Floppyshop 2/Floppyshop - 2.zip/Floppyshop - 2.iso/art&graf.ix/art-0061/help.txt

Text File | 1997-04-16 | 11KB | 396 lines

           OFF WORLD SOFTWARE

                presents

             ELECTRIC IMAGE

                   by

               Nigel Head





         Written in STOS Basic


N.B. This help file is available by
pressing HELP whilst on the menu screen.

@
Upon loading (auto-boot) you are
presented with the menu screen.

----------------------------------------
| 1 | 2 | 3 |              | 19| 20| 21|
-------------   ELECTRIC   -------------
| 4 | 5 | 6 |    IMAGE     | 22| 23| 24|
-------------              -------------
: 7 : 8 : 9 :--------------| 25| 26| 27|
------------- ------------ -------------
| 10| 11| 12| |          | | 28| 29| 30|
------------- |  IMAGE   | -------------
| 13| 14| 15| |  WINDOW  | | 31| 32| 33|
------------- |          | -------------
| 16| 17| 18| |          | | 34| 35| 36|
------------- ------------ -------------
 -------------------------------------
 | CC| C0| C1| C2| C3| C4| C5| C6| C7|
 -------------------------------------
 |PAL| C8| C9|C10|C11|C12|C13|C14|C15|
 -------------------------------------

@
To get to the drawing screen either
click the mouse's right button, or click
the left button while pointing at the
image window in the centre of the
screen. To return to the menu click the
right button again.

Throughout Electric Image the right
mouse button will always take you back
one step (if in the middle of a drawing
operation it will allow you to start/
restart that operation, if on the
drawing screen, but not drawing, it will
return you to the menu screen).

The pointer and the left mouse button
will select an option. Double click to
redefine that option (e.g. alter brush
or pencil type).

The Undo key will undo all actions made
since leaving the menu screen.
@
Pressing the Space Bar will display the
X and Y co-ordinates of the mouse
pointer. Press it again to return to
normal operation.

Colours are selected by clicking on the
chosen colour (C0 to C15). The current
colour is displayed in CC. To mix new
colours click on PAL (described later).

There follows a list of instructions for
each option. Where use is self evident
no instruction is given. Most will only
select an option. You must click in the
image window or press the right mouse
button to go to the drawing screen.

 1. FREE-HAND DRAWING
    Double click on this option to alter
    the size and style of pen/pencil
    used. (Right mouse button to return
    to menu screen).
@
 2. ERASER
    Note: this erases in the current ink
    colour. This may seem odd at first
    but, unless your entire background
    is colour 0 (unlikely), it is of
    much more use.

 3. RULER
    For drawing straight lines. Click on
    the start then finish positions. The
    next line will start where the last
    one ended. To start a new line click
    the right mouse button.

 4. CIRCLE (OUTLINE)
    Click on the centre, then move the
    mouse horizontally. Click again to
    set circle (right button to cancel).

 5. CIRCLE (SOLID)
    As above. N.B. all solid shapes use
    the pattern selected with 33.
@
 6. STRAIGHT LINES FROM ONE POINT
    As 3, but all lines start from the
    same point.

 7. ELLIPSE (OUTLINE)
    As 4. Move mouse vertically and
    horizontally to size circle.

 8. ELLIPSE (SOLID)
    As above.

 9. AIR BRUSH
    Freehand air brush. Double click to
    set spray size/shape, right button
    to return to menu screen.

10. BOX (OUTLINE)
    Click on the top left corner, then
    move mouse until box is right size,
    then click again.


@
11. BOX (SOLID)
    As 10.

12. AIR BRUSH WITH MASK
    As 9, but will first let you define
    a mask where the spray will not go.
    See 16 for how to define mask.
    Because of the difficulty of
    redrawing another identical mask in
    a different colour, you can change
    colour without returning to the
    drawing screen by pressing RETURN.

13. ROUND CORNER BOX (OUTLINE)
    As 10.

14. ROUND CORNER BOX (SOLID)
    As 10

15. FLOOD FILL
    Fill an enclosed area with ink or a
    pattern selected from option 33.
@
16. SOLID SHAPE
    Draw the outline of a shape as you
    would with the straight line option
    (3). When completed click the right
    mouse button and the last point will
    be joined to the first and the image
    filled.

17. TEXT
    For placing text on screen. Type the
    text before moving it to the
    position you want it in. Then click
    the left mouse button. Double click
    on this option to select style and
    background colour for type (the type
    colour will be the current colour).
    Click on the typeface itself to
    change style.

