Copyright: ®1997 Sunshine Software


PixShow
PixShow by Sunshine Software

Pixshow allows you to quickly view graphic files by directory. It also allows you to automatically preview all the graphic files in a directory in a slide show presentation.

You can also move files (great when downloading a lot of graphic files and you want to quickly store them to a different directory after previewing them), copy files, and delete unwanted files.

The main screen is fully sizable and the displayed graphics resize with it allowing you to view small images or have them fill the screen. The images will not stretch beyond their full size (to avoid picture degradation when stretching beyond the original file dimensions).

PixShow runs under Windows 95 and Windows NT.

Important Topics

Registering PixShow

Contacting Sunshine Software

Brief Overview

Graphic File Manager

Graphics Editing

System Requirements


Autoplay (Running a PixShow)

You can activate the autoplay feature to create a slide show presentation (a PixShow) of all the graphic files in a directory simply by clicking the PixShow button in the upper left hand corner of the main screen.

To change the speed of the show, change the Seconds by clicking the up/down arrows. You can change the speed even when the slide show is running.

Once autoplay is activated, the PixShow button changes to STOP. Click the STOP button to stop the PixShow.


Registering PixShow

Pixshow is not free. You can try the demo for 30 days or until it expires. Then if you wish to continue using it, you must send $25 per computer that will have PixShow installed in check or money order to:

Sunshine Software

2737 Baldwin Street

Jenison, MI  49428

USA

Include your email and we will email you your registration number. Be sure to include your email address so we can email your registration number to you. If you prefer, we can send your registration number via first class postal mail if you don't have a private email address.

Sunshine Software does not at this time accept credit cards. We hope to provide that in the near future.


Displaying Pictures

Pixshow will display JPG, GIF, BMP, and ICO files. To display a single picture, from the main screen simply select the drive and directory containing your graphics files. Then click on the desired file with your mouse.

Depending on the speed of your computer and the size of the graphics file, the file will quickly open and fill the screen. Small files of around 30K-80K on a Pentium open almost instantly. Larger files over 1 meg will take a few seconds to load (as they do in any graphics program).


File List Box

The file select box will only show files with a with graphic extensions (jpg, gif, bmp, and ico). This makes it easier to find your graphics files when they are in a directory with other file types.


Conacting Sunshine Software
Contacting Sunshine Software

email:  fasttrax@ x2.alliance.net

home page: http://www.alliance.net/~fasttrax/sunshine/sshome.html


Overview
Overview of PixShow

The main screen of PixShow allows you to view all jpg, gif, bmp and ico files in a specific directory. You can quickly open a file simply by clicking on a filename. The files are sorted in alphabetical order.

The screen is fully sizable (which will be remembered the next time you run PixShow) and the graphics will zoom to fill the screen. You can also run a PixShow. A PixShow is like a slide presentation of the graphic files in a specific directory. To run a PixShow, simply click on the button labeled PixShow. The interval setting between pics is set by seconds. You can increase/decrease the seconds between pictures even while a PixShow is running!

While PixShow does not edit files directly, its extremely fast browser interface makes it quick and easy to open any supported file type in the graphics editor of your choice! You can even set a different graphics editor for each supported file type.

At the bottom of the screen is a status bar. It shows you how many graphic files are in the directory plus the name and size (in Kilobytes) of the currently selected file. These statistics are updated during a PixShow as well.

A small LED is present to show disk activity while a graphic file is loading. Smaller files (30K - 100K) load and display almost instantly. Larger files, such as those over 1 megabyte take several seconds to load. This load time is shorter than many graphic programs. The LED shows that a file load is in progress.

Main Menu Items


Main Menu Items

Move Files...  - this opens a second screen that lets you copy, move, and delete multiple files instantly. For further help go to Moving and Copying Files.

Delete Files... - this will delete the currently selected file. You will receive a confirmation request before the file is deleted. If you select yes, the file will be permanently deleted.

Print... - this menu item will preview a report listing all the file names and file sizes (in Kilobytes) of graphic files in the target directory (the directory the main form is displaying). If you only want to show a specific graphic type (ie jpg) files, then set preferences to select only jpg file types before printing the report.


Running a PixShow

A PixShow is like a slide presentation of all the graphic files in the current (target) directory. When you have any files showing in the file list box on the left hand side of the main screen, simply click the PixShow button.

A PixShow will instantly start. You can control the number of seconds between each "slide" by setting the Seconds control. You can change the speed whenever you like, even when a PixShow is running! The timer interval setting is saved for you automatically, so the last setting used will be set when you run PixShow the next time.


Moving and Copying Files

Managing graphic files is easy with PixShow. You can move, copy, and delete jpg and gif files from the Move Files main menu item.

From the main screen, select File/Move Files. A second screen will open. This file manager screen allows you to multi-select files for moving, copying, and deleting.

The main screen directory is the target directory. The file manager screen lets you select the source directory. You can change the source directory by clicking on the drive and path controls. Once you have the source directory set, click on the Set Path button to save it if you wish.

For detailed information on using the built in file manager functions, go to Graphic File Manager.


