Techno Guide - Aspettando Windows 98/TechnoGuide.iso/multimed/mainact/pftw.cab/Mactr.hlp

OS/2 Help File | 1997-07-02 | 33.9 KB | 973 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. File Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.1. Open... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Open item of the File menu will open a file dialog. You can
select any of the supported animation or picture formats. After loading, the
new project will be displayed in The Project List.

The file dialog supports multiple selections, that means that several files can
be marked for loading.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.2. Close ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Close item of the File menu will remove the currently selected
Project from The Project List and frees all memory dedicated to the project.

This item is functionally identical with Remove Project of the Project menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.3. Save As... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Save item of the File menu will open the save window. The All
Frames item of The Save Window will be checked.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.4. Close All ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Close All item of the File menu will remove all currently loaded
projects from The Project List.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1.5. Exit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Exit item of the File menu terminates MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. Edit Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.1. Copy to Clipboard ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Copy to Clipboard item of the Edit menu or the popup menu of The
Preview Window will copy the currently selected frame into the clipboard.

The quality of this operation is dependent on your video mode, high / true
color displays give better results, especially under Windows.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.2. Select ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Select item in the Edit menu
allows you to select all, or some of the frames in The Frame List.

Select All
     Selects all frames available in the frame list.

Select Range ...
     Allows you to select a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50.

Select Compression ...
     Allows you to select all frames with a specific compression. For example,
     if you loaded a FLI animation, you can select all frames which have a
     ClrBlack compression method.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.3. Deselect ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Deselect item in the Edit menu
will allow you to deselect all, or some of the frames in The Frame List.

Deselect All
     Deselects all frames available in the frame list.

Deselect Range ...
     Allows you to deselect a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50.

Deselect Compression ...
     Allows you to deselect all frames with a specific compression. For
     example, if you loaded a FLI animation, you can deselect all frames which
     have a Dummy compression method.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.4. Invert ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Invert item of the Edit menu will invert the selection status of
all frames in The Frame List.

All selected frames will be deselected and all deselected frames will be
selected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2.5. Capture Video ... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Capture Video ... item of the Edit menu will open the Video
Capture Interface window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Project Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.1. Project Info... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Project Info ... item of the Project menu will open a dialog
window which displays information about the currently selected Project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.2. Global Timecode... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Global Timecode item of the Project menu will open a window which
allows you to change the global timecode of the currently selected Project.

Some animation formats (for example FLI/FLC) only support one timecode for all
of the frames of an animation, that means that all frames will stop playback
for the same amount of time. These animations often have dummy frames inserted
into the animation to allow for better timing.

If your project does not have a global timecode or does support a timecode for
each frame, this menu item will be disabled. If it does support a timecode for
each frame, you can select the frames you want to change the timecode of and
select the Local Timecodes menu item of the Frames menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.3. Cache Data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Cache Data item of the Project menu caches all the data of the
currently selected Project in ram, which results in better access and playback
times for the project.

If the menu item is checked the data is cached in memory, if not the data will
be loaded directly from disk (which is the default).

Note, not all loader modules support caching, if a loader module does not
support caching, the menu item is disabled. This is the case for most of the
picture loader modules.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.4. Play Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Play Project item of the Project menu plays the currently select project.

MainActor uses The Display Window for playback.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3.5. Remove Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Remove Project item of the Project menu will remove the currently
selected Project from The Project List and frees all memory dedicated to the project.

This item is functionally identical with Close of the File menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Frames Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.1. Save Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Save Frames item of the Frames menu will open the save window.
The Selected Frames item of The Save Window will be checked.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.2. Local Timecodes... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Local Timecodes... item of the Frames menu will open a window
which allows you to change the local timecodes of the currently selected
frames.

This option is only enabled if the animation format of your current Project
supports a timecode per frame or if the project is a picture (list).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.3. Show Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Show Frames item of the Frames menu will show the currently
selected frame.

MainActor uses The Display Window to show the frames of a Project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.4. Show Palette ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Show Palette item of the Frames menu will show the palette of the
current frame in The Palette Editor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.5. Sort Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Sort Frames item in the Frames menu
sorts all frames in The Frame List according to the selected sort method. This
menu is only available when the currently selected Project is a picture list.

Animations are mostly delta encoded and cannot be sorted, even when they are
nonlinear, it would be too difficult to keep track of the different color
palettes etc.

Sort Frames by Name (Normal)
     The frames are sorted, case insensitive, by their names.

Sort Frames by Name (Inverse)
     The frames are sorted, case insensitive, by their names in the inverse
     order.

