Copyright: © 2000, Jasc Software, Inc.
Citation: © 2000, Steve Eiswirth, Jasc Software, Inc.


[This is the default document RoboHELP creates for the project.]


Welcome to Animation Shop

Introduction

Jasc Animation Shop™ 2 is a powerful yet easy-to-use program that creates animations from one or more graphic images and offers a wide variety of effects and transitions for enhancing animations. Used as a standalone application or as a complement to Paint Shop Pro, Animation Shop 2 allows users to easily create animations for use on a Web site or in a presentation. Animation Shop's straightforward interface allows anyone to create effective buttons, banners or other animated effects without a steep learning curve.

Users can easily import multiple-layer images to automatically build animations or use the Animation or Banner wizards to assemble and create new animations. Animations can be quickly and easily modified using features like drag-and-drop editing, registration marks, automated cropping options, frame culling, flip and mirror frame adjustments, and a selection of painting and drawing tools.

Editing integration between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro means users can easily share and edit animation frames and images between the two programs without having to save and reopen frames. Once finished, animations can be optimized for the Web with the powerful Optimizion Wizard, which provides a comprehensive selection of file output options.

Using the Program’s Wizards

Create your animations using the full set of the program’s features, or use the Animation Wizard as a quick way to assemble an animation. The Banner Wizard feature provides a simple method of creating animated text banners. And when you’re ready to finalize your animation for web or presentation use, the Optimization Wizard provides a variety of options for selecting a file format and ensuring consistent colors and efficient file size.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Animation Wizard

 Using the Banner Wizard

 Optimizing an Animation

Choosing a Standard Animation Format

Animation Shop supports several animation and video file formats. Your animations can be saved in popular formats such as GIF, FLC, FLI, AVI, or MNG.

RELATED TOPIC

 Saving an Animation

New Animation Shop Users

If you have never used Animation Shop before, be sure to take your time browsing through this help system to get a feel for what the program can do for you. To learn more about the Animation Shop help system, as well as other help resources you have available, refer to Using the Help Resources. In addition, be sure to read through the Animation Shop User’s Guide.

Experienced Animation Shop Users

If you are already familiar with the program through a previous version of Animation Shop, you might want to see what's new in version 2.0.


  Using the Help Resources

In addition to this help system and the Animation Shop User’s Guide, a variety of other help resources are available:

•	The “How Do I” topics in the help system

•	A number of support pages on the Jasc website

•	Access to Jasc Software, Inc.’s Technical Support department via e-mail

The “How Do I” Help Topics

Included in this help system are a number of topics that provide step by step instructions on completing a variety of tasks with Animation Shop. Refer to the How Do I section, or by choosing Help > How Do I.

Jasc Website Support Pages

A number of website pages dedicated to support issues with Jasc products are available within the Help menu. Choose Help > Jasc Software Online, and then select one of the following website links:

•	Jasc Software Home Page

•	Support Pages

•	Digital Studio

•	Check for Updates

•	Report a Defect

•	Email Comment/Question

Reaching Jasc Software

Refer to the README.DOC file that was installed with Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro for the latest information about the applications, as well as information on contacting Jasc Software, Inc.

The table below lists some of the other ways to contact Jasc Software, Inc.

Contact Method	Address or Number
Internet	techsup@jasc.com
Website	www.jasc.com
Telephone    Technical Support    Customer Service	(612) 930-9171 (612) 930-9800
Fax	(612) 930-9172
Mail	Jasc Software, Inc. 7905 Fuller Road Eden Prairie, MN  55344  USA
For More Information on Using Help

For general information on using Microsoft Windows Help, refer to your Windows Help file (from the Start menu on your Windows desktop, choose Help).

For a description of various ways to access the Animation Shop Help file, refer to Using Animation Shop Help.

RELATED TOPICS

 Displaying System Information


What's New in Animation Shop 2.0

Some of the new features in this version of Animation Shop include the following:

•	Banner Wizard, a quick method of creating an animated text banner.

•	Transitions are now split into two separate groups: Transitions and Effects, and a wide variety of choices are available in each group.

•	A variety of frame and animation modification tools have been added, including Registration Mark, Cull, Crop, Line, Shape, Flip, and Mirror.

•	Full support for opening and saving Autodesk FLC and FLI animation formats, as well as Microsoft AVI format.

•	Greatly expanded features for optimizing animations.

•	Enhanced integration between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro, including the abilities to drag-and-drop between the two programs, as well as instantaneously updating an animation frame being edited in Paint Shop Pro.


Tour of the Animation Shop Interface

About the Main Window

Shown below is a screen capture of Animation Shop with an open animation and a window running the open animation. (You may need to expand the help file window size to view the entire screen capture without scrolling.) For more information on any of the interface features, click the item on the screen capture, or click the item from the table below the screen capture.

Control Icons	Workspace
Title Bar	Frames View Window
Window Buttons	Play View Window
Menu Bar	Color Palette
Style Bar	Active Colors Panel
Tool Bar	Current Colors Panel
Tool Palette	Status Bar
RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Bars and Palettes

 About the Context Menus

 Exiting Animation Shop


Using the Bars and Palettes

The Style Bar, Toolbar, and Tool Palette are, by default, set to appear in the Animation Shop window when you start up the program. You can choose not to display them at all, or to move them to another location on the screen (this is referred to as docking or undocking).

Displaying or Not Displaying the Bars and Palettes

Most users always display the bars and palettes. To hide a bar or palette, however, simply deselect the appropriate option in the View menu. The example below on the left shows the bottom five items in the View menu with all options selected, and the example on the right shows the Toolbar option deselected.

All options selected	Toolbar deselected

Note that you can also display these same five View menu items by right-clicking in any of the following areas of the Animation Shop interface:

•	The Style Bar or surrounding empty space (but not in the Menu Bar or Title Bar)

•	The Toolbar or surrounding empty space (but not in the workspace)

•	The Tool Palette or surrounding empty space (but not in the workspace)

•	The empty space surrounding the Color Palette

•	The empty space surrounding the Active Colors panel

•	The Current Color Panel or surrounding empty space

•	The Status Bar

Docking and Undocking Bars and Palettes

The Style Bar, Toolbar, Tool Palette, and Colors palette (which consists of the Color Palette, the Active Colors panel, and the Current Color panel) can be docked at the edges of the Animation Shop window or undocked and allowed to "float" wherever you place them. A docked bar or palette becomes part of the border around the workspace. When you open Animation Shop for the first time, the bars and palettes are docked at their default positions.

UNDOCKING A BAR OR PALETTE

To undock a palette or bar, do one of the following:

•	Place the cursor in an area not occupied by a button, and then drag the bar or palette away from the edge of the Animation Shop window, or

•	Double-click any area not occupied by a button.

DOCKING A BAR OR PALETTE

To dock a palette or bar, do one of the following:

•	Place the cursor in an area not occupied by a button, and then drag the bar or palette to the edge of the Animation Shop window, or

•	Double-click any area not occupied by a button.


Exiting Animation Shop

You exit Animation Shop in any of the ways listed below:

•	Choose File > Exit, or

•	Click the Animation Shop window’s Close button [image] in the upper right corner of the title bar, or

•	Double-click the Control icon [image] in the upper left corner of the main window’s title bar, or

•	Click the Animation Shop window’s Control icon to display the Control menu, and then choose Close, or

•	Press the key combination <Alt> + <F4>.


  Using Animation Shop Help

Accessing the Help File

You can start up this help file from within Animation Shop in two ways:

•	Choose Help > Help Topics, or

•	Press the <F1> key

Accessing Context-Sensitive Help

Animation Shop provides context-sensitive help in the following ways:

•	Click the Help button [image] on the toolbar and then click an item on the screen or a menu item; this will display help file information relevant to what you clicked, or

•	Highlight the toolbar item, tool palette item, or menu item and then press the <F1> key; this will display help file information relevant to what you highlighted, or

•	Click the Help button in a dialog box; this will display help file information relevant to using that dialog box.

Using the Help File

If you are not familiar with using a help file such as this, the illustration below points out the important features to be aware of.

Using the Index Most Efficiently

To quickly find information on a particular help topic, click the Index tab in the left panel of the help window. This will display a list of keywords associated with a topic. For example, to find help on using a particular dialog box, search for the dialog box title.

Understanding Colors for Hypertext

Many Windows applications assign a color (or colors) to all hypertext in the application’s Help file. (Hypertext is the text you click on to jump to another topic or location, or to view a popup window). Some Windows applications will use a solid underline to denote a topic jump, and a dashed underline to denote a popup. Animation Shop’s Help file, however, is slightly different:

•	Topic jumps are red.

•	Popups are blue.

•	Hypertext is not underlined.

The Shortcut Button

The shortcut button [image] provides a jump to a related topic. Click the button (or the accompanying link) to jump to that topic.

The Next Step Button

The next step button [image] provides a jump to the next step or topic in a process. Click the button (or the accompanying link) to jump to that topic.

Typographical Conventions

A few typographical conventions to be aware of when reading through this help file include the following:

•	Menu items you are instructed to choose appear in bold face with the greater than (>) symbol separating each menu level. For example, if you are instructed to choose the Open command in the File menu, it will appear as File > Open. If you are instructed to select the General Program Preferences command from the Preferences submenu in the File menu, it will appear as File > Preferences > General Program Preferences.

•	Keys you are instructed to press appear in bold face with angled brackets. When you need to press keys in a sequence, they are connected by a plus (+) sign. For example, you can also choose the Open command in the File menu by pressing <Ctrl> + <O> on the keyboard.

•	The term primary mouse button refers to the mouse button used for most operations. For right-handed mouse users, this is the left button on a two-button mouse. The term secondary mouse button refers to the mouse button used for auxiliary operations such as accessing the Context menu. For right-handed mouse users, this is the right button on a two-button mouse. The terms primary mouse button and left-click may be used interchangeably. The terms secondary mouse button and right-click may be used interchangeably.

About Tool Tips and the Status Bar

To see the name of a toolbar button or a tool palette button, place the cursor over it and a pop-up hint, referred to as a Tool Tip, will appear. Note also that a short description of the feature also appears in the Status bar located along the bottom of the Animation Shop window.

Other Information Sources

If you are a new user to Animation Shop, we highly recommend that you read through this entire help file as well as the Animation Shop User’s Guide. You can also find useful, up-to-date information in the README.DOC file that resides in the same directory as the Animation Shop application.


Sample Jump

When you click a topic jump, the new or related topic is displayed in the window.

After viewing the new topic, you can do any of the following:

•	Return to the original topic by clicking the Back button [image], located above the Help file’s Table of Contents,

•	If applicable, read the topic that follows the current one by clicking the Next button [image],

•	If applicable, read the topic that precedes the current one by clicking the Previous button [image],

•	If applicable, jump to a related task by clicking one of the Related Topics listed at the bottom of the window.

 Return to Using Animation Shop Help


Displaying System Information About Animation Shop

When you choose Help > About Animation Shop, the program’s “splash screen” will appear. Click the “System Info” button to display the System Information dialog box. This dialog box displays technical information about your version of Animation Shop as well as information about your computer. This information could be helpful if you ever need to contact a Jasc Technical Support representative.

Using the Copy Button

To copy the text displayed in the System Information dialog box to the clipboard, click the Copy button. You can then paste the text into another application (such as a word processor) and print it. This makes it easy to reference this information if you need to contact Jasc Technical Support.


About the GIF Format

The GIF format was created by Compuserve, Inc. It is generally the most widely used animation format. An animated GIF file allows multiple graphics images to be compiled within a single GIF file. This series of images can be used like frames in a movie, and can be modified in a GIF editor, such as Animation Shop. Used in web pages, self-contained GIF files are downloaded once and played from the user's hard disk cache, making playback times much quicker and offering eye-catching special effects unavailable with other graphics file formats.

The GIF format supports a maximum color depth of 256 colors. The maximum number of frames in an animation is 32,767. The maximum frame size is 32,767 x 32,767 pixels. GIF supports frame delays in increments of 1/100th of a second. GIF does support transparency.


About the FLC Format

The FLC format was created by Autodesk, Inc. The FLC format supports a maximum color depth of 256 colors.The maximum frame size is 400 x 400 pixels. The maximum number of frames in an animation is 4,000. FLC supports frame delays in increments of 1/1000th of a second. FLC does not support transparency.


About the FLI Format

The FLI format was created by Autodesk, Inc. The maximum number of supported colors is 64.The maximum number of frames in an animation is 4,000. The only supported frame size is 320 x 200 pixels. The FLI format supports frame delays in increments of 1/70th of a second. FLI does not support transparency.


About the AVI Format

The AVI format was created by Microsoft, Inc. The maximum number of supported colors is 24-bit (true color). The maximum number of frames in an animation is 32,767 (the maximum file size is 2 GB). The maximum frame size is 32,767 x 32,767 pixels. The AVI format supports frame delays in increments of 1/1000th of a second. AVI does not support transparency. AVI animations usually require the appropriate DLL installed on the computer viewing the animation. Additionally, associated files called “Codecs” must accompany your AVI file wherever it is used.


About the MNG Format

The MNG format is a standard format developed by an independant organization and is an animation format based on the PNG image format The maximum number of supported colors is unlimited but is somewhat dependent on any compression techniques used. The maximum number of frames in an animation is 32,767. The maximum frame size is 32,767 x 32,767 pixels. The MNG format supports frame delays in increments of 1/1000th of a second. MNG does support transparency.


About the Control Icons

There are two Control icons. The Animation Shop application Control icon [image] is located at the left end of the Animation Shop main window title bar. The file Control icon [image] is located at the left end of an animation’s title bar. Both Control icons provide access to the Control menu.

The Control Menus

The Control menus contain items used for positioning, resizing, minimizing, maximizing and closing the Animation Shop window or the Frames View window containing the animation. The two Control menus are nearly identical, the only difference being that file Control menu also contains the Next command. To access the Control menus (shown below), click the appropriate Control icon.

Animation Shop Control Menu	File Control Menu

Note that when you hold the cursor over a Control menu item, a brief menu item description appears in the status bar.


About the Menu Bar

The menu bar displays the menu headings. Which menus are available depends on whether there is an open animation. Keep in mind that frequently used menu items have button equivalents available on the toolbar.

Using the Menus

You can display menu items in two ways:

•	Click the desired menu in the menu bar, or

•	Press the <Alt> key plus the underlined letter in the menu’s title. For example, to display the File menu, press <Alt> + <F>.

You can select or execute a menu item three ways:

•	Click the item in the menu, or

•	Press the Alt key, plus the underlined letter in the menu’s title, and then the underlined letter in the menu item. For example, to select the menu item File > Open, press <Alt> + <F> + <O>, or

•	Use the cursor or the Up/Down arrow key to highlight a menu item, and then press the <Enter> key.

•	Note: Menu items that appear in gray either do not apply or are currently unavailable.


About the Style Bar

The style bar contains the options related to the currently selected tool from the tool palette. When you select a tool from the tool palette, its associated options appear on the style bar.

For more information on using each tool palette tool and its style bar options, select a tool from the list below.

Arrow tool	Eraser tool
Zoom tool	Flood Fill tool
Registration Mark tool	Text tool
Crop tool	Line tool
Dropper tool	Shape tool
Paintbrush tool
RELATED TOPICS

 About the Tool Palette

 Using the Bars and Palettes

 Using Tools and Colors


About the Tool Bar

The toolbar contains a number of command buttons that represent some of the frequently used commands in the menus. If a tool bar button is active (not greyed out), simply click the button to execute the command.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Bars and Palettes

 Using Tools and Colors


About the Tool Palette

The Tool Palette contains a number of tools used to modify frames. When you click a tool palette tool, the options associated with its use appear in the style bar.

RELATED TOPICS

 About the Style Bar

 Using the Bars and Palettes

 Using Tools and Colors


About the Frames View Window

When you open an animation file, each frame in the animation appears in a Frames View window. You can modify your animation within the Frames View window. Refer to the links below for more information on modifying animations.

Notice that below each frame is information showing the frame number and its associated display time as shown in this example.

Displaying the Frame Number and Display Time

By default, the frame number and display time are set to appear below each frame. To turn the display of these two numbers on and off, choose File > Preferences > General Program Preferences. Select the Frame View tab. Check or uncheck the “Display frame numbers, delay time underneath frames” check box.

Setting the Display Time

Adjust the Display Time setting as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s) you wish to modify.

2.	Access the Frame Properties dialog box one of two ways:

€Choose Animation > Frame Properties, or
€Right-click on the selected frame and choose Properties from the Context menu.

3.	In the Frame Properties dialog box, select the “Display Time” tab if it is not already selected.

4.	Adjust the “Display time” edit box to the desired setting, and then click OK.

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting General Program Preferences

 Changing Animation Properties


About the Play View Window

As the name implies, the Play View window plays the currently selected animation repeatedly in a separate window.

Playing an Animation

To start playing the animation, do one of the following:

•	Click the View Animation button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose View > Animation.

The animation will begin playing in a Play View window and will not stop until you choose to stop it.

Stopping an Animation

To stop playing an animation, do one of the following:

•	Click the View Animation button again, or

•	Choose View > Animation again, or

•	Click the Close button [image] in the upper right corner of the Play View window.


About the Workspace

The workspace is the area where animation files and image files appear in Frames View windows, and where the Play View window plays an animation. You can expand the size of the workspace by stretching the top, bottom, left and right boundaries of the Animation Shop window. You can also use the Windows buttons in the upper right corner of the Title bar to maximize, minimize, or restore the size of the Animation Shop window.

Note also that right-clicking in the workspace displays the Paste As New Animation command. Choosing this command will paste any recognized image file on the clipboard into Animation Shop as a new single-frame animation. If the clipboard contents are not recognized by Animation Shop as a valid image file, this command will be greyed out (unavailable).

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Paste As New Animation Feature


About the Status Bar

The Status Bar, located along the bottom of the Animation Shop window, displays information about animations, features, and procedures. It also indicates the progress as the application opens animations or renders frames. When the cursor is inside a frame, the current x and y coordinates are displayed in the left corner of the status bar. The right side of the status bar displays the current animation’s frame size and the number of frames.


About the Title Bar

The title bar displays the Animation Shop Control icon, the application name and active animation title, and the standard Windows buttons.


About the Window Buttons

The standard Microsoft Windows buttons, located in the upper right corner of the title bar, are used to resize the Animation Shop window. Their functions are listed below.

Minimize		Reduces the window to an icon.
Maximize		Enlarges the window to fill the screen.
Restore		Returns the window to its last non-minimized, non-maximized position. Note that this button will not appear unless you have resized the window.
Close		Closes the window and exits the application.


About the Color Palette

The Color Palette contains the selection of available colors. Whenever you move the cursor (regardless of which tool is active) over the color palette, the cursor shape changes to the dropper [image]. Left-click to select a foreground color; right-click to select a background color. The Red, Green, Blue, and Opacity values for the color will appear in the Current Color panel.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using Tools and Colors

 About the Active Colors Panel

 About the Current Color Panel

 Using the Color Palette

 Selecting a Color Dialog box


About the Active Colors Panel

The Active Colors panel displays the active foreground and background color. These colors are associated with the use of the tool palette tools. The foreground color is applied when using a tool via the primary mouse button. The background color is applied when using a tool via the secondary mouse button. The color switcher is used to switch the foreground color with the background color.

Accessing the Color Dialog Box

You can access the Color dialog box by left-clicking on either the foreground or the background color. (This dialog box can also be accessed throughout the application by left-clicking on a color box within a dialog box.) The Color dialog box that appears is determined by a setting in the Color Palette Preferences page. See the Related Topics link below for more information.

Accessing the Recent Colors Dialog Box

You can access the Recent Colors dialog box by right-clicking on either the foreground or the background color. (This dialog box can also be accessed throughout the application by right-clicking on a color box within a dialog box.) The upper half of the Recent Colors dialog box displays the following ten colors: red, green, blue, dark grey, light grey, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white. The lower half displays the ten colors you have used most recently. After you have selected more than ten colors, each new color replaces the earliest color selected.

To select one of the colors, click it. The dialog box closes, and the color appears in the appropriate box.

Click the “Other” button to open the Color dialog box.

To close the Recent Colors dialog box without using any of the colors, click the Close button [image] in the dialog box’s upper right corner.

See the Related Topics link below for more information.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using Tools and Colors

 About the Color Palette

 About the Current Color Panel

 Using the Color Palette

 Selecting a Color Dialog Box

 Setting Color Palette Preferences

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


About the Current Color Panel

When the cursor is in the color palette or over the foreground color or background color box in the active colors panel, the Current Color panel displays the color’s red, green, and blue values as well as its opacity value. (The values will appear in either decimal or hexidecimal, depending the selection in the “Color Palette” tab in the General Program Preferences dialog box.) The current color will also appear in the box at the bottom of the Current Color panel.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Setting General Program Preferences


Zoom Level

The Zoom indicator on the style bar displays the current zoom level. Normal zoom level is 1:1. You can also use this to choose a magnification level for the current animation. The options for zooming in range from 2:1 (two times the normal view) to 32:1 (thirty two times the normal view). The options for zooming out range from 1:2 (one half the normal view) to 1:24 (one twenty-fourth the normal view).


Frame Properties - Display Time Tab


Tool Bar


Tool Palette


Active Colors Panel


Color Palette


Current Color Panel


About the Context Menus

The context menus are accessed by right-clicking inside the Frames View window. They contain commands for modifying and manipulating frames or animations.

•	Note: The Arrow tool [image] must be active in order to access the context menus.

There are two context menus:

•	The Frame context menu contains many of the basic commands for working with frames.

•	The Animation context menu contains only two commands, the Go To Frame command and the Animation Properties command.

The illustration below shows where you need to right-click to display each context menu.


Tool Tip Example


This is a popup.


System Information Screen


Animation Shop Splash Screen


Creating an Animation

[insert all topics here]


Creating a New Animation

Creating a new animation is a simple process in Animation Shop. You can use the New Animation feature (either the File menu item or the toolbar button), the Animation Wizard, the Duplicate feature, or modify an existing animation. (See the Related Topics below for information on the Animation Wizard, as well as duplicating and modifying existing animations.)

Using the New Animation Dialog Box

Use the New Animation feature as follows:

1.	Choose File > New, or click the New Animation button [image] on the toolbar. The Create New Animation dialog box will appear.

2.	Use this dialog box as follows:

•	Set width and height pixel values in the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes.

•	Set a canvas color for the animation by choosing either the “Transparent” option or the “Opaque” option. Choose “Transparent” to use a transparent canvas. (The transparent canvas will be denoted by a checkered grid; refer to the Related Topic link below for more information about this grid.) Choose the “Opaque” option to use a solid canvas color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your own canvas color.

3.	Click the OK button in the Create New Animation dialog box.

The new animation will be created and will contain one frame using the dimensions and canvas color you selected.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Animation Wizard

 Duplicating an Animation

 Modifying an Existing Animation

 Setting Transparency Preferences

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Changing Frame Properties

 Changing Animation Properties


Modifying an Existing Animation

Another method of creating an animation is to simply save an existing animation using a different file name. To do this, choose File > Save As. The Save As dialog box will appear. Use this dialog box to assign the animation a different file name, and if desired, a different file format and folder location.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Save As Dialog Box


Duplicating an Animation

The Duplicate Animation feature is a quick way to create another animation by copying an existing animation. To use the Duplicate Animation feature, choose Window > Duplicate Animation (or press <Shift> + <D>). A copy of the animation will appear in another Frames View window.

•	Note: The Edit > Duplicate menu item, the Duplicate toolbar button [image], and the Duplicate item in the frame context menu are used to duplicate selected frames, not an entire animation.


Create New Animation Dialog Box


Via the Animation Wizard

The Animation Wizard provides a step by step method of creating a new animation. When you start up the wizard, a series of wizard pages will prompt you for information. Complete one wizard page and move on to the next page.

 Using the Animation Wizard


Optimizing an Animation for Web Usage

[info here]


Overview

The Optimization Wizard provides a way for you to determine the image quality of your animation and how that will affect the output size of the file. This process can be initiated whenever you save a new animation or save an edited animation, or simply choose to run the Optimization Wizard feature in the File menu.

The wizard consists of a series of easy-to-use pages containing Back and Next buttons for navigating between pages.

 Starting the Wizard


Starting the Wizard

Start the Optimization Wizard by choosing File > Optimization Wizard. A series of wizard pages will appear, prompting you in optimizing the file. If applicable, make selections on the page, then click the Next button at the bottom of the page to move to the next page. You may move forward or backward by clicking the Back and Next buttons.

The first wizard page is:

 Optimizing Output


Optimizing Output

Use the first page, Optimized Output, as described below.

In the “Optimize for” section:

•	Choose the animation file format option appropriate for the animation.

In the “When finished” section:

•	Choose the “Replace the current animation with the optimized version” option to overwrite the current animation with the optimized animation.

•	Choose “Create a new animation from the optimized animation” option to create a new animation that you will then need to save.

The second wizard page is:

 Balancing Quality vs. Size


Balancing Quality vs. Size

Use the second page, Animation Quality Versus Output Size, as described below.

•	Adjust the optimization slider on the left side of the wizard page to one of the four levels indicated by the mark on either side of the slider. When optimizing a file, you can choose to preserve image quality and consequently save a larger file, or you can sacrifice some image quality for a smaller file size. Note that the window to the right of the slider will display details specific to the slider setting.

•	Mark the “Use these settings when saving unoptimized files” check box to skip the optimization interface and have Animation Shop automatically optimize with the current settings whenever an animation file is saved. Do not mark this check box if you wish to use the optimization interface when saving a file.

•	Click the Customize button to access these additional optimization settings:

 Customizing Color Settings

 Customizing Optimization Settings

 Customizing Partial Transparency Settings

 Customizing Canvas Color Settings

•	Note: When optimizing a file in a format that does not support transparency, the third tab in the “Customize Optimization Settings” dialog box will be labeled “Canvas Color”. When optimizing a file in a format that supports transparency, the third tab will be labeled “Partial Transparency”.

The third wizard page is:

 Viewing Optimization Progress


Viewing Optimization Progress

Use the third page, Optimization Progress, as described below.

•	This wizard page merely monitors Animation Shop’s progress in optimizing your file. When the process is finished, click the Next button.

The fourth wizard page is:

 Viewing Optimization Results


Viewing Optimization Results

Use the fourth page, Optimization Results, as described below.

•	This wizard page provides information about your animation’s file size and estimated download times at various connection speeds. This can be helpful if you plan to use the animation on a web page. The “Current File” column displays pre-optimization file information. The “Optimized File” column displays file information after optimization.

•	Click the Finish button. Your animation will be modified based on your wizard page choices and the Optimization Wizard will close.


Customizing Color Settings

Use the Colors tab as described below.

•	In the “Number of Colors” drop down box, choose the number of colors you want available in the animation. The current number of colors is displayed to the right of the drop down box. Note that one color number is reserved to utilize the Optimization Wizard’s ability to handle transparency; this is why the options are “3 colors” instead of 4, “7 colors” instead of 8, etc.

In the “Create palette by” area:

•	Choose “Optimized Octree” to use an 8-bits per channel palette. This palette is not as good at weighting color importance as the Optimized Median Cut palette.

•	Choose “Optimized Median Cut” to use a palette that uses occurrence of colors as weighting, and ranks these colors accordingly. It is accurate only to 5-bits per channel.

•	Choose “Standard palette” to use a generic palette that contains a balanced number of colors.

•	Choose “Browser palette” to a pre-defined, web-safe palette.

•	Choose “Custom palette” and then click the Browse button to use a custom palette not listed here.

In the “Reduce colors by” area:

•	Choose “Ordered Dithering” to reduce colors by adjusting adjacent pixels of different colors to give the illusion of a third color. It uses set patterns based on a known palette to adjust the pixels. This method can result in distinct patterns of light and dark areas.

•	Choose “Error Diffusion” to reduce colors by a method similar to “Nearest color”, except that it spreads out the inaccuracy in representing a pixel’s color to the surrounding pixels. When it replaces a color, the inaccuracy, or “error,” is carried to the next pixel, where the error is added to the color before selecting the nearest color. This process is repeated for every pixel in the image.

•	Choose “Nearest Color” to reduce colors by replacing a pixel’s original color with the nearest matching color in the newly generated palette.

RELATED TOPICS

 Understanding Color Depth

 Dithering Methods

 Color Definition Methods


Customizing Optimization Settings

Use the Optimizations tab as described below.

•	Mark the “Remove Non Visible Animation Elements” check box to help control the size of the animation by removing the non-visible elements.

•	Mark the “Write Minimal Frames” check box to have Animation Shop automatically compare each frame to the previous frame and, if possible, write a smaller frame containing only the pixels that have changed. By default, this check box is marked for all quality levels.

•	Mark the “Collapse Identical Frames” check box to have Animation Shop remove identical frames as another way to reduce the size of the animation. This option allows you to combine sequential frames having identical content into one frame. The display time of the frame will be the combined times of all the identical frames.

•	Mark the “Map Identical Pixels To Transparent” check box to use transparent color in compressing a file. For file formats that support transparency, this check box is marked by default.

•	Mark the “Enable Browser-Specific Optimizations” check box to enhance the optimization if you know that the audience for your animation will be using just one particular browser (for example, you’ll be placing the animation on a website that can only be viewed via Internet Explorer). Note, however, that because not all browsers support this option, the animation may contain image artifacts when viewed an unsupported browser.


