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Text File | 1992-02-26 | 27.7 KB | 577 lines

Textshot Version 2.1 +++++++++ by McAdams Associates ***************************************************************** **IMPORTANT** To register Textshot, see "Registering Textshot" on page 9 of this manual. Contents Page -------- ---- Description................................ 2 Hardware Requirements...................... 2 Loading Textshot........................... 2 Removing Textshot from Memory.............. 3 Activating Textshot........................ 3 Using Textshot............................. 4 Saving a Screen............................ 5 If There Are Problems...................... 6 Image Editing.............................. 6 Tips For Getting a Good Picture............ 7 Disclaimer & Agreement..................... 8 Registering Textshot....................... 9 Index...................................... 10 (C)Copyright 1992 by T.C. McAdams. All Rights Reserved. TEXTSHOT DESCRIPTION -------------------- Textshot is a pop-up TSR (Terminate and Stay Resident) program designed to be a text screen counterpart to ZSoft's FRIEZE(tm), producing output files for use in word processors and desktop publishing applications. The user loads Textshot into memory, presses the hot key from within a character-based application, and a menu pops up permitting entry of a filespec and a choice of various file options. When the [ENTER] key is pressed, the screen is restored and is saved to disk in the form of a monochrome (2-color) PC Paintbrush-format .PCX graphics file. This file can be loaded into any application that accepts .PCX files or into ZSoft's PC Paintbrush(tm) itself, for editing. PC Paintbrush is not needed to use Textshot. This version of Textshot also permits image "clipping" prior to writing an image to disk, as well as the optional preservation of all image settings "between pop-ups". Textshot should work on any DOS computer running DOS 2.11 or above. HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS --------------------- Textshot will work with any of the common PC video standards. Specifically: MDA/Hercules, CGA, EGA and VGA. Textshot is intended to work only in text modes, not in graphics modes. Textshot will capture 80x25 screens (all standards), 80x43 screens (EGA and VGA) and 80x50 screens (VGA). Screen formats of other than 80 columns are not supported. Since Textshot relies on a computer's internal graphics fonts for its output, the computer on which it's run must have, at minimum, a complete CGA font set. In instances where this is not the case, a DOS utility called GRAFTABL must be run to supply the "upper half" of the necessary font set. EGA and VGA cards supply their own complete font sets. LOADING TEXTSHOT ---------------- Textshot is loaded into memory by typing TEXTSHOT [ENTER] at the DOS command line. If you use an expanded memory manager, Textshot will function happily there, leaving your DOS memory free for other things. For example, if you use Quarterdeck's QEMM, you can load Textshot into high memory by typing LOADHI TEXTSHOT [ENTER] When Textshot is loaded a message appears telling you so. As mentioned above, on some machines a full (256-character) ROM font 2 set may not be available; Textshot checks to see before loading. If this is the case, you are told to run the DOS GRAFTABL utility before proceeding. Screen printing is disabled while Textshot is resident. REMOVING TEXTSHOT FROM MEMORY ----------------------------- To remove Textshot from memory simply type TEXTSHOT [ENTER] from the command line, just as if you were loading it. Note: If you loaded Textshot into high memory through a memory manager, don't invoke the memory manager a second time to remove Textshot; just type "TEXTSHOT [ENTER]", as above. Textshot will tell you it's unloaded itself, else it will tell you that it CAN'T unload itself. There are lots of reason why a TSR could be unable to remove itself from memory, but most of them come down to some other program, used after Textshot was loaded, altering the computer's interrupt table. In these cases, the only way to unload Textshot is to reboot. ACTIVATING TEXTSHOT ------------------- Textshot's hot key is [PrScr] or, on some machines, [SHIFT + PrScr], which means hold down the [SHIFT] key, while pressing [PrScr]. If the hot key is pressed while in a graphics mode, you'll hear two beeps. This is Textshot's way of telling you to stop doing that. You will also hear two beeps if your video adapter is in other than an 80-column text mode. In the special case of the Hercules adapter, it doesn't seem to be possible to tell with 100% reliability when it is and isn't displaying graphics; sometimes, if you press the hot key while Hercules graphics are being displayed, instead of hearing beeps you'll see "splotches" appear at the top of the screen. This means that Textshot has failed to accurately gauge modes and you'll see what ASCII characters written to a graphics screen look like. Solution: press [ESC] to leave Textshot. Your graphics screen will be restored. Another potential problem lies with other programs that play with a computer's interrupt