OS/2 Shareware BBS: 3 Comm/03-Comm.zip/fax067.zip/faxview.doc

Text File | 1997-01-28 | 12KB | 279 lines

                               FAXVIEW.DOC

                 Short documentation for FAXVIEW.EXE

FAXVIEW is designed to work as:

1) Viewer for images files in TIF or BMP format

2) Printutility for images files in TIF or BMP format

3) Realtime fax viewer for FREC

4) Utility to create fonts for FSEND from OS/2 installed fonts

5) Utility to change color of image and save (as BMP or TIF)


FAXVIEW is a PM application and needs IMGPROC.DLL to work properly.

The HUFFMAN.DLL is not longer supported!

FAXVIEW accepts a few commandline options:

-GPIDRAW
    Formerly, this was named '-FASTDRAW', but has changed in version 0.39a.
    It is possible to influence this by 'Option' in menu.

    Normally, FAXVIEW uses a double buffering image routine to display a
    bitmap on screen. Whole or (visible) parts of image are drawn by
    GpiDrawBits (stretched if scaled) to a memorybitmap. This memorybitmap is
    than 'copied' by WinDrawBitmap (without any streching) to screen. Many
    authors of PM-applications report, that this methode is sure, but slow.
    On modern (accelerated) graphic equipment, this is the fastes methode,
    FAXVIEW can serve.

    As a methode of state of the art, image should be drawn (by GpiDrawBits or
    GpiSetBitmapBits) to a memorybitmap and from there by WinDrawBitmap
    (stretched if scaled) brought to screen. This methode has two huge
    disadvantages:

    1) WinDrawBitmap IGNORES pixels if a compression of image is performed.
    2) IT IS SLOW (in comparison to let GpiDrawBits do scaling).

    FAXVIEW does not use this methode!

    If using '-GPIDRAW' (or selecting it in menu), GpiDrawBits (streched if
    scaled) draws directly to screen. This is reported to be very fast, but it
    seems, that this is not correct. Everybody can see the difference that
    image is build up in visible portions from bottom to top. It is also
    reported, that some (older ?) graphic device driver can not handle this
    function (if drawing directly to screen).

    The advantage of GpiDrawBits, if used to scale an image, is that this
    function accepts a parameter (BBO_OR, BBO_AND and BBO_IGNORE) to handle
    pixels if a compression of image is neccessary! Try it!

-IDLEPRINT
    Printing is quite fast and depends on the printer device driver. Certain
    printer drivers (esp if used in 'printer specific data' mode) are very
    slow and blocks in fact the whole system. With this option, such drivers
    will work in 'idle time', a portion of time, where no other activity
    takes place. this makes the printout more timeconsumeing, but other
    tasks are as fast as usual. Try with care!

-PRINT | -PRINT<QUEUENAME>
    This is a switch to enable batch-print-facility of FAXVIEW. You can print
    one (and ONLY one) file (single or multipage TIF or BMP) to the default
    printer - this is the printer you have enabled by clicking right mouse
    button on the desktops printer icon and selecting 'Set default'
    (in german 'Standard')- or to 'queuename' - use excatly the same name as
    directory in SPOOL is named - . No wildcards ('?' or '*') should be in
    '-b<filename>'. FAXVIEW is started iconized (same as additional -ICON).

    You can use the supplied FQUEUE.CMD by Lutz Buchheister to print
    incoming fax imediatly to your printer.

-FROMPAGE<startpage>
    Submit pagenumber for startpage to print (no space in commandline!).

-TOPAGE<endpage>
    Submit pagenumber for endpage to print (no space in commandline!).

-PAGES<pagecount>
    Submit pagecount for number of pages from startpage (no space in
    commandline!).

    These three keywords are only usefull if '-PRINT' is used.

-QUEUE<QUEUENAME>
    Preselect a printerqueue for further working as default printer (is
    highlighted in 'Printer Setup').

-PAGEDESC
    If TIF-format, entries PageNo, DocumentName, ImageDescription, SoftWare
    and DateTime are printed also (if exist).

-ICON
    FaxView is started 'iconized', useful eg. when used as a pipe-server.