Customizing Partial Transparency Settings

When optimizing a GIF file that contains pixels that are not fully opaque, use the Partial Transparency tab as described below. (Note that this tab will not appear if you are optimizing a GIF file that contains only opaque pixels.)

In the “Partial transparency is not allowed …” area:

•	Choose the “Convert pixels …” option and set the opacity threshold edit box to the desired level. Valid values range from 0 to 255. The percentage displayed to the right of the edit box will update in relation to the value you set. Pixel values at or above the value you set will be made fully opaque; pixel values below the value you set will be made fully transparent.

•	Choose the “Use a 50% dither pattern” to use a halftone dither. Pixels below 25% opacity will be made fully transparent. Pixels above 75% opacity will be made fully opaque. Pixels between 25% and 75% will have the halftone dither applied, meaning the pixels will alternate between fully opaque and fully transparent in both the X and Y directions.

•	Choose the “Use error diffusion dither” option to apply a 1-bit per pixel mask and error diffusion dithering.

In the “Would you like to blend …” area:

•	Choose the “Yes, blend with this color” option. This will blend partially transparent pixels with the current blend color, displayed in the color box next to this option. To choose a different blend color, left-click inside this color box to display the Color dialog box, or right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose a different blend color.

•	Choose the “No, use the existing image color at 100% opacity” option to leave the color of partially transparent pixels unaffected.

RELATED TOPICS

 Understanding Color Depth

 Dithering Methods

 Color Definition Methods


Customizing Canvas Color Settings

When optimizing an AVI, FLC, or FLI file, use the Canvas Color tab as described below.

•	Choose a color that will replace transparent canvas pixels. The current replacement color is displayed in the color box. To change this color, click inside the color box. This will display the Color dialog box, which you can use to choose a new replacement color.


Optimized Output Wizard Page


Animation Quality Versus Output Size Wizard Page


Optimization Progress Wizard Page


Optimization Results Wizard Page


Customize Optimization Settings - Color Tab


Customize Optimization Settings - Optimizations Tab


Customize Optimization Settings - Partial Transparency Tab


Customize Optimization Settings - Canvas Color Tab


Using the Animation Wizard

[insert info here]


Overview

The Animation Wizard provides a quick, automated way to create an animation. Once you start up the wizard, you are guided through the process by a series of simple wizard pages on which you choose all the properties you’ll need to create an animation.

The steps for using the Animation Wizard are presented in the following order:

 Starting the Wizard

 Setting the Frame Size

 Setting the Canvas Color

 Positioning the Frames

 Setting the Animation Properties

 Adding Frames to the Animation

 Finishing the Wizard

 Viewing the Resulting Animation


Starting the Wizard

Start the Animation Wizard in one of two ways:

•	Choose File > Animation Wizard, or

•	Click the Animation Wizard button [image] on the toolbar.

A series of wizard pages will appear, prompting you in creating an animation. After finishing each page, click the Next button at the bottom of the page to move to the next page. You may move forward or backward by clicking the Back and Next buttons at the bottom of the Wizard pages.

 Setting the Frame Size


Setting the Frame Size

The first page of the Animation Wizard prompts you to set the dimensions of the animation frames. Use this Wizard page as follows:

•	Choose the “Same size as the first image frame” option if you want all frames to match the size of the first frame. (You will then add the first frame in a later Wizard page.)

•	Choose the “As defined here” option to activate the Width and Height edit boxes for you to set the exact dimensions of the animation frames.  Dimensions are measured in pixels.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Setting the Canvas Color


Setting the Canvas Color

The second page of the Animation Wizard prompts you to set a transparent or an opaque canvas color. Use this Wizard page as follows:

•	Choose the “Transparent” option to allow any images behind your animation to show through in the canvas. A transparent canvas is indicated by the current color settings in the “Transparency” tab of the General Program Preferences. See the Related Topic link below for more details.

•	Choose the “Opaque” option to select a canvas color for your animation. The current canvas color appears in the color box to the right of this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color. The canvas will use the dimensions you set in the previous Wizard page.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Positioning the Frames

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Transparency Preferences

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Positioning the Frames

The third page of the Animation Wizard prompts how you would like to place your frames in the animation. Use this Wizard page as follows:

If the images you will be adding do not have the same dimensions as the frame size you set in the first Wizard page, you can choose one of the following positioning options:

•	Choose the “Upper left corner of the frame” option to align all images having aspect ratios different than the first image in the upper left corner of their respective frames.

•	Choose the “Centered in the frame” option to center all images in their frames regardless of each image’s aspect ratio.

If an image’s dimensions are smaller than the first image, the empty area surrounding the image can be filled in one of two ways:

•	Choose the “With the canvas color” option to fill in the smaller-sized image’s empty area with the canvas color.

•	Choose the “With the preceding frame’s contents” option to fill in the smaller-sized image’s empty area with the contents of the previous frame. If there is no previous frame, the “With canvas color” option will be used.

If images need to be scaled to fit inside frames:

•	Mark the “Scale frames to fit” check box. This will resize the image to fill the frame while maintaining the image’s aspect ratio. If you do not mark this check box, parts of images that have larger dimensions than the frame size may not be visible.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Setting the Animation Properties


Setting the Animation Properties

The fourth page of the Animation Wizard prompts you in setting the looping and delay animation properties. Use this Wizard page as follows:

•	Choose the “Yes, repeat the animation indefinitely” option to continuously cycle your animation until you manually stop it (see the Note below). Choose the “Play it n times” option to play your animation the number of times you set in the edit box.

•	Note: Not all internet browsers currently support the loop feature.

•	Set the display time for each frame in the display time edit box. All frames in the animation will be set to the same display time. These values can be changed later while editing the animation.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Adding Frames to the Animation

RELATED TOPIC

 Changing the Duration of a Frame


Adding Frames to the Animation

The fifth page of the Animation Wizard prompts you in adding images to your animation. You must include at least one image to create an animation. Use this Wizard page as follows:

1.	Click the Add Image button. The Open dialog box will appear.

2.	Choose the file(s) for your animation.

3.	To select multiple images at once from the Open dialog box, hold the <Ctrl> key while clicking on filenames. You can also select consecutive files by holding <Shift> and clicking on the first and last filenames in your selection. If your image files are located in more than one folder, you will need to reenter the Open dialog box for each folder.

4.	If you wish to delete an image you have added to the list, do so by clicking on the filename to select it and then clicking the Remove Image button.

5.	Verify the order of your images and reorder any of them by selecting one or more image files and clicking on the Move Up and Move Down buttons.

When you are done adding images, click the Next button to move to the final Wizard page.

 Finishing the Wizard


Finishing the Wizard

The final page of the Animation Wizard prompts you to finalize the Wizard to create the animation. Use this Wizard page as follows:

•	Click the Finish button. The Animation Wizard will generate your animation, close the Animation Wizard pages, and open the animation in a Frames View window.

 Viewing the Resulting Animation


Viewing the Resulting Animation

To see what your animation looks like when played, choose View > Animation, or click the View Animation button [image] on the toolbar. The Play View window will appear and the animation will play.

Closing the Play View Window

To close the Play View window, use one of the following methods:

•	Click the Close button [image] in the Play View window’s upper right corner, or

•	Double-click the file Control icon [image] in the Play View window’s upper left corner, or

•	Choose File > Close. *Note: Choosing this menu item will close both the Play View window and the Frames View window for the open animation.


Dimensions Wizard Page


Canvas Color Wizard Page


Frame Positioning Wizard Page


Animation Properties Wizard Page


Adding Images Wizard Page


Final Wizard Page


Using the Banner Wizard

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Overview

The Banner Wizard provides a quick, automated method of created an animated text banner. Once you start up the wizard, you are guided through the process by a series of simple wizard pages on which you choose all the properties you’ll need to create an animated text banner.

The steps for using the Banner Wizard are presented in the following order:

 Starting the Wizard

 Setting the Background

 Setting the Banner Size

 Setting the Timing

 Defining the Banner Text

 Setting the Text Color

 Selecting a Transition

 Viewing the Resulting Animation


Starting the Wizard

Start the Banner Wizard in one of two ways:

•	Choose File > Banner Wizard, or

•	Click the Banner Wizard button [image] on the toolbar.

A series of wizard pages will appear, prompting you in creating an animated text banner. After finishing each page, click the Next button at the bottom of the page to move to the next page. You may move forward or backward by clicking the Back and Next buttons at the bottom of the Wizard pages.

 Setting the Background


Setting the Background

The first page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to set the background for the banner. Use this page as follows:

•	Choose the “Transparent background” option to have a transparent banner background. A transparent canvas is indicated by the current color settings in the “Transparency” tab of the General Program Preferences. See the Related Topic link below for more details.

•	Choose the “Opaque background” option to have an opaque banner background. The current background color is displayed below this option. Left-click inside this color box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color.

•	Choose the “Use a background image” option to have an image for your banner background. The Browse button becomes available. Click this button to choose the background image to use for the banner.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Setting the Banner Size

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Transparency Preferences

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Setting the Banner Size

The second page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to define the size of the banner. Use this page as follows:

•	Choose the “Use a standard banner size” option to set the banner size to one of the six internet standard choices in the drop down list.

•	If you selected the “Use a background image” option in the previous Wizard page, choose the “Same as the background image” option to set the banner to match the background image size. If you did not select the “Use a background image” option in the previous Wizard page, this option will be greyed out.

•	Choose the “As defined here” option, and then enter custom banner size values in the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Setting the Timing


Setting the Timing

The third page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to define the display time for each frame, the number of frames displayed per second, and whether you want the animation looped indefinitely or a set number of times. Use this page as follows:

•	Set the display time for each frame in the display time edit box. All frames in the animation will be set to the same display time. (You can change the display time for individual frames or all frames by using the Frame Properties feature.) The default value is 10. The value you set here (n) is displayed below each frame as “D:n”.

•	Set the number of animation frames to display per second in the number of frames edit box.

*Note: The total number of animation frames is determined by this formula:
     (Display Time / 10) * Frames Per Second
For example, if you set the display time value to 30 and the frames per second value to 15, the total number of animation frames will be 45: (30/10) * 15 = 45

•	Choose the “Yes, repeat the animation indefinitely” option to continuously cycle your animation until you manually stop it (see the Note below). Choose the “Play it n times” option to play your animation the number of times you set in the edit box.

•	Note: Not all internet browsers currently support the loop feature.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Defining the Banner Text

RELATED TOPIC

 Changing the Duration of a Frame


Defining the Banner Text

The fourth page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to enter and define the text for the banner. Use this page as follows:

•	Click inside the text box and enter the text you want to appear in the banner.

•	To change any of the font attributes (typeface, style, size, etc.), click the Set Font button and make the desired changes in the Add Text dialog box. Click OK in this dialog box to return to the fourth Wizard page.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Setting the Text Color

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Add Text Dialog Box


Setting the Text Color

The fifth page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to define the color of the banner text, or if you want to use an image cutout for the text color. Use this page as follows:

•	Choose the “Opaque text” option to set the text to an opaque color. The current text color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your text color.

•	Choose the “Image text” option to define the text color as the cutout of an image. The Browse button becomes available. Click this button to choose the image to use as a cutout for the text.

Click Next to move to the next Wizard page.

 Selecting a Transition

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Selecting a Transition

The sixth page of the Banner Wizard prompts you to define the transition to use for the text. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	Choose a transition from the “Transition Name” drop down list. Your choices include:

Backlight, Bouncing, Drop Shadow, Flag, Highlight, Marquee, and Wheel

•	Click the Customize button to set additional options for the customizable transitions. (See also the Related Topics links below.) Note that the Wheel effect is not customizable.

•	If there is anything about the banner that you would like to change, click the Back button to go back to the desired Wizard page.

•	To complete the Banner Wizard and display the banner in a Frames View window, click the Finish button.

RELATED TOPICS

 Backlight

 Bouncing

 Drop Shadow

 Flag

 Highlight

 Marquee


Viewing the Resulting Animation

To see what your animated banner looks like when played, choose View > Animation, or click the View Animation button [image] on the toolbar. The Play View window will appear and the animation will play.

Closing the Play View Window

To close the Play View window, use one of the following methods:

•	Click the Close button [image] in the Play View window’s upper right corner, or

•	Double-click the file Control icon [image] in the Play View window’s upper left corner, or

•	Choose File > Close. *Note: Choosing this menu item will close both the Play View window and the Frames View window for the open animation.


Background Wizard Page


Banner Size Wizard Page


Timing Wizard Page


Text Wizard Page


Text Color Wizard Page


Backlight

The Backlight transition gives the appearance of rays of light shining through the text from the back.

The Backlight text transition is customizable.


Bouncing

The Bouncing transition moves the text across each frame, bouncing in a different direction each time the text’s bounding rectangle reaches a frame edge.

The Bouncing text transition is customizable.


Drop Shadow

The Drop Shadow transition gives the appearance of a light source moving across the text, casting a shadow.

The Drop Shadow text transition is customizable.


Flag

The Flag transition distorts the text as if it were on a flag fluttering in the wind.

The Flag text transition is customizable.


Highlight

The Highlight transition gives the appearance of a light source moving across the text.

The Highlight text transition is customizable.


Marquee

The Marquee transition simply slides the text across the frame as though it were on a theater marquee.

The Marquee text transition is customizable.


Wheel

The Wheel transition places the text in a circular pattern and rotates it around the circle.

You cannot customize the Wheel text transition.


Transition Wizard Page


Using the Backlight Text Effect Dialog Box

The Backlight Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the Rendering options area:

•	Adjust the “Number samples” slider to the desired setting. Adjusting it to the left provides faster rendering but lower quality. Adjusting it to the right provides better quality but slower rendering.

•	Adjust the “Light intensity” slider to the desired setting. Adjusting it to the left provides the dimmest intensity. Adjusting it to the right provides the brightest intensity.

•	Adjust the “Air absorptivity” slider to the desired setting. Adjusting it to the left provides longer rays of light “projecting” from the text. Adjusting it to the right provides shorter rays of light “projecting” from the text.

•	Adjust the “Flare width” slider to the desired setting. Adjusting it to the left provides a smaller flaring of the light. Adjusting it to the right provides a larger flaring of the light.

•	The current light color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your text color.

In the Light movement & text position area:

•	Use the cursor to adjust the light source direction line. The green end defines where the light source starts; the red end defines where the light source ends. Lengthen or shorten the light source direction line as desired.

•	If the “Center text” check box is marked, the bounding box representing the text will always be centered in the frame. If you do not want the text centered, unmark this check box and use the cursor to move the bounding box to the desired position.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Bounce Text Effect Dialog Box

The Bounce Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Adjust the “Vertical speed” slider to the desired setting. This controls the speed of the vertical text bouncing.

•	Adjust the “Horizontal speed” slider to the desired setting. This controls the speed of the hozizontal text bouncing.

•	Click a dot position inside the “Initial text position” area to set the starting point for the text.

•	If you always want the text to be visible in the animation, mark the “Always use contrasting color for text” check box. This will modify the text color so it will be seen against similar colors in the animation.


Using the Drop Shadow Text Effect Dialog Box

The Drop Shadow Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the Text position area:

•	Mark the “Center text” check box if you always want the text centered in the frame. Marking this check box will make the “Text left” and “Text top” edit boxes inactive.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text left” edit box to set a pixel value for the left edge of the text’s bounding box.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text top” edit box to set a pixel value for the top edge of the text’s bounding box.

In the Light movement area:

•	Use the “Light start x” edit box to set a pixel value for the starting x coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light start y” edit box to set a pixel value for the starting y coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light end x” edit box to set a pixel value for the ending x coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light end y” edit box to set a pixel value for the ending y coordinate of the light source.

In the Light properties area:

•	Use the “Shadow size” edit box to set a percentage value for the text shadow in relation to the text.

•	Use the “Shadow intensity” edit box to set a value for the shadow intensity in relation to the text.


Using the Flag Text Effect Dialog Box

The Flag Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the Text position area:

•	Mark the “Center text” check box if you always want the text centered in the frame. Marking this check box will make the “Text left” and “Text top” edit boxes inactive.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text left” edit box to set a pixel value for the left edge of the text’s bounding box.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text top” edit box to set a pixel value for the top edge of the text’s bounding box.

In the Wave properties area:

•	Use the “Wave angle” edit box to set a angle for the wave. Valid values range from –180 degrees to 180 degrees.

•	Use the “Distortion angle” edit box to set an angle by which the “Wave angle” value will be distorted. Valid values range from –180 degrees to 180 degrees.

•	Use the “Wavelength” edit box to set a value for the smoothness of the waves. Lower values result in a more broken up look to the text. Higher values result in a smoother, more readable look to the text. Valid values range from 1 to whichever is greater: the pixel height or pixel width of the text.

•	Use the “Wave Height” edit box to set a height value for the waves. Valid values range from 1 to whichever is greater: the pixel height or pixel width of the text.


Using the Highlight Text Effect Dialog Box

The Highlight Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the Text position area:

•	Mark the “Center text” check box if you always want the text centered in the frame. Marking this check box will make the “Text left” and “Text top” edit boxes inactive.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text left” edit box to set a pixel value for the left edge of the text’s bounding box.

•	For uncentered text, use the “Text top” edit box to set a pixel value for the top edge of the text’s bounding box.

In the Light movement area:

•	Use the “Light start x” edit box to set a pixel value for the starting x coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light start y” edit box to set a pixel value for the starting y coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light end x” edit box to set a pixel value for the ending x coordinate of the light source.

•	Use the “Light end y” edit box to set a pixel value for the ending y coordinate of the light source.

In the Light properties area:

•	The current light color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the light color.

•	Use the “Flare width” edit box to set how wide you wish the light flare to be.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Marquee Text Effect Dialog Box

The Marquee Text Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Mark the “Center text vertically” check box if you want the text vertically centered in the frame. This will make the “Text top” edit box unavailable.

•	If the “Center text vertically” check box is not marked, use the “Text top” edit box to define a pixel value for the top of the text.


Backlight Text Effect Dialog Box


Bounce Text Effect Dialog Box


Drop Shadow Text Effect Dialog Box


Flag Text Effect Dialog Box


Highlight Text Effect Dialog Box


Marquee Text Effect Dialog Box


Modifying an Animation

[info here]


Moving Around an Animation

There are a number of ways to move among animation frames, including the following:

•	Using the Go To Frame feature

•	Using the horizontal scroll bar in the animation’s Frames View window

•	Using the left and right arrow keys on the keyboard

Also, if you are zoomed in enough, a vertical scroll bar will appear in each frame.

Using the Go To Frame Feature

The Go To Frame feature allows you to move directly to a specified frame. Use this feature as follows:

1.	Choose the Go To Frame menu item using one of the following methods:

•	Choose Edit > Go To Frame

•	Choose Go to Frame from the Animation context menu

The Go To Frame dialog box will appear.

2.	Use this dialog box to select a frame to view.

 Using the Go To Frame Dialog Box

Using the Horizontal Scroll Bar

To move through an animation quickly, place the cursor over the slider button inside the horizontal scroll bar, and then drag the button left or right. This is generally the fastest way to move among a large number of frames. Note that you can also click the left scroll button or the right scroll button to move left or right one frame at a time.

Using the Vertical Scroll Bar

If you are sufficiently zoomed in enough such that the height of the frames exceeds the height of the Frame View window, a vertical scroll bar will appear. You can then use this scroll bar to move a frame’s view up and down.

Using the Arrow Keys

To move through an animation one frame at a time, press the left or right arrow key on the keyboard. The current frame changes in synch with the arrow key pressed. For example, if frame 3 is the current frame, pressing the right arrow key will make frame 4 the current frame.

Using the Home and End Keys

To go to the first animation frame, press the <Home> key. To go to the last animation frame, press the <End> key.


Using the Go To Frame Dialog Box

Use the Go To Frame dialog box as follows:

•	In the “Frame number” edit box, enter the frame number you wish to view, and then click OK. Note that the frame you move to does not automatically become the currently selected frame.


Using the Undo Feature

The Undo feature removes a modification or action you have just performed. Be aware that you cannot undo any modification that has been saved, nor can this feature undo changing the filename or file format.

After modifying the file and before saving it, you can undo a modification using any of these methods:

•	Choosing Edit > Undo

•	Clicking the Undo button [image] on the toolbar

•	Using the keyboard shortcut <Ctrl> + <Z>

•	Choosing Undo in the Frame context menu

Using Undo will return the file to its state prior to the most recent operation. The number of operations you can undo depends on the settings in the “Undo” tab in the General Program Preferences dialog box. Refer to the link below for more information on using this tab.

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Undo Preferences

 Reverting to the Previously Saved File

 Using the Redo Feature


Empyting the Clipboard

When you use the Cut and Copy functions, the data you have cut or copied is placed on the Windows clipboard— an area of your computer’s memory used for temporary storage. You can then paste data from the clipboard to an animation. If the amount of data on the clipboard is very large, it can consume large amounts of memory and slow down your computer.

To empty (erase) the data in the clipboard, choose Edit > Empty Clipboard. Note, however, that this will remove the clipboard contents, making the data unavailable for pasting.

When you choose to exit Animation Shop with data still on the clipboard, you can choose to be prompted whether you wish to leave the data on the clipboard. Set this option in the Miscellaneous tab in General Program Preferences.

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting Miscellaneous Preferences


Selecting Frames

Select an individual frame by clicking on it with the arrow tool [image].

To select a consecutive series of frames, click the first frame in the series, hold down the <Shift> key, and then click the last frame in the series— all frame in between will be selected.

To select every frame in the animation, choose Edit > Select All.

To select non-consecutive frames, click the first frame, hold down the <Ctrl> key, and then click the other frames you wish to select.

DESELECTING FRAMES

You can deselect any selected frame by clicking on it with the arrow tool.

To deselect all selected frames, choose Edit > Select None.


Duplicating Frames

You can quickly duplicate a frame or series of frames using the Duplicate command as described below.

1.	Select the frame or frames you want to duplicate. Note that if you are selecting multiple frames, they do not have to be adjacent.

2.	Choose the Duplicate command using one of these methods:

•	Choose Edit > Duplicate, or

•	Click the Duplicate button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Right-click inside a frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Duplicate

3.	The duplicated frame(s) will be inserted directly after the last selected frame.


Inserting Frames

There are two basic ways to insert frames into an animation. You can insert empty frames, or frames from another animation or image. This is described in the “How Do I” section of this help file. Choose one of the topics below to go to that section:

 Inserting Empty Frames

 Inserting Animation or Image Frames


Reversing Frames

You can reverse the order of all frames in the animation or selected frames as follows:

1.	Select two or more frames. The frames do not have to be in a series (for example, you could reverse just frames 1 and 5).

2.	Choose Animation > Reverse Frames. The order of the selected frames will be reversed.


Flipping Frames

You can flip a selected frame or frames vertically as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s) to flip.

2.	Choose Animation > Flip Frames. The selected frame(s) will be flipped vertically.


Mirroring Frames

You can mirror a selected frame or frames horizontally as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s) to mirror.

2.	Choose Animation > Mirror Frames. The selected frame(s) will be mirrored horizontally.


Resizing an Animation

Although the dimensions of an animation's frames are set when you initially create the animation, you can resize the frames at any time by using the Resize Animation command. You can resize the animation in a variety of ways.

Choose Animation > Resize Animation. The Resize dialog box will appear. Click the link below for details on using this dialog box.

 Using the Resize Dialog Box

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Crop Tool


Using the Resize Dialog Box

Use the Resize dialog box as described below.

Choose a Resizing Method

Your options are:

•	Pixel Size: Choose this option to resize the animation by entering new pixel values in the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes.

•	Percentage of Original: Choose this option to resize the animation by entering new percentage values in the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes.

•	Actual/Print Size: Choose this option to resize the animation by entering new values for each frame’s actual size when printed (in the drop down box on the right, choose “Inches” or “cm” for measurement units). Optionally, you can enter a printing resolution- Animation Shop will automatically set the “Width” and “Height” values. The drop down box to the right of the resolution edit box gives you the option of “Pixels / inch” or “Pixels / cm”. Note that the print dimensions and the print resolution are linked.

Choose a Pixel Resizing Type

In the “Resize Type” drop down box, select one of the following methods Animation Shop will use to resize the animation pixels.

•	Smart size: This method chooses the best algorithm based on the current animation characteristics.

•	Bilinear resample: This method resizes each frame’s pixels by applying a similar method as the Bicubic resample method below. Bilinear resampling is ideal for animations containing photo-realistic images and images that are irregular or complex.

•	Bicubic resample: This method uses a process called interpolation to minimize the raggedness normally associated with resizing an image. As applied here, interpolation smoothes out rough spots by estimating how the "missing" pixels should appear, and then filling them with the appropriate color. Bicubic resampling produces better results when you are enlarging animations containing photo-realistic images and with images that are irregular or complex.

•	Pixel resize: This method duplicates or removes pixels as necessary to achieve the desired width and height for the animation. Pixel resize is ideal when used with animations containing hard-edged images.

Aspect Ratio

To always maintain the animation's original aspect ratio, mark the "Maintain aspect ratio" check box and use the default value n to 1, where n is the aspect ratio of the original width compared to the original height. To allow for nonsymmetrical resizing, you can either enter a value for n other than the default, or choose to not mark this check box.


Deleting Frames

You can delete selected frames from the animation as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s) to delete.

2.	Do one of the following:

•	Click the Delete button [image] on the toolbar

•	Choose Edit > Delete

•	Press <Ctrl> + <X>

•	Press the <Delete> key (not the <Del> key on the numeric keypad)

Note that you can also use the Cut feature to remove the frame(s) from the animation and place them on the clipboard.


Changing Frame Properties

Change frame properties by using the Frame Properties dialog box. This dialog box contains two tabs, labeled “Display Time” and “Comments”. To access the Frame Properties dialog box, select at least one frame and then do one of the following:

•	Choose Animation > Frame Properties, or

•	Right-click anywhere inside the filmstrip border to display the Frame context menu, then choose Properties.

Using the Display Time Tab

In the “Display time” field of the Display Time tab, set the desired display time and then click OK. Valid values range from 1 to 99,999. Setting the value to 100, for example, will display the frame for one second.

Using the Comments Tab

Use the Comments tab by clicking inside the text entry area and typing comments or notes (such as copyright or author information) related to the selected frame.


Changing Animation Properties

Change animation properties by using the Animation Properties dialog box. This dialog box contains three tabs, labeled “Looping”, “Comments”, and “Canvas Color”. To access the Animation Properties dialog box, do one of the following:

•	Choose Animation > Animation Properties, or

•	Right-click anywhere outside the filmstrip border to display the Animation context menu, then choose Properties.

Using the Looping Tab

Use the Looping tab as follows:

•	Choose the “Repeat the animation indefinitely” option to continuously cycle the animation until you manually stop it (see the Note below).

•	Choose the “Play it n times” option, and then enter a value for n in the edit box, to play the animation the specified number of times.

•	Note: Not all internet browsers currently support the loop feature.

Using the Comments Tab

Use the Comments tab by clicking inside the text entry area and typing comments or notes (such as copyright or author information) related to the animation.

Using the Canvas Color Tab

Use the Canvas Color tab as follows:

•	Choose the “Transparent” option to have a transparent canvas color.

•	Select the “Opaque” option to have a non-transparent canvas color. The current canvas color appears in the color box. Left-click inside this color box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this color box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. Select the new canvas color using either of these dialog boxes.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Viewing Your Animation

You can see what your animation will look like when played by doing one of the following:

•	Click the Play View button [image] on the toolbar

•	Choose View > Animation.

The animation will play in a Play View window. You can stop the animation in any of the following ways:

•	Click the Play View button again

•	Choose View > Animation again

•	Click the Close button [image] in the upper right corner of the animation’s Play View window.


Culling Frames

The Cull Animation feature provides a useful way to remove frames that you might consider unnecessary or redundant. This can be helpful to reduce the size of your animation when it contains a large number of frames, many of which are very similar and can be removed without dramatically affecting the look of the animation when it is played. Use the Cull Animation feature as follows.

1.	Select multiple frames from which you can safely remove some of them, or do not select any frames in the animation.

2.	Choose Animation > Cull Animation. The Cull Animation dialog box will appear. (See the Related Topic below.)

3.	Make your selections in the Cull Animation dialog box to remove specified frames, and then click OK.

The frames will be removed from the animation.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Cull Animation Dialog Box


Using the Cull Animation Dialog Box

Use the Cull Animation dialog box as follows:

•	In the “Remove 1 frame for every n frames” edit box, enter a value for n to set the number of frames to remove from the candidate frames.

Note that listed below this edit box are the number of candidate frames, along with the number of frames removed and the number of frames remaining after the culling operation. These last two figures are automatically updated as you set the value for n.


Cull Animation Dialog Box


Animation Properties - Comments Tab


Animation Properties - Canvas Color Tab


Animation Properties - Looping Tab


Frame Properties Dialog Box


Frame Properties - Display Time Tab


Frame Properties - Comments Tab


Cull Animation Dialog Box


Using the Copy Feature

The Copy feature is used to copy one or more frames to the clipboard. You can then paste the frame(s) into another animation or another application. Use the Copy command as follows:

1.	Select the frame or frames you want to copy.

2.	Copy the frame(s) to the clipboard using one of the following methods:

•	Click the Copy button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose Edit > Copy, or

•	Press the keyboard combination <Ctrl> + <C>, or

•	Right-click inside an animation frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Copy

The frame(s) will be copied to the clipboard.


