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GR2PCX (tm) GR2GIF (tm) ********* Graphics Conversion Utilities for use with the GRABBER (tm) Screen Capture Program DOCUMENTATION October 13, 1991 Copyright 1991 by Gerald A. Monroe 1241 Bunts Road Lakewood, Ohio 44107 U.S.A. CompuServe Mail ID # 72321,1257 YOUR LICENSE TO USE THIS SOFTWARE ---------------------------------- GR2PCX.EXE, GR2GIF.EXE, and this documentation are Copyright 1991 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are reserved except those expressly granted here. The programs GR2PCX and GR2GIF, and this documentation file, are distributed as an integral part of the GRABBER (tm) screen capture package under the terms of a shareware license that is fully set forth in the file GRABBER.DOC, which is the instruction manual for GRABBER .EXE, the main program module in the package. The shareware license terms in the GRABBER.DOC file are incorporated here by reference. This license permits you to copy and distribute the files GR2PCX.EXE, GR2GIF.EXE, and CONVERT.DOC (this file) freely, provided that: these files are always distributed together with each other and with the GRABBER.EXE and GRABBER.DOC files; none of the files is modified in any way; and no fee, premium or donation of any kind is charged or requested for their distribution except as permitted on the terms described in the GRABBER.DOC file. Continued use of the GR2PCX or GR2GIF programs for more than a 10-day trial period requires you to register your use of the software with the author. For more information about the benefits of registration and how to go about registering, please refer to the full licensing and ordering information in the GRABBER.DOC file. GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 2 of 10 Table of Contents Overview: What are GR2PCX and GR2GIF? ........................... 3 The GIF file format .............................................. 3 The PCX file format .............................................. 4 What GR2PCX and GR2GIF can convert ............................... 4 Interactive vs. Command Line Operation ........................... 5 Using GR2PCX: Interactive Mode .................................. 5 Using GR2PCX: Command Line Mode ................................. 6 Using GR2GIF: Interactive Mode .................................. 8 Using GR2GIF: Command Line Mode ................................. 8 Using the Resize feature ......................................... 10 GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 3 of 10 WHAT ARE GR2PCX and GR2GIF? ---------------------------- GR2PCX and GR2GIF are companion utilities to the GRABBER screen capture program. You can use them to convert graphic images, captured from your video display in the form of GRABBER "offspring" files, into either of the widely recognized generic image formats called PCX and GIF. In addition, if your computer has an EGA or VGA video graphics adapter and a color monitor, the GR2PCX utility can also convert 80 x 25 text images captured by GRABBER to the PCX graphic format. (If you are unfamiliar with how the GRABBER program works, or what a GRABBER offspring file is, please consult the program manual GRABBER .DOC before continuing.) THE "GIF" FILE FORMAT ---------------------- "GIF" (pronounced like "Jif") stands for Graphic Interchange Format. The GIF image format was developed by CompuServe, Inc., as a generalized method of exchanging and displaying graphic images on the widest possible variety of computer graphics hardware. GIF is one of the most widely accepted formats for exchanging graphics information among all makes and models of microcomputers, whether IBM-compatible or not. One of the reasons for the popularity of the GIF format is its very effective data compression method. Generally, there is no other widely used file format which can compress a graphic image into a smaller space than GIF can. The GIF format is supported extensively on the CompuServe Information Service and many other on-line BBS services that make graphic images available for downloading. In addition to these on-line services, however, there are several PC application programs which can employ the GIF format. These include word processing, desktop publishing, and "paint" programs, as well as numerous picture viewing utilities. Therefore, you can use GR2GIF to convert almost any graphic image captured by GRABBER into GIF format, so that the image can be imported into any word processing, desktop publishing, or paint program which "understands" the GIF format. If you want to find out whether a particular application program you use can work with GIF files, and therefore import the files created by GR2GIF, you should consult that program's documentation or contact its publisher. GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 4 of 10 THE "PCX" FILE FORMAT ---------------------- The PCX image format was developed by Zsoft Corporation, which is the publisher of the widely used graphics "paint" programs PC Paintbrush and Publisher's Paintbrush. Both of these programs use the PCX format for storing and retrieving graphic images to and from disk files. However, many other PC applications which involve graphic data, in addition to the two Zsoft products mentioned, also employ the PCX format. These include other paint programs, word processors such as WordPerfect Version 5.0 and above, desktop publishing programs such as Aldus' PageMaker, and picture viewing utilities. The PCX format uses a data compression scheme to reduce the disk space required to store graphic images. You can use GR2PCX to convert almost any graphic image captured by GRABBER into PCX format, so that the image can be imported into any word processing, desktop publishing, or paint program which "under- stands" the PCX format. If you want to find out whether a particular application program you use can work with PCX files, and therefore import the files created by GR2PCX, you should consult that program's documentation or contact its publisher. WHAT GR2PCX/GIF CAN CONVERT ---------------------------- These programs are able to convert almost any GRABBER offspring file containing a graphic image into a separate PCX or GIF file. This includes any image originally captured in any CGA mode, any EGA mode, any VGA mode, and the Hercules monochrome graphics mode. Also, the GR2PCX utility can be used to convert text-mode images to the PCX graphics format. To use GR2PCX to convert a text-mode image, your computer must be equipped with an EGA or VGA adapter and a color monitor, and the text screen must measure 80 columns by 25 rows. On page 8 of the GRABBER program documentation, there is a list of the various video modes which GRABBER supports. If a video mode in that chart indicates "n/a" in the column which is headed "Graphics Resolution," then that is a text mode, and GRABBER offspring files captured in that mode cannot be converted to PCX or GIF (with the exception of modes 2, 3, and 7, which can be converted by GR2PCX). Note for technical users: If you have a Super-VGA (SVGA) adapter, you should read page 9 of the GRABBER program documentation. Generally, any 16-color or 256-color SVGA image can be converted to the PCX or GIF formats using these programs if the SVGA manufacturer has modeled the memory organization of its video modes after the IBM EGA "four-plane planar" method (for 16-color screens), or IBM VGA "packed pixel" method (for 256-color screens). SVGA memory organization schemes which are unique to certain adapters are not supported by these conversion programs. GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 5 of 10 INTERACTIVE vs. COMMAND-LINE OPERATION --------------------------------------- If you enter the command GR2PCX or GR2GIF by itself on the DOS command line or in a batch file, you will be running the program in an "interactive" mode. This means the program will prompt you on screen for the answers to several questions, detailed below, before it goes to work converting your input image file to PCX or GIF format. If you don't like working with command-line switches or can't remember them all (there are quite a few), you will want to use the interactive mode. However, if you want to avoid having to answer each question individually, you can run GR2PCX or GR2GIF in the "command-line" mode, by following the GR2PCX or GR2GIF command itself with the names of your input and output files, plus any of the optional command-line switches, which are described below. USING GR2PCX: INTERACTIVE MODE -------------------------------- (1) Enter the command GR2PCX and press <RETURN>. (2) Specify the name of the offspring file you wish to convert (the "input file"). You may optionally precede the filename with a drive and/or pathname if necessary. If the input file- name ends with ".EXE" as it should, you may omit this exten- sion from the filename. (E.g., entering SCREENXX is the same as entering SCREENXX.EXE.) (3) To give the "output file" the same name as the input file but with a ".PCX" filename extension, press <RETURN>. If you wish to give it a different name than the default which the program shows you, or place it in a different drive or directory than your input file, you must enter the full file specification, including drive, path, and ".PCX" extension. (4) If you want to convert the entire image to PCX, respond to the "Resize image?" prompt by pressing <N> or <RETURN>. The resulting output file will contain data for the whole image as it is displayed when you execute the offspring image file. If you want to crop out portions of the screen and create an output PCX image that is smaller than the original image, press <Y> at the "Resize image?" prompt. If you do