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PAPERMAN 1.4s The Ultimate Image Compression and Wallpaper Utility for Windows 3.1 from SJHDesign FILES IN THIS ARCHIVE: PAPRM14s.EXE - PAPERMAN executable PAPERMAN.HLP - PAPERMAN Help file DROPVW.DLL - library routines QUIKSTRT.TXT - this ASCII file ORDERFRM.TXT - ASCII file for registering this program A) WHAT IT DOES PAPERMAN is a Drag n' Drop Image Viewer\Wallpaper\Image Compression Utility made for those of us who have a lot of bitmaps hanging around taking up a lot of disk space. With this program you can: - Compress large bitmap(.bmp), PCX, WPG,WMF, PCT and Targa(.tga) files into Compressed TIF, GIF or JPEG files simply by dragging them to the PAPERMAN icon. - Change wallpaper or view images by dragging them to the PAPERMAN icon. These images do NOT have to be in .BMP format-they can be .GIF, .TIF, .PCX, .JPG or .TGA files. You can even compress your large .bmp images while you use them for wallpaper! - Choose an Image Directory and hotkey(Alt N) through all the images in that directory without time-consuming File Open dialogs. Images can be loaded in a window, loaded as wallpaper or auto-compressed in this manner, saving a great deal of time. - Pull in bitmaps or DIB's from the clipboard and compress or load them as wallpaper or both in one step. -Drag and drop multiple images from File Manager(or Norton Desktop or PCTools for Windows file managers) for batch compression- a tremendous timesaver. NOTE TO OS/2 2X USERS: PAPERMAN runs normally in a WinOS/2 full screen session. The program can also be run from the Windows File Manager in a WinOS/2 window, but only in View or Compress mode-it's Wallpaper functions will not be available. To run PAPERMAN in this manner, load the program, choose OPTIONS from the system menu and check either VIEW or COMPRESS in the PROGRAM MODE box. Images can be viewed and compressed but cannot be loaded as wallpaper. On some systems running version 2.0, you might have to copy the file TTY.DRV from your \Windows\System directory to your OS2\Mdos\Winos2\System directory. B) STARTING PAPERMAN Installation is simple-just copy ALL of the files in this archive to the same directory-it doesn't have to be a directory on your path. PAPERMAN requires the File Manager (or the Norton Desktop or PC Tools for Windows file managers) to run. You can start it from the Program Manager, your favorite menu program or by double-clicking on PAPRM14S.EXE in File Manager. When the PAPERMAN icon appears on your desktop, you are ready to start loading images one at a time by by dragging them from the File Manager down to the PAPERMAN icon. If you want PAPERMAN to load automatically whenever you start Windows, open the File Manager and drag the file PAPRM14S.EXE to the STARTUP group in Program Manager. This way, the PAPERMAN is always on your desktop, ready to go. If you place the PAPERMAN icon in a NDW or PCTW Toolbox, you can also start PAPERMAN by dragging an image file to it. C) MENU COMMANDS Clicking on the Paperman Icon brings up the System Menu. Along with the` usual MOVE, CLOSE and SWITCH TO commands, Paperman has these commands` added to its System Menu:` OPTIONS (hotkey : Alt O) Use this dialog box to set Paperman's global options. Be sure to read "The Options Dialog" section of this document for more information on these settings. CLIPBOARD If the Clipboard contains a bitmap or DIB, this command loads it in a View window where it can be saved, compressed or used as wallpaper. To use a clipboard image as wallpaper, click on PAPER in the View window menu bar. A Save As dialog will pop up so you can assign a filename to the clipboard image. After you click on OK, the image is saved(in whatever format you choose in the Save As dialog) and will be loaded as wallpaper. To compress a clipboard image, click on COMPRESS in the View window menu bar. The Save As dialog appears and you choose the filename and format. The compressed formats available are .gif, compressed .tif and .jpg. Clipboard images can also be saved in .bmp format. UNLOAD WALLPAPER This command clears the current desktop wallpaper. LOAD NEXT IMAGE(hotkey : Alt N) This command(or the Alt N hotkey) will load the next image from the IMAGE DIRECTORY you specify in the OPTIONS dialog. HELP(Hotkey F1) Loads the Paperman Help file. ABOUT And now, a word from our sponsor... REGISTER PAPERMAN -if you register this version of Paperman, SJHDesign will give you a registration number. With the number handy, take this menu choice and input the number into the dialog that pops up. Your copy of Paperman is now registered and you won't have to look at any more 'nag' screens when you load the program. D) OPERATING MODES Paperman has three operating modes-Wallpaper, View and Compress. You can set the operating mode by opening the OPTIONS dialog(choose Options on the Paperman Icon's System Menu or use the Alt O hotkey) and going to the PROGRAM MODE box. The three modes are described below: 1) WALLPAPER - this mode loads each image you drag to the Paperman icon as wallpaper. Images can be in .bmp, .pcx, .tif, .tga or .jpg format. There are three other settings in the OPTIONS dialog that affect this program mode: a) Delete Temporary Bitmaps- If you load a file in a format other than .bmp as wallpaper, Paperman creates a temporary bitmap. If this option is checked, this bitmap will be deleted when the next file is loaded or the program is exited. b) Replace Original with Compressed Image- if this box is checked, every time you load a .bmp, .pcx .tga or uncompressed .tif file as wallpaper, Paperman will replace it with a compressed image in .gif, compressed .tif or .jpg format. A dialog will pop up asking you to confirm the deletion of the original uncompressed file. The new file will have the same filename, but with a .jpg, .tif or .gif extension. You choose the compressed file type you want to use with in COMPRESSION TYPE box, described below. c)Compression Type- this box allows you to choose the type of compressed file Paperman converts your .bmp, .pcx .tga and non-compressed .tif images to as described above. Available choices are .gif, compressed .tif and .jpg. For more info on these file formats, see "Image File Formats' in the Help file. Here's an example of how wallpaper mode works: Let's say that you have a directory full of large .BMP files that you use for wallpaper (or whatever). Load PAPERMAN, hit Alt O to open the OPTIONS dialog and do the following: 1)Set the IMAGE DIRECTORY to the directory with your bitmaps. 2)Check the REPLACE ORIGINAL WITH COMPRESSED IMAGE box. 3)Choose COMPRESSED TIFF in the COMPRESSION TYPE box and hit enter to close the dialog. 4)Now just hit ALT N to load each file in succession and hit OK each time you are asked to confirm the deletion of the original bitmap file. After you go through all of the bitmaps in this directory, you will be left with a directory full of compressed .tif files that use 30-50% less disk space than your old .bmp files! But the best part is that you can still use them for wallpaper with Paperman or easily convert them back to .bmp format if needed. Note: if you are interested in compressing your bitmaps without viewing each one, Paperman has an even faster way to do it. See "Compress" below. 2)COMPRESS - this mode is for those who want to compress their .bmp, .pcx, .tga or uncompressed .tif files and do it FAST. In this mode, any file in the above formats that you drag to the Paperman icon is automatically converted to the compressed file type you specify in the COMPRESSION TYPE box in the OPTIONS dialog. Files can be dragged down individually or in groups. You can also hotkey (Alt-N) through the directory specified in the IMAGE DIRECTORY box and each time Paperman encounters an uncompressed image, it will compress it. Either way, you can convert a whole directory of images in a fraction of the time it would take with a conventional image conversion program. NOTE: if you drag a .gif, .tif or .jpg file to the PAPERMAN icon while the program is in this mode, a dialog will pop up telling you the file is already compressed. If you want to change the file format of a .gif, .tif or .jpg image, change the program mode(in the OPTIONS dialog) to VIEW, load the file and use the SAVE AS command to save the file to the desired format. When you hotkey through your image directory using the ALT N hotkey, if the program is in COMPRESS mode and the next file is a .tif, .gif or .jpg image, the program will automatically skip to the next uncompressed file. 3)VIEW - this mode turns Paperman into an old fashioned image viewer. Files can be dragged down one at a time or you can hotkey through your Image Directory as described above. The view window has the usual File menu with open, Save As, Exit, Print and File Info choices. There are two other menu commands available in the View window: 1)Paper - this command takes the image in the view window and loads it as desktop wallpaper with the settings specified in the OPTIONS dialog. 2)Compress - this will take the current image(if it is in .bmp, .pcx .tga or uncompressed tif format) and convert it to the compressed format specified in the COMPRESSION TYPE box in the OPTIONS dialog. A dialog will ask you to confirm the deletion of the original uncompressed file. This menu choice is disabled if the current image in the View window is not in .bmp, .pcx, .tga or uncompressed .tif format. E)THE OPTIONS DIALOG This dialog contains all the settings that you use to run Paperman. They are: PROGRAM MODE - these settings are described in depth in the "OPERATING MODES" section above. IMAGE DIRECTORY - this is the directory where you store the images that you want to view, compress or load them as wallpaper using the Load Next Image command or the Alt N hotkey. If you have a directory full of large bitmaps that you use for wallpaper or want to compress(or do both at the same time), that's the one to use. PAPER STYLE - for choosing wallpaper style, either TILED or CENTERED. DELETE TEMPORARY BITMAPS - if Paperman is in Wallpaper mode and you load a non-.BMP file, a temporary bitmap with the original file's name and a .BMP extension is created in the same directory as the original. If you want to keep this temporary bitmap for any reason, clear this check box. Normally, the program will delete it when the next image is loaded or the program is exited. REDUCE 24 BIT IMAGES TO 8 BIT - checking this box will speed up loading and saving 24 bit(16.7 million color) images if you are running Windows with a 256 color video driver. It is improtant to remember that if you check this box and compress a 24 bit image, the new compressed image will have a 256 color palette. If you would like to save your original 24 bit image, click on CANCEL when the program prompts you to confirm the deletion of your original image. REPLACE ORIGINAL WITH COMPRESSED IMAGE - this option allows you to replace your uncompressed(.bmp, .pcx, and .tga) images with compressed ones. The way this works depends on the program mode you have selected. In WALLPAPER mode, if you load an image in one of the above formats as wallpaper, a dialog will notify you that a compressed file has been written to replace the original and you have the option to either confirm or cancel the deletion of the original. In COMPRESS mode, dragging a file in one of the above formats to the Paperman Icon will bring up the confirmation dialog. In VIEW mode, the Replace option becomes active when you choose the COMPRESS menu choice from the View Window menu, regardless of whether this dialog item is checked. In all cases, the new compressed file is written to the same directory as the original. It will also have the same name as the original, but the extension will depend on the file type chosen in the Compression Type option(described below). For example: Paperman is in Wallpaper mode with the REPLACE ORIGINAL WITH COMPRESSED IMAGE option enabled. In the COMPRESSION TYPE section, GIF is chosen as the file type. You drag the file TEST.BMP to the Paperman Icon. Before loading the file as wallpaper, a dialog appears giving you the name of the original file (TEST.BMP) and asking you to either confirm or cancel it's deletion. If you choose OK, the original(TEST.BMP) is marked for deletion and the program creates a compressed image(TEST.GIF). Once you make your choice, TEST.BMP is loaded as wallpaper. When you either load another image or exit the program, TEST.BMP is deleted. COMPRESSION TYPE - this option allows you to choose the file type used when Paperman compresses your uncompressed images in the manner described above. Available compresed formats are .GIF, compressed .TIF and .JPG. F) CLOSING PAPERMAN To close the program, click on the Paperman Icon and choose CLOSE or key in ALT F4. This will also close any View windows that are open G) SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS Any system that will run Windows 3.1 will run PAPERMAN. The program does not run under Windows 3.0. H) REGISTERING PAPERMAN A single user license for Paperman costs $14.95. Registered users receive the following benefits: -a number to input into Paperman to eliminate the 'nag' screen -The '$14.95 DROPVIEW\IP upgrade'. Registered users of Paperman are entitled to one copy of DROPVIEW\IP, our award winning drag&drop image processing\drawing\conversion program at a price of $14.95, a $15.00 discount. -40% discounts on any of these other Windows programs From SJHDesign: SJHEdit - industrial strength text search and edit utility for very large ASCII files SJHConvert - view and convert BMP, GIF, TGA, WPG, PCX , WMF,JPEG and TIFF(Standard,Compressed and fax)files. DBview - fast drag and drop editor for Paradox and DBase tables. Please note that these special prices for DROPVIEW\IP, SJHEDIT, DBVIEW and SJHConvert are valid only if the programs are purchased along with your Paperman registration. For more information, please see the file ORDERFRM.TXT or call SJHDesign at (212)683-2264. IF YOU GET THE ANSWERING MACHINE, PLEASE LEAVE YOUR NAME AND DAYTIME PHONE(OR FAX). I) DISCLAIMER Please direct any comments, criticism, praise, bug reports, etc. to Scott Hanrahan, CIS I.D. 70144,3033. This software is offered for use as is, and no warranty is offered or implied. SJHDesign is not responsible for any loss of data, damage to hardware nor any resulting loss of time or revenue resulting from the use of this program. Like all commercial software, this program is utilized entirely at the user's risk.