Sort Frames by Size
     The frames are sorted by their size. The pictures with the smallest size
     are at the top of the frame list, the pictures with the biggest size at
     the bottom.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4.6. Remove Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Remove Frames item of the Frames menu will remove the currently
selected frames in The Frames List.

This menu item is only active when the current project is a picture list. You
cannot remove frames from an animation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Settings Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.1. Timecode Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Show Timecodes as item in the
Settings menu allows you to change the time system in which the timecodes in
The Frame List are displayed.

/1000      Sec
           This timecode setting displays the timecode for every frame in milliseconds.

           HH:MM:SS:MS
           The timecodes will be displayed as time offsets of the frames
           relative to the beginning of the project in hours, minutes, seconds
           and milliseconds. The head of the timecode column will display the
           time of the whole project.

           HH:MM:SS.FF
           In contrast to the first two settings, this setting is based on a
           frames per second basis. The timecodes are, again, treated as
           offsets. First, MainActor will determine the global frames per
           second rate of the project. Then it will display the timecodes,
           based on this fps rate, in hours, minutes, seconds and the frame
           offset. The frame offset is between 0 (the first frame of the
           second) and the frames per second rate minus one (the last frame of
           the second). The head of the timecode column will display the time
           of the whole project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.2. Playback Settings ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Playback item in the Settings menu
allows you to change the global playback settings of The Display Window. The
settings will always be used when the display window is invoked by MainActor.
MainView will use them if no command line options are defined. If you need more
detailed information of the settings, please use the online help of the display window.

           Autostart
           If this item is enabled, the project will directly start to play.
           Otherwise it will wait for a play command from the toolbar or the menu.

Control    Toolbar
           Specifies the position of the control toolbar relative to the
           display window.

           Titlebar
           Specifies the text to be displayed in the title bar. Either the
           project title, the current frame number or the current frames per second.

           Repeats
           Specifies how many times projects without sound shall be repeated
           while playing. Projects with sound will always only be repeated once.

           Volume
           Specifies the volume of the sound contained in projects.

The next items are ony available in the Windows version of MainActor and define
the full screen mode characteristics of DirectX.

Full       Screen
           This item enables the full screen playback mode.

Scale To   Screen
           This item is only available in full screen mode. If this item is
           enabled, the DirectX system will always scale the image to fit the
           entire size of the screen.

Use Best   Mode
           This item is only available in full screen mode. If this  item is
           enabled, MainActor tries to find the best possible screen mode for
           the project which is available on your system. Otherwise, full
           screen playback will always use the screen mode of the Windows user interface.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.3. Toolbar ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Toolbar item in the Settings menu
allows you to control the behaviour of the toolbar.

           Active
           If this switch is on, the toolbar is active.

Context    Help
           If this switch is on, you will get help messages which describe the
           functions of the buttons of the toolbar. Simply deselect this switch
           to turn the context help off.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.4. Language ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Language item in the Settings menu
allows you to change the actual language for MainActor.

The new language will be activated after MainActor has been restarted.

           English
           Switches the actual language to english.

           German
           Switches the actual language to german.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.5. Custom File Requester ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Custom File Requester item of the Settings menu will use The
Custom File Requester for loading of files.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.6. Mini Icons ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Mini Icons item of the Settings menu will switch between normal
icon sizes and mini icon sizes in The Frame List.

Mini icons can be useful when you want to see a large number of frames in the
frame list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5.7. Font ... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Font ... item of the Settings menu will open the font requester.

Using the requester you can select the font which will be used by MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Help Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.1. Help Index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Help Index item of the Help menu displays the index of the online
help document for MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.2. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the General Help item of the Help menu displays a general
introduction to the user interface of MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.3. Using Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Using Help item of the Help menu displays an introduction on how
to use the online help facility.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.4. MainActor Documentation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the MainActor Documentation item of the Help menu will show the
documentation of MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.5. Loader Modules... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Loader Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the supplied loader modules of this version of MainActor, as
well as the supported codecs of these modules.

The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as
well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.6. Saver Modules... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Saver Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the supplied saver modules of this version of MainActor, as well
as the supported codecs of these modules.

The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as
well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.7. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Registration item of the Help menu will show an informational
text about how to register MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.8. Serial Number... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Serial Number item of the Help menu will allow you to register
your copy of MainActor once you received your personal serial number from us.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.9. Release Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Release Notes item of the Help menu will show the latest
information about this version of MainActor.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6.10. Product Info... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Product Info ... item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the version number of MainActor and the registration status of
your copy.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Misc. Menus ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7.1. Save Animation/Picture/Sound as ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

These popup menu items cause MainActor to open The Save Window with the
selected saver module.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Misc. Windows ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.1. Module Info ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window displays all loader or saver modules which are included in
MainActor v1.00.

