Copyright: Copyright 1998-2000 Lawrence Gozum


Index
AI Picture Explorer Index

See also	Viewer tool bar	Explorer tool bar

Ai Picture Explorer (AiPICX for short) is an integrated Viewer, Explorer and Slideshow/Image Album.  For speed, Viewer is activated to view an image; otherwise, the Explorer is presented.  Close either form (via eXit button on upper right) or minimize the Explorer separately (see AutoMinimize).  You can run multiple instances with Viewer at full screen.

Explorer

Viewer

Explorer Options

Viewer Options

Opening (Multiple) Files & Previews

Image Catalogs & Thumbnailed Web Pages

Saving, Compressing & Format Conversion

Wallpaper

EXIF Digicam info & JPEG Comments

Bookmarks & Instant Slideshows

AVL Slide Album

AVL Multimedia Slideshows & Screen Saver

How to Remove "Red Eyes"

Image Filters & Color Correction

Screen Capture (PrtSc)

Printing

TWAIN scanning & video capture

FAQ

Registering

Shareware from Applied Insights


Main Menu & PopUp Menu
Viewer Menu & PopUp Menu

See also Explorer Menu	Viewer Tool bar

These identical viewer menus provide a flexible interface; you can hide menu bar and use only PopUp menu (via right-click) for larger viewing windows.

File	Open (selects image with preview)

Reload (reopens image with current viewing options)

Save As (saves/converts files)

Print (sends output to printer device)

Copy to (duplicates current file)

Move to (relocates current file)

Delete (recycles or deletes folders or files)

Unmark(removes current file from bookmarks)

TWAIN | [Select | Acquire]

Bookmarks |

Exit (terminates entire application)

Edit	Undo (restores modified image)

Copy | [Image | Selection] (copies entire image or selection to Clipboard)

Paste (image from Clipboard)

Empty (frees Clipboard memory)

Trim (removes borders of image bounded by selection)

Crop (retains portion of image bounded by selection)

Mask (accurately adjusts selection for trim or copy)

Hand tool

Select mask

View	Standard | Compact | Minimal (shows/hides controls with presets)

Info (file and system statistics)

Media | [Previous | Next | First | Last] (browses bookmarked media files)

Page | [Previous | Next | First Last] (navigates through multi-page fax)

Full Screen

Adjust window (for optimal viewing)

Fit To Window (resizes image to window)

Fit to (Fit To Window with presets)

Zoom to (800% magnification at 25% increments)

Options (viewer, graphics and slideshow options)

Image	Resize (interpolates image to any size)

Resample (resizes image with smooth interpolation)

Rotate (rotates image with "1/100th" degree precision )

Flip [vertical, horizontal]

Smooth (applies variable smoothing filters)

Sharpen (applies variable sharpening filters)

Compute (applies bitmap operations)

Text Mark (writes a copyright notice or other text on image)

Histogram (displays image histogram for advanced image processing)

Colors	Tune HLS (Hue-Luminance-Saturation color adjustments)

Gamma (adjusts midtones)

Brightness (adjusts image intensity)

Contrast (adjusts color vibrancy)

Enhance (enhances contrast of shadows and highlights)

Red Eye (removes "red eye" caused by camera flash)

Negative (inverts all colors)

Gray scale (converts to 256-grays)

Promote to [16M | 256 | 16 colors] (increases color depth)

Reduce to [256 | 16 colors] (converts to 8 or 4-bit paletted image)

Reduce to [Dithered b/w | Ordered b/w] (converts colors to monochrome)

Tools	Explorer (activates AIPICX's Explorer)

Slide Album (activates integrated slideshow editor/image album)

CD Player (activates integrated CD audio player)

JPEG | Text (activates JPEG Text utility)

JPEG | Compress (activates JPEG Compression Wizard)

Batch | Editor (activates monitoring and editing of batch commands)

Batch | Perform (implements batch commands)

Batch | Compress (compresses all bookmarked files with optional batch commands)

Batch | Test (decompress all bookmarked files with optional batch commands)

Wallpaper (sets or clears desktop wallpaper)


Explorer Menu & PopUp Menus
Explorer Menus

See also Viewer Menu	Explorer Tool bar

The interface of Windows Explorer (or MyComputer) and AIPICX are quite similar; as with Windows Explorer, the main menu is distinct from context-sensitive pop-up menus.

File	Open (opens current folder or multiple files)

Copy to (duplicates selected folders or files)

Move to (relocates selected folders or files)

Delete (recycles or deletes selected folders or files)

Rename (renames selected file or folder)

Comment (adds or edits file comments)

New Folder (creates a new folder ready to be renamed)

Exit (terminates entire application)

Edit	Select All (files and folders in list view)

Select All Files (files only)

Invert selection (all unselected items)

Query Comments (finds items with matching keyword)

Match (compares thumbnails and selects closest match)

View	Options (changes thumbnail size and other options)

Thumbnails (displays thumbnails in list view)

Large icons (same as Windows Explorer)

Small icons (same as Windows Explorer)

List (multiple column format, same as Windows Explorer)

Details (report format; includes image dimensions)

Arrange by [Name | Size | Date | Type] (sorts items accordingly)

Refresh (completely updates listing and thumbnails, if applicable)

Update (updates listing with additions and deletions only)

Go	[Back | Forward] (cycles through folders opened during your session).

Up One Level (changes current folder to parent folder)

To ..(displays a Windows Browse dialog with tree view, to select new folder)

Tools	List Files as | Bookmarks (bookmark ALL files in selected drive or folder)

List Files as | Slideshow (add ALL files in selected drive or folder to AVL slideshow)

HTML Create | Simple Page (simple web page for "dummies")

HTML Create | Image catalog (thumbnail catalog of entire folder or drive)

HTML Create | Web Page(s) (instant web page or catalog with thumbnails)

HTML Create | Directory tree (independent Table of Contents page)

HTML Options (changes look and function of Instant Web Page)

Viewer (activates integrated viewer)

Slide Album (activates integrated slideshow editor)

CD Player (activates integrated CD audio player)

Cache | Info shows disk space used by thumbnail cache

Cache | Kill deletes thumbnail cache of current folder and frees disk space

Cache | Kill All deletes all thumbnail cache files of previously visited folders

Tile (optimizes viewer and explorer windows on desktop)

Pop-Up Context menus -- if you right-click list view or tree view a combination of the following will appear, depending on item(s) selected

Up One Level (same as Main menu)

View | [Thumbnails | Large icons | Small icons | List | Details] (same as Main menu)

Arrange by [Name | Size | Date | Type] (same as Main menu)

Options (same as Main menu)

Comment (adds or edits file comments)

Query (finds files with matching keyword)

Slideshow (creates AVL slideshow with selected files)

Open, Copy to, Move to , Delete, Rename, Refresh, Update

(same as Main menu, see above)

Go to (same as Main menu)


Explorer User Interface
Explorer Options

See also Explorer Menu 	Viewer Menu

You can right-click on toolbar or status bar to independently hide or show toolbar, status bar and folder tree.  For more options, select View|Options .(Alt-O) at anytime for a Windows-style property sheet.  Each tab changes a different set of options.  See details for each tab below.

Viewer (options tab)

Graphics (options tab)

Slideshows (options tab)

Multimedia (options tab)

Explorer (options tab)

Folder tree (show/hide tree view containing a list of folders).  Adjust its width by moving the vertical splitter between the folder tree and list view.  Drag & drop operations are also supported.  It can be hidden for a MyComputer-style interface, faster file updates and/or more desktop real estate.  Its pop-up context menu has the following commands: Tip: If hidden, right-click on empty space (no selections) and select Go to from pop-up menu.

Copy to (duplicates selected folder)

Move to (relocates selected folder)

Delete (recycles or deletes selected folder)

Rename (renames selected folder)

Refresh (rebuild tree view)

Arrange by [Name | Date] (sorts siblings of current node)

Tool bar (show/hide buttons for frequently-used menu commands)

Button Text shows/hides toolbar button labels and adjusts button sizes.

Status bar (show/hide feedback on processes and file details).

Thumbnail size specifies dimensions from 64x96 to 256x192 pixels.  This option changes thumbnails created with Instant Web page feature.

Thumbnail color changes background color; default color is current Windows scheme.  To restore to default color, just click OK in color dialog (without a new selection).

Dither thumbnails is a 256-color option that improves thumbnail quality but degrades the  thumbnails created with Instant Web page feature.  By default it is disabled.

Show all files (if disabled) filters and displays only supported files.

Auto refresh enables background monitoring of file additions and deletions.  You can disable this feature and manually refresh (F5) listings for a complete update.

Auto Minimize minimizes application when Explorer minimize button is clicked (instead of Explore window only).  Disable with extensive use of Viewer component.

Single click interface opens selected item as if it were double-clicked (i.e., Win98 "point to select" interface).  Select items by "hovering" mouse over it.  Underline items simulates look and feel of Internet links.  These options require Win98 (or updated comctl32.dll, see FAQ)

Use Viewer will play supported multimedia files with integrated viewer.  Disable option to use default associated application.

Save profile will restore all settings during next session of new instance; you can disable this option to apply temporary changes to a session (or instance for a different view).

Hide folders displays only files in list view; to view more files at a time.

Cache Thumbs saves thumbnails and image information of visited folders to "instantly" reload thumbnails of visited folders.  Minimum free space required can be set between 128 Mb to 512 Mb.  Folders cannot be hidden with this option enabled.  Only one instance of AIPICX is allowed with this option.


Viewer Options

See also Bookmarks 	Multimedia

You can right-click on toolbar or status bar to independently hide or show toolbar, status bar and menu bar.  Select View|Standard (Ctrl-1) to show all controls in default setup. Select View|Compact (Ctrl-2) for compact toolbar and statusbar only.  Select View|Minimal for no visible controls -- all functions are available via right-click (pop-up menus)

For more options, select View|Options .(Alt-O) at anytime for a Windows-style property sheet.  Each tab changes a different set of options.  See details for each tab below.

Viewer (options tab)

Menus (show/hide classic Windows menus)

Statusbar (show/hide image info and current status)

Tool bar (show/hide frequently-used menu commands)

Button text shows large, labeled toolbar buttons.

Path box  docks bookmarks in Browser-style "address bar" for easier access.  Bookmarks can be edited to specify a new file to open directly.  As a convenience, assigned pop-up menus (via right-click) include unmark a bookmark, clear or sort all bookmarks.

