This document is the user guide for Draw version 2.06, a graphical bitmap editor for the Psion Series 3a computer, dated 30 August 1994.
Please note that this software is shareware.
You are free to try the program for a limited time. If you want to continue to use the program, you must register the program by sending the author the registration fee.
Also, Draw v1 for the Series 3 is still available as shareware. Contact the author for more information, address given below.
Overview
This application
* can create, view, edit and print PIC bitmaps.
* can use the grey pixels in a bitmap.
* is not limited by screen size.
* has a 3x zoom facility.
* can create icons.
* allows cut, copy and paste to a bitmap clipboard.
Installation
- Copy DRAW206.OPA to \APP directory on any drive.
- Install the application using Psion-I.
Quick Start
(if you don't like reading manuals)
When run, Draw v2 creates a \PIC directory on the default drive, where new bitmaps will be saved. N.B. An example PIC file named 'example2.pic' is provided, which can be copied into a \PIC directory on the default disk. This file was created using Draw v2, and shows some of the features available. You can delete it after you have seen it.
This application is shareware, and has the full features of the registered product. It also has a delay built into the 'save' routine, which displays a nag screen to encourage you to buy the product. When you register, you will be sent a registration key which you can enter. This disables the delay routine.
On-line help is in the Draw application. Press the Help key.
Usage
Create files from the System screen, the same way as standard Psion applications. Move the graphics cursor ('+') around the screen with the arrow keys; use the Control and psion key to increase the movement.
Use Enter or Space to set a pixel in the colour selected by the diamond key. Select a drawing tool using a hot-key or the menu. Use a shift key whilst moving to highlight areas as normal, then Delete to cut, 'Copy' to copy graphics back in etc.
Use the diamond key to draw in Black, Grey or both. The tools operate in the selected colour too. Selecting 'Zoom' shows a small window containing a 3x magnified image of the current 24 by 24 pixels around the cursor. Selecting 'Icon' allows the top left 48x48 pixels of the bitmap to be edited in a magnified window.
Feature summary
("colour" below means black or grey.)
n - New file.
Choose the height and width of the new bitmap, and whether the grey plane is to be used. Bitmaps with grey are twice the file size of those without.
o - Open file.
Load a PIC bitmap file. Will normally load both black and grey planes of a multi-colour bitmap, but can be set to load either. See Options.
a - Save as
Save the bitmap with a new name. Uses the new file.
s - Save
v - Revert
m - Merge in
Overlays other PIC bitmaps onto the current bitmap. Move the other bitmap with the cursor keys until it is positioned correctly then press Enter to confirm or Esc to cancel.
i - Insert
Paste the clipboard contents into the current bitmap. Position with the cursor keys then Enter to confirm, or Esc to abandon.
c - Copy
Copy the highlighted area into the clipboard, overwriting the current clipboard contents.
L - Highlight all
Highlight the entire bitmap.
w - Mode
Changes the way items are draw onto the current bitmap, e.g. set, invert, replace.
y - Style
Sets the text appearance. Eg. double height, italic, underline.
N - Font
Choose the font for text. Any of the 13 built-in S3a fonts can be used. Roman 16 is the default.
Tools
t - Text
Places a input text string onto the bitmap in the current style and font. Position with cursor keys, then Enter to confirm, or Esc to cancel.
l - Line
Draws an elastic line. The current cursor position is the first point. Move the cursor to the second point. The line 'stretches' with the cursor. Press Enter to confirm, or Esc to delete.
b - Box
Draws a box. The current cursor position is one corner. The box is drawn with the diagonally opposite corner at the cursor. Move the cursor, then press Enter to confirm.
k - Circle
Draws a square box as above for a outline guide. The height and width are kept equal to each other. When Enter pressed, a circle is drawn, with its diameter the same as the box. (The box disappears.)
e - Ellipse
Draws an ellipse. The current cursor position is the corner of an outlining rectangle. Size the outline rectangle as required then press Enter or Esc. For Enter, an ellipse is drawn that fits exactly in the outline rectangle. The outline disappears.
B - Filled box
As above but filled with solid colour, chequered pattern or the clipboard.
K - Filled circle
As above, but filled with solid colour.
E - Filled ellipse
As Filled circle.
Alter
r - Rotate
Spins the current highlighted area clockwise or anti-clockwise by 90 degrees.
f - Flip
Flip the current highlighted area across a horizontal or vertical axis (ie. a mirror image).
h - Shift
Drag the pixels in the current highlighted area. Pixels will automatically rotate around top/bottom and left/right.
d - Dimension
Change the size of the current bitmap. Gives a warning dialog if parts of the bitmap will be lost.
z - Zoom
Zooms in on the current 24x24 pixels around the cursor in 3x magnification. Psion-z again will close this window.
u - Update zoom
Redraws the magnified pixels in the zoom or icon window.
H - Icon
Magnifies the top-left 48x48 pixels in a 3x magnification. Psion-Shift-h again will close the Icon window.
Clipboard
W - View clipboard
Shows the current contents of the clipboard.
C - Clear clipboard
Clear the current clipboard.
O - Open clipboard
Load the clipboard from a file.
A - Save as clipboard
Save the clipboard to a file.
D - Disable clipboard
Stop Delete from cutting to clipboard.
P - Set jump point
Mark the current cursor position as one of four points that the cursor can jump back to with Psion-J.
R - Reset jump point
Stop using the current jump point.
j - Jump
Jump to the next jump point.
J - Jump back
Jump back to the previous jump point.
T - Snap-to-grid
Keep the cursor on a grid 8 pixels apart. When this option is selected, the cursor will jump to the nearest grid point. Use the Control and Psion keys to speed movement up. Use Psion-Shift-t again to switch the snap-to-grid off.
Special
q - Options
Set your preferences for :
Magnify grid
Display a background grid in the magnify windows of None, Grey dots, Grey lines, Dots or Lines.
Cursor type
Change the cursor to Dot, Small, Medium or Large cross, Lines or Pointer.
Cursor step
Set the number of pixels to step when the Control key is used during cursor movement.
Cursor scroll
Set the way the screen scrolls when a bitmap larger than the screen size is displayed. Either Normal or Smooth. Smooth means the scrolling more closely follows the cursor movement.
Fill pattern
Choose the pattern that appears inside filled boxes. Either Solid colour, Chequered pattern or the Clipboard.
Bitmap number
Choose which bitmap plane to load from a multi-bitmap file. Normal 3a .PIC files are two-plane, the black in plane 0, and the grey in plane 1.
Load monochrome only
Force the loading of one plane from a multi-plane bitmap file. Normally Draw v2 will load two colour planes if they are present in the file.
U - Status
Show the current cursor position, the size of the bitmap, whether it has been modified since loading, and whether grey can be used.
V - About
Show the application version number etc.
Q - Register
Enter your personalised encrypted registration key here. (To get your key, see Registration below.) Make sure you enter it correctly here. If you don't, the message "Invalid key" appears, and you can try again. When it is entered correctly, a message appears confirming you are registered. Each time Draw v2 is started, a message appears indicating the so
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