The Mac Bible 6/The Mac Bible 6 CD-ROM (Peachpit Press)(1996).iso/Demos/15 Graphics/Painting Programs/XRes Mac/Demo Read Me

Text File | 1996-02-28 | 13KB | 336 lines

xRes 2.0 Demo ReadMe
March 1996

As you begin to use xRes 2.0, you will notice that xRes is an excellent
tool for creating and editing hi-res images. xRes 2.0's many new
features, including the Macromedia User Interface, path import from
FreeHand, web file formats like GIF89a, Progressive JPEG, and PNG,
Export and Acquire module support, direct editing of smaller images,
new brushes, gradients, and textures, make creating in hi-res fun for
the Adobe Photoshop user.

To order the full version of Macromedia xRes™ 2.0, contact
Macromedia at 1-800-457-1774 in the United States and Canada, or
415-252-2000 in the rest of the world.

This demo version allows you to explore most of the functionality of
xRes with the following exceptions:

•Save, Save As, Export, Render, and Print are disabled.
•Color library support is not included.
•You can copy and paste within xRes, but you cannot copy out to the
Finder.
•The Batch Conversion Xtra is disabled.

WHAT’S INCLUDED WITH xRES 2.0
When you purchase xRes 2.0, you will get many additional items that
are not included in the demo version:

•Additional Artistic Brushes and presets
Dozens of additional preset brushes and brush variants.

•Additional Textures
Over thirty professionally designed textures to help you add flair to
your images and projects.

•Xtras
Kai's Power Tools 3.0 S. E. Macromedia Edition including the Gradient
Designer, the Texture Explorer, the Spheroid Designer and a sampler
of Compact Filters using the new Lens FX interface. These filters ship
with over 700 Graphic Presets exclusive to Macromedia customers!

•Stock Photography & Goodies
Over 450 MB of high and low resolution photography in xRes' native
LRG format from vendors like PhotoDisc, Visual Language, Texture
Farm, Classic Photographic Image Objects, Image Kit, Digital Stock
Corporation and Xaos Tools. Goodies include fonts and demos of other
Xtras!

•Color Libraries
Including DIC, TOYO, TruMatch and PANTONE Prosim, PANTONE
Process, and PANTONE Process Euro.

•Advanced Imaging Tutorial
With sample files and a step-by-step of basic and advanced
techniques.

•Goodies
Goodies include fonts and demos of other Xtras from 3rd party
vendors!

•Full Documentation
Including a Getting Started manual and a user guide.

We hope you enjoy exploring this demo version of xRes 2.0 and look
forward to having you join us as a registered user!

Take a look below at the xRes 2.0 Demo installation information and
additional valuable information that you may need.

TO INSTALL XRES

To install xRes™ 2.0 Demo, double click on the xRes™ 2.0 Demo
Installer. The installer will install the xRes™ 2.0 Demo application and
a folder called xRes Resources into a folder called Macromedia xRes™
2.0 Demo on the root level of your start up hard drive unless you
specify another disk during the installation.
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USING PLUG-IN FILTERS

To use plug-in filters, do the following: Make sure "Support Plug-ins"
is checked in the Preferences > General dialog. Access Preferences >
Set Plug-In Folder…, locate your plug-in folder, and click Select at the
bottom of the dialog. After checking "Support Plug-ins" in the General
Preferences, and specifying the location of your plug-in folder,
relaunch xRes.

The following plug-ins have been successfully tested with
Macromedia xRes:
•KPT 3.0™, by Meta Tools
•KPT 2.1™, by Meta Tools
•Terrazo™, by Xaos Tools
•TypeCaster™, by Xaos Tools
•Paint Alchemy™, by Xaos Tools


PLUG-IN TIPS

Third-party plug-ins can be very memory intensive. xRes will
behave differently with plug-in filters depending on whether you
are using the plug-ins in Direct Mode or xRes Mode.

Using Direct Mode:
In the Direct Mode, xRes will immediately warn you if there is not
enough memory for the plug-in to apply.