Maximize Full Screen (hides all controls in Full Screen mode)

Auto Size adjusts window with each new image for optimal viewing.

Auto Center same as AutoSize; positions window in center of screen.

If you want window to adjust its size but stay at its current position, enable AutoSize and disable Auto Center.  The Adjust window function works independently.

Background color changes workspace color behind image; this is also the default background color used by slideshows.  To restore default (Windows-assigned) color; do not select any color and click OK. in Color dialog.

Multiple Viewers option allows multiple files to be opened simultaneously with a new instance; disable this option to avoid accidentally opening multiple associated images.

Graphics (options tab)

Photo-CD step changes current resolution for all Photo-CD images.

JPEG palette sets color reduction used to decode JPEG files in 256-color mode.

Fax quality sets anti-aliasing when decoding b/w (monochrome) images. Anti-aliased text reduces the image and smoothes text for improved readability.

Auto Reduce (reduces colors to 256-color DIB or 64K-color DDB).

Use Screen (keeps previous image on full screen)

Slideshows (options tab)

Multimedia (options tab)

Explorer (options tab)


Opening Files & Previews
Opening (Multiple) Files & Previews

See also Viewer Menu	Explorer Menu

Using the Open File dialog

The Viewer's Open File dialog includes a preview window and Preview button (enabled by default) that show thumbnails of all valid images; disable Preview button to manually activate previews.  Image dimensions (width, height, color depth or pages) are displayed for selected file.  As a standard Win95/98 dialog, right-click and select:

Rename - to change filename

Delete - to Recycle file or [Shift]-Delete to erase.

Properties - for standard file information

Previewing non-JPEG files (e.g., PNG) decompresses entire file in memory; selected file is instantly transferred to Viewer's window if Auto Reduce is enabled.  You can access networked resources as well as drag & drop files to/from this dialog as well as activate Explorer shell functions (e.g. Open, Send To) for any file.

From the Viewer, you can Copy, Move or Delete viewed (opened) files by selecting

File | 	Copy to

Move to

Delete

Note:	For quicker viewing, activate Explorer (Ctrl-E) to select images with instant thumbnail views or launch the Viewer via desktop applications.  Mapped Network Drives are also supported.

Multiple File Support

If you select multiple files to view, the last selection is immediately opened; remaining files are added to bookmarks (image list in toolbar).  To review your bookmarks, use PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys (e.g., in Full screen), equivalent toolbar buttons, or select:

View | Media |

Previous (for previous image, then recycles to last image)

Next (for next image, then recycles to first)

First (for first image)

Last (for last image in bookmarks)

You can also Clear, Sort, Save and Load Bookmarks -- as well as use it to run Instant Slideshows.  Bookmarks can be edited with any text editor (e.g., Wordpad).


Saving & Format Conversion
Saving, Compressing & Format Conversion

See also Viewer Menu

How to save or convert file format, using the Viewer.

1.	Select File | Save As from Viewer Menu;

2.	Specify destination folder and File type.  PNG and JPG files can be saved with Progressive option.  You can specify compression setting (1 to 100) for JPG files -- initially, try "45" for good image quality vs. file size.  Image catalogs or Web page(s), use these JPG settings for all thumbnails or contact sheets.  For advanced JPEG compression see following section.

3. 	Overwrite existing file or enter new filename in File name Edit box; click Save button.

How to use the JPEG Compression Wizard.

1.	Select Tools | JPEG | Compress from Viewer Menu;

2.	Specify compression setting (1 to 255).  Enable More compression option for 512 levels.

3. 	Click Test button; actual compressed image appears in right pane of dialog.

Unlike the Image Filter dialog, the full compressed image is resident in memory; you can use image scroll bars to compare the original and compressed image.  Adjust the region of interest in original image to see effect on similar region on compressed image.

4. 	Click Save As button.  From Save dialog, specify destination filename then click Ok.

How to use Batch JPEG Compression.

1.	Select Tools | Batch | Compress from Viewer Menu;

2.	Review image files currently in bookmarks eligible for compression.

To add files to the bookmark list select multiple files via Open dialog or drag & drop files from other applications.  You can also use AIPICX's Explorer to open/view multiple files to replace the list of files tracked as bookmarks.  Only image files are eligible for batch compression; recompressing JPG files is allowed but not recommended.

3.	Click Settings to modify compression options (see below).  Click Ok to continue.

Settings button has no effect if using Batch | Test function as images are saved to uncompressed BMP files.

4. 	Select a target folder for compressed files.

JPEG Compression Wizard: Advanced Options

These options provide additional compression benefits with increased computing overhead (slower encoding).  Options are implemented by clicking Test button; resulting file size and compression ratio are shown in dialog status bar.

Progressive option encodes interlaced scan lines for a "transition effect" (applies to image downloaded and viewed online by Internet Browsers).  Image quality usually improves; compression may increase (or decrease) depending on compression setting and other set options.

Subsample option reduces number of color samples and moderately, degrades color fidelity.

Optimize coding option efficiently organizes entropy tables for more compression; image quality is not affected.

High accuracy option uses floating point calculations for improved image quality and compression.

Smoothing options minimize undesired artifacts.  Compression improves as JPEG encoding is more effective with smooth images.  Smoothing effects can be changed via the Filter setting.

Standard filter uses a variable low-pass convolution matrix.  As it works internally with encoder, it is very fast.  High filter settings result in fuzzy images.

Parametric filter also uses a variable low-pass convolution matrix (similar to Defocus filter.  Medium filter settings result in subtle smoothing with additional compression benefits.  This filter effectively reduces image artifacts exhibited with subsample option.

Gaussian filter applies variable anti-aliasing to the image.  It is particularly effective at retaining text and fine lines on a image with moderate compression levels.


Image Catalogs & Thumbnailed Web Pages

See also Viewer Menu	Image catalogs

How to create SImple Web Pages with thumbnails, using the Explorer.

Select Tools | HTML Create | Simple Page.

AIPICX does all the thinking for you and guides you every step of the way. After your page is created, upload ALL the files in the Upload folder (you selected) ... that's it!

How to create Advanced Web Pages with thumbnails, using the Explorer.

1.	Select files to be included in Web page and view thumbnails.

2.	Select Tools | HTML Create | Web Page(s).

3.	Change Page options (presented in dialog), if required.

4.	Specify destination folder.

4.	Overwrite an existing file or enter new filename in File name Edit box; click Save button.

Note:	Select Internet Web Page option to publish your page; Fixed and CD-R image catalog options use file-based URLs for local catalogs.  There are many options to change the function and appearance of your Web page (including contact sheets). Use a fresh folder to easily upload the page and associated thumbnails -- which must be located in the same folder (directory); the full images can be anywhere.  Thumbnails can be saved with Progressive JPEG option and variable compression setting.  Feel free to experiment; you can delete all thumbnails by searching for all thumbs sub-folders with Windows Find Files utility

How to upload your Advanced Web Page.

Upload your full images and web page(s) to the same location.  Upload the thumbnails in a sub-folder called thumbs in same location.  If you do not have a folder called thumbs you must create it before uploading your thumbnails into it.  For example, AOL users would have a directory structure as follows.

mypic-1.jpg

mypic-2.jpg

mypic-3.jpg

mypic-4.jpg

mypage.htm

private

thumbs

_mypic1.jpg

_mypic2.jpg

_mypic3.jpg

_mypic4.jpg

The contents of thumbs folder is not visible.  Open it (via WAOL), then upload your thumbnails into it.  The thumbs sub-folder is case sensitive - all lowercase; thumbs is not the same as tHumBs.  Advanced users can upload the full images anywhere, provided they enter the appropriate Network URL prefix (path) in adjacent Edit box (e.g., http://www.mysite.com/pics/)  -- otherwise, leave it blank  if full images are located with web page(s) as shown in above example.  The thumbs folder can be temporarily changed via Tools | Page Options to any name (e.g., "images" for Angelfire sites).


Web Page Options

See also Simple Web Pages	Image catalogs

Select Tools | Page Options for the Web Page options dialog.  It simulates the actual page (approximates rendering of Netscape 3, MSIE 3 and up) and lets you change the function and appearance of the page(s) before they are created (with Always review settings option enabled). There are three types of Web pages:

1.	Fixed image catalog tracks images from different volumes in one folder.

2.	CD-R image catalog thumbnails and indexes folders for offline storage.

3.	Internet Web Page displays/links thumbnails from your Web site; a Network URL prefix (path) can reference any Internet location. (e.g., http://www.mysite.com/pics/).  An Image banner URL and/or User Home URL can be linked to your pages. The banner appears at the top of the page.  The "Home" button appears between the "Back" and "Next" buttons).  To enter your URL, edit the adjacent edit box (e.g., http://www.test.com).  With image catalogs, the "Home" button is automatically assigned to an optional Table of Contents.  Sub-folder temporarily assigns thumbnails and image maps to this location; thumbs sub-folder is reassigned for all HTML catalogs.

Choose from contact sheets or regular thumbnails. Contact sheets are very efficient and are automatically mapped with equivalent thumbnail links.  You can change the size of the contact sheets via PageWidth setting; additional contact sheets are automatically created to thumbnail selected images.  Regular thumbnails can be split across multiple pages via Thumbnails per Page option.  16 thumbnails per page is optimal for the Internet.  "Back" and "Next" browse buttons are automatically created and assigned for multiple pages.

3D browse buttons shows user-friendly buttons instead of navigation links (recommended with image catalogs); Internet pages may trigger a security dialog (depending on browser settings).

Page Width limits the maximum size of contact sheets or regular thumbnails per row (with File Details option).  File Details + table grid option shows/formats file name and size in a table format, determined by Page Width and thumbnail size.  You can disable this option for flexible thumbnails (i.e., adjusts to any page size) -- filename and size appears in Browser with mouse movement over thumbnails.

Image border adjusts thumbnail border indicating link access in Browsers.  Grid border adjusts 3D frame padding thumbnail rows (NetScape) -- MSIE uses Windows 3D scheme.  Image comments inserts comments below thumbnail; the grid row adjusts to accomodate text.

Page color changes background color (and 3D objects in NetScape) of entire page -- medium colors render best.  Font color affects all static page text.  Grid color affects the exterior thumbnail background.  To change thumbnail's interior background, change the thumbnail color (displayed in AIPICX).  By default, your Windows 3D-color scheme is applied to Web pages; to restore defaults; do not select any color and click OK. when changing any color property.

