C++ Games Programming/CPPGAMES.ISO/neopaint/readme.doc

Text File | 1995-02-21 | 28KB | 802 lines

                     NeoPaint - Version 3.1
                    (C)1992-95 NeoSoft Corp.

                    * IMPORTANT INFORMATION *

--------
CONTENTS
--------

* About NeoPaint
* New Features in Version 3.0/3.1
* What Happened to GIF?
* System Requirements
* Supported Video Cards
* Starting NeoPaint
* Command Line Options
* NeoGrab Screen Capture Utility
* Optimizing NeoPaint
* Acquiring Additional Fonts
* Acquiring Additional Stamps
* Special Effect Considerations
* Mouse Driver Mysteries
* Problem Images
* Customer Services & Technical Support
* Registering NeoPaint
* Other Products from NeoSoft


--------------
ABOUT NEOPAINT
--------------

NeoPaint is the ultimate image editing program for DOS!
Until now sophisticated image editing has required
spending hundreds of dollars on software and hardware. At
$45 (U.S.), NeoPaint sets a new standard in
price/performance. NeoPaint is as simple to use as any
paint program, yet with many powerful features usually
found only in high-end picture publishing systems. Better
still, NeoPaint is NOT a Microsoft Windows program, so
it's easy to install, set up and use. NeoPaint's state of
the art GUI interface allows you to edit and view
multiple images at the same time in resolutions as high
as 1024x768.

When you compare NeoPaint with high end graphics packages
costing hundreds of dollars we think you'll discover that
NeoPaint gives you tremendous power at any price!

NEOPAINT FEATURES:
-----------------

o   File Formats: PCX, TIFF and BMP

o   Video Modes: Hercules (720x348x2), EGA (640x350x16),
    VGA (320x200x256, 640x480x2, 640x480x16), Super VGA*
    (640x480x256, 800x600x16, 800x600x256, 1024x768x256)

o   Multiple Images: View and Edit multiple images in
    adjustable on-screen windows

o   Drawing Tools: Brush, Air Brush, Eraser, Color
    Eraser, Flood Fill, Tile Fill, Gradient Fill, Color
    Convert, Text, Line, Bezier Line, K-Line, Rectangle,
    Rounded Rectangle, Ellipse/Circle, Polygon, Freehand
    Polygon, Editable Polygon, Grid, 3D Cube, 3D Pyramid,
    Gradient Rectangle, Gradient Ellipse/Circle, Magic
    Marker, Smudge Tool, Blend Tool, Charcoal Pencil,
    Crayon, Water Color Brush, Oil Brush, Quill Pen,
    Clone, Color Similarity, Stamp Pad, Solid and
    Transparent Patterns

o   Fonts: Multiple Styles and Sizes with Bold, Italic,
    Underline, Outline and Shadow effects; Additional
    fonts available from NeoSoft and third party vendors

o   Selection Tools: Rectangle, Polygon and Freehand
    Polygon/Lasso, Bezier Ellipse (Transparent and Solid)

o   Effects: Invert, Flip, Rotate, Scale, Stretch, Skew,
    Distort, Acid Wash, Average, Blend, Border, Emboss,
    Equalize, Soften, Screen, Smear, Pixelize, Lattice,
    Blur, Darken, Lighten, Fade, and more.

o   Zoom: Multilevel Zoom allows precise editing;
    Scrolling and most drawing tools also work in Zoom
    Mode.

o   Color Control: Works with 2, 16, 256, 32K, 64K and 16
    Million Color Images; Color Balance, Brightness,
    Contrast and Color Reduction/Conversion are supported

o   Output: Supports over 300 printers! Produce high
    quality halftones on HP DeskJet, HP LaserJet and
    Postscript or compatible printers; Scaling and
    Orientation controls; also supports Epson/IBM
    compatible dot matrix and color printers such as HP
    DeskJet 500/550C.

o   Memory Management: Supports Expanded (EMS), Extended
    (XMS) and Virtual Disk Memory for working with very
    large images


------------
NEW FEATURES
------------

The following features are new to version 3.0:

o   Support for additional video cards and chipsets (see
    System Requirements below for details)
o   24-Bit/True Color (paint with 16 million colors on
    supported video cards)
o   320x200x256 Mode (256 colors on a standard VGA card)
o   Read/Write BMP files (Windows and OS/2 formats)
o   DOS Shell (File menu)
o   1° Image Rotation (Picture menu)
o   Free Form 3D Objects (below 3-D Cube icon)
o   New Gradient Fill Type (Pyramid)
o   NeoGrab Screen Capture utility now works in Text Mode
o   Image Preview added to Palette/Contrast Adjustment
    tools
o   Circular Selection Tool (below Scissors icon)
o   Mount option to change paper size of existing
    images/cutouts (Edit menu)
o   Quill Pen Tool (below Marker icon)
o   Oil Brush Tool (below Marker icon)
o   Improved Water Color Brush Tool (below Marker icon)
o   First and last palette colors are no longer required
    to be black and white
o   Enhanced Palette Editor (File menu)
o   Enhanced Pattern Editor (File menu)
o   Enhanced Special Effect filters (twice as many as
    before and their faster!)
o   Image/File Delete Function (File menu)
o   ASCII Text Import (draw a box with text tool)
o   Moveable Text Entry Field
o   Fly-Out Palettes
o   Window Iconize (new button on window title reduces
    image to a small icon)
o   Faster Printing w/multiple copies
o   Improved/Faster Special Effects
o   Stamp Directory may be changed from within Stamp Pad
    dialog. Removed option from Preferences.
o   Font Directory may be changed from within Font
    dialog. Removed option from Preferences.
o   Use the shift key with the Color Eraser to replace
    target color with the line or fill color instead of
    white.
o   Option added to the Airbrush Setup that allows the
    airbrush to fade from one color to another.
o   We've also added dozens of other small enhancements
    not listed here...

The following features are new to version 3.1:

o   Added support for 32K and 64K High Color video modes.

o   Removed support for GIF image files (see "What
    Happened to GIF?" below)


---------------------
WHAT HAPPENED TO GIF?
---------------------

After many years of allowing free use of the LZW
compression routine used in GIF format images, Unisys
Corp. (which holds a patent on this process) has decided
to begin requiring royalty payments from anyone who
creates and sells new products that display or save GIF
and other LZW compressed images. Royalties will be
required for any new or modified products produced after
January 1, 1995. The royalty does not apply to products
that are not created for sale.

CompuServe, which developed and promoted the GIF format,
has been privately negotiating with Unisys for nearly two
years over this issue. These negotiations were not made
public, nor were developers, including NeoSoft Corp.,
notified by either CompuServe or Unisys that a change of
policy was coming. Unfortunately, CompuServe and Unisys
did not give timely notification of the new policy and
details only became widely known, after the fact, during
the last week of December 1994.

NeoSoft Corp. will join other software publishers in
abandoning the GIF format in this and future versions of
its products.

NeoSoft is also offering a utility which allows existing
GIF images to be converted to PCX format. The PGC.EXE
utility is available from NeoSoft's BBS (503-383-7195)
and on its CompuServe forum (type "GO NEOSOFT" at any !
prompt). There is no charge for using the PGC.EXE
program.


-------------------
SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
-------------------

To use NeoPaint you will need the following:

o   IBM PC, XT, AT, PS/2 or 100% compatible computer. A
    286 or better CPU is recommended.

o   EGA, VGA, Super VGA, Hercules monochrome or
    compatible graphics card and monitor. See Supported
    Video Cards below for information on compatible Super
    VGA cards.

o   640K minimum RAM

o   A hard disk

o   MS-DOS, PC-DOS 3.1 (or higher) or DR-DOS

o   Microsoft, Logitech or compatible pointing device

o   Printer (optional)


---------------------
SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS
---------------------

NeoPaint will run on any computer system equipped with a
100% compatible EGA, VGA, Super VGA or Hercules graphics
card. To operate NeoPaint in 256 or 16 Million color
video modes, you must have a Super VGA video card
equipped with one of the following chipsets (or a close
compatible):

Advance Logic
Ahead Systems
ATI
Cirrus Logic
Compaq QVision
Oak
Paradise/Western Digital
S3*
Trident
Tseng ET3000
Tseng ET4000
Video Seven
Weitek
XGA
or any VESA compatible chipset.

* Some S3 video cards require special command line
options in order to work properly with NeoPaint. If you
have an S3 chipset and you experience problems, contact
NeoSoft Technical support [phone].

NOTE: There may exist either now or in the future, video
cards based on revisions of the above chipsets which may
not be recognized by this version of NeoPaint. If you
experience problems related to your video card, please
contact NeoSoft Technical support [phone].

CGA USERS: Due to severe limitations inherent in their
design, CGA video cards are not supported. This includes
many Tandy 1000 systems which are essentially CGA.


-----------------
STARTING NEOPAINT
-----------------

For the steps below, we assume that you have installed
NeoPaint in the directory C:\NEOPAINT. If you installed
NeoPaint in a different DOS subdirectory, then substitute
that name for C:\NEOPAINT below.

o   Your mouse driver (usually MOUSE.COM) must be loaded
    before running NeoPaint. Please refer to your mouse's
    user manual for more information.

o   To change to the NeoPaint directory, at the DOS
    prompt (C:\), type CD\NEOPAINT and press Enter. This
    places you in the NeoPaint subdirectory.

o   Once you have switched to the proper directory,
    NeoPaint can be started from the DOS command line by
    typing NEOPAINT followed by the Enter key.


--------------------
COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
--------------------

You can specify several command options when starting
NeoPaint. An option consists of a slash (/) followed by
an option letter and information about that option.

LOADING NEOPAINT'S OVERLAY INTO EXPANDED MEMORY
-----------------------------------------------

USAGE:      /E

EXAMPLE:    NEOPAINT /E

PURPOSE:    NeoPaint's overlay file (NEOPAINT.OVR) can be
            loaded into expanded memory, thus speeding up
            execution of some NeoPaint functions. When
            exiting NeoPaint the overlay is removed from
            memory. This option requires approximately
            400K of expanded (EMS) memory.

NETWORK SETUP FILES
-------------------

USAGE:      /S[file]

EXAMPLE:    NEOPAINT /Sf:\users\cindy.set

PURPOSE:    Normally NeoPaint stores its setup information
            in the NEOPAINT.SET file in the NeoPaint
            directory. This file contains information
            about the default settings such as video mode
            and memory usage options. In a multi-user
            environment with PCs of vastly different
            configurations it is necessary to specify
            setup files for different users and/or
            different machine types. The /S option allows
            users to load NeoPaint with their own
            personalized setup file.

            For example: if Cindy keeps her personal files
            in the PAINT directory on her C: drive then
            she might start NeoPaint by typing:

            NEOPAINT /Sc:\paint\cindy.set

DISABLE DOS SHELL
-----------------

USAGE:      /H

EXAMPLE:    NEOPAINT /H

PURPOSE:    This option disables the DOS Shell selection
            from the File Menu.

DISABLE PREFRENCES
------------------

USAGE:      /P

EXAMPLE:    NEOPAINT /P

PURPOSE:    This option disables access to the Set
            Preferences selection in the Options menu,
            thus preventing a user from changing the
            setup.

LOADING IMAGES FROM THE COMMAND LINE
------------------------------------

You can also load images into Neopaint directly from the
DOS command line. Simply run NeoPaint with the names of
the files you wish to load as parameters. For example:

NEOPAINT  C:\PCX\VANGOGH.PCX  C:\BMP\IRISES.BMP

You may load as many files as will fit on the DOS command
line.


------------------------------
NEOGRAB SCREEN CAPTURE UTILITY
------------------------------

Included as part of the NeoPaint Package is an easy-to-
use screen capture utility called NeoGrab. NeoGrab will
capture graphics or text displayed on your monitor and
convert it into PCX format files which may be used in
NeoPaint and other programs.

To load NeoGrab, at the DOS prompt type:

NEOGRAB [Options]

To capture a graphics or text screen, press <Ctrl> <Print
Screen>. A small prompt like the one below will appear in
the center of your screen:
┌───────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Press ENTER to capture entire screen, │
│ F1 to select area or ESC to cancel.   │
└───────────────────────────────────────┘
Press ENTER to capture the entire screen not including
the NeoGrab prompt. F1 will allow you to select a
rectangular portion of the screen using your mouse. Two
short beeps means the screen was captured successfully.
One long beep means an error occurred and the screen
could not be captured. An error will occur if you are in
an unsupported graphics mode or if your disk is full.
NeoGrab supports all standard video modes and most super
VGA modes so you shouldn't have any trouble using it with
popular software. NeoGrab will not, however, work with
Microsoft Windows.

Screen captures are stored as PCX files and placed in the
directory where the NEOGRAB.EXE file is located. Files
are numbered sequentially starting with 00000001. For
example the first captured screen will be named
00000001.PCX the second 00000002.PCX and so on. NeoGrab
will not delete files to make room - it simply selects
the next available file name in the sequence. Deleting
files is up to you.

NEOGRAB COMMAND LINE OPTIONS
----------------------------

You can specify several options when starting NeoGrab. An
option consists of a forward slash (/) followed by an
option letter.

ALTERNATE HOTKEY
----------------

USAGE:      /K

EXAMPLE:    NEOGRAB /K

PURPOSE:    Changes the hotkey from the default <Ctrl>
            <Print Screen> to <Alt> <Scroll Lock>. This is
            useful if another program is already using the
            default hotkey.

SPECIFY CAPTURE PATH
--------------------

USAGE:      /P[path]

EXAMPLE:    NEOGRAB /Pc:\pcx

PURPOSE:    This option allows you to specify a drive and
            directory for captured PCX images. By default
            captured screens are stored in the directory
            that contains the NEOGRAB.EXE file.

UNLOADING NEOGRAB
-----------------

USAGE:      /U

EXAMPLE:    NEOGRAB /U

PURPOSE:    Use this option to unload NeoGrab from memory.
            This will only work if NeoGrab is the last TSR
            loaded in memory.

BYPASSING THE NEOGRAB PROMPT
----------------------------

USAGE:      /B

EXAMPLE:    NEOGRAB /B

PURPOSE:    Causes NeoGrab to automatically capture the
            entire screen and does not display the "Press
            ENTER to capture the entire screen, or F1
            to..." message.


-------------------
OPTIMIZING NEOPAINT
-------------------

NeoPaint has been designed to run acceptably on a wide
range of DOS based systems and will automatically try and
take optimal advantage of all supported hardware
resources available to it. Some machines have processing
speed, disk space, and memory limitations which will
affect how NeoPaint can perform. Graphics programs by
their nature are demanding of system resources. Some
images, particularly 256 and 16 million color pictures in
larger sizes, can easily use more than 1 megabyte of
memory and storage space.

If you have a system with speed and memory limitations,
one or more of the following suggestions may offer
relief:

o   If you have a choice between configuring your
    system's memory as either EMS (expanded memory) and
    XMS (extended memory) on your system, use EMS for
    NeoPaint. Using EMS memory can dramatically speed up
    many NeoPaint functions including rotating, flipping
    and special effects.

o   If you're using a memory manager (such as QEMM,
    386Max or EMM386) that draws EMS and XMS from the
    same pool, turn EMS on and XMS off in NeoPaint.
    Select Options/Preferences/Miscellaneous from the
    main menu to modify NeoPaint's memory management.
    This will free up some valuable conventional memory
    and speed up many of NeoPaint's functions.

o   Turn off the UNDO command under the SET PREFERENCES
    selection in the OPTIONS menu. UNDO keeps a record of
    the image prior to the last change you made. This
    takes up memory. If your system has limited RAM and
    disk memory available, you may want to disable this
    in any case. If your system is limited to 640K of
    RAM, then UNDO may use your hard disk to store
    changed items. Using hard disk storage is slower than
    using RAM, and turning off UNDO will increase
    NeoPaint's performance.

o   Do not run NeoPaint as a DOS application under
    Windows. Windows will slow NeoPaint's execution, as
    Windows will still be using up your system's
    resources while NeoPaint is running. If you do need
    to run NeoPaint from Windows, use the included
    NEOPAINT.PIF file located in your NeoPaint directory.
    Refer to your Microsoft Windows documentation for
    more information about PIF files.

o   If disk storage space is a problem (and in many cases
    even if you have plenty of disk space) turn off the
    CREATE BACKUP FILES function in the PREFERENCES
    selection of the OPTIONS menu. Graphic files tend to
    take up a large amount of disk space, and creating a
    backup file (.BAK) each time you SAVE a picture can
    rapidly deplete the free space available on your
    drive. You might want to turn this feature back on,
    however, when working with particularly important
    images.

o   Try using the 640x480 VGA resolution in 16 colors as
    your default. Some video cards use a TSR program to
    display VESA compatible higher resolutions. Using a
    TSR program is a much slower method of interacting
    with your hardware.

o   When using the 3-D OBJECT icon, use the Wire Frame
    mode.

o   Turn the PREVIEW option off for STAMP PAD images.

If none of the above seem to help, you may wish to
consider upgrading your system's hardware. Four hardware
options are listed below, in ascending order of cost:

o   Add 2 or more megabytes of (RAM) memory to your
    system. NeoPaint supports both the XMS and EMS
    specifications.

o   Add a larger, faster hard drive.

o   Upgrade your CPU.


--------------------------
ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL FONTS
--------------------------

NeoPaint comes with a variety of fonts. Additional fonts
are available from NeoSoft. Our Font Pack contains three
720K diskettes full of typefaces. The ORDRFORM.TXT file
located in your NeoPaint directory contains pricing and
ordering information for the Font Pack.

Third party software that can generate GEM screen fonts
(used by the DOS version of Ventura Publisher) may also
be used to create fonts for NeoPaint. Simply follow the
program's instructions for generating screen fonts. Copy
the fonts to your NeoPaint directory and rename them so
that they use the .GFT extension.

The NeoSoft Bulletin Board also contains a utility
program that converts Microsoft Windows True Type fonts
into NeoPaint compatible fonts. Our BBS is open 24 hours
at [phone] (N81,300-14.4)


---------------------------
ACQUIRING ADDITIONAL STAMPS
---------------------------

If you're interested in acquiring additional stamps for
NeoPaint's Stamp Pad tool - you're in luck! NeoSoft has
created a NeoPaint Stamp Collection with tons of high
quality professional stamps. The ORDRFORM.TXT file
located in your NeoPaint directory contains pricing and
ordering information for the Stamp Collection.


-----------------------------
SPECIAL EFFECT CONSIDERATIONS
-----------------------------

With the advent of 15, 16 and 24 bit color, NeoPaint now
includes a number a new special effects. Without the
restrictions of 16 and 256 color fixed palettes these
effects can produce spectacular results. However, if you
are working with 16 or 256 color images, the palettes
used by these images will greatly influence the effect
and in some cases produce totally unexpected results.


----------------------
MOUSE DRIVER MYSTERIES
----------------------

If your mouse behaves strangely when using NeoPaint, you
may need to update your mouse driver software. Problems
such as an invisible cursor or a pointer that leaves a
trail of pigment on the screen are typical of certain
older mouse drivers. Contact the computer store where you
purchased your mouse or the manufacturer for information
about updating your mouse driver.


--------------
PROBLEM IMAGES
--------------

NeoPaint is designed to read and write the popular PCX,
TIFF and BMP file formats. We tested literally hundreds
of images during the design phase of NeoPaint. However,
even with the best testing, it's entirely possible that
there are some images that either don't follow the rules
or employ a compression algorithm that is not supported
by NeoPaint.

During our research we discovered, much to our surprise,
that there is no real consensus or standard among
programs that use 16 Color TIFF images. Images created by
one program frequently cannot be loaded by another
program. With NeoPaint we employed what we believed to be
the most popular format for 16 color TIFF images. If you
have problems using 16 color TIFF images with other
programs, try saving them as PCX or BMP files instead. 2
color and 256 color TIFF images are not effected by this
problem.

Another dilemma facing connoisseurs of TIFF images is the
fact that there are so many different types. At last
count there were over 30 distinct dialects of TIFF. It
would be a tremendous task for NeoPaint to support all
those varieties. Even the most expensive image processing
software only support a few TIFF formats. So if you run
across a TIFF image that is unreadable then you may need
to translate it into a more basic format first. Better
yet use PCX or BMP files! All formats, PCX, BMP and TIFF,
are exactly the same when it comes to image quality, but
vastly different when if comes to compatibility.

If you happen to run across an image file in either PCX,
TIFF and BMP format that you are unable to load with
NeoPaint, upload the file to our BBS [phone]
(N/8/1/300-14.4) or place the image on a diskette and
mail it to:

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631

Include a brief note describing the image, where it came
from and if possible what program was used to create it.


-------------------------------------
CUSTOMER SERVICES & TECHNICAL SUPPORT
-------------------------------------

NeoSoft provides its registered software customers with
free technical support. We also provide limited technical
support to persons evaluating our products during the 30
day evaluation period.

We do, however, strongly encourage people to register.
Software development and support is very expensive and we
need your help if we are to continue to provide quality
programs at affordable prices. If you haven't already,
please take a few moments to register. This will assure
you of eligibility for technical support, product update
notification, special discounts, announcements, etc.

If you should encounter a technical problem or question
not covered in the manual, you may use one of the
following avenues to obtain technical assistance:

MAIL POSTAL CORRESPONDENCE TO:
------------------------------

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Support
354 NE Greenwood Avenue, Suite 108
Bend, OR 97701-4631
U.S.A.

TELEPHONE SUPPORT:
------------------

Technical support and product update information are
available between the hours of 9:00 AM and 5:00 PM
(Pacific Standard Time), Monday through Friday.

Please have the following information available for the
support staff when you call:

o   Brand name and model of your computer system, mouse,
    video adapter and monitor.

o   Operating system (DOS) version number.

o   A listing of the contents of your AUTOEXEC.BAT and
    CONFIG.SYS files.

o   A description of the problem, how it occurred, and
    how to reproduce it.

Telephone support may be obtained by calling (503)
389-5489. You may also FAX your questions to (503)
388-8221.

ELECTRONIC BULLETIN BOARD SERVICE:
----------------------------------

Up to date product information, evaluation programs and
supplements may be obtained via modem from our BBS. The
telephone number is [phone]. The bulletin board
operates using N/8/1/300-9600 Baud.

COMPUSERVE SERVICE:
-------------------
You may also receive technical support, updates
information and evaluation copies of all our products
from our forum on CompuServe. Simply type GO NEOSOFT at
any ! prompt.


--------------------
REGISTERING NEOPAINT
--------------------

If you purchased NeoPaint in a shrink wrapped package
with a NeoSoft logo on the back, a registration card was
included in the package. Please take a moment to fill out
the lower portion of the card and mail it to:

NeoSoft Corp.
Customer Registration
354 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631.

This will enter you as a registered user in our records
and insure that you receive technical support, upgrade
notices and information about future products.

If you received NeoPaint from a friend, BBS, catalog or
anywhere other than from NeoSoft or an authorized
commercial software dealer or distributor, you may try
the program for a trial period of up to 30 days before
registering. To obtain a complete commercial package
including registration number and typeset manual call
NeoSoft at [phone]. We can process your order with
VISA or MasterCard over the phone. The purchase price of
NeoPaint is $45 + $5 ($10 outside United States) shipping
and handling. If you prefer, FAX your order to us at
[phone]. If you would like to mail a check or
money order, make sure it's drawn against a U.S. bank in
U.S. funds. Our address is:

NeoSoft Corp.
354 NE Greenwood Ave. Suite 108
Bend, Oregon 97701-4631.

You may also purchase NeoPaint from any one of our many
dealers world wide. For a list of dealers see the
DEALER.DOC file accompanying this program.

If you would like to give a copy of this program to a
friend or associate please do so, but you may NOT give
anyone your registration/serial number. We hope you enjoy
the program and share it with your friends.


---------------------------------
OTHER GREAT PRODUCTS FROM NEOSOFT
---------------------------------

For information on the many exciting products available
from NeoSoft please refer to the CATALOG.TXT file in your
NeoPaint directory.

Evaluation copies of most NeoSoft products be obtained
from better shareware disk vendors or downloaded from
most major on-line services such as CompuServe (GO
NEOSOFT) or from the NeoSoft BBS service at (503)
383-7195. For additional information, pricing or dealer
information contact the NeoSoft Sales Department at (503)
389-5489.