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1986-09-27
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TheDraw Version 2.03
Color Screen Image Text Editor
COPYRIGHT (C) 1986
TheSoft Programming Services and Ian E. Davis
All rights are reserved by TheSoft Programming Services
Written in Turbo Pascal on a Tandy 1000.
TheDraw was written as an improvement to AnsiDraw by Amrich
Enterprises. Both programs provide similar operation, with
TheDraw giving a much enhanced user interface. In addition,
TheDraw does not utilize hardware blanking as AnsiDraw does (you
can verify this by pressing CTRL-C before AnsiDraw displays its
opening screen, and then doing a Dos directory). There have been
reports that hardware blanking on a system using a Hercules
compatible graphics interface can cause physical damage. This
makes TheDraw safe for such computer setups. Lastly, AnsiDraw
apparently fails to operate on newer Tandy 1000's; TheDraw
doesn't. The latest issue of AnsiDraw (version 3.0) eliminates
use of hardware blanking, but I have no information on its
ability to work on the newer Tandy machines.
TheDraw is designed to create, store, and retrieve screens of
ASCII text, ANSI compatible color images, and ANSI compatible
ANIMATION sequences. As examples, these images can be used in
batch files or with the RBBS Bulletin Board System.
For any given application, if one screen of text is insufficient
(the program can only handle one 80x23 image) then multiple
screens can be linked together with the DOS copy append function
(ie: COPY FILE1.EXT+FILE2.EXT FILE3.EXT).
TheDraw Page 2
C U R S O R C O N T R O L:
The cursor can be moved by using the following keys:
Up Arrow : Up one line.
Down Arrow : Down one line.
Left Arrow : Left one position.
Right Arrow : Right one position.
Home : First column of current line.
End : Last column of current line.
PgUp : First line in current column.
PgDn : Last line in current column.
Ctrl-Home : First Character of current line.
Ctrl-End : Last Character of current line (plus 1).
Ctrl-PgUp : Upper-left position of screen.
Ctrl-PgDn : Lower-right position of screen.
Tab : Next set Tab position (see Alt-T).
Shift-Tab : Previous set Tab position (see Alt-T).
Enter : First column of following line.
Naturally, if you are at a border no action will be taken. If no
tab position follows the current location, pressing [TAB] will
return you to column one of the current line.
TheDraw Page 3
C O M M A N D S:
TheDraw provides the following 27 command functions, available
through ALT-Letter key sequences:
Alt-A Change Text Color Attributes
Alt-B Block Action Commands
Alt-C Clear Current Screen
Alt-D Set Default Clear Screen Color
Alt-E Exchange Edit Screens
Alt-F View Function Key Sets
Alt-G Global Commands
Alt-H Display Help Information
Alt-I Insert a Line
Alt-J Select Animator Mode (toggle)
Alt-K Delete a File
Alt-L Load Screen from Disk
Alt-M Select Draw Mode (toggle)
Alt-N Ruler
Alt-O Change Drive/Sub Directory
Alt-P Paint/Fill Commands
Alt-Q Redraw Screen (animator)
Alt-R Restore Current Line
Alt-S Save Screen to Disk
Alt-T Tab Setup
Alt-U Use Colors under Cursor
Alt-V View a Screen (not load)
Alt-W Edit Character (animator)
Alt-X Exit TheDraw
Alt-Y Delete Current Line
Alt-Z Erase Cursor Character (animator)
Alt-= Toggle Macro Learning Mode
(registered version only).
Additional commands are:
Ctrl-Up Arrow Increment Foreground Color
Ctrl-Down Arrow Decrement Foreground Color
Ctrl-Left Arrow Increment Background Color
Ctrl-Right Arrow Decrement Background Color
Shift-Space Put a "Solid" space on the Screen.
On the following pages are explanations of each of the above.
TheDraw Page 4
N E W F E A T U R E S
If you didn't notice the little note up above, TheDraw has
received a major new ability. The ability to animate those
wonderful ANSI drawings you devised, to add a little more "color"
to them. Animation basically is the apparent movement of objects
on the screen from one spot to another.
I say apparent since no actual movement takes place, only the
overwriting of a new location with a duplicate of another. For
instance, suppose you put a smiley face on the screen. To make
it "move" to the right, first you would put a space (or something
else) over the smiley face character then display a new smiley
face to the right of the old spot. Repeat that over and over,
and the smiley face will appear to move across the screen. Fun
stuff!
