Copyright: © 1994 H&M Systems Software, Inc.
Citation: ArtApart Help - © 1994 H&M Systems Software, Inc.


Contents
ArtApart Help Contents

To learn how to use Help, press F1.

How to Play

Overview

Exploring the Screen

Playing the Game

Rules of the Game

Scoring

Strategy and Hints

Commands

Tool Bar

Keyboard

Technical Support

Copyright Information

Wanted: Programs


Overview

Millions of children and adults alike know that there's no better way to spend a rainy day than putting together the pieces of a puzzle. But where do you put the puzzle when it's not quite finished? How do you keep those little puzzle pieces from falling victim to the family dog or ending up in Mom's vacuum cleaner? With ArtApart, you'll never lose another piece again.

Unlike other computer puzzles, ArtApart gives you lifelike, interlocking pieces, cut to whatever size you want. Big pieces for the kids and little ones for adults - or vice versa. You choose the picture and the number of pieces. And when it stops raining, just save the puzzle to your hard disk and finish it later. You'll never lose another piece under the sofa again.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

Playing the Game

Rules of the Game

Scoring

Strategy and Hints


Playing the Game

Object of the Game

The object of the game is to complete your puzzle as quickly and accurately as possible. ArtApart keeps score, and the players with the most points enter the Hall_of_Fame. You can improve your chances by increasing the number of pieces and selecting a higher skill level.

Decide Which Image to Puzzle

From the Game menu, choose New.

Select a file name and press OK.

Start the Game

From the Play menu, choose Start.

Drag the slider to select the size and number of pieces.

press PLAY.

Moving Pieces

Click on a piece and drag it to its interlocking neighbor. Once you have aligned your piece to its neighbor let go of the mouse. If you have a good fit your piece will snap into place.

Pieces will not snap together, if:

 •	you did not find an interlocking neighbor,
 •	the interlocking pieces are too far apart,
 •	Skill Level in the Options menu is set to Expert.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

Rules of the Game

Scoring

Strategy and Hints

Overview


Rules of the Game

Pieces may be moved around and grouped together anywhere in the workspace window. Pieces may be dropped on top of other pieces.

Pieces must be closely aligned in order to snap together. The snap distance is determined by the Skill Level selected in the Options menu.

Note: 	In Expert mode you have to double-click the left mouse button when you're certain that you have a good fit. The piece will either snap to its neighbor - or penalty points will be subtracted from your score.

The game ends when the puzzle is completed. The location of the finished puzzle on the workspace is not relevant.

See also:

Scoring

Strategy and Hints

Overview

Exploring the Screen

Playing the Game


Scoring

Your score is determined by the following factors:

 •	Time - less time per piece results in a higher score.

 •	Number of pieces - more pieces result in a higher score.

 •	Skill Level - Expert level will get the most points per piece.

Additional bonus points can be won or lost:

 •	A perfectly placed piece or a very small distance between two neighboring pieces results in extra bonus points. If your PC has sound capability, ArtApart will play a special sound when you have earned the maximum bonus for a perfectly placed piece.

 •	The higher the Skill Level, the more bonus points you can collect.

 •	Bonus points will be subtracted in Expert Mode, if two pieces do not fit.

 See also:

Preferences: Scoring Display Off

View Menu: Status Window

Display Scores at End of Game

Strategy and Hints

Overview

Exploring the Screen

Playing the Game

Rules of the Game


Strategy and Hints

Practice in Beginner or Novice mode with about fifty pieces. Your control of the mouse will improve quickly. You'll soon be able to place pieces precisely and collect more bonus points.

A good strategy is to first locate the border pieces. You'll recognize them easily by their straight edges. However, watch out for pieces that may look as if they have a straight side but do not actually belong to the border.

You may wish to lock your border sections to keep them from accidentally shifting.

Next, look for areas of the same color, granulation, pattern or focus. Sort these pieces to a free section of your workspace (the Overview window and Zoom modes are helpful). Then, puzzle that section by itself. Once you have completed a few sections, it will be easier to make connections and the remaining single pieces will be better to manage.