this, the image will be displayed with a rectangular "resize box," which you can adjust to fit the shape and position of the portion of the image you want to convert. Complete instructions for changing the size and positioning of the resize box can be found below on page 10. GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 6 of 10 GR2PCX INTERACTIVE MODE (continued) ------------------------------------ (5) If the input file contains a graphic image, and you have a VGA- compatible system, you will then be asked to specify a color or gray-scale output file. Press <C> or <RETURN> to choose color, or press <G> for gray-scale. If you are converting a graphic image, this is the last question you will be asked. If the input file contains a text image, you are given the additional choice of monochrome (black-and-white) output. If you choose this option by pressing <B>, most color variations will be stripped from the output file. Some word processing and desktop publishing programs do not do a good job of dis- playing or printing imported PCX files which contain color or gray-scale information, so you may wish to experiment with this option. If you do choose black-and-white output, you will then be asked whether you want to invert the black and white colors in the output image. If the output PCX is destined to be printed on paper, you may wish to experiment with this option also. (6) Finally, for text-mode input files only, one last question: You may choose the size of the screen font into which the characters in the input file will be translated. These are the menu choices and the results they produce: Menu Option Font Cell Emulation Total Image Size ----------- --------- --------- ---------------- A 8 x 8 CGA 640 x 200 pixels B 8 x 14 EGA 640 x 350 pixels C 9 x 14 EGA/MDA/ 720 x 350 pixels Hercules D 9 x 16 VGA 720 x 400 pixels USING GR2PCX: COMMAND-LINE MODE --------------------------------- To avoid the GR2PCX menu prompts described above, you can specify the name of your input .EXE image file on the DOS command line immediately after the GR2PCX command itself. To select details of program operation, you can follow the input file name with the optional switches described here. Certain default parameters, also described here, will take effect for certain program features if no optional switch is specified. A GR2PCX command line looks something like this (optional parameters are shown in brackets): GR2PCX inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] [/B] [/I] [/8] [/4] [/9] [/6] GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 7 of 10 GR2PCX COMMAND-LINE MODE (continued) ------------------------------------- GR2PCX inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] [/B] [/I] [/8] [/4] [/9] [/6] "inputfile" is the name of your GRABBER offspring .EXE image. The .EXE extension may be omitted. "outputfile" is the full name of the .PCX file you want to create. You must add the .PCX extension yourself. The name may be preceded by a drive and/or directory path. If omitted, the output file will automatically be named "inputfile.PCX" and will be placed on the same drive and directory path as the input file. /S tells GR2PCX that you will want to crop a portion of the image using the resize box before actual conversion takes place. If omitted, the entire image is converted to PCX format. /C tells GR2PCX to produce a color output file (if the input file is also a color image). If omitted, no big deal. Color output is the default anyway for both graphics and text conversions. /G tells GR2PCX to produce a gray-scale output file (if the input file is a color image). This option is available only on VGA-compatible systems, and is accepted for both graphics and text conversions. /B tells GR2PCX to produce a monochrome (black-and-white) output PCX file. This option is valid only for text screen conversions. /I tells GR2PCX to produce a monochrome (black-and-white) output PCX file, *and* to invert the white and black elements of the image. White becomes black and vice-versa. This option can be useful if you intend to print the PCX output on paper, and is valid only for text screen conversions. All of the remaining optional switches are used to specify screen font choices and are valid only for text screen conversions. For more information about the image dimensions associated with these fonts, see the chart on the previous page under item (6) in the section headed "Using GR2PCX: Interactive Mode." /8 selects an 8x8 font cell which emulates CGA /4 selects an 8x14 font cell which emulates some EGAs /9 selects a 9x14 font cell emulating MDA, Hercules and most EGAs /6 selects a 9x16 font cell which emulates VGA GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 8 of 10 USING GR2GIF: INTERACTIVE MODE -------------------------------- (1) Enter the command GR2GIF and press <RETURN>. (2) Specify