To support this new function TheDraw operates in two modes;
Normal and Animator. Normal mode operates like TheDraw always
has, with a few enhancements (such as line drawing).
Animator mode supports the "sequencing" of characters.
Sequencing simply means storing each character you type as an
entry in a list. Each entry stores the character, and the
location it appears on the screen. You can have up to 5000
characters in the list, which is enough to completely redraw the
screen almost three times.
Sequencing also allows you to put multiple characters at the same
spot on the screen (since each character is a simple addition to
the list). There is no direct overwrite of characters in
Animator mode as there is in Normal mode. You must use a special
command to edit characters (Alt-W) since anything you put over
another character adds to the list, not replacing whats there.
That is the major difference between the two modes. Normal is
simply a piece of paper, which you can draw on, and easily change
(akin to a limited word processor). Animator mode stores
EVERYTHING you type, and special commands must be used to delete
and overwrite characters.
Because of the nature of the animation sequence, differences
occur between how certain commands work in Normal mode and
Animator mode. All command descriptions in this text are written
with Normal mode in mind. Where there are differences, a note at
the bottom of the command describes the changes in Animator mode.
Animation isn't the only new feature added to TheDraw. Another
is the ability to "draw" lines using the keys found in function
key sets 1 through 4. When in draw mode (indicated by the word
Draw at the bottom of the screen), moving the cursor via the
TheDraw Page 5
N E W F E A T U R E S (cont):
four arrow keys will produce a line in that direction. The
program can handle any situation, even if you mix line types.
See Alt-M for more details.
Another interesting addition in the ability to copy/move a block
of text UNDER other text. Previously, TheDraw could only move a
block over other things. A file called DEMO.BIN should be
present to better show this new facility. When moving the block
under something else, it will show through any space character.
To complement this new option, a "solid" non-transparent space
character was added (available using Shift-Space).
Looking at the extension to DEMO.BIN, you may be wondering what
the BIN stand for. It stands for a Binary file, which is a
simple memory dump of the TheDraw edit screen. Binary files are
VERY useful for files edited often since they load and save very
quickly. In addition to binary files, TheDraw now supports
Assembler, BSave (for users of Basic), and Pascal (for users
of...). Of course, the original two save methods are still
available and TheDraw is upwardly compatible with any file made
by earlier versions.
Available in the registered version of TheDraw is a Macro
capability. TheDraw now supports ten 255 character macro
sequences. To teach TheDraw a sequence you merely type Alt-=,
the macro key you wish to program, and start typing. When you
are done, typing Alt-= will save the creation. Also, attempting
to use another macro will save it. The second macro you
specified will be in effect chained to the end of the original
one. ie: Lets say you are programming sequence 5, and type Alt-
6 (for sequence 6). From now on, whenever you type Alt-5, its
contents will be output then TheDraw will automatically output
what is in Alt-6. You can also have a macro call itself,
creating an endless loop situation. Typing [ESC] will break out
of it however. You might use an endless loop to fill a block
with something, although the new additions to the block commands
will do it much faster.
Registered users will find TheDraw much easier to learn also,
since it now includes pop-up help screens. The help information
is specific to the area of the program you're in and is brought
up by simply pressing Alt-H anywhere.
Lastly, a couple of other new options are worth mentioning.
TheDraw now supports Global operations on the screen (global
color changes, screen moving, etc...), and screen Painting.
Painting can be of either just color attributes, characters, or
both (never say TheDraw doesn't give a choice).
Enjoy!!!
TheDraw Page 6
Alt-A: Change Text Color Attributes
This function allows you to change the colors text will be
displayed with. The current settings are represented in the
status line with the word "Color". You can select from the
following foreground colors:
0 Black 8 Dark Gray
1 Blue 9 Light Blue
2 Green 10 Light Green
3 Cyan 11 Light Cyan
4 Red 12 Light Red
5 Magenta 13 Light Magenta
6 Brown 14 Yellow
7 Light Gray 15 White
Characters can be made to blink by selecting colors from the
range 16 through 31. These match the above listed colors exactly,
except they blink.
Background colors can be any of the first eight (0 through 7)
colors listed. There are no background colors available that
allow blinking.
A current setting for either foreground or background can be
maintained by simply pressing <ENTER> at the appropriate prompt
without any number entry.
