Cream of the Crop 12/Cream of the Crop 12 (Part II)/Cream of the Crop 12 (Part II).iso/OS2/MACTR021.ZIP/mactr.hlp

OS/2 Help File | 1996-02-20 | 16.7 KB | 528 lines

ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 1. The Frame List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The frame list displays all frames of the currently selected Project.

Each frame is represented by an icon and some information.

If the frame is part of an animation, information about the number of the
frame, its timecode and compression and its size are displayed.

If the frame (or rather picture) is part of a picture list, its name,
compression method and size is displayed.

Every frame has its own popup menu. Double-clicking a frame will display it.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 2. The Project List ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The project list dispays all currently loaded projects and occupies the left
third of the main window. The frames of the currently selected Project are
displayed in The Frame List.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 3. Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

All projects are displayed as icons in The Project List.

A project is either an animation of a certain animation format or one or more
pictures of the same format. All pictures of the same format will always be
grouped together in one project, this project is named after the picture
format.

The frames of the currently selected project are displayed in The Frame List.

Each project has its own popup menu, double-clicking on a project will play it
back.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 4. Open... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Open item of the File menu will open a file dialog. You can
select any of the supported animation or picture formats. After loading, the
new project will be displayed in The Project List.

The file dialog supports multiple selections, that means that several files can
be marked for loading.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 5. Save As... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Save item of the File menu will open the save dialog window.
After starting the save progress, all frames in The Frame List will be saved.

Note, all frames will be saved, this is in contrast to the menu item Save
Frames of the Frames menu, which only saves the frames which are currently
selected in The Frame List.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 6. Exit ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Exit item of the File menu terminates MainActor/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 7. Select ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Select item in the Edit menu
allows you to select all, or some of the frames in The Frame List.

 Select All
     Selects all frames available in the frame list.

 Select Range ...
     Allows you to select a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50.

 Select Compression ...
     Allows you to select all frames with a specific compression. For example,
     if you loaded a FLI animation, you can select all frames which have a
     FLI_LC compression method.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 8. Deselect ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the three sub menu items of the Deselect item in the Edit menu
will allow you to deselect all, or some of the frames in The Frame List.

 Deselect All
     Deselects all frames available in the frame list.

 Deselect Range ...
     Allows you to deselect a range of frames, for example frame 10 to 50.

 Deselect Compression ...
     Allows you to deselect all frames with a specific compression. For
     example, if you loaded a FLI animation, you can deselect all frames which
     have a Dummy compression method.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 9. Invert ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Invert item of the Edit menu will invert the selection status of
all frames in The Frame List.

All selected frames will be deselected and all deselected frames will be
selected.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 10. Project Info... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Project Info ... item of the Project menu will open a dialog
window which displays information about the currently selected Project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 11. Cache Data ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Cache Data item of the Project menu caches all the data of the
currently selected Project in ram, which results in better access and playback
times for the project.

If the menu item is checked the data is cached in memory, if not the data will
be loaded directly from disk (which is the default).

Note, not all loader modules support caching, if a loader module does not
support caching, the menu item is disabled. This is the case for most of the
picture loader modules.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 12. Global Timecode... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Global Timecode item of the Project menu will open a dialog
window which allows you to change the global timecode of the currently selected
Project.

Some animation formats (for example FLI/FLC) only support one timecode for all
of the frames of an animation, that means that all frames will stop playback
for the same amount of time. These animations often have dummy frames inserted
into the animation to allow for better timing.

If your project does not have a global timecode or does support a timecode for
each frame, this menu item will be disabled. If it does support a timecode for
each frame, you can select the frames you want to change the timecode of and
select the Local Timecodes menu item of the Frame menu.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 13. Play Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Play Project item of the Project menu plays the currently select
project.

MainActor/2 uses DIVE for playback. The DIVE window will be opened centered on
your desktop. If your system does support Full-Screen DIVE, you can switch to
the full screen mode by pressing ALT+HOME.

During playback, you can choose menu items from two menus, the Options and the
Speed menus.

The Options Menu

 Snap 1/1
     If you have sized the window you can snap it back to its original size
     using this menu item.

