LSD Docs/LSD Docs.iso/FILEZ/lsd18.dms/lsd18.adf/23

Text File | 1990-09-06 | 251KB | 4,812 lines

                            PIXmate

                        TABLE OF CONTENTS

CREDITS AND NOTICES                        Page

1.0  INTRODUCING PIXMATE                    I-1
     1.1  Minimum Hardware Requirements
     1.2  Contents of the PIXmate Master Disk
     1.3  Acknowledgments

2.0  INTRODUCTION TO IMAGE PROCESSING                I-2

3.0  HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL                    I-3

4.0  HOW TO SAFELY MAKE LEGAL COPIES OF PIXMATE            I-3
     4.1  Using One Disk Drive and the Workbench Icons.
     4.2  Using Two Disk Drives and the Workbench Icons.
     4.3  Using One Disk Drive and the AmigaDOS CLI.
     4.4  Using Two Disk Drives and the AmigaDOS CLI.

5.0  INSTALLING PIXMATE ON ANY DISK OR HARD DISK DRIVE        I-4

6.0  HOW TO GET PIXMATE RUNNING ON YOUR AMIGA            I-4
     6.1  Loading from the Workbench
     6.2  Loading from the AmigaDOS CLI
     6.3  In Case of Trouble Loading PIXmate

7.0  PIXMATE OPERATING CONVENIENCES                I-5

            TUTORIAL SECTION

T1.0  GETTING STARTED WITH PIXMATE, STEP BY STEP        T-1
      T1.1  Loading the Tutorial Image

2.0  QUICK TOUR OF COMMONLY USED EDITING FEATURES        T-2
      T2.1  How to Undo Changes
      T2.2  Using the Two PIXmate Screens
      T2.3  Clipping, Cutting, and Clearing Areas
      T2.4  Moving the Screen and Image

T3.0  ADJUSTING COLORS                        T-6
      T3.1  Using the Palette Window
      T3.2  Using the Color Bias Window
      T3.3  Reducing the Number of Colors in an Image
      T3.4  Extracting Colors from Images

T4.0  INTRODUCTION TO THE DISPLAY CONTROL WINDOW        T-10

T5.0  INTRODUCTION TO THE IMAGE PROCESSOR            T-10
      T5.1  Logical Operations
      T5.2  Pixel Operations
      T5.3  Matrix Operations

              REFERENCE SECTION

R1.0  IMAGE FILE MANAGEMENT                    R-1
      R1.0.1  Pathnames and Filenames
      R1.0.2  Legal Names
      R1.0.3  Wildcards in Names

R1.1  USING THE PIXMATE FILE SELECTOR                R-3
      R1.1.1  Title Bar and Depth Arrangement Gadgets
      R1.1.2  File Display Area
      R1.1.3  Scroll and Slide Gadgets
      R1.1.4  String Gadgets
      R1.1.5  Action Gadgets
      R1.1.6  Device Gadgets
      R1.1.7  Sort Gadgets
      R1.1.8  Project Menu

R1.2  USING INTERCHANGE FILE FORMAT (IFF) IMAGE FILES        R-9
      R1.2.1  Loading IFF Image Files
      R1.2.2  Saving IFF Image Files
      R1.2.3  IFF Image File Compression

R1.3  USING OTHER FILE FORMATS                    R-11
      R1.3.1  Reading and Writing IFF Palettes
      R1.3.2  Reading and Writing Raw Image Formats
      R1.3.3  Reading Old-Style Digi-View Image Files
      R1.3.4  Reading Atari Neochrome Image Files

R1.4  DELETING FILES                        R-12

R1.5  USING MULTIPLE FILENAMES                    R-13
      R1.5.1  Specifying Multiple Filenames
      R1.5.2  Working with the Previous File
      R1.5.3  Working with the Next File

R1.6  QUITTING PIXMATE                        R-14

               EDIT MENU

R2.1  OPERATIONS USING THE UNDO BUFFER                R-14
      R2.1.1  Undo Features and Limitations
      R2.1.2  Killing the Undo Buffer
      R2.1.3  Disabling the Undo Feature

R2.2  OPERATIONS INVOLVING THE CURRENT SCREEN            R-15
      R2.2.1  Disabling the Screen Title Bar
      R2.2.2  Disabling the Pointer Sprite
      R2.2.3  Clearing the SCreen
      R2.2.4  Clearing Part of the Screen
      R2.2.5  Moving and Centering the Screen
      R2.2.6  Moving the Image on the Screen

R2.3  OPERATIONS INVOLVING THE OTHER SCREEN            R-17
      R2.3.1  Flipping to the Other Screen
      R2.3.2  Copying an Image to the Other Screen
      R2.3.3  Copying Part of an Image to the Other Screen
      R2.3.4  Cutting Part of an Image to the Other Screen
      R2.3.5  Killing the Other Screen

R2.4  MULTITASKING WITH OTHER PROGRAMS                R-18
      R2.4.1  Grabbing Another Screen
      R2.4.2  Grabbing Deluxe Paint Screens

                 COLOR MENU

R3.1  COLOR OPERATIONS                        R-20

R3.2  USING THE COLOR CYCLING FEATURE                R-20

R3.3  THE PALETTE WINDOW                    R-20
      R3.3.1  How the Palette Colors are Displayed
      R3.3.2  Selecting and Adjusting Colors
      R3.3.3  Palette Editing Gadgets
      R3.3.4  Adjusting Color Cycling

R3.4  THE COLOR BIAS WINDOW                    R-28
      R3.4.1  Adjusting Contrast, Saturation, and Intensity
      R3.4.2  Adjusting Red, Green, and Blue Balance

R3.5  PACKING COLORS                        R-30

R3.6  SORTING COLORS                        R-30

R3.7  USING LESS COLORS                        R-31

R3.8  PERFORMING COLOR EXTRACTIONS                R-31
      R3.8.1  Automatic Extractions
      R3.8.2  Specialized Extractions

R3.9  MERGING COLOR EXTRACTIONS                    R-33
      R3.9.1  Automatic RGB Merges
      R3.9.2  Specialized Merges

R3.10 COLOR MODE CONVERSIONS                    R-36
      R3.10.1  Converting HAM 4096 Color Image to 32 Colors
      R3.10.2  Converting HAM 4096 Color Images to 64 Colors
      R3.10.3  Converting Low Resolution Images to HAM Mode

R3.11 MATCHING COLORS WITH OTHER IMAGES                R-38
      R3.11.1  Matching Colors with the Other Screen
      R3.11.2  Matching Colors with an IFF Image File

R3.12 ADDITIONAL COLOR MANIPULATIONS                R-39
      R3.12.1  Copying the Palette to the Other Screen
      R3.12.2  Exchanging Palettes with the Other Screen
      R3.12.3  Complementing Colors
      R3.12.4  Pseudo-Coloring an Image.

              EFFECTS MENU

R4.1  THE DISPLAY CONTROL WINDOW                R-40
      R4.1.1  Changing the Bitplanes
      R4.1.2  Changing the ViewModes
      R4.1.3  Reformatting and Image
      R4.1.4  Resizing an Image

R4.2  THE IMAGE PROCESSOR WINDOW                R-50
      R4.2.1  Logical Operations in Detail
      R4.2.2  Pixel Operations in Detail
      R4.2.3  Matrix Operations in Detail
      R4.2.4  The Slide Controls
      R4.2.5  Data Modes
      R4.2.6  Processing Modes

R4.3  THE HISTOGRAPHIC EQUALIZER WINDOW                R-61
      R4.3.1  Adjusting Color Distribution with the Equalizer

R4.4  AUTOMATICALLY REFORMATTING IMAGES                R-66

            INFO MENU

R5.1  MEMORY USAGE INFORMATION                    R-67

R5.2  DISPLAY FORMAT INFORMATION                R-69

R5.3  THE PIXEL COUNT WINDOW                    R-69

R5.4  THE COORDINATE DISPLAY WINDOW                R-73

R5.5  THE CREDITS DISPLAY                    R-73

               MISCELLANEOUS

R6.0  WORKING WITH LOW RAM CONDITIONS                R-75

R7.0  HOW THE AMIGA GRAPHICS MODES AFFECT THE DISPLAY        R-76

R7.1  The Four Basic Graphics Modes                R-77

R7.2  HAM 4096 Color Mode                    R-79

R7.3  EXTRA_HALFBRITE 64 Color Mode                R-79

            APPENDIX

A.  Tips and Techniques for Image Processing
B.  Warnings, Error Messages, and Recovery Procedures
C.  Suggested Reading
D.  Customer Service and Support

GLOSSARY OF TERMS                        G-1

INDEX                                i-1

1.0  INTRODUCING PIXMATE

     Congratulations!  You have purchased the most sophisticated,
state-of-the-art, combination image processing and graphics special effects
software package available for the Amiga computer.  Don't worry, despite
all that, using PIXmate is easy!  PIXmate uses the standard Amiga Intuition
mouse and menu system, so there is a good chance you already know how to
operate PIXmate.