You can also change the colors by using the arrow keys. The Up
and Right arrow keys increase the color with the Down and Left
decreasing the color. Using the arrows also updates the color
example in the middle of the screen, so you can see what you'll
get before exiting.
Note: It is possible to change the colors without using this
option. See Ctrl-Arrow Key commands below.
TheDraw Page 7
Alt-B: Block Action Commands
The block action commands are one of the more useful utilities
TheDraw offers. It allows you to change a block (from 1
character to the entire screen) to the current color attributes,
copy or move a block to another position, erase a block, delete a
block, save a block as a mini-image, or load/merge part of
another image into the current one.
To use any of the above commands, first the block must be
defined. This is done immediately after typing Alt-M. Go to the
upper-left corner of the wanted block and press [SPACE]. Then
move to the lower-right corner and press [SPACE] again. The
current block will have all attributes reversed to make it
obvious. If you move above or left of the upper-left block
corner (once defined), no block will be shown inverted.
Upon pressing [SPACE] the second time you will be presented with
the available options:
[F]ill gives you three additional options. All are related
to filling the block with something. [A]ttribute will
change all attributes in the block to the current ones.
[C]haracter will prompt for a symbol, and then fills the
block with that symbol, leaving the attributes unchanged.
[B]oth simply combines the above two.
[C]opy allows you to copy the defined block to another
position. Use the arrow keys to move the block. You can
[S]tamp extra copies, [E]xchange the screens (thus copying
an area of one screen into the other), and toggle movement
[U]nder all characters (only seeing the block through
spaces). Press [ENTER] once satisfied with the new
position.
[M]ove operates identically to [C]opy except the original
position is erased (see following option).
[D]elete does what is implied. All characters to the right
of the block are shifted over, with the area they occupied
changed to spaces and the attributes set to the current
default background and currently defined foreground color.
[E]rase is similar to Delete, except the area to the right
of the block is not shifted. The block itself is cleared
(as described above).
[S]ave operates identically to the save screen command
except only the defined block is output (see Alt-S).
TheDraw Page 8
Alt-B: Block Action Commands (continued)
[L]oad allows you to import data from another image (saved
on disk). The current image is stored, and you are prompted
for the import filename (this operates just like Alt-L).
The new image is loaded onto the screen and a inverted
block of the size defined appears in the upper-left corner
of the screen. Move this block (using the arrows) over the
wanted part of the screen and press [ENTER]. That portion
will then appear in the defined position in the original
image.
Animation Notes: The [L]oad and [S]ave options are not
available. The screen [E]xchange option is not available under
the move/copy block commands.
TheDraw Page 9
Alt-C: Clear Current Screen
This should be a fairly obvious option. You are first prompted
to verify the command. If changes have been made to the current
image, you are then asked if you want to save the current image.
After that, the screen is cleared with the color specified in the
following option.
Animation Notes: All sequences are erased. The default color
is NOT used to clear the screen, it is cleared with a black
background using the currently defined foreground color.
TheDraw Page 10
Alt-D: Set Default Background Color
The default background is used to 'paint' the entire screen a
given color upon invoking the above command.
The same restrictions of colors apply here as to the background
colors available in Alt-A.
TheDraw Page 11
Alt-E: Exchange Edit Screens
TheDraw supports the use of two edit screens instead of one.
This allows you to load two screens simultaneously and
copy/exchange different parts from one to the other (using the
block action commands). When you are in the exchange screen, a
'Ex' will appear approximately in the center of the bottom line.
Animation Notes: This command is not available.
TheDraw Page 12
Alt-F: View Function Key Sets
This displays on the screen all 10 sets of available special
characters. These character sets can be selected in the editor
mode by using ALT and pressing a function key 1 to 10. ie:
ALT-F1 Selects set #1.
ALT-F10 Selects set #10.
(The Ctrl and Shift keys used in previous versions are no longer
supported by TheDraw).
TheDraw Page 13
Alt-G: Global Commands
Global commands allow quick and dirty changes to the attributes
of all characters on the screen. Also, you can copy the current
screen into the exchange screen and can "move" the screen around.
Upon pressing Alt-G you will be presented with the following
options:
[A]ttributes will paint the entire screen with the
currently defined foreground and background colors
(changing just the screen attributes).
[C]opy simply copies the current screen into the exchange
screen, or if you're already in the exchange screen into
the normal screen.