Using the Cut Feature

The Cut feature is used to remove one or more frames from an animation and place them on the clipboard. You can then paste the frame(s) into another animation or another application. Use the Cut command as follows:

1.	Select the frame or frames you want to cut.

2.	Cut the frame(s) from the animation and place them on the clipboard using one of the following methods:

•	Click the Cut button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose Edit > Cut, or

•	Press the keyboard combination <Ctrl> + <X>, or

•	Right-click inside an animation frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Cut

The frame(s) will be removed from the animation and placed on the clipboard.


Using the Paste Into Selected Frame Feature

The Paste Into Selected Frame feature is used to merge a frame from the clipboard into another frame either in the same animation or in a different animation. After it is pasted, the source frame (the frame you copied or cut to the clipboard) will use the properties of the target frame- this is useful to know when the source frame and target frame have different dimensions. Use the Paste Into Selected Frame feature as follows:

1.	Select the frame you want to paste (the source frame).

2.	Cut or copy the frame to the clipboard by using the Cut or Copy command.

3.	Select the target frame into which you want to paste the frame on the clipboard.

4.	Paste the clipboard frame into the target frame using one of the following methods:

•	Click the Paste Into Selected Frame button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose Edit > Paste > Into Selected Frame, or

•	Press the keyboard combination <Ctrl> + <E>, or

•	Right-click inside the target frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Paste > Into Selected Frame

The source frame will be affected in the following ways:

•	It will use the properties of the target frame.

•	If necessary, it will be symmetrically resized to fit inside the target frame, and it will be positioned beginning in the top left corner.


Using the Paste As New Frames Feature

The Paste as New Frames feature is used to place a frame or frames from the clipboard to another animation or into the same animation. (The latter usage would be helpful, for example, if you wanted to use the same frame or frames in another part of the same animation.) Use the Paste As New Frames feature as follows:

1.	Select the frame or frames you want to paste.

2.	Cut or copy them to the clipboard by using the Cut or Copy command.

3.	Select the frame in front of which you want to paste the frames you cut or copied to the clipboard.

4.	Paste the clipboard frames as new frames using one of the following methods:

•	Click the Paste As New Frames button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose Edit > Paste > As New Frames, or

•	Press the keyboard combination <Ctrl> + <L>, or

•	Right-click inside an animation frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Paste > As New Frames

The frames will be pasted into the animation in the order they appeared in their source animation. Note also that the pasted frames will use the frame properties of the animation they are merged into.


Using the Paste As New Animation Feature

The Paste As New Animation features allows you to create a new animation from any of the following types of data residing on the clipboard:

•	A frame or frames cut or copied to the clipboard

•	Any image file that Animation Shop can open (including Windows bitmaps and metafiles)

For example, you could copy all or part of a Paint Shop Pro image to the clipboard, and then use the Paste As New Animation feature to create a new single-frame animation. Or you could copy some text from a Microsoft Word document and create a new single-frame animation consisting of just the text.

Paste the clipboard contents as a new animation using any of the following methods:

•	Click the Paste As New Animation button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Choose Edit > Paste > As New Animation, or

•	Press the keyboard combination <Ctrl> + <V>, or

•	Right-click inside an animation frame to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Paste > As New Animation, or

•	Right-click on any empty part of the workspace to display the Paste As New Animation command, and then choose this command. Note that if the clipboard contents are not recognized by Animation Shop as a valid image file, this command will be greyed out (unavailable).


Using the Propagate Paste Feature

The Propagate Paste feature allows you to drag-and-drop one or more source frames into target frames all having the same selection state (either the target frames are all selected or all unselected). This feature is actually a “mode,” meaning you are in this mode until you turn it off. You can use this feature on the same animation or between multiple animations. Propagate Paste is a very useful feature when you want to copy or move a frame into a number of target frames simultaneously. Use the Propagate Paste feature as follows:

1.	Click the Propagate Paste button [image] on the toolbar to “turn on” this mode. You will be in Propagate Paste mode until you click the button again to turn it off. (When it is turned on, the Propagate Paste button appears recessed in the toolbar; when it is turned off, the button appears flat on the toolbar.)

2.	Select the source frame(s) and use drag-and-drop to place it/them onto the first target frame. Be aware of these factors when using drag-and-drop:

•	Carefully consider the mouse pointer position when you begin dragging the source frame. This can affect how much of the source frame will appear in the target frames if the source frame is larger than the target frames.

•	Hold down the <Ctrl> key while dragging to copy the source frame(s)

•	Hold down the <Shift> key while dragging to move the source frame(s)

3.	Position the source frame(s) as desired in the first target frame and release the mouse button. The source frame(s) will be placed in the same position in each frame that has the same selection state as the first target frame.


Arranging Frame View Windows

When you have multiple animations open in the workspace, you can arrange their windows by using the following Window menu items:

•	Cascade: Choose Window > Cascade to stack the frame view windows from the upper left corner of the workspace toward the lower right corner.

•	Tile: Choose Window > Tile to align the frame view windows in rows and/or columns, depending on the number of open animations and the current size of the workspace.

Arranging Animation File Icons

When multiple animation files have been reduced to icons, you can arrange the icons along the bottom of the workspace. To do so, choose Window > Arrange Icons.

Displaying Another Open Animation

Open animations are listed at the bottom of the Window menu. The currently active animation will have a check mark to the left of the file name.

To make an inactive animation the active animation, select its file name from the list in the Window menu.


Using the Redo Feature

The Redo feature re-applies the modification or action on which you have used the Undo feature.

To redo a modification that has been undone, use one of the following methods:

•	Choose Edit > Redo

•	Click the Redo button [image] on the toolbar

•	Use the keyboard shortcut <Ctrl> +  <Alt> + <Z>

•	Choose Redo in the Frame context menu

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Undo Feature

 Reverting to the Previously Saved File


Go To Frame Dialog Box


Scroll Bar Slider Button


Resize Dialog Box


Vertical Scroll Bar


Modifying an Animation Frame

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Overview

Animation Shop offers a variety of tools you can use to modify and enhance animation frames. The options related to using the tool palette tools appear in the style bar, and the colors associated with the tools are specified in the color palette.

Click a topic below for more details, or use the Next (>>) and Previous (<<) buttons in this Help file to browse the topics.

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Using the Arrow Tool

 Using the Zoom Tool

 Using the Registration Mark Tool

 Using the Crop Tool

 Using the Dropper Tool

 Using the Paintbrush Tool

 Using the Eraser Tool

 Using the Flood Fill Tool

 Using the Text Tool

 Using the Line Tool

 Using the Shape Tool


Using the Paintbrush Tool

The Paintbrush tool is used to paint on your animation frames. Use the Paintbrush tool as described below.

1.	Select the Paintbrush tool [image] from the tool palette. When you move the cursor over the image, the cursor shape changes to a brush.

2.	Set the paintbrush tool’s style bar options to the desired settings as described below.

•	Zoom drop down box: Choose a magnification level for working on the frame. The options for zooming in range from 2:1 (two times the normal view) to 32:1 (thirty two times the normal view). The options for zooming out range from 1:2 (one half the normal view) to 1:24 (one twenty-fourth the normal view).

•	Width edit box: Set the width of the paintbrush. Valid values range from 1 to 200. Note that the brush shape is round.

3.	Position the tip of the paintbrush cursor [image] where you want to begin painting, and then drag with the left mouse button to paint using the foreground color; drag with the right mouse button to paint using the background color. To choose different foreground and background colors, use the color palette and the active colors panel as necessary. (See the Related Topics below.)

Drawing Lines with the Paintbrush Tool

Although the Line tool is intended for this purpose, you can also use the Paintbrush tool to draw lines on your animation frames. To do so:

1.	Select the paintbrush tool from the tool palette.

2.	Choose the color you wish to paint with.

3.	Position the tip of the paintbrush cursor where you want to begin the line, then left-click once (to use the foreground color) or right-click once (to use the background color).

4.	Hold down the <Shift> key and position the cursor where you want to end this line segment.

5.	To draw just one line segment, click once more with the appropriate mouse button from step 3 and then release the <Shift> key. Continue holding down the <Shift> key and continue to click to create additional line segments.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Using the Line Tool


Using the Eraser Tool

The Eraser tool is used to replace pixels in a frame with the canvas color. Use the Eraser tool as described below.

1.	Select the Eraser tool [image] from the tool palette.

2.	Set the Style Bar options to the desired settings as described below.

•	Zoom drop down box: Choose a magnification level for working on the frame. The options for zooming in range from 2:1 (two times the normal view) to 32:1 (thirty two times the normal view). The options for zooming out range from 1:2 (one half the normal view) to 1:24 (one twenty-fourth the normal view).

•	Width edit box: Set the width of the eraser. Valid values range from 1 to 200.

3.	To erase the pixels, position the tip of the cursor [image] over the frame area you wish to erase, and then hold down either mouse button and drag the mouse. Release the mouse button when finished. The pixels will be replaced with the canvas color.

Erasing in Straight Lines

You can also use the Eraser tool to erase in straight lines on your animation frames. To do so:

1.	Select the Eraser tool from the tool palette.

2.	Choose the color you wish to erase with.

3.	Position the tip of the eraser cursor where you want to begin the line, and then click either mouse button.

4.	Hold down the <Shift> key and position the cursor where you want to end this line segment.

5.	To erase just one line segment, click once more and then release the <Shift> key. Continue holding down the <Shift> key and continue to click to erase additional line segments.

RELATED TOPIC

 Selecting a Canvas Color


Using the Flood Fill Tool

The Flood Fill tool is used to fill an area on a frame with a color. Use the Flood Fill tool as described below.

1.	Select the Flood Fill tool [image] from the tool palette.

2.	Set the Style Bar options to the desired settings as described below:

•	Match Mode drop down box: Choose the type of image pixels to fill. Choose “RGB value”, “Hue”, or “Brightness” to fill only the image pixels that match the RGB value, Hue value, or Brightness value of the pixels beneath the crosshair of the Flood Fill cursor. Choose “None” to fill all pixels in the frame with the color.

•	Tolerance edit box: Set the desired tolerance value to determine how close a pixel color must be to the pixel you click on in order to be overwritten. Valid values range from 0 (no tolerance – only pixels with a perfect match will be filled) to 200 (full tolerance – all contiguous pixels will be filled.

•	To Canvas Color check box: Mark this check box to use the animation’s canvas color as the fill color. If the canvas is set to transparent, overwritten pixels will be transparent. If you do not mark this check box, pixels will be filled with the appropriate active color (the foreground or background color).

3.	To fill the pixels, position the crosshair of the Flood Fill cursor [image] over the frame area you wish to fill, and then left-click to fill with the foreground color, or right-click to fill with the background color. Note: If the “To Canvas Color” check box is marked, clicking either mouse button will fill pixels with the canvas color instead of the foreground or background color.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Using the Paintbrush Tool


Using the Text Tool

The Text tool is used to add non-animated text to a frame. You can only add text one frame at a time. Unlike other tool palette tools, options for the Text tool are set in a dialog box, not on the Style Bar. Add text to a frame as follows:

1.	Select the Text tool [image] from the tool palette. When moved into the frame the cursor’s shape will change to this:

2.	To determine text placement and text color, left-click (to use the foreground color) or right-click (to use the background color) on the frame. The Add Text dialog box will appear. The position you click will be the horizontal and vertical center of the text block entered in the Add Text dialog box.

3.	Use the Add Text dialog box (see the Related Topic below) to enter the text and set text options.

4.	Click the OK button. The text will appear on the frame in the location you selected.

•	Note: If you wish to change the text position or change the text color, use the Undo command and go back to step 2. You can also use the flood fill tool to change the text color.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Add Text Dialog Box

 Inserting a Text Effect

 Applying a Text Effect

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Color Palette

There are two color dialog boxes from which you can select and define colors:

Jasc Color Dialog Box
Standard Windows Color Dialog box

When you first start up Animation Shop, the Jasc color dialog box is the default. You can change this by choosing to use the standard Windows color dialog box (refer to Selecting a Color Dialog box).

Choose the color dialog box below for instructions on using it to select and define colors.

 Using the Jasc Color Dialog Box

 Using the Standard Windows Color Dialog Box

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

The upper half of the Recent Colors dialog box displays the following ten standard colors: red, green, blue, dark grey, light grey, cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and white. The lower half displays the ten colors you have used most recently. After you have selected more than ten colors, each new color replaces the earliest color selected. Use this dialog box as described below.

•	To select one of the colors, including either the foreground or background color, left-click the desired color box. The dialog box closes, and the color appears in the appropriate box in the active colors panel. *Note: Hold the cursor over a color to display a popup hint listing that color’s RGB values.

•	Click the “Other” button to open the Color dialog box.

•	To close the Recent Colors dialog box without using any of the colors, click the Close button [image] in the dialog box’s upper right corner, or click anywhere outside the dialog box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette


Using the Jasc Color Dialog Box

Accessing the Color Dialog Box

To display the Color dialog box, click on either the foreground color or the background color in the Active Colors panel. The Color dialog box will appear, and the foreground/background color will appear in the Color dialog box’s current color information area. You can also display the Color dialog box by left-clicking inside any color box that appears in an Animation Shop dialog.

Selecting One of the Standard Colors

In the upper left corner of the Jasc Color dialog box are 48 basic colors that are preset and cannot be modified. The first column displays the three primary additive colors and the three primary subtractive colors. The last column displays six lightness levels (grey levels). In between are the additive and subtractive primary colors at increasing lightness levels from left to right.

To select one of these 48 basic colors:

1.	Move the cursor over the desired color square in the Basic Colors section of the dialog box (the cursor shape changes to a dropper). Click the desired color’s square. The selected color, its RGB and HSL values, and its HTML code appear in the Current Color information area.

2.	Click OK to close the Color dialog box. The new color appears in the appropriate box of the Active Colors panel.

Using the Color Wheel and Saturation/Lightness Box

The Color Wheel modifies the current color’s red, green, blue, and hue values. To adjust these values, place the cursor inside the Color Wheel. Its shape will change to the Dropper. Click on the desired Color Wheel area, or place the cursor over the small white circle inside the Color Wheel and drag the circle to the desired value.

The Saturation/Lightness box modifies the current color’s red, green, blue, saturation, and lightness values. To adjust these values, place the cursor inside the Saturation/Lightness box. Its shape will change to the Dropper. Click on the desired Saturation/Lightness box area, or place the cursor over the small white circle inside the Saturation/Lightness box and drag the circle to the desired value.

Using the Current Color Box or the Old Color Box

The color displayed in the “Current Color” area will become the active foreground/background when you click OK and close this dialog box.

The color displayed in the “Old Color” box represents the foreground/background color you are modifying. If you decide instead that you want to use the old color, simply left-click the “Old Color” box (this will update the “Current Color” area) and then click OK.

Creating a Custom Color

There are 16 custom color squares that you can fill with colors of your choice. Fill an empty square or replace a custom color square with a new color as described below.

1.	Use any combination of the Color Wheel, the Saturation/Lightness box, or any of the Current Color information area edit boxes to customize the current color.

2.	Click the Add Custom button. The color will appear in the “Custom Colors” area.

3.	Click the OK button. The dialog box closes and the new color appears in the appropriate box of the Active Colors panel.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Standard Windows Color Dialog Box

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Standard Windows Color Dialog Box

Accessing the Color Dialog Box

To display the Color dialog box, click on either the foreground color or the background color in the Active Colors panel. The Color dialog box will appear, and the foreground/background color will appear in the Color dialog box’s current color information area. You can also display the Color dialog box by left-clicking inside any color box that appears in an Animation Shop dialog.

Selecting a Standard Color

In the upper left corner of the the standard Windows Color dialog box are 48 standard colors that are preset and cannot be modified.

To select one of these 48 basic colors:

1.	Click the desired color’s square in the Basic Colors section of the dialog box. The selected color, its RGB and HSL values appear in the current color information area.

2.	Click OK to close the Color dialog box. The new color appears in the appropriate box of the Active Colors panel.

Using the Color Ribbon Box and Color Spectrum Box

The Color Ribbon box modifies the current color’s red, green, blue, and luminance values. To adjust these values, place the cursor inside the Color Ribbon box and click, or drag the arrowhead to the right of the box up or down as desired.

The Color Spectrum box modifies the current color’s red, green, blue, hue, and saturation values. To adjust these values, place the cursor inside the Color Spectrum box and click, or drag the crosshair pointer to the desired position.

Creating a Custom Color

There are 16 custom color squares that you can fill with colors of your choice. Fill an empty square or replace a custom color square with a new color as described below.

1.	Use any combination of the Color Ribbon box, the Color Spectrum box, or any of the current color information area edit boxes to customize the current color.

2.	Click the Add to Custom Colors button. The color will appear in the “Custom Colors” area.

3.	Click the OK button. The dialog box closes and the new color appears in the appropriate box of the Active Colors panel.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Jasc Color Dialog Box

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Selecting a Color Dialog Box

The Jasc Color dialog box is the default palette used to select and/or modify the foreground or background colors. You can, however, use the standard Windows Color dialog box. Select which color dialog box to use as follows:

1.	Choose File > Preferences > General Program Preferences. The Preferences dialog box will appear.

2.	Select the “Color Palette” tab.

3.	Do one of the following:

•	To use the standard Windows Color dialog box, mark the “Use standard Windows color picker” check box.

•	To use the Jasc Color dialog box, do not mark the “Use standard Windows color picker” check box.

4.	Click OK to close the Preferences dialog box.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Color Palette


Using the Dropper Tool

The Dropper tool is used to select a foreground or background color. The active foreground and background colors are displayed in the Active Colors panel. Use the Dropper tool as described below.

1.	Select the Dropper tool [image] from the tool palette.

2.	Move the tool over a color in an animation frame, or over the color palette. Note that the Current Color panel will simultaneously display the red, green, blue, and opacity values of the color beneath the dropper tool.

3.	Select a foreground or background color as follows:

•	To select a foreground color, left-click on the desired color in an animation frame, or the desired color in the color palette.

•	To select a background color, right-click on the desired color in an animation frame, or the desired color in the color palette.

The Active Colors panel will display the new color.

Activating the Dropper via Other Tools

You can also activate the Dropper tool by holding down the <Ctrl> key while using any of the following tools:

•	Registration Mark

•	Paintbrush

•	Eraser

•	Flood Fill

•	Text

•	Line

•	Shape

You can then use the Dropper tool as described above.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Registration Mark Tool

The Registration Mark tool is a useful way to mark a specified position on each animation frame as a visual reference aid. You could then use a tool (such as the paintbrush, line, or text tool, for example) to modify each frame in the same location. The registration mark itself does not become part of the animation when it is played or printed, and it can be cleared away at any time.

Use the Registration Mark tool as follows:

1.	Select the Registration Mark tool [image] on the toolbar.

2.	Use the tool’s Style Bar options as follows:

•	In the “Mark Style” drop down box, choose Small Cross (10 pixels across from origin to the edge), Medium Cross (20 pixels across from the origin to the edge), or Spanning Cross (spans the width of each frame). Each cross is 1 pixel wide.

•	Mark the “Auto Color” check box to override the foreground and background color settings and draw the cross in a color that contrasts the underlying color. If you do not mark the “Auto Color” check box, the cross will be the foreground color (if you left-click) or the background color (if you right-click).

3.	(*You may want to zoom in on the animation for this step). Position the crosshairs cursor at the frame position you wish to mark, and then click. That position will be marked on each frame.

Removing the Registration Mark

To remove the registration mark from the frames, click the Clear button in the Registration Mark style bar. Note that the Undo feature will not remove the registration mark from the frames.

Aligning Registration Marks

By holding down the <Shift> key and dragging selected frames from one registration-marked animation to another registration-marked animation, you can snap the centerpoint of the dragged frames’ registration mark to the centerpoint of the target frames’ registration mark. This is very useful when you want to precisely combine elements from one animation into another.


Using the Crop Tool

The Crop tool can be used to reduce the size of all animation frames, with the added effect of reducing the size of the animation file. Use the Crop tool as follows:

1.	Click the Crop tool [image] on the toolbar. The style bar will display the Crop tool buttons.

2.	At this point, you can set the size of the crop area in a number of ways:

•	(*You may want to zoom in on the animation for this step.) Position the crop tool cursor at the frame position you want to begin drawing the crop rectangle (for example, the upper left corner of the desired crop area). The crop rectangle will begin drawing from the center of the crop cursor. Using the left mouse button, drag the cursor to create the crop rectangle. The rectangle will appear in each animation frame.

•	Click the Crop button in the Style Bar to display the Crop Options dialog box. You can use this dialog box to specify the cropping area. Specify values for the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom positions. You can also click the “Surround the opaque area” button to automatically crop the frame to the least area which has all the opaque pixels in the animation. Or you can click the “Surround the animated area” button to automatically crop the frame to the least area containing pixels not constant for all frames. Note that clicking either button will update the Left, Right, Top, and Bottom pixel values in the “Current cropping rectangle” area of the dialog box.

•	Double-click on the Crop tool button in the toolbar to display the Crop Options dialog box. Use this dialog box as described above.

3.	To crop the animation, click the Crop button in the style bar, or double-click inside the crop rectangle. Each animation frame will be cropped.

If you wish to undo the crop operation, use the Undo feature.

Clearing the Crop Rectangle

To clear the crop rectangle without cropping the frame, click the Clear button in the Crop style bar.


Using the Arrow Tool

The Arrow tool [image] is normally just used to select animation frames. Methods of selecting frames are described in Selecting Frames. The Arrow tool does, however, have additional functionality as described in the sections below.

Moving a Frame

To move a frame’s contents into another frame, place the arrow inside the frame and drag (press and hold the left mouse button) the contents into the desired frame. The frame whose contents you moved will be removed from the animation, and the remaining animation frames will automatically reposition themselves.

Copying a Frame’s Opaque Pixels

You can use the arrow tool to duplicate a frame’s contents. To do so, hold down the <Ctrl> key and then drag the frame’s contents into another frame. Other methods for doing this are described in Duplicating Frames.

Creating a New Animation

You can create a new animation by using a frame or frames from the current animation. To do so, select a frame or frames and drag them onto the workspace. If you do not hold down the <Ctrl> key while dragging the frame(s), the frame(s) will be removed from the current animation. If you hold down <Ctrl> while dragging, you are essentially copying the frame(s) to create the new animation. Other methods for creating a new animation are described in Creating a New Animation.

Accessing the Context Menus

The context menus contain easily accessible commands for modifying and manipulating frames or animations, as well as editing frame and animation properties. There are two context menus: the Frame context menu, and the Animation context menu. The illustration below shows where you need to right-click to display each context menu.


Using the Zoom Tool

The Zoom tool [image] is used to zoom in or out on an animation. To use the tool, select it from the tool palette, move the cursor onto the animation, and then left-click to zoom in; or right-click to zoom out. The current zoom level will be reflected in the Zoom indicator on the style bar.

Style Bar Option

The Zoom indicator on the style bar displays the current zoom level. Normal zoom level is 1:1. You can also use this to choose a magnification level for the current animation. The options for zooming in range from 2:1 (two times the normal view) to 32:1 (thirty two times the normal view). The options for zooming out range from 1:2 (one half the normal view) to 1:24 (one twenty-fourth the normal view).

View Menu Options

The View menu contains several options for setting the zoom level, including:

•	Normal View (1:1) – sets the zoom level to 1:1.

•	Zoom In By 1 – zooms in one more level from the current level.

•	Zoom In By 5 – zooms in 5 more levels from the current level.

•	Zoom Out By 1 – zooms out 1 more level from the current level.

•	Zoom Out By 5 – zooms out 5 more levels from the current level.


Strikeout Text Effect

Choosing this text effect places a line through the text.


Underline Text Effect

Choosing this text effect places a line underneath the text.


Antialias Text Effect

Choosing this text effect softens jagged character edges by using shades of the text's color. This effect is only available for grey scale images and images with 8-bit (256 colors) or greater color depth.


Using the Line Tool

The Line tool is used to draw straight lines as well as Bezier curves. Use the Line tool as described below.

Drawing Straight Lines

Draw straight lines as described below.

1.	Select the Line tool [image] from the tool palette.

2.	Set the Style Bar options to the desired settings as described below:

•	Line Type drop down box: Choose “Normal” to draw standard straight lines. (To draw Bezier curves, refer to the section below.)

•	Width edit box: Set the pixel width for the line. Valid values range from 1 to 100.

•	Antialias check box: Mark this check box to make line edges appear smoother.

3.	To draw a line, position the crosshair center of the Line tool cursor [image] where you want to begin the line, and then drag with the mouse button to the where you want to end the line. Release the mouse button.

•	Drag with the left mouse button to draw with the foreground color.

•	Drag with the right mouse button to draw with the background color.

To draw lines in 45 degree increments, hold down the <Shift> key while dragging the mouse.

Drawing Bezier Curves

Draw a Bezier curve as described below.

1.	Select the Line tool [image] on the tool palette.

2.	Set the Style Bar options to the desired settings as described below:

•	Line Type drop down box: Choose “Bezier” to draw Bezier curves.

•	Width edit box: Set the pixel width for the curve. Valid values range from 1 to 100.

•	Antialias check box: Mark this check box to make curve edges appear smoother.

3.	To draw a Bezier curve, position the crosshair center of the Line tool cursor [image] where you want to begin the curve, and then drag with the mouse button to the where you want to end the curve. Release the mouse button. A line will appear as you drag the mouse.

•	Drag with the left mouse button to draw with the foreground color.

•	Drag with the right mouse button to draw with the background color.

4.	Create the curve by clicking away from the line and dragging the mouse to the simultaneously shape the curve.

•	To create a semi-circular curve, click the mouse where you want to position the top of the curve, and drag the mouse to shape the curve.

•	To create an S-shaped curve, click and drag once on both sides of the line.

5.	Click again to set the curve shape. The appropriate color will be applied.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Using the Paintbrush Tool


Using the Shape Tool

The Shape tool is used to draw rectangles, squares, ellipses, and circles. Use the Shape tool as described below.

1.	Select the Shape tool [image] from the tool palette.

2.	Set the Style Bar options to the desired settings as described below.

•	Shape drop down box: Choose the desired shape, either “Rectangle”, “Square”, “Ellipse”, or “Circle.”

•	Style drop down box: Choose “Outlined” to draw just the outline of the shape. Choose “Filled” to fill the shape with either the foreground or background color.

•	Outline Width edit box: Set the pixel width for the shape outline. Valid values range from 1 to 100. This edit box is disabled when the “Filled” shape style is chosen.

•	Antialias check box: Mark this check box to make the shape’s outline appear smoother.

3.	To draw the shape, position the crosshair center of the Shape tool cursor [image] where you want to begin drawing. If you are drawing a rectangle or a square, drag from one corner to the opposite corner. If you are drawing an ellipse or a circle, drag from the center outward. An outline of the shape will appear as you drag the mouse.

•	Drag with the left mouse button to draw with the foreground color.

•	Drag with the right mouse button to draw with the background color.

4.	Release the mouse button when the shape reaches the desired size. If you are drawing a filled shape, the shape will be filled with the appropriate color when you release the mouse button.

Notes About Drawing

Be aware of the following points when drawing shapes:

•	If you choose the Rectangle or Ellipse shape, you can draw a square or circle by holding down the <Shift> key before drawing the shape.

•	You can draw arcs by choosing either the Ellipse or Circle shape and dragging the cursor outside the frame edges.


Using the Add Text Dialog Box

Use the Add Text dialog box as follows:

1.	Select the desired Font Attributes, Text Effects, and Alignment options:

•	Font Attributes: Select a font “Name” (typeface), “Style”, and “Size” from the list boxes provided.

•	Text Effects: Select any combination of the Strikeout, Underline, or Antialias effects by marking the check boxes.

•	Alignment: Select either the Left, Center, or Right alignment options.

2.	In the “Enter text here” box, type the text to appear in the frame. Note that a preview of the text and the selected effects appears in the “Sample” area.


Add Text Dialog Box


Preferences Dialog Box


Color Palette Preferences


Standard Windows Color Dialog Box


Jasc Color Dialog Box


Jasc Color Dialog Box - RGBHSL


Standard Windows Color Dialog Box - RGBHSL


Zoom Indicator on the Style Bar


Registration Mark Style Bar Options


Crop Options Dialog Box


Crop Tool Style Bar Buttons


Paintbrush Style Bar Options


Flood Fill Style Bar Options


Eraser Style Bar Options


Line Tool Style Bar Options


Frame Context Menu


Animation Context Menu


Shape Tool Style Bar Options


Recent Colors dialog box


Customizing Animation Shop

[like the old prefs info]


Setting General Program Preferences

The general program preferences are a number of settings and options used by Animation Shop to determine how you display and work with your animations.

You can view or change any setting in the Preferences dialog box as follows:

1.	Choose File > Preferences > General Program Preferences. The Preferences dialog box will appear. This dialog box contains a number of tabbed screens.

2.	Select the tab containing the preference information you are looking for.

For more information on using the options in each General Program Preferences tab, select one of the Preferences listed below.