     There is absolutely no way PIXmate can hurt your Amiga, so feel free
to ignore the manual and try anything you like.  There is no "right" or
"wrong" way to use PIXmate; unleash your creativity and experiment!

1.1  MINIMUM HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS

     PIXmate works with the Amiga model 500, 1000, and 2000 computers using
Kickstart/Workbench 1.2, and requires a bare minimum of 512K of RAM and a
single 3.5" disk drive.  One megabyte of RAM is recommended to achieve
maximum performance from PIXmate.  Additional disk drives or a hard disk
provide extra storage convenience, but are not required.

1.2  CONTENTS OF THE PIXMATE MASTER DISK

ROOT DIRECTORY:

    NAME                  DESCRIPTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Disk.info             PIXmate disk icon
PIXmate               The PIXmate program file
PIXmate.info          The PIXmate program icon
PIXmate.DATA          The PIXmate data file
PIXmate.DATA.info     The PIXmate data icon
Tutorial_Images       A directory containing pictures
Tutorial_Images.info  Tutorial_Images drawer icon
Demo_Images           A directory containing more pictures
Demo_Images.info      Demo_Images drawer icon

TUTORIAL_IMAGES DIRECTORY:

    NAME                  DESCRIPTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abe.LORES             A familiar face used in the tutorial

DEMO_IMAGES DIRECTORY:

    NAME                  DESCRIPTION
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
Abe.LACE              Interlace version of tutorial image
Butterfly.HAMLACE     A colorful insect
Earth.HIRESLACE       Our home, as seen from space
Lion.HAMLACE          A ferocious feline face
Mars.HIRESLACE        A closeup of the Martian landscape
Moon.HIRESLACE        A small step for man
Swamp.LACE            A dark and damp section of land

1.3  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

     PIXmate is the distillation of thousands of person-hours and guru
meditations.  I am deeply indebted to many fine people for their
contribution in making PIXmate possible.  To Will Wright, the creative
genius and programmer extraordinare, who introduced me to computers and
kept my dreams alive.  To Mike Richard, the Amiga entrepreneur and
ambassador, who spent uncounted hours improving, promoting, and debugging
PIXmate.  To Malcolm Dougherty, a friend and mentor, who maintained my
sanity and gave sage advice on the user interface.  To Dave Milligan, the
coauthor of CLImate, for his support and advice.  To Randy Jouett, who can
always find bugs and participated in many brainstorming sessions.  To
Carolyn Scheppner, who writes the most wonderful Amiga code examples and
dares to document the undocumented.  To the entire crew at Progressive
Peripherals & Software, who have that rare combination of spirit and savvy.
And of course, to those wizards of wonder, the original Creators of the
creative edge from Los Gatos.  A deep bow and Thanks! -- Justin

2.0  INTRODUCTION TO IMAGE PROCESSING

     Image processing is the marriage of computer and space-age techniques
for improving digital images.  Image processing techniques were initially
developed to enhance television images returned from the Moon by space
probes.  Later, image processing was applied to improving the quality of
medical x-rays.  Until recently, only governments and major universities
could afford to perform image processing; PIXmate lets you explore the
possibilities of image processing for your own applications.

     Improving the quality of digitized pictures is one application for
image processing.  You can bring out details by emphasizing edges, or
improve the contrast of a image that is too dark or bright.  Enhancing
images is more of an art than a science; the best technique to use is the
one that improves the details you are interested in.  While there are some
general guidelines you can follow, trial and error combined with experience
are your best guide to successful image enhancement. The art of enhancement
is knowing when to stop; PIXmate lets you easily "back up" a step and
decide which image looks better. Often, a combination of several processes
will produce the desired result.

     Another way to use image processing is to produce unusual graphics
effects with existing artwork or images.  An easily produced example of
this is the rainbow color effect often used in television called
"solarization".  Another example is the photographic negative effect that
reverses colors.  PIXmate has virtually unlimited potential for creating
and combining graphic effects.

     A common use of image processing is to alter an existing image to
match some particular format or application.  For instance, you might have
some color image files that you want to reduce in size by half and convert
to black and white for printing purposes.  PIXmate gives you a variety of
ways to quickly achieve this result.

3.0  HOW TO USE THIS MANUAL

     This manual is divided into two main parts: a tutorial section, and a
reference section.  The Tutorial section is designed to give you "hands-on"
experience with some of the features of PIXmate, using a tutorial image
from the PIXmate disk.  The Reference section provides in-depth information
on every operation in PIXmate, and provides examples and advice on
effectively using PIXmate.

      You certainly do not have to read the entire manual to use PIXmate!
We suggest you work through the quick tutorial session to get acquainted
with PIXmate, then use the Reference section to explore other PIXmate
features at your own pace.  You can use the  Glossary in the back of the
manual to explain any terms or jargon used in the Reference section that
you may be unfamiliar with. The Index and the Table of Contents can be used
to find information relating to a particular topic.  The Tips and
Techniques section in the Appendix may be used in a cookbook fashion to
produce some useful effects.

     Please understand that a manual of this scope cannot be perfect.  We
have taken great effort and expense to produce a complete and accurate
guide in an easy-to-read format, however, we welcome suggestions on how
this manual could be improved, and apologize in advance for any errors that
crept into the manual during the publication process.

4.0  HOW TO SAFELY MAKE LEGAL COPIES OF PIXMATE

     PIXmate has no insipid copy protection scheme to prevent you, the
original owner, from making extra copies to protect your investment, or
from installing PIXmate on a hard disk.  There is no "dongle" or key module
to lose, and no irritating "look-up-the-word" password system to impede
your use of the software.  Please do not abuse this privilege by making
PIXmate freely available to other people.  We have purposely kept the price
of PIXmate very modest.  We believe that a program worth using is worth
buying; only you can prevent software piracy.

     After you purchase PIXmate, the first thing you should do is make a
copy of the PIXmate disk (your work disk) and put the original disk (called
the master disk) in a safe place.  Keep all disks away from magnetic
fields, like those produced by televisions and speakers, and avoid places
with extreme temperatures, like inside a car or in direct sunlight.  You
should always use the copy of PIXmate rather than the master disk, since if
something awful happens to the copy, it is then a simple matter to make a
new copy from your master disk.  If you subscribe to Murphy's Law, make two
spare copies and put them in different places, preferably safety-deposit
boxes.

    You will obviously need another disk (either a blank disk fresh out of
the box, or one that contains information you do not need anymore) as a
destination for the copy process.  We suggest you splurge and use a
high-quality, double-sided diskette to increase the useful life span of
your work disk, and to avoid possible disk trouble in the future.

    Before diving into the copy process, take this simple precaution: make
sure your PIXmate master disk is write-protected.  This prevents you from
accidentally erasing the PIXmate master disk.  A disk is write-protected if
the small plastic tab is slid toward the top of the diskette (away from the
metal shutter), allowing you to see clear through the hole in the diskette
casing.  (Quick Tip: the point of a ball-point pen is great for moving
stubborn plastic tabs.)  Also make sure that the destination diskette is
NOT write-protected (i.e., the plastic tab is in the bottom position,
covering the hole), or the disk copy process will fail.

     We will explain, step-by-step, four ways to duplicate your PIXmate
master disk:

 4.1  Using One Disk Drive and the Workbench Icons.
 4.2  Using Two Disk Drives and the Workbench Icons.
 4.3  Using One Disk Drive and the AmigaDOS CLI.
 4.4  Using Two Disk Drives and the AmigaDOS CLI.

     If you only have one disk drive, use method A or C, depending on
whether you are most comfortable using the Workbench icon/mouse
environment, or prefer typing commands using the AmigaDOS CLI.  If you have
two disk drives, use method B or D. For all the methods described, you
should have already turned the power on to your Amiga, and have inserted
the 1.2 KickStart disk if needed.  When the Workbench "Hand and Disk"
picture appears, you should then insert your 1.2 Workbench disk, and wait
until the disk stops turning before proceeding.  It should go without
saying, but it is worth repeating: Never remove a disk from the disk drive
while the drive-light is lit or when the disk is spinning!

4.1  USING ONE DISK DRIVE AND THE WORKBENCH ICONS:

1.  Remove the Workbench disk and insert the PIXmate master disk. The disk
drive light will come on for a moment, and the PIXmate disk icon will
appear at the lower right of the Workbench screen.

2. Using the mouse, position the mouse pointer directly over the PIXmate
disk icon, then press and release (click) the Left Mouse Button.  The
little shutter on the PIXmate disk icon will move to let you know that the
icon has been "activated".

3. Depress the Right Mouse Button and hold the button down. Three menu
selections will appear at the top of the screen, labeled "Workbench",
"Disk", and "Special".  While holding the button down, slide the pointer
directly over the word "Workbench".  A menu will drop down, with six
options visible. Slide the pointer down the menu list, till you get to the
third option, labeled "Duplicate".  Then release the Right Mouse Button.

4. A System Request window will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the
screen, asking you to replace the 1.2 Workbench disk.  Eject the PIXmate
master disk, then put the Workbench disk in the drive.  A new System
Request should then appear that asks you to replace the PIXmate disk.
Eject the Workbench disk and insert the PIXmate master disk.