[M]ove allows you to move the screen around. You could
duplicate this using the block commands, but this is a
faster method. Simply use the arrows to rotate the screen
around and press [SPACE] when you like where it is.
[F]ore uses the foreground attribute under the current
character to paint the entire screen with. All background
attributes remain unchanged.
[B]ack is similar to the [F]ore command, except it works
with the background attributes instead of the foreground.
[U]se combines the [F]ore and [B]ack commands, painting the
entire screen (similar to the [A]ttributes options) using
the attributes of the current character.
Animation Notes: The [C]opy and [M]ove commands aren't available.
All other commands operate normally, except they only change
those characters that are in the animation sequence.
TheDraw Page 14
Alt-H: Display Help Information
This displays a couple of short help screens briefly describing
these command options.
Note: The registered version of TheDraw now supports pop-up help
in the ENTIRE program. By typing Alt-H wherever you are stuck,
you will be displayed function specific help. Try it, you'll
like it!
TheDraw Page 15
Alt-I: Insert a Line
Inserts a line at the current position. The current line and
everything below it is shifted down. The bottom line is lost.
This command is not reversible, so use it carefully.
(Used to be Alt-N in previous versions of TheDraw).
TheDraw Page 16
Alt-J: Select Animator Mode
This is in effect two functions. When toggling from normal to
animator modes, you are prompted as to how TheDraw should enter
the contents of the screen into the animation sequence. You can
control the method of scanning with the following options:
[T]op. Scans from the upper-left to lower-right corners of
the screen, going across the screen.
[B]ottom. Does exactly the opposite to [T]op by scanning
from the lower-right corner to the upper-left corners.
[L]eft. Similar to the [T]op option, except it scans going
down the screen (in vertical line). This option can
produce a really interesting effect.
[R]ight. Exact opposite of [L]eft, scanning from the
lower-right corner to the upper-left, going Up the screen.
This option produces even odder effects.
The different directions are fun if you happen to have a friend
whom you like to irritate <grin>.
Animation mode is indicated by the letters 'An' appearing in the
middle of the bottom line, and a [0000,5000] structure appearing
on the line above. The first number tells you how many
characters you have entered, and the second how much space is
left.
If you select the ALT-J function FROM animation mode, you are
given three options:
[N]ormal will prompt you to verify the command, and then
converts the screen into normal Ansi. All animation is lost.
[R]escan will simply rescan the screen as specified above.
Once you use this command, any previous sequence is lost.
[M]ovement toggles whether or not TheDraw stores the
movements of the cursor in addition to simply what you type.
TheDraw has a good memory, and will not forget ANYTHING you
type or anywhere you move if this option is on. You can tell
you are in movement store mode if the 'An' indicator is
flashing. Also, of course, the animation entry count will
change every time you move.
Remember, these options will only appear when you are ALREADY in
the animator mode.
TheDraw Page 17
Alt-K: Delete a File
This option allows you to free up some disk space if the need
arises. It displays the current directory so you can easily
identify those files which you don't want. Simply type in the
appropriate filename and press <enter>. TheDraw then checks to
see if the file exists. If it does, you are asked if you really
want to delete the file. This is your last chance before you
delete something you might regret later.
TheDraw Page 18
Alt-L: Load Screen from Disk
This allows you to load any ANSI color compatible, ASCII text,
Binary, or BSave file. The ANSI.SYS driver must be installed to
load a ANSI color image. This can be done by adding a
'DEVICE=ANSI.SYS' statement to your CONFIG.SYS file. If you do
not have a CONFIG.SYS file, you can create one by typing the
following:
COPY CON CONFIG.SYS<enter>
DEVICE=ANSI.SYS<enter>
^Z<enter>
If you have a CONFIG.SYS file, append the sequence with:
EDLIN CONFIG.SYS<enter>
#I<enter>
DEVICE=ANSI.SYS<enter>
^Z<enter>
E<enter>
If the current screen image has not been saved, you are prompted
before the load continues. The current directory is displayed
for convenience. Simply type in the appropriate filename and
press [ENTER]. The file extension ".ANS" is assumed if none is
specified. Binary files can only be loaded if they have ".BIN"
as a file extension. Similarly, a BSave file must have a ".BSV"
extension. You may specify a file without an extension by
placing a period as the last character of the filename (ie:
TESTFILE. ). Assembler and Pascal files can not be reloaded,
except as Ascii text, so keep a binary copy of those screens
safely somewhere.
