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SVGA
An Image Viewing Utility
Version 1.1 - April 1992
Program Reference Manual
Copyright (C) 1992 by John P. Silva
All Rights Reserved
John P. Silva
3429 Maywood Dr.
Richmond, CA 94803
(510) 222-9255
Internet: jsilva@cogsci.berkeley.edu
GE Mail: J.SILVA1
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -i- TABLE OF CONTENTS
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVGA LICENSE INFORMATION 1
Shareware & Registration 1
Terms and Conditions 1
Limited Warranty 2
Limitation of Liability 2
Shareware Distributor License Agreement 2
Trademark Information 2
INTRODUCTION TO SVGA 3
Program Description 3
Features 3
Machine Requirements 3
USING SVGA 4
SVGA Command Line 4
Installation 4
Environment Variables 4
SVGA Environment Variable 4
TEMP Environment Variable 4
File Selection Screen 5
Getting Help 5
Moving Around 5
View Image 5
Change Directory 5
Change drive 5
Toggle 4DOS Description Display 5
Toggle Image Resolution Display 5
Toggle 43/50 Line Mode 5
Toggle Automatic Resolution Selection 5
Change Display Resolution 5
Get File Information 6
Edit 4DOS Description 6
Rename File 6
Delete File 6
Image Display Screen 6
Getting Help 6
Moving Around 6
Color Mix 6
Brightness 6
Restore Palette 6
Change Display Resolution 6
Palettes and TrueColor Video Modes 6
APPENDIX 7
Troubleshooting 7
386 Memory Managers 7
Tseng Labs ET4000 HiColor and Video Snow 7
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -1- SVGA LICENSE INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
SVGA LICENSE INFORMATION
Shareware & Registration
SVGA is Copyright (C) 1992 by John P. Silva. All Rights Reserved.
SVGA is SHAREWARE, user supported software for the IBM PC. SVGA is
made available for a free 30 day trial period. If you find this
program useful, you may license your copy of the program for use on
one machine by sending US$15 to:
John P. Silva
3429 Maywood Dr.
Richmond, CA 94803 U.S.A.
Terms and Conditions
SVGA is copyrighted software, and all rights are reserved. SVGA may
not be changed or modified in any way except by the author. SVGA is
SHAREWARE, and may be freely distributed, as long as it remains in its
complete form with all support and documentation files. It may be
used for a 30 day free trial period. Regardless of how the copy is
obtained, it is requested that all users comply with the following
licensing and registration provisions if they continue to use it after
the 30 day trial period:
You may license multiple copies of SVGA with discounts as follows:
1 - 10 copies US$15
11 - 50 copies 20% discount
51 - 100 copies 35% discount
100+ copies 50% discount
Site License US$750
Manuals and diskettes for the latest version of SVGA are available to
registered users for US$10 per copy.
All prices and discounts are subject to change without notice.
Discounts apply only to individual orders, they are not cumulative.
Registration entitles you to:
Use all updates at no cost.
Receive free updates by sending me a diskette and a self
addressed stamped disk mailer.
Receive free technical support either by phone (you call me) or
by electronic mail.
SVGA should be distributed intact, with all executable and
documentation files.
Registered users may install SVGA on more than one machine, provided
they are the only user on each machine. The registration and license
policy is similar to a book, which can be taken with you but used only
by you.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -2- SVGA LICENSE INFORMATION
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Limited Warranty
The author makes no warranty of any kind, either expressed or implied.
This includes, but is not limited to, implied warranties of
merchantability, and fitness for any particular purpose with respect
to both the software and the documentation included in this package.
IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT,
CONSEQUENTIAL, OR INCIDENTAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF THE USE OR
INABILITY TO USE THIS PRODUCT EVEN IF THE AUTHOR HAS BEEN ADVISED OF
THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR CLAIM. Some states do not allow
the exclusion or limitation of liability for consequential or
incidental damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.
The warranties set forth above are in lieu of all other express and
implied warranties, whether oral, written, or implied, and the
remedies set forth above are your sole and exclusive remedies.
Limitation of Liability
In no case shall the authors liability exceed the license fees paid
for the right to use SVGA or five dollars (US$5.00), whichever is
greater.
Shareware Distributor License Agreement
Shareware distributors may distribute this program as long as the
Author has been notified prior to ANY distribution. The "per disk"
charge may not exceed $10 and the shareware distributor will not
change the above license agreement for the end user of SVGA. End
users are still required to register each shareware copy of SVGA.