5. After a moment, the Disk Copy window will take the place of the System
Request, and will ask you to "Put PIXmate (FROM disk) in drive DF0:".
Since PIXmate is already in drive DF0:, you do not have to change disks
yet.

6. The Disk Copy window has two gadgets (small multi-purpose controls that
work like pushbuttons in this instance) labeled "Continue" and "Cancel".
Position the pointer directly over the "Continue" label, then click the
Left Mouse Button.  The disk copy process will then begin reading the
PIXmate disk, and the progress is monitored by the Disk Copy window.

7. After reading part of the PIXmate disk (pass one), the DiskCopy  window
will ask you to "Put DESTINATION disk (TO disk) in drive DF0:.  At this
time, you should eject the PIXmate master disk and insert the new disk you
wish to put the copy of PIXmate on.  Now click on the "Continue" gadget
with the Left Mouse Button.  The disk copy process will then start writing
information to the new disk.

8. After writing is done, you will again be asked to insert the PIXmate
disk.  Eject the partially completed copy, re-insert the PIXmate master
disk, and repeat steps six and seven till the last write cycle is finished;
just follow the Disk Copy prompts for when to change disks.   You will get
a message on the Disk Copy window that says "Disk Copy Finished" when the
process is done.

4.2  USING TWO DISK DRIVES AND THE WORKBENCH ICONS:

1. Eject the Workbench disk from the internal disk drive, remove any disk
present in the external drive.  Insert the  PIXmate master disk into the
internal disk drive, and put the disk to be copied to into the external
disk drive.  After a moment, two new disk icons will appear on the
Workbench screen.  The one labeled "PIXmate" is the master.

2. Using the mouse, position the mouse pointer directly over the PIXmate
disk icon, then press and hold the Left Mouse Button. Now drag the PIXmate
disk icon till it is directly over the new disk icon (not the one labeled
"Workbench") and release the button.

3. A System Request window will appear in the upper left-hand corner of the
screen, asking you to replace the 1.2 Workbench disk.  Eject the PIXmate
master disk from the internal drive, then put the Workbench disk in the
drive.  A new System Request should then appear that asks you to replace
the PIXmate disk. Eject the Workbench disk and insert the PIXmate master
disk.

4. After a moment, the Disk Copy window will take the place of the System
Request, and will ask you to "Put PIXmate (FROM disk) in drive DF0:, Put
NEWDISK (TO disk) in drive DF1:".  Since both the master and copy disks are
now in place, you do not have to exchange disks again for the rest of the
Disk Copy procedure (whew!).

6. At the bottom of the Disk Copy window there are two gadgets (small
multi- purpose controls that work like pushbuttons in this instance)
labeled "Continue" and "Cancel".  Position the pointer directly over the
"Continue" label, then click the Left Mouse Button.  The disk copy process
will then begin reading the PIXmate disk, and writing to the new duplicate
disk.  The progress is monitored by the Disk Copy window, and you are
notified when the copy is complete by the message "Disk Copy Finished".

4.3  USING ONE DISK DRIVE AND THE AMIGADOS CLI:

1.  At the CLI prompt (usually "1>"), type "diskcopy DF0: to DF0:" and
press RETURN.  AmigaDOS will print a prompt that says "Place SOURCE disk
(FROM disk) in drive DF0:, Press RETURN to continue".  At this time, eject
the Workbench disk.

2. Insert the PIXmate master disk and press RETURN.  The disk will be read
into memory, and after a few moments, you will be prompted to "Place
DESTINATION disk (TO disk) in drive DF0:".  At this time, eject the PIXmate
master and insert your new disk to copy to.  Press RETURN to start writing
the information to the new disk.  A new prompt will be printed when the
write cycle is completed.

3. You will have to repeat step two several times, exchanging disks to
follow the prompts, then pressing RETURN to start the read or write
operation.  When the copy is completed, AmigaDOS will print "Disk Copy
Finished" on the screen.

4.4  USING TWO DISK DRIVES AND THE AMIGADOS CLI:

1. At the CLI prompt, type "diskcopy DF0: to DF1:", then press RETURN.
AmigaDOS will print a prompt that says "Place SOURCE disk (FROM disk) in
drive DF0:, Place DESTINATION disk (TO disk) in drive DF1:".

2. Eject the Workbench disk from the internal disk drive and insert the
PIXmate master.  Put the disk you wish to copy PIXmate to in the external
disk drive (first remove any unwanted disk already in there, of course).
Now press RETURN and come back in about a minute and a half.  The copy
process is completely automatic after pressing the RETURN key.

5.0  INSTALLING PIXMATE ON ANY DISK OR HARD DISK DRIVE

     As a convenience, PIXmate may be installed on any disk or in any
directory, assuming there is sufficient storage space there to hold the
program and its data file.  To do this, you need to copy both the "PIXmate"
file and the "PIXmate.DATA" file to the directory of your choice, either by
using the Workbench icons, or by using the AmigaDOS CLI to type the
filenames, or by using a utility program like CLImate.

6.0  HOW TO GET PIXMATE RUNNING ON YOUR AMIGA

     Once you have made a work disk copy of PIXmate and put the master disk
in a safe place, as described in the previous section, you are ready to use
PIXmate.  You can load and run PIXmate from either the Workbench icon
environment, or from the AmigaDOS CLI keyboard environment.

6.1  LOADING FROM THE WORKBENCH:

     Insert your PIXmate work disk into any disk drive.  After a moment,
the PIXmate disk icon will appear on the Workbench screen.  Position the
mouse pointer directly over the disk icon, then press and release the Left
Mouse Button twice in quick succession (double-click).  A window  will
appear in the upper left corner of the screen, titled "PIXmate", and four
icons will appear in the window.  Put the mouse pointer directly over the
icon labeled "PIXmate" (the largest icon), then double-click the Left Mouse
Button.  The program will then load, and after a few seconds, you should be
greeted by the PIXmate title screen.

6.2  LOADING FROM THE AMIGADOS CLI:

     Insert your PIXmate work disk into any disk drive (i.e., DF0:, DF1:,
etc.).  At the CLI prompt (usually "1>"), type "PIXmate:PIXmate" and press
RETURN.  The program will then load, and after a few seconds, the PIXmate
title screen should appear.

IN EITHER CASE:

     After you grow tired of looking at the obligatory title screen,
pressing any key on the keyboard or pressing either mouse button will clear
the title screen and allow you to begin using PIXmate.

6.3  IN CASE OF TROUBLE LOADING PIXMATE:

     If for some reason the PIXmate title screen does not appear after the
disk stops turning, or if a warning message appears instead, check the
following before contacting Customer Service:

* You may have gotten a request window titled "PIX Low Memory Warning:",
followed by an advisory that suggests you need more RAM.  PIXmate checks
how much memory is available after loading, and complains if there is less
than 256K of RAM free at this point.  You can still use PIXmate under these
circumstances, but some operations may require more RAM than is available,
especially when using high-resolution images.  By clicking on the gadget
labeled "Understood" with the Left Mouse Button, the warning will disappear
and the PIXmate title screen will pop up. See the section "Working with Low
RAM Conditions" for more details.

* If you own an Amiga 1000, make sure you are using Kickstart/Workbench
Version 1.2 or later!  PIXmate will not work with the outdated versions of
the Amiga operating system.

* PIXmate needs a bare minimum of 200K of RAM to load; make sure you have
at least 230K before loading.  Running completely out of RAM or operating
very close to the limit is not recommended, since the operating system may
"crash" if it cannot allocate memory, even if PIXmate has successfully
loaded.

* If you have copied PIXmate to a new place, remember that the file
"PIXmate.DATA" must also be copied to the same directory. PIXmate needs the
data file to initialize itself.

7.0  PIXMATE OPERATING CONVENIENCES

     After you have successfully loaded PIXmate, there are some
conveniences and shortcuts that will make your use of PIXmate more
productive.

     When the flashy title screen has cleared, you will be greeted with a
blank screen with the title "PIXmate 1.0" at the top of the screen (see
Figure T1.0).  The Title Bar is used to display messages from PIXmate, and
after you have loaded an image, shows the filename of the image you are
currently working on.

     You can "drag" the screen by the Title Bar, using the Title Bar as a
handle to pull the screen down.  To do this, position the mouse pointer
directly over the middle of the Title Bar, press the Left Mouse Button,
then slide the mouse downward.  The screen will follow the mouse pointer,
moving smoothly down the display, and revealing the screen behind it (in
this case, the Workbench screen).  Releasing the mouse button drops the
screen where it is at.

     At the upper right-hand corner of the Title Bar are the two Depth
Arrangement Gadgets.  By positioning the mouse over leftmost of the two
depth gadgets and pressing the Left Mouse Button, the current screen is
placed behind all other screens. Clicking on the rightmost depth gadget
puts that screen on top of all other screens.