 Setting Frame View Preferences

 Setting Animation Player Preferences

 Setting Transparency Preferences

 Setting Undo Preferences

 Setting Layered Files Preferences

 Setting Color Palette Preferences

 Setting Miscellaneous Preferences


Setting Frame View Preferences

Set preferences in the Frame View tab as follows:

The “Filmstrip border” color is displayed in the color box next to this option. To change the color, left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose another color.

The “Selected frames” color is displayed in the color box next to this option. To change the color, left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose another color.

The “Current selection” color is displayed in the color box next to this option. To change the color, left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose another color.

The “Display frame numbers, delay time underneath frames” check box determines whether these two items will appear below each animation frame. Mark this check box to have them displayed; unmark this check box if you do not want them displayed.

The illustration below points out filmstrip border, selected frame border, and the current selection border.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Change the Duration of a Frame


Setting Animation Player Preferences

Set the preference in the Animation Player tab as follows:

•	The “Display frame count in window under animation” check box determines whether the frame number will appear below each animation frame as it runs in a Play View window. Mark this check box to have the frame number appear; unmark this check box if you do not want the frame number to appear.


Setting Browser Preferences

Note: The Browser feature is currently not implemented in Animation Shop.

Set the preferences in the Browser tab as follows:

•	In the “Thumbnail size” area, mark the “Symmetric” check box to force the thumbnail width and height to be the same. If you wish to set a custom, non-symmetrical thumbnail size, do not mark this check box; you would then use the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes to enter custom pixel sizes.

•	In the “Selection color” area, the current highlight color used to denote a selected thumbnail appears in the color box. To change the selection color, click the color box. This will display the Color dialog box, which you can use to choose a different browser selection color.

•	Mark the “Save Browser files to disk” check box to save a file named PSPBRWSE.JBF to the folder you are browsing. As you view a folder using the Browser, Animation Shop saves the folder's image information and stores that file in the folder. When you next view the folder, the Browser reads and displays the information from the JBF file rather than the folder. This is much faster than having the Browser re-scan the folder's images. If you prefer not to have the program create and save a JBF file for each folder you browse, do not mark this check box.

•	Mark the “Automatically update the thumbnails” check box to have Animation Shop update the JBF file each time you browse the folder. By updating the JBF file, the program compares the file’s information to the images in the folder, checking for additions, deletions, and modifications, and then updates the thumbnails to reflect any changes. If you prefer not to automatically update the thumbnails, do not mark this check box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette


Setting Transparency Preferences

Set preferences in the Transparency tab as follows:

•	In the “Grid Size” drop down list, select one of the options for displaying the grid boxes used to visually represent transparency. The Preview area in the right side of the tab will display your grid size selection.

•	In the “Grid Colors” area, select one of the preset grid box color schemes in the “Scheme” drop down list. To set your own color scheme, you can choose “Custom” (or any of the other color schemes) and then set colors via the “Color 1” or “Color 2” boxes. Left-click inside the box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose a your own color. The Preview area in the right side of the tab will display your color selections.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Setting Undo Preferences

Set preferences in the Undo tab as follows:

•	The “Enable the undo/redo system” check box determines whether the Undo and Redo commands are enabled or disabled. Mark this check box to enable the Undo and Redo commands; this enables the two options below this check box. Unmark this check box to disable the Undo and Redo commands; this disables the two options below this check box

•	To set a value for the “Limit undo/redo memory usage …” option, mark this check box, and then set a value in the “Mbytes of storage per animation” edit box. The value set in this box refers to the amount of physical RAM installed in your computer. If the value you set exceeds your computer’s physical RAM, virtual memory will be used for the excess storage.

•	To set a value for the “Limit undo/redo to …” option, mark this check box, and then set a value in the “steps per open animation” edit box. This value determines how many steps you can perform in Animation Shop that can be undone or redone. For example, if you mark this check box, set the value to 3, and then perform four paint strokes, you can then undo the last three paint strokes, but not the first one. Valid values range from 1 to 99.


Setting Layered Files Preferences

Set preferences in the Layered Files tab as follows:

Choose one of the following four options:

•	Choose the “Keep layers as separate frames” option to open each layer of the multi-layer file into a separate frame. For example, if you have a 4-layer file (where the layers are A, B, C, and D), selecting this option will create an animation where the first frame will contain layer A, the second frame will contain layer B, the third frame will contain layer C, and the fourth frame will contain layer D. *Note: This is the default setting.

•	Choose the “Merge layers into a single frame” option to open the multi-layer file into one frame containing each layer. Using the example layer letters above, selecting this option will open each layer into one frame: A on top of B on top of C on top of D.

•	Choose the “Each frame contains all previous layers” option to open each layer of the multi-layer file into frames containing successive layers. Using the example layer letters above, the first frame will contain layer A, the second frame will contain layers A and B, the third frame will contain layers A, B, and C, and the fourth frame will contain layers A, B, C, and D.

•	Choose the “Each frame shows first and current layers” option to open each layer of the multi-layer file into frames containing the first and current layer. Using the example layer letters above, the first frame will contain layer A, the second frame will contain layers A and B, the third frame will contain layers A and C, and the fourth frame will contain layers A and D.

Set the “Preserve overall layer transparency” check box as follows:

•	Mark the check box to retain the transparency level set for each layer.

•	Unmark the check box to ignore each transparency level and instead set them all to 100% opaque.


Setting Color Palette Preferences

Set preferences in the Color Palette tab as described below.

Set the “Use standard Windows color picker” check box as follows:

•	Do not mark this check box if you wish to use the Jasc Color dialog box when selecting or modifying colors.

•	Mark this check box if you wish to use the standard Windows Color dialog box when selecting or modifying colors.

Choose one of the following two options:

•	Choose the “Display colors in Decimal” option to show decimal values in the Current Color panel.

•	Choose the “Display colors in Hexadecimal” option to show hexidecimal values in the Current Color panel.


Setting Miscellaneous Preferences

Set preferences in the Miscellaneous tab as follows:

•	Do not mark the “Do not ask to save changes on Window Close All” check box if you want to be prompted to save modified animations when you choose Window > Close All. Mark this check box if you do not want to be prompted to save modified animations.

•	Do not mark the “Do not ask to empty the clipboard on Exit” check box if you want to be prompted to manage the contents of the clipboard when you exit Animation Shop. Mark this check box if you do not want to be prompted to manage the clipboard contents.

•	Do not mark the “Show splash screen when application starts” check box if you do not want to see the Animation Shop splash screen when starting the program. Mark this check box if you want to see the splash screen.

•	Do not mark the “Show warning when reading PSD files containing adjustment layers” check box if you do not want to be warned when opening Photoshop files that contain adjustment layers. Mark this check box if you want to be warned when opening these files.


Understanding and Using File Associations

File associations allow you to associate (link) specific file types with Animation Shop. By associating a file type, double-clicking the file name in Windows Explorer or My Computer, for example, would automatically open up the file in Animation Shop.

When Animation Shop is first installed, you will be asked to select file types for association. The selected file types may be changed at any time using the File Format Associations dialog box. Access this dialog box by choosing File > Preferences > File Associations.


Using the File Format Associations Dialog Box

Access the File Format Associations dialog box by choosing File > Preferences > File Format Preferences. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	To select all of the file types listed on the left side dialog box, mark each file type’s check box, or click the Select All button

•	If some of the file types are selected and you want to select all of them, click the Select Unused button, or mark the remaining check boxes.

•	If you do not want any of the selected file types associated with Animation Shop, click the Remove All button.

•	To disassociate specific file types, unmark the file type’s check box.

•	To add or manage additional extensions associated with a file type, select the file type and then click the Extensions button. This will open the Extensions dialog box.


Using the Extensions Dialog Box

The Extensions dialog box allows you to add and manage additional file extensions for the specified format. This feature is useful if, for example, you want Animation Shop to recognize files with the extension “.jif” as valid GIF files. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	To specify an additional file extension to be associated with the selected file type, click the Add button. This will open the Define File Extension dialog box.

•	To remove a file extension that has been associated (via the Add button) with the selected file type, select the file extension and click the Delete button.

•	To move a file extension to the top of the Extensions list, select the extension and then click the Preferred button. This designates the extension as the primary file extension for the specified format.

•	To set the extension back to its preset defaults, click the Reset button. This will remove any extensions you have added as associations with the specified file type.


Using the Define File Extension Dialog Box

The Define File Extension dialog box allows you to add an additional file extension to be associated with the specified file type. To use this dialog box, simply type the extension in the “Define a new extension for the format” text entry box, and then click OK. The new extension will appear in the Extensions dialog box.


Setting Special File Format Preferences

The file formats listed via the menu item File > Preferences > File Format Preferences warrant special user attention for reasons specific to each file format. Most file types can be opened in Animation Shop by using the File > Open menu item. Animation Shop can correctly display these files without special intervention from you. Other file types, however, such as PCD, PostScript, and WMF, warrant special attention because they may not contain all the information Animation Shop needs to display them correctly.

Select the file type below for information on setting its preferences.

 PCD

 PostScript

 WMF


Setting FITS File Format Preferences

Note: Support for the FITS file format was removed in A.S. version 2.0. Activate this topic only if/when FITS support is again supported.

Use the FITS file format preferences dialog box as described below.

In the Pixel Translation area, choose one of the following options:

•	Choose the “Autoscale” option to automatically scale image pixels from 16-bit, 32-bit, or 64-bit grayscale to standard Jasc 8-bit grayscale format. Note that many images will require additional fine tuning (such as brightness and contrast adjustments) after applying this feature.

•	Choose the “Histogram Equalization” option to spread histogram values evenly across the entire color range. Like the Histogram Equalize feature in Paint Shop Pro, this option produces an averaging of the image’s brightness across the entire image.

Set the two remaining options as follows:

•	In the “C-Value” edit box, set a floating point constant value for FITS images. Valid values range from 0.5 to 5.0. This value adjusts the image to reduce image artifacts (“noise”).

•	Click the Reset button to set the Pixel Translation selection and the C-Value back to their respective defaults. The default Pixel Translation is “Histogram Equalization”; the default C-Value is 3.


Setting PCD File Format Preferences

Use the PCD file format preferences dialog box as follows:

•	Choose one of the seven defined sizes (expressed as pixel width by pixel height) to open a Kodak Photo-CD image in that size.

•	Choose the “Ask when loading each file” option to display this dialog box when loading a Kodak Photo-CD image; you would then select one of the available sizes.


Setting WMF File Format Preferences

Use the WMF file format preferences dialog box as described below.

In the Load Options area, choose one of the following options:

•	Choose the “Ask for size and options each time a file is opened” option to display the Meta Picture Import dialog box when opening a WMF file. Use this dialog box to enter the desired pixel width and height of the image. Note that entering a value in the Meta Picture Import dialog box’s pixel “Width” field first will automatically update the pixel “Height” field to preserve the image’s proper aspect ratio.

 Using the Meta Picture Import Dialog Box

•	Choose the “Use file header information when available” option” to have Animation Shop read the image’s header data and open the image in the appropriate size. If the necessary header data is not available, Animation Shop will open the image using the pixel width and height set below in the “Default size when header is not available” edit boxes.

Set the remaining option as follows:

•	Enter a default pixel “Width” and “Height” in the appropriate edit box to use when opening a Windows Metafile that does not contain the necessary header information.


Using the Meta Picture Import Dialog Box

When you choose to open a Windows Metafile image, the Meta Picture Import dialog box will appear if you chose the appropriate option in the WMF file format preferences dialog box. The Meta Picture Import dialog box allows you the option of opening the image using pixel dimensions that differ from the original dimensions. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	To use the original pixel dimensions (listed in the “Original size” area), simply click the OK button at the bottom of the dialog box.

•	In the “Import size” area, you can use different pixel dimensions by entering them in the “Width in pixels” and the “Height in pixels” edit boxes.

•	Mark the “Maintain original aspect ratio” check box.to automatically keep the width and height pixel values within the same aspect ratio as the original dimensions. Do not mark this check box if you wish to ignore the original aspect ratio when setting pixel values.


FITS Preferences


PCD Preferences


WMF Preferences


Frame View Preferences


Animation Player Preferences


Transparency Preferences


Undo Preferences


Layered Files Preferences


Color Palette Preferences


Miscellaneous Preferences


Jasc Color Dialog Box


Standard Windows Color Dialog Box


Current Color Panel - Decimal Values


Current Color Panel - Hexidecimal Values


File Format Associations Dialog Box


Define File Extension Dialog Box


Extensions Dialog Box


Meta Picture Import Dialog Box


Setting Integrated Edit Preferences

Note: The Integrated Edit preferences were removed from A.S. version 2.0.

Set preferences in the Integrated Edit tab as follows:

•	Choose “Offer the following two options” to have Animation Shop prompt you with a message offering the two options below when you attempt to export frames from a read-only file or restricted permissions file on a networked drive for editing in Paint Shop Pro.

•	Choose “Disable integrated editing” to disable Animation Shop’s ability to automatically update the exported animation frames you have edited in Paint Shop Pro when the frames are from a read-only file or restricted permissions file on a networked drive.

•	Choose “Do not open the file” to disable exported animation frames from being opened in Paint Shop Pro when the frames are from a read-only file or restricted permissions file on a networked drive.

RELATED TOPIC

 Export an Animation Shop File to Paint Shop Pro


Integrated Edit Preferences


Browser Preferences


Setting PostScript File Format Preferences

Use the PostScript file format preferences dialog box as described below.

•	Mark the “Prompt for size and options each time a PostScript file is opened” check box to display the “PostScript Renderer” dialog box whenever you open a PostScript file (a .ps or a .eps file) in Animation Shop. Note that if you are using this option, the settings in the “Size and options when not prompting” panel will be ignored.

 Using the PostScript Renderer Dialog Box

•	Do not mark the “Prompt for size and options each time a PostScript file is opened” check box if you wish to open PostScript files using the options in the “Size and options when not prompting” panel. These options are described below.

•	In the “Resolution” edit box, set a resolution for the image. The default setting is 72 dpi. Valid values range from 1 to 32767.

•	In the “Page Size” drop down box, choose a paper size for the image.

•	In the “Image Mode” drop down box, choose a color depth for the image. The choices are Monochrome (1-bit), Greyscale (8-bit), and RGB (24-bit).

•	Mark the “Landscape” check box if you wish to use the landscape orientation. If you do not mark this check box, the default orientation, Portrait, will be used.

•	Mark the “Antialiasing” check box to use this edge smoothing technique.

•	If the image has a transparent background, mark the “Render Transparency” check box to retain the transparency. If you do not mark this check box, an image with a transparent background will instead have a white background.

A Note About Opening and Saving PostScript Files in Animation Shop

Animation Shop can read PostScript files through Level 2 and convert them into raster information. It can convert up to 100 pages (depending on the memory in your computer), antialias the objects, and retain information on transparency. However, if you open a PostScript file in Animation Shop (or Paint Shop Pro) and then save it, the file is not identical to the original because the information has been converted into raster format.


Using the PostScript Renderer Dialog Box

If you selected the “Prompt for size and options each time a PostScript file is opened” option in the File Format Preferences dialog box, Animation Shop displays the PostScript Renderer dialog box whenever you open a Postscript file. Use this dialog box as described below.

•	In the “Resolution” edit box, set a resolution for the image. The default setting is 72 dpi. Valid values range from 1 to 32767.

•	Mark the “Landscape” check box if you wish to use the landscape orientation. If you do not mark this check box, the default orientation, Portrait, will be used.

•	In the “Page Size” drop down box, choose a paper size for the image.

•	In the “Image Mode” drop down box, choose a color depth for the image. The choices are Monochrome (1-bit), Greyscale (8-bit), and RGB (24-bit).

•	Mark the “Enable Antialiasing” check box to use this edge smoothing technique.

•	If the image has a transparent background, mark the “Enable Transparency” check box to retain the transparency. If you do not mark this check box, an image with a transparent background will instead have a white background.

Click OK to close the dialog box and open the image.

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting PostScript File Format Preferences


PostScript File Format Preferences Dialog Box


PostScript Renderer dialog box


Glossary

[glossary here]


Glossary of Terms

Additive Colors	Adjustment Layer
Alpha Channel	Antialias
Aspect Ratio	Asymmetrical curve
AVI
Background	Background Color
Background Layer	Batch Conversion
Bevel	Bezier Control Points
Bezier Curve	Bit Depth
Bitmapped Image	Blend
Blend Modes	Blur
BMP	Brightness
Browser	Burn
Canvas	Canvas size
Cap	Channel
Clone	CMYK
CODEC	Color Bleeding
Color Channel	Color Depth
Color Palette	Color Wheel
Colorize	Compression
Contour	Contract Command
Contrast	Control Palette
Crop	Cusp
Data rate	Decompression
Defloat	Deformation
Defringe	Delta Frame
DIB	Difference Frame
Diffuse	Digital Camera
Dithering	DPI
8-bit image	Effect
Em	Emboss
Error Diffusion	Expand a Selection
15-bit image	4-bit image
Feather	Filter
Flip Command	Float Command
Foreground Color	FPS
Frame	Full Screen Preview
Gamma	Gamma Correction
GIF	Gradient Fill
Greyscale Image	Grid
Grow Command
Halftone	Handles
Hexadecimal Color System	Highlight
Histogram	Histogram Equalizing
Histogram Stretching	HSL (Hue/Saturation/Lightness)
Hue	Hue Mapping
Image Arithmetic function	Image resolution
Image Palette	Image Window
INDEO	Interlacing
Interpolated Resolution
Join	JPEG
JPG File Format
Kerning	Key Frame
Layer	Leading
Lightness	Line Art
Lossless Compression	Lossy Compression
Luminance
Marquee	Mask
Matting	Metafile Formats
Midtones	Mirroring
Miter Limit	Monitor Gamma
Negative Image	Node
Noise Filter
1-bit image	Octree Palette
OLE	Opacity
Optical Resolution (scanner)	Optimized Median Cut Palette
Palette	Palette Transparency
Paletted Image	Paper Texture
Path	Photo-CD File Format
Pixel	Pixel Depth
Planar Format	PNG
Posterize	PPI
Preserve Transparency	Primary Additive Colors
Primary Subtractive Colors
QuickTime
Raster Image	RAW File Format
Replace Color command	Resample
Resize	Resolution
RGB (Red/Green/Blue)	RLE (Run Length Encoding)
Rotate
16-bit image	Saturation
Screen Capture	Seamless Pattern
Segment	Selection
Shadow	Sharpen
Shear	Skew
Smudge	Solarize
Sub-path	Subtractive Color
Source Window	Stroke
Symmetrical Curve
24-bit image	Tangent
Threshold level	Thumbnail
TIFF	Title Bar
Toggle	Tone Balance
Tool Palette	Toolbar
Transparency	Transparent Color
Transparent Selection	True Color
TWAIN
Undo Buffer	Unsharp Mask
Vector Graphic
Watermark	Workspace
Zoom


Additive Colors

Emitted color light. The color used on computer monitors. When the primary additive colors (red, green, and blue) are combined, they produce white. The opposite of additive color is subtractive color.


Adjustment Layer

A layer used to apply color corrections to the layers below it.


Alpha Channel

A greyscale channel for storing selections and masks that can be reloaded into an image.


Antialias

The blending of the pixel colors along the edges to eliminate the stair-stepping look (called "jaggies") of curved and slanted lines. This feature is commonly used with text.


Asymmetrical Curve

A vector curve that can have direction handles of differing lengths. This results in a curve that is shaped differently on each side of the node.


AVI

Stands for Audio Video Interlaced. The file format for Microsoft Windows digital video and audio. This format is cross platform compatible, allowing AVI video files to be played on other computer platforms.


Background

The "canvas" on which you create an image in an image window.


Background Layer

The bottom layer in any non-transparent image. It can be promoted to a standard layer.


Batch Conversion

A process that converts multiple image files to a single file format.


Bevel

A three-dimensional edge on an object.


Bezier Control Points

Points on a vector object that determine the shape of bezier curves.


Bezier Curve

A smooth curve with anchor points and direction handles at both ends. The Bezier curve can be reshaped by moving the direction handles.


Blend

To combine two layers or areas of an image together.


Blend Modes

Methods of combining the pixels from the current layer with the layers under it. The layers are not permanently combined, but this allows you to preview the way they will appear if combined.


Blur

Reduces areas of high contrast and softens the appearance of an image.


BMP

Stands for Bitmap. A standard Microsoft Windows image format. Supports paletted, 24-bit RGB color, and greyscale images. This format does not support alpha channels, layers or vector data.


Brightness

The amount of light in a hue-- how light or dark it is. See also Luminance.


Paint Shop Pro Browser

Windows Explorer-like interface that lets you quickly locate files and preview images.


Burn

A blend mode option that darkens an image. The lightness values of the Blend layer’s colors reduce the lightness of the underlying layers.


Canvas

The area on which an image or animation frame is displayed.


Canvas size

The size of the area within an image window that can be edited.


Cap

A shape added to the end points of a line.


Channel

Contains all of the pixel information for a single color. A greyscale image has one channel, an RGB image has three channels, and a CMYK image has four channels.


Clone

To duplicate a portion of an image.


CMYK

Stands for Cyan/Magenta/Yellow/Black. The four standard ink colors used in printing. Because of impurities in inks, cyan, magenta, and yellow produce a muddy brown when combined. Black (K) is often added. See also Subtractive Colors.


CODEC

Stands for Compression/Decompression. CODECs are algorithms used in multimedia.


Color Bleeding

An effect by which the colors of an image run and become mixed like dyes on wet cloth, causing an image loss at the edges. Error diffusion dithering causes colors to bleed from left to right.


Color Channel

See Channel.


Color Depth

The number of bits of color information available for each pixel. An 8-bit image can display 256 colors, a 16-bit image can display 65,536 colors, and a 24-bit image can display over 16.7 million colors.


Color Palette

Contains the selection of available colors and displays the active foreground and background colors. It appears on the right side of the window when you first start Paint Shop Pro or Animation Shop.


Color Wheel

The circular color spectrum located inside the Jasc Color Dialog Box, from which you can pick and create a custom color.


Colorize

Coverts an image or selection to a uniform hue and saturation while retaining its lightness. You can use it to create sepia tones (the brown seen in old photographs) and other single-color effects.


Compression

The process by which some of an image's data is either stored in patterns or eliminated in order to reduce file size.


Contour

Two or more nodes connected by line and/or curve segments.


Contract Command

Shrinks a selection by a specific number of pixels while retaining its original shape.


Contrast

The difference between the light and dark areas of an image.


Tool Options Palette

Contains the options for modifying the image-editing tools, as well as the controls for configuring brushes and access to custom brushes.


Crop

To remove part of an image outside a specified boundary.


Cusp

A corner on a vector object. The node defines the bend point and angles of the segments on either side.


Data rate

The number of bytes per second a device is capable of transferring. For CD-ROMs this is represented in multiples of 100 bytes per second. 1X equals 100 bytes per second, 2X equals 200 bytes per second, etc.


Decompression

To reverse the compression software algorithm to return data to its original size and condition. For files compressed with lossy compression, some data will not be restored.


Defloat

To merge a floating selection into a layer. After a selection is defloated, editing commands affect the entire image or layer.


Deformation

To change an image's appearance by moving data from one area to another. The result is a deformed version of the original image.


Defringe

To clean the edges of a selection by removing pixels of the background color.


Delta Frame

Animation frame that contains only the pixels different from the preceding Key Frame. Delta Frames reduce the overall size of the video clip to be stored on the output medium.


DIB

Stands for Device Independent Bitmap. This is a portable data format that is designed not to be limited to a specific type of display hardware.


Difference Frame

See Delta Frame.


Diffuse

To randomly scatter colors to create an Impressionistic effect.


Digital Camera

A camera that takes pictures with a CCD (charge-coupled device) and stores them in a memory module or on removable media. The pictures can usually be transmitted to a computer.


DPI

Stands for Dots Per Inch. A unit used to measure the resolution of a printer. The more dots per inch, the sharper an image appears.


8-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 256 colors.


Effect

A graphic function that, when applied to an image or selection, creates a modified version of the image or selection. The differences between the source and the output images varies according to the type of effect being used.


Em

A unit of typographical measure equal to the width of the letter "M" in a given typeface.


Emboss

An effect that causes the foreground to appear raised from the background by suppressing color and tracing the edges in black.


Error Diffusion

A method of color reduction that spreads out the inaccuracies in representing a pixel's color to the surrounding pixels.


Expand a Selection

Increases the size of a selection by a specific number of pixels while retaining its original shape.


15-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 32,768 colors.


4-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 16 colors.


Feather

Fades an area on both sides of a selection marquee over a specified number of pixels.


Filter

A tool that applies special effects to an image.


FITS

Stands for Flexible Image Transport System. This is a file format used by astronomers. It can contain sensitive instrument data in addition to image information.


Flip Command

Reverses the selection, layer, or image vertically. What was the top becomes the bottom, and vice-versa.


Float Command

Temporarily separates a selection from an image or layer.


Frame

A single, complete image in a connected series of images such as an Animation Shop animation, a video recording, or a film recording.


FPS

Stands for Frames Per Second. This is the rate at which animations are displayed.


Full Screen Preview

Displays the selected image at the center of a black background that occupies the whole screen area.


Gamma

The range of color values a monitor, scanner, or printer can display.


Gamma Correction

Corrects the brightness levels in an image. On a computer monitor, a small change in brightness at a low brightness level is not equal to the same change at a high level. Gamma correction compensates for the inequality.


GIF

Stands for Graphic Interchange Format. This is a file format commonly used on the Internet. It uses lossless compression and creates images in 8-bit color. GIF supports single-color transparency and animation. GIF does not support layers or alpha channels.


Gradient Fill

A fill created by a gradual blending of colors together.


Greyscale Image

An image that uses up to 256 shades of grey to represent brightness.


Grid

An equally spaced series of vertical and horizontal lines to help you align your artwork and arrange image elements symmetrically. The grid spacing can be set at any size.


Grow Command

Adds color pixels adjacent to an active selection.


Halftone

A collection of black and white dots arranged to simulate the brightness values of greyscale images.


Handles

Control points attached to vector nodes that control the shape of line segments on either side of a vector node.


Hexidecimal Color System

Describes color code values by means of different combinations of sixteen numbers and letters (0-9 and A-F) as part of the color palette.


Highlight

The lightest part of an image.


Histogram Equalizing

Adjusts the Histogram by distributing the lightness values of the pixels evenly across the spectrum.


Histogram Stretching

Adjusts the Histogram by pulling the histogram graph from both ends so that it covers more of the spectrum.


HSL (Hue/Saturation/Lightness)

A method for defining colors in an image.


Hue Mapping

Replacing all the pixels of one hue with another hue.


Image Arithmetic function

Combines the color data from two images on a pixel by pixel basis according to an arithmetic function.


Image resolution

The number of pixels per unit of area. A display with a finer grid contains more pixels and thus has a higher resolution, capable of reproducing more detail in an image.


Image Palette

A collection of available colors in images with 8 bits of color or less. You can change a color in the palette, but not increase the number of colors.


Image Window

Active image area in which Paint Shop Pro places an image file when you open it.


INDEO

Intel's compression/decompression algorithm for scalable software playback video. Intel licenses Indeo technology to companies such as Microsoft who integrate it into products like Microsoft's Video for Windows. Indeo technology can record 8, 16, or 24-bit sequences and stores the sequence as 24-bit for scalability on high-end PCs.


Interpolated Resolution

Most commonly associated with image scanners, this is enhanced resolution, which adds to the data provided by the optical resolution. It analyzes image data such as color and brightness and makes up additional pixels based on that information to reach the selected resolution.


Join

Points where lines meet at angles other than 0 degrees or 360 degrees.


JPEG

Stands for Joint Photographics Experts Group. A compression technique that supports 24-bit images and can reduce a file’s size by as much as 96%. It removes some color information, while retaining the brightness data. At higher compressions it can result in a visible loss of quality. It is best for photographs and for images that contain a variety of tonal values. JPG has been adapted to video, but it provides no frame compression.


JPG File Format

An image format commonly used on the web. It uses JPEG lossy compression and creates images up to 24-bit color. It does not support layers, transparency, or alpha channels.


Kerning

The distance between characters of text. Measured in units of 1/300th of an em.


Key Frame

A baseline frame against which other frames are compared for differences. If the clip has a large amount of motion, better playback will occur with every frame being a Key Frame. If there is very little motion, such as a narrator, a higher number of Delta Frames (intervening frames that are compressed based on differences from the key frames) will give satisfactory playback. In general making every 3rd frame a Key frame is a good choice with the current Indeo algorithm.


Layer

A discrete level of an image that can be edited independently from the rest of the image.


Leading

The distance between lines of text measured in 1/1000ths of a point. Positive values add leading, while negative values reduce leading.


Lightness

One of the components of H/S/L.


Line Art

An image composed entirely of lines of one color (no greyscale component).


Marquee

The animated, black and white border that surrounds a selection and defines its edges. This is also the name of a text effect in Animation Shop.


Mask

A device used to protect and isolate an area of a layer from changes applied to the rest of the layer.


Matting

To clean an image border by removing excess pixels included in a selection. When a layer is created by removing it from an image, some of the pixels surrounding the border are included, especially when it has been antialiased or feathered.


Metafile Formats

File formats that included several types of data. For example, a typical Windows metafile might contain a bitmap, vector information, and text, with the bitmap constituting the majority of the image, and the vector and text data providing annotation.


Midtones

The shades midway between the highlights and shadows.


