Over 1,000 Windows 95 Programs/Over 1000 Windows 95 Programs (Microforum) (Disc 1).iso/0719/readme.txt

Text File | 1997-04-08 | 11.3 KB | 203 lines

                                Web Grafitti

                             By Lumina Software

    Web Grafitti is an applett whose primary purpose is to help the user
preview and implement background and text colors for web pages.
The following text will guide you through that process.

Finger Paints to Hexidecimal. (skip this if you're in a hurry)
    In real life, the color of light can be broken down into the three primary
colors: Red, Blue and Green.  When all three colors are at their maximum
intensity, the light is pure white.  When all three colors are at their
lowest, or not there at all, there is no light, which basically means black.
Anywhere in between is the secondary colors.  If all the primary colors are
equal, you get grey.  But, at different intensities, you get purples, oranges,
yellows and any other imaginable color.  Not surprisingly, computers work the
same way.  However, when computers do it, they count the intensities as numbers
from 0 to 255 (a total of 256 possible values.)  Why such a strange number???
That's where hexidecimal comes into play.  Hexidecimal is base 16 numbers.
This means that there are 16 possible values for each digit.  16 * 16 = 256
so each value intensity can be represented by a two digit hex number.  Put
the three together and you get one 6 digit hex value.  Confused?  Well, even
if you're not, you can imagine that visualizing each color, then figuring
out the hex value for it is quite a bit of work.  That's where this program
comes in.  It allows you to change the intensity values with windows scroll
bars and preview the color.  When you have something you like, it will tell
you the value in hex for that color so you can use it to set the background
and text colors of a web page.

Choosing a Color
    In the shareware version of Web Grafitti, there are three ways to choose
a color.  You can use each individually, or a combination of them to find
the color you want.  When you run Web Grafitti you will notice that the window
is divided into two halves.  Each is a separate color control, and changes a
different part of the color-preview box (on the right).  This way, you can
see how colors appear when next to each other.  When you click on either half
you will notice that a box appears around it, highlighting it.  Any changes
made by a menu option will be done to the highlighted half.

The Palette Menu
    A palette is a group of commonly used colors, arranged so that they can
easily be accessed and used.  The Web Grafitti palette is accesed through the
menus at the top of the window.  Try this:

Start Web grafitt, then click somewhere in the top window, to highlight it.
Go to the menu option Palette | Red
    - The outside of the box at the right turns red.
Click somewhere in the bottom half of the window.
GO to the menu option Palette | Blue
    - The inside of the box at the right turns blue.

    Now, you can see how the two colors work with each other.  You can see if
they contrast enough to be used as text and background colors, or whether or
not they would work well as text and link colors.  (You'll learn to copy them
into a web page later.)

    Note: In the registered version, you have the ability to make your own
palettes.

The Color Chooser
    The palette, though it's a wonderfully quick and easy method, does not
give a very wide range of colors.  That's where the color chooser comes in.
Click on the half of the window that you would like to change.  Then, go to
the menu option Special | Color Chooser.  A window appears with a large
square on the left and a thin rectangle on the right.  These represent the
three color intensities.  The box represents red and green, going across and
down.  The Rectangle represents Blue, going down.  At the bottom right corner
of the window is another box.  If you had already chosen a color before going
to the color chooser, this box will now be that color.  Otherwise, it will
be black.  Click on a color in the big square.  A small box moves to where you
clicked, the rectangle re-draws with new colors, and the box in the bottom
right changes to the color that you clicked on.  Click on a color in the
rectangle.  The Square on the right re-draws, a rectangle moves to where you
clicked, and the box in the lower right changes again.  Experiment with this
for awhile until you have a color you like.  Then click OK, and you are
returned to the main window, now displaying the color you chose.  If you do
not like the color you chose more than the original, then click cancel instead
and you are returned to the main window, displaying the original color.

    Hint: On some computers, displaying the color chooser at it's highest
resolution is very slow.  If this is the case for you, set the fast-redraw
check box in the lower left corner of the color chooser to checked, and it
will re-draw it at a lower resolution.  This may make it harder to choose
the exact color you want, but when you return to the main window, it will
not affect it.

    Note:  The registered version of Web Grafitti comes with a second color
chooser, as well, that lets you choose the ratio of colors, and the how bright
or dark they will be.

