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1994-05-14
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GR2GIF (tm)
GR2PCX (tm)
GRAI2GIF (tm)
GRAI2PCX (tm)
GR2ANSI (tm)
GR2ASCII (tm)
*********
Conversion Utilities for use with
the GRABBER(tm) Screen Capture Programs
DOCUMENTATION
May 14, 1994
Copyright 1987-1994 by
Gerald A. Monroe
All rights reserved.
+-------------------------------------------------+
| Although they are shareware, the programs |
| listed above and this documentation file are |
| copyrighted. They are not in the public |
| domain and they are not "freeware." Please |
| consult page 6 of the REGISTER.DOC file for |
| important copyright information and license |
| provisions. |
+-------------------------------------------------+
Thank you for your interest in the GRABBER(tm) screen
capture system!
The GRABBER package is being marketed in this special
form as shareware. This means you have the opportunity
to use and evaluate it for 30 days before you decide
whether to buy. If you continue to use GRPCX.EXE,
GRABBER.EXE, any of its "offspring" programs, or any of
the other programs in the GRABBER package beyond such
30-day period, then you are required to send your
registration fee to the publisher according to the
instructions in the REGISTER.DOC file. When you regis-
ter, you will receive a copy of the latest release of
the registered GRABBER package that you order. You may
not continue using GRABBER beyond such 30-day period
without registering. For registration instructions and
a complete statement of your license to use this soft-
ware, please consult the REGISTER.DOC file.
Gerald A. Monroe
P.O. Box 770906
Cleveland, Ohio 44107, U.S.A.
CompuServe Mail: 72321,1257
Fax: (216) 521-6060
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 2 of 12
Table of Contents
Shareware Registration and License Information ............... 1
Overview ..................................................... 3
The GIF file format .......................................... 3
The PCX file format .......................................... 4
What these programs can convert .............................. 4
Special note for Super-VGA graphics .......................... 5
Explanation of GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF ......................... 5
Interactive vs. Command Line Operation ...................... 6
Using GR2PCX: Interactive Mode .............................. 6
Using GR2PCX: Command Line Mode ............................. 7
Using GR2GIF: Interactive Mode .............................. 9
Using GR2GIF: Command Line Mode ............................. 10
"Thanks for trying GRABBER" messages ......................... 10
Using the Resize feature ..................................... 11
Using GR2ASCII and GR2ANSI ................................... 12
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 3 of 12
OVERVIEW OF THE GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES
---------------------------------------------
GR2PCX and GR2GIF are companion utilities to the GRABBER screen
capture program. GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF are companion utilities
to the GR4AI screen capture program. You can use them to convert
graphic images, captured from your video display in the form of
GRABBER "offspring" files, into the widely recognized image
formats called PCX and GIF.
In addition, if your computer has an EGA or VGA video graphics
adapter and a color monitor, the GR2PCX utility can also convert
80 x 25 text images captured by GRABBER to the PCX graphic
format.
(If you are unfamiliar with how the GRABBER or GR4AI programs
work, or what an "offspring" file is, please consult the program
manuals GRABBER.DOC and GR4AI.DOC before continuing.)
THE "GIF" FILE FORMAT
----------------------
"GIF" (pronounced like "Jif") stands for Graphic Interchange
Format. The GIF image format was developed by CompuServe, Inc.,
as a generalized method of exchanging and displaying graphic
images on the widest possible variety of computer graphics
hardware. GIF is one of the most widely accepted formats for
exchanging graphics information among all makes and models of
microcomputers, whether IBM-compatible or not. One of the
reasons for the popularity of the GIF format is its very effec-
tive data compression method. Generally, there is no other
widely used file format which can compress a graphic image into a
smaller space than GIF can.
