Fritz: All Fritz

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P EMACH IIF P -Graphics at the speed of sound-...... P EMACH II by Al DulF P ELoading MACH IIF P Load DOS 2.XX and GPAPHICS.COM followed by MACHII. This P procedure will begin the program. The program has a default of P drive A, so have all necessary files on that drive. Also, MACH P II will, by default, use drive A to store the picture files. P EExiting MACH IIF P To exit MACH II, Press EAlt-F2F. Control will then be returned to P DOS P EINTRODUCTIONF P This program enables you a great deal of flexibility in control P over what you see on the screen. Basically, you have the P graphics functions of BASICA in a new format. The program P assumes you understand the LINE, CIRCLE, PAINT, GET, and PUT P statements in BASIC. Consult your BASIC manual for all the P details. First, all the functions will be described in detail. P Then, some tips on how to get started and how to best use the P functions in combinations with each other will be explained. The P functions are accessed from the Function keys by themselves and P in conjunction with the Shift, Control, and Alternate keys. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -EF1-F4: Change colorF- P On the bottom of the screen are four color boxes, including the P background. A small bar inside one of the boxes indicates what P color you will draw in. Pressing EF1F will select the background P color for all subsequent plotting. Pressing EF2F will select the P next color, and so on. The bar moves to indicate which color you P are currently using. P -EF5-F6: LinesF- P These two keys will draw a line from a starting point, defined by P EF10F, to the present cursor location. The starting point set by P EF10F will from now on be called the REFERENCE POINT. While both P keys draw lines, they perform slightly different functions. P EF5F will draw a line from the REFERENCE POINT to the present P cursor location and leave the REFERENCE POINT where it is. EF6F P will draw a line, but will make the cursor location the NEW P REFERENCE POINT. P For example, let's say the cursor is in the center of the screen. P Move the cursor up and press EF6F, and a line will be drawn from P the end of the previous line, as in dot-to-dot type drawing. The P difference between these two keys will easily be seen the first P time they are used. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -EF7: Ellipse/CircleF- P When you press this key, you will see a box on the screen. If P you see a point, it is merely a box with zero dimensions. This P box is your Variable Cursor, as opposed to a fixed cursor. P Variable and Fixed refer to size, not movement. Position the P cursor to your liking and press ENTER. Read the section on the P Variable cursor on how to move it around the screen. In addition P to the regular variable cursor functions, there is one special P function in the ellipse code. Pressing "S" on the keyboard will P Scale the variable cursor to draw a circle instead of an oval. P After you press ENTER, an ellipse will be drawn to the size P defined by the variable cursor. You may cancel the circle P operation if you press ESC before you press ENTER. P -EF8: PaintF- P This key enables you to fill areas with a single color. Pressing P this key will cause the cursor to disappear so as not to get in P the way. It takes two more key presses to complete the function. P After pressing EF8F, press EF1-F4F to indicate the color you want to P paint WITH. The color bar on the bottom of the screen will NOT P indicate your choice. Don't worry, the key press has been P recorded, as indicated by a beep. Next, press EF1-F4F to indicate P the color of the BORDER of the area to be filled. Consult the P BASIC manual for further explanation. Be careful that there are P EMACH II by Al DulF P no holes in the boundary and that it is all the same color, or P the paint will spill all over and possibly ruin the picture. You P may also cancel the paint operation if you press ESC before you P complete the third key press. P -EF9: HomeF- P Pressing this key returns the cursor to the center of the screen. P -EF10: SetPointF- P Pressing EF10F plots a dot in the color selected by EF1-F4F. It also P sets the REFERENCE POINT which is used in drawing lines. It is P advisable to set the REFERENCE POINT before you draw lines. P Otherwise, a line you draw may shoot off in an unexpected P direction. In other words, use this key when you're not sure P where the REFERENCE POINT is. It is perfectly all right to use P this key to just plot single pixels, as when working on fine P detail or shading. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -EShft-F1: Change Background ColorF- P EShft-F1F changes the color of the background. P -EShft-F2: Change PaletteF- P This key cycles through the standard IBM palettes as well as two P non-standard palettes as well. P The palettes are: 1) Cyan,Magenta,White P 2) Green,Red,Yellow P 3) Blue,Red,White P 4) Two shades of any color. P Press EShft-F1F to cycle through the colors. P -EShft-F3: GetF- P This function GETs an arbitrary rectangular area on the screen to P be copied elsewhere on the screen (see EShft-F7-8F). First, press P EShft-F3F to obtain the Variable Cursor. Position the cursor to P enclose the area you wish to make a copy of and press Enter. A P beep confirms your action. Any Variable Cursor functions may be P used in positioning the cursor. To cancel the operation, press P Esc before pressing Enter. P -EShft-F4: Area DeleteF- P The mechanics of this function are exactly the same as those of P the GET function. First, press EShft-F4F to obtain the Variable P Cursor. Position the cursor to enclose the area to be deleted and P EMACH II by Al DulF P press Enter. The area enclosed by the cursor will be erased. To P cancel the operation, press Esc before pressing Enter. P -EShft-F5: BoxF- P Again, the mechanics of this function are the same as the P previous two functions. Select the color of the box by pressing P EF1-F4F. Next press EShft-F5F to get the Variable Cursor. Position P the cursor as desired and press Enter. To cancel, press Esc P befor pressing Enter. P -EShft-F6:F- Is not used at this time P I'm open to suggestions. P -EShft-F7: PutF- P Places the area defined by GET on the screen. Press EShft-F7F and P the Variable cursor will appear on the screen locked to the size P of the last GET operation. Use the cursor keys to position the P cursor and press Enter. If the keys do not move the cursor, press P Num Lock. The area last GOT will appear inside the cursor. If P you try to run off the screen, the box will get smashed in and P become smaller. If this happens, remember that when you press P Enter to PUT the area on the screen, the upper left hand corner P of the area being PUT will coincide with the upper left hand P corner of the cursor, since the area being PUT and the size of P EMACH II by Al DulF P the cursor are no longer the same. P -EShft-F8: put ACTIONF- P Dictates the method used by PUT. Press the space bar to cycle P through the choices and press Enter when your choice is P highlighted. The choices available are PSET, PRESET, XOR, OR, P and AND. P EPSETF places the gotten area on the screen verbatim. Anything under P the area is overwritten. P EPRESETF places a photographic negative of the gotten area on the P screen. Anything under the area is overwritten. P EXORF causes the points on the screen to be inverted wherever a pixel P on the screen coincides with a pixel in the area being PUT. P EORF superimposes the area being PUT over whatever is on the screen. P EANDF transfers the image being PUT only if an image already exists P underneath it on the screen. P -EShft-F9:F- Is not presently assigned. P -EShft-F10: FilesF- P Lists the files on the default drive defined by ECrtl-F8F. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -ECtrl-F1: File LoadF- P Pressing this key loads a .PIC file from the default drive and P executes it. You may append to the file and resave it to the P diskette. While other programs such as LOTUS and PCPG also use P the .PIC extension, they cannot be read by MACHII. It will P probably crash if you try. P -ECtrl-F2: File SaveF- P Pressing this key saves the new or appended-to vector file to the P default drive. P -ECtrl-F3: File DeleteF- P Pressing ECtrl-F3F deletes a file from diskette. A list of files P will come up for easy reference, after which you will be asked P for the file to delete. Be sure to include the extension when P entering the file name. P -ECtrl-F4: Deformation ModeF- P ECtrl-F4F enables you to enter translation, rotation, and scaling P parameters when creating a vector file. (Cannot be used when P creating screens.) This coordinate dictates the point the picture P will rotate around if dealing with rotation, or in the case of P EMACH II by Al DulF P scaling, the point the picture will expand away from or shrink P towards. The default value is the physical center of the screen, P (160,100). If you enlarge your picture, it will grow from the P center of the screen. However, if you give (0,0) as the center P of the screen and then enlarge your picture, it will expand away P from the upper left corner of the screen. The next parameter is P rotation. Entering a positive value (in degrees) will rotate the P picture counter-clockwise while entering a negative value will P rotate the picture clockwise. The final set of values are the P scaling parameters. Entering a value greater than 1 will cause P the picture to expand, while entering a value less than 1 will P cause the picture to shrink. For example, entering a "2" for x- P scale will make the picture twice as wide in the X direction, P while entering a ".5" for X-scale will make the picture half as P wide. The same goes for the Y axis. To enter values for P deformation parameters, use the plus and minus keys on the far P right side of the keyboard to make the arrow point at the P parameter you want to change. Then press the enter key. The P value disappears and a question mark takes its place. Type in P the value you want and press the enter key again. To exit this P madness, press Esc. Your