Trademark Information
Graphics Interchange Format (C) Copyright CompuServe Incorporated.
GIF(sm) is a Service Mark owned by CompuServe Incorporated. For
further information, please contact:
CompuServe Incorporated
Graphics Technology Department
5000 Arlington Center Boulevard
Columbus, Ohio 43220 U.S.A.
Truevision is a registered trademark of Truevision, Inc.
TARGA is a registered trademark of Truevision, Inc.
4DOS(tm) is a trademark of JP Software, Inc.
QEMM-386(tm) is a trademark of Quarterdeck Office Systems.
Other product and company names are trademarks of their respective
owners.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -3- INTRODUCTION TO SVGA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTRODUCTION TO SVGA
Program Description
SVGA is an easy to use multi-format image viewer designed to quickly
browse through a collection of image files.
Features
SVGA is a general purpose image file viewer for VGA and SuperVGA with
the following features:
High speed viewing of the following image formats:
1.CompuServe GIF87a and limited GIF89a support. SVGA only supports
the image storage portion of GIF89a, not the pseudo-animation and
text extensions.
2.ZSoft PCX files (including 24 bit PCX).
3.MicroSoft Windows BMP files (including 24 bit BMP), both
compressed and uncompressed.
4.Truevision TARGA files, types 1, 2, 9, and 10.
Self configuring for most display boards using Ahead, ATI, C&T,
Everex, Genoa, NCR, Headland, Oak, Paradise, S3, Trident, Tseng Labs
(ET3000/ET4000), Video 7, and Western Digital chips (See the
Appendix for supported chipsets). SVGA fully supports the VESA
standard, and will use the VESA standard (through BIOS or TSR
support) if desired.
Supports viewing TrueColor images on VGA, HiColor, and Everex
TrueColor display adapters.
SVGA can view images much larger than the available video hardware
may allow. This is accomplished by preloading the image and then
displaying it in whichever mode the user desires. This allows the
display mode to be changed on the fly without having to reload the
image from disk.
Automatic detection of 80386/80486 processors for faster image
display.
Will use all available main memory, EMS, XMS, and hard disk space to
view images up to 8192 x 8192 in size. If there is insufficient
physical memory to load an image, SVGA will create temporary files
on disk as a virtual memory buffer to load as much of the image as
is possible.
Fully supports 4DOS compatible file descriptions, and can edit file
descriptions at the file display screen.
Updates the display screen automatically when images are renamed,
deleted or descriptions changed.
Can be compressed with PKLite or other executable file compressors
with no ill effects.
Machine Requirements
SVGA requires a VGA or SuperVGA equipped IBM PC compatible computer
with a minimum of 512k of memory. 2 MB of memory or more is desired
for efficient viewing of most image files.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -4- USING SVGA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
USING SVGA
SVGA Command Line
SVGA Command Line Format:
SVGA [/badrv4] [/x xres] [/y yres] [/p startpath]
The /b option selects BIOS for screen I/O rather than direct screen
writes.
The /a option selects automatic resolution selection at startup.
The /d option selects display of 4DOS descriptions at startup.
The /r option selects file list image resolution display at startup.
The /v option selects the VESA interface if VESA is installed.
The /4 option selects 43/50 line mode at startup.
The /x and /y options specify the largest allowable display mode at
startup.
The /p option specifies the path SVGA should switch to at startup.
All command line switches are optional, and may be specified in any
order.
Installation
Installation of SVGA is straightforward. Simply place the SVGA.EXE
executable someplace in the DOS path, and the rest is automatic. SVGA
will automatically detect your machine, memory and video adapter.
(See Appendix for supported chipsets.) SVGA requires no configuration
or data files for correct operation. However, there are a number of
DOS environment variables which may be set to enhance program
operation.
Environment Variables
SVGA Environment Variable
Default command line switches may be specified in the dos
environment variable 'SVGA'. DOS environment variables are set by
giving a command to DOS before running SVGA. You can add these
commands to your AUTOEXEC.BAT file.
The format of the SVGA environment variable is identical to the
SVGA command line format. All command line options may be set in
this variable.
Example: set SVGA=/dr4 /x 800 /y 600 /p C:\GIF
These options select as default 4DOS descriptions, image resolution
display, 43/50 line mode, 800x600 startup resolution (or the
largest resolution available below 800x600), and a startup path of
C:\GIF.
