Frostbyte's 1980s DOS Shareware Collection/floppyshareware.zip/floppyshareware/GLEN/CGP20.ZIP/MANUAL.DOC

Text File | 1991-09-10 | 22KB | 590 lines

        THE CHILDREN'S GRAPHICS PROGRAM
              Version 2.0



INTRODUCTION
Although anyone may find it useful, this simple graphics
program was designed especially for children.  With this
software your child can draw lines, circles, boxes,
arcs, text, or other figures we call macros.  You can
create your own macros or choose one of the macros that
is programmed or built into the software.  The
programmed macros can be drawn in one of four sizes --
small, medium, large, and extra large.  All the figures
and macros can be drawn in one of four colors
(background or none, red, blue, and white).  Actually
the red and blue colors are magenta and cyan but these
terms are usually not recognized by children. Once the
drawing is complete your child can color-in the drawings
by painting them in one of eight colors.

By placing animation marks in the drawings at strategic
locations you can also animate your drawings.  This is
a little more complicated and may require parent's
assistance.

This software comes with six example drawings.  These
are draw1, draw2, draw3, draw4, draw5, and draw6.  You
may load them using the FILE option which is located in
MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.  You can use these drawings to
practice deleting or painting.  Draw3, Draw4, and Draw6
are animated drawings -- try them!

You will also find some user-defined macros on the disk
that have already been created for you.  These can be
recalled through the MACRO option.

The following paragraphs describe the operation of this
program in detail.



OVERVIEW
This section shows you the logical breakdown of the
various options.

  MAIN GRAPHICS MENU
  1-GRAPH
      Graph Options:
      1-DRAW
      Draw Options:
      1-LINE

          2-BOX
          3-CIRCL (CIRCLE)
          4-MACRO
              Macro Options:
                1-Choose a Programmed Macro
                2-Choose a User-defined Macro
                3-Store Existing Drawing as Macro
          5-END
          6-ARC
          7-TEXT
      2-PAINT
      3-DEL (DELETE)
      4-CLOAK
      5-END
      6-AMARK (ANIMATE MARK)
      7-AMATE (ANIMATE)
      8-EXPRT (EXPORT)
      9-COPY
  2-FILE
      File Options:
      1-STORE
      2-GET
      3-DIR (DIRECTORY)
      4-CHDIR (CHANGE DIRECTORY)
      5-END
  3-ERASE
  4-PRINT
  5-END



TO MOUSE OR NOT TO MOUSE
Before the program starts it will ask you whether or not
you'll be using a mouse.  If so, you must press the y
key.  If not, you must press the n key.  You can use the
mouse to select options and move the cursor.  The left
button is used in place of the return key to accept or
answer yes.  The right button is used in place of the
ESC key or to answer no.  I recommend you use a mouse if
you have one.  You'll find that it's much easier than
using the keyboard.



FINDING THE INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions are always found on the top two lines
above the drawing box.  If the cursor is visible it's
position will be shown on line 2 with the x-position
first and the y-position shown last.  The x-position
increases from left to right while the y-position
increases from top to bottom.  The options that you may

choose from will always be shown on the last row, below
the drawing box.



CHOOSING AN OPTION
If you don't have a mouse you must use the keyboard to
choose options.  If you have a mouse and choose to use
it you must use the mouse and not the keyboard.

KEYBOARD
To select an option using the keyboard just press the
number key that corresponds to the option you want to
select.  The options and their corresponding numbers are
listed at the bottom of the screen.

MOUSE
To select an option using the mouse just move the mouse
left or right until the arrow is pointing to the option
you want then press the left button.  Note that this
arrow only appears when you're using the mouse and when
its time to select an option.  You can only move this
arrow left or right.



MOVING THE CURSOR
The cursor is a flashing circle that appears when its
time to place an object in the drawing box.  Its sole
purpose for existing is to show you your location in the
drawing box.  It will not show on your printed drawings.
The cursor can be moved using the keyboard or the mouse.

KEYBOARD
You may move the cursor one pixel at a time by using the
appropriate arrow key.  If you want to move in larger
steps in the vertical direction, use the PGUP or PGDN
keys.  To move in larger steps horizontally you must
first press the CONTROL key then the left or right arrow
key before releasing the CONTROL key.

MOUSE
This is the easy part.  Just move the mouse and the
cursor will follow.




MAIN GRAPHICS MENU
In this menu your options are 1-GRAPH, 2-FILE, 3-ERASE,
2-PRINT, and 5-END.  Choose one of these options using

the procedures described above.