Use Frames directory option shows Explorer "tree-style" directory in left pane, catalog and images in right pane.  "Home" button is absent, as you select catalogs via Table of Contents on left pane.

Select images only option selects supported images during batch catalog creation.

Always review setting option reviews this dialog before page creation.

Launch browser after (creation) option, activates browser to review actual web page.


Image catalogs

See also Simple Web Pages	Web Page Options

Image catalogs are thumbnail Web pages of images in an entire drive, folder or selected image files.  You can catalog a single-folder or just selected images in a folder; a convenient batch catalog function is also provided for entire drives and/or nested folders.  All catalogs can be copied or moved to any drive or folder on your system; the thumbnail pages will remain valid provided the thumbs sub-folder always accompanies it (and is not renamed).  Avoid file/folder names with "#" or "%" characters --it confuses Internet Browsers.

Fixed image catalogs absolutely references images on your system.  As such, you can catalog various folder contents from different drives, CD-Rs or removable disks (e.g.ZIP drive) via Web pages in a single folder (e.g., \MyPics) to take stock of your images.  As a Web page, your browser automatically views full images or thumbnails wherever located on your system -- image information and thumbnails will always be present even if the media is not inserted -- ofcourse, to view the full image, media must be inserted.  An optional Frames directory can be created to conveniently view an "Explorer-style" Table of Contents in left pane and selected image catalog in right pane.

Note:	Since you may have similar filenames in different source folders, thumbnails are never overwritten; thumbnail filenames are simply incremented -- 00000002.jpg is created if 00000001.jpg exists.  Although average thumbnail is about 2Kb, FAT16 may use 32Kb per file; use a compressed drive (e.g., DriveSpace) or FAT32 or contact sheet option to significantly reduce FAT16 waste.

CD-R image catalogs use relative URLs to offload accumulated images to CD-R or other removable storage media.  Create these Web page(s) in the same folder with the full images before writing the entire folder to removable media; a thumbs sub-folder is automatically added.

Note:	Thumbnail filenames match original filenames with a "_" character prefix added (to avoid accidental overwriting of full image); for a file called "mypic.jpg", a thumbnail named "_mypic.jpg" is created.  You can upload these catalogs (see FAQ) to Web sites, but keep in mind that some servers do not support filenames with more than 20 characters -- as such, you should check your filenames and limit them to 19 characters or less.

Create Directory tree function creates a Table of Contents (ToC) of all folders/sub-folders in selected drive or folder.  Use it as a handy summary to track contents of "offline" media contents; links will view selected folder (in browser) if media is inserted.

Select Tools | Create | Image catalog for a convenient batch function that creates Fixed or CD-R image catalogs of all folders/sub-folders of selected drive or folder.  A Table of Contents (ToC) page links all cataloged folders and includes a Home link in each thumbnail page.  Type of catalog (and look) can be changed via Page Options.  Wiith CD-R image catalogs, the ToC feature is optional; cataloged folder and sub-folders can be moved "up" to any level (e.g. root of drive or volume) or to a new folder provided sub-folders are not renamed or moved in relation to its parent.  If you do not opt for ToC feature, you can rename or move cataloged folders freely.

Note:	If preparing files for CD-R mastering, make sure you have about 400 Mb of free disk space.  If you have 10000 JPG images to be written to CD-R (e.g., using 600 Mb), 10000 thumbnails (2 Kb each) will require only an additional 32Mb on the CD-R (enough to fit a 650 Mb CD-R).  However, FAT16 may use 32Kb per file and consume 327 Mb on your hard disk.  The batch process aborts if you run out of disk space.  Use Contact sheet(s) option to significantly reduce free disk space requirement.


Image Comments

See also Explorer Menu	Advanced Web Pages

To add text to a highlighted file, select File | Comment.  You can also select Comment from pop-up menu via right-click.  Image comments are multi-purpose text associated with each file in a folder.  You can specify keywords, a copyright notice or an extended description.  All comments are displayed in report view (i.e., Details) by clicking an item or Comment header.

o	FILELIST.AIX and FILETEXT.AIX retain all the information even if folder is moved.

o	Associated text is saved when you change to a different folder; it will not be saved with read-only media (e.g.; CDROM).

o	Associated text has no limit; 10 words (or less) is recommended.

o	Comments can be added to Web pages with table grid option.

If used with keywords, you can use Edit |Query Comments function to find all files in current folder with a matching keyword.


Printing

See also Viewer Menu

1.	Select File | Print.  Dialog shows current paper size, orientation, resolution and preview.

2.	Click Print It.

Note:	Click Setup button to change printer settings.  Resize and position the image by adjusting size, horizontal and vertical position scroll bars; the print preview reflects changes.

How to Capture Screens

o	Press PrtSc (Print Screen) to capture entire desktop, or Alt+PrtSc for active window.

o	Select Edit | Paste; then trim selection, if desired.

Note:	In 256-color modes, a palette is also captured; multiple active palettes may cause a palette conflict.  The PrtSc key is software assignable; this is the default Windows function and may be changed by other applications.


Bookmarks & Instant Slideshows

See also Viewer Options	AVL Slideshows

As in Internet browsers, bookmarks recall viewed images.  As a simple list of files with complete pathnames, it can be used to:

o	browse multiple files (or entire folder contents)

o	batch compress all bookmark files

o	run instant slideshows

Bookmark slideshows conveniently review 1000s of files.  As it is sequential, aborted bookmark slideshows position last opened file in Viewer for subsequent file actions or modification.  For multi-track slideshows and impressive presentations see AVL Slideshows.

Bookmarks |

Clear deletes all bookmarks.

Sort alphabetically arranges file list.

Save writes contents of bookmarks to a text file -- with an *.AIP extension (AI Picture list); it can be edited with a text editor (e.g., Wordpad) and used to reload instant slideshows.

Load restores bookmarks from an AIP file.

Note: 	Select View | Media  | [Previous | Next | First | Last] to browse bookmarks or use its keyboard shortcuts and toolbar equivalent.  To remove a bookmark select File | Unmark.(Ctrl-Del).  To bookmark all supported multimedia files in one step, select (from AIPICX's Explorer), Tools | List Files as | Bookmarks; all files in current folder (or root drive) and nested sub-folders will be scanned and added.

Run (Ctrl-R) executes a slideshow using current bookmarks.  The slideshow runs in current window  (or full screen)-- multiple slideshows can be executed with each instance of AIPICX.  Click on Window or press Esc to terminate.

Slideshow Options

Select View | Options (Alt-O) and click Slideshow (tab) to change

Effects presents a dialog to choose from 173 transitions (more will be added). Click desired effects or just select Randomize All (default).  Your settings are recalled and can be edited anytime.  For best results, switch to 32K-color mode (or better).  Effects are randomly chosen in bookmark slideshows from your selected effects.  To independently control each slide and order (as well as other features), see AVL Slideshows.

Note: Bookmark slideshows randomly select effects from effects list -- including "None".  Ensure that "None" is unselected to avoid it being randomly selected too.

Speed changes the rate effects are displayed.

Delay adds a wait to each slide ranging from 0 to 60 seconds.  Check Maximum delay option to discuss or present a slide; right-click on Window to cancel delay.

SVGA Palette affects quality of slideshow on 256-color displays.  Optimal palette displays graphics at their best -- effects are visible but each slide is always cleared (no transitions).  Fixed palette uses a common palette to see effects and transitions; playing video will cause background to be cleared.  VGA palette reduces all graphics to 16 colors; images will be compromised but background will be retained during video playback.

Auto Size video will try to double or quadruple video size (optimal on most systems); otherwise, it is fitted to current window or screen.  Disable for actual video size.

Always full screen will always enable Full Screen to run any slideshow.

AVL jukebox plays audio files till done; slideshow does not advance till audio is finished.  Use this feature if you want to play a list of MP3 files just like an audio jukebox; you can insert graphics between songs as background.  If disabled, you can set the Wait property of the slide to match the duration of the audio track for individual control.

Text position overrides location of text in your slideshow when displaying TXT and RTF files in the AVL slideshow.  Top and bottom options creates a panel at top or bottom of the slideshow window -- enough to display 3 lines of text (depending on font).  Auto (default) creates a panel that fits in slideshow window if there is no user specified panel in AVL slideshow.

Note: AVL comments are independent text windows designed to be shown with graphics (which may have its own panel).  The top (default) or bottom setting determines location; AVL comments are designed to be less obtrusive and are limited to one line of text.


Image Filters
Image Filters & Color Correction

See also Viewer Menu 	Batch Image Processing

The Image Filters dialog quickly previews the effect before applying it to entire image.  On the left pane, you can select the region of interest to test the filter on.  Clicking the Test button displays the modified region of interest in right pane.  Apply button modifies the whole image.  Image dimensions must be greater than 16x16.  You can pre-select a region of interest by using the selection mask prior to image processing.  Filters and color adjustment methods can be replicated and sequenced as batch commands.

Smoothing filters.

Clean is a proprietary filter that smooths entire image while retaining shadows, highlights and edges.  Filter setting determines how much smoothing is applied.  Effect modifies filter strength.  This filter minimizes "blemishes" and artifacts; it also makes glamour photos more appealing.

Enrich is a proprietary filter that increases color diversity by subliminally smoothing entire image while retaining shadows, highlights and edges.  Aside from its pleasing effect it enhances subsequent color corrections by providing adding more colors (i.e., variance).  This filter has no optional settings; it is immediately applied to the whole image.

Gaussian filters apply variable anti-aliasing to the image with a variable threshold.  Each pixel is compared against its neighbors and replaced with the neighborhood average if it differs significantly (determined by your setting).  This filter is effective at retaining text and fine lines.

Defocus filters apply a parametric low-pass convolution matrix, its effect is very subtle -- similar to changing the focus of a camera lense.-- hence its label.

Soften filters apply classic low-pass convolution matrices, use it with "messy" images.

Outlier filters are used for noise supression; it will remove extraneous "dots" from your image at the cost of some "blurring".

Despeckle filters used the median for noise removal and are very effective at removing extraneous "noise" from your image with minimal "blurring".

DeLace is a proprietary filter that removes "staircase" artifacts exhibited with video captures; it will also minimize (if not eliminate) related motion-blur artifacts.  This filter has no optional settings; it is immediately applied to the whole image.

Sharpening filters.

Unsharp mask enhances shadows, highlights and edges.  It is a photographic technique that yields incredible results.  Filter setting determines which areas will retain smoothness; a very high setting can cause a "grainy" appearance.  Effect modifies the strength of filter to avoid exaggerated contours.  This proprietary implementation avoids noticeable color artifacts.