Each module supports various codecs, the codecs of the currently selected
module are listed in the Codecs list.

The author, copyright and version of the currently selected module are listed
in the lower left of the window, along with the type field which identifies the
format of the module, for example Animation or Picture.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.2. Select Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Select Range window lets you select a specific range of frames in The Frame
List.

Enter the first frame you want to have selected in the From field and enter the
last frame in the to field.

After that, you can select Accept to select the frames or Cancel to cancel the
operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.3. Select Compression ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Select Compression window lets you select the frames in The Frame List
which have a specific compression method.

Select the compression format and select Accept to select the frames with the
specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.4. Deselect Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Deselect Range window lets you deselect a specific range of frames in The
Frame List.

Enter the first frame you want to have deselected in the From field and enter
the last frame in the to field.

After that, you can select Accept to deselect the frames or Cancel to cancel
the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.5. Deselect Compression ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Deselect Compression window lets you deselect the frames in The Frame List
which have a specific compression method.

Select the compression method and select Accept to deselect the frames with the
specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.6. Project Info ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Project Info dialog window displays some of the more technical information
of the current project.

Name
     The name of the current project.

Format
     The format of the loader module.

Width
     The width of the project in pixels.

Height
     The height of the project in pixels.

Frames
     The number of frames of the project.

Loop Frames
     The number of loop frames of the project.

Average Image Size
     The average size, in bytes, of the image data.

Average Sound Size
     The average size, in bytes, of the sound data (if any).

Bits Per Sample
     The amount of bits per sample, typically 8 or 16 bits. The sound quality
     improves with the number of bits. This field is empty when no sound is
     associated with the project.

Samples Per Second
     The samples which are played per second. More samples are equivalent with
     better sound quality. This field is empty when no sound is associated with
     the project.

Total Project Size
     The total size, in bytes, of the project.

Color Space Spec
     The color space format of the project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.7. Local Timecode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Local Timecode window allows you to change the local timecodes of the
currently selected frames.

The Local Timecode changes the timecodes of all currently selected frames in
The Frame List to the new timecode. Note that only a few animation formats
support a timecode per frame (for example all IFF-Anim formats). You can always
change the local timecodes for pictures, but they will not be saved.

The timecode has to be entered in milliseconds.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.8. The Save Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The save window is the interface to the save modules which are shipped with
MainActor v1.00.

You can select the format in which you want to save the frames in the Modules
list. Most modules support more than one codec, select the one you want in the
Codecs list.

If you are going to save pictures or an animation, you can select their new
width and height in the Width and Height entry fields.

You can now choose if you want to save all the frames of the project, or just
those which are selected in the The Frame List. If you want to save all frames,
enable the All Frames button, otherwise select the Selected Frames button.

The Index entry field is used by the picture saver modules only, it determines
the start index of the index appended to the pictures. This option is useful if
you want to load pictures in a specific order into MainActor. To do this simply
save the pictures, load them into MainActor and sort the frames by name.

You can edit the color palette which will be used for 8bit codecs by selecting
the Palette ... button. The palette will be created and The Palette Editor will
be opened to edit the palette. The editor is nice when you want to optimize the
palette or want to set a specific color to the 0 index (for example to set it
to transparent with the GIF saver). Using the editor, you can also load /save
palettes. Although you can  always edit the palette, it will only be used by
codecs which use a color palette (8bit codecs).

The Options ... button will open The Save Options window, which allows some
more specific save options to be defined.

You can start the save process by clicking on the Save... button. Choose the
name of the new project in the file dialog requester. Note that the save
modules will append their suffix to the file name automatically, like ".fli".
Also, if you save a series of pictures, the picture index will also be
appended, like "0002.bmp". You can change the start index with the Index entry
field.

While saving you can stop the action by clicking on Cancel. Cancel will also
close the window if no save progress is currently running.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.9. Save Options ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Save Options window contains some more specific options used while saving :

Interpolate pixels while scaling
           This option is only relevant when new x and y dimension have been
           entered in the save window. If enabled, MainActor uses interpolation
           when scaling the image to the new size, resulting in less blocky
           looking images.

Use error diffusion when reducing colors
           When saving 8bit animations/pictures, this option enables an error
           diffusion algorithm to dither the image data. This option is useful
           when saving deep, 24 bit projects to 8bit, as it reduces the visible
           artifacts of the color reduction.

