Hall of Fame/HallofFameCDROM.cdr/gamegif/pckeydrw.lzh/KD_UPDAT.TXT

Text File | 1990-02-28 | 19KB | 285 lines

                 IMPROVEMENTS TO PC-KEY-DRAW Ver. 3.75 over 3.50
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The following are additional improvements that didn't make it before the
manual for 3.5 went to print.

1. Jump to layer has been added under <Alt-j>.  Position cursor over item to
   worked on, select <Alt-j> and the program will find the correct layer.
2. The last text entered in <F6> is remembered the next time text is to be
   entered and taken as the default if <ENTER> is selected without adding new
   text.  If null text was used in a macro, it will have to be changed to a
   single space for proper operation.
3. The DAT file associated with SCN files has been eliminated.  Scale data is
   now stored in the SCN (screen) file.  Screens that don't require scale
   information can just be read as normal. Screens that do require scale
   information should be converted to the new format.  Use KD_UTIL.EXE to
   find all DAT files on a specified drive, insert scale information into the
   associated SCN file, and the delete the DAT file.
4. A complete database system similar to Hypercard for the Macintosh has been
   added.  See HYPERDRW.TXT for more information.
5. While in the fill pattern screen use <Ctrl-PgDn> and <Ctrl-PgUp> to move
   through all of the fill pattern files on the program disk (subdirectory)
                                   ---------
1. <Ctrl-s>hift has been added to <F5> and <F5 f> to complete the possible
   color combinations.  <Ctrl-s> shifts all colors by one so that 0 becomes 1
   1 becomes 2, 2 becomes 3, and 3 becomes 0.
2. A file conversion utility has been added to convert SCN files used by
   PC-KEY-DRAW to IMG format used by GEM and a number of desktop publishing
   programs, such as Ventura Publisher.
                                   ---------
1. In 3.52 the file naming convention for PC-KEY-DRAW has been changed to allow
   the program to be used on an Optical disk.  The "-" has been eliminated from
   all file names and replaced with "_".  For example KD-DRAW becomes KD_DRAW.
   This change allows PC-KEY-DRAW to be run on a CD-ROM using the High Sierra
   format.  PC-KEY-DRAW and HyperDraw are ideal for handling large databases
   on a CD-ROM.
2. Mouse behavior has been improved in menus, especially on fast machines.
                                   ---------
1. 3.53 adds the ability to insert the default parameter into the command line
   to be edited.  Selecting <Ins> when asked to "Enter" or for a "File Name"
   will bring the default value (as displayed between the brackets "[]") to a
   edit line.
2. The <+> (plus) key can be used to modify the last letter of a file name by
   increasing its ASCII value by one.  This can be used with a macro to save
   a set of pages or layers under a single name.
3. <F4 f> and <F4 Alt-f> allow a fade step to be input for faster fading.

1. 3.60 corrects a minor bug with macro playback and <F6 c>, at higher "*"
   values.
2. Corrects bug with <Alt-p>ause during <F8 O>.
3. Corrects occasional bug in <F1 r>otate and <F1 Ctrl-r>.
4. Adds value step to input. When asked to enter a number, input "s" preceding
   the number to cause the valve to be a step value.  To move 10 positions to
   the right on the screen Enter <x> <s10> <ENTER> <ENTER>.
5. Adds random value to input.  When asked to enter a number, precede the value
   with an "r".  To move to a random position on the screen try, <x> <r320>
   <ENTER> <r200> <ENTER>.  Useful in recursive macros and in creating games.
6. Menu option is now provided for all input.  Use the cursor keys or mouse to
   select any item. Macro output shows value and not just <ENTER> when the
   default is taken.
7. Use "@" instead of a drive letter to force the program to look on the drive
   that PC-KEY-DRAW is AT.  When asked for a File Name to load, specify
   @:FILE to load the file "FILE" from the drive PC-KEY-DRAW is in.
8. Hyper Shell has been added to PC-KEY-DRAW allowing you to run external
   programs and then return to PC-KEY-DRAW.  Allows PC-KEY-DRAW to be used
   as a graphic DOS shell.  Hyper Shell uses only 100 bytes of memory to run.
   Hyper Shell only works when PC-KEY-DRAW is run from a BATch file like KD.
9. The mouse and joystick are no longer effected by the cursor speed when
   <Q>uality is off.
A. Vertical centering on the screen is provided by <c> for animated objects.
B. <F6 Alt-t> truncates text strings automatically at a <SPACE> when the string
   is too long for the screen, instead of in the middle of a word.
C. The last action is remembered for fast repeat.  The remembered action is
   displayed on the prompt line in brackets.  Hitting enter starts the action.
   This greatly speeds operation when drawing multiple images, like a series of
   circles or rectangles.
D. The number of sides in the last polygon drawn are retained as the default
   when <F2 p>olygon is next selected.  A two sided polygon gives a line that
   can be easily sized and rotated.
E. The number of leaves in the last rose curve drawn are retained as the
   default when <F3 r>ose is next selected.
F. The "File Name" prompt is now proceeded by "Old" or "New" for most file
   name input to differentiate on the action taking place.  When scrolling
   through a directory with <Up> or <Down>, the file extension is now shown.
G. <F8 k>ill and <F8 K> rename now operate as the other sections of the
   program, where a File Name is to be input.  Both assume the drive used for
   holding completed drawings. You cannot rename across drives or directories.
H. The Tag name now operates as the other sections of the program where a
   File Name is to be input.
I. <Alt-p>ause can be cut short by hitting <ENTER>.
J. <F8 s>ave and workspace update is 2 to 3 times faster.
K. Ten more HyperDraw tags have been added for each screen, making a total of
   18 per screen with no limit to the ultimate number of screens.
L. Cosmetic improvements of help, tag and error displays.
M. Select <?> during <F8 O> to toggle display of file name being displayed.
N. <F8 O> continues from last screen viewed instead of the first screen on the
   disk. If the directory is changed or a different disk inserted, <F8 O> will
   start with the first file on the new disk or in the new directory.

O. The music play command has been changed to play in the foreground as the
   default.  This works better when writing macros for different CPUs.
   The command syntax for <Ctrl-p> is the same as the PLAY statement in BASICA.
   Use "mb" for music background, but beware that a large chuck of memory is
   no longer available for hypertext. The last set of notes PLAYed is saved
   for fast repeat.  PLAY can be used as a way of pausing for less then a
   second by using the Tempo and Pause options in PLAY.  This is useful
   during animation.
P. The copy buffer now holds two objects.  During animation select </> for
   the alternate object.  <F7 A> will shift back and forth between the two
   objects during animation.  Almost all functions that use the F7 buffer will
   hold two images, if there is sufficient room in the buffer.
Q. <F7 Alt a> provides animation of a single object, with the object replacing
   the portion of the screen below it and restoring it as it moves.
R. Screen tags are searched in order from tag 1 to tag 18.  The first match
   is acted upon, as determined by the tag name.  With Version 3.5*, clicking
   on a tag type 3 (partial screen) displays the partial screen, clicking a
   second time causes a redisplay of the same partial screen.  With 3.6* the
   clicking a second time causes the search to continue down the list of tag
   items.
S. The AREA or MASS and center are saved to the macro file for alternate
   processing of the information.  The macro playback is not effected.
T. The CORRECTION CHECK EACH OPERATION (1-OFF, 0-ON) found on the <Ctrl-s>
   status screen has been expanded.  That line now reads CORRECT, IMMEDIATE
   (0-ON,ON 1-OFF,ON 2-ON,OFF 3-OFF,OFF).  0-ON is identical to earlier
   versions and is the setting used by all of the supplied macros. 0-ON will
   pause after completion of each action and ask if the screen appearance is
   correct or not.  Responding <y>es saves the drawing as it now appears, while
   <n>o returns to the last correct screen image. 1-OFF turns off the check and
   in earlier versions immediately takes the current screen as correct.  In
   Version 3.6 the screen is not immediately taken, allowing <Esc> to be used
   to undo the last action.  However, if HyperDraw, layers, help menu, or
   visual grids are in use the screen is immediately grabbed, as in earlier
   versions and <Esc> has no effect.  In both 0-ON,ON and 1-OFF,ON the second
   parameter is ON.  The second parameter determines how the program behaves
   when selecting action items from F1 to F7.  ON is the way PC-KEY-DRAW has
   always operated.  When the item is selected it starts immediately, ie. to
   draw a circle move to the center of the circle, select <F3 c>, size the
   circle and end the circle with <ENTER>.  If the second parameter is OFF the
   menu serves to select the next desired action when <ENTER> is hit, ie. to
   draw a circle select <F3 c>, move to the center of the circle, start the
   circle with <ENTER>, size the circle and end the circle with <ENTER>.
   2-ON,OFF has correction checking like 0-ON,ON but menu action is not
   immediate.  3-OFF,OFF turns off both the correction check and the immediate
   action.  Macros written in 3.6 save the mode as the first line of the macro
   so when the macro is run the correct mode is used by the macro. Control
   returns to the mode the program was in when the macro is finished. A macro
   can set the mode absolutely by accessing the status screen with <Ctrl-s>.
   When macros from older versions are run, a mode of 0 is assumed.  If you
   have macros written with the correction check off or mode 1 then you will
   need to add "@NCK|1" (without the quotes) to the first line of each macro.
U. When drawing lines in <F6> the lines must be ended with <F6 e> or <F6 E>.
   Version 3.6 automatically selects <e>nd if the user tries to select another
   function without ending the line drawing.

V. Mouse behavior in main menu has been improved by making it less sensitive.
W. Use <?> instead of <h> as the primary means of selecting Help.
X. The default macro playback star mode is now 2 instead of 0, when a macro
   is called from DOS, ie. *|2 is the default instead of *|0.  This stops the
   cursor and prompt line from being displayed initially.
Y. Fatbits now works on Hercules cards when an emulator like HGCIBM is used.
Z. When <j> is selected to adjust mouse or joystick sensitivity, the mouse or
   joystick is turned off.  <Esc> will return to the program leaving the mouse
   off.  Inputting a value will reset the mouse or joystick and turn it on.
   Some machines may require the mouse or joystick to be turned on several
   times before they will work.
                                   ---------
1. Version 3.65 improves rotation control of cursor position using <[> and <]>
   by making the cursor speed setting equal to the rotation angle in degrees.
2. Vector rotation of imported object with <F6 o> or <F6 O> adds ability to
   rotate in 90 degree increments with <{> and <}>.
3. The virtual page help screen <Ctrl-Home ?> now shows the size of the
   current drawing in medium resolution.
4. Virtual screens or layers are now saved and loaded directly using all of
   the basic screen load and save of <F8>.
5. The main menus have been improved for ease of learning and use.  The
   possible key combinations are enclosed in <>, the default key when <ENTER>
   is hit is enclosed in brackets [].  The menu can be traverse bidirectionaly
   with the left and right arrow keys or the up and down arrow keys.
6. Non registered copies of PC-KEY-DRAW will pause for 10 seconds before exit.
   Registered copies can be exited directly.
7. Selecting <ENTER>, after using <F7> smear or replicate, will end the action
   and save the image.  Selecting <F7> after smear or replicate will take you
   to the F7 menu as before.
8. As with #7 above <F6 c>ursor has been modified to end when <ENTER> is
   selected avoiding the need to select <F6 e>nd.
9. Mouse operation when using the pull down help menus has been improved.
A. <F4 c>ount step has been added to <l>, <m>, and <d> shading, allowing the
   user to specify the shade step.
B. <F2 s> adds the <c>ount step option as #A above.
C. Switch to high resolution mode with <Alt-r> or medium resolution mode with
   <Ctrl-r>.
D. Enter a "@" in place of text when entering text in a macro to have the
   macro pause on replay and wait for user input.
                                   ---------
1. 3.70 combines the separate printer files (KD_PRNT?.TBL) into a single file
   (KD_PRNT.TBL) to significantly reduce the amount of disk space required.
2. KD_DRAW.JMP has been eliminated to reduce required disk space.  The jump
   function is still retained, but the jump information is stored at the end of
   KD_DRAW.TXT.
3. The INSTALL BATch file has been improved and refined.
4. Use <Shift-Tab> during <F8 O> to toggle between medium and high resolution.
5. <F4 s> spray paint is 25% faster and is now effected by the <w> width
   command to provide various densities.
6. <F4> <l>, <m>, <d>, and <c> have been improved.
7. Use <P> to replace the normal cursor prompt with the desired wording.
   This command has been added to provide HyperDraw and HyperShell a user
   customized prompt and the ability to be used in a runtime mode.  See the
   manual for information on using PC-KEY-DRAW in a runtime mode.  See the file
   README._P1 for information on distributing PC-KEY-DRAW in a runtime mode.
8. Using <F8 d> <=X> <Esc> can now be used in macros to set a drive without
   displaying the files when <*> is set to 2 or greater.

9. KD_TRANS.EXE, MAKHOTLB.EXE, and SCN2IMG.EXE have been combined into a
   single program KD_UTIL.EXE.  KD_UTIL.EXE can be used to convert from SCN
   (screen) files to BIN (binary files) and back, to convert from SCN files
   to IMG (GEM Image format) used by Ventura etc., to convert MCR (macro) files
   to TXT (text) files for easier editing in a word processor, to create HOT
   key files and to compile HOT key files. Several BASIC programs have also
   been replaced by KD_UTIL.EXE for updating old format files.  A utility is
   also included to take an ASCII list of X and Y variables separated by a
   comma and convert into a MaCRo file that can be run in KD.  KD_UTIL can be
   run interactively, used in a BATch file or called from KD using HyperShell.
A. Two macro "@" commands have been added.  The first is @INPUT, it is used to
   stop a macro and wait for user input and then continue the macro.  This
   replaces item D from 3.65 for text and now covers all input except for
   cursor movement around the screen.  The second "@" command is @END which
   causes a macro to end execution and return control of the program to the
   user at the point where @END is inserted and not back into CURSOR MODE,
   unless of course that is what is desired.  All statements after @END are
   ignored.  "@" commands in general must be inserted in a macro via a text
   editor and cannot be put in while the macro is created.  The exception to
   this is for text entering as in item D in 3.65.  "@" commands must be
   capitalized or they will be ignored.
B. Virtual pages and layers have been improved so that blank screens are no
   longer saved to the workspace, providing more room for larger drawings that
   contain blank areas.  The image saved with <F8 s> will also not include the
   blank sections resulting in smaller file sizes.
                                   ---------
1. 3.71 corrects several minor bugs in 3.7.
2. Macro playback during macro creation has been improved.
3. SCN files can be converted to COM files that can be run.  When run the image
   is loaded and the screen waits for a key to be hit before continuing. Use
   "/C" after file name to automatically continue without a key press.
4. KD_UTIL.EXE has also been improved by eliminating the KD_UTIL.OVL file.
5. Use Hot key <Alt-F8> to jump to KD_UTIL from within KD.
6. <F6 c> cursor drawing (freehand) is now effected by the <w>idth setting.
7. Dashed line drawing has been added for <F6> <l>ine, <s>poke, and <p>arellel,
   setting the <w>idth to a negative number corresponding to the dash size.
8. An <a>bsolute command has been added to the options when redrawing a vector
   image.
                                    -------
1. 3.75 Allows both layers and virtual pages to be active at the same time.
   Use <l>, <L> and <Ctrl-l> to control the layers. <Alt-l> is no longer used.
2. A zoom command has been added during animation. Select <z> and select the
   new scale factor or the zoom factor. After zooming the program remains in
   animation an the object can be zoomed again if desired.
3. <F1 z> and <F1 Alt-z> have been enhanced to provide a <f>it command when
   zooming an object.  Select <f> when asked for scale or zoom factor an a
   box will appear on the screen that can be adjusted to the desired new size
   of the object being zoomed. This is great for sizing text.
4. The font file format has been changed to allow any size character, up to the
   full screen.  Any character from 1 to 255 can be defined. The file size is
   generally much smaller, with most of the older fonts reduced to about
   half their old file size. Use KD_UTIL to update old fonts to the new format.
5. If a lowercase letter is not defined the uppercase letter is used.

6. KD_UTIL has been greatly updated with a new menu system, new features and
   plans for much more. Run KD_UTIL interactively, from a BATch file or from
   HyperShell.  To run in a batch mode enter commands on command line
   followed by the name of file to modify, as: KD_UTIL FU A:CENTURY to update
   the CENTURY font in drive A:. To update a disks worth of fonts use:
   FOR %A IN (A:*.FNT) DO KD_UTIL FU %A to update all font files in drive A:.
   Any softfont for an HP LaserJet can be converted to PC-KEY-DRAW format.
   Any PC-KEY-DRAW graphic can be saved as an HP LaserJet softfont.
7. BASIC files created in <F7 C>opy are 20% smaller.
8. The <P>rompt command has been improved. If "@TITLE" is used as the prompt
   the title line of the screen is always shown in the Cursor Mode.  This
   info is saved with a screen file.  With @TITLE it is now possible to easily
   edit the entire screen by setting the <ALT-V> the visual horizon to <199>.
   The cross hair cursor should be used for editing.  The separate title
   screen is no longer available.
9. The display of date and time is now tied to a screen file.
A. The DOS BATch files once used for menus have been replaced with a menu
   in PC-KEY-DRAW that uses HyperDraw and HyperShell.