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ColorView(tm) for DOS Version 2.1 Copyright (C) 1992 by Millennium Technologies Corporation ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Millennium Technologies Corporation(tm) Suite #205, 649 61st Street West New York, New Jersey 07093 DOS ColorView 2.1 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Shareware 1 ASP Ombudsman Statement 1 Disclaimer - Agreement 2 Registration 3 Registration Form 4 Introduction 5 Hardware & Software Requirements 5 ColorView Features 6 Some Commonly Asked Questions 6 Setting Up 7 User's Guide 8 Command Line Arguments 8 Batch Image Conversions 9 Standard VGA Video Mode 10 User Interaction (VESA SuperVGA Video Modes) 11 Menu Selection 11 Mouse Functionality 11 Keyboard Functionality 12 Menu Commands 14 File Menu 14 Options Menu 16 Edit Menu 17 Clip Menu 20 Appendix A 23 -1- DOS ColorView 2.1 ColorView for DOS is distributed as SHAREWARE. Please read the following information before using it: SHAREWARE ColorView is a shareware product, it is not free. Shareware distribution gives users a chance to try software before buying it. If you try a Shareware program and continue using it, you are expected to register. With your registration of ColorView for DOS Version 2.1, you will receive a diskette with the latest version of the software and documentation. Copyright laws apply to both Shareware and commercial software, and Millennium Technologies Corporation retains all rights, with a few specific exceptions as stated below. You are specifically granted the right to copy and distribute the ColorView for DOS package, complete and unmodified, as described in the Disclaimer-Agreement section below. Shareware is a distribution method, not a type of software. The Shareware system makes fitting your needs easier, because you can try it before you buy it. And because the overhead is low, prices are low. Shareware has the ultimate money-back guarantee -- if you don't use the product, you don't pay for it. ASP OMBUDSMAN STATEMENT Millennium Technologies Corporation is a member of the Association of Shareware Professionals (ASP). ASP wants to make sure that the shareware principle works 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. -2- DOS ColorView 2.1 DISCLAIMER - AGREEMENT Users of ColorView must accept this disclaimer of warranty: "ColorView is supplied as is. Millennium Technologies Corporation disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, including, without limitation, the warranties of merchantability and of fitness for any purpose. Millennium Technologies Corporation assumes no liability for damages, direct or consequential, which may result from the use of ColorView." ColorView 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 ColorView and continue to use ColorView after a reasonable trial period, you must make a registration payment of $29.95 to Millennium Technologies Corporation (please use the registration form below). The $29.95 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. It is just like a book which cannot be read by two different people at the same time. Commercial users of ColorView must register and pay for their copies of ColorView within 30 days of first use or their license is withdrawn. Site-License arrangements may be made by contacting Millennium Technologies Corporation. Anyone distributing ColorView for any kind of remuneration must first contact Millennium Technologies Corporation at the address below for authorization. Millennium Technologies Corporation should be advised so that the distributor can be kept up-to-date with the latest version of ColorView for DOS. Disk Vendors, Shareware Distributors and BBS(s) may charge a nominal fee for distribution of the program. The recipient of ColorView must be informed, in advance, that the fee paid to acquire ColorView does not relieve the recipient from paying the Registration Fee for ColorView if the recipient uses ColorView. You are encouraged to pass a copy of ColorView along to your friends for evaluation. Please encourage them to register their copy if they find that they can use it. All registered users will receive a copy of the latest version of the ColorView system. -3- DOS ColorView 2.1 REGISTRATION The ColorView for DOS registration fee is $29.95 plus Shipping and Handling. With your registration for ColorView for DOS Version 2.1, you will receive the latest copy of the software and the documentation, and will be notified of all later releases of ColorView for DOS. Subsequent versions of ColorView for DOS will be made available to registered users for a nominal fee to cover costs. As ColorView is ported to