home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
Collection of Tools & Utilities
/
Collection of Tools and Utilities.iso
/
graphic
/
gds202.zip
/
GDS-DEMO.DOC
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1991-10-10
|
48KB
|
903 lines
GDS - Graphics Display System
Imaging Software by Raxsoft Systems
Distribution by Phase II Electronics Inc.
Copyright (c) 1990,1991 Paul Schmidt
Copyright (c) 1990,1991 Raxsoft
All rights reserved.
CONTENTS
Legal Notices I
GDS Features And Requirements II
GDS Limitations III
Notes About Use IV
Getting Started 1
The GDS Screen 2
Viewing Commands 3
Slide Shows 4
Arrays 5
Antialiasing 6
Dithering 7
Command Line Parameters 8
Configuration File Details 9
Common Problems And Solutions 10
Additional Customer Support 11
Introduction & Revision History GDSINFO.DOC
GDS is available in 3 flavors:
1. This "Demo" version which is free and will provide most people with
everything that they need.
2. The "Registered" version for $35.00 Includes AUTOMATIC UPDATES FOR ONE
YEAR. (That's right, you don't even have to call us!) additional functions
and a printed users manual. (Commands found only in the registered version
are marked with **)
3. The "Professional" version which presently provides full support for the
Epson ES300C color scanner with many features not found in other scanning
packages. Cost of licensing is $249 with a rebate of $35 if you have already
registered the "User" version.
Distribution and support services provided by:
Phase II Electronics Inc.
19 Sands Point Drive
Toms River New Jersey 08755-5167
Phone (908) 286-0080, Fax (908) 349-3842
Compuserve 76667,1522 Bob Holland
I. Legal Notices
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
/////////////////////////////// W A R N I N G ! ///////////////////////////
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
The AUTHOR and/or DISTRIBUTORS of GDS DO NOT ASSUME ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR
ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY LOSS OR ANY OTHER EXPENSE OR INCONVENIENCE CAUSED BY
ANY BETA VERSIONS OF GDS.
This includes ALL versions. NOTE: GDS103.ZIP (marked as version "1.03")
which circulated unintentionally contains several known (and potentially
damaging) bugs removed from later versions. If you have a version before
version 1.04, ERASE IT; DO NOT USE IT.
The original file containing GDS may be distributed and used freely
without ANY modifications to the program and/or included documentation.
Any changes to the original distribution files will be considered an
infringement on the rights of the author, and may be subject to criminal
and/or civil prosecution.
Any attempt to disassemble and/or extract code from this product will be
considered copyright infringement punishable by law.
Users may not derive financial benefit from this software in any manner.
They may not sell it or bundle it with any combination of products sold for
profit. (This does not include shipping charges for shareware distributors).
Phase II and associates hereby disclaim all warranties relating to this
software, whether express or implied, including without limitation any
implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
Phase II will not be liable for any special, incidental, consequential,
indirect or similar damages due to loss of data/damage to hardware or any
other reason, even if Phase II or an agent of Phase II has been advised of
the possibility of such damages. In no event shall Phase II's liability
for any damages ever exceed the price paid for the license to use the
software, regardless of the form of the claim. The person or persons using
the software bear all risk as to the quality and performance of the
software.
II. GDS FEATURES AND REQUIREMENTS
1) GRAPHICS VIEWER
GDS is a graphics file viewer with a very intuitive user interface.
2) FILE FORMATS
GDS reads GIF87a, GIF89a (including comments), BMP, LBM, PCX, RIX, and
MAC files. It can write GIF87a, **LBM, **BMP, **PCX, and **RIX files
directly from the screen. Other formats may be added in future versions.
If you need a read or write format supported, FAX or write to Phase II
Electronics Inc. **Registered version only
3) SLIDE SHOWS
GDS will queue up to 2800 images to show in a repeated sequence. GDS
reads successive images ahead of time into EMS or system RAM to minimize
draw time, increasing the appearance of the slide show.
4) IMAGE PROCESSING
GDS can lock a screen mode, reduce and enlarge images to fit, or scale and
zoom to almost any dimensions.
GDS quickly converts 256-color images to 16-color images with antialiasing
and dithering to ensure spatial color consistency.
GDS can scale images to almost any size. It will reduce, enlarge, or
correct image scaling.
5) ARRAYS
GDS has an image cataloging section which reduces and labels arrays of
images on the screen. It creates spatially optimized palettes, uses **two
levels of dithering and **two dimensional antialiasing to reduce color
distortion, and can reduce up to 2304 images onto a single 1024x768
graphics screen. If you are a system operator of a BBS, this is a great
way to provide previews of many images in a single, downloadable file.
**Registered version only (1 level in shareware distribution version)
6) MOUSE SUPPORT
Although ALMOST everything can be done with the keyboard, a mouse is
highly recommended. Version 1.10 has Mouse "pull-down" menu's when in
the view mode.
7) HARDWARE SUPPORT
GDS takes great pains to support video hardware, and supports most SVGA
boards. A few chipsets still remain questionable, but GDS covers the
majority of display hardware.
GDS can also be adapted to work with OEM cards using unrecognized
manufacturer markings, so if you have an unsupported card, there is a good
possibility that it can function completely.
GDS is capable of supporting extended 24-bit DAC circuitry which can
provide 16,777,216 colors, rather than 262,144.
8) MEMORY REQUIREMENTS AND USAGE
GDS can make use lots of memory, using EMS to increase the speed of slide
shows. If your machine has less than 450K of available system RAM, GDS will
probably not perform as well as it can (colors choices in array generation
will be severely degraded and GDS may kick you out to DOS completely). GDS
makes good use of EMS 3.2 and available high DOS memory. We strongly
recommend a 640K system with at least 64K of EMS. XMS is not supported as
it does not provide tolerably fast memory swapping.
III. GDS LIMITATIONS
1. GDS makes no attempt to read or write TIFF files. See FILE FORMATS in
part II above.
2. GDS doesn't write BBM or MAC files. See FILE FORMATS in part II above.
3. GDS is not a PAINT/DRAW program.
IV. NOTES ABOUT USE
SYSOPS: GDS is an excellent method for cataloging your GIFs. A single 185k
file can contain hundreds of images and their file names as a preview of
your directory. Please inform Phase II of how you are currently using GDS
and any suggestions for improvements.
We encourage all users to distribute and use the demo version FREEly. If
you would like the enhanced version and future updates or intend to use GDS
for commercial purposes, you MUST register.
1. GETTING STARTED
Start GDS by typing "GDS" followed by "ENTER." GDS can be run with or
without command line options and can be started from any di