Refer to the Original view if you can't make out the location of a piece.

Sometimes, pieces may lie on top of pieces with a similar color pattern, or they may lie under other pieces or finished sections. Select Preferences from the Options menu to control how the program drops pieces on top of others.

Early in the game, you'll notice that it takes a long time to find two interlocking pieces. Accordingly, your score will be low at the beginning. However, don't be discouraged. In larger puzzles, 80% of the score is obtained with the final 20% of the pieces.

See also:

Overview

Exploring the Screen

Playing the Game

Rules of the Game

Scoring


Tool Bar

Each button in the tool bar provides a quick way to carry out a particular command. To learn the meaning of a button, rest your cursor on it until an explanation window opens.

These commands can also be executed via the menu bar and, in most cases, with accelerator keys.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

View Menu: Tool Bar


Keyboard

Function	Accelerator Keys
Help	F1
Select a new image	Ctrl+N
Restore a saved game	Ctrl+R
Save a game in progress	Ctrl+S
Start the game	F2
Pause during the game	Ctrl+F2
Exit ArtApart	Alt+F4
Status Window on/off	F4
Original View on/off	F3
Overview on/off	Ctrl+F3
Zoom out	-
Zoom in	+
Normal size	*
Menu Bar on/off	Ctrl+M
Tool Bar on off	Ctrl+T
Status Bar on/off	Ctrl+B
Control Menu	Alt+Spacebar


Index

This is a list of all topics available in this help file. Click on any one.

Color	Play Menu
Commands	Playing the Game
Contents	Preferences
Context Menu
Control Menu	Restore Game
Copyright Notice	Rules of the Game
Game Menu	Save Game
	Score
Hall of Fame	Scoring
Help Menu	Skill Level
	Sound
Information Menu	Start Game
	Status
Keyboard	Strategy and Hints
New Game (by File Name)	Technical Support
New Game (from Gallery)	Tool Bar
Options Menu	View Menu
Original View
Overview	Wanted: Programs
Overview Window	Workspace


Technical Support

Phone support is provided 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time within the first thirty days of your purchase. We will be glad to answer any setup questions you might have. Be sure that your PC is turned on and you have your original product disk(s) or CD-ROM ready:

Telephone:	+1-201-845-3753	(9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday - Friday)

Make sure you mail your registration card. Registered users will be offered software updates and newly released products under preferred terms. As a registered user, you may also contact our technical support team via electronic or postal mail:

Telefax:	+1-201-845-4638

Bulletin Board:	+1-201-845-8313	(set modem to 8 bits, no parity, 1 stop bit)

Electronic Mail:	CompuServe	76605,1506

America Online	76605.1506@compuserve.com

Genie	76605.1506@compuserve.com@INET#

Internet	76605.1506@compuserve.com

Postal Mail:	H&M Systems Software, Inc.
25 East Spring Valley Avenue
Maywood, NJ 07607-2150
USA


Copyright Notice

This software is furnished under the terms of a license agreement to the registered user only. It is protected by copyright law and international treaties. You are permitted to make a back-up for archival purposes. Any other copying or distributing of this software or tampering with the registration information is a violation of law and subject to criminal and civil penalties.

Example:

+	You have purchased the right to use our software on only one PC.

-	The software still belongs to us. It is our property and only we can allow anyone else to use it.

+	Make a backup of our diskettes for your own safety.

-	You may not make a copy for friends, family members, colleagues or anyone else. Don't give or lend your installation diskettes to anyone.

+	Show your visitors how great our software is. You may even allow them to use the software on your PC.

-	You may not let anyone else 'try' our software on their PC.

+	Load the software on the hard disk of only one PC.

-	You may not load the software on any drive accessible from a network by anyone else but yourself.

We are working hard to create quality software at affordable prices. If software is used without payment, we can no longer justify developing or updating our products - or you could not afford them. Software theft is not smart and a serious criminal act.