     A handy shortcut is to use the keyboard equivalents of these
operations; pressing the LeftAmiga-N keys down together causes the
Workbench screen to be the topmost screen.  Pressing LeftAmiga-M places the
Workbench screen underneath any other screen.  Note: on the Amiga 500 and
2000, the LeftAmiga key has been changed to the Commodore Key, abbreviated
"C=".  This manual will consistently refer to this key as the Left-Amiga
key to avoid confusion as best as possible.

     PIXmate uses your Workbench colors whenever possible.  You can adjust
the colors PIXmate uses by adjusting your Workbench colors using the
Preference utility program that is on the Workbench 1.2 disk.
Occasionally, you may find it hard to see the Title Bar due to dark colors
in the image.  You can position the mouse pointer anywhere below the Title
Bar and press the Left Mouse Button to temporarily use the Workbench
colors.  This should make the Title Bar easy to read.  When you are
finished reading the title and want the other colors back, just release the
mouse button.

     At the top of the Workbench screen, just to the left of the two
Workbench screen depth gadgets, is the PIXmate Main Window. This is a small
rectangular box labeled "PIX", with a square box on the left side of the
window.  This square box, referred to as a CLOSEWINDOW gadget, can be used
to quit PIXmate at any time, similar to a master power switch.  Simply
position the mouse pointer over the gadget box, then press and release
(click) the Left Mouse Button.  PIXmate will finish whatever it is doing
and quit at the next possible moment.

     During PIXmate processes that take more than a moment, the mouse
pointer will change to the familiar "ZZ" busy cloud image, letting you know
that PIXmate is running and busily performing the task you requested.  When
using PIXmate's image processing features (some of which can take several
minutes!) you can press the SPACEBAR to stop the process.  PIXmate will
abort processing at the next possible moment, and try to restore the
original unprocessed image.  Thus, if you decide halfway through a process
that the results are not what you want, you can press the SPACEBAR and try
a different technique in a matter of seconds, without waiting for the
current operation to run its course.

     Many of the most commonly used PIXmate features can be selected from
the keyboard, instead of using the mouse and menu system.  These keyboard
equivalents, called keyboard shortcuts, are printed in the PIXmate menus
next to the menu item they select.  For instance, the "Undo Changes"
feature from the Edit Menu can be either selected  using the mouse, or by
pressing the "u" key.  Other keyboard shortcuts require pressing two keys
simultaneously.  These shortcuts will appear next to the menu item they
select, with a funny looking capital letter "A" followed by another capital
letter.  For instance, next to the "Load IFF" item in the Project Menu, you
will see something like "A L" printed.  This means pressing the Right-Amiga
Key and the "L" key together selects "Load IFF", just like using the mouse
would.  Whenever possible, PIXmate uses easy to remember letters for the
shortcut keys; "U" for Undo, "P" for Palette, "Right-Amiga-L" for Load,
etcetera.  This shortcut system will make more sense after you use PIXmate
awhile; it can be much quicker than using the mouse and menus once you get
the hang of it.

                        TUTORIAL SECTION

T1.0  GETTING STARTED WITH PIXMATE, STEP BY STEP

     In this tutorial, we are going to show you how to perform some of the
most commonly used PIXmate features in a step by step, "hands-on" fashion.
We will use an image file from the PIXmate disk for this tutorial session.
If the tutorial uses any terms you are unfamiliar with, refer to the
Glossary at the back of the manual for a short description.

     Before you start this tutorial, make sure you have read the previous
chapters, "How to Safely Make Legal Copies of PIXmate", "How to Get PIXmate
Running on Your Amiga", and "PIXmate Operating Conveniences".  If you have
never used the Amiga Workbench, it is recommended you read the Amiga Owners
Manual that came with your Amiga before proceeding.

     At this point, you should have your working copy of PIXmate loaded and
running, with a blank screen that looks something like Figure T1.0.  If
this is not the case, please refer to the "In Case of Trouble" part of the
section "How to Get PIXmate Running on Your Amiga".

T1.1  LOADING THE TUTORIAL IMAGE

     A blank screen is boring, so the first thing we need to do is load the
tutorial image from the PIXmate work disk.   To accomplish this, we will
use the PIXmate File Selector to find the file we want.

1.  Press down the Right Mouse Button and hold it down.  Notice that the
screen Title Bar changes; instead of reading "PIXmate 1.0", it now reads
"Project Edit Color Effect Info".  These five words are the main menu
headings for PIXmate.  The one we want is Project.

2.  While still holding the Right Mouse Button down, slide the mouse
pointer (using the mouse, of course) until it is directly over the word
"Project" in the Title Bar.  The Project Menu will "drop down", displaying
several menu items.  The first menu item is labeled "Load IFF   A L".
Slide the pointer down slightly until it is directly over the "Load IFF"
item.  Notice that the menu item has changed color; this is called
highlighting.  Now, release the Right Mouse Button.  This selects the "Load
IFF" menu item.

3.  The PIXmate File Selector will appear on the Workbench screen.  If you
loaded PIXmate using the Workbench icon, the display area in the File
Selector will begin to fill with names of files from the PIXmate disk, and
you can move on to Step 4.

     If you loaded PIXmate from the CLI, the File Selector will display
names of files from your current CLI directory.  In this case, you may have
to use the File Selector to change directories to the PIXmate work disk.
Notice the boxes in the lower right of  the File Selector, under the label
"DEVICE".  If the PIXmate disk is in the internal disk drive (DF0:),
position the mouse pointer over the box labeled "DF0:", then click the Left
Mouse Button. If the PIXmate disk is in the external drive, click on the
"DF1:" box.  The File Selector should begin reading filenames from the
PIXmate disk.  Should you have problems, the Reference Section covers all
the features of the File Selector in great detail.

4.  After the File Selector has finished reading the disk (the title bar
will say "Select Filename:"), notice that there are two entries that stand
out from the rest; they are a different color than the other filenames, and
they have the word "DIR" in front of their name.  These are the two
directories with image files that come with the PIXmate disk.  The tutorial
image is located in the directory named "Tutorial_Images".  Position the
mouse pointer over the "Tutorial_Images" entry, then click the Left Mouse
Button.  This will force the File Selector to read and display names from
the Tutorial_Images directory.

5.  In the Tutorial_Images directory, there is only one entry, named
"Abe.LORES".  This is the tutorial image file.  Position the mouse pointer
over the name, then quickly press and release the Left Mouse Button twice
(double-click).  This selects the file "Abe.LORES" for loading.  The File
Selector will disappear, and the mouse pointer will change to the little
"ZZ" busy cloud image while the file loads from disk.  After about five
seconds, the soon to be familiar tutorial image (Abe) will appear on the
PIXmate screen.

     As mentioned in the section "PIXmate Operating Conveniences", if you
position the mouse pointer anywhere below the Title Bar, then press the
Left Mouse Button, the screen colors will change to your Workbench colors.
This will make the Title Bar easy to read (it will say "Abe.LORES").
Releasing the button changes the colors back.

T2.0  QUICK TOUR OF COMMONLY USED EDITING FEATURES

     Great!  You have successfully loaded the tutorial image, and in the
process, have become acquainted with selecting menu items, clicking on
gadgets, and using the File Selector.  Now that we have an image to play
with, the fun begins!

     We are now going to cover some of the editing features of PIXmate
available under the "Edit" menu heading.  Hold down the Right Mouse Button,
and put the mouse pointer over the word "Edit" on the Title Bar.  The Edit
Menu will appear.  Most of the Edit Menu items perform cut and paste type
operations.

T2.1  HOW TO UNDO CHANGES:

     The first menu item, labeled "Undo Changes", is the most important of
the Edit Menu functions.  When you select "Undo Changes" from the Edit
Menu, or press the "u" key on the keyboard, PIXmate "undoes" the last
operation performed.  This allows you to try a PIXmate feature, then "Undo
Changes" if you want to try something different (or simply dislike the
results). If no changes have been made, "Undo Changes" will appear to do
nothing.  Throughout the tutorial, you will be asked to use the Undo
feature to restore the original tutorial image before proceeding to the
next step.  This will save you the time and bother of having to re-load the
image (using "Load IFF" Project option) between steps.

T2.2  USING THE TWO PIXMATE SCREENS:

     In addition to the current screen, PIXmate has a second screen simply
referred to as the "Other" screen.  The Other screen is totally independent
from the screen you are looking at; PIXmate can use either or both screens
for performing operations. You can use the Other screen like a clipboard,
or like a reserve "Undo" feature.

     To switch to the Other screen, select "Flip to Other" from the Edit
Menu, or press the "f" key on the keyboard.  Try it now. You will be
greeted by a blank screen, with a screen Title Bar that reads "Other
Screen".  Now press the "f" key again.  The screen with Abe on it will
appear.    You can hold down the "f" key and quickly flip between the two
screens.

     Note that whichever screen you are looking at is considered the
Current screen; if you "Flip to Other", the Other screen becomes the
current, and the current becomes the Other (they exchange places).

     Now use "Flip to Other" to make the screen with on it Abe the Current
Screen.  Select "Copy to Other" from the Edit menu, either by using the
mouse, or by pressing "c" on the keyboard. This makes an exact copy of the
Current screen on the Other screen.  Use "Flip to Other" to check this out;
the two screens are now identical!

     Now select "Clear Screen" from the menu (or press the "x" key).  The
Current Screen is completely cleared.  Now "Flip to Other" again.  Abe
should still be on this screen.  The Other screen is now blank.

T2.3  CLIPPING, CUTTING, AND CLEARING AREAS:

     In the last section, we covered the basics of working with the two
PIXmate screens; flipping, copying, and clearing screens should be pretty
easy to understand.  All of those operations affect the entire screen.  In
this section, we will demonstrate how you can work with just parts of a
screen.  Using the Clip, Cut, and Clear features, you can cut and paste
parts of the Current screen to the Other, or selectively clear sections of
the Current screen.

     At this point, the Current screen should have the picture of Abe on
it, and the Other screen should be cleared (if not, back to section T2.2
and do it!).

     Select "Clip to Other" from the Edit Menu (or press the "k" key).  The
screen Title Bar will disappear, and the mouse pointer will grow slightly
(a larger crosshair shape).  You are now in Clip Mode; PIXmate is waiting
for you to choose a section of the  screen (an area) to clip.

     Position the crosshair near the upper left corner of Abe's right eye
(about the middle of the screen).  Press the Left Mouse Button and hold it
down.  While holding the button down, slide the mouse down and to the
right.  A rectangle will appear and grow in size as you slide the mouse
away from your "starting point".  This rectangle is the area you are about
to clip; try to surround the eye with the rectangular border.  Now release
the Left Mouse Button.  The clipped area is copied to the Other screen.
Use "Flip to Other" to check this out; the only thing on the screen is the
area you clipped.  Using this technique, you can copy selected areas of the
Current screen to the Other screen.

     Flip back to the full picture of Abe.  Now select "Clear Area" from
the Edit menu (or press the Right-Amiga-x keys together).  Using the same
technique we  just described, clip the same area of the screen around Abe's
eye.  When you release the button, the clipped area of the screen will be
instantly cleared. Now select "Undo Changes" (or the "u" key).  The cleared
area is restored!   Select "Undo" again.  Now you are back to the image of
Abe with the missing eye.  Select "Undo" once more before continuing to get
the original image back -- we just wanted to show you that "Undo" can undo
itself as well.

     Here is a third Edit Menu feature, called "Cut to Other", that is a
combination of "Clip to Other" and "Clear Area" in one operation.  You can
try it if you like; just remember to use "Undo" to get the original  image
back before proceeding.

T2.4  MOVING THE SCREEN AND IMAGE:

     Terrific!  You have mastered most of the operations involving using
the two screens and the Undo feature.

     Often, it may be useful to move the image around on the screen.
PIXmate has a couple of ways to do this; we will be using the cursor arrow
keys to move the screen and image.

     Get the image of Abe back on the current screen (if you have mangled
it, use "Load IFF" to re-load the image).  Now use "Copy to Other" to make
a spare copy of Abe on the Other screen.

     First of all, try pressing the four arrow keys; up, down, left, and
right.  Notice how the screen moves in the direction pointed to by the
arrow key you pressed.  If you hold an arrow key down, the screen will
smoothly move in that direction.  All that we are doing here is sliding the
screen around on the monitor: this is handy when working with "overscan"
images that extend beyond the edges of the screen.  If you select
"ReCenter" from the Edit Menu (or press the "r" key) the screen will be
centered back to its default position (i.e., before you used the cursor
keys to move it).  In addition, if you press the Right Mouse Button, the
screen will be centered automatically.

     Press the "r" key now to center the screen.  Now, while holding down
the SHIFT key, try pressing the arrow keys.  Once again, the image will
move around in the direction of the arrow  pressed.  However, when you have
the SHIFT key pressed, you are actually moving the image on the screen (as
opposed to moving the screen on the monitor).  Parts of the image that fall
off the edge of the screen are permanently lost; even "Undo" won't recover
parts that you have "pushed" off the edge of the screen. Don't worry, that
is why we used "Copy to Other" first: we still have the original image on
the Other screen.

     Holding down the SHIFT key in combination with the arrows for more
than a moment causes the key to auto-repeat.  The image will briskly move
in the desired direction.  Pressing SHIFT and an arrow key once moves the
image a single column or row over.

     To move the image around in larger steps, press the ALT key and an
arrow key together.  Each time you press the ALT-arrow combination, the
image will jump half the screen in the desired direction.  Note that it is
very easy to push the image completely off the screen, leaving nothing but
darkness.  Good thing we have a copy of the image on the Other screen!

     After you get bored with pushing the image around, use "Flip to Other"
to bring the original image of Abe back on the Current screen.

T3.0  ADJUSTING COLORS

     You have conquered most of the mysteries of the Edit Menu. This
section will acquaint you with some of the items in the Color Menu.
PIXmate has lots of ways you can manipulate the colors used by an image; we
will touch on some of the most useful items.  You do still have the image
of Abe on the screen now, right?

T3.1  USING THE PALETTE WINDOW:

     Select "Palette" from the Color Menu (or press the "p" key). The
Palette window will "pop-up" on the screen, covering part of the image.
The screen will look something like Figure T3.1 at this point.

     First of all, try this: press the Right Mouse Button down. Notice that
the Palette window and the screen Title Bar disappears!  You can see the
entire image now.  Release the mouse button, and the window pops back.  If
the Palette ever gets in the way of your image (or any other PIXmate
window), you can use this feature to view the whole image at any time.

     At the bottom of the Palette is the Color Bar, showing you the
spectrum of colors used by the image.  This spectrum, called the ColorMap,
can be modified using the Palette controls.

     Move the mouse pointer directly over the middle of the Color Bar, then
press and hold the Left Mouse Button.  Instantly, the Palette controls jump
to match the new position you selected. While still holding the mouse
button down, slide the mouse left and right.  Notice how the small white
marker on top of the Color Bar follows your mouse movements, and the other
parts of the Palette that change when you move the mouse.  When you release
 the button, the color in the Color Bar below the marker is selected.  This
is how you select a color in the ColorMap to modify.

     Now try this: put the pointer directly over Abe's nose, then click the
Left Mouse Button.  The Palette will select the color under the pointer.
This might be more useful that choosing colors from the Color Bar, if you
need to change a particular color used in the image.

     Select a color, it does not matter which one.  Notice the three small
white boxes to the right of the "RGB" labels, inside of the long
rectangles.  These are the Red, Green, and Blue slide control knobs.
Position the mouse pointer directly over the knob to the right of the "R"
label.  Now press and hold the Left Mouse Button, then slide the mouse left
and right.  As you move the mouse the color changes, either adding or
removing red from the currently selected color.  This is similar to using
one of those fancy volume controls on a radio or television.  Play around
with the Green and Blue sliders also.  By using these three controls, you
can create any color the Amiga can display.

     After you have changed the color using the slide controls, you can get
the original colors back by clicking on the box labeled "Undo" using the
Left Mouse Button.  Clicking on the Undo gadget again brings the changes
back.   If you click on the gadget labeled "Reset", ALL changes you make to
the colors will be undone.  No matter how many changes you made, "Reset"
brings back the original colors.  "Undo" only undoes the last change made.

     The gadgets on the right-hand side of the Palette, labeled "Copy",
"Exch", "Swap", and "Sprd", allow you to do some simple editing of the
colors used by an image.  These operations are of the "pick two colors"
variety; you select a color as previously described, click on one of these
gadgets, then select a second color.  For instance, select some color from
the Color Bar.  Now click on the "Copy" gadget.  The title bar of the
Palette window will prompt you to "Pick color to Copy to:".  Now select a
second color, different than the first one you selected.  Flash!  The
Palette copies the first color selected to the second one, instantly.  Now
click on the "Undo" gadget.  You have the original two colors back.

     The gadget labeled "Exch" allows you exchange two colors, and works
just like the Copy operation did.  Try an exchange. Notice how the image
changed color?  Click "Undo" or "Reset" now to get the old colors back.
"Swap" is very similar; the two colors selected are exchanged, however, the
image is re-colored so that although the colors have been exchanged, the
image looks the same!

     There are other interesting features of the Palette window we could
try, but that is what the Reference Section is for.  For now, click on
"Reset" to restore the original colors.  Now click on the CLOSEWINDOW box
in the extreme upper left corner of the Palette window (or press the ESC
key on the keyboard).  The Palette will disappear, and we are ready to move
on to the next part of the tutorial!

T3.2  USING THE COLOR BIAS WINDOW:

     After playing with the Palette window, you have a good idea of how to
adjust individual colors in an image.  PIXmate has a much more powerful
color control system that allows you to adjust ALL the colors in the
ColorMap simultaneously!

     Do you still have the image of Abe there?  Good.  Select "Color Bias"
from the Color Menu (or press the "b" key).  After a second (while PIXmate
does a calculation), the Color Bias window will appear.

