¢¢¢¢ BBBB IIII LL LL BBBB OO A RRRR DDDD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OOOO AAA RR RR DDDDD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OO OO AA AA RR RR DD DD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OO OO AA AA RR RRR DD DD ¢ BBBB II LL LL BBBB OO OO AA AA RRRRR DD DD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OO OO AAAAAAA RR RR DD DD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OO OO AAAAAAAAA RR RR DD DD ¢ BB BB II LL LL BB BB OOOO AA AA RR RR DDDDD ¢ BBBB IIII LLLLL LLLLL BBBB OO AA AA RR RR DDDD ¢¢¢ Copyright (c) 1987 by Chris Wareham¢¢¢ This is a 'shareware' program. Distribute it freely. Give copies to all¢your friends. You may not sell it under any circumstances without the expressed¢written consent of the author. If you like the program and find it useful, why¢not let the author know with a small token of appreciation. All donations will¢be graciously accepted by the author:¢¢ Chris Wareham¢ 1215 West Jackson¢ Spearfish, SD 57783¢¢¢*********¢Overview:¢*********¢¢ BILLBOARD is written in BASIC with machine language routines. It will print¢a Graphics 7.5, 8, or 9 picture upright or sideways to almost any size you want.¢I developed it on an Epson FX-80 printer. Any printer with graphics commands¢compatible to that should work. If your printer supports graphics but is not¢"Epson compatible" you may still be able to use this program. Consult the¢section "Printer Codes" at the end of this documentation.¢ When you first run BILLBOARD, the screen will blank for about 9 seconds¢while the program initializes. When the main screen appears, use the <-> and <=>¢keys to highlight the menu option you want. Press <RETURN> to activate that¢option. Below is a summary of the menu options. Pressing <ESCAPE> at any time¢will return you to the main menu.¢¢*****¢LOAD:¢*****¢¢ First of all, you're asked for the drive number for loading a picture.¢Values of 1 through 8 are allowed, although some values will return an error,¢depending on the DOS you're using and the configuration of your system. If an¢error occurs, press any key and you'll return to the main menu.¢ Next, the filename is requested. The program will load Micro-Painter,¢ComputerEyes, and other pictures that generally have the "standard" 62 sector¢file format. If no color register data is included at the end of the file, then¢the program uses default values, depending on the Graphics mode (see lines 950¢and 960 of the program).¢ After you type in the filename, the top left box asks for the Graphics mode¢of the picture you are using. The implications for printing for each Graphics¢mode are summarized below.¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢ 2¢¢¢ GR.7+ = Display the picture (VIEW option) as Graphics 7.5¢ (Graphics 15 on XL/XE). Print it using shading values¢ provided in the program.¢¢ GR.7+/8 = Display the picture as Graphics 7.5. Print it as a¢ Graphics 8 picture (each bit in screen memory is a dot¢ on the printout--no shading).¢¢ GR.8 = Display and print as a Graphics 8 picture.¢¢ GR.9 = Display as a Graphics 9 picture with 16 shades. Print it¢ using 16 shaded printer patterns which correspond to the¢ 16 on-screen shades.¢¢ Use the <-> and <=> keys along with <RETURN> to make your choice. After the¢picture loads into memory, it will appear on screen. Press any key to return to¢the main menu.¢¢*****¢SAVE:¢*****¢¢ Again, the program requests the drive number and filename. All pictures are¢saved using the "standard" 62 sector file format with the 4 color register¢values at the end of the file (in the order PEEK(712), 708, 709, 710).¢¢*****¢VIEW:¢*****¢¢ This option lets you look at the picture in memory at any time. If no¢picture is in memory, you will see a blank screen. Press any key to return to¢the main menu.¢¢**********¢DIRECTORY:¢**********¢¢ The drive number is the only information needed here. The directory listing¢pauses after every 16 files. Press <RETURN> to continue the listing or <ESCAPE>¢to leave the displayed files on screen and return to the main menu. The LOAD¢option is sometimes easier to use with the correct file displayed.¢¢******¢PRINT:¢******¢ This is the heart of BILLBOARD and the main purpose for which I wrote it.¢The program presents you with two submenus of many different print options. All¢options are again chosen using the <->, <=>, and <RETURN> keys. After you choose¢one printer option, the menu bar advances to the next option. You can press¢<ESCAPE> at any time to exit back to the main menu. The various PRINT options¢are summarized below.¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢¢ 3¢¢¢ ++++++++++++++++++++++¢ A SPECIAL CASE--GR.7.5¢ ++++++++++++++++++++++¢¢ If the picture in memory is Graphics mode 7.5, then BILLBOARD allows¢ you to set the color registers before printing to allow for different¢ shading values. As the instruction line under the picture says, press the¢ numbers 1 through 4 to increase the color register value. The number "1"¢ changes register 712; "2" changes 708; "3" changes 709; and "4" changes¢ 710. Technically there are 8 shading values in the program but I only¢ allow six of them since two print out as stripes that don't look real¢ good. If you get to pressing keys and don't like what you've come up¢ with, just press <TAB> and the original values will return. Press any¢ other key when done to continue with the print options.¢¢ +++++++¢ FORMAT:¢ +++++++¢ With this option you choose either an upright or a sideways printout.¢ You'll have to experiment to see which one looks better for your particular¢ picture and the kind of Graphics mode you're printing it in. A change in¢ format at this point can make quite a difference in the final printed¢ picture.¢¢ +++++¢ TYPE:¢ +++++¢¢ You can print in inverse or regular print. Since I developed this¢ program to use with ComputerEyes, I put INVERSE as the top menu choice.¢ You'll want to print most pictures in inverse. Some will look better in¢ "regular" type print.¢¢ ++++++++¢ DENSITY:¢ ++++++++¢¢ You have four choices here--480, 720, 960, and 1,920 dots per line.¢ Each of these modes gives a different effect on the final printed picture.¢ The heavier densities use up the printer ribbon faster and take longer to¢ print but give a less "grainy" look. The 720 dpl mode is especially good¢ for an undistorted look for upright printouts. You'll have to experiment to¢ find the best option for your application. My favorite combination is a¢ sideways, 960 dpl, double width, four height, centered printout. This gives¢ an undistorted printout that fills most of an 8 1/2 X 11 inch sheet of¢ paper. With a little trimming it's a nice "8 X 10" ready to frame.¢¢ ++++++¢ WIDTH:¢ ++++++¢¢ Single, double, triple, and "More" are available under this option. If¢ you choose the "More" option, then continue to use <-> and <=> to increase¢ or decrease the width factor. Press <RETURN> to activate your choice. The¢ various increments between sizes were necessary due to formatting the¢ output data. Under the "More" option you can observe the rounded off width¢ to the nearest foot, in the box to the upper right of "PRINT OPTIONS."¢¢¢¢¢¢¢ 4¢¢¢ +++++++¢ HEIGHT:¢ +++++++¢¢ Choose the options here in the same way you did for the width. The¢ options are single, double, four, and "More." The height of your printout¢ is displayed to the nearest foot for the "More" option as it was for the¢ width.¢ After you've chosen both WIDTH and HEIGHT, more informatio