parameters are retained. P -ECtrl-F5: Execute Vector FileF- P When you load a .PIC file from the disk, the file is played out P and your picture is redrawn. This key is used in conjunction P with Deform Mode (ECtrl-F4F). If you go into Deform Mode and P EMACH II by Al DulF P change any parameters, this key must be pressed upon exiting P Deform Mode. The vector file will then be played back using the P new deform parameters. If you change something in Deform Mode P and fail to press this key, mass confusion will result and P neither I nor the program will take responsibility for your P ruined picture. P -ECtrl-F6: Screen LoadF- P This function will load any BSAVEd screen from the default drive P into MACH II for further modification. To use it, press ECtrl-F6F. P You will be asked for a file name. Just give the name, not the P drive or extension. The screen image will then be loaded. MACH P II only looks for screen files with a .BSC extension. To load a P screen created from BASIC or another program, you must first P RENAME the file to have a .BSC extension. P -ECtrl-F7: Screen SaveF- P This function will BSAVE the screen image on disk. To use, press P ECtrl-F7F. You will be asked for a file name. Type in only the P name, not the drive letter or the extension. The screen image P will then be saved on the default drive. The file is saved with P the extension .BSC. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -ECtrl-F8: Change DriveF- P Pressing this key enables you to change the drive on which files P are saved to or loaded from. To use, press ECtrl-F8F. You will be P given the default drive and asked for a new drive letter. Enter P only the drive letter. Do not type in the colon after the drive P letter. It is automatically added by the program. Do not remove P the MACH II disk from the drive you started it from. The program P periodically accesses its disk for needed files. The default P drive used when the program starts up is the A drive. P -ECtrl-F9: Coordinate ToggleF- P Pressing ECtrl-F9F will turn off the coordinate display if it is on P and turn it on if it is off. P -ECtrl-F10: File CreateF- P This is one of the more interesting and perhaps the most P confusing features of MACHII. This feature lets you toggle P between creating a vector file and a screen file. First, an P explanation. A screen file is exactly what you see on the screen. P When you save a screen file, the contents of the screen, and P nothing else, are dumped onto a diskette. Also, the program will P not remember how or what you enter into the computer. This is P important because you will not be able to apply deformations to a P EMACH II by Al DulF P screen file. As you enter graphic input, it will be displayed on P the screen. Nothing else will happen, as opposed to a vector P file. A vector file is constructed by the program as you enter P graphics. In addition to displaying your input, the program will P remember what you did and how you did it. It's as if the program P were taking notes on how you drew your picture. The program P remembers the essentials, like the endpoints of lines, the P coordinates of points, what color to use, the radii of ellipses, P etc... The picture is now described in a large block of numbers. P These numbers may then be run through mathematical formulas to P obtain the effects of deformation, such as rotating all P coordinates forty degrees around the point (100,50) while P increasing the Y scale two-fold and shifting the entire picture P to the right by ten pixels. However, since all your input is P saved, memory is consumed and there is a limited amount of space P to hold the information. If you plan on drawing simple diagrams P or line drawings, then creating a vector file may be more P beneficial, since you can play with the pictures deform P parameters and observe the results of your fiddling. If, P however, you plan on creating highly detailed pictures where a P great deal of dot by dot drawing will be needed, then creating a P screen file is a must, since there would not be nearly enough P space to hold such a great amount of detail. Some experimentation P will almost certainly be needed to iron out the differences P between the two types of files. P EMACH II by Al DulF P E ╔════════════════╦══════════════════════╦════════════════════════════╗F P E ║ FILE TYPE ║ WHEN TO USE ║ DEFORM MODE ENABLED ║F P E ╠════════════════╬══════════════════════╬════════════════════════════╣F P E ║ Screen ║ Anytime a large ║ No, your picture cannot ║F P E ║ ║ amount of detail ║ be deformed. ║F P E ║ ║ is needed. ║ ║F P E ╠════════════════╬══════════════════════╬════════════════════════════╣F P E ║ Vector ║ Relatively simple ║ Yes, your picture may be ║F P E ║ ║ drawings. ║ deformed. ║F P E ╚════════════════╩══════════════════════╩════════════════════════════╝F P -ECAUTION:F- Do not change file types (use ECtrl-F10F) in the middle of P a picture or disastrous results may occur. Set it before you are P going to draw and leave there until you are ready to start P another picture. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -EAlt-F1: Screen Print setupF- P If you have a screen print utility, and installed it before you P started MACH II, you can press EAlt-F1F to get rid of the P coordinate display, border (if any), and color select bar at the P bottom of the screen so you can print a picture without the P unwanted display material. To use, just press EAlt-F1F, and then P press EShft-PrtScF. Your picture will then be printed. After the P printer is finished, press any key and control will be given back P to you. P -EAlt-F2: ExitF- P When you press this key, you will be asked if you wish to leave P the program. Answer with either a "Y" or a "N" (upper or lower P case). If you answer "Y", control will return to DOS on the P drive you started the program from. Be sure the disk you return P to is the same one you started from (don't change disks). The P program eats directories of foreign disks if run under DOS 1.XX. P If you answer "N", the program will return to where it was. P -EAlt-F3: Text EntryF- P This function enables you to display text in one of five P typestyles on the screen. First, press EAlt-F3F. You will be asked P for a font number. Respond by entering a number from one to five. P EMACH II by Al DulF P See the section labelled "FONTS" for a description of the fonts. P You will then be asked for your text. Enter a line of text up to P a maximum of about twenty characters. You may use commas. After P this, you are given the variable cursor to position your text. P Use the Variable Cursor functions to aid in your positioning. You P can also change the size of the cursor using the numeric keypad P and the Num Lock key. When you are satisfied with the size and P shape of the cursor, press the Enter key. The text will then be P drawn, automatically scaled to fit the cursor. The text is P proportionally spaced, but the scale of the text is computed on P an average size of the font, so the text may fall a bit short or P long of the right hand edge of the cursor, particularly in the P case of numbers. For this reason, EAlt-F4F was created. Don't P forget to choose the color of the text by pressing EF1-F4F before P you press EAlt-F3F. P -EAlt-F4: Move TextF- P Pressing this key lets you reposition text that you JUST entered P using EAlt-F3F. If you enter some text and discover it goes off the P screen or just doesn't look right, press EAlt-F4F. The text will P disappear and the Variable cursor will return. Change the cursor P to the desired shape and press the Enter key. The text will then P be redrawn using the new cursor shape. Press this key only P immediately after using EAlt-F3F. Do not press it after entering P text and then drawing a few lines and some circles and what not. P If you do, the screen will return to the state it was in P EMACH II by Al DulF P immediately after the text was drawn and everything after that P point will be erased or lost or scrambled. The results are P unpredictable. P -EAlt-F5:F- Is presently unassigned P -EAlt-F6:F- Is presently unassigned P -EAlt-F7: CreditsF- P Pressing this key displays the names of a few of the people P involved (in a minor way) with MACHII. P -EAlt-F8: UndoF- P Since you will undoubtedly make mistakes from time to time, this P function was included to make your life a little easier. Pressing P this key will undo the last input to the program. That is, if you P should accidentally draw a line across your picture, this P function will remove it. "Undo" functions differently depending P on if you are creating a vector or screen file. If you are P creating a vector file, Undo will peel off the last graphic input P you entered from memory and redraw the picture, effectively P undoing your mistake. You can press EAlt-F8F repeatedly and undo P your whole picture, step by step. You should use undo immediatly P after making a mistake. Don't try to correct it by drawing over P it. Just undo it to get rid of it and try again. Undo will always P EMACH II by Al DulF P remove the last thing you did, as far as graphics are concerned. P You cannot use undo to recover a deleted file or on any other P file manipulation functions. If you are creating a screen file, P Undo will return the screen to the last time you used the Paint P function. The reason is this: If there is so much as a single P pixel out of place, the paint will spill all over the picture and P quite possibly ruin it. Therefore, undo restores the screen P should the paint function erase your picture. If a line zips P across the wrong spot or an ellipse isn't up to snuff, you will P have to erase them by hand. To do this, draw the exact same thing P in the exact same spot using the background color. You can then P fill in any hole created using the SetPoint function (EF10F). P -EAlt-F9: Hi-res screen print setupF- P Most, if not all, screen print utilities will print a picture P differently if it is displayed on the Hi-Res screen rather than P the Medium-Res screen. Pressing EAlt-F9F will display the picture P on the Hi-Res screen you can take advantage of both ways of P printing. This function works exactly th esame