TEMP Environment Variable
The DOS environment variable 'TEMP' may be used to direct SVGA to
place its virtual memory buffers in a specific location. If the
'TEMP' variable is not set, SVGA will place the virtual memory
buffers in the current working directory. This may not be
desirable behavior. It is recommended that 'TEMP' be set to a
directory on a hard disk with more than 2 MB of free space.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -5- USING SVGA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
File Selection Screen
The File Selection Screen consists of the display mode list, the file
selection area, and the help line. The currently selected mode is
displayed in yellow.
Getting Help
The F1 key will display the SVGA help and program information
screen.
Moving Around
You may position the cursor on the screen by using the arrow keys,
the HOME/END keys, the PGUP/PGDN keys, or by pressing the first
letter of the desired filename. HOME will move the cursor to the
start of the list. END will move the cursor to the end of the
list. PGUP will jump up one screenful of names. PGDN will jump
down one screenful.
View Image
To view an image, position the cursor to the desired image and
press the Enter key to initiate image display.
Change Directory
To change the current directory, position the cursor to the desired
directory and press the Enter key to select the directory. When
changing to the directory one level up, the cursor will be
positioned at the name of the previously selected directory.
Change drive
The F2 key will bring up the drive selection dialog box. Simply
press the desired drive letter, and SVGA will attempt to change to
the desired drive. If an error occurs, SVGA will remain at the
current drive.
Toggle 4DOS Description Display
The F5 key will toggle the display between multiple columns and
4DOS descriptions. The default mode is multiple column display.
Toggle Image Resolution Display
The F6 key will toggle the display between file date/time and image
resolutions. The default mode is file date/time display.
Toggle 43/50 Line Mode
The F7 key will toggle between the startup mode and 43/50 line
mode. The default mode is usually 80x25 text mode. Certain
utilities such as UltraVision may change the default mode. SVGA
fully supports the large screen sizes provided by such utilities.
Toggle Automatic Resolution Selection
The F8 key will toggle between locked mode and automatic selection
mode. The mode line will change to indicate current mode.
Automatic mode is indicated when all shown resolutions are the
same color. The default mode is locked.
Change Display Resolution
The F9/F10 keys will decrease and increase the current mode,
respectively. The default mode is the mode with the highest
possible resolution.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -6- USING SVGA
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Get File Information
Information on the current file can be obtained by pressing Alt-I.
This information is the same information that is found under
various aspects of the file display screen.
Edit 4DOS Description
4DOS descriptions can be edited by pressing Alt-E. Descriptions
may be edited whether or not descriptions are currently being
displayed.
Rename File
The current file can be renamed by pressing Alt-R.
Delete File
The current file can be deleted by pressing Alt-D. This also
deletes the description in the 4DOS description file.
Image Display Screen
Getting Help
The '?' key will show available commands in Image Display Mode.
Moving Around
The arrow keys will scroll the image around the screen, if the
current image is larger than the current display mode. Press
ESCAPE or Enter to return to the File Selection Screen.
Color Mix
F1 will decrease the red content of the image.
F2 will increase the red content of the image.
F3 will decrease the green content of the image.
F4 will increase the green content of the image.
F5 will decrease the blue content of the image.
F6 will increase the blue content of the image.
Brightness
F7 will darken the image.
F8 will lighten the image.
Restore Palette
Alt-F10 will return the palette to normal.
Change Display Resolution
F9 will decrease the current display mode.
F10 will increase the current display mode.
Palettes and TrueColor Video Modes
The palette editing functions in SVGA only effect the paletted
video modes, such as the standard 256 color SuperVGA video modes.
TrueColor video modes have no palette, and cannot be color
corrected using the F1-F8 keys in view mode.
SVGA Version 1.1 - April 1992 -7- APPENDIX
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX
Troubleshooting
386 Memory Managers
SVGA may have difficulty detecting ATI, Genoa, Paradise and Western
Digital video adapters when running QEMM-386 or similar memory
management products which hide the system ROMs behind useable
memory (QEMM calls this "stealth mode"). To correct this
difficulty, you should either exclude the range C000-C1FF from use
by the memory manager, or arrange to have the page frame mapped
into the range C000-CFFF (this works with QEMM, but may not work
with other memory managers). This allows SVGA to correctly access
the necessary information in ROM.
Tseng Labs ET4000 HiColor and Video Snow
Most Tseng ET4000 based video boards have timing problems which
manifest themselves as random changes to pixel data written to
video memory. These changes typically appear as brightly colored
pixels or "snow" in the image being viewed. This problem is
particularly apparent in HiColor video modes. It is a hardware
bug, not a problem in SVGA.