Mirroring

Used to reverse the selection, layer, or image horizontally. What was the left side becomes the right side, and vice-versa.


Miter Limit

The miter limit is the maximum allowed ratio of the miter length to the line width. The miter length is the distance from the inside corner of the join to the outside point. If a Miter join exceeds the limit, the join is beveled at the limit point.


Monitor Gamma

Manages the amounts of red, blue, and green in an image to ensure that the on-screen and printed image match as closely as possible and that the colors will be consistent from image to image.


Negative Image

An image created by reversing the colors of the original. Each color is replaced by the one directly opposite it on the color wheel. The effect is the same as a photograph negative.


Node

A control point on a vector object. The type of each node dictates the shape of the line segment on either side of it.


Noise Filter

A grainy pattern created by the random re-coloring of pixels.


1-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 2 colors.


Octree Palette

One of the palette choices that Paint Shop Pro offers to decrease an image's color depth. It is accurate to 8-bits per channel. but it is not as good at weighting color importance as the optimized median cut palette.


Opacity

The density of a color or layer. A color or layer with an opacity of 0 is transparent; a color or layer with an opacity of 100 is complete opaque (solid).


Optical Resolution (scanner)

The actual physical number of pixels per inch at which a scanner is capable of capturing an image.


Optimized Median Cut Palette

One of the palette choices that Paint Shop Pro offers to decrease an image's color depth. The palette uses occurrence of colors as weighting, and ranks accordingly. It is accurate only to 5-bits per channel.


Palette

As in a painter’s palette, the different palettes included in Paint Shop Pro offer you the ability to select and mix colors, organize the different layers of paint on the canvas and pick a customized brush for a specific task.


Palette Transparency

Specific color in the palette that is assigned a transparent value. This is useful when working with some files formats, such as GIF and PNG


Paletted Image

An image with at most 256 colors.


Paper Texture

A variety of simulated surfaces to make it look as though you are painting on paper having that texture.


Path

One or more contours that form the guiding line for a vector object. It traces from a starting point to either an ending point or a closing point.


Photo-CD File Format

File format used by Kodak in digital cameras and Photo-CDs. When you open an image with a PCD file format, Paint Shop Pro may open a dialog box requesting additional information.


Pixel Depth

See color depth.


Planar Format

Formats that use color planes to determine an image's color. Most raster formats record color information on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but planar formats use color planes, which are sometimes called color channels. Each color plane contains all of the pixel information for a single color.


PNG

Stands for Portable Network Graphics. A file format designed for web graphics. It supports 24-bit color with lossless compression, one alpha channel, and alpha transparency.


Posterize

To reduce an image’s colors or shades of grey to the lightest shade, darkest shade, and a few shades in between.


PPI

Stands for Pixels Per Inch. A unit used to measure the resolution of a computer monitor and scanner. The more pixels per inch, the sharper an image appears.


Preserve Transparency

A layer option that restricts the editing of a layer to the pixels that already contain data. You can edit this data, but you can not cover any transparent areas.


Primary Additive Colors

Red, green, and blue. When these three colors are combined, they produce white.


Primary Subtractive Colors

Cyan, magenta, and yellow. When these three colors are combined, they produce black.


QuickTime

Apple Computer's video environment. QuickTime video files must be converted to AVI format to run under Microsoft's Video for Windows, however Apple provides a QuickTime viewer for Windows. INDEO video is supported under Apple’s Macintosh operating system.


Raster Image

See Bitmapped Graphic


RAW File Format

A file format that describes the colors in each pixel by means of an 8-bit system in which 255 equals white, and 0 equals black. The format’s great flexibility allows you to transfer images between applications, recognizing its channels, CMYK, and RGB values.


Replace Color command

Allows you to select a specific color and replace it with any new color of your choice.


Resample

To change the resolution of an image. To resample down is to decrease the resolution. To resample up is to increase the resolution.


Resize

To change the width and height of an image or layer.


Resolution

The level of detail of an image, monitor, or printer. See Image Resolution.


RGB (Red/Green/Blue)

See Primary Additive Colors.


RLE (Run Length Encoding)

A method for reducing file size by compressing repetitive information. It discards continuous regions of duplicate color to compress most multi-layered image to about 75% of their original sizes.


Rotate

To spin a selection, layer, or image in either direction around its center point.


16-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 65,536 colors.


Screen Capture

A picture of elements on the screen. These pictures can be of an area you draw, of the entire screen, of an active window, of the contents of an active window, or of the controls of a program, such as a toolbar. Screen captures are often used extensively in user documentation as a way to describe a feature, command, or process.


Seamless Pattern

A converted selection which, when tiled over an area, will not show a seam. When Paint Shop Pro converts a selection to a seamless pattern, it uses the area surrounding the selection to eliminate the appearance of seams. If the selection is tool close to the edge of the image, a message indicating this will appear. When you use this command, a new windows is created with the seamless pattern and the original image is not affected.


Segment

The line between two vector nodes. This can be a straight line or a curve.


Selection

An area or object that has been isolated from the rest of the image and can be edited separately.


Shadow

The darkest area of an image.


Sharpen

To bring an image into better focus and increase the detail by increasing the contrast of adjacent pixels.


Shear

A deformation that controls the offset of a side.


Skew

A deformation that tilts an image or selection along its horizontal or vertical axis up to 45% in either direction.


Smudge

A retouch mode setting that spreads color from the starting point and picks up new color as it moves. The effect is similar to smearing paint.


Solarize

A function that inverts all the colors above a certain luminance value.


Sub-path

Several segments of a vector path.


Subtractive Color

Absorbs color light. The color used in printing. When the primary subtractive colors (cyan, magenta, and yellow) are combined, they produce black. The opposite of subtractive color is additive color.


Source Window

The image from which you can create a mask. It can be any image window open in the workspace.


Stroke

An outline placed on text.


Symmetrical Curve

A vector curve that has handles of identical lengths on either side of the node.


24-bit image

An image containing a maximum of 16,777,216 colors.


Tangent

A vector node that blends a curve and a line.


Threshold level

The lightness value above which colors are inverted in Adjustment layers, the Glowing Edges effect and the Solarize command. All colors with lightness values above the set level are turned into their inverse (on the 255 scale). At a Threshold level of 1, all colors except black change. As the Threshold level increases, colors must be increasingly lighter to invert themselves.


Thumbnail

A small representation of a larger image. Paint Shop Pro provides thumbnails in the browser so that you can preview images without opening the file.


TIFF

Stands for Tagged Image File Format. A file format used for scanning, storing, and interchanging color and greyscale images. It does not support layers or animation.


Title Bar

Located at the top of every window, this displays the program's name, as well as the control icon, the name of the open file, and the minimize, maximize, restore, and close buttons.


Toggle

To switch an item back and forth from one state to another, such as hiding and displaying a palette.


Tone Balance

Balances the Highlight, Midtone, and Shadow levels.


Tool Palette

Part of the Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro interface that provides the image-editing tools. When you click a tool button, the Tool Options palette (in Paint Shop Pro) or the Style Bar (in Animation Shop) displays its usage options.


Toolbar

Part of the Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro interface that provides buttons having the same functionality as some of the frequently used menu commands. If a command is unavailable, its button appears greyed-out.


Transparency

The degree of visibility assigned to a specific color or selection.


Transparent Color

An image palette color that is designated to allow the background to show through. Usually used when working with web formats like GIF and PNG. While working in Paint Shop Pro, the transparent color will remain visible until you choose the View Palette Transparency command.


Transparent Selection

A pasted selection that Paint Shop Pro adds to the current image as a selection after deselecting pixels that match the color and tolerance settings in the Transparent Color Select dialog box. Any deselected pixels are transparent.


True Color

The common name for 24-bit color. “True” is used because the human eye can distinguish among approximately six million different colors, which is fewer than the number of colors available in a 24-bit color system. 24-bit images use 8 bits for each RGB channel. With 32-bit color depth, another 8 bits are used for an Alpha Channel.


TWAIN

An industry-wide compatibility standard for devices such as scanners and digital cameras to communicate with applications like Paint Shop Pro, allowing you to import an image into Paint Shop Pro without leaving the program.


Undo Buffer

Storage area for undo information.


Unsharp Mask

A filter that sharpens an image by subtracting a blurred copy image from the original.


Vector Graphic

An image composed of a set of instructions for drawing objects such as shapes, lines, and text.


Watermark

Embedded information in an image. It can include such items as copyright and author information. It is imperceptible to humans, but readable by computers.


Workspace

In Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop, this is the area of the main window where you work with images and the Browser.


Zoom

To increase or decrease the magnification of an object or image.


Hue

The shade or tint of a color. Also, one of the three components of the HSL color definition.


Pixel

A picture element; one of the individual squares that make up a raster image. This is also the smallest element that can be assigned a color.


Lossless Compression

A compression method that retains all of the original image data and reduces the file size by storing patterns of pixels in the image.


Lossy Compression

A compression method that eliminates data to reduce the file size.


OLE

Stands for Object Linking and Embedding. A Windows feature that enables two or more programs to work together and share files. A link is a pointer from a file in one application to a file that may be from a different program. Linking saves space on your hard drive. Embedding allows information from one program to be contained in a file from another program. Embedding lets you keep all parts of a document in a single file even if the parts come from several programs.


Bit Depth

See Color Depth


Dithering

A process to display colors not available on an output device by intermixing monochrome pixels with color pixels to produce shading and highlighting that appear to the eye as different colors.


Luminance

The brightness of a color. A color with a luminance of 100% is white; a color with a luminance of 0% is black.


Background Color

The "canvas" color on which you create an image. Also used as a secondary color for the painting and drawing tools. See also foreground color.


Aspect Ratio

The ratio of width to height. When an image is displayed on different screens, the aspect ratio must be kept the same to avoid "stretching" in either the vertical or horizontal direction.


Foreground Color

The primary color used by the painting and drawing tools. This is displayed in the Active Colors area of Paint Shop Pro and Animation Shop.


Interlacing

A method of displaying an image that lets the viewer see a rough, blurry copy of the image as it downloads. The image gradually sharpens as it loads.


Bitmapped Image

An image composed of an array of small squares, called pixels, arranged in rows and columns. Each pixel has a specific color value and location.


Histogram

A graph of an image's brightness levels. It records the number of pixels at each brightness level.


Saturation

The purity of a hue. A hue with a saturation of 100% is vivid; a hue with a saturation of 0% is grey. One of the three components of the HSL mode.


Trouble Shooting

[info here]


Using Effects and Transitions

[info here]


Overview

The five items in the Effects menu provide a variety of transitions and effects you can apply to your animations. (These five menu items are also available in the frame context menu.) By inserting and applying these transitions and effects, you can quickly, easily, and automatically create a sequence of dynamic animation frames.

The five menu items allow you to:

•	Insert an image transition

•	Insert an image effect

•	Apply an image effect

•	Insert a text effect

•	Apply a text effect


Inserting vs. Applying Effects

The task of inserting an effect or applying an effect are two slightly different tasks. The sections below provide an explanation of what each task does.

Inserting an Effect

When you choose to insert an effect, you select one animation frame as a starting point and, via the Insert Image Effect dialog box, you choose options to modify the starting frame by adding additional frames using the effect you have selected. This function basically copies the source frame a specified number of times and applies the effect to the new frames. You can choose to add the frames either before or after the source frame.

AN EXAMPLE USAGE:

A good example use of the Insert Image Effect command would be if you had a frame that depicted a fish tank. If you wished to have the effect of sunlight dappling and water movement, the Underwater effect would be appropriate. In this case, a selected number of frames would be added to the single fish tank frame to create an animation of the fish tank.

Applying an Effect

When you choose to apply an effect, you select one or more animation frames as a starting point and, via the Apply Image Effect dialog box, you choose options to replace the source frame(s) with frames incorporating the effect you have selected. Unlike the Insert Image Transition or Insert Image Effect menu items, no additional frames are added to the animation. You can choose how many frames will be affected as well as how you wish to apply the effect.

AN EXAMPLE USAGE:

A good example use of the Apply Text Effect command would be if you had an animation of the earth rotating and you wished to add the text “World Wide Web” and have it scroll through the animation while the earth continues to rotate behind it. The Marquee text effect would be appropriate. In this case, no new frames are added to the animation, but the scrolling text would be applied to each frame.


Effects vs. Transitions

Effects

The effects either create additional frames or modify selected frames by using an effect on the frames. The menu items Effects > Insert Image Effect and Effects > Insert Text Effect will create additional frames; the menu items Effects > Apply Image Effect and Effects > Apply Text Effect will modify existing frames. Note that these menu items can also be chosen in the frame context menu.

Transitions

The transitions create additional frames, inserted between the source frame and the next frame, which serve as a transition between the frames. Transitions are created by choosing Effects > Insert Image Transition, or by choosing Insert Image Transition in the frame context menu.


Inserting an Image Transition

Image transitions, as the name implies, move you from one image to another using a visual transformation. Transitions are created by rendering and adding frames to an animation. There are many different effects you can create using the various transitions offered by Animation Shop. Some transitions work best between two dissimilar images, and some work best with similar images. Experiment to find the effect that works best for your animation.

Insert an image transition as described below.

1.	Open an animation.

2.	Select one frame to which you want to apply the transition. This is called the “source” frame.

3.	Choose Effects > Insert Image Transition, or right-click on the selected frame and choose Insert Image Transition from the context menu. The Insert Image Transition dialog box will appear.

4.	Define the transition using the options in the Insert Image Transition dialog box.

 List of Image Transitions

Tip: Check the “Show Preview” check box to see a transition’s effect.

5.	When finished defining the transition, click OK. The transition frames will be added after the source frame.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Insert Image Transition Dialog Box

 List of Image Transitions


Inserting an Image Effect

Inserting an image effect provides a way to create additional frames using a visual transformation. There are many different effects you can create using the various options offered by Animation Shop. Experiment to find the effect that works best for your animation.

Insert an image effect as described below.

1.	Open an animation.

2.	Select a frame to which you want to insert the effect either before or after. This is called the “Start with” or “source” frame. If multiple frames are selected, the effect will be inserted relative to the current frame (indicated by the “current selection” border color defined in the Frames View tab of the General Program Preferences). If no frames are selected, the most recently selected frame will be the source frame.

3.	Choose Effects > Insert Image Effect, or right-click on the selected frame and choose Insert Image Effect from the frame context menu. The Insert Image Effect dialog box will appear. Define the effect using the options in the Insert Image Effects dialog box.

 List of Image Effects

Tip: Mark the “Show Preview” check box to see what the effect will look like.

4.	When finished defining the effect, click OK. The new frames will be added to the animation.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Insert Image Effect Dialog Box

 List of Image Effects

 Applying an Image Effect


Applying an Image Effect

Applying an image effect provides a way to replace selected frames with frames using a visual transformation. There are many different effects you can apply using the various options offered by Animation Shop. Experiment to find the effect that works best for your animation.

Apply an image effect as described below.

1.	Open an animation.

2.	Select a frame or frames (called the “source” frame(s)) to which you want to apply the effect. Choose Effects > Apply Image Effect, or right-click on a selected frame and choose Apply Image Effect from the frame context menu. The Apply Image Effect dialog box will appear. Define the effect using the options in the Apply Image Effect dialog box.

 List of Image Effects

Tip: Mark the “Show Preview” check box to see what the effect will look like.

3.	When finished defining the effect, click OK. The selected frame(s) will be replaced with frames containing the effect you applied.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Apply Image Effect Dialog Box

 List of Image Effects

 Inserting an Image Effect


Inserting a Text Effect

Inserting a text effect provides a way to create additional frames that provide an eye-catching textual transformation. There are a variety of text effects you can use. Experiment to find the effect that works best for your animation.

Insert a text effect as described below.

1.	Open an animation.

2.	Select a frame to which you want to insert the effect after. This is called the “Start with” or “source” frame. If multiple frames are selected, the effect will be inserted relative to the current frame (indicated by the “current selection” border color defined in the Frames View tab of the General Program Preferences). If no frames are selected, the most recently selected frame will be the source frame.

3.	Choose Effects > Insert Text Effect, or right-click on the selected frame and choose Insert Text Effect from the Frame context menu. The Insert Text Effect dialog box will appear. Define the effect using the options in this dialog box.

 List of Text Effects

Tip: Mark the “Show Preview” check box to see what the effect will look like.

4.	When finished defining the effect, click OK. The new frames will be added to the animation.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Insert Text Effect Dialog Box

 Applying a Text Effect


Using the Insert Text Effect Dialog Box

The Insert Text Effect dialog box is used to define an inserted text effect. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	The “Start with” area displays the source frame for the effect. Choose the “Animation Frame” option to start the effect with the current frame. Choose the “Canvas Color” option to start the effect with the canvas color (if the canvas color is transparent, the first frame in the effect will be transparent.). Choose the “Custom Color” option to use a color of your own choice to start the effect. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color.

•	The “Effect” area shows what the effect will look like if the “Show Preview” check box, located in the “Define effect” area, is marked.

•	The “Text Appearance” area displays the image that text will have when incorporated into the effect. Choose the “Animation Frame” option to apply the frame after the current frame to the text (the text will be a “cutout” of the animation frame). Choose the “Canvas Color” option to apply the opaque canvas color to the text. (*Note that this option will be disabled if your canvas color is set to transparent.) Choose the “Custom Color” option to apply a color of your own choice to the text. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color— the color you select will appear in the “Text Appearance” box.

In the “Define Text” area:

•	Click the Font button and then use the Add Text dialog box to define the text in the effect. The text you enter in the Add Text dialog box will be displayed in this area.

In the “Define Effect” area:

•	Set the “Effect length” slider to the number of seconds it will take to display the effect (this does not include the display time of the “Start with” frame). The range is from 0.1 to 10 seconds, and adjustments can be made in 0.1 second intervals. Note that as you adjust this slider, the message below the “Frames per second” slider will correspondingly update the total frames for the effect.

•	Set the “Frames per second” slider to the desired display time for the effect frames. The range is from 1 to 50 in increments of 1. Note that as you adjust this slider, the message below the “Frames per second” slider will correspondingly update the total frames for the effect.

•	From the Effect drop down list, choose an effect to use. If the effect can be customized, the Customize button will be active.

•	To set custom parameters for the effect, click the Customize button and then use the effect’s customize dialog box.

•	To preview what the effect will look like, mark the “Show Preview” check box. The preview will appear in the “Effect” area of the dialog box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 List of Text Effects


Applying a Text Effect

Applying a text effect provides a way to replace selected frames with frames that provide an eye-catching textual transformation. There are a variety of effects you can apply using the various options offered by Animation Shop. Experiment to find the effect that works best for your animation.

Apply a text effect as described below.

1.	Open an animation.

2.	Select a frame or frames (called the “source” frame(s)) to which you want to apply the effect. Choose Effects > Apply Text Effect, or right-click on a selected frame and choose Apply Text Effect from the frame context menu. The Apply Text Effect dialog box will appear. Define the effect using the options in the Apply Text Effect dialog box.

 List of Text Effects

Tip: Mark the “Show Preview” check box to see what the effect will look like.

3.	When finished defining the effect, click OK. The selected frame(s) will be replaced with frames containing the effect you applied.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Apply Text Effect Dialog Box

 List of Text Effects

 Inserting a Text Effect


Using the Apply Text Effect Dialog Box

The Apply Text Effect dialog box is used to define a text effect that will be applied to selected frames. The “Source” area of the dialog box displays the frame(s) you have selected. Use this dialog box as follows:

In the “Text Appearance” area:

•	This area displays the image that text will have when incorporated into the effect. Choose the “Animation Frame” option to apply the last selected frame to the text (the text will be a “cutout” of the animation frame). Choose the “Canvas Color” option to apply the opaque canvas color to the text. (*Note that this option will be disabled if your canvas color is set to transparent.). Choose the “Custom Color” option to apply a color of your own choice to the text. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color— the color you select will appear in the “Text Appearance” box.

In the “Apply effect by” area:

•	Choose the “Frame index” option to apply the effect in an increasing intensity relative to the frame’s position (its “index” value) in the effect.  An illustrated example.

•	Choose the “Elapsed time” option to apply the effect in an increasing intensity relative to the sum of the delay times of all frames in the effect, including the current frame.  An illustrated example.

In the “Define text” area:

•	Click the Font button and then use the Add Text dialog box to define the text in the effect. The text you enter in the Add Text dialog box will be displayed in this area.

In the “Define effect” area:

•	From the Effect drop down list, choose an effect to use. If the effect can be customized, the Customize button will be active.

•	To set custom parameters for the effect, click the Customize button and then use the effect’s customize dialog box.

•	To preview what the effect will look like, mark the “Show Preview” check box. The preview will appear in the “Effect” area of the dialog box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 List of Text Effects


Using the Insert Image Transition Dialog Box

The Insert Image Transition dialog box is used to define an image transition. Select an animation frame and then use this dialog box as follows:

•	The “Start with” area displays the source (first) image of the transition. Choose “Animation Frame” to use a selected frame in the current animation. Choose “Canvas Color” to use the canvas color as the starting image. Choose the “Custom Color” option to use a color of your own choice to start the transition. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color.

•	The “Transition” area displays a preview of the transition if the “Show Preview” check box, located toward the bottom of the dialog box, is marked.

•	The “End with” area displays the ending image of the transition. Choose “Animation Frame” to use the next frame as the ending frame. Choose “Canvas Color” to use the canvas color as the ending image. Choose the “Custom Color” option to use a color of your own choice to end the transition. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color.

Use the options in the Define Transition area as described below.

•	Set the “Transition Length” slider to the number of seconds it will take to display the transition. Note that as you adjust this value the message below the “Frames per second” will correspondingly display the number of frames the transition will contain.

•	Set the “Frames per second” slider to the number of frames to display in each second. Note that as you adjust this value the message below the “Frames per second” will correspondingly display the number of frames the transition will contain.

•	From the Transition drop down list, choose a transition to use. If the transition can be customized, the Customize button will be active.

•	To set custom parameters for the transition, click the Customize button and then use the transition’s customize dialog box.

•	To preview what the transition will look like, mark the “Show Preview” check box. The preview will appear in the “Transition” area of the dialog box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 List of Image Transitions


List of Image Transitions

Choose a transition from the list below for a popup description or for details on using the transition’s Customize dialog box. (Note: “N/A” denotes a transition that does not have a Customize dialog box.).

Transition Description	Using the Transition’s Customize Dialog Box
Blinds	Blinds
Checker Wipe	Checker Wipe
Clock Wipe	Clock Wipe
Curtains	Curtains
Dissolve	N/A
Double Split	N/A
Fade	N/A
Hue Wipe	Hue Wipe
Iris Wipe	Iris Wipe
Luminance Wipe	Luminance Wipe
Mosaic	Mosaic
Pinwheel	Pinwheel
Saturation Wipe	Saturation Wipe
Slash Wipe	Slash Wipe
Slat Spin	N/A
Slats	Slats
Sliding Boxes	Sliding Boxes
Spin	Spin
Split	Split
Star Wipe	Star Wipe
Twist	Twist
Wedge Wipe	N/A
Wipe	Wipe
Zoom	Zoom


Blinds

The Blinds transition will change the source frame into the subsequent frame as if it is being swept or wiped across multiple rows or columns simultaneously. This transition works best between two dissimilar frames.

The Blinds transition is customizable.


Checker Wipe

The Checker Wipe transition wipes the source frame into the subsequent frame by using a checkerboard pattern. This transition works best between two dissimilar frames.

The Checker Wipe transition is customizable.


Clock Wipe

The Clock transition sweeps the image of the second frame radially over the source frame much like the hand of a clock sweeping around the dial.

The Clock Wipe transition is customizable.


Curtains

The Curtains transition splits the source frame and slides the halves off the screen as if curtains were opening or closing, revealing the subsequent frame.

The Curtains transition is customizable.


Dissolve

The Dissolve transition replaces pixels in the source frame with pixels from the subsequent frame until the subsequent frame is completely in place. This is a good transition between frames containing images, but less than ideal for a transition between solid and transparent frames.

You cannot customize the Dissolve transition.


Double Split

The Double-Split transition slides quarters of the source frame off the frame diagonally, revealing the subsequent frame.

You cannot customize the Double-Split transition.


Fade

The Fade transition smoothly blends the colors of the source frame pixels to the colors of the subsequent frame’s pixels until the second frame is completely visible. This is a good transition between two frames with images, but less than ideal for transitions between solid and transparent frames. It tends to produce larger file sizes because of the large number of colors required.

You cannot customize the Fade transition.


Hue Wipe

The Hue Wipe transition wipes between frames based on the hue of the input frame’s pixels. This is a good transition between two dissimilar frames. Note also that the Hue Wipe transition takes transparent pixels into consideration since they also have an associated hue value.

The Hue Wipe transition is customizable.


Iris Wipe

The Iris Wipe transition wipes between frames by using a polygon shape with a user-defined number of vertices. This is a good transition between two dissimilar frames.

The Iris Wipe transition is customizable.


Luminance Wipe

The Luminance Wipe transition wipes between frames based on the luminance of the input frame’s pixels. This is a good transition between two dissimilar frames. Note also that the Luminance Wipe transition takes transparent pixels into consideration since they also have an associated hue value.

The Luminance Wipe transition is customizable.


Mosaic

The Mosaic transition replaces tiled sections of the source frame with the subsequent frame in a random pattern. This is a good transition between two similar frames.

The Mosaic transition is customizable.


Pinwheel

The Pinwheel transition wipes between frames in the manner of a pinwheel. It is somewhat similar to the Clock Wipe transition, except that the wipe is occurring from multiple spots at the same time. This is a good transition between two dissimilar frames.

The Pinwheel transition is customizable.


Saturation Wipe

The Saturation Wipe transition wipes between frames based on the saturation of the input frame’s pixels. This is a good transition between two dissimilar frames. Note also that the Saturation Wipe transition takes transparent pixels into consideration since they also have an associated hue value.

The Saturation Wipe transition is customizable.


Slash Wipe

The Slash Wipe transition wipes between frames by dividing the end frame into diagonal sections, then sliding in those sections at random times and speeds. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Slash Wipe transition is customizable.


Slat Spin

The Slat Spin transition changes between frames by dividing the starting and ending frames into horizontal strips and rotating these strips on their respective y-axis, revealing the end frame strips on the back side of the start frame strips. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

You cannot customize the Slat Spin transition.


Slats

The Slats transition changes the source frame into the subsequent frame as if slats were being opened to reveal the frame underneath. This transition is like a rotating version of the Slats transition. This transition works best between two dissimilar frames.

The Slats transition is customizable.


Sliding Boxes

The Sliding Boxes transition changes between frames by sliding rectangular sections of the end frame over the starting frame, eventually assembling the end frame and completely covering the starting frame. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Sliding Boxes transition is customizable.


Spin

The Spin transition twists the source frame as if on a central axis, flipping it over and revealing the subsequent frame as if it were on the backside of the source frame. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Spin transition is customizable.


Split

The Split transition slides sections of one frame onto or off another. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Split transition is customizable.


Star Wipe

The Star Wipe transition wipes between frames by using a symmetrical star shape. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Star Wipe transition is customizable.


Twist

The Twist transition switches between frames by appearing to twist the source frame over, revealing the subsequent frame on the back of the source frame. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Twist transition is customizable.


Wedge Wipe

The Wedge Wipe transition wipes between frames by using a wedge shape. This transition is somewhat similar to the Clock Wipe transition except that changes occur from two spots simultaneously. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

You cannot customize the Wedge Wipe transition.


Wipe

The Wipe transition slides one frame onto or off another. This transition is somewhat similar to the Clock Wipe transition except that changes occur from two spots simultaneously. This transition works best between two dissimilar frames.

The Wipe transition is customizable.


Zoom

The Zoom transition changes one frame to another by zooming in or out with the subsequent frame. This transition works well between similar or dissimilar frames.

The Zoom transition is customizable.


Using the Blinds Transition Dialog Box

The Blinds Transition customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Number” edit box, set the number of blinds that will wipe across the screen.

•	Choose either the Horizontal or Vertical option to set the blinds orientation.


Using the Checker Wipe Dialog Box

The Checker Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Horizontal checkers” edit box, set the number of cells that will appear horizontally. You must set at least 2 cells.

•	In the “Vertical checkers” edit box, set the number of cells that will appear vertically. You must set at least 2 cells.


Using the Clock Wipe Dialog Box

The Clock Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following option:

•	In the Clock Motion area, choose either the “Clockwise” or the “Counter-clockwise” option to set which direction the clock hand will sweep.


Using the Curtains Dialog Box

The Curtains customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Curtains Direction area, choose either the “Horizontal” or the “Vertical” option to set the direction the curtains will move across the frames.

•	In the Curtains Action area, choose to open or close the curtains by choosing either the “Opening” or the “Closing” option.


Using the Hue Wipe Dialog Box

The Hue Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Hue area, set the “Starting hue” edit box to the desired value. Valid hue values are from 0 to 255. As you adjust the value, the slider below the color band will move to the corresponding color. The Hue value you choose will be the hue that is wiped first.

•	In the Control area, choose which frame’s pixels will control the wipe by selecting either the “First frame only”, the “End frame only”, or the “Both frames” option.


Using the Iris Wipe Dialog Box

The Iris Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Number of vertices” edit box to the desired value. Valid values range from 3 to 100.

•	Set the “Initial rotation” edit box to the desired starting rotation angle. Valid values range from 0 to 360.