Thank You!


Wanted: Programs

Do you like our product? Are you a talented author and developing software of similar quality? We are always looking to expand our product line. Please contact Technical Support and arrange for your software to be reviewed by our Development Manager.


Workspace
ArtApart Workspace

This is an example of the different regions of the ArtApart screen. Several features of the Workspace region with the jigsaw pieces are demonstrated.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Displays the standard Windows Control menu.


Title Bar

Displays the name of the program and the currently loaded image.


This button maximizes the game window so that it occupies the complete screen.


This button minimizes the game window to an icon.


Menu Bar

Displays the available pull-down menus. Each pull-down menu contains a number of related commands you may carry out.

To Open a Pull-Down Menu

Click on the menu.

Press the ALT key.
Use the RIGHT ARROW key to highlight a menu, or type the underlined letter.
Press the ENTER key.


Tool Bar

Each button in the tool bar provides a quick way to carry out a particular command. Alternate access to the same commands is provided through the menu bar.


Scroll Bar

Use the vertical and horizontal scroll bars to move those parts of your workspace into view that don't currently fit in your window. You can click on the scroll arrow to move slowly across your workspace, or click between the scroll arrows to move a complete section at a time. You can also drag the scroll box to the precise position you want.

See also:

Preferences: Automatic Scroll

Preferences: Drag Background


Status Bar

Displays a description of the current pull-down menu, command or tool bar button.

After you've started the game, the following scoring summary will appear:

 •	Total score for this game so far.

 •	Score for the next piece.

See also:

Preferences: Scoring Display Off


Status Window

Displays scoring information about the current game in progress.


This section of pieces is locked in place so that it can't be moved accidentally. Notice the red outline around locked pieces.


This piece is being moved by the player. You move a piece by clicking on it with your mouse and then dragging it. Notice how the mouse cursor turns into a hand when a piece is picked up.


Context Menu

Provides a choice of commands that currently may be carried out. To display a context menu, point to any object and click the right mouse button.


A button description is displayed when you rest your cursor on one of the buttons on your tool bar.


Game: New

Click on one of the sample windows below for further explanations.

Select an image file to start a new game. Depending on the version of the software you may be seeing one of two windows:

 Game: New
 (select by file name)

 Game: New
 (select from gallery)


New Game (by File Name)
Game: New (Select by File Name)

Select or enter the name of an image file. It will be loaded from your disk to start a new game.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.

See also:

Game: New (select from gallery)

Preferences: Picture Quality vs. Speed


New Game (from Gallery)
Game: New (Select from Gallery)

Double-click on an image in the thumbnail gallery. It will be loaded from your disk to start a new game.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.

See also:

Game: New (select by file name)

Preferences: Picture Quality vs. Speed


Save Game
Game: Save and Save As

Select or enter a file name for the game in progress. Once saved, you may exit and continue your game at a later time.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Restore Game
Game: Restore

Select or enter the name of a previously saved game that you would like to continue playing.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


File Name

Enter a file name or pick a name from the list box. You might want to verify that the drive and directory are the ones you intend to use.

Note: In certain situations you may be able to pick more than one file name from the list box by holding the Ctrl key.


Displays a list of files in the current directory for selection.

If you do not find a file name in the list that you were expecting to see:

 •	Verify that you have chosen the proper file type.
 •	Verify that you are looking in the correct directory.
 •	Verify that you are looking on the right drive.


Directory Name

Displays the path to the current directory. To change the directory path, pick a name from the list box. Verify that the drive is the one you intend to use.


Displays a list of directories on the current drive for selection.

If you do not find a directory name in the list that you were expecting to see:

 •	Verify that you are looking on the right drive.


File Type

Select the type of file to be displayed in the file name list box.


Drives

Select the drive from which you want to choose a directory.


Preview

Displays a preview of the image in accordance with the Automatic Preview option selected:

 •	If Automatic Preview is on, just click on an image in the file name list box to view the image.
 •	If Automatic Preview is off, click on the Preview window to view the image.