Using xRes Mode:
Since delayed processing is used in xRes Mode, xRes cannot tell you if
there is enough memory to run the plug-in until you render the file.
(Rendering occurs when you export the file format to any format
except MMI.) If there is not enough memory to apply the plug-in file,
the following error message will appear:

"Not enough memory to run plug-in. Plug-in effect will not render.
Increase heap size by [x] MB."

At this point, you have a couple of options:
One, save the file, exit xRes, increase the amount of memory allocated
to xRes as specified by the error message, start xRes, and then apply
the plug-in effect. For instance, if the error message tells you to
increase the heap size by 5 MB, then exit xRes, increase the RAM
allocated to xRes by 5 MB, then restart the program, and re-apply
the plug-in.

The second option is to export the file at a lower zoom level, one that
will generate a smaller file size and require less memory to render.

There is an easy test to figure out if the plug-in will render in the
final image. After applying the plug-in, zoom in to the 1:1 level. If an
error message appears saying that there is not enough memory to
run the plug-in, then that means there is not enough memory to
apply the plug-in in the final rendered file. Next, zoom out to 1:2. If
there is no error message at this level, then render the file at 1:2 to
see the plug-in effect in the final file. If there is an error message at
1:2, then zoom out to 1:4, and so forth.

Macromedia advises that you apply plug-ins in Direct Mode for the
most predictable performance.

If you are using a plug-in that is not on the approved list, then try it
on a dummy file before using it in an important project.

If you have applied a plug-in effect, and then zoomed in, floated a
selection, or saved the file, the plug-in dialog may re-appear. If it
does, click the OK button to continue. If you have accessed a plug-in
filter, canceled out of it, and then zoomed in, floated a selection, or
saved the file, the plug-in dialog may re-appear. If it does, click
Cancel to continue. The plug-in dialogs appear as xRes plays back the
commands that have been applied to the file.


USING KPT FILTERS

Take note of the following incompatibilities when using KPT filters:

If you are using the KPT SE Macromedia Edition of Kai's Power Tools,
then the Help file cannot be accessed by a menu command. Access
the Help file by pressing the Help button on the filter dialogs.

The Gradients on Paths features of KPT 3.0 may not work on larger
files.

The Angular Shapeburst of the KPT Gradient Designer will apply as a
Rectangular Shapeburst.

When using the KPT 3.0 Glass Lens filter, an empty black dialog will
appear when you render if there is not enough swap disk space to
render the file. Click on this black dialog twice to continue.

The KPT Fractal Explorer will not work unless you have a math
co-processor installed.

If you are working in the CMYK Mode, keep in mind that the filters
in KPT 2.1 and 3.0 preview the effect as if it were applying in RGB
Mode.

Problems have been noted with using KPT 2.1 and KPT 3.0 with
images over 80 MB. See “Plug-in Tips” above for more information
about maximizing xRes performance when applying filters to large
images.

Macromedia is currently working on ensuring compatibility with
other plug-in vendors.


PERFORMANCE & COMPATIBILITY

Optimum System Configuration:
xRes performs optimally with the Macintosh’s Virtual Memory
turned off, the Disk Cache set to 32k and Modern Memory Manager
(on newer Macintosh systems) set to on. Since xRes is disk intensive,
regular software maintenance and regular optimization of
your hard disk will help to keep xRes at top performance.


Allocating Memory:
If you are running xRes with another application, be sure the RAM
you have allocated to these applications is less than your total RAM,
minus your system RAM. For instance, if you have 32 MB RAM and
your system occupies 6 MB of RAM, then allocate a total of no more
than 26 MB to xRes and other applications.

Microtek Scan Wizard™:
If you are using the Microtek Scan Wizard, the dialog appears as if it
will not allow you to reposition the preview area. To arrange the
preview area, click on the desktop and then click on the dialog. The
preview marquee starts blinking, allowing you to reposition it.

TWAIN:
xRes 2.0 does not support TWAIN compatible drivers. If your
scanner comes with both a plug-in and a TWAIN scanner driver, be
sure that you are using the plug-in version of the driver. If a TWAIN
driver appears under the Acquire module, it is because you have
included the driver in your plug-ins folder, and it is a third-party
driver. Using this driver with xRes may cause crashing errors.