table, particularly the keyboard interrupts. Textshot attempts to be nice to your computer's interrupt table, taking over and using no more of your computer's resources than it absolutely has to; but it HAS to have access to some things, simply to function. If Textshot refuses to pop up, or if you have trouble typing inside Textshot, try changing the loading order of any other TSR programs you might be using. This is a common cause of incompatibilities. If you're not running any other TSRs simultaneously with Textshot and it still refuses 3 to function correctly, the problem lies (probably) with the running application and there may not be much to be done about it. USING TEXTSHOT -------------- After pressing the hot key in text mode, a menu will appear at the top of your screen. On the first line is a prompt saying "Enter filespec:". This is where you type a name for your screen capture file. On the second and third lines are what we might call "status prompts", giving you your options: [ESC] and [F1] through [F5]. Here's what they do: [ESC] Leaves the program, "pops it down". [F1] Controls image inversion. Textshot pops up with this option set to "OFF". The correct setting of this toggle (called a "toggle", because when you press it, it goes to its opposite state; pressing once produces "ON", pressing again produces "OFF", and so on) can only be determined by examining the final printed output of whatever document or file you've loaded your screen image into. Some applications will print a normally-output ("OFF" setting) screen black-on-white while others will print it as white-on-black. What you want your output to look like will determine the setting of this switch. Try it both ways. [F2] The state of this toggle determines whether dot patterns are used in the file to simulate, to the degree it's possible, what the background colors of a screen look like. 6 of the 8 possible background colors have their own pattern. No patterns are necessary for white-on-black and black- on-white areas. Whether or not it's worthwhile to use color patterns will depend entirely on the nature of the screen you're taking a picture of and what you want the final output to look like. Again, give it a try. Note that this option isn't available (or necessary) in monochrome modes. [F3] On MDA/CGA equipped machines, pressing this key does nothing; CGA fonts are all there are. On EGA/VGA-equipped machines, you can tell Textshot to use any font available in your computer by pressing this toggle. For an EGA, this means CGA and EGA fonts. For a VGA adapter, it means CGA, EGA and VGA fonts. Where you have a choice, each option represents tradeoffs: EGA or VGA fonts will give a higher-resolution picture, but at the cost of increased file sizes. CGA fonts produce the smallest output files, but with the coarsest picture resolution. The resolution question must be decided by what you're using the output files for, and what quality is necessary. The file size issue might become important if you're loading screen images into an application that already hogs most of memory, when a change in font resolution could mean the 4 difference between using or not using a file. Also be aware that .PCX file editors that don't use scroll bars may be unable to load higher-resolution Textshot files. Note that Textshot pops up with the font switch set to the highest possible resolution by default. This can be changed by using the [F4] key. [F4] This key preserves all of Textshot's toggle settings between pop-ups, including the position of the clipping box (discussed next). Filespecs are not preserved. [F5] Pressing this key enables you to tell Textshot which areas of your screen to save. When pressed, it causes the menu to (temporarily) disappear and a white "clipping box" to appear on your screen. The first time this key is pressed, the box will be as large as your screen; changing the box's shape tells Textshot which part of the screen you want saved -- those parts that are covered by the box. The clipping box is "inclusive", which is to say that whatever is covered by the edges of the box will be included in what is saved. This would permit, for example, collapsing the clipping box down to the size of a single character, if that's what you wanted, and saving that single character to a file. The clipping box is controlled by pressing the arrow keys. When [F5] is pressed and the box first appears, the arrow keys control the "upper left" sides of the box. The top and left sides. Pressing [ENTER] with the box still visible "flips" the arrow keys, which then control the "lower right" sides of the box. The right and bottom sides. Pressing [ENTER] again toggles sides yet again, which can be repeated as many times as necessary. Pressing [SHIFT + ARROW] accelerates the clipping box's movements, allowing you to "cover more territory" quickly. After setting the clipping box, pressing [ESC] makes the box disappear and the menu reappear. If you should want to quickly restore the clipping box to its default (whole screen) size without having to use the arrow keys, make sure the [F4] toggle is set to "OFF", pop down Textshot, by pressing [ESC] from the menu, and then pop it up again by pressing [PrScr]. All toggles will be reset. SAVING A SCREEN --------------- Textshot doesn't care whether or not you use a .PCX file extension. If you want your files to be "real" PC Paintbrush files, it's necessary for you to give them a .PCX or .PCC extension. Filespecs can be as long as the available screen space. The cursor will stop automatically when you've reached the limit. 