Mean removal filters apply a strong edge enhancing effect; it is the opposite of the Defocus filter (see above) and results in enhanced details.

High pass [medium | light] filters use classic edge enhancing techniques that make an image more visually pleasing.

Compute functions

Duplicate copies current image (required for subsequent bitmap operations).  You can duplicate an image, apply color correction then average (or mask) it with original for subtle results.  Swap exchanges original image with duplicate image to apply changes to modified duplicate.

Average blends current bitmap with duplicate; you can specify how much of duplicate bitmap is used to belnd with current bitmap by percentage.  Mask [Shadows | Midtones | Highlights] blends current image with duplicate image using current image's gray scale to as a combine mask to retain shadows, midtones or highlights.

Multiply (bitmap1 x bitmap2 ) / 255 (enhances contrast)

Minimum compares and retains darker pixels;Maximum compares and retains brighter pixels.

Color correction (with individual RGB channels option)

Gamma boosts or attenuates midtones (see also Gamma supression).

Tune HLS adjusts Hue, Luminance and Saturation.  Read details here.

Parametric EQ adjusts individual or all RGB channels like audio graphics equalizers.

Enhance adjusts intensity of shadows and highlights by contrast stretching.  The Global filter adjusts all color planes; you can also individually adjust red, green and blue color planes (see details here).  The Lighting filter adjusts only the Luminance component and matches Hue and Saturation accordingly for amazing results.

Brightness adjusts the intensity of colors in an image; unlike TVs, individual RGB controls provide a capability available only on studio monitors.  Shift adjusts RGB brightness values by incrementing (or decrementing) all intensities uniformly (see also Zero); Balance adjusts all colors equally towards "perfect whites" (see White Balance).

Contrast adjusts the "black" level of the image; this control makes colors "purer", less "pastel" -- thereby increasing contrast and saturation.  Conversely, less contrast adjusts all colors towards a common gray shade with less saturation.  Supress reduces contrast and corrects images that appear "burnt".  UnWash and Attenuate restores lost contrast (see Contrast Restoration); subsequent gamma and brightness adjustments may be required.


Windows Wallpaper
Wallpaper

See also Viewer Menu

How to change your Windows Wallpaper:

View an image (any image) then select Tools | Wallpaper | Set.

How to clear your Windows Wallpaper:

Select Tools | Wallpaper | Clear.


Text Mark
Text Marks

See also Viewer Menu	Batch Commands

This is a special image text function for writing copyright or licensing notifications on the image.  It can also be used to write location information or date/time stamps (e.g., Paris vacation Feb 2000).  Text is small but readable; it uses a white Arial font (size 8) with a gray border surrounding each character for readability even with moderate JPEG compression.

To use this function, select

Image | Text Mark | [Top Left | Top Right | Bottom Left | Bottom Right]

This function is supported by the Batch Editor.


Border

See also Viewer Menu	Batch Commands

This is a simple function that merges a colored border on an image.  You can specify the color, height (for top and bottom edges) and width (for left and right edges) of the border.  Use it to cover artifacts that usually appear on the edges of video captures or as a final touch to your pictures.

To use this function, select Image | Border

This function is supported by the Batch Editor.


How to Remove "Red Eyes"

See also Viewer Menu

o	Zoom in face of subject and magnify eye.

o	From menu, select Edit |Select mask or toolbar equivalent

o	Using the mouse, isolate rectangular region with "red eye" artifact.

o	From menu, select Colors | Red Eye.

o	Repeat above steps for each eye.

Note: The Red Eye menu item will not be enabled until you select desired rectangular region to be modified.


Histogram

See also Viewer Menu	Image Filters & Color Correction

Histograms show frequencies (i.e., bins) of pixel intensities-- from darkest (shadows) to brightest (highlights).  You can view distributions of each RGB or gray channel.  The height of each bin is proportional to the maximum recorded intensity for any pixel.  If your image has very poor contrast, the bin heights will be very "short"; you can use the Zoom button to magnify bins up to 800%.

You can use the bin values to set shadow and highlight cutoffs for dramatic contrast enhancement.  For typical photographs, intensity distributions that cover the entire range of shadows and highlights are usually seen as more pleasing.

How to Identify Shadows & Highlights Cutoff Values

o	Click on the histogram bin; a "focused line" identifies selected bin.

o	Click on rightmost bin where distributions "rolloff" to identify highlight cutoff.

o	Click on leftmost bin where distributions begin to ascend to identify shadow cutoff.

As the histogram represents your image's color/gray shade diversity (or gamut), it is an essential tool for optimal image processing.  If red, green and blue distributions differ widely, then RGB color correction of may be required.  If distributions are very narrow, then contrast enhancement may be called for.  If distributions are very flat, then gamma correction is recommended.  After applying any image processing function, check the Histogram to see how it affects your image.  With some experimentation and practice, you will acquire a "clinical feel" for optimally enhancing your images.


AVL Multimedia Slideshow & Screen Saver
AVL Multimedia Slideshows & Screen Saver

See also Bookmarks	AVL Slide Album

Multimedia video and audio support is provided via MediaPlayer (MPLAYER2) interface;  visit Microsoft's web site (or our site for link) to download your free MediaPlayer upgrade.

Playing local video and audio files (not streaming from the Internet) is identical to using MediaPlayer.  You also have the convenience of using AIPICX's Viewer interface for sizing, zooming and full screen functions.  Viewing functions used for graphics are available for video playback -- providing a consistent interface for both graphics and multimedia files.

During video playback View functions behave similarly.  You can enable Fit To Window mode to scale video to any size with correct aspect ratio -- or you can zoom in with [+] key or  zoom out with [-] key.  Tool bar equivalent functions are also available.  In addtion, Play/pause and stop pop-up menus are available via right-click.  You can also press spacebar to play/pause playback.

Multimedia Options

Select View | Options (Alt-O) and click Multimedia (tab) to change:

Player controls (show/hide standrd controls)

Track bar (show/hide position tracker)

Status line (show/hide staus information)

Max Full Screen (show/hide all controls full screen)

Auto Play (play opened files immediately)

Volume (sets default volume everytime you open a new multimedia file)

AVL Slideshows

AVL slideshows have four tracks: audio, video, graphics, CD music.  Digital audio (e.g.,  WAV, MP3, AIF, RA, MID) plays until a new audio or video file (e.g., AVI, MOV or MPG) takes over.  Graphics (e.g., JPG) can overlap with various effects and remain as a background for video.  CD audio is independent.   To run, open an AVL script with Open dialog (or double-click a AVL file in Windows Explorer). This version creates/edits and runs an enhanced AVL Slideshow that is backwards compatible with VidFun;

Tip:	You can create an AVL slideshow with all supported multimedia files in one step.  From AIPICX's explorer, select Tools | List Files as | Slideshow   All files in current folder (or drive, if root folder) and nested sub-folders will be scanned and added.

o	Each slideshow independently plays and adjusts to current Window.

o	Additional multimedia files are supported (e.g., MP3).

o	One of 173 effects can be individually assigned per slide.

o	Graphics and video can be assigned rectangular regions on screen.

o	RTF text (with variable fonts and colors) is natively supported.

o	Starting folder and all drives are checked for source files -- easier slideshow distribution.

AVL Slideshows as Screen Saver

Right-click on desktop and select Properties.  From ScreenSaver tab, select AVL Slideshow from screensaver list, then click Settings.  An Open File dialog lets you select and AVL slideshow script.  Click Preview button to test.

o	As in slideshow, click anywhere on screen or press <esc> several times to exit.

o	Enable AutoHide and disable Always on top Taskbar settings to hide Taskbar completely.

o	Password protection is not implemented in this version.


AVL Slideshow Editor
AVL Slide Album

See also AVL Slide Properties	Slide Album tool bar

In addition to simple, sequential slideshows (see Bookmarks) you can create and distribute custom slideshows with the Slide Album, press Alt-S at anytime.  Or, select Tools | Slide Album from Viewer or Explorer menu.

There are two views: Details and Thumbnails.  The Details view is a simple spreadsheet with each slide represented by a row.  Each column represents a slide property which can be modified; click on any cell to modify it.  To modifiy properties of multiple slides, select all slides (Ctrl-A) or individual slides, right-click for a pop-up menu and select slide property to be modified.  You can modify slide properties of selected slides in Thumbnail view, via pop-up menu.

In Thumbnails view, slides are arranged in rows, from left to right, and can be rearranged by dragging & dropping selected slide(s) to a new position.  The single-click (hovering mouse) interface is not supported in this view to allow drag&drop slide rearrangement.

As an album, each AVL slideshow maintains image information and thumbnails even when source slides reside on removable media (e.g., CD-R).  You can create one AVL Slide album for each CD-R.  You can copy, move and delete slides and source file too.  The Slide Album is an application by itself and sports the following functions:

File	New clears current slideshow/album and create a blank one.

Open loads a saved AVL file for editing.  If the AVL file is cached, source files are not required.  Otherwise, source files must be available; removable media files (e.g., on CDR) must be inserted to query info and generate thumbnails on-the-fly.

Explorer activates AIPICX's Explorer for browsing and file operations on source files.

Save As saves script.

Run plays current slideshow script full screen (default); to run slideshows in a window, disable always full screen option option.  Source files must be present.

Edit	Select All

Select Index (selects desired slide and scrolls it into view)

Invert selection (all unselected items)

Add slide(s) activates Open dialog to append slides to slideshow.  You can also drag & drop files from AIPICX's Explorer (or other apps) to add files to the script.