other Operating Environments and CPU platforms, registered users will be given a direct registration price of $10 for each additional version of ColorView for the new platforms and new environments. Discounts for other software product lines from Millennium Technologies and other products will also be made available to registered users of ColorView for DOS. You can register ColorView by: * CHECK or MONEY ORDER in US funds drawn on a US bank by mailing the check/money order along with the order form on the next page directly to Millennium Technologies Corporation; if you wish to mail an order directly to Millennium Technologies from outside the US, please try to use POSTAL MONEY ORDERS (which are usually free of conversion charges) from your national postal offices, or try to use American Express money orders or traveler's checks; * CREDIT CARD from PsL (Public (software) Library) with your Master Card, Visa, American Express, or Discover card by : calling 800-242-4PsL in the United States; calling 713-524-6394 from outside the United States; faxing your order form to 713-524-6398; or e-mailing your order through CompuServe to 71355,470. When ordering from PsL, please refer to product number 10677. The PsL numbers are for ordering only. Millennium Technologies Corporation cannot be reached at those numbers. To contact us for information about dealer pricing, volume discounts, site licensing, the status of shipment of the product, the latest version number, technical information or problems, or to discuss returns, please contact Millennium Technologies Corporation directly at: Millennium Technologies Corporation Suite #205, 649 61st Street West New York, New Jersey 07093 or through CompuServe at 71055,2625. -4- DOS ColorView 2.1 Please use this form to register ColorView by mail or fax: REGISTRATION FORM ColorView for DOS v. 2.1 NAME: ______________________________________________ STREET:______________________________________________ CITY: ______________________________________________ STATE: ___________________________ZIP________________ TELEPHONE: _________________________ ColorView License Number............... $29.95 ______ New Jersey Residents add 6% sales tax.. ($1.80) ______ US Residents - Shipping and Handling... $5.00 ______ Other - Shipping and Handling ......... $8.00 ______ Total in US Funds drawn on a US Bank.. $________________ Circle Disk Size: 3 1/2" 5 1/4" Make checks payable to: Millennium Technologies Corporation Mail to: Millennium Technologies Corporation Suite #205, 649 61st Street West New York, New Jersey 07093 CREDIT CARD INFORMATION: Please do not mail your Credit Card orders. Please FAX them directly to PsL at 713-524-6398, or phone them in to PsL, or CompuServe E-Mail your orders to PsL as described on the previous page. I am paying by: MC ____ Visa ____ American Express ____ Discover ____ Name as it appears on the card: _______________________________________ Credit card number: _______________________________________ Card expiration date: _______________________________________ Signature: _________________________________________________ -5- DOS ColorView 2.1 INTRODUCTION ColorView is a program designed to view and manipulate color images in the DOS environment. HARDWARE & SOFTWARE REQUIREMENTS The following hardware and software is supported by this version of ColorView for DOS: Any non-graphics display: Can only be used for batch image conversions. Standard VGA display (320x200 pixels): 8-bit, 256 color, palette based, or VESA SuperVGA display (640x400 pixels and above): 8-bit, 256 color, palette based, or 15-bit 'true' (32768 colors) color, or 16-bit 'true' (65356 colors) color, or 24-bit true color. The display must be VESA 1.2 compatible or you must have a VESA software driver installed. CPU: 80286 or above. Memory: As much as possible. Anything from 640 kilobytes to infinity is recommended. In general, the more memory you have available (either expanded or extended), the bigger the image you can display (and the faster ColorView will run). ColorView will automatically utilize your hard disk as temporary storage if there is not enough physical memory. It is also important to have approximately 500K of free DOS memory before starting ColorView. Operating System: DOS 2.x, 3.x, 4.x, 5.x Hard Disk Space: In general, you will need at least 4 times the image size of temporary space on your hard disk if there is not enough physical memory. For example, an 800 x 600 24-bit image will require approximately 1.8 Mbytes. Optional Mouse: ColorView will use a Microsoft compatible mouse if one is available. Make sure that the mouse driver is installed before starting ColorView for