GRAPH
Choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.  The GRAPH
menu has nine options.  The first five are 1-DRAW, 2-
PAINT, 3-DELete, 4-CLOAK, 5-END, and >.  Choose > to see
the additional options.  These are <, 6-AMARK, 7-AMATE,
8-EXPRT, and 9-COPY.  Choose < to see the first 5
options again.  Press c to change the background color
if you're using the keyboard.  If you choose END you
will be returned to MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.

DRAW
Choose this option from GRAPH MENU when you want to draw
something in the drawing box.  Your options in the DRAW
menu are 1-LINE, 2-BOX, 3-CIRCL, 4-MACRO, 5-END, and >.
Choose > to see the additional options.  These are <, 6-
ARC, and 7-TEXT.  Choose < to see the first 5 options
again.  If you choose END you will be returned to GRAPH
MENU.

After you choose one of these seven options you must
choose a color.  Your color options are 1-NONE, 2-BLUE,
3-RED, or 4-WHITE.  Remember, the color NONE is just the
background color.  If you are not using a mouse, this
background color can be changed by pressing the c key on
the keyboard.  You can even get green and yellow
backgrounds!

LINE
Use this option to draw a line between any two points in
the drawing box.  After you choose the color.  Move the
cursor to where you want the line to start then press
ENTER.  If you have a mouse, you must press the left
button instead of pressing ENTER.  After you do this,
move to where you want the end of the line and accept
this point in the same manner.

Now that you've chosen the color, the starting point of
the line, and the ending point, the line will be drawn.
After the line is drawn you're placed back in DRAW MENU.
You may now choose another figure.

BOX
As with the LINE option, after you select BOX you must
select its color.  Next, move the cursor to where you
want one corner of the box then press ENTER.  If you
have a mouse, you may press the left button instead of
pressing ENTER.  After you do this, move to where you
want the opposite corner and accept this point in the
same manner.  It makes no difference which corner you
start with.


Now that you've chosen the color and two opposite
corners, the box will be drawn.  After the box is drawn
you're placed back in DRAW MENU.  You may now choose
another component.

CIRCLE
Use this option to draw a circle in the drawing box.
Again, you must first choose a color.  Next, enter the
radius measured in x-axis pixels.  The y-axis pixels are
further apart than those of the x-axis and a circle will
have 0.833 times as many pixels in the y direction.

Now that you've entered the radius using the keyboard,
you must position the cursor where you want the center
of the circle to be and press ENTER (or the left button
if you're using a mouse).  The circle will now be drawn
and you'll be returned to DRAW MENU.

MACRO
Macro refers to a command that draws a complex figure
for you automatically --- a house for example.  Choose
this option and you'll see a list of three Macro options
to choose from.  These options are CHOOSE A PROGRAMMED
MACRO, CHOOSE A USER-DEFINED MACRO, and STORE EXISTING
DRAWING AS MACRO.  Programmed macros are those that are
programmed into the software and cannot be changed.  The
user-defined macros are those that you can create and
delete.  These are stored as macro files on disk.  The
third option allows you to store one of your drawings as
a macro file.

Options can be selected from this menu by using either
the keyboard or the mouse.  If you're using the
keyboard, use the up and down arrow keys to highlight
the options you want then press ENTER.  If you're using
a mouse, move the mouse up or down to highlight the
option you want then press the left button.

CHOOSE A PROGRAMMED MACRO
Select a programmed macro by highlighting the desired
macro using the technique described above then pressing
ENTER or the left mouse button.  Next you must select a
color.  Once you've selected it's color you must choose
a size.  Your choices are: 1-SMALL, 2-MED, 3-LARGE, and
4-EXLRG.  Finally, move the cursor to where you want the
macro drawn then press ENTER or the left mouse button.
The programmed macro will now be drawn with the color,
size and location you have selected.


CHOOSE A USER-DEFINED MACRO
This option allows you to place a previously designed
macro into your current drawing.  When you choose this
option you're shown a list of the current macro files.
Use the keyboard or mouse as described above to select
the file you want.  Now that you've selected the file
you must select a location for it to be drawn.  Place
the cursor over the desired location then press ENTER
or the left mouse button.  The macro will be drawn at
this location and you'll be returned to the DRAW menu.

STORE EXISTING DRAWING AS MACRO
This option allows you to store your drawing as a macro
file.  You must not have any copies, animation marks or
other user-defined macros in this drawing.  After you
select this option, type a name for the macro file but
do not include an extension.  For example, suppose you
have a drawing of a dog.  Do not type DOG.MCR for the
filename.  Just type DOG.  A MCR extension will be
automatically added to the end.

END
Choose this option to return to GRAPH MENU.