Insert slide(s) activates Open dialog to insert slides at current position

Insert CD track activates dialog to insert a CD audio track at current position

Cut slide(s) removes selected slide(s) from slideshow slides at current position

Relocate slide(s) repositions selected slide(s) to desired index

Find [Name | Next] (searches and selects desired partial filename)

Match (compares thumbnails and shows closest match)

View	Thumbnails (displays thumbnails)

Details (report format; includes slide properties)

Arrange by [Name | Path | Size | Date | Type | Index] (sorts items accordingly)

Rank by [Pixels | Hues |Lighting] (compares thumbnail and ranks by difference)

Controls | [Tool bar | Status bar | Properties box] hides or shows controls

Controls | Album menu menu shows source management commands in pop-up menu

Justify text reformats thumbnail labels for better fit

Source	Open (activates Viewer to view/play selected slides)

Delete (deletes selected source file)

Copy to | Move to (copies or move selected source files)

Tools	[Do | Stop] Thumbs continues or stops thumbnailing process

Cache | Info shows disk space used by thumbnail cache

Cache | Kill deletes thumbnail cache of current AVL file and frees disk space

Cache | Kill All deletes thumbnail cache of all AVL files

Cache | Compact optimizes size and speed of thumbnail cache

Fill Comments populates comments with display name

Tile (optimizes viewer and slide album windows on desktop)


AVL Slide Properties

See also AVl Slide Album	Screen saver

Slides are arranged in rows, from left to right, and can be rearranged by dragging & dropping selected slide(s) to a new position in script.  A popup menu (via right-click) modifies properties of selected slide(s).  Report view  (Details) columns correspond to properties of each slide.

o	filename is source file; full pathname appears on Status bar (with additional file info).

o	color paints background with assigned color (appears in slide detail section just above Status bar).  You can clear it to retain previous background, selecting  Color from popup menu then Cancel the Color dialog.

o	effect assigns one of 173 transition effects.

o	wait (in seconds) adds a delay to end of a slide, you can set this value to maximum and right-click during slideshow to manually advance slides (e.g., presentations).  Enable  AVL jukebox option to play complete audio files before advancing slideshow.

o	gamma corrects "midtones" of an image before displaying it.

o	zoom magnifies or resizes image or video between 25% to 400%.

o	pos [x,y] positions graphics or video file (in pixels) on slideshow display; if the slideshow window is too small, image is resized and centered with correct aspect ratio.

o	panel [w,h] forces image or video to fit the specified width and height.  The position of the rectangle is specified by pos [x,y] properties above.

o	loop replays a digital video file with specified number of loops.

o	volume adjusts audio level for all digital audio/video except  WAV and MID files -- which are dependent on system defaults.

o	rotate modifies image orientation by specifed degree (e.g., 90 degrees, flips it on its side)

o	comments shows one line of text at top or bottom of screen (see text position) during slideshows and covers the width of the display; if this property is filled, text is always shown during slideshow -- this property is searchable and can be used for keywords.


JPEG Text Utility

See also Viewer Menu	Explorer Tool bar

This utility reads standard JPEG comments and EXIF information into a standard memo control.  EXIF info is typically included with new digital cameras (e.g., Exposure and Shutter settings).  You can also, add or remove JPEG comments, as well as remove all non-essential JPEG markers.  This utility supports the following menu commands:

Read selects a new JPEG file and extracts EXIF info and JPEG comments, if any.

Add text embeds text (in memo control) as a standard JPEG comment.  You are prompted to select a file to embed the JPEG comment (e.g., copyright notice/warning, other image details).  The text in memo control can be added to multiple files -- just select a new JPEG file.  Note: If you read a JPEG file with EXIF info or JPEG comments, text in the memo control changes.

Strip | All Extra info prompts you to select a file to remove all non-essential JPEG markers (e.g., APP markers).  This function can dramatically shrink a JPEG file.  Also, use this function to remove problematic makers and Mac (Apple) binary headers (which causes less tolerant viewers to fail).

Strip | Comments Only prompts you to select a file to remove JPEG comments only.  Use this function to erase previous comments (e.g., for subsequent replacement with edited comments in memo control).  All other application markers (e.g., EXIF info) are retained.

Important:	The original file is copied to a *.bak file when Add text, or Strip functions are used.  You can restore the original by deleting the modified file and renaming the *.bak file to *.jpg.  As the *.bak file is the only way to restore the original file, you are prompted to overwrite existing *.bak file before subsequent modifications to the same file.  Mac (Apple) binary headers are automatically stripped.


Batch Image Processing

See also Viewer Menu	Batch Commands

Like macros, you can "replay" repetitive color adjustments and image filters.  It can be applied to

o	current image, or

o	all bookmarked images before Batch JPEG Compression

Batch Editor

Selecting Tools | Batch | Perform activates the Batch Editor; this is a standard memo control with each line representing one batch command.  When enhancing an image, frequently you would experiment with different image filters and color correction methods; in many cases, a series of modifications yields the desired results and may be difficult to replicate.  If the Batch Editor is activated, it will monitor applied image filters and color adjustments and add each as a batch command with your user settings.  You can repeat the batch commands on similar images with similar precision; moreover, you can save different batch files to suit different jobs.

Open loads a previously save set of batch commands.

Save writes batch commands to a *.bip file.

Perform applies batch commands to current image.

Batch Perform [F9]

If the Batch Editor is active, pressing [F9] applies batch commands to current image.  You can also select Tools | Batch | Perform from menu.

Batch Compress

Implements Batch JPEG Compression on all bookmarked images.  If the Batch Editor is activated, it will optionally implement all batch commands prior to encoding each image.  This is a very powerful feature as it will enhance all bookmarked images (unattended) then save results as JPG files.  For example, you can enhance and apply color corrections, and add a copyright notice (i.e., TextMark) to 100s of images on PhotoCD and subsequently encode them for publishing on the Web.

Batch Test

Converts and saves all bookmarked files to BMP format.  When used with active Batch Editor, it will implement all batch commands to quickly test output results.  You can also use this function to decompress all bookmarked images (e.g., for Wallpaper).


Batch Commands

See also Viewer Menu	Image Filters & Color Correction

Each batch command has the following syntax:  COMMAND=<parm1>, <parm2>, <parm3>

where COMMAND is the filter or operation to be applied with up to three parameters.

RESIZE=<width>,<height>  Transforms image to new width and height specifications.

RESAMPLE=<width>,<height>  Same as RESIZE; uses smoothing to avoid jaggies.

ROTATE=<degree>  Transforms image by rotating it; degree can be 1 to 359.

The following filters apply smoothing effects.

GAUSSIAN=<setting> (1 to 255)

OUTLIER=<setting> (1 to 255)

DEFOCUS=<setting> (1 to 255)

SOFTEN=<setting> (1 to 10)

DESPECKLE=<setting> (1 to 9)

DELACE

ENRICH

CLEAN=<setting>,<effect>

Setting (1 to 255) controls how much smoothing is applied; effect (1 to 255) modifies filter strength.

The following filters apply sharpening effects.

MEANREMOVAL=<setting> (1 to 8)

HIGHPASSMEDIUM=<setting> (1 to 4)

HIGHPASSLIGHT=<setting> (1 to 4)

UNSHARPMASK=<setting>,<effect>

Setting (1 to 255) controls how much sharpening is applied; effect (1 to 255) modifies filter strength.

GAMMA=<red>, <green>, <blue>

GAMMA_SUPRESS=<red>, <green>, <blue>

Boosts or attenuates midtones; parameters adjust RGB channel settings (1 to 500)

BRIGHTNESS=<red>, <green>, <blue>

SHIFT=<red>, <green>, <blue>

Adjusts intensity of colors; each parameter adjusts RGB channel settings (-127 to 127)

CONTRAST=<red>, <green>, <blue>

Adjusts the "black" level (same as TV); each parameter adjusts RGB channel settings (-127 to 127)

SUPRESS=<shadows>,<highlights>

Compresses all intensities to fit specified shadows and highlights parameters (1 to 255).

UNWASH and ATTENUATE restore lost contrast (particularly shadows and midtones)).

ENHANCE=<shadows>,<highlights>

Stretches all color levels between shadows and highlights parameters (1 to 255)

LIGHTING=<shadows>,<highlights>

Stretches all gray levels between shadows and highlights parameters (1 to 255). Hues and Saturation and mapped to conform to adjusted gray levels.  Read details here.

SHADOWS=<red>, <green>, <blue>

HIGHLIGHTS=<red>, <green>, <blue>

Adjusts shadows or highlights; parameters adjust RGB channel settings (1 to 255)

HLS=<hue>, <luminance>, <saturation>

Each paramater (-999 to 999) modifies the color space parameter.  Read details here.

Parametric Equalizer boosts or attenuates intensities colors with a specified center (0 to 255) frequency between shadows and highlights; band (7 to 127) can be narrow or wide.  Adjust gain (-127 to +127) darken or brighten.

PARAMETRIC_EQ_ALL=<center>,<band>,<gain>

PARAMETRIC_EQ_RED=<center>,<band>,<gain>

PARAMETRIC_EQ_GRN=<center>,<band>,<gain>

PARAMETRIC_EQ_BLU=<center>,<band>,<gain>

BORDER=<color>, <width>, <height>

Merges a border with specified color, width and height (in pixels).

The following commands add a TextMark to the image.

TEXTMARK_TOPRIGHT=<text>

TEXTMARK_TOPLEFT=<text>

TEXTMARK_BOTTOMLEFT=<text>

TEXTMARK_BOTTOMRIGHT=<text>

The following commands compare and modify source image against a duplicate.

DUPLICATE (copies last modified image)

SWAP (exchange current and duplicate image)

AVERAGE=<percent>(1 to 99)

MULTIPLY (bitmap1 x bitmap2 ) / 255 (enhances contrast)

MINIMUM (retains darker pixels)

MAXIMUM (retains brighter pixels)

The following blend current and duplicate image with variable bands (1 to 500); gray scale of current or duplicate image is used as a combine mask (0 to 99) to retain desired colors.

MASK_SHADOWS=<band>,<mask>

MASK_MIDTONES=<band>,<mask>

MASK_HIGHLIGHTS=<band>,<mask>


File Formats

This version supports:

*AIF

*AU

*AVI

BMP

*CD audio

*DAT(VideoCD)

DCX

DIB

*EMF

*FPX

JPG

*M1V

*MID

*MOV

*MPG

*MP2

*MP3

*MPV

PCD(Photo-CD)

PCX

PNG

*QT

*RA

*RM

*RMI

*RTF

*SND

TGA

TIF

*TXT

*WAV

*WMF

*view or playback only


Questions & Answers
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) & Answers

Select FAQ (ReadMe) from your task bar; this text file covers compatibility issues (if any).  You can access updates and other resources from our Web page(s); select Help | Web page or visit

http://members.aol.com/AIPICT/


JPG/JIF (Joint Photographic Experts Group)
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group)

JPG files contain 24-bit color (or 8-bit gray) images.  With variable compression, you can encode files with "near-lossless" quality or tiny files with negligible loss.  Progressive JPEG (read/write) is supported (useful for creating Web pages).