DOS. -6- DOS ColorView 2.1 COLORVIEW FEATURES This version of the software supports the following image formats: Reading and Writing: JPEG (JFIF subset) *.JPG: 24-bit color, highly compressed images GIF'87, GIF'89(reading) *.GIF: LZW encoded 8-bit palette based images Windows Bitmaps *.BMP (also RLE-8): 4-bit, 8-bit and 24-bit color images Some Commonly Asked Questions: Q: Will CVIEW.EXE run on 80386 SX processor? A: Yes Q: Is there a Windows version of ColorView? A: There is a preliminary version of ColorView for Windows available. Q: Does ColorView create temporary files? A: Yes. Their creation and size will depend on the image you are trying to load and the amount of physical RAM you have in your computer. Q: Why doesn't ColorView work with my graphics card? A: ColorView supports graphics cards through the VESA SuperVGA protocol standard. Virtually all of the graphics card manufacturers are members of the VESA group and provide free software drivers for their graphics cards. Make sure your graphics card supports the VESA standard, or obtain a software driver that provides VESA functionality for your card. Q: Can I use ColorView with my standard VGA card? A: Yes. ColorView now supports the standard VGA 320x200 video mode. Read the Standard VGA Video Mode section for more details. Q: Why doesn't ColorView support the 24-bit mode on my graphics card? A: ColorView supports all of the Vesa modes which are available through your VESA driver. Although there are many graphics cards supporting the 24-bit mode, the graphics card companies have been slow to update their software drivers. Q: ColorView suddenly stopped working on my computer. What should I do? A: ColorView provides an option for saving your personal configuration information into CVIEW.CFG file. If this file has been damaged, ColorView might not initialize correctly. To solve this problem, simply delete this file. -7- DOS ColorView 2.1 SETTING UP ColorView uses Overlay technology to reduce its demands on lower DOS memory. For ColorView to function properly, you must either run ColorView in the directory where CVIEW.EXE resides or have that directory included on your path. 24-bit color images are notorious for taking up large amounts of memory. For example, when decoded for display, a 640 x 480 24-bit JPEG file will take up almost 1Mbyte of memory. The discussion that follows will provide some hints on how to best configure your computer to take advantage of the available physical RAM. ColorView is intended for palette-based or true-color displays. Through the VESA standard, ColorView will query the display driver to get the type and the resolution of your graphics card. If your driver is not properly installed, or if your graphics card does not support some of the features necessary for ColorView, ColorView will display a message alerting you to the situation. When using 24-bit or 15-bit true-color graphics cards, ColorView will require less memory for image conversion and the conversion will run faster. This is due to the elimination of two steps: 8-bit color reduction (quantizing) and dithering. If you choose an option that requires a 24 to 8-bit conversion (such as saving a GIF or an 8-bit BMP file), ColorView will take a bit more time for the quantizing and dithering steps. NOTE: If you are using an 8-bit Graphics Mode and you load a 24 bit JPEG or BMP picture, ColorView will create an 8-bit image for your graphics card. However, all image operations, especially saving files, will be done with the 24 bit image. There is one exception to this rule: in the interests of performance, the Enhance Color option will operate on the 8-bit version of the image. Please see the section describing the Edit Menu and the Enhance Color option for more details. This note is not important if you are using a 24-bit Graphics Mode. We just want to reassure you that ColorView will automatically maintain and use the highest quality version of your pictures. -8- DOS ColorView 2.1 USER'S GUIDE COMMAND LINE ARGUMENTS ColorView can be used as an image viewer/editor or as a batch image conversion utility. For description of the latter, please see the 'Batch Image Conversions' section below. ColorView can be started alone, or with command-line arguments as follows: CVIEW [-M mode] [-V][-D][-F][-S][-?] [@file] [file [file] ...] -M use the specified (decimal) VESA video mode NOTE: the VESA mode numbers are obtained by querying your graphics card. There is no table which you can look up to get standardized video mode codes. -V use the standard VGA 320x200x8 video mode NOTE: this mode does not require a VESA driver. Please read the note below which discusses some of the limitations