-B <TIF_or_BMP_file> or -B<TIF_or_BMP_file>
-I <TIF_or_BMP_file) or -I<TIF_or_BMP_file>
    FAXVIEW will 'come up' with the file you have chosen. You can use wildcards
    (* or ?). In this case only the filedialog (when selecting OPEN) will
    point to the selected path. The optional blank between the switch
    character and the filename has only historycal reasons.

-P <name_of_a_pipe>
   Alternativ method to use FaxView in conjunction with FREC. FIRST start
   FaxView (eg. FAXVIEW -P\PIPE\VIEW1 [-ICON]). FaxView will wait for FREC, if
   this is called with -v\PIPE\VIEW1 too. If -ICON option is used, each time
   FREC activates FaxView, FaxView is restored to screen. When FREC finishes,
   FaxView will be iconized again.

-D <ID_string>
    DO NOT USE THIS OPTION !!! It's mentioned here only for completeness!
    FREC uses this option to 'transmit' vital values for the 'realtimemode'.
    If used from the commandline, unpredictable results (eg crash of the
    whole WPS) may occure!!!

-E
    Normaly, FAXVIEW tries to 'collect' (partially) numerical named files (eg.
    PAGEnnnn.TIF) to present as multipaged. If using this switch, each file
    is treated as single page. This feature is also per default enabled for
    extention *.FAX!

-ERRORLOG

    Faxview must be called with '2>ERROR.LOG' in commandline to redirect
    stderr to file ERROR.LOG.


ONLY FOR TESTING:

-K<TIFF_Compression_Scheme_for_Rawdata>

    Same as for FREC except '-k4.1' (2-D without EOL) which is not possible
    for RAW-data! Default '-k3' is assumed, see also '-R' below!

-R or -R<TIFF_FillOrder_for_Rawdata>

    Default '-r1' is assumed. FAXVIEW is able to read fax rawdata as yielded
    by some mailers.

    Valid values are only 1 and 2!

-HIGHRES or -LOWRES

    Raw fax data is assumed (if in 'scale-mode') in 204x196dpi (default) or
    204x98dpi, as submitted by command.

-SCALE or -UNSCALE

    Overwrites the (default) setting from INI.

-S<Gamma_or_BlackTrigger>

    Values between 0.01 and 4.99 are treated as gamma values for DIFFUSED
    and DITHERED representation (trigger for black is set to 127 = 50%).
    Values from 5 to 254 (2 - 99%) are treated as trigger for
    BLACK&WHITE (BiLevel) where gamma is set to 1.0.

If '-r' or '-k' is used, a raw fax file MUST by supplied by commandline
('-b' or '-i'). Filedialog-loading does not work properly! The commandline
options described as ONLY FOR TESTING are NOT TESTED in batch printing
will not work as assumed!!!


FAXVIEW stores (if enabled) its system values (Origin, Size, Maximized,
Scaled, FilePath and FileType) in FAXVIEW.INI. This file may either be located
in the same drive and directory where FAXVIEW.EXE is stored or directory
which is declared by SET USER_INI= in CONFIG.SYS. If no such environment is
found, FAXVIEW.INI is created in X:\OS2\ where X is your OS/2 bootdrive.
This may be helpful if FAXVIEW is installed on a network server and each
workstation could have its own settings.

At startup, FAXVIEW searches X:\OS2\ and if there is no FAXVIEW.INI, it assumes
the file is where FAXVIEW.EXE is stored (on first start, the INI file is
therefore placed here). You can copy FAXVIEW.INI to the users bootdrive to fix
the settings.

If printing, only the coursor changes to sign 'print in progress'. No security
is done for the case you finish FAXVIEW irregulary (eg by window list or some
'killers') when printing!!!

Bug reports are wellcomed, but please do not ask for new features. FAXVIEW is
primarly designed as 'realtime viewer' (and it will work perfectly :-).

Viewing TIF and BMP should also work, but printing 'may' only work.

One final word to 'Scaled' and 'Unscaled':

In 'realtime mode' you MUST use 'Unscaled' and size the image with the
commandline option (-STANDARD, -PREVIEW, -LARGE or -BITS) when calling FREC!!!