System Requirements

Pixshow should run on any system running Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0. The speed of Pixshow is determed by CPU speed, disk access speed, and how you have your disk caching set up. Because graphic files can be large, disk throughput is essential especially when running an automated PixShow with larger files.

Pixshow will not display JPG or GIF images correctly when using less than 16 bit (High Color) color depth. Be sure you have a video card capable of 16/24/32 bit color.

For best results, use True Color 24 bit or True Color 32 bit video settings if your card allows it.


Graphic File Manager

After selecting Files/Move Files... from the main menu, a Graphic File Manager screen will open to allow you to manage your graphic files.

The following buttons are available:

ALL - Selects all files in the file list.

NONE - Unselects all files in the file list.

MOVE - Moves the selected files from the Source Directory (as set from the Graphic File Manager screen) to the Target Directory (as set from the main PixShow screen).

COPY -  Copies the selected files from the Source Directory (as set from the Graphic File Manager screen) to the Target Directory (as set from the main PixShow screen).

DELETE - Deletes the selected files in the Source Directory. (irreversible - does NOT put them in the recycle bin!)

RENAME - Rename a selected file to a new name (must only have one file selected)

PREVIEW - only used when Auto Preview is OFF. This will preview the selected graphic file.

UPDATE - refreshes the file list to show new files that have been added to the Source File List.

SET PATH - saves the Source Directory as the default the next time you open the Graphic File Manager screen.

HELP - opens this help screen.

CLOSE - Closes the Graphic File Manager screen.

You can also access most of these functions by clicking on the right mouse button when the cursor is over the file list. A pop-up menu will appear.

Auto Preview Checkbox - when checked, everytime you click on a file in the file list, a preview image is displayed. This helpful feature is usually left on. However, you may find it faster to turn Auto Preview off if you are working with very large graphic files and don't want to wait for a preview to load when selecting different files.


Selecting File Types

To select a certain graphic type that is supported by PixShow, from the main screen select File/Set Preferences. This opens a screen that allows you to select which of the four graphic file types you wish to view.

Check the boxes of those files you wish to view and then select OK. Your File List Boxes will now only display files with the appropriate file extensions. This also will affect what files are included in your Directory Report which you can print.

These settings are automatically saved when you click on the OK button.

You can also select a Graphics Editor program for each file type from this page. For more information go to Selecting a Graphics Editor.


Supported File Types

PixShow currently supports the following Windows file formats:

JPG - graphic file format that allows variable compression storage.

GIF - graphic file format used mostly for Compuserve graphic files.

BMP - bitmap graphic format.

ICO - Icon graphic format.


Images Not Displaying Correctly

To display JPG or GIF images, PixShow requires you to set your video card to 16 bit High Color or 24/32 bit True Color. Otherwise, your images will be "posterized" with colors being reduced. PixShow will not display JPG or GIF images correctly with a 256 color setting.

To check which setting you are using, click on the Windows 95 desktop, then click the right mouse button and select Properties.

For best results, use True Color 24 bit or True Color 32 bit video settings if your card allows it.

Note - some video drivers include other features and modify the properties dialog of Windows 95.


Uninstalling Pix Show

Pix Show comes with complete uninstall capabilities. This is very useful when testing new software. To uninstall Pix Show, go to Control Panel and click on Add/Remove Programs.

Be sure you have selected the first tab titled "Install/Uninstall". There is a list box of software you have installed on your system. Click on "Pix Show" and then click the Add/Remove button.

That's all there is to it! Thank you for trying Pix Show.


Selecting A Graphics Editor

From the main menu choose File/Set Preferences. From this dialog you can specify a graphics editing program for each supported file type. If you don't know the path of the graphics editing program, you can simply click on the LOCATE button for a Dialog screen to quickly find the program. The program name must include the full path to the program, the program name, and the extension (usually .exe). as in

C:/Program Files/Adobe/Photoshop.exe

The selected program also must support the file open command which allows a program to open with a specified filename passed as a parameter. This is available in most graphics editing programs today. If the selected program opens but the selected graphics file is not opened, it's an indication that the graphics editing program does not support this feature.


Editing an image
Editing a Graphics File

While PixShow does not edit files directly, its extremely fast browser interface makes it quick and easy to open any supported file type in the graphics editor of your choice! You can even set a different graphics editor for each supported file type.

To edit the selected image from the main PixShow screen, position the cursor over the file list box and click the RIGHT mouse button. A pop-up menu will appear. Select Edit File. Assuming you have set a graphics editing program for the selected file type (for more information on selecting a graphics editor go to Selecting A Graphics Editor) the selected file will be opened for editing in your selected graphics editing program.

You can also open your selected file in the specified Graphics Editing Program by selecting File/Edit File... from the Main Menu.


Resizing the File Selector

Today's 32 bit path names and file names can become quite long. Therefore, you can resize the File Selector panel of the main screen. Simply place the mouse pointer over the splitter bar just to the right of the file selector box, hold down the left mouse button, and drag the splitter bar to the left or right to decrease or increase the width of the file selector.


Glossary

G

graphic type


graphic type

Supported graphic types are JPG, GIF, BMP, and ICO