Pressing the Module Options ... button will pop up The Module GUI Interface of
the currently selected saver module (if any).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.10. Personalisation ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter your personal serial number into the entry field and select Accept. If
you do not yet own a serial number (you do not have registered MainActor yet),
select Cancel.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.11. Global Timecode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Global Timecode window allows you to change the global timecode of your
current Project.

The Global Timecode changes the timecodes of all frames to the new timecode
entered in the window. This option is important for those animation formats who
only support one timecode per animation (FLI/FLC). These animation formats
often use Dummy frames for timing.

The timecode has to be entered in milliseconds.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.12. Repeats Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter the number of times projects without sound shall be repeated while playing.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.13. Module GUI Interface ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This window is the user interface to the modules.

Description of the options of the various modules is available in The Modules
section of the MainActor Documentation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.14. The Palette Editor ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The editor enables you to view and edit the current palette.

The 256 palette entries are visible at the top of the window, the currently
selected palette entry is shown right of the Selected Color: text. The red,
green and blue values of the current color are displayed in the labeled entry
fields. You can edit these values by entering a new value or by using the spin buttons.

Swapping colors is possible by entering the color index at the entry field
right of the Swap Index: text. If you now select the Swap push button, the
colors of the current index and the swap index are swapped.

You can save the palette or load a completely different palette by using the
menu items of the File menu, making it possible to transfer palettes from/to
other programs.

You can accept the changes by pressing Accept, Cancel will discard the changes
to the color palette.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.15. Video Capture Interface ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you have a video capture card installed on your system, this window allows
it to capture video and load it directly into MainActor.

MainActor uses the system interface for capturing video. If you have more than
one capture card installed, you can choose from the list of available drivers
in the Driver menu.

The Options menu lets you change specific options of the currently selected
capture card. The Video Format ..., Video Display ... and Video Source ...
items open special configuration windows supplied by your capture card
manufacturer. Please have a look at the online help of these windows for
further information.

The Preview item enables the preview mode, the preview mode displays the video
the same way as it will be captured, i.e. it uses the same frame rate etc.

The Overlay mode (if supported by your card), uses a specific overlay mode to
display the video. This mode has nothing to do with the quality of the actually
captured data.

The Capture Audio item controls if audio data is captured together with the
video data.

The Record button will start capturing, you can select the name of the capture
file first. The Frames Per Second button allows you to change the frame rate of
the captured data. If you are in Preview mode, you can immediately see the
changes take effect.

After capturing, you are asked if you wish to load the captured animation into MainActor.

Make sure that you choose a compression method for the captured video which is
supported by MainActor. This can be done by selecting the Video Format ...
item. If you want to have support for a video format of a specific manufacturer
within MainActor, please contact us (and the manufacturer) to request support.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.16. Goto Frame Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter the frame number of the frame which shall be displayed in the The Display
Window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8.17. Speed Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Enter the frame rate which shall be applied to The Display Window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. The Custom File Requester ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This requester offers some enhanced functionality over the system file requester.

You can select the drives in The Drive List and files and directories in The
File And Directory List.

Pressing the Load button will load the currently selected files, pressing
Cancel will close the requester without loading a file.

If the file requester is in single selection mode, the Select and Deselect
submenu items of the Files menu will be disabled.

Please use the online menu help for descriptions of the menu functions.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.1. The Drive List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The drive list contains the drives (disks) which are currently available on
your system.

Selecting a drive will display the current directory of this drive in The File
And Directory List. Double clicking a drive will display the root directory.

Note that the Drives menu is available as a popup menu inside of the drive list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.2. The File And Directory List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The file and directory list contains the files and directories of the currently
selected drive of the The Drive List. The directories are located at the top of
the list, the files at the bottom.

You can enter a directory by double clicking on its name. You cannot select
directories, only files. Double clicking on a file will load it.

Note that the Files menu is available as a popup menu inside of the file and
directory list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.3. The Drives Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Drives menu contains the following items:

     Refresh
     This item will refresh The Drive List.

     Exit
     Closes the file requester without loading a file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4. The Files Menu ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.1. Select ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The submenu items of the Select item select all files or a part of the files in
The File And Directory List.

Select All
     Selects all files.

Select To
     Selects all files up to the current file.

Select From
     Select all files starting from the current file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.2. Deselect ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The submenu items of the Deselect item deselect all files or a part of the
files in The File And Directory List.

Deselect All
     Deselects all files.

Deselect To
     Deselects all files up to the current file.