of this mode. -D turn dithering on for 24-bit images in 8-bit (LUT) display modes -F stretch the images to fit the screen while preserving the aspect ratio -S continuously cycle between selected images (Slideshow mode) -? display a summary of the command-line options Additional Notes: More than one file name can be specified on the command line. Wild card characters: * and ? can be used to select multiple files. A script file can be selected by preceding its name with '@'. A script file can contain a list of images to be displayed (one file per line). For example: CVIEW -M 261 -D -F C:\CVIEW\PALACE.JPG C:\CVIEW\FLOWER.JPG will load two files, PALACE.JPG and FLOWER.JPG in sequence. The graphics mode will be set to '261', dithering will be enabled, and the Fit-To-Screen option will be used. (HINT: use ColorView's Graphics Mode menu to find out which graphics modes are available with your graphics card). -9- DOS ColorView 2.1 Batch Image Conversions ColorView can be used to convert multiple files from one graphics format to another. This function operates completely in the TEXT display mode, and therefore DOES NOT REQUIRE EITHER A GRAPHICS CARD OR A VESA INTERFACE. Use this feature when you want to convert a set of images to any one of the supported image file formats. In addition to converting the supported file formats, ColorView allows arbitrary scaling to be performed on the processed images. One the batch process is started, the resulting files are created with an appropriate file name extension and written into the current directory. These command line options may be used during batch conversions: CVIEW [-G] [-B8][-B24][-BRLE] [-Jq] [-Xw] [-Yh] [-O] [@file] file... -G convert the source images into GIF'87 format -B8 convert into the Windows 8 bit BMP format -B24 convert into the Windows 24 bit BMP format -BRLE convert into the Windows 8 bit RLE format -Jq convert into the JPEG/JFIF format, using a quality factor of 'q'. 'q' can be a number from 1 to 100, with 100 being the highest quality setting. -Xw scale the output image to fit into 'w' pixels horizontally -Yh scale the output image to fit into 'h' pixels vertically (NOTE: scaling will always preserve the correct aspect ratio) -O overwrite existing files even if a name conflict occurs. If this option is not used, ColorView will ask you what to do whenever a file is in danger of being overwritten. More than one file can be specified on the command line. A list of files can be converted by entering the list of file names into a script file. Examples: CVIEW -J80 \images\gif\*.gif \images\bmp\*.bmp will convert all of the specified GIF and BMP images into the JPEG/JFIF file format with a quality setting of 80. CVIEW -G @allpics.scr -X640 -Y480 -O will convert all of the image files listed in the script file 'allpics.scr' into the GIF file format. The GIF files will be scaled to fit into 640 x 480 pixels. Any pre-existing GIF files with the same name as a converted file will be overwritten without prompting. -10- DOS ColorView 2.1 Standard VGA Video Mode In order to support the older video boards which do not have a VESA interface, and to support the standard VGA video boards (non-SuperVGA), ColorView now allows viewing images in the standard VGA 320x200 by 8-bit video mode. NOTE: Due to the extremely poor resolution, the menus and all of their associated functionality will not be available in this mode. All of the display options and the list of files must be specified on the command line when starting ColorView for DOS in this mode. For example: CVIEW -V -D -F \jpegs\*.jpg \gifs\*.gif The results of entering this command line are to view all of the JPEG/JFIF and GIF files in the respective directories, using dithering, and Fitting (scaling) the pictures to the 320x200 video screen. The <Enter> key will advance you to the next image in the file list. The <Esc> key will stop the current image decompression operation. The <=> key will toggle the "Fit-To-Screen" option on and off. This will allow you to see the whole image, or to see the portion of the image that fits into the 320x200 display. The arrow keys will allow you to scroll the image. To exit ColorView from this mode, press <Ctrl>-C. -11- DOS ColorView 2.1 USER INTERACTION (in VESA SuperVGA Video Modes) Menu Selection ============== ColorView uses a unique way of representing pop-up menus: Pizza Menus. A Pizza-Menu is a list of choices organized as slices of a pizza. A slice can be selected by moving a mouse over any area belonging to it, and clicking the left mouse button. A slice can also be selected by simply typing in the underlined letter in the menu slice. Mouse vs. Keyboard ================== Most of the operations in ColorView can be accomplished with a mouse or through the keyboard. The Mouse control features will automatically be enabled if an appropriate Microsoft compatible mouse driver is detected. The keyboard controls can be used regardless of whether a mouse is present. Mouse Functionality =================== The mouse cursor can only be used when the ColorView menu-bar is visible: - To display the menu bar, click on the right mouse buttons; - To close the menu bar, click the right mouse button; - To select an item from a menu: Move the mouse cursor over the menu item you wish to select, and then click the left mouse button; - To scroll an image while the menu-bar is visible: Move the mouse cursor in the direction you would like to scroll and hold down the left button. - To choose a file from the file-selection list: Move the mouse cursor on top of the file name, and click the left button. Clicking again will de-select the file. - To choose an option or a graphics mode from a list of choices: Move the mouse cursor on top of the desired option, and click the left mouse button. - To select an area of an image, move the mouse cursor to the top left corner of the area, press the left mouse button, and then drag the mouse pointer to the bottom right corner of the area. -12- DOS ColorView 2.1 Keyboard Functionality ====================== - To display the menu bar, press the <Esc> key once; - To close the menu bar, press the <Esc> key once; - To select an item from a menu: Each top level menu item has an underlined letter - that letter is a keyboard short-cut key (e.g. 'F' activates the File menu and 'O' activates the Options menu). After the desired top level menu item is selected, press the short-cut key for the desired menu item (e.g. 'O' for Open in the File menu). Thus, an 'FO' sequence of keystrokes will bring up the file selection screen; - To abort an operation or to cancel a current screen or selection, press the <Esc> key. - To confirm a selection from any screen, press the <Enter> key. - To quit ColorView from any point, press <Ctrl>-C or <Ctrl>-<Break>. - To advance to the next image: If you have selected more than one image, you can advance to the next one by pressing the <Enter> key. To go back to the previous image, press <Backspace>. Note: when the last image is displayed, the next image will be the first one selected. - To choose a file from the file-selection list: Use the arrow keys to move the selection rectangle to the desired file name. Press the Space Bar once to select the file, one more time to un-select it. (HINT: if you hold down the <Shift> key while using arrow keys to highlight different file names, each file name you pass over will be automatically toggled.) - To scroll a displayed image, use the arrow keys, and the <PgUp>, <PgDn>, <Home>, and <End> keys. -13- DOS ColorView 2.1 - To resize a displayed image to Fit on the screen, use the <=> key. Press the <=> key again to return to the original display size. - To select an area of an image, choose the 'Select Area' menu item from the 'Clip' menu. You will see an area selection rectangle at the top left part of your screen. Use the arrow keys to position the area selection rectangle at the top left corner of the area. Hold down the <Shift> key and use the arrow keys to enlarge or to reduce the area selection rectangle. -14- DOS ColorView 2.1 MENU COMMANDS ColorView distinguishes between screen images, which is what you see on your display monitor, and memory images, which is what is internally stored by ColorView and can be written to a file. Please note which version of the image is affected by each of the menu commands described below. File Menu - Options related to reading and writing images and other system functions. File New Image ----------------- Removes the loaded image from memory and clears the display window. File Open... --------------- Displays a dialog box which will allow you to select an image file to load. Version 2.1 recognizes the image format of the file by its file name extension (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP). File Save As... ------------------ Allows you to save an image in a different graphics file format. An image must be loaded into memory before this option can be used. NOTE: The file name extension determines the image format which is saved. The following extensions are recognized: .JPG for JPEG/JFIF files .GIF for GIF files .BMP for 8, RLE-8, and 24-bit Windows Bitmaps For example: image.bmp, image.gif, image.jpg. When saving JPEG/JFIF files, you will be prompted for a quality setting. 100 is the highest quality setting, and 2 is the lowest quality setting. A low quality setting will produce a smaller JPEG/JFIF file, but the image clarity will be greatly reduced. When saving BMP files, you will be prompted to select the type of file you want to write. The option selections are: Compressed 8-bit RLE 8-Bit Uncompressed 24-Bit Uncompressed (Note that not all Microsoft Windows utilities support the 8-bit RLE graphics file format.) -15- DOS ColorView 2.1 File Save Options -------------------- Provides a way to save the configuration options (from the Options pop-up menu) to be used in future ColorView sessions. The next time ColorView is started, it will automatically be configured to the state ColorView was in when the options were saved. NOTE: A CVIEW.CFG file will be created in the directory that the running version of ColorView for DOS was started from. File About ColorView ----------------------- Displays the ColorView for DOS Copyright and Registration messages. File Exit ColorView ---------------------- Exits ColorView, releasing all of the allocated resources and memory. -16- DOS ColorView 2.1 Options Menu - Display and image characteristics. Options Graphics Mode... ------------------------ All of the available VESA graphics modes which are greater than 640x400 and have at least 256 colors will be listed. This includes the 15/16-bit HiColor display modes, and 24-bit TrueColor display modes. When a mode is selected, ColorView will shift to the selected graphics mode. You can use the File Menu "Save Options" command to configure ColorView to start up in the current resolution and number of colors. If your graphics card supports more modes than are listed, please try to locate a more current VESA driver for your graphics card. You can switch to another graphics mode after an image has been loaded, even if the mode you are selecting supports a different number of colors from the display mode you are currently using. Options Dither Image -------------------- When performing a 24-bit to 8-bit conversion, this option tells ColorView to use dithering to smooth out quantization (Heckbert color reduction processing) errors. In most cases, dithering will significantly improve the color reproduction for displays that support less than 15-bits of color. In some cases, the memory image might become a little less sharp. ColorView uses Floyd-Steinberg dithering. Dithering has no effect on 15, 16 or 24-bit color display modes. Options Fit To Screen --------------------- Resizes the screen image to fit into your display screen. Only the display is changed. The memory image remains at the original size. Options Slide Show ------------------ Tells ColorView not to pause between multiple images and also turns off the image preview and the progress indicator. In this mode, an image is not shown until it is completely processed and ready to be displayed. This creates a smooth transition between consecutive images and eliminates the need for mouse or keyboard interaction. Please note that the slide show mode will continue to cycle through all of the selected images until the <Esc> key is used to stop the display and return you to the menu. -17- DOS ColorView 2.1 Edit Menu - Image manipulation functions. NOTE: Most of the options under the Edit menu are applied to the 24-bit representation of the image. The only exception to this is the "Enhance Color" option which works on the 8 or 24-bit memory image depending on your current display mode characteristics. (In other words, if you are using an 8-bit display, the "Enhance Color" option will operate on the 8-bit memory image. If you are using a 15-bit, 16-bit, or 24-bit display, then the "Enhance Color" option will operate on the 24-bit memory image.) Generally, if the image you have loaded is an 8-bit image, ColorView will automatically convert it to a full 24-bit image, perform the requested operation and then convert the result back into an 8-bit image. Because of this, we recommend that you enable the "Dither" option in the Options menu when manipulating 8-bit images (or using an 8-bit display mode) for Edit operations. Edit Scale Image... ---------------------- Resizes the memory image to the specified size. This operation can be performed with and without preserving the aspect ratio of the original image. The ColorView scaling algorithm is specially designed to maintain the highest possible quality of the image. For instance, unlike most scaling algorithms, text in the image will generally be preserved when scaling down. This feature allows you to permanently reduce or enlarge your image for saving or pasting. NOTE: this function is performed on the 24-bit memory image. Edit Filter Image -------------------- Convolution filtering of the 24-bit memory image. All of the filters can be applied multiple times for a stronger effect. The currently supported filters are: 0: Sharpen a Little Improves edge contrast for blurry or washed-out images. This can be used to improve image sharpness after an image has been scaled. This filter can also improve image quality for images scanned at low resolutions. 