ARC
This option allows you to draw complete or partial arcs.
After choosing this option you must first choose a
color.  Next, you must enter the aspect ratio.  This is
the ratio of y-axis pixels to x-axis pixels.  Since we
know the y-axis pixels are 1/.833 times further apart
than the x-axis pixels, to get a circle we'll have to
choose the aspect ratio to be 0.833.  Now choose the
radius.  If the aspect ratio that you chose above is
less than one, the radius will be measured in x-axis
pixels.  If the aspect ratio is greater than one, the
radius will be measured in y-axis pixels.  In other
words it is always measured along the longest axis as
measured in pixels.

After you've entered the radius from the keyboard, you
must enter the start angle in degrees.  This is the
angle at which the computer starts drawing the arc.
Next, you must enter the end angle for the arc.  You can
see that with these two values you can cause the
computer to easily draw half or quarter arcs.

Finally, you must move the cursor to where you want the
center of the arc to be and press ENTER or the left
mouse button.  After you've done this the arc will be
drawn and you'll be returned to DRAW MENU.


TEXT
Choose this option if you want to type some text in your
drawing.  This option supports most ASCII characters
including the number characters 0 through 9.  You are
limited to 22 characters each time you use this option.

This DRAW option with its variety of components,
including TEXT, should provide you with all the tools
you need for drawing.  Now lets return to the GRAPH menu
and learn how to paint your drawings.

PAINT
This option from GRAPH MENU allows you to fill in an
enclosed area with one of the following colors: 1-NONE,
2-BLUE, 3-RED, 4-WHITE, 6-GRAY, 7-PINK, 8-CKBRD
(CHECKERBOARD), or 9-HSTRP (HORIZONTAL STRIPE).

After choosing PAINT, you must choose the fill color.
Next, you must specify the boundary color.  This
boundary color must completely surround the area to be
painted.  The paint will fill all the area surrounded by
the boundary color.  If the area is not completely
surrounded by this color the paint will spill over
outside the area.  If you do this accidentally, you can
correct it by going to the delete option and deleting
it.

After you select the boundary color, move the cursor to
a point within the boundary and press ENTER or the left
mouse button.  The area within the boundary will now be
filled with the color previously selected.

When drawing a figure that is to be painted, try to use
a border color that is different than the desired paint
color.  If the colors are the same, you cannot change
the paint color without deleting the old one.

If you try to delete a border while it contains paint it
will make quite a mess; therefore, delete its paint
first.  If you want to paint your drawing it is best to
wait until all your drawing is finished.  This allows
you to make changes in lines, boxes, circles, macros,
and arcs without having to delete the paint first.

DELETE
Use this option to delete individual elements in your
drawing.  The last thing drawn will begin to flash and
you must answer the question "Do you want to delete
this?".  If you're using the keyboard use the y key for
yes and the n key for no.  If you're using a mouse use
the left key for yes and the right key for no.  Choose

yes and the drawing will be redrawn without that object.
Choose no and the next object will flash.  This
continues until you either choose yes, press the ESC key
to escape, or all objects are flashed.

When deleting a painted area, the entire paint does not
flash.  Only a small circle located around one pixel in
the painted area will flash to indicate which painted
area is being referenced.  When deleting a graphics
copy, a box will flash around the copied area showing
you the graphics that is to be deleted if you choose to.
Also, when deleting a user-defined macro, a circle
(larger than the one for a painted area) will flash
around the starting point of the macro.

CLOAK
The purpose of cloaking is to hide a piece of a drawing
without deleting it.  This is sometimes easier than
going through the delete process.  For creating an
animated drawing it is an absolutely essential option.

This option works by hiding everything within a boxed
area that you define.  You must first place the cursor
on one corner of the cloaked area and press ENTER or the
left mouse button.  Next, place the cursor on the
opposite corner of the area and accept it.  Whatever is
within the box drawn with these opposite corners will be
hidden from view but not deleted.

If you find that not all the enclosed drawing becomes
hidden, try it again.  Sometimes it will not take it all
in a single step.

END
Choose this option to return to MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.

ANIMATE MARK
Choose this option if you want to store the current
drawing to be used later as an animation screen.  You
can find more information on how to do animations in the
tutorial.

ANIMATE
Use this option to animate your drawing if you have
placed animate marks in the drawing as it was created.
To stop the animation press key 5, press ESC or press
the right mouse button.

EXPORT
Choose this option to export graphics to programs
written in Turbo Basic or Power Basic.  All the graphics

within a box that you define will be stored in a file
that you specify.  This file can then be opened from
other programs you've written.  It can then be drawn on
the screen using a few simple commands.

You must first place the cursor at the upper left corner
of the graphics you want to export then select it.
Next, place the cursor at the bottom right corner of the
graphics and select it.  You are then shown the
dimensions of an integer array required to store the
graphics.  You'll need this number when its time to
place the graphics in your new program.