If the file contains more than 23 lines of text, only the first
23 are loaded.
TheDraw automatically determines if a Ansi screen is an animator
sequence by the following process: If the cursor suddenly moves
to a place it normally would never go, it is an animator file.
Extremely complex algorithm huh?
TheDraw Page 19
Alt-M: Select Draw Mode
TheDraw now allows you to "draw" lines very easily, using the
characters normally available with the function keys. TheDraw
"draws" using the current function-key set of lines. If you do
not have a function-key set with lines selected, the first set
(single lines) is used. Draw mode is indicated by the word
"Draw" at the bottom of the screen.
All commands operate normally, and typed characters still appear.
The only change is that using the arrow keys makes a line appear
in the direction moved. Fun stuff!
TheDraw Page 20
Alt-N: Ruler
Guess what this one does. In any case, cross bars appear
intersecting where the cursor currently is located. Move the
ruler using the arrow keys. Pressing [SPACE] locks the new
location in place. Pressing [ESC} returns you to where you were.
Use this command for lining up various lines of text or figures.
TheDraw Page 21
Alt-O: Change Drive/Sub Directory
The command requires the use of DOS 2.0 or higher to operate, and
should be appealing to those hard drive users out there. This
option allows you to change to a different directory if your need
requires it. This is the only way you can change the directory
displayed in the Load or View Screen commands. All sub-dirs in
the current directory are displayed for you, but you are in no
way restricted to using just those. You may enter any valid
CHDIR (or CD) command (I am not going to explain the details of
sub-directories. Refer to your Dos manual for that).
This command, unlike the CHDIR of Dos, allows you to change the
current drive. For example, if you were on drive C: in a sub-dir
called 'GAMES', you could switch to drive D: sub-dir 'UTILITY' by
entering "D:\UTILITY". You could then get back to the 'GAMES'
directory by simply entering "C:" (no backslash).
TheDraw Page 22
Alt-P: Paint/Fill Commands
Never say a computers job is never done. You can now fill boxes
and objects with just the attributes, just the character, or both
attributes and character that are under the cursor. Objects are
defined as any shape made using the function key line sets, or
the draw mode.
[A]ttribute changes the all attributes (not characters) in
the object to those under the cursor.
[C]haracter changes all the characters (not attributes) in
the object to the one under the cursor.
[B]oth changes both the attributes and characters of all
locations in the object to those under the cursor.
Animation Notes: If using the Character, or Both option then ANY
character painted is simply added to the animation sequence. Any
previous characters in the object are maintained. The Attribute
function only changes those characters currently in the animation
sequence, with nothing being added.
TheDraw Page 23
Alt-Q: Redraw Screen
This is an animator mode ONLY command. It simply redraws the
animation sequence on the screen. You can adjust the speed from
0 (fastest) to 255 (crawl). A value of about 50 is generally a
good speed to view at. Be warned that 255 literally is a crawl
speed, displaying only about two characters per second.
TheDraw Page 24
Alt-R: Restore Current Line
This allows you to erase any changes made to the current line.
If you type something and realize it was in the wrong position,
pressing Alt-R will restore the line to its original contents.
All changes are permanent once you move to another line however.
The command works equally well in either Normal or Animator mode.
TheDraw Page 25
Alt-S: Save Screen to Disk
This command will save the entire screen to disk in ANSI, ASCII,
ASM, Binary, Bsave, or Pascal formats. Please note that all
color attributes are lost in an ASCII file.
ASM produces a list of DB statements for use by assembly language
programmers. Binary is simply a straight dump of the screen.
Bsave is the same as binary except loading codes for Basic are
added at the front. A Pascal file is similar to the ASM output,
except it is in a Turbo Pascal compatible 'const' statement (see
notes below for programming examples).
You are first prompted for which storage format to use. If you
select ASCII, you are prompted if you really want a non-color
image made before continuing.
Selecting ANSI gives you a few more options (all of which will
use defaults by pressing [Enter]). You are first asked how you
want the video initially prepared. You can have the screen
cleared, the cursor simply homed (returned to upper-left corner
of screen), or leave the screen as is. Secondly, you are
prompted for the maximum output line length. It is conceivable
that TheDraw could generate over 1300 characters for just one
line of text (if every character had a differing color
combination). If for some reason an external program is to be
used, it's doubtful so many characters could be handled (ie: the
message entry routine in the RBBS Bulletin board). This option
tells TheDraw to limit the output line length, sacrificing
display time (because of all the extra codes which must be
included). If length is no problem, specify [N]one to make the
most efficient file.