The Scroll Bars
    You may have noticed, when you used the palette or the color chooser, that
each time the color changed, the three scroll bars in that half of the window
jumped to a new place and the numbers on the boxes to the left of them
changed.  These scroll bars give you direct control over the three values of
the color you choose.  If you move any one all the way to the right, and the
others all the way to the left, it will display that color.  If you move the
top two all the way to the right and the bottom one to the left, you get
yellow.  When you move the three of them to different places in the middle
you can get any color imaginable.
    You can also use the number boxes to the left of the scroll bars.  Type
in the values of the intensities you want (0-255).  The scroll bar jumps to
that position and the new color is displayed in the box on the right.  This
comes in handy when you know the RGB values of the color you want, or you
want to be really specific.

Using the color
    You will notice that somewhere in each half of the window there is a
jumble of letters and numbers that changes along with the color.  This is the
hex value of that color.  Now, you could just remember the number, and type
it into the html file yourself.  Of course, it'd be a lot easier if the
program did it for you.  It almost does that.  Click on the copy button on the
half of the window whose color you would like to use.  The hex value for that
color is then copied to the clipboard.  (Be careful.  If another program
had put something on the clipboard before, it will be lost.)  You can then
go into a text editor, and use the paste command to insert the hex value into
the text file.
    You may want to try this out with the sample web page that comes with
Web Grafitti.  It is called TESTER.HTM.  Open this file in a text editor (I
prefer Windows notepad.) and move the cursor to the <body ...> tag.  In case
you aren't familiar with changing color values in the <body> tag, there's a
key to which value does what.  Choose the color you want for each value with
Web Grafitti then click the copy button.  Highlight the symbol for the value
you want to change in the text editor.  Then, either press DELETE to get rid
of it, or just paste the hex value over it.
    Once you've inserted a few of the values, you can save the file, then
preview it in Netscape (keep the text editor open if you can spare the memory).
If you don't like the color scheme, you can choose new colors in Web Grafitti,
then paste them over the originals.  Keep changing the values, then saving and
previewing the file until you're happy with the appearance.

Special Features
    Web Grafitti was specifically designed as an applett to be used along with
other, larger prorgams.  This was done by two features.
    The "stay on top" check box at the top of the main window does pretty
much exactly what it says it does.  When checked, the main window will stay
on top of any other windows.  This means that if you click on another program
in order to use it, the Web Grafitti window will not be lost behind it.  This
comes in handy when you have 5 different programs open (text editor, Netscape,
2 or 3 graphics apps, etc.).  It would be fairly easy for a small window like
Web Grafitti to get lost amidst that.  When using a window that is partially
covered by Web Grafitti in "stay on top" mode, it functions as normal except
that you can't use anything covered up by Web Grafitti.
    The problem of Web Grafitti covering up a window that's under it can be
solved by the button in the upper left corner of the window.  Click on this
and Web Grafitti shrinks into a much smaller window.  Click the button again
(the picture on it should change) and the window returns to its original size.
This option can be used with or without the "stay on top" feature.

Tips and Tricks
    If you would like to use a color that's in a graphics file, there is no
direct support for this with Web Grafitti, but it can be done along with a
paint program.  Most programs will tell you the RGB values of a color in
integer format.  You can then type those into Web Grafitti and export them
as hex.  In Paint Shop Pro, for instance, do the following:

Click on the color you want with the dropper tool.
    - On one of the tool panels, you will see a box change to that color.
Double click on that box.
    - One of two windows will appear.
If it is a .gif image or another 256 color image, you will see a grid of
    colors.  The one that you clicked on will be highlighted and at the
    bottom, it will say the RGB values.
If it is a .jpg or another 16.4 million color image, you will see a window
    which says the RGB values in the lower right corner.
If it is a 16 color image, the window that appears will be similar to the one
    shown for a 256 color image.

Registration pitch:
    You can use Web Grafitti for 30 days to see if you like it.  After that,
you should register it if you would like to continue using it or if you found
it useful.  If you register it for the low low price of $5.00, we'll send you
the latest full version of Web Grafitti which includes:

- The ability to make and save your own palettes, as well as use other
    palettes
- Another color chooser which allows you to select the ratio of intensities,
    then choose how light or dark the final color will be
- The ability to export color values to Pov Ray (the ray tracer) format and
    as integers (0-255)
- Any bug fixes of enhancements that are made between now and when you order
    it

But most of all you get that warm feeling inside, knowing that you helped us
starving programmers (well, maybe not starving...).  So, go ahead and order
Web Garafitti.  It's as simple as printing out the order form, (or making your
own with the same information) and sending it in along with a check for $5.00.
The order form can be found in the file ORDER.TXT.

Send orders to:

Lumina Software
P.O. Box 11-444
Loudonville, NY 12211
USA

Shipping and Handling charges are included in the price of the software.

Lumina Software can be contacted by e-mail at [e-mail] .  Write
here to inquire about international orders.