•	Set the “Rotation speed” edit box to the desired polygon rotation speed. This controls how fast the polygon rotates as the transition progresses. Valid values range from –360 degrees to 360 degrees.


Using the Luminance Wipe Dialog Box

The Luminance Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Order area, choose either the “Wipe brightest first” or the “Wipe darkest first” option to set which pixels will be wiped first.

•	In the Control area, choose which frame’s pixels will control the wipe by selecting either the “First frame only”, the “End frame only”, or the “Both frames” option.


Using the Mosaic Dialog Box

The Mosaic customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Horizontal tiles” edit box to the desired number of tiles in the horizontal direction.

•	Set the “Vertical tiles” edit box to the desired number of tiles in the vertical direction.

For example, if you set both values to 4, a total of 16 tiles (4 rows of 4) from the End With frame will replace the tiles from the Start With (source) frame in a random pattern.


Using the Pinwheel Dialog Box

The Pinwheel Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Number of Petals area, set the edit box to the desired number of spots from which the wipe will occur. Valid values range from 3 to 48.

•	In the Motion area, choose either the “Clockwise” or the “Counter-clockwise” option to set the rotational direction for the wipe.


Using the Saturation Wipe Dialog Box

The Saturation Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Order area, choose the “Wipe color first” option to wipe the most color saturated pixels first. Choose the “Wipe grey first” option to wipe the least color saturated pixels first.

•	In the Control area, choose which frame’s pixels will control the wipe by selecting either the “First frame only”, the “End frame only”, or the “Both frames” option.


Using the Slash Wipe Dialog Box

The Slash Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following option:

•	Set the “Number of slashes” edit box to the desired number of diagonal sections to which the End With frame will be wiped onto the Start With frame. The minimum number of sections is 2.


Using the Slats Dialog Box

The Slats customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the Number of Slats edit box to the desired number of slats to which the Start With frame will divided into.

•	In the Slat Orientation area, choose either the “Horizontal” or the “Vertical” option to set what type of slats to use.

•	In the Slat Movement area, if your chose Horizontal orientation, choose either the “Top to bottom” or the “Bottom to top” option to set the direction the slats will move the Start With frame off the End With frame. If you chose Vertical orientation, choose either the “Left to right” or the “Right to left” option to set the direction the slats will move the Start With frame off the End With frame.


Using the Sliding Boxes Dialog Box

The Sliding Boxes customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Boxes area, set the “Number of boxes” edit box to the number of strips to divide the End With frame into. In the “Box spacing” edit box. Set the “Box spacing” edit box to the pixel space between the sliding strips.

•	In the Slide Direction area, choose either the “Left to right”, the “Right to left”, the “Top to bottom”, or the “Bottom to top” option to set the direction the boxes will slide off the frames.

•	In the Transparency area, mark the “Preserve transparency” check box if you wish the End With frame’s transparency information preserved as it passes over the Start With frame.


Using the Spin Dialog Box

The Spin customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Direction area, choose either the “Horizontal” or the “Vertical” option to set the spin direction.

•	In the Fill Unused Pixels With area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill unused transition pixels with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to define your own color to fill unused pixels. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Split Dialog Box

The Split customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Number of splits” edit box to the desired number of sections you slide. Valid values range from 2 to the pixel height (if you choose Horizontal) or the pixel width (if you choose Vertical).

•	In the Split Orientation area, choose either the “Horizontal” or the “Vertical” option to set which direction the sections will slide.

•	In the Split Movement area, mark the “Slide first frame” check box to slide off sections of the Start With frame to reveal the End With frame. Mark the “Slide last frame” check box to slide sections of the End With frame on top of the Start With frame. If you want sections of the Start With frame to slide off and sections of the End With frame to slide on, mark both check boxes.


Using the Star Wipe Dialog Box

The Star Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Star Shape area, set the “Number of points” edit box to the desired number of vertices for the star. Valid values range from 3 to 100. Set the “Inner radius” edit box to define the sharpness of the vertices. Valid values range from 1 to 99.

•	In the Star Rotation area, set the “Initial rotation” edit box to the desired initial rotation of the star. Valid values range from 0 to 360 degrees. Set the “Rotation speed” edit box to define the rotational speed of the star during the transition. Valid values range from +/- 360 degrees.


Using the Twist Dialog Box

The Twist dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Direction area, choose either the “Horizontal” or the “Vertical” option to set the twist direction.

•	In the Fill Unused Pixels With area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill unused transition pixels with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to define your own color to fill unused pixels. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Wipe Dialog Box

The Wipe customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Wipe Movement area, mark the “Slide first frame” check box to wipe the Start With frame to reveal the End With frame. Mark the “Slide last frame” check box to wipe the End With frame on top of the Start With frame. If you want the Start With frame to wipe off and the End With frame to wipe on, mark both check boxes.

•	In the Wipe Direction area, choose either the “Horizontal” option or the “Vertical” option to set the wipe orientation, then choose either the “Left to right” or the “Right to left” option to set the wipe direction.

•	In the Transparency area, mark this check box if you wish the End With frame’s transparency information preserved as it passes over the Start With frame.


Using the Zoom Dialog Box

The Zoom customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the Zoom Direction area, choose either the “Zoom in” or the “Zoom out” option to set the type of zoom. “Zoom in” makes the End With frame appear to be getting larger on top of the Start With frame. “Zoom out” makes the Start With frame appear to be zooming away to reveal the End With frame.

•	In the Transparency area, mark “Preserve top frame transparency” check box if you wish the top frame’s transparency information preserved as it passes over the bottom frame.

•	In the Zoom Scaling area, mark the “Scaled” check box to set the zoom to be of the entire frame. Leaving this unchecked sets the zoom to gradually reveal the frame.


Blinds Transition dialog box


Checker Wipe Transition dialog box


Clock Wipe Transition dialog box


Curtains Transition dialog box


Hue Wipe Transition dialog box


Iris Wipe Transition dialog box


Luminance Wipe Transition dialog box


Mosaic Transition dialog box


Pinwheel Wipe Transition dialog box


Saturation Wipe Transition dialog box


Slash Wipe Transition dialog box


Slats Transition dialog box


Sliding Boxes Transition dialog box


Spin Transition dialog box


Split Transition dialog box


Star Wipe Transition dialog box


Twist Transition dialog box


Wipe Transition dialog box


Zoom Transition dialog box


Insert Image Transition Dialog Box


Using the Insert Image Effect Dialog Box

The Insert Image Effect dialog box is used to define an inserted image effect. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	The “Start with” area displays the source frame for the effect. Choose the “Animation Frame” option to start the effect with the current frame. Choose the “Canvas Color” option to start the effect with the canvas color (if the canvas color is transparent, the first frame in the effect will be transparent.). Choose the “Custom Color” option to use a color of your own choice to start the effect. The current color is displayed in the color box below this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose your custom color.

•	The “Effect” area shows what the effect will look like if the “Show Preview” check box, located in the “Define effect” area, is marked.

•	In the “Direction” area, do not mark the “Run effect in reverse order” check box if you wish to insert the frames in their normal order after the “Start with” frame. Mark this check box to insert the frames in reverse order before the “Start with” frame. Note, however, that the “Effect” are will not preview the frames in reverse order.

Use the options in the Define Effect area as described below.

•	Set the “Effect length” slider to the number of seconds it will take to display the effect (this does not include the display time of the “Start with” frame). The range is from 0.1 to 10 seconds, and adjustments can be made in 0.1 second intervals. Note that as you adjust this slider, the message below the “Frames per second” slider will correspondingly update the total frames for the effect.

•	Set the “Frames per second” slider to the desired display time for the effect frames. The range is from 1 to 50 in increments of 1. Note that as you adjust this slider, the message below the “Frames per second” slider will correspondingly update the total frames for the effect.

•	From the Effect drop down list, choose an effect to use. If the effect can be customized, the Customize button will be active.

•	To set custom parameters for the effect, click the Customize button and then use the effect’s customize dialog box.

•	To preview what the effect will look like, mark the “Show Preview” check box. The preview will appear in the “Effect” area of the dialog box.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 List of Image Effects


List of Image Effects

Choose an effect from the list below for a popup description or for details on using the effect’s Customize dialog box. (Note: “N/A” denotes an effect that does not have a Customize dialog box.).

Effect Description	Using the Effect’s Customize Dialog Box
Compress	Compress
Explode	Explode
Fade To Grey	N/A
Gaussian Blur	Gaussian Blur
Motion Blur	Motion Blur
Pinch	Pinch
Pixelate	N/A
Posterize	Posterize
Rotate	Rotate
Rotate Colors	N/A
Shaky Cam	Shaky Cam
Shear	Shear
Spiral	Spiral
Stained Glass	Stained Glass
Stream	N/A
Stretch	Stretch
Underwater	Underwater
Wave	Wave


Compress

The Compress effect will compress an image toward the center of the frame in one direction, either horizontally or vertically. An effective use of this effect would be to use an animation with only one image that has a transparent canvas, setting the animation looping property to repeat only once. When the Compress effect is used, it would appear as if the image had compressed and disappeared.

The Compress effect is customizable.


Explode

The Explode effect scatters the source frame’s pixels in random directions.

The Explode effect is customizable.


Fade To Grey

The Fade To Grey effect smoothly converts the source image in the source frame to greyscale.

You cannot customize the Fade To Grey effect.


Gaussian Blur

The Gaussian Blur effect applies a blur to the source frame in increasing amounts until the maximum amount you have defined is reached.

The Gaussian Blur effect is customizable.


Motion Blur

The Motion Blur effect blurs the source frame image in increasing amounts until the maximum amount you have set is reached. The image also appears to jostle around as it blurs.

The Motion Blur effect is customizable.


Pinch

The Pinch effect compresses the source frame’s image toward the center of the frame. The center of the image will be compressed more than the edges, appearing as if the image were being pinched.

The Pinch effect is customizable.


Pixelate

The Pixelate effect increases the apparent size of the source frame’s pixels and averages their colors together.

You cannot customize the Pixelate effect.


Posterize

The Posterize effect transforms the color range of the source frame’s image to solid blocks of color, making it look more like a "poster."

The Posterize effect is customizable.


Rotate

The Rotate effect spins the source frame’s image in a clockwise direction around the center of its frame.

The Rotate effect is customizable.


Rotate Colors

The Rotate Colors effect alters the colors of the source frame around the color wheel. For example, red will change to yellow, which will change to green, which will change to blue, and then back to red. If you have different colors in your image, each colored object will rotate independently of the other colored objects.  For example, an image of a man with a red tie and a green shirt will rotate to a man with a yellow tie and a blue shirt, and then to a man with a green tie and a red shirt.

You cannot customize the Rotate Colors effect.


Shaky Cam

The ShakyCam effect causes the source frame to appear as if it had been filmed by a shaking camera.

The Shaky Cam effect is customizable.


Shear

The Shear effect moves the pixels of the source frame to the degree you specify to create a warped image. You can also set whether the parts of the image that move off the frame as it is warped wrap to the other side of the frame or not.

The Shear effect is customizable.


Spiral

The Spiral effect rotates the source frame pixels by an amount which increases as the distance from the center of the image decreases, causing a spiraling effect on the image.

The Spiral effect is customizable.


Stained Glass

The Stained Glass effect gives the source frame the appearance of having light shining through it like a stained glass window.

The Stained Glass effect is customizable.


Stream

The Stream effect streaks or smears a portion of the source frame in downward direction.

You cannot customize the Stream effect.


Stretch

The Stretch effect stretches the source frame by an amount you specify in a horizontal and/or vertical direction.

The Stretch effect is customizable.


Underwater

The Underwater effect gives the sources frame the appearance of being immersed in water.

The Underwater effect is customizable.


Wave

The Wave effect distorts the source frame as if it were wavering, somewhat like bad television reception.

The Wave effect is customizable.


Using the Compress Dialog Box

The Compress Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Compress direction” area, choose the “Horizontal” option to compress the source frame from the left and right sides; or choose the “Vertical” option to compress the source frame from the top and bottom.

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill the area outside the compressed source image with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to fill the area outside the compressed source image with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Explode Dialog Box

The Explode Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to scatter unused source frame pixels with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to scatter unused source frame pixels with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

•	In the “Explosion speed” area, set the edit box to the desired scattering speed. Valid values range from 1 to 100.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Gaussian Blur Dialog Box

The Gaussian Blur Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Start” edit box to determine how blurry the source image will be at the start of the effect. Valid values range from 1 to 100. The green circle indicates the intensity of the start value; larger values yield a larger circle.

•	Set the “End” edit box to determine how blurry the source image will be at the end of the effect. Valid values range from 1 to 100. The red circle indicates the intensity of the end value; larger values yield a larger circle.

If you want the effect frames to be the same “blurriness” through the effect, set both the “Start” and “End” edit boxes to equal values.


Using the Motion Blur Dialog Box

The Motion Blur Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Blur angle” area, indicate a direction for the blur by setting the Blur angle edit box or by clicking and dragging the radius bar inside the circle. Valid values range from –180 to 180 degrees.

•	In the “Blur radius” area, set the edit box to the blurriness level for the source frame. Valid values range from 1 to 100.


Using the Pinch Dialog Box

The Pinch Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	In the “Pinch direction” area, choose the “Horizontal” option to pinch the source frame from the left and right sides; or choose the “Vertical” option to pinch the source frame from the top and bottom. The center will be pinched more than the edges for either Horizontal or Vertical.

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill the area outside the pinched source image with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to fill the area outside the pinched source image with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Posterize Dialog Box

The Posterize Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following option:

•	Set the “Number of levels” edit box to the desired posterization effect. Valid values range from 2 to 7. Lower values result in reduced color depth levels for the source image’s color, resulting in a flatter-looking image with more pronounced roughness in gradations.


Using the Rotate Dialog Box

The Rotate Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Maximum angle” edit box to the desired degree to which the source frame will rotate.

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill the source frame’s non-rotated area with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to fill the source frame’s non-rotated area with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Shaky Cam Dialog Box

The Shaky Cam Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following option:

•	Set the “Shakiness” edit box to the desired level of intensity. Valid values range from 1 to 100.


Using the Shear Dialog Box

The Shear Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Shear distance” edit box to the distance you wish to move the source frame pixels to create a shearing effect. Valid values range from –32767 to 32767.

•	In the “Shear direction” area, choose the “Horizontal” option to shear the pixels horizontally. Choose the “Vertical” option to shear the pixels vertically.

•	In the “Shear wrapping” area, mark the “Wrapped” check box to make sheared parts of the source frame wrap around to the opposite side of the frame and appear again.

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill the source frame’s non-sheared area with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to fill the source frame’s non-sheared area with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Spiral Dialog Box

The Spiral Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Maximum angle” edit box to the desired degree to rotate or spin the source frame’s pixels. Note that the pixels closer to the image center will rotate more than further from the image center.

•	In the “Fill unused pixels with” area, choose the “Canvas color” option to fill the source frame’s non-rotated area with the canvas color. Choose the “Custom color” option to fill the source frame’s non-rotated area with a custom color. The current color is displayed in the color box next to this option. Left-click inside this box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. You can then choose the custom color to use.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Canvas Color

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Using the Stained Glass Dialog Box

The Stained Glass Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the “Rendering options” area:

•	Set the “Number of samples” slider to the desired image quality vs. rendering speed level. Move the slider towards “Fast render” to create faster rendering, lower image quality frames. Move the slider towards “Better quality” to create a smoother appearance with increased rendering times.

•	Set the “Light intensity” slider to the desired brightness level.

•	Set the “Air absorptivity” slider to the desired light ray length level. This determines the distance the light rays will travel before dissipating.

•	In the “Blend mode” drop down box, choose “Normal” to give the standard effect of a light source passing through the entire source frame. Choose “Shadows” to have the light source pass through the darker parts of the source frame. Choose “Highlights” to have the light source pass through the lighter parts of the source frame.

In the “Light movement” area:

•	The green dot indicates the starting position of the light source relative to the outline of the frame. Drag the green dot to the desired position.

•	The red dot indicates the ending position of the light source relative to the outline of the frame. Drag the red dot to the desired position.

Note that you can drag the green dot and/or the red dot in the “Light movement” area outside the frame outline to create a sharper angle for the light source.


Using the Stretch Dialog Box

The Stretch Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

•	Set the “Horizontal stretch” edit box to the desired amount to stretch the source frame by its left and right edges. Valid values range from 0 to 32767.

•	Set the “Vertical stretch” edit box to the desired amount to stretch the source frame by its top and bottom edges. Valid values range from 0 to 32767.


Using the Underwater dialog box

The Underwater Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the “Effects” area:

•	Choose the “Apply refractive distortion” option to apply a wavy water effect.

•	Choose the “Apply sunlight dappling” option to apply moving areas of increased lightness.

•	Choose the “Apply both” option to use the “Apply refractive distortion” and the “Apply sunlight dappling” options simultaneously.

•	Set the “Sunlight intensity” edit box to the desired sun brightness level. Valid values range from 1 to 100.

In the “Liquid properties” area:

•	Set the “Water depth” edit box to the desired depth level (greater values result in greater distortion). Valid values range from 1 to 100.

•	Set the “Wave intensity” edit box to the desired waviness. Valid values range from 1 to 16.


Using the Wave Dialog Box

The Wave Effect customization dialog box allows you to set the following options:

In the “Wave orientation” area:

•	Choose the “Horizontal” option to create waves that travel along the horizontal axis.

•	Choose the “Vertical” option to create waves that travel along the vertical axis.

In the “Wave properties” area:

•	Set the “Amplitude” edit box to the desired wave height. Valid values range from 2 to the pixel width (if you chose Vertical) or the pixel height (if you chose Horizontal).

•	Set the “Wavelength” edit box to the desired wave width. Valid values range from 2 to x (where x is twice the pixel value of the height if you chose Vertical) or y (where y is twice the pixel value of the width if you chose Horizontal).


Compress Effect Dialog Box


Explode Effect Dialog Box


Gaussian Blur Effect Dialog Box


Motion Blur Effect Dialog Box


Pinch Effect Dialog Box


Posterize Effect Dialog Box


Rotate Effect Dialog box


Shaky Cam Effect Dialog Box


Shear Effect Dialog Box


Spiral Effect Dialog Box


Stained Glass Effect Dialog Box


Stretch Effect Dialog Box


Underwater Effect Dialog Box


Wave Effect Dialog Box


Insert Image Effect Dialog Box


List of Text Effects

Choose a text effect from the list below for a popup description or for details on using the effect’s Customize dialog box. (Note: “N/A” denotes an effect that does not have a Customize dialog box.).

Effect Description	Using the Effect’s Customize Dialog Box
Backlight	Backlight
Bouncing	Bouncing
Drop Shadow	Drop Shadow
Flag	Flag
Highlight	Highlight
Marquee	Marquee
Wheel	N/A


Using the Apply Image Effect Dialog Box

The Apply Image Effect dialog box is used to define an image effect that will be applied to selected frames. The “Source” area of the dialog box displays the frame(s) you have selected. Use this dialog box as follows:

In the “Apply effect by” area:

•	Choose the “Frame index” option to apply the effect in an increasing intensity relative to the frame’s position (its “index” value) in the effect.  An illustrated example.

•	Choose the “Elapsed time” option to apply the effect in an increasing intensity relative to the sum of the delay times of all frames in the effect, including the current frame.  An illustrated example.

In the “Define effect” area:

•	Choose an effect from the drop down list. If the effect can be customized, the Customize button will be active. To set custom parameters for the effect, click the Customize button and then use the effect’s customize dialog box.

•	Mark the “Show Preview” check box to display a preview in the “Effect” area of this dialog box.

RELATED TOPIC

 List of Image Effects


Apply Image Effect Dialog Box


Frame Index Example

An example: You choose to apply an effect to six frames. In order, the frames have the following frame delays: 10, 10, 50, 10, 10, and 10. Choosing the Frame Index option, the effect would be applied to each frame in equally increasing steps (regardless of each frame’s delay time). This is shown in the graph below.


Elapsed Time Example

An example: You choose to apply an effect to six frames. In order, the frames have the following frame delays: 10, 10, 50, 10, 10, and 10. Choosing the Elapsed Time option, the effect would be applied to frames 1 and 2 in equally increasing steps, but proportionally more to frame 3 due to its greater frame delay, and then again to frames 4, 5, and 6 in equally increasing steps. This is shown in the graph below.


Color Issues

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Understanding Color Depth

Color depth, often referred to as bit depth, refers to the number of colors an image can display. As the bit depth increases, the number of colors increases. A 1-bit image can display 2 colors, black and white; an 8-bit image can display 256 colors (2 to the 8th power); a 16-bit image can display 65,536 colors (2 to the 16th power); a 24-bit image can display 16.7 million colors (2 to the 24th power). Animation Shop works exclusively in 24-bit color depth. This means that even if you created an image in, for example, Paint Shop Pro, and the image’s color depth is less than 24-bits per pixel, when you subsequently open that image in Animation Shop, the image will be “promoted” to 24-bit color depth.

The term greyscale image is used to indicate an 8-bit image with a palette that contains black, white, and 254 shades of grey. A black and white image of any other bit depth is not a greyscale image.

Unlike Animation Shop, many graphics editing applications such as Paint Shop Pro will only allow you to use features such as Deformations, Effects, and Filters commands, many of the color adjustments, and some of the painting tools with 24-bit and grey scale images. Because all images in Animation Shop are 24-bit, the painting and drawing tools as well as the effects and transitions are always available for use.


Dithering Methods

Dithering is a technique for simulating colors that are missing from an image file's palette. The missing colors are simulated by intermingling pixels of two or more palette colors. If the unavailable color differs too greatly from the colors in the image's palette, dithering will produce a grainy or mottled appearance.

Error diffusion dithering is a popular dithering method. The "error" in the title refers to the cumulative difference between the actual values of pixels in the image and their "true" values if they were all set to their correct colors. By reducing this error, error diffusion dithering produces image quality that is superior to that achieved by non-error adjusted dithering.

The process starts at the first pixel in the image (the upper left corner). The algorithm finds the color in the palette that is nearest to the color of the pixel. It then compares the two colors' numerical values, saves the difference as the initial error, and applies the color from the palette to the pixel.

The process then proceeds to the second pixel. It finds this pixel's nearest color, and calculates the sum of the color and the error value from the last pixel. It sets the pixel to the color that is nearest to this sum. Any difference between the applied color and the sum becomes the new error value.

When the process reaches the third pixel, it repeats the procedure that was used to set the color for the second pixel. The algorithm cycles through the image's remaining pixels in the same manner. The error value is abandoned at the end of each row.

The Reduce Color Bleeding Option

Error diffusion dithering causes colors to bleed from left to right. This is because the algorithm, and therefore the error value, travels in this direction. Color bleed is most noticeable in images with hard vertical edges, because the edges are softened by the traveling color.

Animation Shop functions that use error diffusion dithering include a Reduce Color Bleeding Option. This option lessens the left-to-right color bleed by applying a fractional coefficient to the error value. By reducing the error value, less color information is carried from one pixel to the next


Color Definition Methods

There are several methods for defining the projected colors that appear on a computer monitor. The two most common methods (which are also the methods used by Animation Shop's functions and dialog boxes) are red, green, and blue and hue, saturation, and lightness. The table below outlines the Color dialog box RGB and HSL settings for the standard white light color spectrum.

Color	RGB Settings	HSL Settings
	Red	Green	Blue	Hue	Sat	Lum
Red	255	0	0	0	255	128
Orange	255	128	0	21	255	128
Yellow	255	255	0	42	255	128
Green	0	255	0	85	255	128
Azure	0	255	255	128	255	128
Indigo	0	0	255	170	255	128
Violet	255	0	255	200	255	128
Red, Green, and Blue (RGB)

The most popular method for defining a projected color is as a combination of red, green, and blue. For example, pure red is defined by red = 100%, green = 0%, and blue = 0%. Pure black has red, green, and blue values of 0%, and pure white has red, green, and blue values of 100%.

Hue, Saturation, and Lightness (HSL)

A projected color can be defined by the three components of hue, saturation, and lightness:

•	Hue describes the color's shade or tint. It is measured on a circular spectrum running from red to green to blue and returning to red.

•	Saturation describes the hue's purity. A color with a saturation of 100% is bright and vivid, and a color with a saturation of 0% is a shade of grey.

•	Lightness describes the color's brightness. A color with lightness of 100% is always pure white, and a color with lightness of 0% is always pure black.


File Formats

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Overview

Animation Shop directly supports a wide variety of file formats, including:

•	34 raster image formats

•	12 meta and vector image formats

•	5 animation formats

For detailed information on each of these formats, click the appropriate link below.

 Supported Raster Formats

 Supported Meta and Vector Formats

 Supported Animation Formats

RELATED TOPICS

 Open an Image or Animation

 Save an Animation

 Save an Animation in a Different Format


Supported Raster Formats

A raster format breaks an image into a grid of equally-sized pieces, called pixels, and records color information for each pixel. The number of colors the file contains is determined by the bits-per-pixel: the more information recorded for each pixel, the more shades and hues the file can contain.

Most raster formats support multiple bits-per-pixel levels, and therefore more than one level of color. The table below lists all of the bits-per-pixel ratios in the raster formats that Animation Shop supports, and shows the corresponding maximum number of colors.

Bits-Per-Pixel and Color Depth

Bits-Per-Pixel	Maximum Number of Colors
1	2
4	16
8	256
16	32,768 or 65,536 (depends on format)
24	16,777,216
32	16,777,216

Most raster formats record color information on a pixel-by-pixel basis, but some formats use color planes. Each color plane contains all the pixel information for a single color. Color planes are also called color channels. Formats that use color planes/channels are called planar formats.

The bits-per-pixel are determined by multiplying the bits-per-plane by the number of planes. If the resulting number is not a power of two (expressible as 2x, where x is an integer), then the bits-per-pixel are “promoted” to the next highest power of two. For example, if there are two bits-per-plane and three planes, the bits-per-pixel are promoted to eight:
     2 x 3 = 6, and 22 < 6 < 23

Raster Image Formats

The table below shows the file formats Animation Shop can open and save.

Format	Sub-Format and Description	Bits-Per-Pixel and Color Type
		• Open	• Save
BMP	RGB encoded (OS/2)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	RGB encoded (Windows)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	RLE encoded (Windows)	4-bit, 8-bit color	4-bit, 8-bit color
CLP	Clipboard bitmap (Windows)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	Device-independent clipboard bitmap	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
CT	Continuous Tone CMYK (SciTex)	24-bit	24-bit
	Continuous Tone CMY (SciTex)	24-bit	24-bit
CUT	Dr. Halo	8-bit color	8-bit color
DCX	Multipage Paintbrush (Zsoft)	1-bit
DIB	RGB encoded (OS/2)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	RGB encoded (Windows)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	RLE encoded (Windows)	4-bit, 8-bit color	4-bit, 8-bit color
EPS	Image only (Adobe)	1-bit, 8-bit grey, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
FPX	Compressed (Kodak)	8-bit grey, 24-bit	8-bit grey, 24-bit
	Uncompressed (Kodak)	8-bit grey, 24-bit	8-bit grey, 24-bit
GIF	v. 87a Interlaced (Compuserve)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
	v. 87a Non-interlaced (Compuserve)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
	v. 89a Interlaced (Compuserve)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
	v. 89a Non-interlaced (Compuserve)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
Format	Sub-Format and Description	Bits-Per-Pixel and Color Type
		• Open	• Save
IFF	Compressed (Electronic Arts)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	Uncompressed (Electronic Arts)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
IMG	Old style (GEM Paint)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 8-bit color
	New style (GEM Paint)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
JIF	Huffman compressed	8-bit grey, 24-bit	8-bit grey, 24-bit
JPG	Huffman compressed	8-bit grey, 24-bit	8-bit grey, 24-bit
	Progressive	8-bit grey, 24-bit	8-bit grey, 24-bit
KDC	Kodak digital camera	24-bit
LBM	Compressed (Deluxe Paint)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
	Uncompressed (Deluxe Paint)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
MAC	With header (MacPaint)	1-bit	1-bit
	Without header (MacPaint)	1-bit	1-bit
MSP	Older version (MS Paint)	1-bit
PBM	Portable bitmap (UNIX)	1-bit	1-bit
PCD	Photo-CD (Kodak)	24-bit
PCT	PICT (Apple)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
PCX	v. 0 (Zsoft Paintbrush)	1-bit	1-bit
	v. 2 with palette info (Zsoft)	1-bit, 4-bit	1-bit, 4-bit
	v. 3 without palette info (Zsoft)	1-bit, 4-bit
	v. 5 (Zsoft)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
PGM	Portable Graymap ASCII (UNIX)	8-bit grey	8-bit grey
	Portable Graymap Binary (UNIX)	8-bit grey	8-bit grey
PIC	Pictor/PC Paint	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
PNG	Interlaced Portable Network Graphics	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit
	Non-interlaced Portable Network Graphics	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit
PPM	Portable Pixelmap (UNIX)	24-bit	24-bit
PSD	Photoshop (RGB or Indexed)	1-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
Format	Sub-Format and Description	Bits-Per-Pixel and Color Type
		• Open	• Save
PSP	RLE encoded (Paint Shop Pro)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	LZ77 compressed (Paint Shop Pro)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	Uncompressed (Paint Shop Pro)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
RAS	Type 1 Modern (Sun)	1-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit, 32-bit	1-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit
RLE	Compuserve	1-bit
SCT	Continuous Tone CMYK	24-bit	24-bit
	Continuous Tone CMY	24-bit	24-bit
TGA	Uncompressed (Truevision)	8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit	8-bit color, 24-bit
	Compressed (Truevision)	8-bit color, 16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit	8-bit color, 24-bit
TIF	Huffman compressed	1-bit	1-bit
	Uncompressed	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	Uncompressed CMYK	24-bit	24-bit
	Pack bits compressed	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	Pack bits compressed CMYK	24-bit	24-bit
	LZW compressed	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit
	LZW compressed CMYK	24-bit	24-bit
	Fax Group 3 compressed	1-bit	1-bit
	Fax Group 4 compressed	1-bit
WPG	v. 5.0 (WordPerfect)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color
	v. 5.1 (WordPerfect)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color
	v. 6.0 (WordPerfect)	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit grey, 8-bit color, 24-bit


Supported Meta and Vector Formats

Meta and vector image formats can both contain vector information. Vector information is a collection of geometric shapes that combine to make an image. The information is recorded as mathematical formulas. Vector data cannot reproduce photo-realistic images, but for other types of images it has two advantages over raster data:

•	Scalability without distortion (the “jaggies” that come with re-sizing a bitmap)

•	Smaller file sizes

In the strictest definition, a vector format can only contain vector information. In common practice, many formats that are considered to be vector allow the user to include non-vector data, such as raster images or text.