 Counter
     If the counter is activated you will see the frame number of the currently
     displayed frame in the title bar if you play an animation. If you play a
     picture list you will see the name of the currently displayed picture.

 Exit
     Will quit playback.

 The Speed Menu

 Timed
     If this menu item is checked, (which is the default), the original
     timecode of the project is used. These are the timecodes you see listed in
     the frame list.

 60 fps (Max)
     If this menu item is checked, the project will be played back as fast as
     possible (60 fps). Of course, 60 fps is not always possible.

 30 fps
     If this menu item is checked, the project will be played back with 30 fps
     (if possible).

 25 fps
     If this menu item is checked, the project will be played back with 25 fps
     (if possible).

 10 fps
     If this menu item is checked, the project will be played back with 10 fps
     (if possible).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 14. Remove Project ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Remove Project item of the Project menu will remove the currently
selected Project from The Project List and frees all memory dedicated to the
project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 15. Save Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Save Frames item of the Frames menu will open the save dialog
window. After starting the save progress, all selected files in The Frame List
will be saved.

Note, only the selected frames will be saved, this is in contrast to the Save
As... item of the File menu, which will save all frames.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 16. Local Timecode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Local Timecode item of the Frames menu will open a dialog window
which allows you to change the local timecode of the currently selected frames.

This option is only enabled if the animation format of your current Project
supports a timecode per frame.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 17. Show Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Show Frames item of the Frames menu will show the currently
selected frame.

MainActor uses Dive to show the frames of a Project. The current number (or
name) of the frame is displayed in the title bar of the show window.

While showing a frame, you can choose menu items from two menus, the Options
and the Frame menus.

The Options Menu

 Snap 1/1
     If you have sized the window you can snap it back to its original size
     using this menu item.

 Exit
     Will close the show window.

 The Frame Menu

 Previous
     Selecting this item shows the frame which is one location above the actual
     frame in the frame list.

 Next
     Selecting this item shows the frame which is one location below the actual
     frame in the frame list.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 18. Sort Frames ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting one of the sub menu items of the Sort Frames item in the Frames menu
sorts all frames in The Frame List according to the selected sort method. This
menu is only available when the currently selected Project is a picture list.

Animations are mostly delta encoded and cannot be sorted, even when they are
non-linear, it would be too difficult to keep track of the different colour
palettes etc.

 Sort Frames by Name
     The frames are sorted, case insensitiv, by their names.

 Sort Frames by Size
     The frames are sorted by their size. The pictures with the smallest size
     are at the top of the frame list, the pictures with the biggest size at
     the bottom.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 19. Help Index ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Help Index item of the Help menu displays the index of the online
help document for MainActor/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 20. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the General Help item of the Help menu displays a general
introduction to the user interface of MainActor/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 21. Using Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Using Help item of the Help menu displays an introduction on how
to use the online help facility.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 22. Loader Modules... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Loader Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the supplied loader modules of this version of MainActor/2, as
well as the supported codecs of these modules.

The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as
well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 23. Saver Modules... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Saver Modules item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the supplied saver modules of this version of MainActor/2, as
well as the supported codecs of these modules.

The version numbers, copyrights and authors of the modules are displayed as
well.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 24. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Registration item of the Help menu will show an informational
text about how to register MainActor/2.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 25. Product Info... ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Selecting the Product Info ... item of the Help menu will open a dialog window
which displays the version number of MainActor/2 and the registration status of
your copy.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 26. General Help ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The main window of MainActor/2 is divided into two parts.

On the left of the window is The Project List, the rest of the window is
occupied by The Frame List.

You can load a new Project with the Open item of the File menu, or by dragging
the file into the project list (not yet implemented).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 27. Load Error ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

Either an error has been encountered while loading the project or you did
cancel the loading progress.

You can see the cause of the failure in the dialog box, as well as the project
at which the failure accured.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 28. Loader Modules ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog window displays all loader modules which are included in
MainActor/2 v0.21

Each loader module supports various codecs, the codecs of the currently
selected loader module are listed in the Codecs list.

The author, copyright and version of the currently selected loader module are
listed in the lower right of the dialog window, along with the type field which
identifies the format of the loader module, for example Animation or Picture.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 29. Saver Modules ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This dialog window displays all saver modules which are included in MainActor/2
v0.21

Each loader module supports various codecs, the codecs of the currently
selected saver module are listed in the Codecs list.