The GIF format is supported extensively on the CompuServe Infor-
mation Service and many other on-line BBS services that make
graphic images available for downloading. In addition to these
on-line services, however, there are several PC application
programs which can employ the GIF format. These include word
processing, desktop publishing, and "paint" programs, as well as
numerous picture viewing utilities. Therefore, you can use GR2GIF
to convert almost any graphic image captured by GRABBER into GIF
format, so that the image can be imported into any word process-
ing, desktop publishing, or paint program which "understands" the
GIF format. If you want to find out whether a particular appli-
cation program you use can work with GIF files, and therefore
import the files created by GR2GIF, you should consult that
program's documentation or contact its publisher.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 4 of 12
THE "PCX" FILE FORMAT
----------------------
The PCX image format was developed by Zsoft Corporation, which is
the publisher of the widely used graphics "paint" programs PC
Paintbrush and Publisher's Paintbrush. Both of these programs
use the PCX format for storing and retrieving graphic images to
and from disk files. However, many other PC applications which
involve graphic data, in addition to the two Zsoft products
mentioned, also employ the PCX format. These include other paint
programs, word processors such as WordPerfect Version 5.0 and
later, desktop publishing programs such as Aldus' PageMaker, and
picture viewing utilities. The PCX format uses a data compres-
sion scheme to reduce the disk space required to store graphic
images.
You can use GR2PCX to convert almost any graphic image captured
by GRABBER into PCX format, so that the image can be imported
into any word processing, desktop publishing, or paint program
which "understands" the PCX format. Use GRAI2PCX to do the same
thing with screens captured by GR4AI. If you want to find out
whether a particular application program you use can work with
PCX files, you should consult that program's documentation or
contact its publisher.
WHAT THE CONVERSION UTILITIES CAN CONVERT
------------------------------------------
These programs are able to convert almost any GRABBER offspring
file containing a graphic image into a separate PCX or GIF file.
This includes any image originally captured in any CGA mode, any
EGA mode, any VGA mode, and the Hercules monochrome graphics
mode. Also, the GR2PCX utility can be used to convert text-mode
images to the PCX graphics format. To use GR2PCX to convert a
text-mode image, your computer must be equipped with an EGA or
VGA adapter and a color monitor, and the text screen must measure
80 columns by 25 rows.
Please note: If you would like to make a PCX file out of *any*
size of text-mode image (even one that is larger or smaller than
80 x 25), you can do so using the separate GRPCX.EXE program
supplied with this GRABBER package, if you have a VGA-compatible
system. See the GRPCX.DOC file for more information.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 5 of 12
SPECIAL NOTE FOR SUPER-VGA GRAPHICS
------------------------------------
If you want to use GR2PCX or GR2GIF to convert a high- resolution
Super-VGA graphic image to another format, you should note that
the conversion utilities will not work properly unless GRAB-
BER.EXE is installed in memory, *and* is properly configured for
your particular type of Super-VGA display adapter. For more
information on configuring GRABBER for your type of display
adapter, consult page 10 of the GRABBER documentation file
(GRABBER.DOC).
WHAT ARE GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF?
--------------------------------
GRAI2PCX is functionally identical to GR2PCX. GR2PCX is designed
exclusively for creating PCX files from screens captured by the
GRABBER.EXE program, while GRAI2PCX is designed exclusively for
creating PCX files from screens captured by the GR4AI.EXE pro-
gram.
GRAI2GIF is functionally identical to GR2GIF. GR2GIF is designed
exclusively for creating GIF files from screens captured by the
GRABBER.EXE program, while GRAI2GIF is designed exclusively for
creating GIF files from screens captured by the GR4AI.EXE pro-
gram.
You operate GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF in exactly the same way as you
would operate the GR2PCX and GR2GIF programs. For the sake of
brevity, the command examples used in this documentation will
refer only to GR2PCX and GR2GIF. However, if the screen you wish
to convert was created by GR4AI and not GRABBER, then you can
substitute GRAI2PCX wherever you see GR2PCX mentioned here, and
substitute GRAI2GIF wherever you see GR2GIF.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 6 of 12
INTERACTIVE vs. COMMAND-LINE OPERATION
---------------------------------------
If you run a conversion utility from the DOS prompt or a batch
file without any command-line parameters, you will be running the
program in an "interactive" mode. This means the program will
prompt you on screen for the answers to several questions,
detailed below, before it goes to work converting your input
image file to the desired format. If you don't like working with
command-line switches or can't remember them all (there are quite
a few), you will want to use the interactive mode.