     Using the Color Bias window is very similar to using the
Red-Green-Blue slide controls in the Palette window.  You will notice that
there are six slide controls.  The ones on the left, labeled "C", "S", and
"I" at the top, are the Contrast, Saturation, and Intensity controls,
respectively.  Position the mouse pointer over the small knob in the
Contrast control, then press the Left Mouse Button down.  While holding the
button, slowly slide the mouse up and down -- as you can see, the Contrast
control has a wide range of effect!  Now that you have the idea, click on
the "Undo" gadget at the bottom left of the Color Bias window.  The
Contrast knob will be centered, and any changes will be undone.  You can
press the Right Mouse Button to hide the window and see the full image for
as long as the button is down -- keep this trick in mind since nearly all
PIXmate windows follow this rule.

     Try the other slide controls.  The Saturation control makes colors
richer or more pastel.  The Intensity control works like a brightness knob
on a television.  The Red, Green, and Blue slides allow you to adjust the
color balance.  In general, it is helpful to think of these controls as the
type of knobs you find on a television to adjust the picture.

     After you have explored the possibilities, click on the "Undo" gadget,
the close the window, either by clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget in the
upper left, or by pressing the ESC key.

T3.3  REDUCING THE NUMBER OF COLORS IN AN IMAGE:

     Well, we have covered a lot of methods for manually adjusting colors.
Now we will experiment with some of PIXmate's automatic color features!

     Select "Less Colors" from the Color Menu.  The Less Colors window will
appear.  Notice there is a box with the number "32", followed by a cursor
block.  This indicates that the image is currently using 32 colors.  Now,
press the BACKSPACE key twice to clear out the number 32.  In its place,
type "16" and press RETURN.

     As soon as you press RETURN, the window disappears and PIXmate goes
into action.  After a few moments, the image will be re-colored, using the
16 best colors out of the original 32 used by the image.  Press the "u" key
a couple of times; notice that even though we are using half as many
colors, the image really has not changed that much.  You can bring up the
Palette window  to look at the new ColorMap PIXmate created.

     Using the same technique, you could have specified "2" colors instead
of "16".  This might be handy for producing two color images for printing.
You can always undo the operation if it does not work to your liking.

     Another thing to remember at this point is that you can always press
the SPACEBAR in the middle of a long operation (long for PIXmate, that is).
This will usually stop the process, and do an "Undo" for you.

     At this time, get back the original image of Abe, either using "Undo
Changes", or by re-loading the image from disk.

T3.4  EXTRACTING COLORS FROM IMAGES:

     For image processing or printing purposes, it is desirable to deal
with just the red, green, or blue components of an image. As you may have
noticed when using the Palette and Color Bias slide controls, all colors on
the Amiga can be described by a combination of red, green, and blue colors.
PIXmate allows you to extract one or more of these color components from
and image.

     With Abe on the screen, press and hold the Right Mouse Button, then
slide the pointer down the Color Menu until you get to the menu item
labeled "Extract...".  When you get to the "Extract..." item, notice that a
new menu appears slightly to the right of the Extract item.  This is called
a submenu.  Extract has nine submenu items, with names like "RGB", "Red",
"Green", "Blue", etcetera.  With the right button still down, slide the
mouse to the right, into the submenu area, then down the submenu list until
the label "Green" is highlighted.  Now, release the button.  The image will
turn green, and after a few seconds of wild color activity, a green version
of Abe will be left on the screen!  PIXmate has extracted the green
component of the image. Bring up the Palette window; notice how all the
colors are shades of green, ordered from darkest to lightest.  Close the
Palette window, and "Undo Changes".  The original full color image of Abe
is restored.

     Don't worry about the other extractions right now, we just wanted you
to be acquainted with this process.  PIXmate uses this technique
extensively to work with full color images.  The Reference Section goes
into great detail about the other "Extract..." options.

T4.0  INTRODUCTION TO THE DISPLAY CONTROL WINDOW

     There are lots of other options in the Color Menu, but it is beyond
the scope of this "short" tutorial to cover them here. Use the Reference
Section to explore these other possibilities. For now, we want you to have
the original Abe image back on the Current Screen so that we can explain
some of the options in the Effects Menu.

     Got Abe back?  Okay, now select "Display" from the Effects Menu, or
press the "d" key.  The Display Control window will appear.

     The Display Control window is covered with a variety of gadgets.  We
won't go into all of these; lets concentrate on the gadgets on the right of
the Display Control Window for now.

     Click on the gadget labeled "Thinner" and zip!! -- the image is made
half as wide.  Click on the "UNDO!" gadget to get the full width image
back.  Now click on "Shorter".  Abe becomes half as tall.  Click on "UNDO!"
again.  Now click on "Flip Y".  In a flash, Abe is upside-down.  Click
"Flip X".  A mirror image is produced.  Isn't this fun?  By now, you can
probably guess what the "Wider" and "Taller" gadgets do.  Experiment with
these six gadgets a bit.

     Now turn your attention to the right-hand side of the Display Control
window.  Under the label "PLANES" are a row of six little boxes, numbered
one through six.  The first five of these boxes are highlighted, indicating
they are "ON".  Position the pointer over the one labeled "3", then click
the Left Mouse Button.  The box will become un-highlighted, and some of the
color will disappear from the image.  Now click on "3" again. The gadget is
highlighted again, and the colors are restored to the image.
Congratulations, you have just performed the technique known as "dropping a
bitplane"!

     Well, we could spend hours here, but we have much more to cover
elsewhere in PIXmate.  Close the Display Control window by clicking on the
CLOSEWINDOW gadget, or by pressing the ESC key. Get the original tutorial
image back; either by "Undo Changes", or by re-loading the image  if you
have made too many changes to it.

T5.0  INTRODUCTION TO THE IMAGE PROCESSOR

     Now to explore the heart of PIXmate, the Image Processor. After you
get the original Abe image back on the screen, select "Image Process" from
the Effects Menu (or press the "i" key). The Image Processor window will
appear before you.

     The Image Processor has a couple of dozen gadgets that control various
effects PIXmate can produce.  These gadgets are grouped by function; a thin
border separates the different groups of gadgets.  Basically, these
controls fall into three main groups: Logical Operations, Pixel Operations,
and Matrix Operations.  We will investigate examples of each of these
operations.

T5.1  LOGICAL OPERATIONS:

---->On the left of the Image Processor window, there is a group of seven
gadgets, the largest of which is labeled "LOGIC".  Below the "LOGIC" gadget
are six smaller gadgets that allow you to choose a variety of logical
operations.  Currently, the one labeled "NOP" (short for No-OPeration) is
highlighted.  Position the mouse pointer over the one labeled "EOR" and
press the Left Mouse Button.  Note that now the "EOR" gadget is
highlighted, and the "NOP" gadget is not.  This means the "EOR" logical
operation  has been selected.  Don't worry about what that means; at this
point, click the "LOGIC" gadget and sit back for a quick color show!
PIXmate will extract the green, red, and blue  components of the image,
perform the "EOR" operation on each extraction, then merge the
red-green-blue images into a new color image. When the process is done, you
should have a image of Abe that looks like a photographic negative.  Click
on "LOGIC" again; the process will be repeated, and the negative image will
be converted back to the original positive image.  Isn't that exciting?
Okay, now click on the "NOP" gadget to reset the logic controls to their
normal settings.

T5.2  PIXEL OPERATIONS:

     To the right of the logic controls is a group of eight small gadgets
with enigmatic names like "AVG" and "USM".  This group controls the various
pixel operations that PIXmate performs.  For an example, click on the "AVG"
gadget.  After PIXmate performs the color extraction, each of the red,
green, and blue images will be averaged, after which the images are merged
to produce a new image.  Notice how the "AVG" averaging operation blurs the
sharp details in the image, especially the fine lines that compose Abe's
face and background.  Now click on the "UNDO" gadget to get the original
image back.  See the difference?

     Now click on the "LCE" gadget.  After color processing, the result is
a sharper, more detailed image.  Notice how much clearer the fine lines and
details are.  Click "UNDO" and try the "USM" gadget.  "USM" also sharpens
details, but using a different technique than "LCE" does.  Click "UNDO" and
try out the "RND", "MF1", and "MF2" gadgets, using "UNDO" between the
steps.  These produce different "fuzzing" or smoothing effects.

     For our last pixel operation, we need to change our Processing Mode.
To do this, position the mouse pointer over the gadget labeled "AutoColor",
under the "Process" label (about the middle right-hand side of the window).
 Click the gadget twice; it should now read "Mono Mode".  This means we are
now using one-step processing, without the red-green-blue extraction/merge
operation.  Adjust the slide control at the top of the window labeled
"Thresh:" (short for threshold) until the number next to the label reads
"16"; the knob should be in the middle position. Now click on the pixel
operation gadget labeled "BIN".  In seconds, the image is changed to two
colors.  The "Thresh:" setting determines what parts of the image become
dark or light. Click "UNDO" and try other Threshold settings.  As you can
see, there is a wide degree of control possible using the Threshold
control.

     Undo any changes you have made, and set the "Thresh:" control back to
the "0" position (i.e., all the way to the left). We are now going to
examine matrix operations.