The author, copyright and version of the currently selected saver module are
listed in the lower right of the dialog window, along with the type field which
identifies the format of the saver module, for example Animation or Picture.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 30. Product Info ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

MainActor/2 was created by:

MainConcept, GbR Moenig/Zabel
in association with
Mark Podlipec


Contact us under:

          MainConcept, GbR Moenig/Zabel
          Hermann-Heusch Platz 3
          D-52062 Aachen
          Germany

          Tel: [phone]
          FAX: [phone]
          BBS: [phone]

          Email: [e-mail]
          http: //www.ac-copy.com/maincpt.html


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 31. Select Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Select Range dialog window lets you select a specific range of frames in
The Frame List.

Enter the first frame you want to have selected in the From field and enter the
last frame in the to field.

After that, you can select Ok to select the frames or Cancel to cancel the
operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 32. Select Compression ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Select Compression dialog window lets you select the frames in The Frame
List which have a specific compression method.

Select the compression format and select Ok to select the frames with the
specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 33. Deselect Range ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Deselect Range dialog window lets you deselect a specific range of frames
in The Frame List.

Enter the first frame you want to have deselected in the From field and enter
the last frame in the to field.

After that, you can select Ok to deselect the frames or Cancel to cancel the
operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 34. Deselect Compression ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Deselect Compression dialog window lets you deselect the frames in The
Frame List which have a specific compression method.

Select the compression method and select Ok to deselect the frames with the
specified compression method or select Cancel to cancel the operation.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 35. Project Info ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Project Info dialog window displays some of the more technical informations
of the current project.

 Name
     The name of the current project.

 Format
     The format of the loader module.

 Width
     The width of the project in pixels.

 Height
     The height of the project in pixels.

 Frames
     The number of frames of the project.

 Loop Frames
     The number of loop frames of the project.

 Dive Colour Space Spec
     The colour space format of the project.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 36. Timecode ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The Timecode dialog window allows you to change the global or local timecode of
your current Project (which can only be an animation).

The Global Timecode changes the timecodes of all frames to the new timecode
entered in the dialog window. This option is important for those animation
formats who only support one timecode per animation (FLI/FLC). These animation
formats often use Dummy frames for timing.

The Local Timecode changes the timecodes of all currently selected frames in
the frame list to the new timecode. Note that only a few animation formats
support a timecode per frame (for example all IFF-Anim formats).


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 37. Error ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

An error has been encountered. The dialog window displays the error message and
the possible cause for the error.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 38. The Save Dialog ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

The save dialog window is the interface to the save modules which are shipped
with MainActor/2 v0.21. Note that all frames will be saved if you opened this
dialog through the Save As.. item of the File menu. If you did open it through
the Save Frames popup menu function only the selected frames of the frame list
will be saved.

Select the format in which you want to save the frames in the Modules list.
Most modules support more than one codec, select the one you want in the Codec
list.

Select the width and height of your new animation or pictures in the Width and
Height entry fields.

If you click on the Select File... button, you can choose the filename in the
opening dialog box. Note, if you save pictures, the picture index plus picture
suffix will be appended to the filename (for example: 0002.bmp). If you save an
animation only the animation suffix will be appended to the filename (for
example: .fli).

You can start the save process by clicking on the Save button. While saving you
can stop the action by clicking on Cancel. Cancel will also close the dialog if
no save progress is currently running.


ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ 39. Registration ΓòÉΓòÉΓòÉ

This is an early BETA copy of MainActor/2 which does not need to be registered
as we do not raise a shareware fee for it.

You may register for the final shareware version if you want this. The fee is
$60 (99,- DM) or any equivalent sum in your local currency. Please no foreign
checks (except EuroChecks). We do take Master/EuroCard.

You can contact us at :

          MainConcept, GbR Moenig/Zabel
          Hermann-Heusch Platz 3
          D-52062 Aachen
          Germany

          Tel: [phone]
          FAX: [phone]
          BBS: [phone]

          Email: [e-mail]
          http: //www.ac-copy.com/mactr.html