Deselect From
     Deselect all files starting from the current file.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9.4.3. Load Files ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Load Files item will load all currently selected files in The File And
Directory List.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Info Links ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.1. The Frame List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The frame list displays all frames of the currently selected Project.

Each frame is represented by an icon and several columns of information.

If the frame is part of an animation, information about the number of the
frame, its timecode, compression and its size are displayed. Also, if the frame
has sound information associated, the frame icon will have a small note symbol
and the size of the sound data is displayed. If the frame icon of the frame is
gray, it indicates that the frame is a key frame.

If the frame (or rather picture) is part of a picture list, its name, timecode,
compression method and size is displayed.

You can change the way the timecodes are displayed by using the Timecode Settings.

Every frame has its own popup menu. Double-clicking a frame will display it.

A preview of the currently selected frame is available in The Preview Window.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.2. The Project List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The project list displays all currently loaded projects and occupies the left
third of the main window. The frames of the currently selected Project are
displayed in The Frame List.

Double clicking an project will play it, the right menu button will bring up a
popup menu which is identical to the Project menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.3. The Preview Window ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The preview window displays the current frame and its associated audio data (if any).

The displayed frame is synced with The Frame List, as soon as you select
another frame, the preview window will display it.

You can also change the current frame by using the slider  beneath the graphic.
The audio displayed is exactly the audio data which is associated with this
specific frame.

The right menu button will also bring up a popup menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.4. Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

All projects are displayed as icons in The Project List.

A project is either an animation / picture or one or more pictures of the same
format. All pictures of the same format will always be grouped together in one
project, this project is named after the picture format.

The frames of the currently selected project are displayed in The Frame List.

Each project has its own popup menu, double-clicking on a project will play it
back.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.5. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MainActor is able to load, edit, play and save / convert nearly all animation
formats, the most common picture formats and sound formats.

These formats are called projects, each loaded Project is displayed in The
Project List. The frames of the currently selected project are displayed in The
Frame List.

A preview of the currently selected frame is available in The Preview Window,
the preview window offers video and audio preview.

You can load a new Project with the Open item of the File menu or by dragging
the file icon into the project list.

Also, you can change the relative size of the windows by simply changing the
location of the sliders which separate them.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.6. Release Notes ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This is the first official and non-beta release of MainActor.

We have added lots of features since the last release and now support all major
animation formats, all animation relevant picture formats and WAV sounds.

Version v1.1 also adds complete MPEG support. MPEGs can now be generated with
audio and lots of options. Simply convert your existing animations to MPEG.

We now hope to have a package which is able to deal with nearly all possible
tasks in the animation processing / editing area. If you don't agree, tell us
about it.

Of course there is always room to improve, so you will see regular updates in
the future. We will especially emphasize the editing side in future releases,
the long awaited Sequencer add-on with its transitions and effects will be the
key point in this area. But we also have lots of other stuff coming, like a
Script language to automate the processing of animations and many other new
features are planned. New modules should also be integrated in nearly every release.

This version of MainActor contains several years of development work. If you
use MainActor on a regular basis, please register.

We are quite sure to have fixed all reported bugs of the beta versions. If you
still encounter any problems, please contact us.

--
Markus Moenig
[e-mail]


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.7. Load Error ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Either an error has been encountered while loading the project or you did
cancel the loading process.

You can see the cause of the failure in the window, as well as the project at
which the failure occurred.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.8. Error ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

An error has been encountered. The window displays the error message and the
possible cause for the error.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.9. MainView ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MainView is the external player of MainActor. It should be used if you just
want to play an animation or to view a picture.

During the loading process, the name of the project, its format and the width
and height are displayed. The progress indicator displays how much of the
project has already been examined. If the project has been loaded the frames
field is updated with the number of frames of the project.

MainView will display warning messages of the loader modules in red at the
bottom line of the window.

After loading, the project will be shown.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10.10. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

If you decide to register MainActor, we will send you a personal serial number
which will be able to unlock all future versions of this software on all
available platforms.

MainActor is currently running on OS/2 and Windows 95 / NT 4.0.

The fee for MainActor is $60 (99,- DM) or any equivalent sum in your local
currency. Please no foreign checks (except EuroChecks). We do take
Master/EuroCard and VISA.

You can contact us at :

MainConcept, GbR Moenig/Zabel
Hermann-Heusch-Platz 3
D-52062 Aachen
Germany

Tel:  [phone]
FAX:  [phone]
BBS:  [phone]

Email: [e-mail]
http://www.mainconcept.de

You can also order at BMT Micro. Please have a look at the file bmtmicro.txt
included in this package.

Online registration for the Windows version is also available at