AVI (Audio Video Interleave)

These are Windows video or animation files (usually with audio).  All flavors are supported; use MediaPlayers' upgrade function to check for new codecs (compressor/decompressor).  In particular, check for new Intel Indeo codecs (they change often)


MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)
MIDI/RMI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface)

These are music files that play predesigned instruments mapped to your Windows audio device.  Sound quality will depend on your audio card.


MOV (QuickTime MOVie)
MOV/QT (QuickTime MOVie)

These are Apple (Mac) video or animation files (usually with audio).  Quicktime 1 & 2 are supported; QuicktimeVR and QuickTime 3 codecs (e.g., Sorenson, QDesign) are not yet supported -- use MediaPlayers' upgrade function to check for new codec (compressor/decompressor).


MPEG (Motion Pictures Experts Group)

These are audio and video multimedia files. Files with MPG, M1V, MPE, MPV, MPEG are usually audio/video files.  Most are encoded with MPEG-1 compression (same as VideoCD).  MP3 and MP2 files are supported audio files compressed with MPEG-2 compression variants.  M2V video files are compressed with MPEG-2 compression (same as DVD video)  and may not yet supported -- use MediaPlayers' upgrade function to check for new codec (compressor/decompressor).

*.DAT files (on VideoCDs) are MPEG-1 streams.  Since *.DAT is generically used by many applications for "data" it is available when you explicity select it from the OpenDialog (i.e., VideoCD filter).  Opening *.DAT files that are not MPEG-1 streams will result in a non-fatal error.


PNG (Portable Network Graphics)

PNG was born out of the GIF/LZW controversy.  It embodies advanced features of the aborted GIF24 format: lossless 24-bit color, 256-colors, Web page support (e.g., Netscape 4 and  MSIE 4, Office97, PhotoShop 5), transparency, progressive displays ... It is patent-free and compresses 256-color images to 40% smaller than GIF.  Progressive PNG (read/write) is supported.  To learn more visit the PNG Home Page.


PNG Home Page
PNG Home Page (WWW)

To learn more or get programming code, visit:

http://www.cdrom.com/pub/png/


GIF/LZW Controversy

To read all about it, see:

ftp://ftp.fastgraph.com/fg/misc/giflzw1.txt

or PC Magazine's article on the "The Software-Patent Ambush" at

http://www.pcmag.com/issues/1406/06seymou.htm


AU/SND (Sun AUdiot)
AU/SND (Sun AUdio)

These are Sun audio files usually found on the Internet.


PCX (ZSoft)
PCX (Paintbrush)

PCX files originated with Zsoft's Paintbrush program and supported only 16 colors; it quickly became and industry standard and supports up 24-bit color.  Files are uncompressed or run-length encoded.


DCX (Intel Fax)

These are multiple-page PCX files (run-length encoded) originating with Intel's fax hardware and software.  This version includes support for reading multi-page fax files.


PCD (Kodak Photo-CD)

This 24-bit color format is composed of Image Pacs on CDROM with several resolutions -- up to 4096x6144 with Pro Photo CD.  Catalog Disks can store 6000 images at lower resolutions.  Since Pro resolution requires 75 Mb per image, base resolution (512x768) is always the default; to change Viewer's resolution, select

View | Options | PCD size

Image is reloaded if currently viewed.  Encrypted images are avoided for uninterrupted slideshows.  Only permitted resolutions are decoded; select View | Info for details and available resolutions.


FPX (Kodak FlashPix)

This 24-bit color format is a multiple-page document starting with the thumbnail to the largest encoded resolution.  By default, the next-to-highest resolution is loaded.  To cycle through all available resolutions click the Next Page button.  Both native and JPEG flavors are read.


RA (RealAudio) & RM (RealVideo)

These multimedia formats originated over the Internet.  They must be downloaded completely to your local hard disk for playback.  RAM and RMM files are streaming formats (i.e.; require an active Internet connection); if you created these files, you can rename them to *.RA and *.RM respectively for local playback.


RTF (Rich Text Format) & Text Files
RTF (Rich Text Format) & TXT (Text)

RTF files are text documents with variable font size, color and styles.  TXT (text) files are regular ASCII documents with no formatting.  Both formats are used primarily in AVL slideshows.  You can use the Viewer to view then, but only the portion that fits current Window size is rendered.  Use WordPad or wordprocessor to create these files.


TIF (Tagged Image File Format)

TIFF was originated by Aldus to be a universal format; it supports B/W to 24-bit color files; this version reads all TIFF 6.0 flavors (except LZW-compressed images).


TGA (Truevision TarGA)
TGA (TarGA)

Originally created for Truevision's products, this format supports 256-colors, 16-bit, 24-bit and 32-bit color files (uncompressed or run-length encoded).  This version reads all flavors.


WAV (Waveform Audio)
WAV (Wavform Audio)

These are Windows digital audio files.


WMF (Windows MetaFile)

These are Windows vector graphics which may also contain a bitmap.  EMF (Enhanced MetaFile) is an improved format of the same.  Both WMF and EMF files are supported and converted to bitmap format prior to display so that subsequent conversion as well as display effects are possible.  Default Windows color scheme is used for background; AVL slideshows can assign a different background per slide.


AIFF/AIFC (Apple Audio)

These are Apple (Mac) audio files.


memo control

The memo control shows and edits plain text -- it behaves like a typical Windows text edior (i.e., you can type and edit text in the control.  Text selection is accomplished via mouse drags (i.e., from start to end of desired text) or by using the edit keys (e.g., PgUp, PgDn, Home,End, left and right arrow keys) with shift key down.

Del deletes selected text.

Ctrl-A selects all text.

Ctrl-C copies selected text (in memo control) to Windows clipboard.

Ctrl-V pastes text from Windows clipboard and replaces selected text in memo control.  Note: Plain text can be pasted from other apps (e.g., Wordpad) if you copy it to Windows clipboard.


Viewer Tool bar

Open File Dialog (Ctrl+O)

Explore (Ctrl+E) activates AIPICX explorer.

Full screen (Alt+Enter) shows full screen image (can be fitted or zoomed); press Esc to exit.

Adjust window (Ctrl+A) trims background and centers window to optimal viewing.

Fit to window (Ctrl+F) fits image to window; disable for actual image.

 	Zoom down | up changes magnification (25% increments up to 800%); add ("+") and subtract ("-") keys on numeric keypad are equivalent.

 	Hand tool scrolls image via "hand" cursor if larger than viewing window.  Select mask sets rectangular areas for trimming or clipboard copies via "cross hairs" cursor.

Next page cycles through and views the next page of multipage fax; Shift-PgUp, Shift-PgDn, Shift-Home and Shift-End keys can also be used to navigate.

 	Previous | Next image cycles through and views images in bookmarks list box (adjacent).  PgUp, PgDn, Home and End keys can be used to navigate (e.g., in Full screen).  Viewed files or multiple file (loaded via dialog or drag & drop) are tracked; you can even run instant slideshows with bookmarked files.  Each instance tracks its own bookmarks.


Explorer Tool bar

Up One Level changes current folder to parent folder (directory).

Open current folder or views multiple files.

Delete recycles or deletes selected folders or files.

Slides  (creates an instant AVL slideshow)

Extra JPEG info  (shows EXIF and JPEG comments)

Folder Tree view  (show or hide)

Thumbnails displays image thumbnails.

Views (changes view style, same as Win98 Explorer)

 	Back | Forward cycles through folders opened during your session.  Each instance of AIPICX tracks its own history of opened folders.


Slide Album Tool bar

Open an AVL slideshow/album

Explore activates AIPICX explorer.

Save writes an AVL file to disk

Run tests slideshow from any slide position

Open views or plays selected source files

Delete recycles or deletes selected source files

Copy or move (with shift key pressed) selected source files

Album menu shows source management commands in pop-up menu

 	Add | Insert appends or inserts new slides

Cut removes selected slides (source is unaffected)

Relocate moves selected slides to new position (index)

Thumbnails displays image thumbnails.

Details changes view style to report format with columns


AVL (Audio/Video List)

AVL files are text files that script multimedia slideshows.  AiPICX v4 enhances its capability as a Slide Album manager.


Fax quality

This option sets anti-aliasing when decoding b/w (monochrome) images; there are four settings: None to 16 shades.  Anti-aliased text reduces the image and smoothes text for improved readability but adds a performance penalty (i.e., speed) to the decoding process.


Auto Reduce

This option optimizes JPEG image decoding and viewing quality.  Image colors are automatically reduced to match your current video driver.  It you want to print or modify an image with maximum color information, disable this option.  In 256-color modes, disabling this option will be highly noticeable.  In 24-bit (True color) mode, scrolling may improve when disabled.


BMP/DIB (Device Independent Bitmap)

DIBs are Windows bitmaps in their original color format.  For precise image processing or enhanced printing, turn OFF Auto Reduce option to load images as DIBs.  In 256-color mode, loading 24-bit images (e.g., JPEG) results in a "posterized" display.  The file format is used natively for Windows Wallpaper (see FAQ); they may be uncompressed or use run-length encoding.


DDB (Device Dependent Bitmap)

DDBs are Windows bitmaps forced to match your current video mode (e.g., 32K-color).  They have a speed advantage for viewing images.  Its disadvantage is lost resolution (which you cannot see) at resolutions less than the original image file (e.g, viewing 24-bit JPG files in 32K-color mode).  Auto Reduce option loads images as DDBs in 32K or 64K-color modes.


Status bar

The Status bar displays image information and processing status; you can hide it for more "real estate" via menu option.  From left to right, panels contain:

a. Readiness or progress bar.

b. Current magnification or "Fit" (for Fit to Window).

c. Image height, width, color depth); scaled jpeg image; bitmap type (ddb or dib).

In Fit to Window mode the full JPEG image may not be required; a scaled sample may be loaded (for speed and memory conservation).  [1:2] indicates that only a portion of the image was loaded  to show the image at a 50% zoom level; [1:4} indicates a 25% level and so forth.


Full screen mode

In this mode, the entire desktop is the viewing window; to show menu and toolbar (ala Windows 98), disable Max Full screen option.  All non-interface options are available via Pop-up menu (right-click); press Esc to return to Normal Window or select View | Normal.  You can switch between instances by pressing Alt-Tab.


Adjust window

This option adjusts window size for optimal viewing.  If Fit to Window is disabled, window is centered and resized to show most of your image; otherwise, window is reduced to minimize unnecessary borders and background.


