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GRABBER(tm) 8514/A Adapter Interface Version Shareware Release 0.50 ----------------------------- The Screen Capture Program for MS-DOS and 8514/A-Compatible Video Graphics DOCUMENTATION AND TECHNICAL NOTES November 26, 1992 Copyright 1991, 1992 by Gerald A. Monroe All rights reserved. YOUR LICENSE TO USE THIS SOFTWARE: ----------------------------------- This documentation file and the GR4AI.EXE program are Copyright 1992 by Gerald A. Monroe. All rights are reserved except as expressly provided here. These files have been distributed as part of the GRABBER(tm) screen capture package, under the terms of a shareware license that is fully set forth in the file GRABBER.DOC. (GRABBER.DOC is the reference manual for GRABBER.EXE, which is the main program module in the package.) The shareware license terms on the last page of the GRABBER.DOC file are incorporated here by reference. This license permits you to freely copy and distribute this documentation and GR4AI.EXE, provided that: these files are always distributed together with each other and with all the other files in the GRABBER package; none of the files is modified in any way; and no fee, premium or donation of any kind is charged or requested for their distribution except as permitted on the terms described in the GRABBER.DOC file. Continued use of any of these programs for more than a 10-day trial period requires you to register your use of the software with the author. For more information about the benefits of registration and how to go about registering, please refer to the full licensing and ordering information in the GRABBER.DOC file. Table of Contents Shareware License Terms ............................ 1 Overview of GR4AI.EXE .............................. 3 About this documentation ........................... 4 Using GRABBER and GR4AI simultaneously ............. 4 Modifying the GR4AI hotkey ......................... 4 GR4AI's audible error indicators ................... 5 Features not available with GR4AI .................. 5 GR4AI installation options ......................... 5 DEFAULTDRIVE .................................. 6 MOUSE and NOMOUSE ............................. 6 UNLOAD ........................................ 6 SOUND and NOSOUND ............................. 6 PROMPT and NOPROMPT ........................... 7 SWAPMODE ...................................... 7 "Thanks for trying GRABBER" messages ............... 7 Offspring file compatibility with other systems .... 8 Offspring file command-line options ................ 8 Converting GR4AI offspring to PCX and GIF formats .. 9 GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 3 of 9 OVERVIEW OF GR4AI.EXE ---------------------- GR4AI(tm) is an alternative version of the GRABBER screen capture program. It is designed exclusively for capturing high-resolu- tion 640 x 480 and 1024 x 768 graphic images from PC systems that are compatible with the IBM 8514/A Adapter Interface, and which are running in "real mode" under MS-DOS. (GR4AI, like GRAB- BER.EXE, does not capture screens from Microsoft Windows or Windows applications.) The Adapter Interface, or "AI," is a programming interface that lets application programs work with your high-resolution video adapter. Usually, the AI is loaded as a memory-resident (TSR) program in your computer's memory. When it is present, it allows GR4AI to capture certain types of high-resolution graphics. GR4AI can only capture a screen if the foreground program that is generating the image is actually using the AI to do its screen work. Note that this is not always the case. For example, if you have an IBM 8514/A adapter, or another manufacturer's card that is compatible with IBM's 8514/A at the register level (such as an ATI 8514/Ultra, Graphics Ultra or Graphics Vantage card), then it is possible for some application programs to work with the screen by writing directly to the adapter's hardware regis- ters and ignoring the AI completely. GR4AI cannot capture any screens from such applications, because unless the AI is being used for screen output, GR4AI has no way of knowing that the adapter is in use at all. Therefore, if you have an application from which you want to capture screens, and the application's installation or setup allows you to choose between AI-compatible and 8514/A register- level compatible video, then you should choose the AI-compatible option. Whatever kind of video hardware is installed, GR4AI expects to find an AI driver resident in memory when you install it, and when you ask it to capture a screen. If an AI driver is not present, GR4AI will not capture the screen. (With the IBM 8514/A and the ATI 8514/A-compatibles mentioned above, the AI driver is called HDILOAD.EXE. If you have a different brand of adapter, the driver file may be called by a different name.) Note that you do not have to have an adapter that is register- level compatible with the 8514/A in order to use GR4AI. All you need is an adapter that comes supplied with an AI driver, and an application program that uses the AI for its screen output. GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 4 of 9 ABOUT THIS DOCUMENTATION ------------------------- GR4AI can be installed in memory and operated in much the same way as GRABBER.EXE, and the two programs have a very similar look and feel. For the most part, this documentation for GR4AI covers only the aspects of GR4AI which differ from GRABBER.EXE. To use GR4AI effectively, you should read the GRABBER program documenta- tion and become familiar with GRABBER's operation. USING GRABBER and GR4AI SIMULTANEOUSLY --------------------------------------- GR4AI is designed to be compatible with GRABBER. Both programs can be installed in memory at the same time. The default "hotkey" sequence for GR4AI is [Ctrl Alt F10]. That is, you hold down the [Ctrl] key and the [Alt] key at the same time, then press the [F10] key, then release all three keys. MODIFYING THE GR4AI HOTKEY --------------------------- GR4AI allows you to modify your hotkey sequence from the default [Ctrl Alt F10] to practically any other key sequence you choose. In this respect, GR4AI is exactly like GRABBER. There is no separate documentation here which covers the procedure for changing your GR4AI hotkey. GR4AI uses the exact same hotkey procedures as GRABBER. You can read about these in the GRAB- BER.DOC manual, at page 35 and at Appendices A and B. (To view a list of valid KEY= codes for GR4AI, use the command GR4AI KEY=?. To view a list of valid SHIFT= codes, enter GR4AI SHIFT=?.) GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 5 of 9 GR4AI's AUDIBLE ERROR INDICATORS --------------------------------- If you press GR4AI's hotkey and hear one or two short, low- pitched tones from your PC speaker, it means that GR4AI is unable to capture the screen because an error condition exists. One low-pitched tone indicates that no AI driver is currently loaded in memory. Two low-pitched tones indicate that an AI driver is loaded in memory, but that it is not presently in use by a foreground application, or that the adapter is presently operating in a video mode that exceeds GR4AI's capabilities. GR4AI is able to capture these four -- and only these four -- common AI modes: * 640 x 480, 16 colors * 1024 x 768, 16 colors * 640 x 480, 256 colors * 1024 x 768, 256 colors (Three low-pitched tones indicate a probable disk error during the screen capture process. See "Errors During the Screen Capture" on page 16 of the main GRABBER program documentation file, GRABBER.DOC.) FEATURES NOT AVAILABLE WITH GR4AI ---------------------------------- The BATCHCAPTURE options that are available in GRABBER.EXE are not supported by GR4AI. Also, the option which GRABBER.EXE offers for capturing screens from inside other applications (by calling INT 16h/AX=4752h) is not supported by GR4AI. GR4AI INSTALLATION OPTIONS --------------------------- GR4AI accepts the following command-line configuration options. Each of these optional switches is also available in the GRABBER program. For more complete details concerning the purpose of these options and how they work, consult the section beginning on page 16 of the GRABBER.DOC manual which is headed "Grabber Installation Options." GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 6 of 9 Option: DEFAULTDRIVE Purpose: Tells GR4AI to capture screens to whatever drive and directory path is the current DOS default. As with GRABBER, this switch can substitute for the drive/path parameter which is otherwise required to make GR4AI stay resident in memory. Option: MOUSE and NOMOUSE Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GR4AI's recogni- tion of the "mouse hotkey," which allows you to capture screens by holding down both the left and right mouse buttons for about two seconds. Please note: The mouse hotkey function is available in the GRABBER program as well as in GR4AI. If you have installed both programs in memory simultaneously, do not use the MOUSE switch to enable the mouse hotkey with both programs. Strange results are almost guaranteed to occur, and it may even lock up your computer when you use the mouse hotkey. It is acceptable to use the MOUSE switch with either GR4AI or GRABBER, but not both. Option: UNLOAD Purpose: Removes GR4AI from your computer's memory. GR4AI cannot be removed from memory if, after you initially installed it, you loaded other memory-resident software which is activated by any of the same hardware or software interrupts which GR4AI uses. If you are using GR4AI and GRABBER simultaneously, both programs can be removed from memory, but only in the reverse order in which they were initially installed. In other words, "last in, first out." Option: SOUND and NOSOUND Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GR4AI's use of sounds through the computer's speaker. When enabled, the sounds accompany the on-screen filename prompts, and are also issued to indicate the successful comple- tion of a screen capture operation. GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 7 of 9 Option: PROMPT and NOPROMPT Purpose: To enable and disable, respectively, GR4AI's on-screen filename prompts. When the prompts are disabled, GR4AI creates offspring files on your disk without asking you first what each file should be called. Instead, the program assigns a sort of "serial number" name to each file that is created. These files are named AISCRN00.EXE, AISCRN01.EXE, and so forth up to AISCRN99.EXE, at which point they return again to AISCRN00.EXE. Please consult the description of the PROMPT and NOPROMPT options on page 17 of the GRAB- BER.DOC manual for more important information. Option: SWAPMODE Purpose: To enable "DOS Swap Mode" of operation, which can eliminate some of the delays you may experience in getting GR4AI to pop up after you press the hotkey. The SWAPMODE switch is valid only when you are initial- ly installing GR4AI in memory, and has no effect after the program is already resident. For more information about this option, see page 19 of the GRABBER.DOC file. "THANKS FOR TRYING GRABBER" MESSAGES ------------------------------------- Because this is an unregistered, shareware version of GRABBER, the images which you capture using this version will all contain a small message in the lower right corner of the screen which expresses our "Thanks for trying GRABBER." These messages will appear each time you execute a high-resolution graphic offspring file, such as those created by GR4AI.EXE. By including these messages, we only hope to remind you that this version of GRABBER is shareware, and to encourage you to register the program if you continue to find it useful. Users who register with the publisher (for the full $59.00 version) will find that the registered version of GR4AI.EXE which they receive creates offspring files that do not include this or any other message superimposed on captured screens. GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 8 of 9 OFFSPRING FILE COMPATIBILITY WITH OTHER SYSTEMS ------------------------------------------------ As mentioned above on page 4, GR4AI can capture four different types of images from AI-compatible video adapters. The four types are: * 640 x 480, 16 colors * 1024 x 768, 16 colors * 640 x 480, 256 colors * 1024 x 768, 256 colors Each type of image can be displayed on a different system than the one from which it was originally captured, if the destination system has an AI driver (such as IBM's or ATI's HDILOAD.EXE) resident in memory. In addition, each type of image can be displayed on a system which is compatible with the VESA video BIOS extension, even if no AI driver is loaded. A 16-color, 640 x 480 offspring image can be ported to any VGA- compatible system -- even one which does not have an AI driver loaded and is not VESA-compatible. Some types of screens have special video memory requirements: * 1024 x 768 x 256 images require at least 1 Mb of video memory * 1024 x 768 x 16 images require at least 512 Kb of video memory * 640 x 480 x 256 images require at least 512 Kb of video memory OFFSPRING FILE COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS ------------------------------------ GR4AI offspring files support the same command-line options as are supported by GRABBER.EXE offspring files. This includes the /? help option, the "FADEIN" and "FADEOUT" options, the /Tn option for timed execution, the /F and /N options for exiting without erasing, and the /K keylist option. Each of these options is fully explained in the main GRABBER program documenta- tion (GRABBER.DOC), starting at page 24. Including the /? switch on the GR4AI offspring file's command line will display on-screen help and other useful information about the image and the current hardware setup. GR4AI(tm) Documentation & Technical Notes Page 9 of 9 OFFSPRING FILE COMMAND-LINE OPTIONS (continued) ------------------------------------------------ However, you should note that for technical reasons it is not always safe to use the /F and /N command-line options with GR4AI offspring files. These two options can cause a system crash when you are executing a GR4AI offspring at the DOS prompt or within a batch file, and should not be used in those situations. You may use these two options when executing a GR4AI offspring from inside another program by way of a SHELL or EXEC-type function, but only if the parent program re-initializes the AI (with the AI's HINIT or HSYNC functions) or closes the AI (with the HCLOSE function) immediately upon return from the child program. CONVERTING GR4AI OFFSPRING TO .PCX and .GIF -------------------------------------------- GR4AI is supplied along with two companion utilities which convert captured AI screens to the PCX and GIF file formats. The utilities are called GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF. These utilities function in exactly the same way as the GR2PCX and GR2GIF pro- grams which are also included in this GRABBER package. However, here is the difference: GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF are designed to convert only offspring screens created by GR4AI.EXE, while GR2PCX and GR2GIF are designed to convert only screens created by GRABBER.EXE. For instructions on using GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF, consult the CONVERT.DOC documentation file. * * * End of GR4AI.DOC * * *