Note: The preview can be interrupted by selecting a different image from the file name list box.


Displays a brief description of the image.


Select this option to preview an image by selecting it in the file name list box.

Note: The preview can be interrupted by selecting a different image.


Displays a window with background information about the current image and the gallery.

See also:

Information Menu: About the Artist


Displays a window containing a profile and point of contact for the artist who created the image.

See also:

Information Menu: About this Puzzle


Displays the title of this thumbnail gallery and a list of other available galleries.

Choose [Add Gallery] from the drop-down list to add new thumbnail galleries that may not automatically have been added during Setup.


A thumbnail picture and a brief description are provided for each image in this gallery. Click on the thumbnail once to see a full description, click on it twice to load the image from disk.


By clicking on this thumbnail once it has become highlighted, and the full description for this image is displayed. Click on the thumbnail twice to load the image from disk.


Displays the full description of the currently highlighted image.


This button allows you to preview and select images that are not included in your list of thumbnail galleries.

See also:

Game: New (select by file name)


A gallery contains thumbnail pictures and descriptions for an image collection. It is usually stored in a file with the .TMB extension; the individual images have a .PPX extension. A registry of .TMB files is maintained in the file GALLERY.INI.

If any .TMB files, .PPX files or the GALLERY.INI file have been moved or altered, the program may be unable to locate the individual components. Error messages will appear when loading a gallery or individual images, in which case it may be necessary to rerun the Setup program.


Hall of Fame
Game: High Scores

The Hall of Fame window ranks the top ten players and their scores.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


The Hall of Fame window ranks the top ten players and their scores.


The name of the player.


The final score after adding bonus points and subtracting any penalty for errors.

See also:

Scoring


The title of the image used in that game.


The number of pieces used in that game.


The overall time (in Hours/Minutes/Seconds) used for the game. This does not include any time when the game was suspended.

See also:

Pausing the Game


The date on which the player entered the Hall of Fame.


This button permanently clears all entries from the Hall of Fame. You will not be able to restore any of the information.


Start Game
Play: Start

Select the number and size of the pieces you'd like to use to play the game. ArtApart will generate random pieces for every new game and place them in your workspace according to the options you select in this window.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Displays the size of a typical piece. Use the slider below to pick the size you'd like to use to play the game.


Displays the number of pieces you'll have to piece together. Use the slider on the left to pick the number of pieces you'd like to use to play the game.

Note: A small number of very large pieces require a fast computer to move them smoothly around the workspace. With slower PCs, we recommend using smaller pieces.


Drag the slider left or right to increase or decrease the size of a typical piece. The number of pieces will be decrease or increase in reverse proportion to the size.

Note: A small number of very large pieces require a fast computer to move them smoothly around the workspace. With slower PCs, we recommend using smaller pieces.


Once the pieces have been cut to size, they are randomly placed on your workspace. You may have to scroll your main window to locate all the pieces or zoom out to see your complete workspace.


Once the pieces have been cut to size, they are randomly placed in your main window. You can access all pieces without scrolling.

Note: Since less space is available, the program may have to initially stack pieces on top of each other.


When pieces are first placed, an area remains empty for the finished puzzle. You can assemble sections and place them at their final location without first having to move other pieces aside.

Note: Since less space is available, the program may have to initially stack pieces on top of each other.


Score

Once you've completed your puzzle, this window displays the game statistics.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Once you've completed your puzzle, this window displays the game statistics.


Number of pieces that you put together per minute.


Number of errors in expert mode. Penalty points are subtracted from the score for each error.


Bonus points you received for placing pieces very close to their interlocking neighbors.


This button will display the Hall of Fame window with the top ten scores.

See also:

Game: High Scores


This button will permanently erase any saved game for the current image. This is the same as using File Manager to delete the file  SAVED\imagename.JIG .


If you've achieved a top ten score, you may enter your name into the Hall of Fame.

See also:

Game: High Scores


Status
View: Status

This floating window displays up-to-the-minute statistics on the game in progress.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


The total score after adding bonus points and subtracting any penalty for errors.