18. SMUDGE/DITHER
    Smudges the colours under the
    pointer.
@
19. CLS
    Clears the current drawing screen.

20. PRINT OPTIONS
    Print screen, colour settings or a
    disk directory. Menu driven.

21. SWAP IMAGE
    There are two drawing screens, each
    with its own colour settings. Click
    here to swap between them. N.B. the
    save option only saves the current
    screen, not both.

22. CAMERA
    Take a 'picture' of part or the
    whole of the current screen. This
    option works in the same way as the
    box option (10). The image within
    the box is stored and can be pasted
    on screen using options 25, 26 & 27.

@
23. CUT
    As 22, but leaves a hole behind in
    the current colour (see 2 for the
    reasoning behind this).

24. SCROLL
    Select a box on screen as you would
    with 10, then press the arrow keys
    to move the contents of the box in
    any direction. Right mouse key to
    end. N.B. whilst scrolling, the undo
    function will only undo the current
    scroll area. To undo everything
    since leaving the menu screen, click
    the right mouse button and then
    press undo.

25. PASTE IN FRONT
    Paste the photographed/cut image on
    screen. Can be used like a brush.


@
26. PASTE BEHIND
    As
    25, but the image is pasted behind
    any object already on screen.

27. PASTE TRANSPARENT
    As 25 but any background colour is
    left transparent.

28. MAGNIFY
    Select your screen area and click
    the left mouse button. This area is
    enlarged by 400%. LIFT enables you
    to set the current colour by
    clicking on it within the magnified
    area. Clicking on the right mouse
    button will allow you to select
    another area to zoom in on. Not
    selecting another area and clicking
    on the right mouse button again will
    return you to the menu screen.

@
29. COPY
    Copy an area of screen to another
    area. Draw two boxes on screen (see
    10), The contents of one are copied
    into the other. The boxes DON'T have
    to be the same size. If you want to
    set this function so that the second
    box IS the same size as the first,
    then double click on the option.

30. MOVE
    As above, but will leave a hole
    behind in the first box in the
    current colour (see 2 for the
    reasoning for this).

31. BRUSH
    This works like draw (1), but with a
    brush of 32 by 32 pixels. To
    redefine the brush double click on
    the option. LIFT lets you lift your
    brush off the drawing screen.
@
32. REPLACE COLOUR
    Select an area of screen (see 10)
    and every pixel of the current
    colour within that area will be
    changed to any other colour of your
    choice. To choose the new colour
    double click on this option. N.B.
    this does not alter the colour
    definitions as the Palette option
    does.

33. SELECT FILL PATERN
    Click on the pattern/solid you would
    like the fill command (15) and any
    solid objects (5, 8, 11, 14 and 16)
    to use.

34. QUIT
    End use of Electric Image and LOSE
    ANY UNSAVED WORK.


@
35. LOAD FROM DISK
    Load a picture or set of colours
    from disk. You can load Neochrome
    (low-res only), Degas or Electric
    Image's own format compressed
    images into the current screen.

36. SAVE TO DISK
    Save a picture or set of colours to
    disk. You have the same options for
    saving pictures as for loading them
    (35), but the compressed option is
    recommended because it uses a lot
    less disk space.

PAL PALETTE SETTINGS
    This allows you to set the palette
    of 16 colours to anything you
    require. Select the colour to work
    on and click on the R, G, and B + or
    - symbols to alter the red, green
    and blue content of the colour.
@
    Pressing Undo will return the
    colours to their original settings.
    If you get in a mess and can't see
    what you are doing, press Help and
    colour 0 will be set to black and
    colour 1 to white.

    Clicking on either of the small
    images of the two drawing screens
    will set the colours to those used
    for that screen.

    If you click on FADE the pointer
    will change to the word FROM. Click
    on a colour and it changes to TO.
    Now click on another colour. All the
    colours in between will be set to a
    gradual fade between these two
    colours. If the second colour is
    lower than the first, then the fade
    runs off the end and starts at the
    beginning again.
@
    To make the colours, from the
    currently selected one onward,
    cycle through each other, click on
    the arrow to the right of COLOUR
    CYCLING. This will increase the
    speed of operation. Clicking on the
    other arrow will slow down the
    speed. Clicking on COLOUR CYCLE will
    stop the cycling.

    Obviously all the colour functions
    won't work in high resolution.










@
                  TIPS
                  ====

Though you can use the two drawing
screens for different images, it is
better to use the second for storing
tests, brushes or photos from the first.
It can also be used to test an idea that
may spoil your masterpiece if not
successful.

To copy part or all of one screen to the
other, you need to use the photo option
(22). A photographed or cut area of
screen is not lost when you swap
screens.

If you want to set the colours of one
screen to those of the other then make
sure the current screen is the one with
the wrong colours, use the palette
option and click on the other screen.
@
END
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