T5.3  MATRIX OPERATIONS:

     The last group of operations we will cover the two matrix operations.
The matrix control gadgets are located in the top left-hand part of the
window, right below the title bar.  Abe should be on the screen, the
Threshold setting should be "0", and you should still be using "Mono Mode"
to Process with.

     Now click on the gadget labeled "EDG" (short for EDGE).  In a few
moments, PIXmate will complete the edge detection process, leaving a
ghostly outline of the image.  Click on "UNDO" to restore the image.  Click
the "LAP" gadget now.  Every detail in the image will be greatly
emphasized, similar to the effect that "USM" had on the image, but far
stronger.  Click "UNDO" again.

     To the right of these two gadgets, under the "KERNAL" label, are a set
of seven small boxes with symbols in them.  Currently, the box containing
the "*" is highlighted; click on the box labeled "-" now.  The newly
selected box will be highlighted. Now click on "LAP" again.  PIXmate will
now bring out all the horizontal details and edges in the image.  Click
"UNDO" and then click on the "KERNAL" box with the "|" symbol.  Now try
"LAP" again.  See the difference?  Now only the vertical edges are
enhanced.  The little symbols represent a tiny picture of the type of
details that kernal selection will affect most.

     We have only scraped the surface of the what PIXmate can do; there are
many thousands of possible effects you can produce! You have successfully
completed the Tutorial Section, and are ready to use the Reference Section,
which covers all PIXmate operations in detail.  Remember, there is no
"right" or "wrong" technique; only those that work best for you.  Liberal
use of the "Undo" feature, combined with experimentation is your best guide
to successful image processing.

                        REFERENCE SECTION

R1.0  IMAGE FILE MANAGEMENT

     PIXmate can read and write several different formats of image files,
which are stored on disk or in RAM.  Files are organized by pathname and
filename.

R1.0.1  PATHNAMES AND FILENAMES:

     AmigaDOS and PIXmate use pathnames and filenames to locate a desired
file.  Pathname refers to the complete name of a directory or subdirectory
where files are stored.  A filename is the actual name of a file stored in
the directory specified by the pathname.  The full name for a file is the
combination of pathname and filename.  For instance, a file named "Bill"
stored on a disk in drive DF0: would have a full name of "DF0:Bill". The
pathname would be "DF0:", and the filename would be "Bill". If the file
"Bill" was located in a directory on DF0: named "Pictures", the full name
would be "DF0:Pictures/Bill", the pathname would be "DF0:Pictures", the
directory name would be "Pictures", and the filename would be "Bill".  For
further details, see the chapter 1.3 of the AmigaDOS User's Manual.

R1.0.2  LEGAL NAMES:

     Filenames and names of subdirectories must be 30 characters or less.
For convenience, avoid using the characters '*', '?', '#', '/', and ':' in
the names you choose for files, since these characters have special
meanings to PIXmate and AmigaDOS (see Wildcards).  Also, we recommend that
you avoid using spaces or control characters in filenames, (e.g., "The
Picture"), since this makes it difficult to type the filename later from
the AmigaDOS CLI environment.

R1.0.3  WILDCARDS IN NAMES:

     PIXmate and the File Selector allow the use of the symbols '*' and '?'
in a filename to refer to several filenames in a directory.  These symbols,
commonly referred to as wildcards, universally match characters or series
of characters in a filename using a pattern-matching technique.  The '*'
character matches any series of characters.  The '?' character matches any
single character.  For example, suppose the following filenames are in a
directory named "DF0:Pictures":

     Fred.HIRES
     Joe.LORES
     Pete.HIRES
     Ted.HIRES.R
     Tom.LORES.G
     testfile

A single '*' pattern would match all of the above filenames.  The  pattern
"*.HIRES" would match only filenames that end with ".HIRES", in this case
just the filenames "Fred.HIRES" and "Pete.HIRES".  The pattern "T*" would
match any filename starting with the letter 'T', "Ted.HIRES.R",
"Tom.LORES.G", and "testfile".  The pattern "*LORES*" would match any
filename that has the string (character sequence) "LORES" in it somewhere,
"Joe.LORES" and "Tom.LORES.G" in this case.  The pattern "*.?" would match
any string that ends with a period followed by a single character;
"Ted.HIRES.R" and "Tom.LORES.G" are candidates. The pattern "*.*.*" would
match any string that contains two periods; thus "Ted.HIRES.R" and
"Tom.LORES.G" would match. Finally, the string "????????" would match any
filename that has exactly eight characters, in this example "testfile" is
the only match.

R1.1  USING THE PIXMATE FILE SELECTOR

  < Figure R1.1  Anatomy of the Path-Master(tm) File Selector >

     PIXmate uses the Path-Master(tm) File Selector, which is the primary
way files are selected after PIXmate has begun execution. You use the File
Selector to select a pathname and filename for the file you wish to load,
save, or delete.  The File Selector dynamically time-slices its operations,
so you are never forced to wait for a directory to be read.

     When PIXmate requires a filename to complete an operation, such as
loading, saving, or deleting a file, the File Selector window will pop up
on the WorkBench screen (see Fig. R1.1), using your default WorkBench
resolution and colors as set by Preferences.  This guarantees that the File
Selector will always be same resolution and colors that you selected for
your WorkBench, regardless of the resolution or colors PIXmate is using for
your current image.

     The File Selector reads your current directory (or directory where
PIXmate is located if you are using the WorkBench) the first time it is
used.  The File Selector keeps track of its current information between
uses, so it never has to re-read a directory unless the directory has
changed.  Also, if you are finished using the File Selector before it has a
chance to read all the entries in the currently selected directory, the
File Selector will pick up where it left off reading next time you use the
File Selector.

     NOTE: You should never remove a disk from a drive when the drive-
activity light is on!  Removing a disk while it is spinning can scramble
any information on the disk and possibly cause damage to your drive.  It is
a good idea to wait about five seconds after the light has extinguished
before removing a disk, to let AmigaDOS validate the disk if it needs to.
If the drive-activity light does not go out after a reasonable period of
time, and the keyboard and mouse are unresponsive ("locked up" is the
jargon for this condition), it is possible the Amiga operation system has
crashed or "hung".  The safest way to reset the computer and drives is to
press the CTRL-Left Amiga-Right Amiga combination of keys to force a warm
boot.

     Figure R1.1 shows what the File Selector window looks like, and names
the parts of the File Selector discussed in the next few sections.

R1.1.1  TITLE BAR AND DEPTH ARRANGEMENT GADGETS:

     The Title Bar of the File Selector serves three purposes: it prompts
you for action, reports the current status of the File Selector, and can be
used as a drag bar for positioning the File Selector on the WorkBench
screen.

     The text on the left of the Title Bar, inside of the "<>" symbols, is
a reminder and prompt to complete the currently selected PIXmate operation.
 For example, if you had selected "Delete File" from the PIXmate Project
Menu, the File Selector Title Bar prompt would read "< DELETE FILE >".

     To the right of the prompt area, the current status of the File
Selector is shown.  The two most common status messages are "Reading...",
which means that the File Selector is still reading filenames from the
directory, or "Select Filename:", which informs you that the File Selector
has read all the entries available from the current directory.  The status
area is also used for displaying any problems or errors encountered while
reading a directory or changing paths.  For instance, if you select a
pathname for a directory that does not exist, the status area will read
"Path not Found!".  If you remove the disk or change paths to a disk drive
with no disk present, the status area will read "No disk in drive!" or
"Volume not available!". If you select a path for a directory that contains
no files, the status message will read "Empty Directory!".

     On the top-right corner of the Title Bar are the two Depth Arrangement
Gadgets.  You can stack other WorkBench windows on top of the File Selector
with the left depth gadget, or bring the File Selector window to the top of
the stack by clicking on the right depth gadget.

     You can click-hold on the Title Bar with the Left Mouse Button
anywhere to the left of the Depth Arrangement Gadgets, and then drag the
File Selector window around the WorkBench screen, just like other Intuition
windows.

R1.1.2  FILE DISPLAY AREA:

     The File Display Area gives you information on files and
subdirectories the current directory contains.  You can select filenames or
display subdirectories from the File Display Area by clicking inside the
rectangle that surrounds the desired entry.

     There is room to display ten file or directory entries at a time in
the File Display Area.  If there are less than ten files or directories
available in the current path, unused areas of the Display Area will be
filled with a checkerboard pattern. Furthermore, if there are no files
available, the Title Bar will inform you of the reason with a status area
message.

     For each entry, the following information fields are supplied.  First,
the date of creation, in month-day-year format (MM-DD-YY).  Second, the
time of creation, in hours-minutes-second format (HH-MM-SS). Third, the
size of the file entry in bytes, or if the entry is a directory, the word
"DIR".  Directory entries are easy to recognize, since they are a different
color than file entries.  The fourth field is the file or directory name
itself.

     Clicking once with the Left Mouse Button on a file entry in the File
Display Area will copy that entry's filename into the File String Gadget.
Clicking twice in quick succession on a file entry (double-clicking) will
select that filename as your final choice and return you to PIXmate.  This
is the equivalent of clicking once on a file entry, then clicking on the
Select Gadget.

