PictFader™ is an application/screensaver that displays slideshows of PICT and JPEG ( PICT in JPEG type) files. It has relatively low memory requirements considering the high standard of display that is achieved. It can be customised to fade after a period of inactivity.
Also note that PictFader has many optional features. It is also capable of displaying pictures in 256 colours using the best colour set. See below for infomation on setting these various options.
Requirements
A Macintosh/ Mac-Compatible with atleast the following features:
• 68020 processor
• System 7.1
• Color Quickdraw
• Quicktime 1.5 ( Quicktime 2.0 or greater preferable ) for JPEG pictures.
• 240 to 500 K Ram and 300 K disk space
How does it work?
To install PictFader, put it on your hard drive and put its alias into your Startup Folder. To use PictFader's JPEG capabilites, you must have Quicktime installed in your Extensions folder. You don't even need PictFader running all the time. If you find that you want the memory PictFader is using, just quit it and relaunch it later when required.
NEW FEATURE!!! You can control PictFader using the arrow keys on your keyboard. Pressing the right arrow moves to the next slide, while pressing the left arrow moves to the previous slide. Pressing the up or down key stops PictFader from progressing to the next picture until another key is pressed. For obvious reasons, this option is only useful when the 'display in random order' option is turned off in the preferences. When it is turned on, PictFader just displays a new picture when you press either the left or right arrow key. (WARNING: If you like your minitor, it may not be wise to leave PictFader paused for more than 15 minutes. For some people, this isn't a concern.)
Important note:
You shouldn't have to adjust the amount of memory that PictFader uses. It has be designed to have a relatively small RAM footprint to allow use in many different memory conditions. However, because PictFader uses temporary memory, you may not be able to display a picture if there are too many applications running or you do not have sufficient RAM. PictFader will tell you if this is the case. Simply quit an application or two, or turn on virtual memory. The Power Mac version of Pictfader is very economical on RAM when virtual memory is turned on.
Setting options.
The first time that you use PictFader, you must choose a folder containing the files that you wish to display using the "Choose Slides…" option in the File menu. This folder will now be used every time PictFader starts a slide show or until you select another folder. You may also select files on another volume, such as a CD-ROM, external hard drive, etc. In addition to displaying the files in that folder, PictFader will search all folders contained in the selected folder and display the pictures it might find in them. This means that you can select a whole hard drive to be searched. However, searching a drive may take a few seconds depending on the number of files it contains. Also, PictFader currently displays a maximum of 1024 files. That should be enough files for most people.
You can set other Options by selecting the "Preferences…" item in the PictFader's File menu. You will be presented with a dialog showing various choices:
General Preferences:
Wait ?? seconds between each slide: Enter a time in seconds denoting the amount of time you want each picture to be displayed. Alternatively, use the little arrows to make adjustments.
Repeat indefinitely: Check this item if you want the slide show to repeat over and over. You would usually have this item turned on if you are using the screensaver features of PictFader.
Display in random order: Without this preference set, PictFader will always display pictures in alphabetical order ( Actually, in the order specified by the Macintosh's Hierarchical File System ). To display them in a random order, check this item.
Show names: When you check this item, the name of the file being displayed will be shown below the picture. You must have scale to fit window on also to fully benefit from this choice.
Hide menu bar: This allows you to hide the menu bar so that pictures can use the whole screen.
Ignore mouse movement: Use this option if you want PictFader to stop showing pictures only when the mouse is clicked or a key is pressed. This is useful when you do not hide the menubar: this enables you to choose Stop Slideshow from the File menu or just don't want an accidently bumped mouse to disturb PictFader.
Display Preferences:
Scale to fit window: Some pictures are larger than the actual screen they are being displayed on. To fit all pictures into the available screen space, turn this option on. Leaving it off will simply tell PictFader to clip large pictures to fit them on the screen. Note that, with this option off, the names of pictures will only displayed when the picture is smaller than the screen size.
Fade between each slide: Turning this option on causes PictFader to fade to black at the end of every picture and fade from black into the next picture. This is a nice effect.
Use best colours (256 colours): When displaying pictures containing thousands or millions of colours on 256 colour monitors, turning this option on allows PictFader to match the best set of 256 colours to the thousands or millions of colours in the picture.
Dim all other screens on fade: when checked, all other screens but the main monitor will be faded to black while PictFader is displaying pictures.
Fader Options Preferences:
Wait ?? minutes before fading: Enter a time in minutes denoting the period of time that must expire before FaderAssistant asks PictFader to start displaying slides.
Sleep now corner: Click this control repeatedly to set the corner in which placing your cursor will cause PictFader to immediately start displaying pictures.
Never sleep corner: Click this control repeatedly to set the corner in which placing your cursor will prevent PictFader from displaying pictures automatically.
A Word to the Wise
If you want to display large files, especially large JPEGs, your Mac must have enough RAM and you should not set the display time too low. It takes longer to process large pictures, especially when using memory saving features.
Compatability Notes.
The PictFader Suite only runs on System 7.1 or later. Sorry System 6.0 users, but with Mac OS 8 already here, the overhead involved seemed too great.
It has been tested on System 7.1, 7.5.1, 7.5.3, 7.5.5, 7.6, 7.6.1, 8.0, 8.0.1 and 8.1. It has also been tested on the following machines: LC 575, Performa 5200, Performa 5260, PowerMac 7200/120, PowerMac/Performa 6200, PowerMac 5500, Performa 6116CD, Performa 6400/200.
PictFader requires Color Quickdraw as well as Quicktime for diplaying JPEGs. Color Quickdraw is a System feature found on all machines with System 7 or greater ( or System 6 with extension) and atleast a Motarola 68020 processor. It has been tested using Quicktime versions 1.5 to 3.0.
PictFader is Power Manager and Energy Saver compatible. It will stop fading when your computer goes into sleep mode.
PictFader is shareware.
PictFader is shareware, which means that if you use it for longer than the trail period of 15 days, you must pay the shareware fee to be entitled to use it for longer. See below for details on how to register PictFader.
PictFader is quite functional, so if you need to weigh up whether or not to pay your fee, consider how many pieces of shareware, especially appearence modifiers, require an equal or sometimes larger fee, but provide no functionality at all!
It has many uses - from basic screensaver that you have personalised with you own favourite pictures to a presentation aid for displaying slides to your audience.
So be a good citizen, a responsible member of the Mac community and support shareware. Doing so also makes you feel good, knowing that you have integrity and you are not a common thief.
Registering PictFader.
PictFader has the following licensing schedule:
- Single user licenses, $10 per user
- A Site License costs $100 and covers all locations for your
organization within a 160 kilometre radius of your site (100 miles).
A Site License gives you the advantage of being able to have an unlimited
number of users at your site using the software.
- A World-Wide License costs $1000 and and permits your organization to
use the software anywhere on the planet Earth.
Paying for PictFader is fairly easy. Open the Register program that accompanies PictFader. Enter your name, your email address and/or your postal address, and the number of single user licenses you desire for each program you wish to purchase (or Site or World-Wide licenses). Save or Copy or Print the data from the Register program and send the data and payment to Kagi. More specifics on the Register program to follow. Kagi handles my payment processing.
If paying with Credit Card or First Virtual, you can email or fax the data to Kagi. Their email address is sales@kagi.com and their fax number is +1 510 652-6589. You can either Copy the data from Register and paste into the body of an email message or you can Save the data to a file and you can attach that file to an email message. There is no need to compress the data file, it's already pretty small. If you have a fax modem, just Print the data to the Kagi fax number.
Payments sent via email are processed within 3 to 4 days. You will receive an email acknowledgement when it is processed. Payments sent via fax take up to 10 days and if you provide a correct internet email address you will receive an email acknowledgement.
If you are paying with Cash or USD Cheque you should print the data using the Register application and send it to the address shown on the form, which is:
Kagi
1442-A Walnut Street #392-3X6
Berkeley, California 94709-1405
USA
Remember to make the cheque payable to Kagi.
If you are an Australian resident and paying with Cash or AUD Cheque, you can print the data using the Register application and send it with the Cash or the Cheque, made payable to Jason Stoessel (not to Kagi), to the author at:
Jason Stoessel
20 Niagara Street,
Armidale
N.S.W. 2350
You can pay with a wide variety of currencies from different countries but at present if you pay via cheque using Kagi, it must be a cheque drawn in US Dollars. Kagi cannot accept cheques in other currencies, the conversion rate for non-USD checks is around USD 15 per check and that is just not practical. If you have a purchasing department, you can enter all the data into the Register program and then select Invoice as your payment method. Print three copies of the form and send it to your accounts payable people. You might want to highlight the line that mentions that they must include a copy of the form with their payment.
Kagi cannot invoice your company: you need to act on my behalf and generate the invoice and handle all the paperwork on your end.
Please do not fax or email payment forms that indicate Cash, Cheque or Invoice as the payment method. As far as is known, there is still no technology to transfer physical objects via fax or email and without the payment, the form cannot be processed. Payments send via postal mail take time to reach Kagi and then up to 10 days for processing. Again, if you include a correct email address, you will hear from Kagi when the form is processed.
Protection
PictFader has a protection scheme and when you pay, I will provide you with a registration number that disables the Registration reminder dialog. If you pay via Kagi, I will contact you within seven (7) days if you have email and provide you registration number. It may take longer if you only provide a postal address on your payment details. Don't rely on Kagi for providing registration numbers! If you have email then this is obviously the quickest solution.
If a sufficient amount of time has passed, (7 days for email, longer for the post) contact me with details of your payment to Kagi (i.e. confirmation of payment details.)
Contacting the Author
email: <stossj@mpx.com.au> or <stossj@kagi.com>
Snail Mail:
Jason Stoessel
20 Niagara St,
ARMIDALE
N.S.W. 2350
Australia
Updates and news
The latest updates are often posted to the InfoMac and/or Umich archives. Alternatively, you can visit my web page at http://www.mpx.com.au/~stossj/software.html where you can download the new version and have a look at other software I have written.
Known Bugs, unimplemented features and limitations.
- Future releases may provide support for file formats other than PICT and JPEG , i.e. TIFF, TIFF-in-JPEG, BMP etc.
- Darkside™ of the Mac and PictFader conflict with each other resulting in your gamma table being altered when "Fade between each slide" option is on. Why would you want to run two faders together anyway?
- There may be problems with adding files to a folder after it is selected. You should choose "Start Again" from the file menu to avoid this happening. I am working on a fix.
- PictFader may refuse to display some pictures because of unexpected internal features of the file.
PictFader History:
1.0 - Premier release.
1.0.1 - logic bug fix: slideshows now repeat indefinitely when random order options is chosen.
1.0.2 - Bug fix for Mac II range of computers. A small bug was found where I was comparing a gestalt return to
the wrong constant.
- Fixed problems that occurred using random option when we were overstepping the bounds of a
random list of files.
1.0.3 - unreleased - small code fixes.
1.1 - added ignore mouse movement option
1.1.1 - fixed bug on 68k computers using System 7.5.1 ( and 7.1 ).
- updated text in Rego dialog and credits list.
- fixed bug where PictFader would fail to start up if QuickTime wasn't installed.
- Fixed edit fields in preference dialog so they now update dynamically.
- basic about box now shown when QT not installed.
- error handling tightened.
1.1.2 - lost or removed files removed from PictFader's internal file list to avoid them on next iteration.
- removed one pixel inset.
- PF now ensures it is in in foregound before refreshing the screen
- fixed bug where port wasn't being saved, fixing the crash that sometimes occurred here. It's so easy to
forget the elementary programming methods!
- fixed an error handling, process related bug.
- Energy Saver Extension compatible - stops operating when computer screen is dimmed, allowing your hard
drive to wind down if you have the option set.
- Now using the Quicktime picture spooling call when it is available.
- PictFader now runs with all extensions off.
- More file checking before spooling.
- fixed conflict with Window Monkey (thanks Dan!) - see fixes above.
1.1.3 - Segment Manager bug fix for 68k version.
- Better method for converting large JPEGs implemented.
- more file checking of converted Picts. Preventative approach.
- files that could not be converted due to file anomalies are removed from the file list.
- fixed proplem when if there was one file in a folder that was bad PictFader would loop until interrupted
rather than notifying the user.
1.1.4 - fixed bug in EnergySaver handler when EnergySaver was set to never to fade screen. PictFader would stop
displaying after 61 minutes. Thanks to Ippei Shimura for identifying this problem.
- fixed bug where upon registering the user had to enter something in Organisation field of the Rego dialog.
This is no longer a requirement. Thanks to Dan SanFilippo for bringing this to my attention.
- added support for multiple monitors with the option to fade out all all other screens other than the display
screen.
1.1.5-6 (not released)
- added SysError resume handler.
- Fixed file iterator so that it only locates picts when QT not available.
- general streamlining of code.
1.2 - new emergency exit procedures implemented.
- modifications to graphic classes.
- Tries each depth for GWorld's before emitting cTempMemErr.
- Converts JPEGs using less memory! No more running out of memory.
- ClipRect before creating GWorld - fixes crash we were getting in toolbox.
- Removed dependency on JPEG Utilities.
- 68k RAM requirements down by 20k.
1.2.1 - bug fix - events not being correctly captured which affected sleep handling and waking when mouse
movement was ignored (Thanks to Dan, once again).
1.2.2 - Better screen updating method.
-moving cursor to Never Fade Corner now turns slideshow off if ignore mouse movement
is on.
1.2.3 - Fixed memory problem where free master pointer list was corrupted by an incorrectly managed memory
block. The problem crept in in version 1.2 with the new JPEG conversion routines.
- Added cursor key control.
1.2.4 - Cleaned up icon families.
- PictFader wasn't always returning the application previously in the foreground to the front. It now does.
- Return or enter button now closes the preferences window i.e. activates save button.
- New object management routines.
1.2.5 - Fixed logic bug where PictFader would sometimes refuse to fade upon setting the cursor in the Fade Now
corner when the ignore mouse movement option was on.
- If PictFader was forced to fade by the cursor in the Fade Now corner, and it was stop for any reason other
than moving the mouse, PictFader will now fade agin after the required idle time has passed.
All bug reports and/or suggestions are welcome. Many thanks to those people willing to offer suggestions and report bugs and glitches. Macsbug stdlogs are especially welcome.
PictFader Software License.
PLEASE READ THIS SOFTWARE LICENSE AGREEMENT "LICENSE" CAREFULLY BEFORE RUNNING THE SOFTWARE. BY RUNNING THE SOFTWARE, YOU ARE AGREEING TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF THIS LICENSE. THOSE WISHING TO PLACE THIS PROGRAM ON A WEBSITE OR FTP ARCHIVE, ETC., SHOULD TAKE SPECIAL NOTE OF CLAUSE 2.
1. License. The Software is licensed, not sold, to you by its owner and author Jason J. Stoessel.
2. Permitted Uses and Restrictions. The Single User License allows you to use the Software on a single computer at a time. This License does not allow the Software to run on more than one computer at a time. You are hereby granted permission to use the software for a trail period of fifteen (15) days, after which period of time you a required to rendered in full the shareware fee of US$10.00 to the author of this software if you wish to continue to use this Software. You may make as many unregistered copies of the Software as you wish and you may also give the unregistered copies away to anyone as long as they contain the complete Software and all accompanying documents. A registered copy of the Software denotes a serialised copy. If you need to run more than one copy at a time, you need to obtain a multi-user-license or a site-license. A site license allows all users on your organisation's physical site to use the Software, pending that the area of use is limited to a one-hundred and sixty kilometer radius. A world-wide license permits your organisation to use the Software anywhere on the planet Earth. Special permission and license fees will apply to licenses sought outside these criteria. Except as permitted by applicable law and this License, you may not decompile, reverse engineer, disassemble, modify, rent, lease, loan, distribute, create derivative works from the Software. You may not distribute the unregistered Software on any disk costing more than $5 without my explicit permission. You may not distribute the unregistered Software on any CD without my explicit permission. You are expressly forbidden from distributing a registered version of this Software. Those wishing to have unregistered versions on a download site may not remove, add or alter any files accompanying the Software.
3. Disclaimer of Warranty. You expressly acknowledge and agree that use of the Software is at your sole risk. The Software is provided “AS IS” and without warranty of any kind. THE AUTHOR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND/OR CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES AND/OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY OR SATISFACTORY QUALITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE SOFTWARE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, OR THAT THE OPERATION OF THE SOFTWARE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, OR THAT DEFECTS IN THE SOFTWARE WILL BE CORRECTED. FURTHERMORE, THE AUTHOR DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OR THE RESULTS OF THE USE OF THE SOFTWARE OR RELATED DOCUMENTATION IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE. NO ORAL OR WRITTEN INFORMATION OR ADVICE GIVEN BY THE AUTHOR SHALL CREATE A WARRANTY OR IN ANY WAY INCREASE THE SCOPE OF THIS WARRANTY. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES, SO THE ABOVE EXCLUSION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. THE TERMS OF THIS DISCLAIMER DO NOT AFFECT OR PREJUDICE THE STATUTORY RIGHTS OF A CONSUMER ACQUIRING PRODUCTS OTHERWISE THAN IN THE COURSE OF A BUSINESS.
4. Limitation of Liability. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE, SHALL THE AUTHOR BE LIABLE FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS LICENSE. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE LIMITATION OF INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES SO THIS LIMITATION MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
5. Termination. YOU MAY TERMINATE THIS LICENSE AGREEMENT BY DESTROYING THE SOFTWARE AND DOCUMENTATION AND ANY COPIES. THIS LICENSE MAY ALSO BE TERMINATED IF YOU FAIL TO COMPLY WITH ANY TERM OR CONDITION OF THIS AGREEMENT. UPON TERMINATION, YOU AGREE TO TO DESTROY ALL COPIES OF THE PROGRAM AND DOCUMENTATION. IN THE EVENT OF TERMINATION, THE AUTHOR SHALL NOT INCUR ANY LIABILITY WHATSOEVER.