1: Sharpen a Lot Significantly increases image sharpness. -18- DOS ColorView 2.1 2: Soften a Little Softens the image by reducing the color distance between neighboring pixels. This can be used to create 'blurry' or slightly out of focus effects. This can also be used to improve the visual quality of grainy images. 3: Soften a Lot Same as Soften a Little, except the effect is more pronounced. 4: Emboss This filter produces a "raised relief" out of an existing image. 5: Maximum Filter Assigns each pixel the maximum color value of its immediate neighbors. This filter can be used to produce a mosaic type of an effect. The filter produces larger mosaic pieces each time that it is applied. If the image becomes blurry you can use the "Sharpen a Lot" filter for a more pronounced effect. 6: Minimum Filter Same as the Maximum filter, except each pixel is assigned the minimum color value of its immediate neighbors. 7: Find Edges Produces a thin-line or dot drawing of the edges in an image, removing all other color information. Edit Enhance Color - 8, 15 and 24-bit displays --------------------- Provides a way to color correct a memory image. Note that on 8-bit (256) color displays, corrections are fast because only the palette will be updated. On 15/16 and 24-bit displays, any change must modify every single pixel in the image, resulting in a much slower response time. The Color Enhancement panel contains 4 scale factors which are described below. We suggest that you experiment with an 8-bit (256) color version of your image to determine the approximate adjustment values and then convert the 24-bit version of your image. (In other words, use an 8-bit Graphics Mode to preview the "Enhance Color" values, and then switch to a 15-bit, 16-bit, or 24-bit Graphics Mode to color correct the memory image.) -19- DOS ColorView 2.1 NOTE: Closing the Color Enhancement panel will not restore the original colors. To restore the original colors, uncheck the "Enhance Color" menu option in the Options menu. Hue: range 0 to 360, normal at 180: changes the hue of the image. Sat: range 0 to 255, normal at 128: changes the amount of color in the image. A saturation of 0 means no color (a black & white image). Vol: range 0 to 255, normal at 128: adjusts overall image brightness. Gamma Factor: range 0 to 1000, normal at 0: gamma-corrects the image. This option provides a way to correct for the difference between perceived colors and their computer generated equivalents. This can be very useful in adjusting scanned images, improving the sharpness and contrast of the raw scan. If the original has already been gamma-corrected, additional corrections might degrade the image quality. (In effect, gamma correction linearizes the non-linear color values which are obtained by the photo-receptors in most color scanners.) Edit Blank Image ------------------- Creates a blank 24-bit memory image which can be used to assemble pasted images. Both the size of the image and the background color can be specified by entering the appropriate values into the Width, Height, Red, Green and Blue input fields. Edit Flip Vertical --------------------- Flips the 24-bit memory image vertically. Edit Flip Horizontal ----------------------- Flips the 24-bit memory image horizontally into its mirror image. Edit Rotate 90 Degrees ------------------------- Rotates the memory image by 90 degrees clockwise. Please note that this operation may take some time because two 24-bit memory images are constructed, and this may require creating and operating on temporary files on your hard disk. -20- DOS ColorView 2.1 Clip Menu - Regional clipping and pasting functions If you have a properly configured Microsoft compatible mouse installed, then you can simply select an area of the image using the mouse. Just position the mouse cursor at the corner of the area that you want to select, press and hold the left mouse button, and then drag the cursor to the opposite corner and release the mouse button. Please note that area selection operations for the Clip functions require you to turn off the "Fit To Screen" option in the "Options" menu. Clip Select Area ------------------- Activates the keyboard driven selection mode. The arrow keys will move the selection window. Holding down the <Shift> key while using