However, if you want to avoid having to answer each question
individually, you can run each conversion utility in a
"command-line" mode, by following the program name itself with
the names of your input and output files, plus any of the option-
al command-line switches, which are described below.
USING GR2PCX: INTERACTIVE MODE
--------------------------------
(1) Enter the command GR2PCX and press <RETURN>.
(2) Specify the name of the offspring file you wish to convert
(the "input file"). You may optionally precede the filename
with a drive and/or pathname if necessary. If the input
filename ends with ".EXE" as it should, you may omit this
extension from the filename. (E.g., entering SCREENXX is
the same as entering SCREENXX.EXE.)
(3) To give the "output file" the same name as the input file
but with a ".PCX" filename extension, press <RETURN>. If
you wish to give it a different name than the default which
the program shows you, or place it in a different drive or
directory than your input file, you must enter the full file
specification, including drive, path, and ".PCX" extension.
(4) If you want to convert the entire image to PCX, respond to
the "Resize image?" prompt by pressing <N> or <RETURN>. The
resulting output file will contain data for the whole image
as it is displayed when you execute the offspring image
file.
If you want to crop out portions of the screen and create an
output PCX image that is smaller than the original image,
press <Y> at the "Resize image?" prompt. If you do this,
the image will be displayed with a rectangular "resize box,"
which you can adjust to fit the shape and position of the
portion of the image you want to convert. Complete instruc-
tions for changing the size and positioning of the resize
box can be found below on page 11.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 7 of 12
(5) If the input file contains a graphic image, and you have a
VGA-compatible system, you will then be asked to specify a
color or gray-scale output file. Press <C> or <RETURN> to
choose color, or press <G> for gray-scale. If you are
converting a graphic image, this is the last question you
will be asked.
If the input file contains a text image, you are given the
additional choice of monochrome (black-and-white) output.
If you choose this option by pressing <B>, most color varia-
tions will be stripped from the output file. Some word
processing and desktop publishing programs do not do a good
job of displaying or printing imported PCX files which
contain color or gray-scale information, so you may wish to
experiment with this option.
If you do choose black-and-white output, you will then be
asked whether you want to invert the black and white colors
in the output image. If the output PCX is destined to be
printed on paper, you may wish to experiment with this
option also.
(6) Finally, for text-mode input files only, one last question:
You may choose the size of the screen font into which the
characters in the input file will be translated. These are
the menu choices and the results they produce:
Menu Option Font Cell Emulation Total Image Size
----------- --------- --------- ----------------
A 8 x 8 CGA 640 x 200 pixels
B 8 x 14 EGA 640 x 350 pixels
C 9 x 14 EGA/MDA/ 720 x 350 pixels
Hercules
D 9 x 16 VGA 720 x 400 pixels
USING GR2PCX: COMMAND-LINE MODE
---------------------------------
To avoid the GR2PCX menu prompts described above, you can specify
the name of your input .EXE image file on the DOS command line
immediately after the GR2PCX command itself. To select details
of program operation, you can follow the input file name with the
optional switches described here. Certain default parameters,
also described here, will take effect for certain program fea-
tures if no optional switch is specified. A GR2PCX command line
looks something like this (optional parameters are shown in
brackets):
GR2PCX inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] [/B] [/I] [/8]
[/4] [/9] [/6]
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 8 of 12
GR2PCX inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G] [/B] [/I] [/8]
[/4] [/9] [/6]
"inputfile" is the name of your GRABBER offspring .EXE image.
The .EXE extension may be omitted.
"outputfile" is the full name of the .PCX file you want to
create.
You must add the .PCX extension yourself. The name may be
preceded by a drive and/or directory path. If omitted, the
output file will automatically be named "inputfile.PCX" and will
be placed on the same drive and directory path as the input file.