5 After entering your filespec and selecting the desired options, pressing [ENTER] causes Textshot to restore the screen and write the file you've specified. Since a high-resolution file might take a little while to write, especially on a slower machine, Textshot will beep when it's finished writing to disk. That means your picture is complete. Note: Textshot does not include the cursor in the pictures it makes. If whatever you're using the picture for requires a text cursor, one can be "faked in" by loading the file into PC Paintbrush (or another .PCX file editor) and drawing it. IF THERE ARE PROBLEMS --------------------- If Textshot has any trouble when writing the file, you'll hear two beeps, a message window at the top of the screen will appear, and whatever the problem might be is described. You are then asked to press any key, and the message window disappears. Press [PrScr] again to try the operation over. Make sure you've typed a correct pathname (a directory that exists) and that the disk you're writing to has enough room for the output file. It's a "giveaway" if you type DIR for the disk you're trying to write to and discover there are "0 bytes free"! Textshot tells you specifically about most common disk problems. If you see the general message "Disk error", though, it's something sufficiently obscure that Textshot (and probably you) can't do much about it. Finally, if there ever should be any difficulty in loading a Textshot file into an application, try loading it first into PC Paintbrush, or another .PCX file editor, and save it back to disk with the same filename, and then try again. IMAGE EDITING ------------- As with any other .PCX-format file, screen images produced by Textshot can be loaded and edited inside PC Paintbrush. Since Textshot produces 2-color files, your copy of PC Paintbrush must either be set (through PBSETUP) for any monochrome mode, or, on color systems, to CGA 2-color mode. Strange as it may seem, it is possible to get VGA resolution screen shots using CGA-mode files! If, for example, you create a VGA-, or EGA-resolution screen image with Textshot and load it into CGA-configured PC Paintbrush, all the characters will seem "elongated", to be stretched vertically. Don't worry! These files can be edited easily enough inside PC Paintbrush. When, however, the images are imported into an application they automatically assume the aspect ratio (the ratio of height to width) of the "frame" into which they're "poured". A computer's video screen has an aspect ratio of about 3:4. If the frame you 6 pour the image into, inside your application, has this same aspect ratio, the screen images will turn out looking very natural. If your Textshot images are saved using the CGA font, the resulting images will appear to have a "natural" aspect ratio inside PC Paintbrush to begin with, when it is configured for CGA. When a Textshot image is loaded into PC Paintbrush running on a Hercules adapter, the image will be smaller than the screen (because it has only 640 pixels horizontal resolution), on the right and possibly on the bottom, depending on the font resolution of the Textshot image. If, after editing, the file is saved back to disk, those blank areas on the right and the bottom will go with it. This is something to take into account. Every word processor or desktop publishing program that I'm familiar with has no trouble importing PC Paintbrush images regardless of resolution or mode, and that includes Textshot images; mode translation is always automatic. Final judgements regarding hardware and software compatibility, though, as with any shareware product, must be yours. Please make sure Textshot works with everything you might need it to work with before committing to it! TIPS FOR GETTING A GOOD PICTURE ------------------------------- As mentioned previously, the first things to try when saving an image is to use the toggle switches available when Textshot is "popped up". Image inversion, the use of color patterns and changing the image resolution should make it possible to get an acceptable image under most circumstances. But what do you do if none of these work? This section has some additional ideas. If your video adapter is able, try switching to monochrome (MDA or Hercules). Most programs make their screens differently, using ASCII characters and character intensity only, when running in monochrome. In cases where the color patterns are unacceptably ugly, but are necessary, sometimes you can solve the problem by changing the patterns used by changing the top application's screen colors. Since you are dealing with Textshot's color patterns, remember that it doesn't matter what the colors on the screen look like, whether they are pretty or ugly; all that matters is that the color patterns turn out acceptably. If all else fails, try changing the application to sheer black-on-white, or vice versa. If you want to put something into a captured image that wasn't in the original, or take out something that doesn't belong, you must resort to PC Paintbrush, or some other .PCX file editor, for editing. There, it's also possible to add cursors and capture small bits of an original file as .PCC (cutout) files. 