Fit to Window

This option resizes the image to fit any window size.  If disable, the actual image is displayed; zooming in/out and a hand tool is made available for scrolling the image.  The Fit to option behaves similarly and adjusts WIndow size to fit desired magnification; if possible.  If full JPEG image is not required; only a scaled sample is loaded (for speed and memory conservation).


Zooming

Zooming in or out changes image magnification by 25% (up to 800%); add ("+") and subtract ("-") keys on numeric keypad are equivalent.  The Zoom to menu option displays a dialog with presets.  A hand tool is automatically enabled for scrolling the image (if required).  The Fit To Window option disables zoom function.


Use Screen

This specialized option retains the previous image on the display screen (surface) and works in conjunction with Auto Reduce option.  It is useful for browsing 1000s of images as it avoids screen refreshes between images.  It is active only in full screen at 100% magnification  This option requires a HiColor (32K colors) video mode or better (e.g., 24-bit, TrueColor).


TWAIN
TWAIN (Tool Without An Interesting Name)

This is an interface for acquiring images from external devices (e.g., scanners, video grabbers).

Select File | TWAIN | Select to acquire an image via any installed TWAIN device.

Select File | TWAIN | Acquire to begin acquisition with default TWAIN driver.

TWAIN drivers have their own interface and controls; acquired images appear in Viewer.  Use only 32-bit TWAIN drivers.  Acquiring LARGE images (e.g., >32 Mb in size) can take a long time depending on your computer, free memory and TWAIN device characteristics.


Open command
Open (command)

Opens current folder or views multiple files with integrated viewer.  Unsupported files and executables are launched via file association (determined by Windows).  It is disabled if no items are selected.

In Viewer, an Open File Dialog is activated.


Copy To command
Copy to (command)

Displays a Windows Browse dialog to select destination folder (directory) for duplicating multiple files or folder(s). It is disabled if no items are selected.


Move To command
Move to (command)

Displays a Windows Browse dialog to select destination folder (directory) for relocating multiple files or folder(s). It is disabled if no items are selected.

In Viewer, the current bookmark is also removed.


Delete command
Delete (command)

Recycles current folder or multiple files; if the Shift key is pressed you are prompted to delete the item(s) and avoid the recycling bin. It is disabled if no items are selected.

In Viewer, the current bookmark is also removed.


Rename command
Rename (command)

Renames the current folder or file.  It is disabled if no items are selected.  Press Esc to abort.

In Viewer, the same function is available via Open File Dialog.


multiple file selection

Click desired filenames with Ctrl key pressed to highlight selection.  Repeat the process on other filenames.  To unselect, click on a previously selected filename (highlighted) with Ctrl key pressed.  For a range of files, click on a starting filename then click another file with Shift key pressed; all files between first selected file and current file are selected.  To select all files in current folder click on a filename then press Ctrl-A.

AIPICX's Explorer supports single-click interface; "hover" mouse over item to select while holding down appropriate key.  This applies to folders (directories) too.  You can drag & drop multiple files via AIPICX's Explorer, Windows Explorer (or My Computer), and other applications.


desktop integration

If you elected file association (e.g., JPG) during setup, viewing files via Windows Explorer (or My Computer) is automatic -- AIPICX's Viewer is launched with selected image.  You can also use the Send to context menu available on all Windows desktop applications.


list view

This is the main control that displays files and folders in a many styles (including thumbnails).  When items are selected (or not) a different pop-up menu appears with right-click.  Unlike Windows Explorer (or MyComputer), you don't need to scroll to an "empty" space to "drop" items, you can "drop" items on files -- dropping items on folders copies or moves them to that target folder.


tree view

This control displays a heirarchy of folders.  If there are sub-folders, you can expand it (access sub-folder) by clicking the "+" button or collapse it (hide sub-folders) by clicking the "-" button.

Clicking a tree view item changes current folder (directory) and immediatelys display its contents; this is handy when browsing multiple folders (e.g., CDROM picture collections).


contact sheets

These are large (sequential) bitmaps packed with multiple thumbnails; they closely represent what photographers get when they want a positive image of their "negatives".  Contact sheets avoid many little thumbnail files (which eat disk space) and simplifies uploading/publishing your web page.  Each thumbnail in the contact sheet represents one picture and includes the filename at the bottom; the size of the contact sheet depends on PageWidth setting.  Since you can view contact sheets independently (i.e. does not have to be in a Web page), they are always sized to screen dimensions.  If PageWidth is 640 then a 640x480 contact sheet is made -- 1024 results in 1024x768 and so on.  The number of thumbnails (per contact sheet) varies with thumbnail size and contact sheet size.


drag & drop

Drag & drop is a method to copy or move files between applications.  After selecting files (or folders) drag them (keeping left or right mouse button down) to another application.  AIPICX's Explorer accepts files and folders, as well as transfers between its Folder tree and list view.  The Viewer accepts files from its Explorer and other applications -- transferring files within a control is supported only by the Viewer's Open File Dialog.  The AVL Slide Editor will accept dropped files from other applications; dragging is intended soley for moving slides to another position in the slideshow script


mapped network drive

AIPICX's Viewer can view shared files over a network, in native UNC (Universal Naming Convention) format (e.g., "\\servername\g\shared"); just drag and drop it on Viewer's workspace.  However, the UNC must be translated and assigned a drive letter for it to be visible in AIPICX's Explorer.  Right-click on Network Neighborhood and select Map Network Drive;  once the new drive is visible in MyComputer or Windows Explorer, it will also be visible in AIPICX's Explorer.


Tile

This function optimizes Viewer, Explorer and Slideshow Editor/Album windows on your desktop.  Viewer window occupies half of your desktop on left side; if AutoSize and AutoCenter options are disabled, it will remain there.  Explorer window or Slideshow Editor/Album appears on right side; if both are visible, each occupies a quadrant.  The Windows taskbar limits the size and position of all of AIPICX's windows.  If you invoke this function with shift key pressed, then Windows taskbar is disregarded to provide more real estate.  This function works even if Viewer is in full screen -- creating a fixed, "naked" viewing window.


rotate

This function rotates image with 1 degree or "1/100" degree precison.  Shortcuts to 90 degree and 270 degree are included, as these are commonly used with images on the Internet.


image matching

These functions "find images that look like this".  It weighs the differences between image thumbnails (which represent the full image) and selects the thumbnail with the least difference as closest -- both images are subsequently sent to the Viewer for closer inspection.  Use it to find duplicates with different names, file dates and sizes.

The Slide Album has fuzzy logic routines for image matching to compare and arrange thumbnails against a reference thumbnail.  You can rank by Hue (e.g., prioritize images with blue backgrounds), Lighting (e.g., prioritize images with high contrast) or Pixels (default method).  As image albums can contain 1000s of files, a progress dialog is displayed and allows the function to be aborted.


thumbnail cache
thumbnail caching

When created thumbnails (and image information) are saved on your local hard disk, revisited folders, show thumbnails "instantly" as they are not recreated -- this is caching.  The same technique is used to manage Slide Album thumbnails.  Cached files are "semi-permanent"; they are saved as *.tmp files in your assigned Windows Temp folder.  A warning is shown if free disk space is running low (e.g., less than 128 Mb); saving is aborted if less than 96 Mb remains.  You can use Cache | Kill functions to free more disk space.  As Windows also handles warning you if disk space is running low, you can use Windows' Clean-Up feature to delete all *.tmp files.


Hue, Luminance and Saturation

The Hue-Luminance-Saturation (HLS) model is used in TV control metaphors.  Hue is "tint" control; it skews colors to yellow-green or red-violet; adjust this component to correct colors that seem to reddish or yellowish.  Negative settings tint colors towards magenta, while positive settings tint colors towards yellow.

Luminance, also known as "lightness", represents the intensity of the color -- it ranges from black to white; Hues with high Luminance values have a "pastel" appearance.  "Video gain" or "picture controls" approximate (albeit inaccurately) the effect of adjusting Luminance values.

Saturation is the amount of color that distiguishes it from gray shades; adjusting this value can make an image look more "film-like" as opposed to "video-like".  This control is equivalent to TV's "color" control; lower values will remove color while higher values "add color".


Red, Green-Blue (RGB) Channels
Red, Green, Blue (RGB) Channels

The Red-Green-Blue guns are the basis of all CRT monitors.   If each "gun" shines bright red, green and blue light on the same spot, colors "add-up" to white.  Pure red and green equals yellow;  pure green and blue equals cyan;  pure blue and red equals magenta.  The common denominator of red, green and blue equals white (gray shades); the further a color deviates from gray shades, the more contrast is perceived.  When applied to flesh tones, more red or less green, results in pink tones.  Conversely, more green or less red results in brown or olive tones.  Blue is usually the weakest and makes flesh tones fairer or darker by affecting the white level; most video grabs and scans have poor blues.  As our eyes are most sensitive to green shades and individuals differ widely in their sensitivity to green shades, images provided by different sources are commonly corrected or equalized by adjusting "green" shades.  In many cases, shifting red, green or blue brightness values restores color fidelity due to scanner miscalibration or incorrect adjustments applied by original image provider.


shifting

Shifting increments or decrements all intensity values by a fixed amount.  Its effects can be viewed on the histogram a "shifting" the entire frequency distribution left or right -- hence the term.  Many devices used this technique to correct color defects; also "old" Internet images created with DOS programs used this technique to brighten and balance images.  In many cases, gamma correction or contrast stretching was required instead of color shifting.  By shifting the red, green and blue planes to their "original" state you will see what the originator of the image saw before s/he modified it; visually analyze the histogram and realign the color planes by using the shadows of each red, green and blue distribution as a references.  Once "restored", apply RGB gamma correction or contrast enhancement.  If colors are balanced but shadows suffer, use the Zero function to automatically shift all RGB distribution values to "zero".


contrast enhancement

This image processing technique boosts contrast by evenly "stretching" intensities (all channels, Luminance channel or individual RGB channels) between defined Shadows and Highlights.  Essentially, highlights (brighter intensities) are made brighter and shadows (darker intensities) are made darker -- intermediate shades are interpolated between the brightest and darkest shades.  This technique is a perfect compliment to unsharp mask since it adjusts areas unaffected by sharpening techniques.


white balance

This is a function similarly found on video camcorders.  As with video, different lighting conditions affect the overall color balance of the image.  On a camcorder, you would point it to a "perfect" white wall as a reference and all colors would then be "balanced" against it.  Conversely, you would click on a pixel that should be the brightest white shade in your picture then adjust to taste.  By default, your image is analyzed and a reference color is automatically selected.  To visually select a color, use the "crosshair" cursor on preview image; selected color appears in color base box.


gamma correction

This function boosts midtones in a curvilinear fashion; values less than "1" attenuate midtones.  Most devices (e.g., CRTs, printers) have a gamma error which causes midtones to be too dark or too bright.  By correcting for this gamma error, images will appear more natural.  Most JPEG images on the Internet expect gamma-corrected displays.  You can globally adjust all channels or individual RGB channels.  To calibrate your monitor:

1. View GAMMA.BMP file (included).

2. Select Colors | Gamma from Viewer menu.

3. Adjust until inner (colored) rectangles appear identical to it's outer rectangles.

Most video card drivers include gamma correction; adjust your display with value derived above.  In theory, how an image appears on one gamma-corrected display will be identical on another gamma-corrected display(e.g., monitor).