the name of the offspring file you wish to convert (the "input file"). You may optionally precede the filename with a drive and/or pathname if necessary. If the input file- name ends with ".EXE" as it should, you may omit this exten- sion from the filename. (E.g., entering SCREENXX is the same as entering SCREENXX.EXE.) (3) To give the "output file" the same name as the input file but with a ".GIF" filename extension, press <RETURN>. If you wish to give it a different name than the default which the program shows you, or place it in a different drive or directory than your input file, you must enter the full file specification, including drive, path, and ".GIF" extension. (4) If you want to convert the entire image to GIF, respond to the "Resize image?" prompt by pressing <N> or <RETURN>. The resulting output file will contain data for the whole image as it is displayed when you execute the offspring image file. If you want to crop out portions of the screen and create an output GIF image that is smaller than the original image, press <Y> at the "Resize image?" prompt. If you do this, the image will be displayed with a rectangular "resize box," which you can adjust to fit the shape and position of the portion of the image you want to convert. Complete instructions for changing the size and positioning of the resize box can be found below on page 10. (5) If you have a VGA-compatible system, you will then be asked to specify a color or grayscale output file. Press <C> or <RETURN> to choose color, or press <G> for grayscale. This is the last question the program will ask you before it goes to work. USING GR2GIF: COMMAND-LINE MODE --------------------------------- To avoid the GR2GIF menu prompts described above, you can specify the name of your input .EXE image file on the DOS command line immediately after the GR2GIF command itself. To select details of program operation, you can follow the input file name with the optional switches described here. Certain default parameters, also described here, will take effect for certain program features if no optional switch is specified. A GR2GIF command line looks something like this (optional parameters are shown in brackets): GR2GIF inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 9 of 10 GR2GIF COMMAND-LINE MODE (continued) ------------------------------------- GR2GIF inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] "inputfile" is the name of your GRABBER offspring .EXE image. The .EXE extension may be omitted. "outputfile" is the full name of the .GIF file you want to create. You must add the .GIF extension yourself. The name may be preceded by a drive and/or directory path. If omitted, the output file will automatically be named "inputfile.GIF" and will be placed on the same drive and directory path as the input file. /S tells GR2GIF that you will want to crop a portion of the image using the resize box before actual conversion takes place. If omitted, the entire image is converted to GIF format. /C tells GR2GIF to produce a color output file (if the input file is also a color image). If omitted, no big deal. Color output is the default anyway. /G tells GR2GIF to produce a gray-scale output file (if the input file is a color image). This option is available only on VGA-compatible systems. GR2PCX /GR2GIF Documentation Page 10 of 10 USING THE RESIZE FEATURE: CONTROLLING THE RESIZE BOX ------------------------------------------------------ The following keys are available to you when using the resize feature feature within GR2PCX and GR2GIF: <Esc> . . . . . . . . . . . . Abort the conversion process and exit. <Return> . . . . . . . . . . Accept the area enclosed by the select box, and begin converting. <Left Arrow> <Right Arrow> Move the select box in the indicated <Up Arrow> direction without changing the shape <Down Arrow> . . . . . . . . of the box. <Shift><Left Arrow> . . . . . Shrink the box horizontally. <Shift><Right Arrow> . . . . Expand the box horizontally. <Shift><Up Arrow> . . . . . . Shrink the box vertically. <Shift><Down Arrow> . . . . . Expand the box vertically. <Insert> . . . . . . . . . . Toggle between coarse and fine incre- ments for moving or reshaping the box. <Home> . . . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the upper left-hand corner of the screen. <End> . . . . . . . . . . . . Move the box to the lower left-hand corner of the screen. <Ctrl><PgUp> . . . . . . . . Move the box to the upper right-hand corner of the screen. <Ctrl><PgDn> . . . . . . . . Move the box to the lower right-hand corner of the screen. <PgUp> . . . . . . . . . . . Move box to top edge of the screen. <PgDn> . . . . . . . . . . . Move box to bottom edge of the screen. <Ctrl><Left Arrow> . . . . . Move box to left edge of the screen. <Ctrl><Right Arrow> . . . . . Move box to right edge of the screen. ** End of CONVERT.DOC **