Hall of Fame

home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search

/ Hall of Fame / HallofFameCDROM.cdr / gamegif / pckeydrw.lzh / KD_DOC.10 < prev next >

Wrap

Text File | 1988-06-23 | 82KB | 3,433 lines

────────────────────────────────────────── 10 - DEFINITIONS ────────────────────────────────────────── Active Layer The active layer is the one in which you are actually drawing and is always SCreen 1. The active layer can also be seen and may be overlaid with the visual layer. ASCII <F6 T a, A> ASCII text files can be imported into a drawing. Position cursor to the line you want the file to start displaying at. <a> will stop at the end of the screen while <A> will continue to the end of the file. Hit <Esc> to stop. Animate <F7 a> <F7 Alt-s> Once an object has been copied or erased with <F7> it can be moved about on the screen. Animate allows you to see the object as it moves to aid in proper positioning. Several other functions automatically switch to the animation mode to allow proper object or text placement. Animation can also be used with the Key Macro command to jazz up slide shows. If the animated area is large the object will tend to flash as it is moved. The visual horizon can be set to allow animated objects to disappear below the horizon. <Alt-s>mear can also be used to do animation over a blank background. Figure 10-1 shows a screen from SLIDEMO that uses <Alt-s> to animate the manned submersible. DEFINITIONS 10-1 [recov] Figure 10-1 Submersible Launch and Recov- ery using a Motion Compensated Crane. Angle <[>, <]>, <{>, <}> The angle from the cursor to the last measured point is, starting with verison 3.50, constantly displayed on the prompt line along with the distance to the measure point and the x and y coordinates. <[> will rotate the cursor position counter-clockwise around the measure point using the cursor speed step to determine the angle while <]> will do the same in a clockwise fashion. <{> rotates counter-clockwise in 90 degree increments, while <}> rotates clockwise. The above rotation commands work anytime the cursor can be moved around the screen including during line drawing, rectangle, polygon, animate, and smear. Figure 10-2 shows a logo created with the aid of angle. DEFINITIONS 10-2 [logo1] Figure 10-2 Logo for a letterhead. Arc <F3 a, A> Arcs are drawn using <F3>. First move cursor to center. Then mark the radius and end point followed by the sec- ond end point. Arcs are always drawn coun- terclockwise. Pie shaped arcs can be drawn using <F3 A> and proceeding as with a reg- ular arc. To draw an elliptical arc use <$> to modify the screen aspect ratio just before selecting the first end point. Be sure to reset the proper aspect ratio after drawing the arc. Area <F1 c> The area of an object and the center of that area can be calculated based on the color set by <F10>. Calcu- late works by looking for a color, so to get the area of a circle for example, the circle must be painted in, otherwise you are getting something closer to the per- imeter than the area. Also see Mass and Center. DEFINITIONS 10-3 Arrows <F2 a, Alt-a> Arrows at 45 degree increments and almost any size can be added to the screen. The arrow will point p, <d>own, <l>eft, <r>ight, <e> up-right, <f> down right, <g> down-left, and <h> up-left. Set the direction the arrow is to point and use p and <d>own to change the size before saving the arrow. The amount of size change with each or <d> is a function of the <F9> speed setting. Arrow color is determined by <F10>. <F2 a> produces an outline of an arrow, while <F2 Alt-a> produces a filled in arrow. An arrow symbol could as be created with <F6> and rotated to any angle. [bspline] B-Spline <F3 b> Complex curves can be difficult to draw with just the cursor keys, but with <F3 b> you can let the program con- nect the dots that you enter and create smooth curves. This is a great feature for those, like myself, that are not artistically inclined. It makes complex curves easy from the keyboard. Figure 10-3 shows a simple b-spline curve. Background <F5 b>, <F5 c>, <F5, C>, The screen background color can be set in medium resolution mode by using the space bar to page through the colors and the <ENTER> to fix the desired color. The background can also be set in high resolu- tion using <F5 C> and <F5 c>. ackground sets the color that is used for the back- ground during many operations. See Spray paint and Fade for more information. DEFINITIONS 10-4 BAS File extension for BASICA program. <F7 C>opy can save a screen image as a BASICA subroutine that can be merged into your own program. This is useful for including logos or for creating graphic game pro- grams. See BASICA manual for information on merging programs. The subroutine when called will load an array with the data to create the image. Use the PUT command to place the image on the screen. BASIC is ideal for working with graphics on a CGA since it contains just about all of the commands you need to manipulate the screen and graphics. Other languages require the use of libraries to get the graphics functions provided in BASIC. Some insight into the operation of PC-KEY- DRAW is possible from the BASIC manual. In particular look at the graphics com- mands of PUT, GET, DRAW, LINE, CIRCLE, and PSET. Box <F2 r>, <F2 R>, <F2 Alt-r>, <F2 s>, <F2 S> A box is a rectangle or square. Start by positioning one of the corners. Selecting a <r> will display the rectangle as you move the cursor. Position box as desired and mark. <R> displays the box and it is copied into <F7> automatically. <Alt-r> produces a filled in rectangle at the color set by <F10>. <s> produces a rectangular series of dots at the color set by <F10> in light, medium or dark shading. <S> functions the same as <R>. CAMERA A public domain screen capture pro- gram is included with PC-KEY-DRAW to aid capturing graphics from other programs. Run CAMERA from DOS, enter program to dis- play the desired graphic image, use <Ctrl- ALT-Right Shift> to grab screen. DEFINITIONS 10-5 Center animated area <C> Centers the ani- mated object on the screen. Center of area <F1 c>, <F1 Alt-c> The cen- ter of an area or the center of mass of an object can be calculated. See Area and Mass for more information. Figure 10-4 shows the results from calculation. [calc] Figure 10-4 Center and area being calcu- lated. The units for the center dimensions is inches and for the area square inches. Center of circle <C> The last center of a circle can be located by <C> in the CURSOR MODE. Circle <F3 c> Circles are drawn by first marking the center and then the radius of the circle. Use <$> to match the screen aspect ratio of your monitor and/or printer. <$> only effects circles drawn after a change and not already drawn circles. To change a circle once it is drawn use <F1> Flip to compress the screen in the appropriate direction. DEFINITIONS 10-6 Circle Center Lines <F3 Ctrl-c>, <F3 Ctrl-e> Center lines for circles and ellipse are automatically drawn using <F3> <Ctrl-c> or <Ctrl-e>. Start by placing cursor at center of circle or ellipse and making selection and then moving cursor to desired size and selecting <ENTER>. Color <F5 c>, <F5 C>, <F10> Three color palettes are available with three colors each plus a background color in medium resolution from the standard color board. <F5 c> will toggle between the three. 15 unichrome colors are also available in medium resolution by selecting <C>. 15 colors in high resolution are also avail- able with <c>. <F10> will select the active color from a given palette for use. The current color is displayed on the prompt line as a number to the right of the appropriately colored box. Some actions are color specific. If the action does not seem to work it may be that the color is set wrong. <F5> allows color mixes for a total of 29 colors per pal- ette. With a composite monitor 16 of the color mixes become distinct colors. For best results set the color palette to pal- ette 0 or 2 (RED GREEN YELLOW). Configure <Ctrl-s> PC-KEY-DRAW must be configured to your particular system and desires. This is done by selecting <Ctrl-s>tatus from the CURSOR MODE and modifying the Configuration Screen as desired. In particular the disks that you have available must be set. The printer can also be configured for zoom printing. See Status and Appendix B: for additional information. The key macro command is ideal for configuring the program to your personal requirements. Key macros can be DEFINITIONS 10-7 called from DOS when calling the program so that each time you enter PC-KEY-DRAW it can be set just as you like, beyond what is saved in the Status Screen. Coordinates PC-KEY-DRAW was originally intended for CAD work and as such the cur- sor position coordinates were always dis- played on the prompt line as the cursor is moved. In addition to the x and y coordi- nates the distance to the measure point and the angle to the point are also dis- played. When using PC-KEY-DRAW as a paint program it may not be desirable to have the cursor coordinate readout. Use <Alt-q> to toggle between display on and off. Copy <F7 c>, <F7 C>, <F7 Ctrl-c> Enclose area is copied into <F7> buffer to be used with smear, move, etc. <C> copies area and allows user to save that portion of the screen on disk. Enter name of file includ- ing drive. No extension on the name will result in the program adding a PIC. A FIG extension allows partial screens or even entire screens to be saved in an ASCII file format. Use <F7 o> to get old or pre- viously copied areas onto the screen from the disk. A PIC extension added to the name will save the enclosed portion of the drawing in a format compatible with many other graphics programs allowing inter- change. The PIC extension is the most com- pact on disk and is the default extension. A BAS extension will save the copied area as a BASICA subroutine for use in user generated graphics programs. A FNT exten- sion saves the copied area a part of a font file under the character specified. <Ctrl-c> copies the same size area as last copied without enclosing it first. DEFINITIONS 10-8 Cursor <F6 c> Lines can be drawn with the cursor. The line color can be changed at will during drawing. Use <F6 e>nd to end and save to the screen. The entire cursor key pad can be used, thus 45 degree lines are possible. CURSOR MODE Anytime the cursor can be moved around on the screen using the cur- sor keys or a mouse. If no activities are pending the words CURSOR MODE is displayed on the prompt line. The opposite of the CURSOR MODE is MENU MODE, when moving the cursor keys moves you through a menu and doesn't move the cursor. If cursor wrap is on (default condition), when the cursor is moved off the edge of the screen it wraps around to the other side. When off the cursor will stop at the edge of the draw- ing area. Cursor Type <Alt-c> Three cursor types are available and can be readily selected with <Alt-c> from the CURSOR MODE or during configuration. Cursor 0 is a small dot that is the same as early versions. Cursor 1 is a small arrow that points to the active area. Cursor 2 is a full screen cross hair. Which cursor you use depends on a lot of factors, each has its advan- tages and disadvantages for a giving draw- ing task. Cursor Wrap <_> Prior to version 3.50 when the cursor was moved off the screen the it would wrap around to the other side. Use <_> to turn wrap off so that the cursor will stop at the edge of the screen and not wrap. When wrap is turned off a line (_) is displayed under the cur- sor speed value. DEFINITIONS 10-9 Customizing PC-KEY-DRAW provides flexi- bility in customizing the program to an individuals tastes or needs. KD-DRAW.TXT can be readily modified with any text edi- tor to provide different prompts. Care must be taken to conform to the conven- tions of the existing file. This is not a task for the novice. The macro files when used in a HOT key file make for an ideal method of customizing PC-KEY-DRAW. Macro files for particular uses can be created and combined into a HOT key file. Differ- ent HOT key files for different tasks can be kept on disk and called up when needed with <Alt-k f>unction key set. DAT Data file extension containing scale information for full screen saves. These files can be erased to gain more disk space, but the scale for a picture will become pixel scaling. Date <Alt-d> the DOS date can be displayed at the specified location on the screen. (see also Time) Delete File See Kill. Delete Lines <F7 Alt-l> Horizontal lines can be deleted from the cursor position. The number of lines that will be deleted is dependent on the cursor speed setting as shown on the prompt line. Direct Coordinate Entry <x> the x and y coordinates can be entered directly if desired. Direct coordinate entry can be used from the CURSOR MODE or while in one of the main menus. DEFINITIONS 10-10 Directory <F8 d #>, <F6 o #>, <F6 E #>, <F6 T a #>, <F7 o #>, <F7 C #>, <F8 o #>, <F8 Ctrl-o>, <F8 Alt-o>, <F8 s #>, <F1 Ctrl-z o #>, <Alt-k r #>, <Alt-k c #> Where "#" is the drive letter to see the directory of. The complete disk directory for any drive is found with <F8 d> fol- lowed by a single drive letter or complete drive\path specification. If <=> is used ahead of the drive\path the drive\path will be kept as the default for saving and loading the various files. Partial direc- tories can be obtained with the other listed functions by entering the drive followed by a <ENTER> when asked for file name. Only those files that pertain to a given directive will be shown. To be able to use the partial directory capability be sure to let the program add the required extension. The extension names are con- tained in KD-DRAW.TXT and can be changed if desired to avoid conflicting with other programs. Disable Workspace Set the update frequency to 0 to disable the updating of the work- space. This can be used for macros when space is not available for a workspace, or when a workspace is not desired. Display <F8 Alt-o> screens can be loaded in 1 of 5 display forms for use in slide shows. 1. Fade In 2. Pull Down 3. Pull Up 4. Pull Left 5. Pull Right DEFINITIONS 10-11 Dot <F6 d> Single pixel dots are placed by marking the correct spot with a <ENTER>. <F10> determines the color of the dot. The dot can also be made as large as desired using the width command from the CURSOR MODE. Down <F6 T d> To place text vertically and running down the screen use <F6 T d>. Edge Detection See Image Processing. Ellipse <F3 e> As with circles and arcs the ellipse is drawn by first marking its center. The horizontal radius and vertical radius must also be marked. The radius is marked by moving the cursor keys over and up. End <F6 e>, <F6 E> With the exception of text, all functions in <F6> must be ended. If a line drawing is ended with <E> the drawing is saved as a vector for later use. See Line. Erase <F7 e>, <F7 E>, <F7 Alt-e>, <F7 Ctrl-e> To erase an area enclose it in a box as with copy. With <e> the area will be erased and saved to the <F7> buffer for use with move, animate, etc. With <Alt-e> the area is erased but not saved. <Ctrl-e> will erase a circular portion of the screen. <E> erases an area and switches to animate mode to allow quick and easy movement of a portion of a screen. Exit <F1-F8 n>; <F8 e> A function can be exited with <n>, <Esc>, </>, or <Space Bar>. The program is exited to DOS with <F8 e>. DEFINITIONS 10-12 Extension File extensions for the various files used by PC-KEY-DRAW have been pre- defined, however they can be easily changed to what ever you prefer, by edit- ing the file KD-DRAW.TXT with any text editor. This manual assumes they have been kept as originally defined. See the Sec- tion on Libraries for more information. Fade <F4 f>, <F4 Alt-f> Objects can be faded to the background by color using <f> or all colors can be faded using <Alt-f>. Fatbits <F1 Ctrl-z> editing of screens at the pixel level is possible using <F1 Ctrl-z>. Enclosed area to be edited in fixed sized box. If you want to edited a larger area select <Ctrl-z> a second time to display 8 boxes in high resolution or 4 boxes in medium resolution. Select <ENTER> to reach the editing stage. Set the color of each individual pixel by specifying the appropriate number (0,1,2,3). Use <t>race to draw by selecting <t> and then the color to be used. Selecting <t> a second time turns off the trace. Use <Ctrl-PgUp> and <Ctrl-PgDn> to move through multiple screens. Use <Esc> to exit. Starting with version 3.50 Fatbits has been signif- icantly improved to provide greater flexi- bility in editing by providing a scroll feature and eliminating the need for the multiple page approach which is retain for backward compatibility only. Scrolling is activated with <Alt-s>croll, after which the cursor keys or mouse will move the screen window in the direction selected. It is possible to scroll over the entire screen. <Alt-s> a second time will turn scrolling off. Trace can be used with scroll. Upon exiting the area covered is copied and available in <F7>. DEFINITIONS 10-13 FIG Figures-see Copy. File is saved in an ASCII format. Fill <F5 f>, <F5 Alt-f> Areas that can be painted can be filled instead. The program comes with 64 patterns on KD-PTRN.PIC. These patterns can be changed or modified as desired and resaved (see section for F7 for handling PIC files). <Alt-f> allows any PIC file to be called in to act as a pattern file. The file called becomes the default (until program is exited) and will be used the next time <F5 f> is called. Fillet <F3 f> Automatic fillets to 90 degree corners are created by drawing a box around corner to set the radius. Flip <F1 f>, <F1 F> Flip has a variety of uses. Think of it as rotating the screen through an angle. This can be used to com- press the image and is useful in matching completed screen to printer. <f> is used to flip a portion of the screen, while <F> is used to flip the entire screen. FNT Font file. This ending must be speci- fied to save part of a screen as a font. A single file contains all of the font information for the specified characters. [softnow] Figure 10-5 3-dimensional text created by modifing one of the alternate text fonts supplied with PC-KEY-DRAW. DEFINITIONS 10-14 Fonts Two standard fonts are built into the program. Which one is used depends on which mode the program is operating in (high or medium resolution). The standard text fonts are retrieved with <F6 t>, <F6 T>, <F6 Ctrl-t>. Alternate text fonts can be created, saved and recalled. The fonts can be created using any and all of the program functions. To save a font use <F7 C>opy to copy each individual letter. A given font should be saved to the same file with an FNT extension. Fonts are recalled as needed with <F6 Alt-t> by typ- ing in the text and specifying the font to use. Figure 10-6 shows what can be done in minutes using the four supplied fonts com- bined with other program functions. The "CREATE-A-FONT" title was done in several steps, including <F7 S> and <F1 Ctrl-s>lide. Italics are easily created using <F1 s>lide and a step of 15. <F1 z>oom allows you to set the number of steps in a zoom to produce the "ZOOM STEP" text. Library Disk #3 contains 14 addi- tional text fonts along with several very useful macros for creating BOLD, 3-D text, outlined text and overlaid text quickly and easily from any of the text fonts. [create] Figure 10-6 Simple font modifications. DEFINITIONS 10-15 Freehand drawing <F6 c> While there are a variety of methods that can be used in the program to do freehand drawing, the most common is to set the cursor to continuous with <F6 c> and to draw with the cursor keys or a mouse. The color of the line can be set with F10 and the drawing can be temporarily suspended with a <Space Bar> or second mouse key, then restarted with an <ENTER> or the first mouse button. <F6 c>ursor acts in much the same way as an Etch-A-Sketch and as such has some limita- tion. <F6 l>ine is the preferred method of drawing lines, since the width can be set and the <Backspace> can be used to back up and correct mistakes. Both <l>ine and <c>ursor must be ended by returning to <F6> and <e>nding. FUN Computer graphics are not only very useful, but can be a whole lot of fun. GRAPHICS To print a screen on most print- ers, GRAPHICS.COM must be run first. GRAPHICS.COM comes with all versions of DOS and can be part of an AUTOEXEC.BAT, KD.BAT or run directly from DOS. With GRAPHICS loaded a <Shft-PrtSc> will send the screen image to the printer. GRAFTABL When in the graphics mode of a CGA, ASCII values greater than 127 are not defined by default. GRAFTABL is supplied with DOS 3.* to define the ASCII charac- ters above 127 as the same as what they would be in a text mode. Load GRAFTABL as part of your AUTOEXEC.BAT to use the ASCII characters 128 to 255. It is also possible to define your own set of high bit charac- ters. DEFINITIONS 10-16 Grid <g>, <Ctrl-g>, <Alt-g> A grid made of dots can be placed or removed with <g> from the CURSOR MODE. A grid made of lines is placed with <Alt-g>. Version 3.50 adds a third grid type with <Ctrl-g>, that pro- vides lines that are XORed with the screen for easier view of what is under the grid. The user must specify the spacing between grid points. The color of grid is set by the current active color when <g> or <Alt-g> are selected. The grids reside on a separate layer and do not become part of the drawing. Grid Jump <Ctrl-Right Arrow> <Ctrl-Left Arrow> When using the keyboard to move the cursor <Ctrl-Right Arrow> will jump to the nearest grid point to the right, while <Ctrl-Left Arrow> will jump to the nearest grid point to the left of the current cur- sor position. Help <h>, <H> Help information is avail- able in the CURSOR MODE or when entering any function. Selecting <?>, <h> or <H> the first time will turn on the pull down menus. Selecting <h>elp a second time will display a disk file as appropriate for the section you are in. <H> or <?> is used to turn off the pull down menus from the CUR- SOR MODE. Help is available from the CUR- SOR MODE or anytime the menu is displayed on the prompt line. Selecting help while in the PAN mode (<Ctrl-Home>) will display a map of the current page in relation to the 64 pages. DEFINITIONS 10-17 Hot Keys <Shft-F1 to F8>, <Ctrl-F1 to F10>, <Alt-F1 to F9> 27 hot keys can be defined to customize PC-KEY-DRAW to your own personal needs and desires. KD- DRAW.HOT contains the names of key macros (previously created) that are activated with one of the hot keys. The name of the HOT key file to use is set with <Alt-k f>unction. The default name is KD- DRAW.HOT, but as many HOT key files as desired can be created and kept on disk. HOT key files may consist only of macro names associated with the HOT keys, so that the particular file is called and run when its HOT key is selected. HOT key files can also be compiled with MAKHOT- LIB.EXE to create a single file that includes both the function key definitions and the macros themselves. Compiled HOT key files have a great advantage in mini- mizing the disk space required for macros. [imagepro] Figure 10-7 Basic image processing is pos- sible with PC-KEY-DRAW. A digitized image in original form is shown along with pro- cessing for vertical edge, horizontal edge, and both edge enhancement. DEFINITIONS 10-18 Image Processing Basic image processing is possible on digitized or scanned images. Figure 10-7 shows a sample picture with vertical edge, horizontal edge, and both edge enhancement/detection. Edge detection is accomplished with the aid of <F7 c>opy and <F7 m>. For vertical edge detection, copy the image, move one pixel to the left and move the image in place. For horizon- tal edge detection start with a clean image, copy the image, move one pixel down, and move the image in place. Insert line <F7 l> Horizontal lines can be inserted at the cursor position. The num- ber of lines inserted is determined by the setting of the cursor speed, as displayed on the prompt line. Inserting a line sim- ply puts space at the cursor position. Isometric Drawing Toggles the isomet- ric drawing mode. When activated the cur- sor moves at a 30 or 60 degree angle instead of a 45 degree angle. Circles are also adjusted accordingly. Figure 10-8 shows a drawing made with the aid of the isometric mode. [table] Figure 10-8 Drawing made in isometric mode. DEFINITIONS 10-19 Joystick Any standard joystick can be used with version 3.50 or later of PC-KEY-DRAW. All references to mice also apply to joy- sticks. Jump <j> The joystick and mouse sensiti- vity is set by the <j>ump factor. A sen- sitivity number of 5 seems to be good for a mouse, while 10 works well with a joy- stick. The jump factor can be saved to disk with <Ctrl-s Ctrl-s>. Jump <Ctrl-J>, <Alt-#> Where # is a number from 0 to 9 inclusive. Allows a screen position to be set and remembered. First position the cursor as desired, select <Ctrl-j>ump or <Ctrl-ENTER> and then <Alt-#> where # is a number from 0 to 9. The screen positioned is now remembered on disk for future use. At any time select <Alt-#> to jump to the remembered position instantly. For compatibility with past versions keep <Alt-1> as 0,0. (Top left corner) KD-DRAW.JMP is created the first time a jump position is set. KD-TRANS.EXE (PC-KEY-DRAW macro TRANSla- tor) provides easier editing of macro files by translating keystroke codes into the