/S tells GR2PCX that you will want to crop a portion of the image
using the resize box before actual conversion takes place. If
omitted, the entire image is converted to PCX format.
/C tells GR2PCX to produce a color output file (if the input file
is also a color image). If omitted, no big deal. Color output
is the default anyway for both graphics and text conversions.
/G tells GR2PCX to produce a gray-scale output file (if the input
file is a color image). This option is available only on
VGA-compatible systems, and is accepted for both graphics and
text conversions.
/B tells GR2PCX to produce a monochrome (black-and-white) output
PCX file. This option is valid only for text screen conversions.
/I tells GR2PCX to produce a monochrome (black-and-white) output
PCX file, *and* to invert the white and black elements of the
image. White becomes black and vice-versa. This option can be
useful if you intend to print the PCX output on paper, and is
valid only for text screen conversions.
All of the remaining optional switches are used to specify screen
font choices and are valid only for text screen conversions. For
more information about the image dimensions associated with these
fonts, see the chart on the previous page under item (6) in the
section headed "Using GR2PCX: Interactive Mode."
/8 selects an 8x8 font cell which emulates CGA
/4 selects an 8x14 font cell which emulates some EGAs
/9 selects a 9x14 font cell emulating MDA, Hercules and
most EGAs
/6 selects a 9x16 font cell which emulates VGA
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 9 of 12
USING GR2GIF: INTERACTIVE MODE
--------------------------------
(1) Enter the command GR2GIF and press <RETURN>.
(2) Specify the name of the offspring file you wish to convert
(the "input file"). You may optionally precede the filename
with a drive and/or pathname if necessary. If the input
filename ends with ".EXE" as it should, you may omit this
extension from the filename. (E.g., entering SCREENXX is
the same as entering SCREENXX.EXE.)
(3) To give the "output file" the same name as the input file
but with a ".GIF" filename extension, press <RETURN>. If
you wish to give it a different name than the default which
the program shows you, or place it in a different drive or
directory than your input file, you must enter the full file
specification including drive, path, and ".GIF" extension.
(4) If you want to convert the entire image to GIF, respond to
the "Resize image?" prompt by pressing <N> or <RETURN>. The
resulting output file will contain data for the whole image
as it is displayed when you execute the offspring image
file.
If you want to crop out portions of the screen and create an
output image that is smaller than the original image, press
<Y> at the "Resize image?" prompt. If you do this, the
image will be displayed with a rectangular "resize box,"
which you can adjust to fit the shape and position of the
portion of the image you want to convert. Complete instruc-
tions for changing the size and positioning of the resize
box can be found below on page 11.
(5) If you have a VGA-compatible system, you will then be asked
to specify a color or grayscale output file. Press <C> or
<RETURN> to choose color, or press <G> for grayscale. This
is the last question the program will ask you before it goes
to work.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 10 of 12
USING GR2GIF: COMMAND-LINE MODE
---------------------------------
To avoid the GR2GIF menu prompts described above, you can specify
the name of your input .EXE image file on the DOS command line
immediately after the GR2GIF command itself. To select details
of program operation, you can follow the input file name with the
optional switches described here. Certain default parameters,
also described here, will take effect for certain program fea-
tures if no optional switch is specified. A GR2GIF command line
looks something like this (optional parameters are shown in
brackets):
GR2GIF inputfile [outputfile] [/S] [/C] [/G]
"inputfile" is the name of your GRABBER offspring .EXE image.
The .EXE extension may be omitted.
"outputfile" is the full name of the .GIF file you want to
create. You must add the .GIF extension yourself. The name may
be preceded by a drive and/or directory path. If omitted, the
output file will automatically be named "inputfile.GIF" and will
be placed on the same drive and directory path as the input file.
/S tells GR2GIF that you will want to crop a portion of the image
using the resize box before actual conversion takes place. If
omitted, the entire image is converted to GIF format.
