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1987-04-20
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294 lines
==========================================================================
PicSwitch Picture Utility
(c)1987 John Brochu for Advanced Software
==========================================================================
Version: 0.7
Released: April 19, 1987
PicSwitch 0.7 is distributed as SHAREWARE. You are encouraged to freely
distribute the program, but please include this doc file with the program.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
New features
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following enhancements have been added from PicSwitch 0.6 ...
o Runs on color AND monochrome systems, all features supported on both
monitors except PREVIEW (color only)
o New formats: DEGAS compressed, Tiny, and Atari 8-bit files
o Much improved low-res and med-res to monochrome conversions
o PicSwitch printer driver now supports all three resolutions
o Color cycling is now supported, and is converted between formats
o Converted pics are now saved to the original pic's directory, or
optionally using the file selector to any drive/path
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
About PicSwitch
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
PicSwitch started out as a simple Amiga IFF file viewer back when ST paint
programs were hard to come by (around October of '85)! Since then it has
undergone lots of upgrading through versions 0.5 (the original), 0.6, and
now 0.7. The basic intent of the program is to provide ST users with the
ability to view as much artwork as possible, and to convert to a format
that is usable to them on the ST. With this version I have addressed the
major complaint most people have had with the program, that is monochrome
support!
All pics can be viewed on either the color or monochrome monitor, and can
be saved in any resolution with either system, with automatic conversion
to the selected resolution. Conversions from a higher res to a lower res
are automatically optimized using a color averaging technique, while
conversions from low & med-res to monochrome use a sophisticated dithering
technique.
Conversions from monochrome allow you the option of saving the picture
using the full palette (best if you may want to restore the pic to its
original state at a later date) or with the minimum possible palette
(low-res conversions would use 5 colors, med-res 3).
MacPaint and NVision/Paintworks monochrome page files are also allowed a
fourth res-save option. Compressed save allows you to 'squeeze' a full
720-line MacPaint document or 800-line Paintworks pic into only 240 or 267
med-res lines, thus allowing you to view more of the pic on screen at
once.
On a color monitor, you are allowed to 'Preview' the conversion before
saving, without affecting the original picture. Hi-res previews will
display the picture in PicSwitch's 'simulated monochrome' mode.
Printouts of ANY screen or full-page picture can now be done with the
built-in driver on most 8-pin graphics printers. You can also load DEGAS
printer drivers for printouts if you wish.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Supported formats
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
This version reads the following file formats:
o DEGAS................................. [.PI1-.PI3]
o DEGAS Elite compressed................ [.PC1-.PI3]*
o NeoChrome.................................. [.NEO]
o Tiny............................... [.TNY, .TN1-3]*
o NVision.................. [.SC0-2, .CL0-2, .PG0-2]
o Amiga IFF low- & med-res................... [.IFF]
o MacPaint................................... [.MAC]
o Mac Startup screen......................... [.MAS]
o CIS Vidtex hi-res RLE...................... [.RLE]
o Atari graphics 8 screen dump............... [.GR8]*
o Atari graphics 9 screen dump............... [.GR9]*
o Atari Koala/MicroIllustrator............... [.KOA]*
o Atari MicroPainter......................... [.MPT]*
And writes the following ST file formats:
o DEGAS
o DEGAS Elite compressed*
o NeoChrome
o NeoChrome 'page' (for NVision)
*New additions from 0.6
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using the program
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
To load a picture using the GEM file selector, double click on its
filename or single-click and then click OK. The file will load and
display. You are now in 'command mode'. Following is a list of key
commands available:
For all pics...
---------------
o [Undo], right mouse button: aborts the pic and returns you to the file
selector.
o [Help]: displays the command list.
o [I]: displays the information screen.
o [S]: displays the save dialog (see below).
o [P]: prints the current pic in its original form (screen OR
full-page). [Undo] aborts a printout. The default printer type
is Epson/Atari dot matrix. Other printers capable of 8-bit
graphics can be configured using a ".PSW" driver as described
further on.
o [D]: dumps a color or monochrome screen to the printer. To use this
option, you must have a DEGAS printer driver with a ".PRT"
extender present in the directory the program is in when it is
first run. The [Alt] key works as in DEGAS, ie.[D] prints a full
page sideways, [Alt-D] prints a half-page. Pressing [Undo]
during a print aborts the dump.
For MacPaint/NVision pics only...
---------------------------------
o left mouse button: activates a 'grabber' similar to Neochrome.
o [C] (monochrome pics / color system only): compress a monochrome page
vertically. This option converts 3 monochrome lines into 1
med-res line. Therefore a 720-line MacPaint document would
reduce to a 240-line med-res scrollable image. Pressing this a
second time restores the original image. Note this option is
available in the save dialog on both monitors.
For Amiga IFF pics only...
--------------------------
o [1]-[6]: selects the bit-planes to be displayed.
o [Space]: cycles through settings [1]-[6].
o [R],[G],[B]: boosts the selected color.
o [Return]: restores the default planes and colors.
Low-res 32-color pics have 5 'planes' or 5 bits of color-register
selection. Keys 1-5 'pull out' one of the planes for display on the ST's
4-plane hardware.
Med-res 16-color pics have 4 planes. Keys 1-6 in med-res therefore need
to pull out 2 planes at a time. The following table summarizes the planes
that are displayed. The space bar cycles through each in turn.
+-----+---------+-----+
| key | low | med |
+-----+---------+-----+
| 1 | 1,2,3,4 | 2,3 |
| 2 | 0,2,3,4 | 1,3 |
| 3 | 0,1,3,4 | 1,2 |
| 4 | 0,1,2,4 | 0,3 |
| 5 | 0,1,2,3 | 0,2 |
| 6 | ---na-- | 0,1 |
+-----+---------+-----+
Amiga's hardware also allows 4-bit color resolution, or 16 levels each of
red, green, and blue. Since the ST only has 3-bit resolution, each IFF
RGB color palette entry is cut in half to bring it into the ST's range.
The R,G,B keys add one to the IFF value before halving it. This helps
bring out some of the detail that may be lost if some of