as EAlt-F1F, so P details will not be repeated here. P -EAlt-F10: Clear SessionF- P If you are through with a picture and have saved it or just want P to clear the program to begin drawing another picture, just press P EAlt-F10F. Memory, the screen, and all remnants of the previous P EMACH II by Al DulF P picture will be erased to provide a clean slate to start another P picture. You can also press EAlt-F10F between loading pictures to P clear the memory, but it is not necessary since the program P manages things on its own. P EMACH II by Al DulF P ETEXT ENTRYF P Press EAlt-F3F. Answer the prompts. You have five fonts to choose P from and are thus numbered 1-5. The length of the text may P extend to the edge of the window but may not go overboard. After P answering the prompts, the selected font will load into memory. P You will see a dot or a rectangle on the screen. This is your P text cursor. The numeric keypad will move the entire box around P on the screen. Press Num-Lock and the keypad will move the top P and right edges of the cursor only. This way, you may make the P cursor any size you wish. When you are satisfied with the size P and placement of the cursor, press the ENTER key. The text will P then be drawn, automatically scaled to fit the cursor. The P scaling of the text is based on the average size of the P characters on a scale 1:1. Therefore, the text may not fit P perfectly inside the cursor. Three keys aid in the positioning P of the cursor. Press "N" to display the text on a scale of 1:1. P Press "L" to left justify the cursor, "C" to center the cursor, P and "R" to right justify the cursor. The keypad normally moves P the cursor 10 Pixels at a time. For fine tuning, Press ECtrl-4F P (numeric keypad) to make the cursor move one pixel at a time. P Press ECtrl-6F (keypad) to move the cursor 10 pixels at a time. P EAlt-F4F will erase the last entered text and give the text cursor P back to you. You may then reposition the cursor using the above P rules. P EMACH II by Al DulF P -ECURSOR CONTROLF- P Two types of cursors are utilized in MACH II: a fixed cursor and P a variable cursor. The words "fixed" and "variable" refer to P size. A detailed explanation of each follows. P ETHE FIXED CURSORF P The fixed cursor is what you normally use to move around on the P screen. It is a 5x5 pixel box. The pixel the cursor points to is P in the center of the box. The numeric keypad is used to move the P cursor. The four arrow keys as well as the four diagonals are P supported. Depending on the status of the ENum-LockF key, the P keypad moves the cursor either one or ten pixels. The Shift key P can also be used to change the step size of the cursor. P ETHE VARIABLE CURSORF P The Variable Cursor is used wherever entire areas need to be P dealt with at once, such as the GET and TEXT functions. Again, P the numeric keypad performs two sets of functions which are P toggled by the ENum-LockF key. The following descriptions are not P necessarily in order because it is not known whether the ENum-LockF P key is on or off. P The cursor keys move the entire box around the screen. Pressing P ENum-LockF will make the cursor stay in place while its top and P EMACH II by Al DulF P right edges are moved with the cursor keys. The E2F and E8F keys move P the top of the box while the E4F and E6F keys move the right edge of P the box. All this takes place ten pixels at a time. If you want P to fine tune the cursor and move it one pixel at a time, press P ECtrl-4F (keypad). To move back to a tex pixel step, press ECtrl-6F P (keypad). P There are also a few functions that may be performed on the P cursor. Press the following characters to perform the following P functions. P -ELF- - will Left justify the cursor P -ECF- - will Center the cursor P -ERF- - will Right justify the cursor P -ENF- - to be used when entering text. Displays text size on a P scale of 1:1 P -ESF- - to be used when drawing ellipses. Makes the cursor a P Square for drawing circles. The cursor is made as high P as it is wide, not vice versa. P EMACH II by Al DulF P EFONTSF P -E1-NormalF- This is a font to label things that do not need things P to be very eye catching. Because of its small size P it is very good for sentences. P -E2-OutlineF- This font is good for eye catching graphs, charts and P the like. Since the space inside the letter lets P you color it different color, it will always make an P interesting mix. P -E3-RomanF- This font looks like newspaper type. It is easy to read P (if not scaled down). This is a larger font so be P careful as to how many characters you enter at the P TEXT prompt. P -E4-GothicF- This font is very detailed and pleasing to the eye. P There is one annoying problem that you may come up P against. The following upper case letters do not P work : O,Q,Y, and V. All of the lower-case letters P function properly. These four letters will P eventually be corrected. P -E5-ScriptF- This font duplicates hand writing. It is the largest P font so be cautious as to how many characters are P entered. P EMACH II by Al DulF P EMACH II by Al DulF