7 DISCLAIMER & AGREEMENT ---------------------- Users of Textshot must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "Textshot is supplied as is. The author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. The author assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of Textshot." Textshot is a "shareware program" and is provided at no charge to the user for evaluation. Feel free to share it with your friends, but please do not give it away altered or as part of another system. The essence of "user-supported" software is to provide personal computer users with quality software without high prices, and yet to provide incentive for programmers to continue to develop new products. If you find this program useful and find that you are using Textshot and continue to use Textshot after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $25 to McAdams Associates. The $25 registration fee will license one copy for use on any one computer at any one time. You must treat this software just like a book. An example is that this software may be used by any number of people and may be freely moved from one computer location to another, so long as there is no possibility of it being used at one location while it's being used at another. Just as a book cannot be read by two different persons at the same time. Commercial users of Textshot must register and pay for their copies of Textshot within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting McAdams Associates. Anyone distributing Textshot for any kind of remuneration must first contact McAdams Associates at the address below for authorization. This authorization will be automatically granted to distributors recognized by the ASP as adhering to its guidelines for shareware distributors, and such distributors may begin offering Textshot immediately (However McAdams Associates must still be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to- date with the latest version of Textshot.). You are encouraged to pass a copy of Textshot along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. And since this is shareware and I am a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals, please read the following: "This program is produced by a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works 8 for you. If you are unable to resolve a shareware- related problem with an ASP member by contacting the member directly, ASP may be able to help. The ASP Ombudsman can help you resolve a dispute or problem with an ASP member, but does not provide technical support for members' products. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman at 545 Grover Road, Muskegon, MI 49442 or send a CompuServe message via CompuServe Mail to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536." REGISTERING TEXTSHOT --------------------- Registering Textshot costs $25 and includes one year's free support by phone, mail and CompuServe e-mail, free bug fixes, the latest version of Textshot, plus TWO handy utility programs: 1) SEARCH, a multitalented disk scanning file-finder program, and 2) TO/RET, a "two-in-one" combo that work together, enabling you to change to any disk/directory and return instantly to your starting point. To register Textshot, simply print and fill out the file REGISTER.DOC and send it, along with $25 (checks or M.O.s drawn a U.S. banks only, please) to: McAdams Associates P.O. Box 835505 Richardson, TX 75083-5505 CIS PPN 70353,1644 Textshot was created using QuickC and MASM, which are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 9 INDEX ----- Activating Textshot, see [PrScr] key Beeps One (signifying completion), 6 Two (disk error), 6 Two (graphics mode error), 3 Clipping (image), 2, 5 Color patterns, 4, 7 Commercial distribution, 8 Commercial use of Textshot, 8 Disk errors, 6 Editing Textshot images, 6-7 [ESC] key, 4, 5 and Hercules "splotches", 3 [F1] function key, see Image inversion [F2] function key, see Color patterns [F3] function key, see Fonts [F4] function key, see Preserve settings [F5] function key, see Clipping Fonts Aspect ratios of, 7 [F3] toggle, 4-5 File sizes using different, 4 Hardware requirements, 2 GRAFTABL DOS utility, 2, 3 Graphics file format, 2 Graphics modes, 2, 3 Hercules (determining), 3 Hot key, see [PrScr] key Image inversion, 7 Toggle switch, 4 Leaving Textshot, see [ESC] key Loading Textshot, 2-3 Memory managers, 2, 3 PCX file editors, 5, 6, 7 PCX file extension, 6 PCX file format, 2, 6-7 Preserve settings, 5 [PrScr] hot key, 3 Registering Textshot, 8-9 Software compatibility, 3-4 Support policy, 9 Unloading Textshot, 3 Video 80-column modes supported, 2 Aspect ratio, 6-7 Hercules & PC Paintbrush, 7 Monochrome, 4, 7 Standards (compatibility), 2 10