Following the above you are prompted for a filename. If the file
already exists, you are prompted to verify the save. The
program assumes the file extensions ".ANS" for ANSI compatible
files, ".ASC" for ASCII text files, ".ASM" for assembler files,
".BIN" for binary dumps, ".BSV" for Bsave files, and ".PAS" for a
Pascal file. A file without an extension can be specified by
placing a period as the last character of the filename (ie:
TESTFILE. ).
The screen is then output to disk (assuming a valid filename was
entered).
TheDraw Page 26
Alt-S: Save Screen to Disk (continued)
Notes:
Many people may find their need only requires, say, three or four
lines of text or only half the screen. You can have TheDraw
output a mini-screen by using the block action save screen
command (see Alt-M) instead of this option. Block action
commands allow a screen of any dimension from any position on the
screen to be saved.
To display a Pascal screen created by TheDraw, you must first
define a variable of any size that points to the video address
($B800:0 for color monitors). To display the image use 'Move
(ImageData,ScreenAddr,4000)' assuming ScreenAddr is your
variable. ImageData is the variable name TheDraw assigns to the
screen. That's all there is to it!
Animation Notes: Animation mode forces the use of ANSI output.
TheDraw simply bypasses the first prompt. If you wish to output
just copies of what is currently on the screen, you must convert
the screen to a normal file using the Alt-J command.
TheDraw Page 27
Alt-T: Tab Setup
This command allows you to specify at what positions you want the
[TAB] key to stop at. Initially the positions are at every tenth
column. You can [S]et additional ones, [C]lear a setting,
[R]eset the tab line to the initial settings, [E]rase all tab
settings, or set tab points at every [I]ncremented position.
With the incremented option, you are prompted for a step size.
From the current position, every nth location is set. This
allows you to quickly specify, say every fourth position if your
need requires it. Press [ESC] to exit this mode.
TheDraw Page 28
Alt-U: Use Colors under Cursor
This commands provides a convenient way of changing the current
color attributes to those under the cursor.
TheDraw Page 29
Alt-V: View a Screen
This command allows you to look at another image from disk
without erasing the current one. You might use this in
conjunction with the data import function in the block action
commands. It works similar to the load screen command (Alt-L)
except the image is not stored.
This command can also use this to verify that a save was done
properly. Simply view the file after saving it. If you EVER
discover TheDraw did not do it right, please send a little card
describing the problem in detail. If you're the first to report
a particular error, you'll be credited in the revision history
below. Thanks!
TheDraw Page 30
Alt-W: Edit Character
This is an animator ONLY function. Since overwrite doesn't exist
in Animator mode (because anything typed over a character is
simply added to the sequence), a command for overwriting had to
be added. After pressing Alt-W you are prompted to type a new
character. ALL commands including arrow keys, are deactivated
except for the color attribute function (Alt-A) and Ctrl-Arrow
keys.
TheDraw Page 31
Alt-X: Exit TheDraw
This should be obvious. You are prompted to verify before
leaving the program.
TheDraw Page 32
Alt-Y: Delete Current Line
Should be an obvious command. Everything below the current line
is shifted up one position. The bottom line is left cleared. This
command is not reversible, so use it carefully.
TheDraw Page 33
Alt-Z: Erase Cursor Character
This is akin to typing a space in normal mode over something you
don't want. Alt-Z erases the top-most character from the
animation sequence at the current cursor position.
TheDraw Page 34
Alt-=: Toggle Macro Learn Mode
(available in registered version only)
This function allows you to teach TheDraw a new macro sequence.
You are prompted for which key to program (0-9), and that's it.
From this point on, anything you type will be stored. When you
are satisfied with what you've typed, using Alt-= again will save
the macro. To use the macros just type Alt followed by a number
key 0 through 9 (NOT the ones on the keypad). That's all there
is to macros. Enjoy!
TheDraw Page 35
Ctrl-Up and Ctrl-Down Arrow: Foreground Color Change
This command is a convenient way of adjusting the current
foreground color. By pressing Ctrl-Left (increment color) or
Ctrl-Right (decrement color) and watching the word "color" at the
bottom of the screen, you can select the color you want. You
might find this more useful than the Alt-A command.