the arrow keys will move the bottom right corner of the area selection window, effectively stretching or contracting the selected area. (Hint: if you continue to hold down an arrow key or the <Shift> key and an arrow key, the corner of the selection window will travel faster. This will help you to navigate around very large images.) This option should be used if you do not have a properly configured mouse installed, or if you want the extra precision of keyboard control of the area selection window. Clip Draw Text ----------------- Assuming that an area has been selected in the image, this command will paste your text into the upper left hand corner of your selection window. The text color can be specified by entering the appropriate Red, Green and Blue values (0 to 255) in the dialog box. Clip Paste From File ----------------------- Provides for a powerful way of combining multiple images into a single image. Before selecting this option, you must have an image already loaded (or a blank new image created). The original image and the image you are pasting can be of any graphics file type supported by ColorView. The pasting operation is performed on the 24-bit memory image. -21- DOS ColorView 2.1 Use the mouse or the "Select Area" option to mark the area of the original image where you would like to place the pasted image. After selecting "Paste From File", you can choose the image file you would like to paste. You will then be asked to enter the following parameters: Transparency (in percent) Variable Transparency (Yes/No) See thru Black (Yes/No) Resize Image (Yes/No) Stretch to Fit (Yes/No) All of these options apply to the new image you are about to paste. Transparency (0 - 100): Provides a way to control the transparency of the pasted image. The higher the value, the more transparent the pasted image will be. A 0% transparency will cause the pasted image to be completely solid. A 100% transparency will cause the pasted image to be completely transparent. (In other words, you can see through the pasted image.) Variable Transparency (Yes/No): Set this option to 'Yes' if you would like the pasted image to be more transparent at the edges and to be more solid in the center of the image. If this option is set to 'No' the pasted image will have the same transparency factor over the entire area of the pasted image. See thru Black (Yes/No): This option provides the equivalent of a "Blue Screen" special effect used in movie production for combining certain individual parts of images to create composite effects. If you want to paste an irregularly shaped image, you can use your favorite bitmap editor to set all of the unwanted pixels to black. When pasted with the 'See thru Black' option set to 'Yes', all of the black pixels (RGB value of 0,0,0) will be treated as 100% transparent, independent of any other transparency settings. For example, you could use this function to fill a sky with a fleet of aircraft of different sizes and mirror orientations all based on a single aircraft image file. -22- DOS ColorView 2.1 Resize Image (Yes/No): When set to 'Yes' this option tells ColorView to rescale the pasted image to fit into the selection window. When this option is set to 'No', the pasted image will be drawn in its original size, clipped to the size of the selection window. Stretch to Fit (Yes/No): This option should only be used in conjunction with the "Resize Image" option above. If this option is set to 'Yes', ColorView will stretch the pasted image to exactly fit the selection window. In most cases, this will change the aspect ratio of the pasted image. Set this option to 'No' if you would like to preserve the original aspect ratio. Clip Copy To File -------------------- This command is similar to the "Save" command in the "File" menu, except that this command operates on the portion of the image which is in the area selection window. -23- DOS ColorView 2.1 APPENDIX A - Trademarks and Acknowledgments ColorView is based in part on the work of the Independent JPEG Group. The Independent JPEG Group disclaims all warranty and/or liability claims. GIF files: The Graphics Interchange Format (c) is the Copyright property of CompuServe Incorporated. GIF(sm) is a Service Mark property of CompuServe Incorporated. For further information, please contact: CompuServe Incorporated Graphics Technology Department 5000 Arlington Center Boulevard Columbus, Ohio 43220 U. S. A. Microsoft and MS-DOS are registered trademarks and Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark and 386 is a trademark of Intel Corporation. ColorView and Millennium Technologies Corporation are trademarks of Millennium Technologies Corporation.