Meta formats explicitly allow more than just vector data. For example, a typical Windows metafile might contain a bitmap, vector information, and text, with the bitmap constituting the majority of the image, and the vector and text data providing annotation.

•	NOTE:  Animation Shop can read vector data, but it cannot write vector data. When you view a vector image from Animation Shop, what you are seeing is a raster image based on the vector data. Animation Shop imports the vector image and converts it to an internal raster format. Animation Shop can write to the Windows metafile format, but the resulting files contain raster data only.

Meta and Vector Image Formats

The table below shows the meta and vector formats Animation Shop can open and save.

Format	Source/Standard	• Open	• Save
CDR	CorelDRAW!	[
CGM	Computer Graphics Metafile	[
CMX	Corel Clipart	[
DRW	Micrografx Draw	[
DXF	Autodesk	[
EMF	Windows Enhanced Metafile	[	[ *
GEM	Ventura/GEM	[
HGL	H-P Graphics Language	[
PCT	Apple PICT	[	[ *
PIC	Lotus Corp.	[	[ *
WMF	Windows Metafile	[	[ *
WPG	WordPerfect Graphic	[	[ *
* When you save data in these formats, the file contains raster data only.


Supported Animation Formats

The table below shows the animation formats Animation Shop can open and save.

Format	Source/Standard	Bits-Per-Pixel and Color Type
		• Open	• Save
AVI	Microsoft	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color, 24-bit	24-bit
FLC	Autodesk	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
FLI	Autodesk	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
GIF	Compuserve	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color	1-bit, 4-bit, 8-bit color
MNG	Jasc	24-bit	24-bit


Keyboard Shortcuts

[info here]


   Using Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts can be a quicker way to execute a command or display a menu than using the mouse. Many users find that familiarizing themselves with keyboard shortcuts saves a lot of time, especially when performing repetitive tasks.

Most keyboard shortcuts involve the Alt, Ctrl, or Shift key in combination with another key. Some shortcuts are activated by a Function key, such as pressing F1 to display online help, or pressing F12 to activate the File  Save As command.

 List of Keyboard Shortcuts

Displaying Menus

Notice that the menus in the menu bar have an underlined letter. Holding down the Alt key and then pressing the underlined letter will display the menu in the same way as clicking the menu in the menu bar.

For example, you can display the File menu by using the keyboard combination Alt + F.

Executing Commands

Many menu items list the associated keyboard shortcut to the right of the menu item. Using this keyboard shortcut will execute the command in the same way as clicking the item in the menu.

For example, you can save the current animation by using the keyboard combination Ctrl + S.

Hotkeys in Menus and Dialog Boxes

Another form of a keyboard shortcut is a hotkey: A one-character key that, when pressed, will select the associated menu item or shift focus to the associated dialog box item. Each menu and most dialog boxes have hotkeys.

For example, the first item in the File menu, Animation Wizard, has the hotkey “W”, meaning that you can select this menu item by pressing W when the File menu is open.


   List of Keyboard Shortcuts

Menu Item	Keyboard Shortcut
File
New	Ctrl + N
Open	Ctrl + O
Save	Ctrl + S
Save As	F12
Edit
Undo	Ctrl + Z
Cut	Ctrl + X
Copy	Ctrl + C
Paste Into Selected Frame	Ctrl + E
Paste As New Frames	Ctrl + L
Paste As New Animation	Ctrl + V
Select All	Ctrl + A
Select None	Ctrl + D
Window
Duplicate Animation	Shift + D
Help
Help Topics	F1


How Do I …

[topics below]


Open an Image or Animation

You can open any supported animation file or any supported single image in Animation Shop. Note that when you open a single image file, Animation Shop will create a new animation consisting of just that frame.

You can open an animation or image using any of the following methods:

•	Choose File > Open or click the Open button [image] on the toolbar, and then use the Open dialog box.

•	Choose a previously opened file in the Most Recently Used list at the bottom of the File menu.

•	Double-click the file from Windows Explorer or My Computer.

•	Enter the filename in the Run dialog box.

•	Open the file via Drag-and-Drop.

RELATED TOPIC

 Supported File Formats


Using the Open Dialog Box

After choosing File > Open (or clicking the Open button [image] on the toolbar) to display the Open dialog box, use this dialog box as follows:

1.	From the “Look in” drop down box, choose the folder where the file resides. Use the Up One Level button as necessary to help navigate.

2.	If the file is not displayed in the contents list box, select the appropriate choice in the “Files of type” drop down box located toward the bottom of the dialog box. The option All Files will display all file types in the current folder.

3.	From the contents list box, either double-click the filename to open it, or click it and then click Open. Note that additional information about the file will be available if the Details button in the “Image information” area is active. (This button usually becomes active when you are attempting to open a non-animated image file such as a PSP, BMP, or WMF file.)

•	Note: If you chose to open a WMF or PCD image file, Animation Shop will display a format-specific dialog box requesting additional information about the file.

Opening an AVI, FLC, or FLI File

If you choose to open an AVI, FLC or FLI animation file, an import dialog box specific to that file type will appear, requesting additional information about the file. For more information, select the appropriate topic below:

 Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

 Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting Special File Format Preferences


Viewing File Information Details

Use the File Information details window to view information on an image before opening it. The box contains information on the file format, location on your computer, compression method, memory requirements, and creation date.


Opening a File via the Most Recently Used List

The Most Recently Used list contains the filenames most recently opened by Animation Shop. This list appears before the Exit item in the File menu. The list will be empty until you have opened a file in Animation Shop.

To open a file via the Most Recently Used list, simply click the filename in the list.

•	Note: If you chose to open a WMF or PCD image file, Animation Shop will display a format-specific dialog box requesting additional information about the file.

Opening an AVI, FLC, or FLI File

If you choose to open an AVI, FLC or FLI animation file, an import dialog box specific to that file type will appear, requesting additional information about the file. For more information, select the appropriate topic below:

 Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

 Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting Special File Format Preferences


Opening a File via Windows Explorer or My Computer

If the file’s extension is associated with Animation Shop, you can open the file by double-clicking it in Windows Explorer or My Computer.

•	Note: If you chose to open a WMF or PCD image file, Animation Shop will display a format-specific dialog box requesting additional information about the file.

Opening an AVI, FLC, or FLI File

If you choose to open an AVI, FLC or FLI animation file, an import dialog box specific to that file type will appear, requesting additional information about the file. For more information, select the appropriate topic below:

 Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

 Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Special File Format Preferences

 Understanding and Using File Associations


Opening a File via the Run Dialog Box

Open a file in Animation Shop via the Windows Run dialog box as follows:

1.	Choose Start button > Run. The Run dialog box will open.

2.	Type the path or use the Browse button to navigate to where the file resides.

3.	Click OK to open the file in Animation Shop.

•	Note: If you chose to open a WMF or PCD image file, Animation Shop will display a format-specific dialog box requesting additional information about the file.

Opening an AVI, FLC, or FLI File

If you choose to open an AVI, FLC or FLI animation file, an import dialog box specific to that file type will appear, requesting additional information about the file. For more information, select the appropriate topic below:

 Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

 Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Special File Format Preferences

 Understanding and Using File Associations


Opening a File via Drag-and-Drop

You can open any supported file in Animation Shop by dragging it from Windows Explorer, My Computer, or any application that supports Drag-and-Drop. Use the Drag-and-Drop method as follows:

1.	Position the Animation Shop window and the Windows Explorer or My Computer windows so both can be seen. The Windows Explorer or My Computer window should be on top (active) since this is where you will “grab” the file.

2.	Click on the file you want to open and then drag it to one of these items:

•	The Animation Shop window

•	The ANIM.EXE application executable file icon

•	A Windows desktop shortcut icon for Animation Shop

3.	Drop the file by releasing the mouse button. Animation Shop will open the file.

•	Note: If you chose to open a WMF or PCD image file, Animation Shop will display a format-specific dialog box requesting additional information about the file.

Opening an AVI, FLC, or FLI File

If you choose to open an AVI, FLC or FLI animation file, an import dialog box specific to that file type will appear, requesting additional information about the file. For more information, select the appropriate topic below:

 Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

 Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting Special File Format Preferences


Using the AVI Import Options Dialog Box

The AVI Import Options dialog box will appear when you choose to open an AVI animation file. Use this dialog box as described below.

In the Range of frames to import area:

•	Choose the “All frames” option to import every frame in the animation.

•	Choose the “Frames” option and then use the two edit boxes to set the first and last animation frame which define the range of frames to import.

In the Sampling area:

•	Choose the “Take all frames in range” option to import every frame in the range you selected above.

•	Choose the “Take one sample every n frames” option (use the edit box to set the value for n) to import only one frame for every n frames in the range you selected above.

•	Mark the “Merge identical frames into one” check box to import one frame for each identical frame. Do not mark this check box if you wish to import identical frames.


Using the FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box

The FLC/FLI Import Options dialog box will appear when you choose to open an FLC or an FLI animation file. Use this dialog box as follows:

In the Range of frames to import area:

•	Choose the “All frames” option to import every frame in the animation.

•	Choose the “Frames” option and then use the two edit boxes to set the first and last animation frame which define the range of frames to import.

In the Sampling area:

•	Choose the “Take all frames in range” option to import every frame in the range you selected above.

•	Choose the “Take one sample every n frames” option (use the edit box to set the value for n) to import one frame for every n frames in the animation.

•	Mark the “Merge identical frames into one” check box to import one frame for each identical frame. Do not mark this check box if you wish to import identical frames.


Save an Animation

To save changes to an animation, choose File > Save, or click the Save button [image] on the toolbar. If you are saving modifications to a previously saved animation but are not choosing a different animation format, choosing Save will simply save the file to the hard disk.

If you are performing either of the following actions:

•	Saving a new animation

•	Saving an existing animation to another file format by choosing File > Save As

The Save As dialog box will appear. Available file formats include GIF, MNG, AVI, FLC and FLI. Follow these steps to save the animation.

1.	To save the file in a different directory, choose the new directory in the “Save in” drop down box. If necessary, use the Up One Level button to help navigate, or the Create New Folder button to create a new folder.

2.	To rename the file, enter the new name in the “File name” field.

3.	To choose a new file type, do so in the “Save as type” drop down box. (*Note: If saving in AVI format, refer to the section Saving in the AVI File Format below.)

4.	Click the Save button. If you are saving the file in MNG format, the file will be saved and the dialog box will close. If you are saving in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format, additional dialog boxes will appear as described below.

Saving in the AVI File Format

When you choose to save an animation in the AVI file format, the AVI Save Options dialog box will appear before the optimization pages mentioned below. The AVI format allows for special options for your animation, including saving it in 24-bit AVI format. After using the AVI Save Options dialog box, the optimization process described below will start up.

 Using the AVI Save Options Dialog Box

Optimizing the File

Saving an animation in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format starts up Animation Shop’s optimization process. Three optimization pages will appear in this order:

 Animation Quality Versus Output Size

 Viewing Optimization Progress

 Viewing Optimization Results

RELATED TOPIC

 Saving an Individual Frame


Using the Save As Dialog Box

The Save As dialog box is displayed when you use either the Save or the Save As command. Use this dialog box as follows:

1.	To save the file in a different directory, choose the new directory in the “Save in” drop down box. If necessary, use the Up One Level button to help navigate, or the Create New Folder button to create a new folder.

2.	To rename the file, enter the new name in the “File name” field.

3.	To choose a new file type, do so in the “Save as type” drop down box. (*Note: If saving in AVI format, refer to the section Saving in the AVI File Format below.)

4.	Click the Save button. If you are saving the file in MNG format, the file will be saved and the dialog box will close. If you are saving in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format, additional dialog boxes will appear as described below.

Saving in the AVI File Format

When you choose to save an animation in the AVI file format, the AVI Save Options dialog box will appear before the optimization pages mentioned below. The AVI format allows for special options for your animation, including saving it in 24-bit AVI format. After using the AVI Save Options dialog box, the optimization process described below will start up.

 Using the AVI Save Options Dialog Box

Optimizing the File

Saving an animation in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format starts up Animation Shop’s optimization process. Three optimization pages will appear in this order:

 Animation Quality Versus Output Size

 Viewing Optimization Progress

 Viewing Optimization Results

RELATED TOPIC

 Saving an Individual Frame


Using the AVI Save Options Dialog Box

The AVI Save Options dialog box is used to set AVI-specific options for your animation. Use this dialog box as described below.

“COMPRESSOR” DROP DOWN LIST

Choose one of the listed compression options: (Note that the AVI compression options in the drop down list will vary depending on which compressor modules are installed on your computer. Options listed below are compressors included with Video for Windows.)

•	Choose the “Full Frames (uncompressed)” option to not compress the animation.

•	Choose the “Cinepak Codec by Radius” option to compress the animation using this method, which sacrifices animation quality for small file size.

•	Choose the “Intel Indeo Video R3.2” option to compress the animation using this method, which does not compress the animation as much as some of the other options, but it works well for animations consisting of large numbers of frames and colors.

•	Choose the “Microsoft Video 1” option to compress the animation using this method, which is similar to Microsoft RLE compression mentioned below, except the resulting animation quality is slightly less than that produced by the RLE method.

•	Choose the “Indeo Video 5.04 (Intel)” option to compress the animation using this method, which is an updated version of the Intel Indeo method mentioned above.

•	Choose the “Microsoft RLE” option to compress the animation using this method, which works well with animations containing large areas of solid colors. Note, however, that this method does not work well with animations containing gradations or dithering.

“COMPRESSION QUALITY SLIDER

•	Set this slider toward the “High” setting to produce higher quality animations with less compression. Set this slider toward the “Low” setting to produce lower quality animations with greater compression.

“KEY FRAME” AND “DATA RATE” CHECK BOXES

•	To designate specific animation frames as key frames, mark the “Key frame every n Frames” check box, and then use the Frames edit box to set the value of n. A key frame is a frame that will not be compressed or modified compared to the other frames in the animation. For example, if you have a 100-frame animation, you could set the value of n to 10 so that every 10th animation frame will be unmodified.

•	To specify a playback speed for the animation, mark the “Data rate n kB/sec” check box, and then use the kB/sec edit box to set the value of n. You may wish to use this option when the playback speed of the animation’s output medium (for example, a CD-ROM or the Internet) could potentially be slower than the speed at which the animation is set to play.


Optimize an Animation

To optimize an animation before using it on a web page or in a presentation, use the Optimization Wizard. This will offer you a variety of options for fine-tuning the look and size of the animation. Use the Optimization Wizard as follows:

1.	Start up the wizard by choosing File > Optimization Wizard. The first wizard page, Optimized Output, will appear.

2.	Use this wizard page, and then click the Next button to move to the second wizard page. The final wizard page will display details on the optimized animation.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Optimization Wizard


Use a Transition or Effect

1.	Select an animation frame. This will be the starting point for the transition or effect.

2.	From the Effects menu or from the Frame context menu, choose one of these five items:

Insert Image Transition
Insert Image Effect
Apply Image Effect
Insert Text Effect
Apply Text Effect

3.	Using the appropriate dialog box listed above, define your transition or effect as desired.

RELATED TOPICS

 Inserting an Image Transition

 Inserting an Image Effect

 Applying an Image Effect

 Inserting a Text Effect

 Applying a Text Effect


Place Text in a Frame

The text tool [image] is used to add non-animated text to a frame. You can only add text one frame at a time. Unlike other tool palette tools, options for the text tool are set in a dialog box, not on the Style Bar. Add text to a frame as follows:

1.	Select the text tool on the tool palette. When moved into the frame, the cursor’s shape will change to this:

2.	To determine text placement and text color, left-click (to use the foreground color) or right-click (to use the background color) on the frame. The Add Text dialog box will appear. The position you click will be the horizontal and vertical center of the text block entered in the Add Text dialog box.

3.	Use the Add Text dialog box (see the Related Topic below) to enter the text and set text options.

4.	Click the OK button. The text will appear on the frame in the location you selected.

•	Note: If you wish to change the text position or change the text color, use the Undo command and go back to step 2. You can also use the flood fill tool to change the text color.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Add Text Dialog Box


Make an Animated Banner

The Banner Wizard provides an easy way to create an animated text banner. To do this:

1.	Start up the Banner Wizard in one of two ways:

•	Choose File > Banner Wizard, or

•	Click the Banner Wizard button [image] on the toolbar.

The first page of the Banner Wizard will appear.

2.	Use the Banner Wizard pages to define the animated text banner.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Banner Wizard


Work with Layers in an Animation

When you open an image file that contains multiple layers, you need to be aware of the current setting in the Layered Files page in the General Program Preferences.

For example, if you are expecting Animation Shop to open each layer in a separate frame, you’ll want to make sure the “Keep layers as separate frames” option is selected in the Layered Files preferences page. But if you are expecting Animation Shop to merge each layer into one frame, you’ll want to make sure the “Merge layers into a single frame” option is selected.

Note also that any layer transparency information you set can be maintained when opening the image in Animation Shop by marking the “Preserve overall layer transparency” check box.

RELATED TOPIC

 Setting Layered Files Preferences


Overview

The topics in the How Do I section of the help file provide step by step instructions on completing common tasks, as well as tasks that describe how to take advantage of some of the more powerful features in Animation Shop.

As listed below, the How Do I tasks are divided into three groups: Basic Topics, File Manipulation Topics, and Advanced Topics.

Basic Topics:

 Open an Image or Animation

 Save an Animation

 Save an Animation in a Different Format

 Save an Individual Frame

 Reverting to the Previously Saved File

 Set Up a Page for Printing

 Preview a Printed Animation

 Print an Animation

 Close an Animation

 Delete an Animation

File Manipulation Topics:

 Optimize an Animation

 Select a Canvas Color

 Use a Transition or Effect

 Place Text in a Frame

 Make an Animated Banner

 Insert Frames into an Animation

 Change the Duration of a Frame

 Export an Animation Shop File to Paint Shop Pro

 View an Animation's HTML Code

Advanced Topics:

 Work with Layers in an Animation

 Drag and Drop With Paint Shop Pro


Print an Animation

There are three ways to print an animation or animation frames:

•	Click the Print button on the toolbar

•	Choose File > Print > Animation to print animation frames

•	Choose File > Print > Frames to print individual frames

Using the Print Button

A quick way to print animation frames is to click the Print button [image] on the toolbar. No dialog box or prompt will appear. The frames will print in the same way as choosing File > Print > Animation, and then choosing “All” in the “Print range” area of the Print dialog box.

Printing Animation Frames

When you choose File > Print > Animation, the Print dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as described below.

In the “Printer” area:

•	Select a printer from the “Name” drop down box.

In the “Print range” area:

•	Choose the “All” option to print all animation frames, where each printed page contains multiple frames.

•	Choose the “Pages” option, and then enter a page range, to print selected pages.

•	Choose the “Selection” option to print selected frames. If no frames are selected, this option will be greyed out (unavailable).

In the “Copies” area:

•	If you want to print multiple copies, set the “Number of copies” edit box to the desired value.

When you click the Print button, the printed page(s) will use the settings in the Page Setup dialog box accessed by choosing File > Page Setup > Animation.

Printing Individual Frames

When you choose File > Print > Frames, the Print dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as described below.

In the “Printer” area:

•	Select a printer from the “Name” drop down box.

In the “Print range” area:

•	Choose the “All” option to print all animation frames, where each printed page contains a single frame.

•	Choose the “Pages” option, and then enter a page range, to print selected pages.

•	Choose the “Selection” option to print selected frames. If no frames are selected, this option will be greyed out (unavailable).

In the “Copies” area:

•	If you want to print multiple copies, set the “Number of copies” edit box to the desired value.

When you click the Print button, the printed page(s) will use the settings in the Page Setup dialog box accessed by choosing File > Page Setup > Frames.


Change the Duration of a Frame

Change the duration (display time) for a frame or group of selected frames as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s).

2.	Select the menu item Animation > Frame Properties. This will display the Frame Properties dialog box.

3.	If it is not already selected, select the Display Time tab.

4.	In the “Display time” field, set the desired display time and then click OK. Valid values range from 1 to 32,767. Setting the value to 100 will display the frame for one second.


Set Up a Page for Printing

Setting up a page for printing involves determining the paper source and the placement of the image(s) on the printed page. There are two options available when using the Page Setup item in the File menu:

•	Choose File > Page Setup > Animation to print multiple frames on each page.

•	Choose File > Page Setup > Frames to print individual frames on each page.

Page Setup for an Animation

When you choose File > Page Setup > Animation, the Page Setup dialog box appears. (This dialog box looks slightly different than the identically titled dialog box for setting up frames.) Use this dialog box as follows:

In the “Paper” area:

•	Choose a paper size in the “Size” drop down box.

•	Choose a paper source in the “Source” drop down box.

In the “Orientation” area:

•	Choose either “Portrait” or “Landscape” for the orientation. Note that the thumbnail image at the top of the dialog box reflects the current setting.

In the “Margins” area:

•	Click inside the “Left”, “Right”, “Top”, and “Bottom” edit boxes to set the desired values.

•	Note: To switch from “inches” to metric measurements, go into the Windows Control Panel, select Regional Settings, select the Numbers tab, and set the Measurement System setting to “metric.”

Click the Printer button to select a printer other than the current default printer.

Page Setup for Frames

When you choose File > Page Setup > Frames, the Page Setup dialog box appears. (This dialog box looks slightly different than the identically titled dialog box for setting up an animation.) Use this dialog box as follows:

In the “Paper” area:

•	Choose a paper size in the “Size” drop down box.

•	Choose a paper source in the “Source” drop down box.

In the “Orientation” area:

•	Choose either “Portrait” or “Landscape” for the orientation. Note that the thumbnail image at the top of the dialog box reflects the current setting.

In the “Options” area:

•	Note: You can choose any combination of options. Different combinations will produce different results and may override “Image size” and “Margins” settings.

•	Mark the “Maintain aspect ratio” check box to preserve the image’s original width to height ratio.

•	Mark the “Use full page” check box to fill as much of the printed page with the image.

•	Mark the “Center on page” check box to center the image on the printed page.

In the “Image size” area:

•	Click inside the “Width” and “Height” edit boxes to set the desired values.

In the “Margins” area:

•	Click inside the “Left”, “Right”, “Top”, and “Bottom” edit boxes to set the desired values.

•	Note: To switch from “inches” to metric measurements, go into the Windows Control Panel, select Regional Settings, select the Numbers tab, and set the Measurement System setting to “metric.”

Click the Printer button to select a printer other than the current default printer.


Close an Animation

To close an open animation, choose File > Close. If you have modified the animation but have not yet saved the changes, the Save File window will appear.

•	Click Yes to save the changes and close the animation.

•	Click No to close the animation without saving the changes.

•	Click Cancel leave the animation open without saving the changes.

Using the Close Button

You can also close an animation by clicking the Close button [image] in the upper right corner of the animation’s title bar.

Using the File Control Icon

Another way to close an animation is by using the File Control icon [image], located in the left corner of the animation’s title bar. Double-click this icon to close the animation, or click it to display the Control menu, and choose Close.

Closing All Open Animations

To close all open animations, choose Window > Close All. If you have modified any of the open animations but have not yet saved the changes, the Save File window will appear.

•	Click Yes to save the changes and close the animation.

•	Click No to close the animation without saving the changes.

•	Click Cancel leave the animation open without saving the changes.


Close an Animation Via the Close Button

Another way to close an animation is to click the Close button [image] in the upper right corner of the animation’s title bar. If you have modified the animation but have not yet saved the changes, the Save File window will appear.

•	Click Yes to save the changes and close the animation.

•	Click No to close the animation without saving the changes.

•	Click Cancel leave the animation open without saving the changes.


Delete an Animation

To delete an open animation from within Animation Shop, choose File > Delete. The Confirm File Delete window will appear.

•	Click Yes to close the file, delete it from its current folder,and place it in the Recycle Bin.

•	Click No to abort the deletion.

•	Note: The Delete button [image] on the toolbar and the Delete item in the Frame context menu do not delete an animation, but only selected frames.


Preview a Printed Animation

To preview a page before printing, choose one of the two options available when using the Print Preview item in the File menu:

•	Choose File > Print Preview > Animation to preview multiple frames on each page.

•	Choose File > Print Preview > Frames to preview each frame on a separate page.

Previewing a Printed Animation

When you choose File > Print Preview > Animation, the animation print preview window appears. Use this window as follows:

•	Click the Print button to close the print preview window and display the Print dialog box.

•	Click the Setup button to close the print preview window and display the Page Setup dialog box.

•	If your animation spans multiple pages, click the Prev Page and Next Page buttons to navigate between pages.

•	The button next to the Next Page button is labeled One Page or Two Page. When your animation spans multiple pages, click this button to toggle between previewing one page at a time or two pages.

•	To zoom in and out, click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons. You can also click anywhere inside the preview window (the cursor will be shaped like a magnifying glass) to zoom.

Previewing Printed Frames

When you choose File > Print Preview > Frames, the frames print preview window appears. Use this window as follows:

•	Click the Print button to close the print preview window and display the Print dialog box.

•	Click the Setup button to close the print preview window and display the Page Setup dialog box.

•	Click the Prev Page and Next Page buttons to navigate between frames.

•	The button next to the Next Page button is labeled One Page or Two Page. Click this button to toggle between previewing one frame at a time or two frames.

•	To zoom in and out, click the Zoom In or Zoom Out buttons. You can also click anywhere inside the preview window (the cursor will be shaped like a magnifying glass) to zoom.


Insert Frames into an Animation

There are two basic ways to insert frames into an animation. You can insert empty frames, or frames from another animation or image. Choose one of the topics below:

 Inserting Empty Frames

 Inserting Animation or Image Frames


Inserting Empty Frames

You can insert empty frames into an animation using any of the following methods:

•	Press the <Insert> key on the keyboard

•	Choose Animation > Insert Frames > Empty

•	Right-click to display the context menu, then choose Add > Empty Frames

•	Drag-and-Drop an empty frame from one animation into another

•	Copy an empty frame from one animation and paste it into another

Via the <Insert> Key

When inserting blank frames via <Insert> key, they are placed before the current frame. The empty frames will use the current canvas color as well as the display time of the preceding frame. If there is no preceding frame, the empty frame will use the default display time of 10.

Via the Animation Menu Item

Choose Animation > Insert Frames > Empty. The Insert Empty Frames dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	In the “Number of frames” edit box, enter the number of empty frames to insert.

•	In the “Insert before frame” edit box, enter the frame number to insert the empty frame(s) before.

•	In the “Frame delay time”, set the display time for the empty frame(s).

•	In the “Contents of new frames” area, choose the “Blank to canvas color” option to fill the empty frame(s) with the current canvas color. Choose the “Carry forward contents of preceding frame” to copy the preceding frame’s contents into the inserted frame(s).

Via the Context Menu Item

Right-click inside filmstrip border to display the Frame context menu, then choose Add > Empty Frames. The Insert Empty Frames dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as described in “Via the Animation Menu Item” above.

Via Drag-and-Drop

If another open animation contains an empty frame, you can use the Drag-and-Drop feature to add (actually, you’ll be copying) the empty frame to another animation as follows:

1.	Position both animations so they are visible in the workspace.

2.	Select the empty frame in the first animation and hold down the <Ctrl> key while holding down the left mouse button.

3.	Drag the cursor into the second animation and position it between the frame that will be before and the frame that will be after the inserted frame. The cursor shape will appear like the cursor in this example:

4.	Release the <Ctrl> key and the mouse button to insert the empty frame. *Note that by holding down the <Ctrl> key during this operation, you are copying the empty frame from the first animation. If you do not hold down the <Ctrl> key, you will be removing the empty frame from the first animation.

Via Copy and Paste

If another animation contains an empty frame, you can copy the empty frame and then paste it into another animation as follows:

1.	Select the empty frame and choose Edit > Copy (or press <Ctrl> + <C>).

2.	In the animation you wish to insert the empty frame, select the frame that will be after the empty frame you copied in step 1.