TIF images (TIF) with X_Resolution NOT EQUAL to Y_Resolution (eg. fax in
'normal' = 204x98 dpi) are shown only in 'scaled' mode in right size! In
'unscaled' mode, FAXVIEW shows a 1:1 image from the source file, which could
result in shrinked or enlarged (unscaled) images! This is NO BUG!

Printouts to paper (eg DIN A4) are adjusted in a way, that either the image
is 'centered' if images size is less then papersize or the image shrinked
to fit in page.

In order to construct faxes from text files, you may need other fonts than
(internally) supplied with FSEND. FAXVIEW gives you the possibility to
'convert' PM fonts (in fact all installed fonts in OS/2) to a fonttype,
FSEND can use to create a faxpage. It is strongly recommanded, to use only
fixed (nonproportional) fonts. Proportional fonts are also accepted, but
with a fixed character width (the maximal width a character can have).

With the supplied application FONTEDIT you can 'proportionalize' fonts and
FSEND may use it. Keep in mind, that fonts may by 'copyrighted'!

One LAST word to fax rawdata files:
USE FREC to convert them to TIF! FAXVIEW MAY display them, but WITHOUT any
mechanism to 'resynchronise' if distorted rawdata is encountered! The
possibility to hang your PM is VERY HIGH, because ABSOLUTLY NO TESTS will be
done on rawdata.

Saving of an image is possible (BMP or TIF), but only the 'shown' image can be
saved. So use 'Reload page' if the original contents should be saved (in cases
the original is changed). When saving to an existing TIF file, the user is
asked for 'Overwrite', 'Cancel' or 'Append'. If choosing 'Append', the image
is appended to existing TIF but PageNumbers of this TIF (if existing) are
not updated.

History
*******
FAXVIEW 0.39i, some minor, cosmetic changes. In 'unscaled' mode, image on
screen is 1:1 as in file. The former try, to fit for unsymetric resolutions
for TIF was canceled because of too much sideeffects! Logic of build up the
name of the INI file was slightly changed. Now FAXVIEW.INI is the fixed name
regardless, how the EXE file is (re)named.

FAXVIEW 0.39b, if printing, a single document for EACH page is generated
(obviously some printer device driver have problems with larger multipaged
documents).

FAXVIEW 0.39 is done, because TIFPROC.DLL has changed its name to IMGPROC.DLL

With WARP 4.0 (Merlin) if installing MultiMedia comes a MMOS2\DLL\TIFPROC.DLL
which in fact is other than needed by FREC, FSEND, T2T and FAXVIEW!

Some (minor ?) bugs have been eliminated and treating of compressed BMP is
done in a (very) much clever way: GpiDrawBits is used to 'decompress' bitmap
ONCE if loaded. This yields in FASTER displaying and the ability, to store
such BMP as TIF too.

FAXVIEW 0.38 is ready. No Lempel Ziv compression is implemented yet! Huffman
(and 2-D Read) decompression is speedup by a LookUpTable algorithm (10 times
faster) in IMGPROC.DLL. Well tested on WARP 4.0 (Merlin US GA).

FAXVIEW 0.37 is now up to date. Some features may go some NOT!

Take in account, that IMGPROC.DLL (the main TIF functions) is NO LONGER able
to handle compression=5 (also known as LZW) because this compression (in its
realisation in IMGPROC) is under patent restriction in some countries.

The author will try (in future) to rewrite whole LZ-coding (similar to CCITT
V.42bis) to NOT fall under patent restrictions!

The LZW-coding (Lempel, Ziv & Welch) is patented by Terry Welch (holder is
UNISYS) by 118 claims!!!

The following countries have the patent under national law:

USA, Canada, Japan, Germany, Italy, France and Great Britan.

So, if you are situated in one of the above countries and have versions of
IMGPROC.DLL younger than 1.02, you MUST delete it from all of your
datacarriers!

Because CCITT V.42bis shows us, that it is realy possible to handle Lempel-Ziv
compression WITHOUT affect the patent of Terry Welch (assuming they use LZB,
were 'B' means 'British telecom') there is hope to recreate IMGPROC to handle
compression=5 in future releases.