External Swap Disks:
If you have a 4 GB external swap disk that is divided into two
partitions, you may only specify one of them as a swap disk to be
used in xRes. We are currently researching this problem.


WORKING WITH OBJECTS

New Objects:
When you click on the New Object Icon in the Objects Window, a
dialog allows you to specify the size of the new object. For most new
objects, you will want to uncheck the Transparency box in this dialog;
otherwise the object will come into the document as a clear sheet of
acetate.

Filling Transparencies:
In this version of xRes, you may not fill transparent objects with the
Gradient Tool, the Bucket Tool, or the Edit > Fill command.

Resize Error:
A checkbox called Maintain Size appears in the Resize Document
dialog (Modify > Resize > Document.) In some very large documents,
xRes may generate an error message when you attempt to type in a
new height, width, or resolution. If this error occurs, change the pop-
up menus in the dialog to pixels before checking this checkbox.

Rotate Commands:
The Modify > Rotate > CW 90 and Modify > Rotate > CCW 90 menu
commands rotate the entire document, not just the active object as
documented. These commands allow a fast and easy way to rotate
multi-object documents. The Modify > Rotate > Arbitrary can be used
to rotate the topmost active object.


WORKING WITH BRUSHES & TEXTURES

Line Tool:
If you are using the Line Tool with multi-tipped brushes, only one of
these tips will follow the line that you have drawn out with the Line
Tool.

New Pressure-Sensitive Preference:
A new preference has been added to the General Preferences for
customers using pressure-sensitive tablets. The preference is called
"Set Tablet Pressure" and refers to the minimum pressure needed for
xRes to register tablet input. Older tablets may require higher values.

Multi-Tipped Brushes:
Some multi-tipped brushes, such as the Hav variant, Glass variant,
and Nature variant located in the Styles brush, may be slow on some
systems due to the randomization of tip spacing, which requires a lot
of number crunching. Allocate more RAM to the program to increase
performance of these brushes, or use one of the many other brushes,
such as Felt Tip, Calligraphy, Chalk, Pencil, Soft, or Hard.

Texture Icons:
The textures that appear in your version of xRes may be slightly
different than the textures that appear on the Quick Reference Card.
And although the icons appearing on your Tools Palette may be
slightly different than the icons appearing on the Tools Palette in the
User Guide, the tools function exactly as they are documented.

Texture Scale Box:
A checkbox in the Textures Palette called Scale is currently
nonfunctional.


WORKING WITH PATHS

Documentation Corrections:
To deselect all paths, click in the white space underneath the listed
paths in the Paths Palette. Clicking on a selected path will not
deselect that path, as documented.

When you create a new path, the User Guide states that xRes
prompts you for the name of the new path. This is incorrect. xRes
automatically names the path; to rename the path, double-click on
the path's name within the Paths Window.


PREVIEWING FILTERS

One way to preview filters is to use the preview box, accessed by
checking Use Preview Box in the General Preferences. The preview
box previews the image as if you were applying the effect at the 1:1
zoom level. If you are working at a zoom level such as 1:4 or 1:8, the
effect appearing in the preview window will not match the effect as
applied to the image at the current zoom level. The preview box does
not work in CMYK Mode with the commands under the Modify > Color
submenu.

The Preview Box will not work if you are previewing Indexed 256
files, or if you are using an 8-bit monitor display.


CROPPING OPTION

A new dialog has been added that appears when you have cropped
an image, applied alpha channels, and saved the file. This dialog only
appears if you are working with a one-object document and saving
the file as a format other than the MMI format. In this instance, a
dialog allows you to either: a) keep the cropped boundaries of the
document but delete any extra channels, or b) return the image to its
uncropped size and keep the alpha channels.

A FINAL WORD
We hope you find xRes of great interest to your work or
entertainment. Let us know if you have any suggestions, praises or
complaints… we’re committed to keeping a firm step ahead, and that
will only happen if you pass along your comments.

PATENT INFO

Macromedia has a license from the Unisys Corp. for the GIF
compression used in xRes. The compression scheme is licensed under
U.S. Patent No. 4,558,302 and foreign counterparts.

© 1996 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved.