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Drawing.txt
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1997-01-22
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Drawing for Children
Mark Overmars
version 1.4
Introduction
The program Drawing for Children is a drawing program that is
especially suited for small children. Children donÆt need to be
able to read to use the program. Also, rather than asking the
user to set all sorts of options it simply gives a large number
of different ways of drawing. The best way to learn what the
program can do is to simply play with all the buttons. There are
normal drawing commands, like drawing lines, circles, etc. but
also many weird ones to draw railroads, pipes, bubbles, grass,
etc. Just experiment to make the weirdest pictures. There are
many different pens, stamps, and even some sort of building
blocks. There are different ways to æeraseÆ the picture and all
sorts of effects are possible. One thing is important to remember
when experimenting: in most cases the left mouse button does
something else than the right mouse button. So donÆt forget to
try the right mouse button as well.
Even though this documentation is not necessary to use and
understand the program I will still give an overview of the
options. When starting the program you see a window with the
following parts: At the top there are the most important buttons.
Their function will be described below. (If you leave the mouse
pointer on a button a short message appears describing its
function.) For most buttons there are various possibilities. They
will appear on the left of the drawing area. With the two arrow
buttons you can scroll through the options. At the left top of
the window you can choose the colour. There are two colours, the
fill colour and the line colour. The two larger coloured regions
indicate these colours. Below them you find the different
choices. By pressing the left mouse button you change the fill
colour and with the right mouse button you change the line
colour. (You can also click on the large coloured regions. In
this case a window appears in which you can choose the colour.)
Below you find an overview of the different buttons on the top
row and what they do. I will only give brief descriptions. To
find out the details, just try them out.
Undo the last action
By pressing this button you undo the last action, that is, you
restore the picture to the situation before the last time you
clicked on one of the buttons at the left. For example, if you
filled a couple of regions and then press the undo button, all
fills will be removed!
Sketching
This button gives a large number of ways of sketching. There are
pens of different thickness, pens that draw multiple colours,
pens that draw shapes like stars, squares, etc., pens that draw
roads, and so on.
You can also fill areas, create grass and bubbles, and even make
drawings that are mirrored in 2, 4 or 16 directions. The only way
to find out all the possibilities is to try. It is important to
remember that in many cases the left mouse button does something
else then the right mouse button. For example a different colour
is used, shapes are filled or not, the grass is larger, etc.
Special shapes
After pressing this button you can draw a number of special
shapes, like stars, houses, etc. (Again try left and right mouse
button.)
Drawing symbols
Here you can draw simple symbols like lines, arrows, circles,
rectangles, etc. While you hold down the mouse button you only
see an outline. Once you release it the symbol is drawn. With the
left mouse button the symbols are filled. With the right mouse
button they are not.
Erasing your picture
Here you find a number of different ways of erasing your picture,
creating different backgrounds. With the second button you can
erase part of the picture. (DonÆt forget trying the right mouse
button!)
Stamps
Here you can add a huge number (almost 150) different small
pictures to your picture. There are animals, cars, etc. Choose
the picture you want to add at the right of the window. When you
press the right mouse button the picture will be mirrored. To
make it easy to place the picture at the right place. Simply hold
the mouse button and drag it to the right position. The picture
is only places when you release the mouse button.
Text
After pressing this button you can enter texts. At the left you
can choose style of the font (e.g. bold, italic, or underlined).
Next, indicate the start position in the picture and type in the
text on the keyboard. End the text with <Return>. As long as you
did not end the text you can change its position in the picture
using by clicking the mouse somewhere. You can even hold the
mouse and drag the text to the correct position. If you use the
right mouse button the text will be larger.
Effects
With this button you can apply all sorts of effects to your
picture. You can mirror it horizontal and vertical, slant it,
change the colour copy it 2, 4 or 16 times, create a tunnel, and
reduce or enlarge part of the picture. Finally, using the pair of
scissors, you can cut a rectangular part out of the picture and
place it somewhere else (or at multiple places). (By using the
right mouse button you only copy the piece and leave the
original.)
Building blocks
Here you can build pictures out of building blocks. There are
different shapes: squares, triangles, parts of circles, etc. They
are automatically aligned in the picture which makes it easy to
use. If you use the right mouse button they will be mirrored. If
you hold the mouse button you can drag them to the right
position.
Printing the picture
When pressing this button a small window appears. Here you can
indicate whether the picture is printed normal size or larger,
such that it fills the whole page. After you press the correct
format the picture will be printed on the default printer. Note
that, because this is a large image, the printing takes long!!
Load a picture
Here you can load a picture you stored earlier. You are shown a
set of small images of the existing pictures. Use the arrow
buttons at the left or right to scroll through the images. Click
on the picture you want to load. If you click on an empty image,
a new, empty picture will be created. If you press the Cancel
button no picture will be loaded. If you made a mistake (for
example you wanted to save your picture rather than load it) you
can always press the Undo button described above.
All pictures are stored in a folder Pictures in the working
directory. The BMP format is used. For each picture there is the
full version called PictXX.BMP, where XX is the number, and the
small version called SmallXX.BMP. You can use these pictures in
other drawing programs. You can also add pictures you created
with other programs to this folder by giving them a name
PictXX.BMP. (There is no need to also create the SmallXX.BMP
file. This will be done by the program.) You can then edit them
further. They will be scaled to the right size.
Save the picture
Pressing this button you can save the picture for later use. You
will again be shown the existing pictures. You can either
overwrite one of them by clicking on it or save the picture in a
free slot by clicking on an empty image. (If there are no empty
images in the current screen, use the button with the arrow to
the right until you find one.)
Help
Pressing this button you get some information about the version
of the program and the fact that it is freeware.
Exit
By pressing this button you exit the program.
System requirement
This program requires a modern PC running Windows95. The program
works best when using a screen resolution of at least 800*600
although it also runs on a 640*480 screen or on a larger
resolution. The more colours you have the more colours can be
used.