Gamma supression uses an "inverse curve" to attenuate midtones and highlights; it restores lost contrast in "over-exposed" digital pictures.  Values less than "1" boost midtones and highlights.


combine mask

The combine mask uses the current image's gray scale to determine what extent individual pixels are blended with the duplicate image.  When masking highlights, the brighter the pixel the less it is blended with duplicate; you could brighten a duplicate image to minimize backlighting then mask highlights to avoid "over-exposure" as only shadows and midtones are blended with duplicate.  Conversely, when masking shadows, the darker the pixel the less it is blended with duplicate; you could darken a duplicate image to minimize "over-exposure" then mask shadows to avoid "backlighting" as only highlights and midtones are blended with duplicate.  If midtones are degraded, you can boost gamma correction (or smooth the image with your choice of filter) and mask midtones to retain original shadows and highlights.  See sample BIP files.

You can adjust the band to limit or increase the range of pixels being masked.  Values greater than 100 widen the band; values less than 100 applies narrow bands.  The mask variable independently blends the grayscale of current image with duplicate's grayscale to provide greater control over the masking process; 99 uses only current image's gray scale while 0 uses duplicate's grayscale -- in-between values are proportional grayscale values of both bitmaps.


parameteric equalizer
parametric equalizer

This function boosts or attenuates pixel intensities with a specified center frequency.  Like audio graphics equalizers, you specify a range of color values (center) between shadows and highlights as well as the band width.  Think of shadows as low frequencies (bass) and highlights as high frequencies (treble).  Boost or attenuate pixel values by adjusting the gain control.  To visually select a color click, use the "crosshair" cursor on preview image; selected color appears in color base box.  To see a graphic representation of your parameters, click EQ Curve button.


chained slideshows (or screensaver)
chained slideshows

To pass control (i.e., chain) to another AVL script, specify another AVL file as last slide in slideshow.  To loop slideshow, the last AVL script should reference the first AVL script file.   For example, to chain six AVL files together into a large slideshow, specify:

AVL File            (Last Slide)

Intro.AVL        	(BuildUp.AVL)

BuildUp.AVL    	(Conflict.AVL)

Conflict.AVL     	(TheUFO.AVL)

TheUFO.AVL   	(Finale.AVL)

Finale.AVL        (Credits.AVL)

Credits.AVL      	(Intro.AVL)


Software from Applied Insights
Shareware from Applied Insights

This is the current list of Shareware available; visit our Websites for additions and updates.

VidFun v3.6 for Windows 95/98/NT3/NT4 (Win 3.x too!)  -  VidFun is an easy to use, popular, value-added Multimedia viewer, screen capture, graphics tool, screensaver and helper app for Web browsers (e.g., Netscape). Its Explorer interface works well in Win31; Win95/NT features include long filenames, 32-bit video and printing...

It features professional imaging, thumbnail functions, custom color prints, slideshows (or screen saver) with multi-track graphics+video+audio, 30+ effects, variable speed, position, size, volume, gamma, floating presentation controls and unlimited slides.  Support includes JPEG, Photo-CD, MPEG/VideoCD, AVI, MOV, FLI, MIDI, WAV, WMF, CD music, BMP, DCX, CMP, KQP, MAC, PICT, PCX, PNG, PSD (PhotoShop), RAS, TGA, TIF, WPG and Multipage fax files ...

ZD Net rating: 5 STARS  (Finalist, 1997 Ziff-Davis Shareware Awards)

Ai Picture Utility v4.5 for Windows 95/98/NT4  -  AIPICT is a fast, Viewer, Media player and Image Processor for everyday needs.  Novices will avoid learning curves with its intuitive design; power users will appreciate its flexibility and extended functionality.  Its flexible, easy-to-use interface runs multiple copies in Full-screen (or any mode) with all functions.  It boasts the FASTEST 32-bit, fault-tolerant JPEG viewer for Windows9X/2000 and features quick previews, imaging, print, save and convert routines.  Supports Photo-CD, PNG, BMP, PCX, TGA, WMF, EMF, Multi-page DCX and TIFF (w/ anti-aliased gray scaling) + TWAIN scanners & cameras, AVL slideshows, color reduction, promote, gamma, contrast, brightness, resize, rotate by degree, trim, negative, halftone, unsharp mas, contrast enhancement, text mark, borders, smoothing and sharpening filters, capture and copy/paste functions.  Multimedia support includes AVI video, WAV audio, MPEG/VideoCD video, MP3 audio, Quicktime MOV video, Apple AIFF audio, MIDI music, Sun Audio, RealAudio and RealVideo.  Its interactive JPEG compressor encodes tiny files with fabulous image quality; an EXIF reader and JPEG comments editor, and batch compressor is also included.  Bookmark interface lets you drag & drop and review 1000s of files, run Instant Slideshows with 173 transition effects -- as well as Copy, Move and Delete.

ZD Net rating: 4 STARS

Ai Picture Explorer v4.0 for Windows 95/98/NT4  -  AIPICX is a unified Explorer, Viewer, Album Manager, Media Player and Screen Saver.  It integrates all of AIPICT's features (above) and boasts unprecedented thumbnail views (with dynamic thumbnail caching).  You can create thumbnailed Web Pages for publishing or cataloging local files with extensive options (e.g., file comments and keywords, multiple pages, contact sheets, Frames).  Its Slide Album manages entire thumbnailed volumes of image files (online or offline) and creates impressive slideshows (with individual slide effects, gamma, rotation, comments, windows-in-windows...),  Its flexible interface can mimic MyComputer too.  This version includes Kodak FlashPix (*.FPX) support and advanced image processing functions.

ZD Net rating: 5 STARS


AIPICX Registration
Register AIPICX

To register online via credit card visit AIPICX's Web page by selecting Help | Web page from menu.  See AIPICX Legal Stuff text file too.  To order via toll-free (1-800) phone number, visit our Web site (it may change); surf to

http://members.aol.com/aipict/

For regular mail registration, select:

Register AIPICX (U.S.A.)

Register AIPICX (Canada)

Register AIPICX (International)

Registered AIPICT, VIDFUN and AIPICX users (any previous version) can upgrade with a 50% discount.  Register via regular mail (click a link above) and write your registered name and key as a comment -- then give yourself a 50% discount.


AIPICX Registration (USA)
Register AIPICX (U.S.A.)

See also (Canada)	(International)

Select File | Print Topic from help menu to print this form.

FULL NAME (required):

COMPANY (optional):

STREET:

CITY:

STATE:	ZIP:

EMAIL (strictly confidential):

Registration Fee

$39.95  (USD)

Please make Personal Check, drawn on US bank (or Traveler's Check or Credit Card check) payable to: Applied Insights

Mail to:	Lawrence Gozum, Applied Insights

  	100 Oriole Parkway #310

Toronto, Ontario M5P 2G8 (Canada)

If you don't know current postage to Canada, stick two domestic stamps and it will arrive.

Once received, you will be provided with a personal key that matches your name, as specified above; your key is valid for current and future AIPICX 3.x-4.x versions.  Registration benefits include tech support, free updates, discounts on other Shareware and no reminders.

Registered AIPICX users (any previous version) can upgrade with a 50% discount.  Write your registered name and key as a comment and give yourself a 50% discount.

Comments:


AIPICX Registration (Canada)
Register AIPICX (Canada)

Select File | Print Topic from help menu to print this form.

FULL NAME (required):

COMPANY (optional):

STREET:

CITY:

PROV:	ZIP:

EMAIL (strictly confidential):

Registration Fee

$49.95  (CND; GST incl.)

Please make Personal Cheque, drawn on Canadian bank (or Canadian Money Order, Traveler's Cheque or Credit Card cheque) payable to: Applied Insights

Mail to:	Lawrence Gozum, Applied Insights

  	100 Oriole Parkway #310

Toronto, Ontario M5P 2G8

Once received, you will be provided with a personal key that matches your name, as specified above; your key is valid for current and future AIPICX 3.x-4.x versions.  Registration benefits include tech support, free updates, discounts on other Shareware and no reminders.

Registered AIPICX users (any previous version) can upgrade with a 50% discount.  Write your registered name and key as a comment and give yourself a 50% discount.

Comments:


AIPICX Registration (International)
Register AIPICX (International)

Select File | Print Topic from help menu to print this form.

FULL NAME (required):

COMPANY (optional):

STREET:

CITY:

STATE (or PROV.)	ZIP:

COUNTRY:

EMAIL (strictly confidential):

Registration Fee: (please select from list)

[  ]	    50 US Dollars in Traveller's Cheque (Amex, Visa, M/C...)

[  ]	    55 US Dollars (cheque) drawn from a U.S. bank

[  ]	    55 US Dollars (International Money Order) from Post Office

[  ]	    40 UK Pounds (cheque) drawn from a U.K. bank

[  ]	    79 Australian Dollars (cheque) drawn from an Australian bank

[  ]	    79 Canadian Dollars (cheque) drawn from a Canadian bank

[  ]	    79 Swiss Francs (cheque) drawn from a Swiss bank

[  ]	  299 French Francs (cheque) drawn from a French bank

Note: Please send regular cheques; EuroCheques cannot be processed in Canada.

Please make payable to: Applied Insights

Mail to:	Lawrence Gozum, Applied Insights

  	100 Oriole Parkway #310

Toronto, Ontario M5P 2G8 (Canada)

Once received, you will be provided with a personal key that matches your name, as specified above; your key is valid for current and future AIPICX 3.x-4.x versions.  Registration benefits include tech support, free updates, discounts on other Shareware and no reminders.

Registered AIPICX users (any previous version) can upgrade with a 50% discount.  Write your registered name and key as a comment and give yourself a 50% discount.

Comments: