Control Help provides descriptions of each of the SymmeToy controls and menu options. To use Control Help, click OK below, and then click on the control, menu item or the part of the screen for which you want help. Click Cancel in any help box to exit from Control Help.
Help 6601
Art Type Select
These four buttons allow you to select which of the four categories of symmetric art is to be displayed on the Main Menu. From left to right these categories are:
Pattern Paintings
Symmetry Roses
Escher-like Drawings
3D Polyhedron Models
Help 6602
Standard Art Show
Clicking on this option starts a continuous display of the standard art supplied with SymmeToy.
Help 6603
Your Art Show
As you create and save your own art in SymmeToy, the program keeps track of what you have done. You can display all of your art, or just your masterpieces, as a continuously running art show by using this option. The pictures for which you supply titles are considered your masterpieces. Set the title of a picture by displaying it in Show mode and then clicking on the Show mode Edit command.
Help 6604
Edit
Click on this option to jump directly to the Picture Editor without preloading any art. Generally your next step will then be to click File and then load a picture which you have previously saved for further editing.
Help 6605
Order
Click on this option to display an form which allows you to order the registered version of SymmeToy.
Help 6606
Quit
Click on this option to stop the SymmeToy program and return to Windows.
Help 30000
Note for Hank: Save this as Text in a file called E:\SYMTOY\SYMTOY.HLL
Help 803
Zoom Symmetry
This item is used to zoom in on the base shape associated with the symmetry grid of the current picture. See pages 13 and 16 of the SymmeToy manual for more information on the symmetric Zoom command.
Help 804
Zoom Full Picture
Click on this item to return to a full view of your picture.
Help 2000
Setup Symmetry
This item allows you to modify the "b"s of the symmetry diagram associated with a picture. Click on the Help which appears under this item for information on how to do this. See page 19 in the SymmeToy manual for a detailed explanation of symmetry diagrams.
Help 6090
Symmetry Buttons
These buttons control symmetric drawing and painting in SymmeToy. Click on the white button to turn symmetric drawing/painting off. Click on the yellow button to turn symmetric drawing/painting on.
If you click on the yellow button and hold the left mouse button down, you will see all of the places on the drawing where symmetric operations will take place. Notice that one of these places has a thick red border around it. For best results you should stay within this "base shape" as you draw and paint symmetrically. See Chapters 2 and 3 in the SymmeToy manual and the General On-line Help for more information on drawing and painting symmetrically.
Help 2002
Grid Color
Underlying every SymmeToy symmetric painting is a grid of triangles and/or squares. This grid is used by SymmeToy in performing symmetric operations. The grid is initially displayed in black when you "ReDraw" standard SymmeToy paintings - this is done to help keep you from getting confused. Once your drawing is under way you may want to change the color of the grid for artistic reasons. Choosing a grid color of Hide makes the grid invisible, and choosing Red make it less noticeable. Changing the color of the grid has no effect on how SymmeToy creates symmetric drawings and paintings, but may have an effect on already painted areas.
Help 2003
Working Symmetry
This option is used to limit symmetry operations temporarily. The purpose of this option is to improve the performance of SymmeToy on slow machines. Usually a working symmetry value of 2 or 3 is the most useful.
Help 6070
Switch to Show Mode
Select this option to display the current painting in Show mode - with a colored background and a title. See pages 3 and 11 of the SymmeToy manual for more information on Show mode.
Help 6080
Show Mode
Show mode is used to display paintings as if they were pictures in an art gallery. When in Show mode you can click on the displayed picture or on the Exit in the menu bar to return to the Main Menu.
You can also click on the Edit to edit the currently displayed picture. See the Help on Edit item under Edit or page 3 of the SymmeToy manual for details on how to do this.
Click File to load, save or print pictures. To get help on the File choices get to the Picture Editor as described on page 3 of the SymmeToy manual, and then use the on-line Command Help as described on page 4 of the book.
Help 6050
Edit Menu Help
You can edit the picture which is currently displayed in any of three ways. Choose from:
Edit this Picture - to edit the picture with the Picture Editor.
RePaint this Picture - to remove the coloring from the picture and then edit it with the Picture Editor. Use this to strip the colors from a standard Pattern Painting and paint your own patterns, or if you want to recolor any other picture.
ReDraw this Picture - to remove both the color and the drawn lines from a picture, and then edit it with the Picture Editor. This operation does not change the underlying symmetry structure of the painting. Use this option to create your own symmetric drawings. Read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the SymmeToy manual and refer to the on-line General Help to learn more about how to do this.
You can also change the Show Mode background color and title of a picture by making appropriate selections from this menu. These options are used to get your pictures ready to be displayed in the art show of your titled art which can be started from SymmeToy's Main Menu (See page 2 of the SymmeToy manual).
Help 6004
SymmeToy Modes
Pictures which you select can be displayed in four different ways by SymmeToy. You can choose from:
Show mode - to display the pictures you click on with a solid colored background and a title. This is called Show Mode.
RePaint mode - to load selected pictures, with colors removed, into the Picture Editor. Use this mode to strip the colors from the standard pictures prior to repainting them. See Chapter 2 in the SymmeToy manual, and on-line General Help.
ReDraw mode - to load selected pictures into the Picture Editor with colors and drawn lines removed. Doing this removes everything except the underlying symmetric structure of a picture. Use this mode to create your own symmetric drawings. Read Chapters 1, 2 and 3 of the SymmeToy manual of refer to on-line General Help to learn how.
Edit mode - to load selected pictures into the Picture Editor for editing.
Help 6008
Pattern Painting
Pattern paintings are the simplest form of symmetric art that you can produce with SymmeToy. With pattern paintings a symmetric pattern of lines is colored to produce the desired picture.
To select a pattern just click on one of the six provided patterns. Take a look at the Daisy and Quarter patterns. These are colored to show some of the possibilities. Pattern painting is similar to laying on your back in springtime and finding pictures in the clouds. Even children as young as 5 years old will be able to have a lot of fun making pattern paintings.
To clear the color from a pattern painting so that you can begin your own version, select RePaint mode. This causes the patterns that you select to be loaded into the Picture Editor without any coloring. Now you can paint what you see in the patterns and save your results.
Help 6010
Symmetric Roses
Symmetric Roses are similar to the symmetric patterns which you see in a kaleidoscope. You can either recolor the supplied pictures or create your own pictures that have the same symmetry as the supplied pictures.
To select a standard picture just click on one of the six provided roses. Take a look at Snowflake. This is a good choice for making your first symmetric drawings with SymmeToy.
To clear the drawing from a rose picture so that you can begin your own version, select the ReDraw mode. This causes the paintings that you select to be loaded into the Picture Editor without any colors or lines added. Now you can draw and paint your own version. See Chapters 2 and 3 of the SymmeToy manual and the on-line General Help for information on creating symmetric art with SymmeToy.
Help 6020
Escher-like Pictures
Escher-like Pictures are similar to the symmetric art of the well known Dutch graphic artist M. C. Escher. You can either recolor the supplied pictures or create your own pictures that have the same symmetry as the supplied standard art.
To select a painting, just click on one of the six provided pictures. Take a look at Snail or Peacock. These have translational symmetry and are good choices for making your first Escher-like drawings.
To clear the drawing from a Escher-like picture so that you can begin your own version, select ReDraw mode. This causes the pictures that you select to be loaded into the Picture Editor without colors or added drawn lines. Now you can draw and paint your own picture. See Chapters 2 and 3 of the SymmeToy manual and the on-line General Help for information on creating symmetric art with SymmeToy.
Help 6030
Decorated 3D Models
Decorated 3D Models are polyhedra which you can decorate, print, color and assemble. This is a lot of fun but you should refer to the SymmeToy manual for instructions on how to do this. Read pages 31 and 32 to get started. You can print over a dozen existing models with SymmeToy, or decorate your own. Refer to on-line General Help for the basics of model creation.
To select a model just click on one of the seven provided pictures, or click on More and select one of the other models by name. Page 39 of the SymmeToy manual shows pictures of the "More" models. Take a look at the Air model that is displayed on the screen. This is a good choice for your first efforts.
To clear the drawing from a Decorated 3D Model so that you can draw your own decorations, select ReDraw mode. This causes the model you select to be loaded into the Picture Editor without any coloring or added drawn lines. Now you can draw and paint your own decorations.
Help 7755
Set Spline On/Off
When you first click this selection the Spline Button appears with the other drawing buttons.
When you draw a polyline (page 16 in the SymmeToy manual), straight lines are used to connect the points you set. Spline lines are the same as polylines except that the points you set are connected not with straight lines, but rather with a single smoothly curved line. Because of the calculations involved, spline lines are awkward to use on machines slower than 50 Mhz.
Help 2224
Set Snap Menu
Often when you are drawing you may want to place a new point ("handle") exactly on an old one. Snap helps you to do this by causing old handles to attract new ones. The snap value determines how close a new handle must be to an old one for a snap to take place.
Click on the option button for the snap value you want to set. A "dot & circle" figure shows the area of influence of this value. When you are satisfied click on OK to put the snap value into effect. Setting the snap value to 0 turns off snap.
If you set the snap value too low it will be hard to place new handles exactly on old ones. If you make the snap value too big then snapping may take place when you do not wish it to, and it may be hard to draw fine "polylines" (see page 16 in the SymmeToy manual.) A snap value of 3 is just about right for most purposes.
Help 100
Drawing Area
This is the drawing area. It is here that your picture is drawn and colored.
You can change the size of the drawing area by clicking the Windows Maximize/Restore Button at the top left of the screen and then dragging the edges of the Picture Editor window to adjust its size.
Clicking the left mouse button in the drawing area typically sets a point or paints a color. Clicking the right mouse button typically erases the last thing you drew or painted.
Help 101
Redraw Button
The Redraw Button redraws the current picture and recolors it. Redraw is often used to clean up drawing and painting clutter that is sometimes left on the screen during editing. Redraw is also called automatically when you Zoom and on certain other occasions.
When a red STOP sign replaces the Redraw Button you can click on this to stop a redraw that is in progress. Doing this will not harm your picture. Just click the Redraw Button again when you are ready to see your whole picture.
Help 7776
Drawing Mousepointer
Most people will want to use a cross as the drawing cursor, however on some systems the cross may be too fat and another kind of cursor may work better. In such cases select the up arrow as your drawing mousepointer instead of the cross.
Help 10
Repaint Button
The Repaint Button repaints the drawing area of the screen without redrawing it first. Often clicking the Redraw button will give better results than clicking the Repaint button.
Help 102
Standard Palette
The Standard Palette makes it easy to select common colors for use in painting your drawings. The scroll bar at the right of the Standard Palette allows you to scroll through the Wheel Colors, Base Colors, and Shades of Gray and Brown (see page 5 of the SymmeToy manual). To select a color, click on that color with the left mouse button. A small dot marks the currently selected color within the Standard Palette, and the Current Paint Color box at the upper left of the screen (see page 4) is changed to match this color.
Help 103
Custom Colors Palette
The Custom Colors Palette shows colors which you placed there either from the Standard Palette or by designing your own colors. To design a custom color click on the Color Menu button (#) at the right of the Custom Colors Palette. See pages 7 and 8 in the SymmeToy manual for more information.
Help 104
Current Paint Color
This box shows the color with which you are currently painting. You can select colors into this box by clicking on the Standard Colors Palette, the Custom Colors Palette, or the Colors In Use column.
You click on the Current Paint Color box as part of color replacement, substitution and swapping operations. See pages 6 and 7 in the SymmeToy manual and on-line General Help to learn more about these Color Operations.
Help 105
Colors In Use
This column shows all of the colors currently in use in your painting. You can click on any of these to quickly set the Current Paint Color back to a color you have used previously.
Help 0
Spline Line Button
The Spline Line Button allows you to draw smooth lines in the drawing area. With this button active, click on points in the drawing area. A smooth line will be constructed through the points you click.
The small box at the upper left of the Spline Line Button can be used to simplify spline line creation. Click on this box and it turns red. While in this "Polyline Mode" you can draw a polyline instead of a spline and when you click on the small box again the polyline will be converted into a spline.
Help 1
Polyline Button
When this button is active you can draw polylines in the drawing area. A polyline is just a series of straight lines connected end to end. You can also draw smoothly curved polylines by first positioning the cursor to where you want to begin, then clicking and holding the Left Mouse button and moving the mouse to draw you line. This method generates a large number of very short line segments. If you want these segments to be longer, click a first point and release the mouse button, move the desired distance away and then click and hold, and drag the mouse. The line segments generated by the program will then be set to the length of the first segment you drew. Confusing to explain but simple enough in practice - try it and see!
Polylines are a very powerful drawing tool and were used extensively in creating the standard SymmeToy art.
To erase part of a polyline which you are drawing, click on the right mouse button. If hold down the right mouse button multiple segments of the line will be erased until you release the button. You can the Line Edit button to erase all or part of a polyline.
Help 5
Arc Line Button
The Arc Line Button allows you draw arcs in the picture area. Click on the two end points of the arc and then click a third point to indicate the curvature of the arc.
Help 2
Line Button
The Line Button allows you to draw simple lines in the picture area. First click on the starting point of a line and then on the ending point. Do as many lines as you like in this fashion, and then click on another control when you are done drawing simple lines.
Help 4
Three Point Circle Button
This button allows you to draw three point circles in the picture area. Click on three points and a circle will be drawn which goes through all three points.
If you click on the second point two times a diameter circle will be drawn. This is just a circle with the two points clicked on opposite sides of the center of the circle.
Help 3
Standard Circle Button
This button allows you draw circles in the picture area. The first point you mark is the center of the circle and the second point indicates the radius of the circle. If you click the same point twice, a "fat dot" circle will be drawn at that location. This may be helpful in plugging paint leaks. See page 15 of the SymmeToy manual and "Fixing Leaks" in the on-line General Help.
Help 76
Kill Line Button
When you click on this button red dots ("handles") are added in the drawing area to indicate the "control points" of all the lines which you have drawn. If you click on any of these red "handles" the lines associated with that handle will be drawn in red on the screen. If you click on the same handle a second time, but with the right mouse button, the line will be removed from the drawing.
With polylines you can click on two handles with the left mouse to indicate that a piece of the line is to be removed. The part of the line which lies between these two handles will then be colored red and if you click the right mouse button on the second handle the red part of the line will be removed.
Help 75
Adjust Line Button
Clicking on this button causes dots ("handles") to appear in the drawing area which indicate each "control point" you clicked in making the drawing. By clicking down with the left mouse button on any of these handles and dragging your mouse, you can adjust the position of lines in the drawing area.
If clicking on a handle does not select the correct line, click again and a different line will be selected if one of its handles lies close to or underneath the handle already selected.
Help 80
Conversion Button
When you click on this button red dots ("handles") appear on the screen indicating the "control points" of all the lines in the picture area. Click on any of these handles which are part of either a spline line or a polyline and that line will be drawn in red and either the Spline or Polyline Button will be shaded brown to indicate the type of line which you have selected. Click on the same point again to change the type of the line. Spline lines become polylines and polylines become spline lines.
Help 78
Kill Color Button
When you click on this button blue dots ("paint handles") appear on the screen which indicate all the places you have clicked to color areas of the picture. Click on any of these handles with the left mouse button to select it, and then click again, but with the right mouse button, to remove the related color from the picture. Usually you will want to use the Repaint Button after you have eliminated colors with the Kill Paint Button.
Help 77
Adjust Color Button
Click on this button and blue dots ("paint handles") appear on the screen indicating all of the places where you have placed paint in the picture. Any of these handles can be moved by positioning the mouse pointer over the desired handle, holding down the left mouse button and then dragging the handle to a new location. This is usually only necessary when the handle has been set too close to a line and this is causing mispainting when the picture area is reduced or expanded in size as in the Zoom command.
Help 701
New Picture
This selection clears the lines and colors which you have added to a SymmeToy picture. This is the easiest way to throw away all of your work on a picture, and begin again from scratch with a standard SymmeToy picture.
Help 702
Load Picture
This selection allows you to load a previously saved SymmeToy painting file.
Help 707
Load R3 View
This selection allows you to load a previously saved three-dimensional view created with the Roomer3 View program.
Help 708
Set Background Color to
Normally the background color of the picture area is white. Occasionally it may be useful to change this to some darker color to hide the tiny white areas that appear when some complex drawings are painted. The "Set Background Color to" option allows you to do this by changing the background to the color in the Current Paint Color box.
Help 703
Save Picture
This selection saves the currently loaded picture into a SymmeToy painting file under the same name it was saved under previously. If your painting has never been saved then you are asked to enter a name.
Help 4703
Save Picture As
This selection allows you to save a picture into a SymmeToy painting file and specify the name of that file.
Help 4704
Save As Bitmap
This selection saves your painting as a bitmap file which can be loaded by other Windows programs, or to the Windows Clipboard for importation into another Windows program. Such versions of SymmeToy art cannot reloaded by SymmeToy, so always use Save or Save As to save your art into a file that can be reloaded later by SymmeToy.
Help 4709
Save As Wallpaper
This option saves your painting as a special bitmap file in the C:\WINDOWS directory. Such files are added to your list of Windows Wallpaper. Refer to pages 17 and 41 of the SymmeToy manual for more information on saving Windows Wallpaper. SymmeToy cannot reload wallpaper bitmaps for further editing. Always use Save or Save As to save your art into a file that can be reloaded later by SymmeToy.
Help 4710
Yellow Base Shape
This option is automatically turned on whenever you select ReDraw mode and display a standard SymmeToy picture. The yellow shape that then appears on the screen will help you draw and paint at or near the best place on the screen. You can click on this option at any time to turn the yellow base shape on/off as needed. See page 13 of the SymmeToy manual
Help 4711
High Speed Repaint
This option causes your pictures to repaint more rapidly on the screen. The method used is described on page 17 of the SymmeToy manual. If the high speed option makes mistakes while repainting a particular picture, turn it off by clicking on it a second time.
Help 704
Print Picture
This selection causes a Print Menu to be displayed on the screen from which you can print your painting in color or in black and white. Press the Help Button in the Print Menu for some tips on using this menu.
Help 705
Quick Load List
This is a list of the most recently loaded paintings. Click on any of these names to reload a painting you have worked on recently.
Help 706
Exit
Click on this selection to exit from the Picture Editor back to the Main Menu.
Help 801
Zoom Full Picture
Click on this selection to redraw your entire picture. Usually you will use this to undo a zoom. See page 16 and 17 in the SymmeToy manual for more information on zooming.
Help 802
Set Zoom / Back
The Set Zoom selection allows you to zoom in or zoom out on part of your picture. Instructions appear when you click on this option. Use Zoom Full Picture to get back to a full view of your picture.
Zoom Back restores the most recent zoom before the current one. Usually this gives the same result at a Zoom Full Picture.
Help 901
Snap
You can set the Snap Value using this selection. If a point ("handle") which you click in the picture area is close to an existing handle in the drawing then your new point will be "snapped" onto the existing point. The value of Snap determines how close the two points must be for a "snap" to occur. Click on the Snap option to change the value. See page 17 in the SymmeToy manual for a little more information on Snap.
Help 902
Line Width
This option allows you to set the width of the lines in your drawing. The width applies to all lines drawn in the drawing area. There is no way to set some lines to one width and other lines to another width in this version of SymmeToy. Sometimes the easiest way to get rid of paint leaks is to simply set the line width to 2 if it is currently set to 1. The lines become thicker and automatically plug the gaps that cause paint leaks.
Help 1100
Sound On
The Sound On option indicates by a check mark whether or not sound is currently turned on. You can turn sound off by clicking on this option and the little beeps that indicate important events within SymmeToy will no longer be heard.
Help 903
Mark and Undo To Mark
By selecting Mark you place a sort of a bookmark in the picture that you are working on. You can then continue to add lines and paint. If later on you click on Undo To Mark, all the work you have done back to the last mark will be erased. Undo to Mark will not reverse some line edits you do and for this reason it is usually better to Save before launching into an experiment. With Load you can then get back exactly to where you were prior to the experiment.
Help 1010
Display Color Wheel
The Color Wheel allows you to rotate the colors in the picture area in accordance with a color wheel which is displayed on the screen. Only colors which you selected from the Wheel and Base Colors in the Standard Colors Palette will be rotated. All other colors will remain unchanged.
See page 9 in the SymmeToy manual for further details. This is one of the most fun aspects of SymmeToy so make sure to give it a try.
Help 1000
Hide Colors Temporarily
At times it may be convenient to temporarily turn off the coloring of your picture while you add or edit lines. Click on this option to do this. To reinstate coloring click on this option again.
Help 1001
Paint Picture Gray
By clicking on the Show as Gray option all of the colors in your painting will be converted to shades of gray. This simulates to some degree what your painting will look like when printed out on a black and white printer. Printing a picture which has already been converted to shades of gray will give a different printed result than printing the color picture to a black and white printer. Try both to see which gives the best result on your printer.
Help 1002
Palette Harmony
Selecting Palette Harmony causes a list of possible harmonies to be displayed on the screen. These affect how the Standard Color Palette will display its colors. Palette Harmony does not have any effect on the number of colors which you can display or select. See page 9 in the SymmeToy manual for more information.
Help 1003
Set Custom to Base Colors
This selection causes the Custom Colors Palette to be colored with the Base Colors from the Standard Palette (see page 5 of the SymmeToy manual.) This is a seldom used command, since it destroys all of your custom colors.
Help 1005
Erase All Colors
Choosing this option causes all of the coloring of your picture to be erased permanently. You might want to Save your picture before doing an Erase All Colors since, once erased, the colors are then gone for good and you will have to paint your entire picture again.
Help 3000
Picture Shape
When you select Picture Shape a menu of possible picture shapes is displayed on the screen, select from among these to set the shape of the drawing area. It is wise to save your picture before using Picture Shape.
Help 3003
Set Picture
Clicking this selection allows you to indicate that the current drawing area, regardless of its shape or amount zoomed in, is to be treated as the entire picture from now on. It is wise to save your picture before using Set Picture to change the picture contents.
Help 6000
ArtShow
If you click the OK button below, the SymmeToy Art Show will begin and all of the standard SymmeToy pictures supplied with the software will be displayed one after another.
The Art Show will repeat until you click on eXit. You can also click on the Stop sign to interrupt the drawing of a particular picture.
