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Amiga Format: Get the Most Out of Your Amiga
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Amiga Format - Get the Most Out of Your Amiga (1991)(Future Publishing)(GB)(Disk 1 of 2).adf
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IconMaker
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ICON-MAKER.DOC
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Create icons of any size using images created on deluxe paint
using ICON-MAKER.
Also edit existing icons using deluxe paint with ICON-MAKER.
At long last you can have KING TUT as an icon!
It converts icon images into iff files to use on deluxe paint.
and it converts iff files into icon images.
Never again will you have to grope around with feeble icon-ed's
facilities.
This programme is completely user friendly totally
question and answer driven by extensive use of gadgets.It
replies very fast to your selections on the whole.
It was written with Lattice c version 4.
IT IS PROBABLY BEST TO RUN THIS PROGRAMME FIRST BEFORE
READING THIS DOCUMENTATION.
Please note that libs:icon.library must be present on your
bootup disk for ICON-MAKER to work for self-evident reasons !
To create icon images:
1.Create a palette file containing the workbench colours
using ICON-MAKER.You can choose either the current
workbench colours or the default ones.(You don't have to do
this but it makes life much more comfortable if you do).
2.Load this palette file as a brush on deluxe paint in any
resolution mode.(preferably 640X200got by typing "dpaint med"
from the CLI)without the inverted commas.(If you wish you
might change Deluxe Paint's startup-sequence to say
"loadwb" followed by "dpaint med").Then to make the
colours appear use menu sequence "picture color-control
use-brush-palette".
Draw your icon image anywhere
on the screen using colours 0 to 3 only.
Cut it out as a brush using the brush gadget
which is the third gadget above the "undo" gadget.
Then save this brush to disk by selecting "brush" on the menu
and "save as..." on the submenu and typing the files'
directory in "drawer" and name in "file" to save it.
3.Run ICON MAKER again to make your icon.
4.Your newly created icon will only become visible if you
close the window it's supposed to appear in and then reopen
that window by double clicking on the appropriate icon.
NOTE If your icon is for a disk then it will usually only
become implemented by resetting
and rebooting unless you haven't
loaded workbench yet.In this case type "loadwb" from the CLI
to implement your icon.
How to load images on deluxe paint created by ICON MAKER:
1.Put deluxe paint in 640X200 mode by typing "dpaint med"
from the CLI followed by return key.
Load the file as a brush using the menu "Brush"
followed by the submenu "Load" and type it's name .And click
load.
2.Then (VERY IMPORTANT) to get the colours right .Choose
menu item "picture" and the submenu "color control"
and then select "use brush palette" on the subsubmenu.
To modify and edit icon images use ICON MAKER to convert
the icon's image(s) to iff files.Load these as explained above
on deluxe paint.Draw the brushes on the screen.Only use colours
0 to 3.
Modify them
using all of Deluxe Paint's tools.Cut them out as a brush again
Save the brush and convert it back to the icon again using
ICON MAKER.
You may create images in any resolution mode and they will
come out just as you drew them.The only restriction is to use
at least 2 bit planes.
COLOUR INTERPRETATION PROCEDURE:
ICON MAKER interprets colours 0,4,8,12 etc as colour 0.
colours 1,5,9,13, etc as colour 1.colours 2,6,10,14,etc as
colour 2 .colours 3,7,11,15,etc as colour 3.
Sorry about the explicitness!
However you are recommended to only draw in colours 0,1,2,3.
This programme and it's documentation will work in both
60 and 80 text modes.
To create icons you may use both pictures and brushes
or any standard non HAM iff file .You may find pictures a
bit too bighence probably stick to brushes .
Although as a pose you
may create a full sized venus icon or king tut icon.
ICON MAKER understands cmpByteRun1 compressed iff files as
used by Deluxe Paint.
On detecting any kind of error eg an iff file doesn't exist
ICON MAKER exits.Unless you click the closewindow gadget
ICON MAKER only exits on an error.You may click the
closewindow gadget at absolutely any time in the programme.
You may change the name of an iconized object by clicking on
the icon and then selecting "workbench rename" from the
workbench menu.
You may view information about an iconized object by clicking
on the icon and selecting "workbench info" from the workbench
menu:it will tell you how big the object is.It will tell you
what the default tool if any is.And you may change this
tool using this menu command.
You may throw away such an object using the menu command
workbench-discard eg if there's no trashcan.
workbench-duplicate sometimes duplicates objects.
Note that AmigaDOS works much FASTER when a disk contains
only one or two directories.Each of which only contains
one or two subdirectories etc finally reaching the files.
Without icons this setup becomes tedious.But with them it
is very pleasant to use.ICON MAKER will enable you to work in a
completely icon driven environment.
How to create a new image for your ram: disk :
Create the image for an existing disk say df0: with
ICON-MAKER.Then do the following type
"copy df0:disk.info sys:rampic"
then in your startup-sequence type
"copy sys:rampic ram:disk.info" before
the statement "loadwb".
How to boot up with a trashcan directory in your ram: disk
Type "makedir ram:trashcan" from CLI
,create an icon for this directory
using ICON-MAKER .Then from CLI type
" copy ram:trashcan/.info sys:ramtrash1"
"copy ram:trashcan.info sys:ramtrash2"
and in your startup sequence before "loadwb"
type "makedir ram:trashcan"
"copy sys:ramtrash1 ram:trashcan",
"copy sys:ramtrash2 ram:trashcan.info".
clever use of brush remap and picture remap on deluxe paint
can be used to convert the colours of a picture with a
different palette to the workbench palette as closely as
possible.
You can prevent an iconized object from accidently being
deleted by clicking it's icon then selecting "workbench info"
from the menu and clicking where it says DELETABLE.
It is informative to click on icons that you did not make
and select "workbench info" from the menu and examine
the DEFAULT TOOL entry and the TOOL TYPES entry.
Clicking on an icon and selecting "special last-error" from
the menu will display in the titlebar the last error
that happened to that object.
At no point in using ICON-MAKER will you have to append
".info" to a name to type in.
If you create an icon for a trashcan directory the directory
must exist before you make the icon else you could get into
trouble.A trashcan directory can have any name you wish.
You empty its contents by clicking on its icon and selecting
"Disk empty-trash" from the menu.Make a trashcan directory
exactly as you do any other directory eg
makedir ram:junk .To delete a trashcan directory you have
to use the CLI.
If you have deluxe paint II then use it instead of deluxe
paint I because it enables you to use just 2 bit planes
which is good for using the remap menu command eg to make
a KING TUT icon whose colours look correct with your current
workbench colours.
If ICON-MAKER is run in 60 text mode (set on preferences)
ICON-MAKER's window will be wider to fit the extra length of
text.I made it 60 text compatible because I am a 60 text mode
lover.It is 80 text compatible because that is the amiga
default.I find that 60 text with a black foreground pen
on a whiteish background pen makes for the crispest text.
Note when you have an alternate image the two images
DO NOT have to be the same size.ICON-MAKER takes care of
all this for you.Although for pleasure of the user it
is advisable to make the two images similar in size.
(If you must one image can be 1X1 pixels and the alternate
image 640X200 pixels)
When waiting for a reply from the user ICON-MAKER goes to
sleep so it doesn't waste processor time.ie it won't slow
down your other programmes.