TheDraw Page 36
Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right Arrow: Background Color Change
This command works identically to the above option except it
changes the background color instead of the foreground. Use
Ctrl-Right to increment the color and Ctrl-Left to decrement it.
TheDraw Page 37
Shift-Space: Solid Space Character
With the addition of moving blocks UNDER other objects, the need
for a non-transparent space became apparent. This command fills
the need. When you move the cursor onto a Solid space, the
current background color will flicker as an indicator. A Solid
space is nothing more than the code #255 (which is a blank
IBM graphics character).
TheDraw Page 38
R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y
05/01/86 - Version 1.00
Program completed.
05/05/86 - Version 1.01
Carl Ehmann noticed a glitch in text creation that
caused highlighting and blinking attributes changes
to go unnoticed. This has been corrected.
06/05/86 - Version 1.02
Steven Mills discovered a bug in the file loading
routine that caused TheDraw to flag valid filenames
as invalid. It has been squashed.
Changed the program to not allow the user to enter a
code #26 or code #27 into a text screen. A code #26
is the Dos end of file marker, and entering it means
loss of all following text upon displaying the file
or reloading it back into TheDraw. A code #27 is
the ANSI driver signal character. Supposedly ANSI
ignores invalid sequences, but allowing the code
created "false" ANSI codes which caused loading
problems.
07/31/86 - Version 1.03
Upon prompting from Carl Ehmann, output line length
limiting has been added. This will facilitate other
programs which cannot load lines conceivably going
over 1300 characters.
Color changes can now be accomplished using the
Ctrl-Left and Right arrow keys to increment the fore
and background colors respectively.
08/15/86 - Version 1.10
Changes in a big way. New features include:
ANSI Animation, Line Drawing, Ruler, movement of
blocks UNDER other text and much more!!
Quick color change keys have been expanded to use
the Ctrl-Up, Down, Left, and Right keys in a more
logical manner.
09/13/86 - Version 2.01
A few more enhancements to TheDraw. Pop-Up help,
and macros have been added to the registered version
of the program. Also a few aspects of the animation
editor have been speeded up.
TheDraw Page 39
R E V I S I O N H I S T O R Y (continued:)
09/19/86 - Version 2.02
Fixed a slight bug which was causing TheDraw to
display the wrong Help Screen (in registered
version). Also, the registered version wasn't
keeping track of where its overlay was.
09/27/86 - Version 2.03
Carl Ehmann noticed yet another glitch (what would I
do without him?). The Ascii save routine was using
ANSI codes to advance the cursor to the next line.
TheDraw Page 40
R E G I S T R A T I O N
Registering for any TheSoft product (that OFFERS a registered
version) is simple. Just send a note or a title screen printer
dump with your name, address, and a check with the requested
amount (minimum). You will receive your copy promptly, and will
be notified of any future TheSoft products!
What you receive is a disk with the latest versions of both the
Registered and Public Domain copies of that program and some demo
files (if applicable) all with documentation.
TheDraw Page 41
W A R R E N T Y
TheDraw is provided AS IS without any warranty, expressed or
implied. This includes the fitfulness to a particular purpose or
application. While we tried to be as thorough as possible while
debugging TheDraw, we claim no responsibility for any losses
incurred alleged to be caused by use of the program. If you have
a problem with TheDraw please feel free to write and describe the
situation.
TheDraw Page 42
L I C E N S E
You are free to use, copy, and distribute the PUBLIC DOMAIN
version of TheDraw to others so long as:
1) No fee is charged for its use, copying or distribution.
This does not apply to computer access charges the system
operators of or organizations owning bulletin board
systems, online services, etc... may or may not charge
subscribers.
2) It has not been modified in ANY way.
The REGISTERED version of TheDraw may not be given out or
distributed. Doing so deprives TheSoft Programming and besides,
is a violation of copyright laws.
TheDraw Page 43
C O M M E N T S
Please consider the donation of $10 (or any amount). Quality
software at good prices is difficult to find these days. We at
TheSoft Programming Services firmly believe in and support the
concept of shareware products, and hopefully you do also. Please
make any checks out to TheSoft Programming Services. If you have
any comments or suggestions for TheDraw, please send them to:
TheSoft Programming Services
c/o Ian Davis
1929 Whitecliff Court
Walnut Creek, Ca, 94596.
Thanks for your support!
TheDraw Page 44
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