See also:

Scoring


Displays the number of pieces that have not been connected to any other piece together with the total number of pieces in this game.


Original View
View: Original

Shows the original image before it was cut into jigsaw pieces. Helpful when trying to determine the approximate location of individual pieces or finished sections.


Overview
View: Overview

Displays your work space from a bird's eye view. The main Workspace window remains and you can drag pieces into the Overview window.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Click here to either enlarge or reduce the size of the overview window.


This piece in the original window is being dragged from the main window to a new location in the overview window.


This is the new location of the piece after it has been dragged from the main window to the overview window. This new location was not visible in the main window.


You may drag pieces from the main window to any location in the overview window. You can easily organize your pieces by color, shape or other criteria without having to scroll your main window back and forth.


Preferences
Options: Preferences

Use this window to customize the general behavior of the game. We recommend that you first play a few games with the default settings in order to gain a better understanding of the various options.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Larger sections may cover individual pieces. This option drops a section to the bottom of the pile every time you snap an additional piece to it. The section must have at least one piece more than specified below.


Larger sections may cover individual pieces. This option drops a section to the bottom of the pile each time you move it. The section must have at least one piece more than specified below.


Specify the threshold, after which sections will be dropped to the bottom of a pile of pieces.


Sometimes you may move a larger section on top of individual pieces. This option pushes underlying pieces to the side each time you drop a piece.

Note: You cannot influence where the underlying piece will be pushed to.


This option adjusts an image to about two thirds of your screen size.

Note: Enlarging a small image will usually lead to a reduction in quality.


This option automatically scrolls your workspace each time you drag your mouse to the outside border of the main window.


This option allows you to scroll the main window by dragging your mouse between pieces on the background. If you find that you're frequently scrolling your main window unintentionally, you might wish to turn this option off.


This option suppresses the score for the next piece on the status line. Only the total score will be displayed.


Most ArtApart images are stored in compressed format to conserve disk space. Loading, uncompressing and displaying these images in a high quality may take considerable time if your PC is equipped with a slow processor. You can choose a faster loading speed if you're willing to accept a slightly lower picture quality.


This button permanently stores your choices. They serve as the defaults for any new games.


Sound
Options: Sound

This window provides options to turn sounds on or off for all or selected events.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


This option plays a sound for the selected events.

Note: Your PC must have a sound driver installed in order to generate sounds.


Select the events for which you would like to hear a sound. The corresponding sound is played when an event is selected.


Color
Options: Color

Use this window to choose a background color for your puzzle.

Click on an area of the sample window below for further explanations.


Select a rectangle to choose one of the basic colors as a background to your puzzle.


Select a rectangle to choose that custom color as a background to your puzzle. To define or change a custom color, click on any rectangle and press the Define Custom Colors button.


This button expands the window to the right so you may define or change a custom color.


This button accepts your choices and closes the window.


This button ignores your choices and closes the window.


Click anywhere on the color palette to pick a custom color.


Displays the selected color in numeric form. You may enter your own values into the fields.


This button adds the current color to your list of available custom colors.


Commands

Pull-Down Menus

Control

Game

Play

View

Options

Information

Help

Context Menu


Control Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

These standard commands control the appearance of your window.


Restore the window to its normal size after it has been maximized or minimized to an icon.

See also:

Control Menu: Minimize

Control Menu: Maximize


Use the arrow keys to move the window.


Use the arrow keys to change the size of the window.


Minimize the window to an icon.

See also:

Control Menu: Restore

Control Menu: Maximize


Maximize the window to occupy the full screen.

See also:

Control Menu: Minimize

Control Menu: Restore


Close the window. If you close the only remaining window you'll also exit the application.


Displays the task manager so that you can switch to other active applications.


Reactivates the menu bar.

See also:

View: Menu Bar


Game Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

Game commands control the ArtApart game itself, and the file objects it requires.


Displays the Hall of Fame.


