and create secondary windows.

•	Use the built-in Contents Editor to create Windows 95-style contents files. Works a lot better than Microsoft's HCW.

•	No need to mess with Microsoft's SHED: use the built-in SHG Editor to create hotspot bitmaps. Draw your hotspots on the bitmap and pick the topic to link to from the list.

•	With the built-in Macro Editor you can easily compose WinHelp macros whenever needed. It will tell you what the correct parameters are and provide information on them.

•	If you have a problem, just consult the online help. The help file was completely created with HelpScribble, of course.

•	HelpScribble is shareware. However, the unregistered version is not crippled in any way. It will only add a small note to your help topics to encourage you to be honest and to register the shareware you use.

These options are very interesting for Delphi developers:

•	If you are a component writer, use the Delphi Parser to build an outline help file for your component. Just fill in the spaces and you are done. (Try it if you do not believe me or just look at the help file you are reading now.)

•	If you are an application writer, HelpScribble provides you with a property editor for the HelpContext property. You can select the topic you need from a list of topic titles or simply instruct to create a new topic. No need to remember obscure numbers.

•	The property editor also provides a tree view of all the components on your form and their HelpContext properties. This works very intuitively. (Much nicer than those help tools that simply mess with your .dfm files.)

•	HelpScribble can perform syntax highlighting on any Delphi source code in your help file.

HelpScribble is shareware, so feel free to grab your copy today from my web site at http://www.tornado.be/~johnfg/