3.	Paste the frame into the animation by choosing Edit > Paste > As New Frames (or press <Ctrl> + <L>).

RELATED TOPICS

 Changing Animation Properties

 Changing Frame Properties


Inserting Animation or Image Frames

You can insert frames from another animation or image into an animation using any of the following methods:

•	Choose Animation > Insert Frames > From File

•	Right-click to display the context menu, then choose Add > From File

•	Drag-and-Drop an image or a frame from one animation into another

•	Copy an image or a frame from one animation and paste it into another

Via the Animation Menu Item

Choose Animation > Insert Frames > From File. The Insert Frames from Files dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	Click Add File button. The Open dialog box appears. Use the Open dialog box to choose the frames or image file you wish to add. Click the Open button to return to the Insert Frames from File dialog box. The file(s) you add will appear in the list box. If you added multiple files, you can use the Move Up and Move Down buttons to rearrange the order the files will be added. To remove a file from the list, select the file and then click the Remove File button.

In the “Placement of new frames” area:

•	Use the “Insert before” edit box to select the frame that will come before the new frames.

•	Use the “Delay time” edit box to set the delay time for the added frames.

In the “Images with different size/aspect ratio than animation” area:

•	Set the location for the contents of the added frames by choosing either the “Upper left corner” option or the “Centered” option.

•	Choose what to fill the rest of the frame with by choosing either the “Canvas color” option or the “Preceding frame’s contents” option.

•	Mark the “Scale frames to fit” check box to symmetrically scale the added frames to fit inside animation frame size.

Via the Context Menu Item

Right-click inside the filmstrip border to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Add > From File. The Insert Frames from Files dialog box appears. Use this dialog box as described in “Via the Animation Menu Item” above.

Via Drag-and-Drop

Use the Drag-and-Drop feature to add frames to another animation as follows:

1.	Position both animations so they are visible in the workspace.

2.	Select the frame in the first animation and continue holding down the left mouse button.

3.	Drag the cursor into the second animation and position it between the frame that will be before and the frame that will be after the inserted frame. The cursor shape will appear like the cursor in this example:

4.	Release the mouse button to insert the frame.

Via Copy and Paste

Copy a frame and then paste it into another animation as follows:

1.	Select the frame to copy and choose Edit > Copy (or press <Ctrl> + <C>).

2.	In the animation you wish to insert the frame, select the frame that will be after the frame you copied in step 1.

3.	Paste the empty frame into the animation by choosing Edit > Paste > As New Frames (or press <Ctrl> + <L>).

RELATED TOPICS

 Changing Animation Properties

 Changing Frame Properties


Select a Canvas Color

Select or change the canvas color for an animation as follows:

1.	Choose Animation > Animation Properties. The Animation Properties dialog box will appear.

2.	Select the Canvas Color tab.

3.	Use the Canvas Color tab as follows:

•	Select the “Transparent” option to have a transparent canvas color.

•	Select the “Opaque” option to have a non-transparent canvas color. The current canvas color appears in the color box. Left-click inside this color box to display the Color dialog box; right-click inside this color box to display the Recent Colors dialog box. Select the new canvas color using either of these dialog boxes. (See the Related Topics below for more information on using the Color dialog box and the Recent Colors dialog box).

4.	In the Animation Properties dialog box, click OK to return to your animation.

RELATED TOPICS

 Selecting a Color Dialog box

 Using the Color Palette

 Using the Recent Colors Dialog Box


Save an Individual Frame

Save an individual animation frame or multiple frames to any of the supported output file formats as follows:

1.	Select the frame(s).

2.	Choose the Save Frame As command in one of the following ways:

•	Choose File > Save Frames As, or

•	Click the Save Frames As button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Place the arrow tool inside the selected frame, right-click to display the Frame context menu, and choose Save Frames As

The Save Frame As dialog box will open.

•	Note: If you selected multiple frames, the command will be labeled “Save Frames As.”

3.	Use this dialog box to save the frame(s), and then click OK.

RELATED TOPICS

 Using the Save Frame As Dialog Box

 Save an Animation

 Supported File Formats


Using the Save Frame As Dialog Box

Use the Save Frame As dialog box as follows:

1.	If you want to save the frame(s) in a folder different from the current folder, choose the new location in the “Save in” drop down box. To create a new folder, click the Create New Folder button [image] next to the “Save in” drop down box.

2.	In the “File name” field, enter a name for the file.

3.	In the “Save as type” drop down box, choose a file format for the frame. Be aware that some file formats have Save options available. Click the Options button in the Save Frame As dialog box to access these options. Listed below are the file formats that have options.

4.	Use the “File name formatting options” as follows:

•	Choose the “Long file names” option if you want to use more than 8 characters in the root file name. The maximum number of characters is 256.

•	Choose the “DOS 8.3 file names” option if you want to use DOS-compliant file names consisting of a maximum of 8 characters in the root and 3 characters in the extension.

•	(*Note: This option is only available when saving a single frame.) Mark the “Save frame number in file name” check box to append the frame number to the file name.

•	Mark the “Append leading zeros to frame index” check box to add an appropriate number of zeros (if the animation contains 10 or more frames) to the file name as a way to sort the files in explorer views. For example, if you are saving frames 1, 2 and 3 in a 100-frame animation, the digits “001”, “002”, and “003” respectively would be added to the file names for frames 1, 2, and 3.

•	Mark the “Save total frame count in file name” option to append a hyphen (-) character and the total frame count to the file name. *Note: This option is not available if you chose the “DOS 8.3 file names” option.

•	Mark the “Save comment in file name” option to append the only the legal characters of the frame’s comments to the file name. (Frame comments are applied by selecting a frame and choosing Animation > Frame Properties (or by choosing Properties in the frame context menu), clicking the Comments tab, and entering comments for the selected frame.) *Note: This option is not available if you chose the “DOS 8.3 file names” option.

•	Note: If you have chosen to include leading zeros, the frame count, and frame comments in the file name and the resulting file name exceeds 256 characters, the comments characters will be shortened first, followed by the source animation name, until the name becomes less than or equal to 256 characters. Frame numbers will not be altered.

Save Options for the Various File Formats

Click one of the file formats listed below for details on using its Save Options dialog box.

BMP, DIB	PCX
EPS	PNG
FPX	PSP
GIF	RLE
IFF, LBM	SCT
JPG	TGA
MAC	TIF
PBM, PGM, PPM	WPG
RELATED TOPIC

 File Formats


Drag and Drop With Paint Shop Pro

Animation Shop 2 and Paint Shop Pro 6 allow you to drag-and-drop files between the two applications. Use this feature as described below.

Dragging from Animation Shop into Paint Shop Pro

The easiest way to do this is to have both application windows visible on your screen.

1.	Select a frame (or frames).

2.	Hold down the <Ctrl> key, place the cursor inside the frame, and then drag the selected frame(s) into the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame(s) will open in Paint Shop Pro as an individual image (or images).

•	Note: Using drag-and-drop means that the frames are not linked to their associated animation in Animation Shop. Thus, any modifications you make in Paint Shop Pro will not be reflected in Animation Shop.

Dragging from Paint Shop Pro into Animation Shop

The easiest way to do this is to have both application windows visible on your screen.

1.	Select an image (or images).

2.	Hold down the <Ctrl> key, place the cursor inside the image, and then drag the selected frame(s) into the Animation Shop.

3.	Drop the images under the following conditions:

•	Drop an image onto an empty part of the Animation Shop workspace to create a new animation. If the image has multiple layers, depending on the setting of the “Layered Files” tab in the General Program Preferences, the new animation could consist of one or more frames.

•	Drop an image onto an animation frame to overlay that frame.

•	Drop an image between animation frames to insert it as a new frame.

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Layered Files Preferences

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro


Animation Properties Dialog Box


Animation Properties - Canvas Color


Save Frame As Dialog Box


Save an Animation in a Different Format

To save an animation in a file format different from its original file format, choose File > Save As. The Save As dialog box will appear. Use this dialog box as follows:

1.	To save the file in a different directory, choose the new directory in the “Save in” drop down box. If necessary, use the Up One Level button to help navigate, or the Create New Folder button to create a new folder.

2.	If you wish to rename the file, enter the new name in the “File name” field.

3.	If you wish to choose a new file type, do so in the “Save as type” drop down box. (*Note: If saving in AVI format, refer to the section Saving in the AVI File Format below.)

4.	Click the Save button. If you are saving the file in MNG format, the file will be saved and the dialog box will close. If you are saving in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format, additional dialog boxes will appear, allowing you to optimize the file as described below.

Saving in the AVI File Format

When you choose to save an animation in the AVI file format, the AVI Save Options dialog box will appear before the optimization pages mentioned below. The AVI format allows for special options for your animation, including saving it in 24-bit AVI format. After using the AVI Save Options dialog box, the optimization process described below will start up.

 Using the AVI Save Options Dialog Box

Optimizing the File

Saving an animation in GIF, FLC, FLI, or AVI format starts up Animation Shop’s optimization process. Three optimization pages will appear in this order:

 Animation Quality Versus Output Size

 Viewing Optimization Progress

 Viewing Optimization Results


Save As Dialog Box


Save File Window


Confirm File Delete Window


Open Dialog Box


Most Recently Used List


Run Dialog Box


AVI Import Options Dialog Box


FLC/FLI Import Options Dialog Box


Reverting to the Previously Saved File

To abandon all modifications to the current file since it was last saved, choose File > Revert. The following prompt will appear:

•	Click Yes to abandon all modifications since the file was last saved.

•	Click No to cancel the Revert operation.

•	Note: Revert only works on an animation. If you open a single-image file you must save it as an animation before using Revert to abandon modifications.

RELATED TOPIC

 Using the Undo Feature


Export an Animation Shop File to Paint Shop Pro

Export selected animation frames into Paint Shop Pro as described below.

1.	Select the frame(s) you want to export into Paint Shop Pro.

2.	Export the selected frame(s) using any of the following methods:

•	Choose File > Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro, or

•	Click the Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Right-click anywhere inside the animation to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro

If it is not already running, the Paint Shop Pro application will start up and the selected frame(s) will open. You can then modify these frames as you would any other image in Paint Shop Pro.

•	Note: You cannot modify the animation in Animation Shop until you close the exported frame(s) in Paint Shop Pro. To indicate that exported frames remain open, the Animation Shop cursor shape will change to an hourglass when placed over any frame currently open in Paint Shop Pro.

Using Paint Shop Pro-modified Images in Animation Shop

After modifying exported frames in Paint Shop Pro, you can incorporate the modified frames by doing one of the following steps in Paint Shop Pro:

•	Choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop. This will update the frame to reflect your modifications. This will not close the file in Paint Shop Pro.

•	Choose File > Exit & Return to [file] (where [file] is the name of the Animation Shop file). When prompted to update the frame before closing the file, choose Yes. The Animation Shop frame will be updated and Paint Shop Pro will close the file.

Breaking the Link to Paint Shop Pro

When a frame or frames has been exported to Paint Shop Pro, this establishes a link between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro. This link prevents you from working on the animation. You can break the link using one of the following methods:

•	In Animation Shop, choose File > Break Link With Exported Frames. This closes the file in Paint Shop Pro, exits Paint Shop Pro, and does not update the frame in Animation Shop.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop. This will update the frame to reflect your modifications. This will not close the file in Paint Shop Pro.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, close the file. You’ll be asked to save changes and update the frame in Animation Shop. Choose Yes to update the frames; choose No to close the file and not update the frames.

Undoing PSP-modified Frames

You can undo a frame’s Paint Shop Pro modifications using any of these methods in Animation Shop:

•	Click the Undo button [image] on the Animation Shop toolbar

•	Use the keyboard shortcut <Ctrl> + <Z>

•	Choose Edit > Undo

•	Right-click to display the frame context menu, and choose Undo Update from Paint Shop Pro

RELATED TOPIC

 Starting Up Paint Shop Pro Within Animation Shop


View an Animation's HTML Code

To view the HTML code required to insert a saved animation onto a web page, choose View > HTML Code. The HTML Code dialog box will appear. Use this dialog box as follows:

•	Note: This feature is only available after you have saved the animation.

•	Click the “Copy to Clipboard” button to copy the HTML code to the clipboard. From there, you can use the Paste feature in your HTML editor to place the code onto a web page.

•	Click the Close button to close the HTML Code dialog box.


HTML Code Dialog Box


Insert Image Transition Dialog Box


Insert Image Effect Dialog Box


Apply Image Effect Dialog Box


Insert Text Effect Dialog Box


Apply Text Effect Dialog Box


Page Setup - Animation


Page Setup - Frames


Print Dialog Box


Animation Print Preview Window


Frames Print Preview Window


Insert Empty Frames Dialog Box


Insert Frames from Files Dialog Box


Save Options for BMP and DIB Files

The BMP (Bitmap) format is the native image format for the Windows series and OS/2 operating systems. It does not support transparency or layers. Use the BMP Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Format” area:

•	Choose the “OS/2” option to use the file on an OS/2 workstation.

•	Choose the “Windows” option to use the file on a Windows workstation.

In the “Encoding” area:

•	Choose the “RGB” option to save the image with the Red, Green, and Blue values for each pixel.

•	Choose the “Run length encoding” option to compress the file by grouping large blocks of color.


Save Options for EPS Files

The EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) format is essentially a PostScript file with a bitmap included. This format is often used for images placed in page layout applications; the bitmap is discarded when the page is printed, as the printer uses the PostScript instructions instead. Use the EPS Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Color” area:

•	Choose the “Color” option to save the image’s color information.

•	Choose the “Monochrome” option to save the image in varying shades of one color.

In the “Preview” area:

•	Choose the “Preview” option to include a raster preview of the image.

•	Choose the “No Preview” option to not include a preview.


Save Options for FPX Files

The FPX (FlashPix) format originated from the Digital Image Group, and it uses compression techniques similar to JPG. FPX is often used to store images on Kodak digital cameras. Use the FPX Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Compressed” option to apply JPG compression to the image. You should then enter a compression value in the “Compression factor” edit box, or adjust the slider to the desired value. Values range from 1 to 99.

•	Choose the “Uncompressed” option to not compress the image.


Save Options for GIF Files

The GIF (Graphics Interchange) format is one of the two most popular image formats used on the Internet. It supports images with color depth up to 8 bit (256 colors), and is optimized for high contrast images and blocks of color. Use the GIF Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Version” area:

•	Choose the “Version 87a” option to use this earlier version of the GIF format. Note that this version does not support transparency or animation.

•	Choose the “Version 89a” option to use the more recent version of the GIF format. This version does support transparency and animation.

In the “Interlacing” area:

•	Choose the “Interlacing” option to view the image on the internet as rough and blurry at first, and then gradually sharper as it downloads.

•	Choose the “Noninterlaced” option to view the image from top to bottom as it is displayed on the internet.


Save Options for IFF and LBM Files

The Electronic Arts Interchange File Format (IFF) can save bitmap, audio, and multimedia files. The Deluxe Paint (LBM) format uses the same options as the IFF format. Use the IFF and LBM Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Compressed” option to compress the file using Packbits Compression, a subset of the Postscript Level 2 printer language.

•	Choose the “Uncompressed” option to not use compression when saving the file.


Save Options for JPG Files

The JPG format, or JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group), is one of the two most popular image formats used on the Internet. It is optimized for 24-bit images, photographs, and other continuous tone images. It is not an ideal format for line art, screenshots, cartoons and other high contrast images. Use the JPG Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Encoding” area:

•	Choose the “Standard encoding” option to view the image from top to bottom as it is displayed on the internet.

•	Choose the “Progressive encoding” option to view the image on the internet as rough and blurry at first, and then gradually sharper as it downloads.

In the “Compression” area:

•	Set the “Compression factor” by entering a value in the edit box, or by adjust the slider to update the value. Values range from 1 to 99.


Save Options for MAC Files

The MAC format is derived from the MacPaint image editing program on the Macintosh. The file format only allows 1-bit per pixel, black and white images. Use the MAC Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Header” option to include the header information necessary to open the file on a Macintosh.

•	Choose the “No header” option to not include the header information. You can then only open the file on a Windows workstation.


Save Options for PBM, PGM, and PPM Files

The PBM, PGM, and PPM formats are UNIX native formats for exchanging images in color and grayscale. Use the PBM, PGM, and PPM Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Ascii” option to save image information as letters and numbers.

•	Choose the “Binary” option to save image information as computer-readable 1s and 0s.


Save Options for PCX Files

The PCX format is derived from the Windows image editing program Zsoft Paintbrush. Use the PCX Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose a version number to make the file compatible with by selecting the “Version 0”, “Version 2”, or the “Version 5” option.


Save Options for PNG Files

The PNG (Portable Network Graphics) format is used to transmit and store bitmapped images. It was created specifically for the Internet and other networks. It provides alpha transparency, high color support, and slightly better compression than the GIF format. As of this writing, the current generation of Netscape Navigator and Microsoft Internet Explorer may not completely support PNG, and previous browsers do not support it at all. While the PNG format supports alpha channels and creator information, it does not support layers. Use the PNG Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Interlacing” area:

•	Choose the “Interlaced” option to view the image on the internet as rough and blurry at first, and then gradually sharper as it downloads.

•	Choose the “Noninterlaced” option to view the image from top to bottom as it is displayed on the internet.

In the “File size optimization” area:

•	Choose the “Optimized palette” option to reduce the image’s palette to contain only those colors present in the image. The palette colors are also re-arranged so that any transparent color comes first. These steps reduce the file size.

•	Choose the “Nonoptimized palette” option to use the image’s palette as is.


Save Options for PSP Files

The PSP (Paint Shop Pro) format is the native image format for Paint Shop Pro. It can contain layer, mask, and selection information. Additonally, the PSP format provides optional lossless compression to create smaller files. Use the PSP Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Run length encoding” option to compress repetitive information in the file. This resulting file size is not much smaller than that of the Uncompressed option.

•	Choose the “LZ77 compression” option to compress the file in a much greater manner. This option produces the smallest file size.

•	Choose the “Uncompressed” option to not compress saved file.

•	Mark the “Save as PSP 5 compatible” check box to make the file compatible with Paint Shop Pro version 5. If you do not mark this check box, only Paint Shop Pro version 6 will be able to read the file.


Save Options for RLE Files

The RLE (Run Length Encoding) format provides an option for Compuserve or Microsoft Windows. Use the RLE Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “Compuserve” option to save the file in black and white with no gray information.

•	Choose the “Windows” format to save the file in 4-bit (for images originally less than 8-bit color depth) or 8-bit color (for images originally 8-bit or greater color depth).


Save Options for SCT Files

The SCT (SciTex) format is most often used to store high-color images for professional printing. Use the SCT Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose the “CMYK” option to saves color channel information on the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (K) channels.

•	Choose the “CMY” option to saves color channel information on the cyan, magenta, and yellow channels, but not on the black (K) channel.


Save Options for TGA Files

The TGA (Truevision Targa) format is most often used to store high-color images. It does not support transparency or layers. Use the TGA Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Bit depth” area:

•	Choose either the “8 bits”, “16 bits”, or the “24 bits” option.

•	In the “Compression” area:

•	Choose the “Compressed” option to use RLE file compression. This option compresses repetitive information in the file, resulting in a file size only slightly smaller than that of the Uncompressed option.

•	Choose the “Uncompressed” option to not use compression when saving the file.


Save Options for TIF Files

The TIF (Tagged Image File) format is a widely used file format created by Aldus Corporation. Use the TIF Save Options dialog box as follows:

In the “Compression area:

•	Choose the “FAX – CCITT 3” option to use the same compression method as fax machines, reducing the image to black and white.

•	Choose the “Huffman encoding” option to use a lossless compression method that replaces the most common image elements with smaller shorthand codes and a key to decode them.

•	Choose the “LZW compression” option to use a lossless compression method that groups blocks of color together, similar to a GIF file.

•	Choose the “Packbits compression” option to use a compression method that is a subset of the Postscript Level 2 printer language.

•	Choose the “Uncompressed” option to not use compression when saving the file.

In the “Color channels” area:

•	Choose the “RGB” option if you plan to use the file for computer display, or when printing to a personal desktop printer.

•	Choose the “CMYK” option if you plan to print the file via a service bureau or color separation printer.


Save Options for WPG Files

The WPG (WordPerfect Graphics) format is the clip art format for the Windows word processing program WordPerfect. Use the WPG Save Options dialog box as follows:

•	Choose either the “Version 5.0”, “Version 5.1”, or the “Version 6.0” option to set a compatibility level for the file.


BMP Save Options Dialog Box


EPS Save Options Dialog Box


FPX Save Options Dialog Box


GIF Save Options Dialog Box


IFF and LBM Save Options Dialog Box


JPG Save Options Dialog Box


MAC Save Options Dialog Box


PBM, PGM, and PPM Save Options Dialog Box


PCX Save Options Dialog Box


PNG Save Options Dialog Box


PSP Save Options Dialog Box


RLE Save Options Dialog Box


SCT Save Options Dialog Box


TGA Save Options Dialog Box


TIF Save Options Dialog Box


WPG Save Options Dialog Box


AVI Save Options Dialog Box


File Information Details Window


Interoperability Issues

[topics below]


Starting Up Paint Shop Pro Within Animation Shop

To start up Paint Shop Pro 6 from within Animation Shop, choose File > Run Paint Shop Pro. Paint Shop Pro 6 will start up, and you can edit images for importing into Animation Shop.

Note that you can also start up Paint Shop Pro by selecting a frame and then choosing File > Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro. (See the Related Topic below.)

RELATED TOPIC

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro


Breaking the Link for Exported Frames

When a frame or frames has been exported to Paint Shop Pro, this establishes a link between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro. This link prevents you from working on the animation until the link is broken. You can break the link using one of the following methods:

•	In Animation Shop, choose File > Break Link With Exported Frames. This closes the file in Paint Shop Pro, exits Paint Shop Pro, and does not update the frame in Animation Shop.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop. This will update the frame to reflect your modifications. This will not close the file in Paint Shop Pro.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, close the file. You’ll be asked to save changes and update the frame in Animation Shop. Choose Yes to update the frames; choose No to close the file and not update the frames.

RELATED TOPIC

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro


Updating the Exported Frames

After modifying exported frames in Paint Shop Pro, you can incorporate the modifications into the associated frames by doing one of the following steps:

•	In Paint Shop Pro, choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop. This will update the frame to reflect your modifications. *Note that this will not close the file in Paint Shop Pro.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, choose File > Exit & Return to [filename] (where [filename] is the name of the Animation Shop file). When prompted to update the frame before closing the file, choose Yes. The Animation Shop frame will be updated and Paint Shop Pro will close the file.

•	In Paint Shop Pro, close the file. You’ll be asked to save changes and update the frame in Animation Shop. Choose Yes to update the frames and close the file.

RELATED TOPIC

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro


Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro

Export selected animation frames into Paint Shop Pro as described below.

1.	Select the frame(s) you want to export into Paint Shop Pro.

2.	Export the selected frame(s) using any of the following methods:

•	Choose File > Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro, or

•	Click the Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro button [image] on the toolbar, or

•	Right-click anywhere inside the animation to display the Frame context menu, and then choose Export Frames to Paint Shop Pro.

If it is not already running, the Paint Shop Pro application will start up and the selected frame(s) will open. You can then modify these frames as you would any other image in Paint Shop Pro.

•	Note: You cannot modify the animation in Animation Shop until you close the exported frame(s) in Paint Shop Pro. To indicate that exported frames remain open, the Animation Shop cursor shape will change to a wait icon when placed over any animation frame.

RELATED TOPICS

 Updating the Exported Frames

 Using Drag-and-Drop Between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro


Using Drag-and-Drop Between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro

Animation Shop 2 and Paint Shop Pro 6 allow you to drag-and-drop files between the two applications. Use this feature as described below.

Dragging from Animation Shop into Paint Shop Pro

The easiest way to do this is to have both application windows visible on your screen.

1.	Select a frame (or frames).

2.	Hold down the <Ctrl> key, place the cursor inside the frame, and then drag the selected frame(s) into the Paint Shop Pro workspace.

3.	Release the mouse button. The frame(s) will open in Paint Shop Pro as an individual image (or images).

•	Note: Using Drag-and-Drop means that the frames are not linked to their associated animation in Animation Shop. Thus, any modifications you make in Paint Shop Pro will not be reflected in Animation Shop.

Dragging from Paint Shop Pro into Animation Shop

The easiest way to do this is to have both application windows visible on your screen.

1.	Select an image (or images).

2.	Hold down the <Ctrl> key, place the cursor inside the image, and then drag the selected frame(s) into the Animation Shop.

3.	Drop the images under the following conditions:

•	Drop an image onto an empty part of the Animation Shop workspace to create a new animation. If the image has multiple layers, depending on the setting of the “Layered Files” tab in the General Program Preferences, the new animation could consist of one or more frames.

•	Drop an image onto an animation frame to overlay that frame.

•	Drop an image between animation frames to insert it as a new frame.

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Layered Files Preferences

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro

 Dragging from Paint Shop Pro's Layer Palette


Dragging from Paint Shop Pro's Layer Palette

The redesigned Layer Palette in Paint Shop Pro 6 allows you to drag a layer into Animation Shop under the following conditions:

•	Drop an image onto an empty part of the Animation Shop workspace to create a new animation. If the image has multiple layers, depending on the setting of the “Layered Files” tab in the General Program Preferences, the new animation could consist of one or more frames.

•	Drop an image onto an animation frame to overlay that frame.

•	Drop an image between animation frames to insert it as a new frame.

Refer to the Paint Shop Pro 6 User’s Guide or Help file for more information on using the Layer Palette.

RELATED TOPICS

 Setting Layered Files Preferences

 Using Drag-and-Drop Between Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro


Frequently Asked Questions

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why are there fewer commands on the Edit menu in Animation Shop 2?

One of the changes from Animation Shop version 1 to version 2 is that several commands, including Flip, Mirror, and Resize Animation, have been moved to a new menu named “Animation.” This provides better organization and streamlining for the application menus.

What happened to the Text Transitions command on the Effects menu?

Text transitions have been renamed to Text Effects. Since Animation Shop 2 allows text effects to be either inserted between or applied to animation frames, the program offers two new commands in the Effects menu called Insert Text Effect and Apply Text Effect.

Whenever I save a frame as an individual image file, it automatically generates a filename and adds frame numbers to it. Can I customize this behavior?

Yes. When saving the frame, be aware of the options at the bottom of the Save Frame As dialog box. These options give you control over how the filename is generated.

Can I generate a new animation from one or more selected frames of an existing animation?

Yes. Select the desired frames, choose the Copy command, and then choose Edit > Paste > As New Animation.

Is there a listing of all the keyboard shortcuts available in Animation Shop 2?

Yes. Refer to the “Keyboard Shortcuts” section of the “Important Things to Know” chapter in the Help file.

 List of Keyboard Shortcuts

Can I create vector shapes and text in Animation Shop 2 like I can in Paint Shop Pro 6?

No. Animation Shop’s Line, Shape, and Text tools only support raster output. If Paint Shop Pro 6 is installed on your computer, however, you can utilize the new Paint Shop Pro 6/Animation Shop 2 interoperability features to use Paint Shop Pro’s vector capabilities. Images edited in Paint Shop Pro 6 can then be exported back to Animation Shop as animation frames. For more information on Paint Shop Pro 6/Animation Shop 2 interoperability, refer to the “Animation Shop and Paint Shop Pro Interoperability” section of the “Important Things to Know” chapter in the Animation Shop Help file.

 Exporting Animation Frames to Paint Shop Pro

After I export and modify a frame in Paint Shop Pro 6, can I see how it will look in the source animation?

Yes. While modifying the frame in Paint Shop Pro, choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop in Paint Shop Pro. You can then view the modified animation frames.

When animation frames are exported to Paint Shop Pro 6, why can’t I do anything to the animation in Animation Shop?

You will not be able to work on an animation until you break the link that was established when the frames were exported to Paint Shop Pro. To break the link without updating the frames, choose File > Break Link with Exported Frames in Animation Shop.

Or, to update the frames and then break the link, in Paint Shop Pro choose Edit > Update Back to Animation Shop, and then in Animation Shop choose File > Break Link with Exported Frames.

Why do I get an error when attempting to open some AVI files?

The most common reason you may encounter an error when attempting to open an AVI is that the file is encoded using a video compression codec that is not installed on your computer. Animation Shop 2, like most other programs that support AVI files, uses video compression codecs installed under Microsoft Windows to open and save AVIs. If you encounter an error when attempting to open an AVI file, ask the creator of the file for more information on how to obtain the necessary codec. Most common video compression codecs can be obtained on the Internet for little or no cost. For more information on using and installing video compression codecs, refer to the documentation included with your computer’s version of the Windows operating system.

I used the Optimization Wizard to create an animated GIF. When I look at the animation in different Web browsers on the same computer, it looks fine in one of them but appears poorly in the other. What’s causing the problem?

The Optimization Wizard uses several frame disposal methods to provide the best possible compression without sacrificing the visual quality of the optimized animation. Not all Web browsers support these frame disposal methods. If you encounter this problem, run the Optimization Wizard again and make sure you disable the “Enable Browser-Specific Optimizations” option. Refer to the “Optimizing an Animation” chapter in this help file for more information on this setting.

 Optimizing an Animation

Can I edit or play audio tracks in AVIs with Animation Shop 2?

No. Animation Shop 2 only supports AVI video steams.