Finally, you must enter a name with no extension for a
file where the graphics can be stored.  After the
graphics is stored you'll be returned to GRAPH MENU.

The following is an example Basic program for placing
one of these drawings on the screen.  The array
dimension is 100 and the file name is draw10.

    SCREEN 1
    DIM GRAPHICSARRAY%(100)
    OPEN "i",1,"DRAW10.GFL"
    FOR X%=0 TO 100
    INPUT#1, GRAPHICSARRAY%(X%)
    NEXT X%
    CLS
    PUT (50,50),GRAPHICSARRAY%
    CLOSE 1
    END

COPY
Choose this option from GRAPH MENU if you want to copy
graphics to another location in the drawing box.  If you
choose this option you must move the cursor to the upper
left corner of the graphics you want to move then select
it.  Next, enter the cursor at the lower right corner of
the graphics.  Finally, move the cursor to the upper
left corner of the area you want the graphics copied to
then select it by pressing ENTER or the left mouse
button.  The graphics will be copied to this new
location.

Be careful where you copy the graphics.  If you copy it
over some graphics that already exists, it probably will
not look quite right.



FILE
Select the FILE option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU when you
need to get an existing drawing, store a drawing for
later use, or change the directory.  Your options in the
FILE menu are 1-STORE, 2-GET, 3-DIR (DIRECTORY), 4-CHDIR
(CHANGE DIRECTORY), and 5-END.

STORE
Use this option to store or save a drawing to file.
After choosing this option you must type the name of the
file where the drawing is to be stored.  Do not put an
extension on the file name.  For example, do not use
something like draw10.dat.  Just use draw10.  The
extension is added automatically.

GET
Use this option to retrieve a drawing that you
previously saved.  You are shown a list of existing
files and then you must select one.  Select by
highlighting it then pressing ENTER or the left mouse
button.

DIRECTORY
Choose this option if you just want to see all the
graphics files on the current directory.  Press the
ENTER key or the left mouse button to return to FILE
MENU.

END
Choose this option to return to MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.



ERASE
Choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU to erase all
the current drawing.  Be careful, once you've erased it
you can't get it back unless you stored it earlier.



PRINT
Choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU to print your
drawing to a printer.  This program was not designed
with its own print routine.  If you want a hardcopy of
your drawing you must load your favorite graphics screen
dump memory resident program before you load this
program.  A program like this that supports most dot
matrix printers, called GRAPHICS, usually comes with
your operating system.  To print, choose the PRINT
option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU.  Next, wait at least 4
seconds, press the SHIFT key then the PRINT key without
releasing the SHIFT key (if your computer has it, press

the PRINT SCREEN key instead).  Your drawing will now be
printed on your dot matrix printer.  When it's
completed, press the RETURN key to go back to MAIN
GRAPHICS MENU.


END
Choose this option from MAIN GRAPHICS MENU to exit the
program.  You'll find that this option exists in all the
menus.  In all other cases it returns you to the
previous menu.


If you have questions or suggestions for improving this
program please send them to me at this address:

               Dr. Andy Motes
               1632 Brooks St.
               Fayetteville, AR 72701

I hope you and your children enjoy this program.  A lot
of time went into designing it.  Hopefully it is much
easier to use than the elaborate commercial products
that require large manuals. To run the program just type
go then press ENTER.

I'VE MADE EVERY EFFORT TO REMOVE ALL BUGS FROM THIS
SOFTWARE; HOWEVER,  I CAN'T GUARANTEE THAT NONE EXISTS.
NEITHER CAN I GUARANTEE THAT A VIRUS HAS NOT BEEN
ATTACHED TO THE PROGRAM SINCE I'VE RELEASED IT.  THE
RISK MUST BE ALL YOURS.  BY USING THIS SOFTWARE YOU ARE
EXPRESSING YOUR WILLINGNESS TO ASSUME RESPONSIBILITY FOR
THE RISKS.

If you're interested in educational software for
children try my program called SCHOOL-MOM.  It is a menu
driven program with modules for Music Composition, Art,
English, Spelling, Math, Time and Exams.  It's a
complete educational tool for kids age 4 to 16.  You can
get it from your favorite shareware dealer, from the
IBMAPP forum on CompuServe, or from me by specifying it
on your registration form.


              _______
     ____|__     |                (R)
      --|       |    |-------------------
        |   ____|__  |  Association of
        |  |       |_|  Shareware
        |__|   o   |    Professionals
      -----|   |   |---------------------
           |___|___|    MEMBER



This program is produced by a member of the Association
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are unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with
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