/C tells GR2GIF to produce a color output file (if the input file
is also a color image). If omitted, no big deal. Color output
is the default.
/G tells GR2GIF to produce a gray-scale output file (if the input
file is a color image). This option is available only on VGA-
compatible systems.
"THANKS FOR TRYING GRABBER" MESSAGES
-------------------------------------
Because this is an unregistered, shareware version of GRABBER,
most of the images which you convert using this version will
contain a small message in the lower right corner of the screen
expressing our "Thanks for trying GRABBER." By including these
messages, we only hope to remind you that this version of GRABBER
and the conversion utilities are shareware, and to encourage you
to register the programs if you continue to find them useful.
Users who register with the publisher (for the full $59.00 ver-
sion) will find that the registered version of GRABBER which they
receive creates PCX, GIF and PIC files that do not include this
or any other message superimposed on converted images.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 11 of 12
USING THE RESIZE FEATURE: CONTROLLING THE RESIZE BOX
------------------------------------------------------
The following keys are available to you when using the resize
feature within GR2PCX, GR2GIF, GRAI2PCX and GRAI2GIF:
<Esc> .................. Abort the conversion process and exit.
<Return> ............... Accept the area enclosed by the select
box, and begin converting.
<Left Arrow>
<Right Arrow> Move the select box in the indicated
<Up Arrow> direction, but do not change the shape
<Down Arrow> ........... of the box.
<Shift><Left Arrow> .... Shrink the box horizontally.
<Shift><Right Arrow> ... Expand the box horizontally.
<Shift><Up Arrow> ...... Shrink the box vertically.
<Shift><Down Arrow> .... Expand the box vertically.
<Insert> ............... Toggle between coarse and fine incre-
ments for moving or reshaping the box.
<Home> ................. Move the box to the upper left-hand
corner of the screen.
<End> .................. Move the box to the lower left-hand
corner of the screen.
<Ctrl><PgUp> ........... Move the box to the upper right-hand
corner of the screen.
<Ctrl><PgDn> ........... Move the box to the lower right-hand
corner of the screen.
<PgUp> ................. Move box to top edge of the screen.
<PgDn> ................. Move box to bottom edge of the screen.
<Ctrl><Left Arrow> ..... Move box to left edge of the screen.
<Ctrl><Right Arrow> .... Move box to right edge of the screen.
GRABBER CONVERSION UTILITIES Page 12 of 12
USING GR2ASCII and GR2ANSI
---------------------------
GR2ASCII and GR2ANSI are companion utilities to the GRABBER
screen capture program. You can use them to convert text images,
captured from your video display in the form of GRABBER "off-
spring" files, into plain ASCII or ANSI formats, respectively.
These programs work only with character-based text images cap-
tured by GRABBER. They do not work with pixel-based graphic
images.
To create an ASCII text file from a captured GRABBER offspring
image, enter a command similar to the following at the DOS
prompt:
GR2ASCII inputfile[.exe] [outputfile.txt]
"inputfile" represents the name of the GRABBER offspring image
you wish to convert. The .exe filename extension may be omitted.
"outputfile.txt" represents the name of the new ASCII text file
you wish to create from the contents of the input file. This
output file name is optional. If you do not specify it, the
program will create an output file which has the same name as the
input file, but with an extension of ".TXT". For example, the
command
GR2ASCII C:\PICTURES\SCREEN99
will cause the program to read the SCREEN99.EXE file and generate
an output ASCII file called C:\PICTURES\SCREEN99.TXT.
To create an ANSI graphics file from a captured GRABBER offspring
image, follow the first command example shown above, substituting
GR2ANSI for GR2ASCII. (Each of these programs is operated the
same way as the other.) If you do not specify the optional
output file name on the GR2ANSI command line, the program will
create an output file which has the same name as the input file,
but with an extension of ".ANS". For example, the command
GR2ANSI C:\PICTURES\SCREEN99
will create an output ANSI file called C:\PICTURES\SCREEN99.ANS.
* * * End of CONVERT.DOC * * *