names of the keystrokes. While MaCRo files can be edited directly with many text editors, it is easier to first trans- late the MaCRo file to a TeXT file. After editing use KD-TRANS.EXE to translate back to a MaCRo file. KD-TRANS.EXE must be called from DOS. DEFINITIONS 10-20 Keep <k> While putting a box around an object or drawing a circle the drawing is modified by the box. When the <ENTER> is hit to complete the box the screen is first restored and then the action takes place. Sometimes the effect is desirable. While in the CURSOR MODE selecting <k> keeps the drawing as it is seen at that moment. Using <k> will also keep the grid, help screen, or layer and should be used with care. Key Macro <Alt-k> This is a very powerful feature of Version 3 and potentially the most useful. I have yet to fully examine all of the uses, but they include at a minimum, macros, slide shows with anima- tion, drawing saves, program customiza- tion. Several commands such as <*>, <Alt-v>isual horizon, <Alt-1>, and <Alt-p>ause have been added specifically for use with key macros. The demo/tutorial supplied with the program is a sample of using a key macro as a slide show. Basi- cally, what a key macro does is to remem- ber every key stroke that you make and save them to an ASCII sequential file for later retrieval. The file that is saved consists of the key stroke code followed by the number of times the key is struck. The files produced are very small and offer the maximum use of disk space. A Key Macro is started by selecting <Alt-k> while in the CURSOR MODE and assigning a name to a file to be created. Everything after this is recorded until <Alt-k> is selected a second time. Selecting <Alt-k> a third time allows the just saved key macro to be run. (See the section on the Key Macro command) DEFINITIONS 10-21 Kill <F8 k) Unwanted files can be removed from a disk by using kill and specifying the complete name including the drive designation. Layers <l>, <L>, <Ctrl-l>, <Alt-l> Up to 64 layers or overlays can be used to aid in creating drawings. Layers can be thought of as drawing on clear sheets. Only the active layer is modified, but other layers can be visual if desired. It takes about 1 meg. of memory to handle 64 layers so it is only practical with a hard disk or better yet a RAM disk. (See RAM Disk) When layers are active scrolling of 1/2 pages is disabled. Use <Alt-l> to com- pletely turn off layers. Lines <F6 l> Lines are drawn by marking successive end points with <ENTER>. As the line is drawn, its length and angle are displayed on the prompt line. Lines are used to generate vector objects that can be saved and retrieved at a later time at any angle or scale. <F6 e>nd will save the line to the screen only. <F6 E>nd will save the line to the screen and to a user specified file as a vector. The object is saved with scaling so that when it is recalled it can be matched to the scale of the drawing in progress. Vectors are use- ful for flow chart symbols, or for other commonly used line objects where scale and angle are important. Use the <SPACE BAR> to temporarily suspend line drawing and the <Back Space> to back up. Width and color can be set as desired. Lines can also be drawn with <F6 c>ursor. See Cur- sor for more information. DEFINITIONS 10-22 Macros <Alt-k> Keystroke macros can be <c>reated or <r>un. A macro saves the keystrokes entered in the program while during macro creation. The saved key- strokes can then be played back. Macros can be used to automate frequently repeated keystrokes, used to save an entire drawing or used to create a self running slide show demo. <Alt-k f>unction lets you change which HOT key file is used to define the function keys. MAKHOTLIB.EXE (MAKe HOT key LIBrary) HOT key files can be compiled (libraried) to include all of the various macros called in the HOT key file. MAKHOTLIB.EXE must be run from DOS. It will create a blank KD-DRAW.HOT if one is not found in the current directory. The file can then be edited, with a standard text editor, to add the names of macros to be called when a function key is selected. If MAKHOT- LIB.EXE is run when KD-DRAW.HOT exists, it will compile the file by combining it with all of the macro files that it can find in the current directory. Use unlibraried HOT key files for testing and libraried/com- piled HOT key files for distribution. Mass <F1 C> The mass of an object and the center of mass can be calculated based on user supplied density parameters for each color. See Area and Center. MCR macro file extension. Measure <m>, <M>, <Alt-m> the distance between two points can be measured by marking one end with a <m> and moving the cursor to the second point. The distance is displayed on the prompt line. Measure is always active and gives the radius of DEFINITIONS 10-23 circles, the dimensions of boxes, and the length of lines. <M> moves the cursor to the last measured point. (See Scale). <Alt-m> allows you to set the scale on the fly. First mark a point with <m> then move a known distance and with <Alt-m> tell PC-KEY-DRAW what that distance is. Menu <Space>, <F1 to F8> PC-KEY-DRAW pro- vides two basic methods of entering a com- mand. The command can be entered directly for fastest operation or selected from a menu. Version 3.50 provides full menu sup- port for nearly every command available. Menus can be supplemented by turning on the help menu in the top left corner of the screen. To enter the primary menu select <Space> then move thru the menu with the cursor keys. When the desired function is displayed hit <ENTER> to move to the next menu, then move through the menu with the cursor keys to highlight the desired function and hit enter to start that function. Any menu item can be reached directly by hitting the high- lighted key combination directly. Remember lowercase, uppercase, control and alter- nate have a somewhat different effect for each command. In the menu the need for shift is displayed with a "S", control with "C", and alternate with "A". Merge <F7 m> Two screens can be merged together as one. Start by loading <F10 o>ld the first screen into either SCreen 1 or SCreen 2. Switch to SCreen F7 and load the screen to be merged. Switch back to the first screen and put the cursor in the top left hand corner. Select <F7> then <m>, <M> or <Ctrl-m> for the desired result. DEFINITIONS 10-24 Mirror <F1 m>, <F1 M> Objects can be mir- rored using <m>. The entire screen can be mirrored either horizontally or vertically with <M>. Figure 10-9 shows a screen that was created by a macro that mirrored horizontally, then vertically and then called itself and let run on GIRL.SCN. A mirrored JOES was added and that was it. [injoes] Figure 10-9 Bar scene at Joes create by a recursive macro using only <F1 m>. Mode <Shft-Tab>, <Alt-r> Two screen modes are available. Mode 2 is the high resolu- tion mode (640X200) and mode 1 is the medium and color mode. (320X200) You can readily switch between the two to achieve desired results. Virtually all of func- tions available in the color mode are available in the high resolution mode. Each mode has its advantages for different applications and systems. Sometimes when an object is copied with <F7> in one mode and moved into another mode the object will be distorted. Use <@> to adjust. <Alt-r> forces the screen mode to high resolution. DEFINITIONS 10-25 Modify <F5 m>, <F5 M>, <F5 Ctrl-m>, <F5 Alt-m> Painted areas can be changed or modified to produce additional colors. Set <F10> to the color you wish to modify. Select <F5 m> and define object in box. <M> operates on the entire screen. Set the new color to any of the 29 colors. <Alt-m> allows the 29 colors to be changed to one of the other 29 colors. <Ctrl-m> operates as <Alt-m>, but on the entire screen. A file called KD-PAINT.PIC is on the program disk and can be viewed with <F7 o>. It contains the color bar that is shown on the screen during modify and paint. Money How did you get this? If you have purchased PC-KEY-DRAW from Ed Kidera of OEDWARE then thank you very much!!, but if you are using a copy and have not regis- tered, please take some time and do so. Isn't this worth the registration price? See the section on libraries for a way for you to save some cash or even make some. Mouse Mode Pull down function and command menus can be used either with or without a mouse. When used with a mouse the mouse can be used to click on a function to select it, as with many other graphics programs, but this is a slow and silly way to run any graphics program. PC-KEY-DRAW provides a much easier way of using a mouse, by allowing the menu to be brought in with the click of button two. Once in a function select mode, the cursor movement will move you through the menu and not around the screen. Use button 1 to make a selection and return to CURSOR MODE. See the Hardware section for more information on the mouse. Also see Chapter 3. DEFINITIONS 10-26 Move <F7 m>, <F7 M>, <F7 Ctrl-m>, <F7 Alt-m> Previously copied or erased areas can be moved to a new location. Use ani- mate to aid in positioning. The four dif- ferent syntaxes of move will produce dif- ferent results. The correct one to use depends on the desired result. Experiment with the different moves to learn and understand the results. The following table applies to smear and replicate as well: Command Logical Effect ------- ------- ------ m XOR Mixed Shft m OR With Ctrl-m AND Over Alt-m PSET Replace Use move after <F7 a>nimate, <F7 s>mear, and <F7 r>eplicate. <Ctrl-m> is very use- ful in painting odd shaped objects with complex patterns. See Examples in earlier section for tips on using it. Music See Play Old <F1 Ctrl-z o>, <F6 o>, <F6 O>, <F7 o>, <F7 O>, <F8 o>, <F8 O>, <F8 Ctrl-o>, <F8 Alt-o> Previously saved vectors, objects and screens can be retrieved with old. Primarily for slide show use text mode screens can be called into view with <F1 Ctrl-z o>. In F6, vectors drawn with line and saved with <E>nd can be called up later for use. Any angle may be specified as may any scale. A <ENTER> will take the rotation as drawn and will fit the scale of the vector to the scale of the current drawing. <O> takes the last vector and allows the rotation and scale to be changed. After setting the scale the vec- DEFINITIONS 10-27 tor object can be moved across the screen and left in position with <F7 M>. Objects that where saved with <F7 C> can be recalled with <F7 o>. They will appear at the same size as drawn and so may be out of scale. <F8 o> is used to retrieve entire screens saved in <F8> or saved in some other program. If a DAT file accompa- nies the drawing the scale will be changed accordingly. To sequentially bring in the screens from disk use <F8 O> and <PgDn> to page through the screens. Select the screen you want with <ENTER>. This make finding a screen very easy. See Template for information on <F8 Ctrl-o>. <F8 Alt-o> can be used in slide show macros to display the screens in one of five meth- ods. (See Display) When loading an old screen it is often desirable to see what is on the disk. Version 3.33 and older provide directory information for a given file type by entering a drive letter and <ENTER>. Version 3.50 adds the capability to directly import the file name into the command line by selecting <Up Arrow> or <Down Arrow> when asked for the File Name. Origin <Ctrl-x> The normal screen origin is the top left corner. This is where both x and y are zero in SCreen 1 PaGe 00. The origin can be moved to any location by positioning the cursor to the desired ori- gin and selecting <Ctrl-x>. This is can be very helpful for mechanical drawing. Outline <F2 o> objects can be outlined in the color set by F10. Outline searches for the change between the background color and the other colors and draws a line at the edge. DEFINITIONS 10-28 Page <Ctrl-Home> 64 pages are available for SCreen 1. Select <Ctrl-Home> followed by the pan direction. <Down Arrow> scrolls the screen by 1/2 down. <Up Arrow> scrolls the screen by 1/2 up. <Right Arrow> scrolls the screen by 1/2 to the right. <Left Arrow> scrolls the screen by 1/2 to the left. <PgUp> scrolls a full screen up. <PgDn> scrolls a full screen down. <Home> returns to PaGe 00. <End> goes to the last screen that has been created. Pages are stored in quarter screen files. To use all of the files you must be operating from a subdirectory for the workspace. The files are created on the disk only when a par- ticular page is used. <Ctrl-HOME> twice returns to PaGe 00 without first saving the page you are on. Selecting <?>, <h>, or <H>elp when asked for PAN Direction will display a map of the 64 screens, while displaying the current location. At this point the cursor keys will move the display box around as desired until <Enter> is used to select. <Esc> will exit back to page you where in before selecting <Ctrl-Home>. Paint <F5 p>, <F5 P>, <F5 Alt-p> Objects can be painted with one of the four colors from the palette in the color mode or one of two colors in high resolution using . The border color and the fill color must be specified. An incorrect border color or gaps in the border will cause the paint to leak out. If this happens, be sure to respond <n>o to the "Correct (y/n)?" prompt. is identical in oper- ation to , only it allows you to repeat the operation any number of times with the same fill and border color simply by selecting <ENTER>. 29 colors/ shades can be used to paint with using <Alt-p>. DEFINITIONS 10-29 Paintbrush See Smear and Replicate for one type of paintbrush. Many of the other functions of PC-KEY-DRAW can also be used as a paintbrush by properly setting the ackground so that when the object is moved around the screen an image is left behind in the color set by ackground. Pan <Ctrl-Home> SCreen 1 provides panning capability on an 8X8 page layout. Select <?>, <h>, or <H> for help in panning. See PAGE. Parallel <F6 p> Parallel lines can be drawn at any angle by first marking one of the lines and then only marking one end point on all subsequent lines. Use <F6 e> to end the drawing of parallel lines and save the lines to the screen. All features of normal line drawing apply to parallel line drawing. PATH Starting with version 3.50, PC-KEY- DRAW will recognize subdirectories. The subdirectories for the workspace and for completed drawings can be set in the Sta- tus Screen. The drawing subdirectory can also be set in <F8 d>irectory or set tem- porarily for a given file when entering the File Name. Since subdirectory names can be long and cumbersome it is a good idea to use the SUBST command of DOS. If you have DOS 3.* you can used SUBST to represent subdirectories, see the DOS man- ual. Any drive letter A-Z can be used to replace a long subdirectory specification. In version of PC-KEY-DRAW prior to 3.50 the SUBST command is the only way to use subdirectories. DEFINITIONS 10-30 Patterns <F5 f>, <F5 Alt-f> 64 patterns are held in one pattern screen. One pat- tern screen is supplied with the PC-KEY- DRAW program disk, but you can create as many as you would like. Figure 10-10 shows the patterns of KD-PTRN.PIC. Some are rather useful, while others are rather strange. Note the size and complexity that is possible with PC-KEY-DRAW as compared to other graphics programs. Library Disk #2 contains nine additional pattern screens for a total of 640 patterns. See section on Fill for how to use patterns. [pat1] Figure 10-10 KD-PTRN.PIC from the program disk. See Appendix H: for other patterns. Pause <Alt-p>, <F8 O Alt-p> Key macros normally play back at full speed. Occa- sionally it is desirable to momentarily stop the execution of the macro with a pause statement. Set the number of seconds desired to pause before continuing. Pause reads from the system clock so that the pause time is independent of the computer. DEFINITIONS 10-31 PIC Extension used to specify format of partial screen save in F7. This is the preferred extension for partial screens since it uses the least amount of disk space and is therefore the default exten- sion. Screens saved with a PIC extension can be called into a BASICA program by adding the following lines to your pro- gram: 0005 'Dimension array large enough to handle image. 0010 DIM ARRAY%(500) 1000 'Find location of array 1010 ALOC%=VARPTR(ARRAY%(0)) 1020 'Binary file load to array 1030 BLOAD "FILENAME.PIC",ALOC% 1040 'Put image onto graphics screen 1050 PUT(0,0),ARRAY% To save an image in BASICA that can be called up in PC-KEY-DRAW add the following lines to your program: 0005 'Dimension array large enough to handle image. 0010 DIM ARRAY%(500) 0900 'load image into array with the GET function 0910 'See BASIC manual for info 1000 XSIZ%=ARRAY%(0) 1010 YSIZ%=ARRAY%(1) 1020 N%=(4+((XSIZ%+7)\8)*YSIZ%)\2 1030 'Find location of array 1040 ALOC%=VARPTR(ARRAY%(0)) 1050 'Binary save of array 1060 BSAVE "FILENAME.PIC",ALOC%,N% See BAS for an alternate way to include an image in a BASICA program that doesn't require an external file of the image to be on the disk with the program. DEFINITIONS 10-32 Play <Ctrl-p> music can be played for fun or as part of a macro. The music syntax follows that of BASICA exactly. See the BASICA manual for more information. Playback <Alt-k r> Previously recorded keyboard sequences can be played back (<r>un) from disk. See Key Macro. If you are creating a slide show to play back then it is a good idea to disable the printing of the prompt line by setting <*> to 1 or 2 during recording. Higher values of <*> can be used to speed up playback, but with some lose of features. *|3 in a macro will speed up circle, sine, rose, and rectangle by not drawing the object until the final size is reached. *|4 speeds Fatbits by not switching to the separate Fatbits screen and speeds line drawing by not displaying the line as it is being positioned. * commands are best added to macros with a text editor and take effect absolutely, ie. *|2 followed by *|1 results in the *|1 being the active level. This differs from earlier version where * commands where cumulative. Polar Coordinates The cursor position readout contains not only the x and y positions, but the distance to the last measure point and the angle to the point, and thus provides continuous display of polar coordinates with cartesian coordi- nates. Polygon <F2 p> Regular polygons of any number of sides can be dynamically drawn. The polygon can be rotated as it is being drawn by using the <[> and <]> keys to rotate at angle steps set by the cursor speed or <{> and <}> to rotate in 90 degree increments. DEFINITIONS 10-33 Print <F8 p> If a graphics screen dump program is loaded the screen can be dumped to a dot matrix printer using <PrtSc>. The print routine allows the 25th line to be positioned before printing with a title as desired. If you have an Okidata 92 be sure to set the configuration printer to 1. The Configuration Screen also allows you to alter the printout size for an Okidata printer. Printer Support The zoom printer feature of PC-KEY-DRAW allows you to configure it to virtually any printer that can take continuous paper. Single sheet printing is currently limited to most Okidata 92, 93s or Epson/IBM graphics compatibles. If you would like to donate a printer to OEDWARE we would be happy to write a driver to go with the program for that particular printer. Quality <Q> <Alt-q> The quality of the cursor movement can be toggled with <Q>. A "Q" will appear on the prompt line indi- cating that the quality is turned on. With the quality turned off the cursor moves quicker by skipping an occasional step. With the quality turned on the cursor moves slightly slower, but does not skip steps. When the key board macro is set the quality is automatically turned on. If it is turned backed off during recording the playback of the macro will not faithfully reproduce the original. The <Q>uality com- mand also effects the way a mouse or joy- stick behave. Generally the mouse and joy- stick "feel" the best when the <Q>uality is off. During macro recording, with quality on the mouse and joystick motion is converted to equivalent key strokes, which slows down the cursor movement. When DEFINITIONS 10-34 using PC-KEY-DRAW as a paint program the cursor position readout can be turned off with <Alt-q>. Use <Alt-q> to toggle it back on. Note that the cursor speed is greatly increased with the readout off. RAM disk PC-KEY-DRAW is written to make significant use of a RAM disk. A 40K RAM disk is the smallest that can be used, while the maximum is over 1Meg! Some may be wondering how such a large RAM disk is possible with a standard PC. I strongly recommend the use of an extended memory card such as the JRAM-2 by Tall Tree Asso- ciates which allows up to 2megs per expan- sion slot. A RAM disk is not only useful for this program, but you will find many other uses. Minimum PC RAM should be about 2Megs for maximum use of your machine. Recording <Alt-k c> Every key stroke hit can be recorded and saved to an ASCII sequential file for later playback by using the <c>reate command. See Key Macro for more information. Registration Registered users get support, low cost updates, printed manual, extra library disks, support programs and a good feeling. See Shareware. Rename <F8 K> disk files can be renamed. Enter the file to be renamed and the new name of the file. Include the drive of the file. It is not possible to rename to a different disk. DEFINITIONS 10-35 Replicate <F7 r>, <F7 R>, <F7 Ctrl-r>, <F7 Alt-r> Once an object is copied it can be moved and replicated. Each touch of the cursor will step the size of the object until moved with <F7 M>. This can be used for a variety of applications. The syntax of replicate is the same as smear and move. Resolution Set <Alt-r> The screen resolu- tion can be set to 640X200. Use <Shft-Tab> to toggle between 640X200 and 320X200. See Mode. Retrieve file See Old. Revolve <F1 R> Three dimensional appearing objects can be created as objects of revo- lution by first drawing the cross section then revolving it. User sets number of steps and view angle. This can be a very powerful command. Figure 10-11 is a Christmas card. The Christmas tree was created by drawing one side of the tree outline and then by revolving the outline about the center. Figure 10-12 shows another sample of revolve. [xmas] Figure 10-11 Christmas card. DEFINITIONS 10-36 [fairlead] Figure 10-12 Fairlead created by revolving part of a circle. Reverse video See Video. Rose curves <F3 r> Sine and cosine rose curves of any number of leaves are drawn to size of circle set with cursors. Rotate <F1 r>, <F1 Alt-r>, <F1 Ctrl-r>, <F6 o>, <F6 O>, <F1 a>, <F1 A>, <F1 Ctrl-a>, <F1 Alt-a>, <[>, <]>, <{>, <}> can be used to rotate any object on the screen. The object may be rotated once or a multiple of times (steps). *C*-In the color mode <r> will rotate only the cur- rent active color as selected by <F10>, while <Alt-r> will rotate all colors within the defined region. <F1 Ctrl-r> will rotate the entire left portion of the screen 90 degrees. Use <F1 a> to rotate an object again, without redefining it. If the object was first rotate with all color (<F1 Alt-r>) then all colors will be used in the again rotate otherwise the active color selected with <F10> determines which color is used. <F1 Alt-a> will rotate the object that was just zoomed. <F1 A> will rotate and zoom the object at the same DEFINITIONS 10-37 time. <F1 Ctrl-a> will rotate again after switching from all color rotate to single color rotate or vice versa. In F6 vector objects can be created and saved. Using <F6 o> or <F6 O> they can be called back and rotated to any angle. <[>, <]>, <{>, and <}> can be used to rotate the cursor position about the <m>easure point. See Angle for more information. Save <F6 E>, <F7 Ctrl-e> <F7 C>, <F8 s> There are five different ways to save objects and screens. <F6 E>nds & saves objects drawn with line as vectors (VCT) to the disk for later use. <F6 Ctrl-e> saves a previously created line. <F7 C> saves objects or entire screens to the disk in one of three ways. See Copy for use. <F8 s> is the common way to save a complete screen for later use. The screens are given a SCN extension and are retrieved with <F8 o>. A second file is saved with a screen that gives its scal- ing, if other then the default, and has a DAT extension. Each screen, page, layer must be saved independently. Scale <Alt-m> The scale of the drawing is normally set when the program is entered or following a fresh screen. When setting the scale on entering PC-KEY-DRAW or after a fresh screen, you should set the effec- tive size of the screen, not the actual size of the screen, ie. you might set the screen to 40 ft. to draw a house, 20 in. to draw a small part, or 50 miles to draw a map. The scale can also be set by match- ing a measured distance to a desired dis- tance. Select <m> at one point, move cur- sor to desired position, select <Alt-m> and enter in the desired value of the dis- tance. DEFINITIONS 10-38 Scale Factor <F1 z>, <F1 Z>, <F1 Alt-z>, <F6 o>, <F6 O> When zooming you must enter the scale factor. A scale factor greater than 1 shrinks the object or screen, while a scale factor less then 1 expands the screen. Select </>, <Space Bar>, or second mouse button to enter the zoom factor instead of the scale factor. SCN Screen-see Save and Old. This is the default extension and indicates a full graphics screen save. This is compatible with screens saved in BASICA using a BSAVE command. To call a screen into BASICA that was saved with <F8 s> add the following lines to your BASICA program: 0010 'set screen to graphics mode 1000 'set segment to color graphics screen memory 1010 DEF SEG=&HB800 1015 'Binary image load 1020 BLOAD "FILENAME.SCN",0 1025 'Return segment 1030 DEF SEG To save a screen in BASICA that can be later called into PC-KEY-DRAW add the fol- lowing lines to your BASICA program: 1000 'with drawing on screen 1010 DEF SEG=&HB800 1020 BSAVE "FILENAME.SCN",0,16384 1030 DEF SEG See BAS for an alternate way of including a screen image in a BASICA program. DEFINITIONS 10-39 Screen <Ctrl-Home>, <Ctrl-End>, <Ctrl- PgUp>, <Ctrl-PgDn> Multiple screens are available. They can be used to draw objects larger than the screen or to use as temporary workspaces. There are two primary screens and two secondary screens. The primary screens are "connected" and can be scrolled using <Ctrl-PgUp> and <Ctrl-PgDn> in quarter screen increments. <Ctrl-Home> and <Ctrl-End> toggle between the two screens. The last object copied can be viewed on SCreen F7 by selecting <Ctrl-PgDn> from SCreen 2. <F1 Z>oom will not change the drawing scale if used in SCreen F7. The 25th line or title line is available to be viewed or modified by selecting <Ctrl-PgDn> one more time. SCreen 1 can actually be one of 64 differ- ent pages. The extra pages are stored on the workspace disk. Pages are stored in quarter screen blocks allowing horizontal and vertical scrolling. 1 megabyte of disk is needed to use a full 64 pages and this is where a RAM disk can really pay off. You should set up a subdirectory for the workspace. Screen Aspect Ratio <$> The screen aspect ratio can be varied for a variety of results. The main use of the setting the aspect ratio is to get a circle that looks round on your monitor or you may want to adjust the aspect ratio so that the screen dump is round. <r>otation and <Z>oom of <F1> are cleanest if an aspect ratio of 1.0 in color or 2.0 in high resolution is used. DEFINITIONS 10-40 Shade <F2 s>, <F2 S>, <F4 l>, <F4 m>, <F4 d>, <F4 s>, <F4 Alt-s> Various methods of shading the drawing are available. <F2> <s> or <S> produces a rectangular pattern (see Box). <F4> will fill an irregular area with dots of the color set by <F10>. It may take several times to fill a very irregular area. <F4 s> spray paints (see Spray paint). Shareware is the form of distribution being used with PC-KEY-DRAW. Shareware is commercial software with a difference. Shareware can be legally copied and shared with others, provided it is distributed in its entirety and not modified. Users that find the program to be of use to them are requested to register. Registration pro- vides many benefits to the user. If you register PC-KEY-DRAW you will receive: . Printed Users Manual in IBM size binder with information on getting the most out of PC-KEY-DRAW, (it looks nice on your shelve too). . Second library disk (see Appendix H) with 640+ fill patterns, several library pictures and many very useful macros. . Third library disk with 14 extra fonts and text oriented macros. . Fourth library disk with more fonts and flow chart symbols. . HP LaserJet printer support. . Registered version of the program with name in the program code. . Telephone or mail support when you need help, for one year after regis- tration. Phone support is available from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm seven days a week. DEFINITIONS 10-41 . Notification of updates and the abil- ity to update for only $10 for the l a t e s t d i s k . Registration helps you in other ways: . You are supporting the shareware con- cept. 1. You can try the software before you buy it. 2. You pay a reasonable price for you software. 3. You avoid the frustration of copy protection. 4. You encourage others to develop shareware. . You are also supporting new OEDWARE developments. PC-KEY-DRAW is con- stantly being improved, your support is needed and appreciated. [share] Figure 10-13 Like public television, shareware is supported by those who find it valuable. Shift <F5 s> The foreground colors are each shifted up by one. The background is not affected. Shift works on the entire screen. DEFINITIONS 10-42 Shift Cursor Using the <Shift> key while drawing rectangles allow you to move the fixed corner. If the <Shift> key is used while drawing circles or ellipses the cen- ter of the circle is moved. <Shift> used with a joystick or mouse works the same as with the keyboard allowing the fixed point to be moved. Show <s>, <S> The cursor and prompt line can be removed from the screen. This can be used when taking pictures of the screen with a 35mm camera. Selecting <s> shows only the active screen, while <S> shows both the active screen and a visual layer if layering is turned on. If show is used as part of a macro the macro will pause indefinitely until a key is hit. During macro execution a "_" will appear in the bottom right corner of the screen indicat- ing that the macro is waiting for a key to be hit. Sine curve <F3 t> Trigonometric sine curves of desired period and amplitude are shaped by moving the cursor. Slide <F1 s>, <F1 S>, <F1 Ctrl-s> <s>-slides an area of the screen either horizontally or vertically. This is very useful for creating a variety of effects, including italics (use a step of 15 for italics). <S> slides the entire screen. <Ctrl-s> slides the entire screen to the power set, either 2,3, or 4. Slide Show The key macro command can be used to create a very powerful slide show quickly and easily. See Key Macro for details. DEFINITIONS 10-43 Smear <F7 s>, <F7 S>, <F7 Ctrl-s>, <F7 Alt-s> Previously copied or erased objects can be smeared across the screen in one of four syntaxes. Among other uses this allows the creation of a paintbrush of sorts. The cursor speed determines the step of the smear. Like replicate the smear will continue until the object is moved with <F7 M>. Speed <F9>, <+>, <-> Cursor speed, smear size, and animation speed are controlled by <F9>. The speed is can be toggled between one for fine movement and any value as set by using the <+> and <-> keys. Cursor speed is displayed on the prompt line. The speed can be forced to 1 using <Shft-F9>, no matter what it is cur- rently. This is useful in creating certain key macros. Spirals <F3 s> Automatic spiral generation is possible using <F3 s> by marking the center and the size of the first coil and then the number. Spoke <F6 s> Spoked lines from a common center can be generated quickly, since the center is only marked once. Spoked lines can be combined with lines, dots and par- allel lines. Use <F6 e> to end drawing spoked lines. Spray paint <F4 s>, <F4 Alt-s> Previously drawn and painted areas can be spray painted to produce 3D type shading. With the screen aspect ratio set to its normal values the spray painting will produce a circular pattern. If <$> is selected and set to 0 (zero) the spraying directive can be used to shade a vertical column. Figure 10-14 was created in a short period of DEFINITIONS 10-44 time by making extensive use of spray paint. Setting the background color to something other than 0 can be very useful and effective when used with spray paint. [joes] Figure 10-14 Eat at Joes is an Ed Kidera original created with extensive use of spray paint. Status <Ctrl-s> See Configure for more information. Strip <F5 S> All of the foreground colors, except the one set by <F10> are set to the background. This can be useful for print- ing or photographing the screen. Be sure to save the screen before you strip it, if you want it back whole later. Subdirectories See PATH SUBST SUBST is a DOS 3.