Saves the current game in progress to disk.

The first time you save your game, a file will be created. You can either choose a file or enter a file name in the Save Game (As) window.

If you save your game more than once in a session, the file will be updated to your disk. If you prefer to save your game to another file, choose Save As from the Game menu.

See also:

Game Menu: Save As


Exits the program. If you have not finished your game, you might wish to save it first.

See also:

Game Menu: Save


Play Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

Play commands deal with your current game.


Displays a window where you can select the size, number and placement of pieces for this game.

See also:

Piece Size and Placement


Suspends a game in progress. The timer stops, allowing you to interrupt your current game without being penalized. To continue the suspended game, just select this command again.


The program puts the puzzle together for you. You can stop it by selecting this command again.


View Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

View commands control the display of certain screen elements.


Displays a window with scoring information for the game in progress.

See also:

Status Window


Displays a window with the image you are piecing together.

See also:

Original View Window


Displays a window showing a bird's eye view of your workspace.

See also:

Overview Window


Displays the pieces in your main window at half their size, allowing you to see a larger portion of your workspace. The pieces are displayed with less detail.

See also:

View Menu: Zoom In

View Menu: Normal Size

View Menu: Overview


Displays the pieces in your main window magnified at twice their size. You will see a smaller portion of your workspace.

See also:

View Menu: Zoom Out

View Menu: Normal Size


Returns from zoomed display to normal size.

See also:

View Menu: Zoom In

View Menu: Zoom Out


Hides the menu bar to enlarge your available workspace. Use either the assigned accelerator key or the Control Menu to restore the menu bar.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

View Menu: Tool Bar

View Menu: Status Bar


Toggles the display of the tool bar. Hiding the tool bar enlarges your available workspace. Without the tool bar, you need to use the menu bar or accelerator keys to carry out commands.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

Accelerator Keys

View Menu: Menu Bar

View Menu: Status Bar


Toggles the display of the status bar. Hiding the status bar enlarges your workspace. Without the status bar, you will not see the description of the current pull-down menu or command, and you will not see scoring information.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

View Menu: Menu Bar

View Menu: Tool Bar


Options Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

Option commands control the appearance and general behavior of the game. You can set defaults in accordance with your personal preferences.


Skill Level
Options Menu: Skill Level

Select a level of difficulty in line with your personal skills. A higher skill level requires that pieces be more precisely positioned before they snap into place. Also, the higher the skill level, the more points you can earn.

Pieces do not automatically snap in Expert mode. You need to double-click the left mouse button when you're certain you have a good fit.

See also:

Scoring


Information Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

Information commands provide background information.


Displays a window with information about other galleries available from us.

See also:

Information Menu: Other Games


Displays a window with information about other software available from us.

See also:

Information Menu: Other Puzzles


Help Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

Help commands open help windows that provide information about the use of this program.


Displays the table of contents for this help file. This is the same as pressing the Contents button on the button bar of the help window.


Gives an overview of the game.


Displays the list of command pull-down menus from this help file.


Displays the search window where you can scan for a specific keyword. This is the same as pressing the Search button on the button bar of the help window.


Displays an alphabetical index of topics covered in this help file.


A tutorial on how to get the most from the Windows help system and this help file. This is the same as pressing F1 in this help file.


Displays the program name and version number.


Context Menu

Click on any menu item for explanations.

This pop-up menu is displayed after clicking on a piece (or a section) with the right mouse button. The menu lists only those commands that may currently be carried out.

See also:

Exploring the Screen


Locks the piece or section in place. A red outline indicates that the section cannot be inadvertently moved.

See also:

Exploring the Screen

Context Menu: Unlock


Unlocks a previously locked piece or section. This section can now be moved anywhere in the workspace.

See also:

Context Menu: Lock


Locates a neighboring piece and snaps it to the selected piece. The position of the mouse cursor determines on which side of the piece a neighbor is found.


Drops the selected piece from the top to the bottom of a stack of pieces. If the selected piece is not lying on top of other pieces, this function will be ignored.