* command that pro- vides an ideal method of shortening the subdirectory strings used on a hard disk by allowing a single drive letter to rep- resent a the subdirectory string. See your DOS manual for information on its use. The following line in an AUTOEXEC.BAT would DEFINITIONS 10-45 make drive G: represent the subdirectory \FILES\KEYDRAW on drive C: - SUBST g:=c:\files\keydraw. You must also have LASTDRIVE=Z in your CONFIG.SYS file. Suspend <Space Bar> During line drawing and cursor drawing under F6 it is often desirable to temporarily suspend drawing to reposition the cursor. Use the <Space Bar> or second mouse button to stop draw- ing and display the cursor. When ready to continue hit the <ENTER>. Template <F6 o>, <F7 o>, <F8 Ctrl-o> See Old, Lines, Copy, and End for discussion on the use of vectors and figures for tem- plate purposes. <F8 Ctrl-o> allows another method of templating. Previously saved screens of symbols can be called onto the screen with template in much the same fashion as calling old screens. In the template mode the updating of the work- space is disabled. Objects on the template can be manipulated at will and then copied and moved with <F7>. Selecting <F8> <w> or <W> returns updating of workspace. If no name is specified for the template file the present screen or a fresh one may be used to create part of a drawing to be added to the working drawing. Text <F6 t>, <F6 T>, <F6 Ctrl-t>, <F6 Alt-t> <t> allows text to be entered directly on the drawing. <T> justifies the text to the left, right, or center. <T> also allows ASCII text to be imported and text to be displayed up or down. <Ctrl-t> copies the text and animates it to aid placement as desired. Two sizes of text are available directly for <t>, <T>, and <Ctrl-t>. The size is determined by the screen mode. <Alt-t> allows the user to DEFINITIONS 10-46 write with bitmapped text fonts. Fonts can be created by the user using all features of the program and saved with <F7 C>, by specifying a "FNT" ending to the file name. A very wide variety of text sizes and forms can be created quickly and easily with <F1 z> and <F7> <c>, <S>, and <M>. Figure 10-15 shows a 3-D text created from a standard font. [3dtext] Figure 10-15 Title slide for presentation. Text Scrolling <F6 T L>, <F6 T R>, <F6 T C>, <F6 T A> When entering text it is pos- sible to have the entire screen scroll. This is useful for slide show macros, but not of much use for general drawing. <F6 T A> is useful for finding the part of a file needed and works very much like the TYPE command of DOS. Hit any key to stop the scrolling. DEFINITIONS 10-47 Time <Alt-t> the DOS time can be displayed on the screen at a specified location. Some operations may capture the time into the drawing. This is intended primarily for use in macros that are set to run con- tinuously in a store or at a show where it might be nice to keep the viewers informed of the time. (see also Date) Translation Macro files consist of a key stroke code followed by | (vertical bar) followed by the number of repetitions. While MaCRo files can be edited with most word processors it is a little tricky because key stroke codes are difficult to read and interpret. KD-TRANS.EXE is pro- vided to translate a MaCRo file into a TeXT file where the key stroke codes are replaced with the actual name of the key, such as "RIGHT" for right cursor key. The resulting TeXT file is easily edited. Use KD-TRANS.EXE to take the TeXT file and translate it back into a MaCRo file. TeXT files are much larger than MaCRo files. KEYTBL.DAT is used by KD-TRANS. See KD- TRANS.EXE and MAKHOTLIB.EXE for additional information. Unfade <F4 Ctrl-f> Small holes in an object can be filled in with <F4 Ctrl-f>. The routine uses the surrounding colors to determine the appropriate color to use. Unfade is still experimental and works best on simple rectangular objects. Up <F6 T u> Runs text up vertically from the current cursor position. DEFINITIONS 10-48 Update , Updates the appropriate workspace with the current screen (see Workspace). Beware that updates to SCreen 1 and updates to SCreen 2, no matter what screen you are currently in. This means that the previous contents of the screen will be lost. Update Frequency is set in the Status Screen and determines how often the work- space will be automatically written to. If the update frequency is set to zero the use of workspaces is disabled. Disabling the workspace is ideal for slide show macros. VCT Vectors-see Lines. Video <F1 v>, <F1 V>, <F1 Ctrl-v> A reversed video image is produced. Useful in printing certain screens. The following table indicates how the colors are switched. <v> <V> <Ctrl-v> 0 becomes 3 0 becomes 1 0 becomes 2 1 becomes 2 1 becomes 0 1 becomes 3 2 becomes 1 2 becomes 3 2 becomes 0 3 becomes 0 3 becomes 2 3 becomes 1 Video Modes PC-KEY-DRAW currently operates in the two graphic video modes of the Color Graphics Card (CGA). The modes are 320X200 medium resolution with 4 colors and 640X200 high resolution with 2 colors. To switch modes use <Shft-Tab> to toggle between the modes or <Ctrl-r> to force the program to the high resolution mode. To save high resolution as the default mode select: <Ctrl-r Ctrl-s Ctrl-s> DEFINITIONS 10-49 Video Object Reverse <v> During animation selecting <v> will perform a reverse video on the animated object and then continue with the animation. Visual Horizon <Alt-v> Sets the lowest point on the screen that the cursor can be moved. This is most useful during anima- tion. The animated object can be made to disappear behind a screen object or rise up from behind the horizon. Visual Layer When using layers only one is active but many can be visual, ie can be seen while drawing on the active layer. The visual layer consists of all of the visual layers combined into one and resides in SCreen 2. When layers are on SCreen 2 is laid over SCreen 1. Width <w> The width for lines, dots, boxes, and circles can be set to any num- ber of pixels from 1 to 32. The width can be set greater than 32, but it won't be properly used by lines, but will be used by circles and rectangles. Workspace <F8 w>, <F8 W> Two separate workspaces are available to save screens while working (see Update). <w> corre- sponds to screen #1 and <W> corresponds to screen #2. The workspace has several uses. Originally it was added to retain the drawing in the event of program crash and while that is no longer a concern, it can be useful in the event of a power failure. The workspace can also be used as tempo- rary storage. This would let you back up in the event of a change of mind or let you preform multiple operations on a single screen. The workspace is stored on the drive specified in the Configura- DEFINITIONS 10-50 tion/Status Screen. The program will peri- odically save to the workspace depending on the update frequency. The update can be forced at any time, from the CURSOR MODE, with pdate to take the screen you are looking at and save it as SCreen 1 and pdate to take the visual screen and save it to SCreen 2. WRKSPC1.SCN corre- sponds to SCreen 1, while WRKSPC2.SCN cor- responds to SCreen 2. XOR <F1 Alt-v> The entire screen can be XORed with a number from 1 to 255. An XOR of 255 produces a reverse video image (see Video). The program will assign a random number to use or the user may select any value between 1 and 255. Zoom <F1 z>, <F1 Z>, <F6 o>, <F6 O> Sizes of objects can be changed in three differ- ent ways. <F1 z> is used to either enlarge or shrink a defined object. <F1 Z> will reduce the entire screen by any amount or expand the top left corner of the screen. Screen scaling is changed accordingly, if the screen is set to 1 or 2, but it will leave the present scale when used in SCreen F7. <F6 O>, <o> will allow a vector to be sized to fit the drawing or as desired (see Old and Line). All three use the same convention of scaling. A number greater than one will shrink the object or screen. For example a factor of two will cut the object in half. A number less than one will enlarge objects. Figure 10-16 shows the use of <Z>oom. The main drawing was first completed, then zoomed down a factor of 4, and placed back on the screen to produce the painting on the fireplace. DEFINITIONS 10-51 [xmas] Figure 10-16 Christmas Card Zoom Factor <F1 z>, <F1 Z>, <F1 Alt-z>, <F6 o>, <F6 O> normally you are asked to enter the scale factor when zooming. By selecting the </> or <Space Bar> or second mouse button you can specify the zoom fac- tor instead of the scale factor. A zoom factor greater than 1 enlarges the object or screen, while a zoom factor less then 1 shrinks the screen or object. For example a zoom factor of 2 would double the size of the object. Zoom Print <F8 P>, <F8 Ctrl-p>, <Ctrl-p> prints partial screens to a printer. prints the entire screen to the printer. Printing is done by characters and not graphics so virtually any printer can be used, provided a printer table is first created for that printer. The print size is set before printing to a number between 1 and 41. Beware that the printed result can be very large. Start with low numbers and work your way up. This is very useful for printing banners and the like. DEFINITIONS 10-52