     If you click on a directory entry (i.e., entries labeled "DIR"), the
File Selector will append that directory name to the current pathname, and
then display any entries available from that subdirectory.

R1.1.3  SCROLL AND SLIDE GADGETS:

     If there are more entries in a directory than will fit in the ten
entry File Display Area, the three Scroll Gadgets to the right of the File
Display Area can be used to move up and down the list.  Clicking once on
the up or down arrow gadgets with the Left Mouse Button scrolls the list up
or down one entry.  Holding the mouse button down for a moment on an arrow
starts the auto-repeat feature, scrolling through the list at about ten
entries per second for as long as the button remains depressed.

     Between the two arrow gadgets is a slide gadget that serves three
functions.  The vertical size of the slide knob gives you a estimate of
what percentage of entries out of the total entries are visible in the File
Display Area.  Thus, if there are ten or less entries, the slide knob will
fill the entire slide gadget rectangle; if there were twenty entries, the
knob would occupy half of the slide gadget area.  The position of the knob
tells you what part in the list you are displaying; if the knob is at the
top of the container you are at the top of the list of entries.

     You can click-hold the slide knob with the Left Mouse Button, and drag
the knob up and down.  The File Selector will instantly update the File
Display Area to match the new position. By clicking inside the container
above or below the knob, you can jump nine entries in either direction each
click.

     Due to the dynamic nature of the File Selector, if you try to move the
knob while entries are still being read from the directory, the slide
gadget may resist your attempts to position it.  Using the arrow gadgets
instead will result in less conflict during directory reads.

R1.1.4  STRING GADGETS:

     Below the File Display Area are the three string gadgets, labeled
"PATH", "FILE", and "PATTERN".  You click using the Left Mouse Button
anywhere inside of the rectangle to the right of the label to activate a
string gadget.  A cursor will appear inside the rectangle to indicate that
the gadget is ready for you to type in information from the keyboard.  When
you press RETURN, the information you type is processed.

     The string gadgets use standard Intuition rules and shortcuts for line
editing inside the gadget.  The left and right arrow keys allow you to
position the cursor over a character. Holding down the SHIFT key while
pressing the left and right arrows jump the cursor to the beginning and end
of the string. Pressing the Right-Amiga-x will clear the contents of the
string gadget, and Right-Amiga-q will undo the previous change. Pressing
the DEL (delete) key removes the character under the cursor, and the
BACKSPACE key removes the character to the left of the cursor.

     Note that you must press RETURN to actually finish a string entry; if
you click the mouse elsewhere before pressing RETURN, the original string
will be restored unchanged.  The cursor will disappear when you press
RETURN, signaling that the entry is finished.

     The Path String gadget shows the pathname to the directory the File
Selector is displaying in the File Display Area.  Typing in a different
pathname and pressing RETURN will cause the File Selector to display
entries in the new directory.  Pathnames may not total more than 300
characters in length.

     The File String gadget shows you the currently selected filename and
allows you to type a filename into the space provided.  This gadget is
automatically activated and ready for typing when the File Selector is
invoked by PIXmate.  Pressing RETURN will select the filename in the File
String gadget as your final choice and return you to PIXmate.  Note that
legal filenames must be at least one character, and no more than 30
characters in length.  If you attempt to enter a filename more than 30
characters in length, the screen will flash to warn that no further
characters may be entered.  As a convenience, if you enter a filename such
as "DF1:testfile", the File Selector will divide the name into a pathname
and filename automatically. Thus, the new pathname would be "DF1:" and the
new filename would be "testfile".

---->The Pattern String Gadget shows the current pattern that filenames in
the File Display Area are filtered through before display.  Directory names
are always visible regardless of the pattern selected.  Normally, the
string area will contain the '*' wildcard character, which matches all
filenames.  You can type a new filter pattern into the string area and the
File Selector will instantly update the File Display Area, showing you only
filenames that match the new pattern.  See the section on Wildcard Names
for information on legal pattern combinations. Note that this version of
the File Selector supports a maximum of eight levels of pattern abstraction
when expanding the '*' character in patterns; thus, patterns more
complicated than "*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*" will not be processed.  This should not
prove to be much of a limitation in practice, since filenames are 30
characters or less.  Additionally, if you specify a pattern and  none of
the available filenames match the new pattern, the Title Bar will alert you
with the status message "Pattern not found!".

R1.1.5  ACTION GADGETS:

     The three Action Gadgets below the String Gadgets allow you to select
a filename and return to PIXmate, cancel file selection operations, or undo
the last path change made.

     The leftmost of the three gadgets, called the Select Gadget, is used
to confirm that the filename visible in the File String Gadget is the
filename you want PIXmate to use.  The Select Gadget has no effect until a
filename is put in the File String Gadget.  If a filename is available, the
current PIXmate operation will be completed using that filename.  The
Select Gadget has three possible labels: "Load", "Save", or "Delete",
depending on the PIXmate operation in progress.  This matches the prompt in
the File Selector Title Bar, and reminds you which operation is to be
performed.

     The middle Action Gadget, labeled "Cancel!", allows you to exit the
File Selector and abort the current PIXmate operation. Note that you can
hit "Cancel!" before the File Selector has finished reading a directory,
immediately returning you to PIXmate.

     The rightmost Action Gadget, labeled "Last Dir", toggles between the
last pathname used in the File Selector and the current pathname.  This can
be a convenient way to switch between two commonly used directories; by
selecting the first pathname, then selecting the second pathname, you can
use the "Last Dir" gadget to jump from one to the other.

R1.1.6  DEVICE GADGETS:

     The six Device Gadgets allow you to quickly switch to different
directories and logical devices in the AmigaDOS filing system.  Clicking on
these gadgets will immediately cause a path change and force the File
Selector to read the new directory.

     The "Parent" gadget moves you one directory closer to the top (root)
of a directory structure, i.e., the pathname is shortened by one directory
name.  For example, if your current pathname was "PIXmate:Pictures/Hires",
clicking on the parent gadget would change your pathname to "DF0:Pictures".
 Clicking on the gadget again would change the pathname to "DF0:".  Further
clicks would simply re-read drive DF0:, since you are at the root directory
now.  The "Root" gadget moves you directly to the topmost directory of a
directory structure, in this case, "DF0:".

     Below the parent and root gadgets are the four logical device gadgets.
 The File Selector automatically labels these four gadgets with the first
four logical devices found in the AmigaDOS filing system.  All Amigas
currently have the "RAM:" and "DF0:" logical devices available to them.  If
you do not have an external disk drive or hard disk, the bottom two device
gadgets will be disabled and labeled "NIL:", since they are unused.
Otherwise these gadgets will be labeled with the other available  logical
device names present on your Amiga.  If you have more than four logical
devices, (e.g., several disk drives, hard disk partitions, recoverable ram
disks, etc.) the two small arrow gadgets to the left of the four device
gadgets allow you to move through the list of available device names in
either direction. No matter how many devices you have, the File Selector
will allow you to select the device you want by scrolling through the list.

     Note that although it is frowned upon, AmigaDOS allows device names to
be more than the normal three characters in length (e.g., "DF1" or "RAM").
If a device name on the system is more than three characters long, only the
first four characters of the name will be displayed on the device gadget
label. However, the File Selector uses the full device name when changing
pathnames.

R1.1.7  SORT GADGETS:

     The three Sort Gadgets allow you to organize the information in the
File Display Area three different ways.  The "Alpha" gadget alphabetizes
the directory list, ignoring case differences.  The "Size" gadget sorts the
entries by file size, shortest file first.  The "Date" gadget sorts the
entries by time of creation, oldest entry first.  A handy way of separating
the directory names from the filenames in a directory is to first sort them
using "Alpha", then using "Size".  All the directory names will be at the
top of the list, sorted alphabetically.

     Note that the amount of time it takes to sort the entries is
proportional to the number of entries in the list.  It can take a few
seconds to sort a directory with several hundred entries.

                          PROJECT MENU

R1.2  USING INTERCHANGE FILE FORMAT (IFF) IMAGE FILES

     PIXmate fully supports the "ILBM" (InterLeavedBitMap) Interchange File
Format for storing raster images as put forth in the EA (Electronic Arts)
IFF 85 standard and the EA IFF 86 amendments.  IFF is a quick, versatile,
and portable file format most Amiga programs that deal with images use to
store their data.

     An ILBM is an IFF data chunk that can be part of a larger, more
complex IFF file, such as used by an animation package, or may exist by
itself, like the files created by a paint program.

     Each ILBM contains smaller data chunks that describe the width and
height, graphics modes, colors, cycling information, and actual bitmap data
for an image.  An ILBM does not have to have all these properties, and you
do not have to use all the information contained by an ILBM.  This allows
you to save the colors of an image without forcing you to save the bitmap
data, and to read just the color data from an ILBM while ignoring
irrelevant data.

     For further information on IFF files, see Appendix H of the Amiga ROM
Kernal Manual Volume 2, or obtain a copy of the Fred Fish Public Domain
Library Disk #64.

R1.2.1  LOADING IFF IMAGE FILES:

     Selecting "Load IFF" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-L) from the
Project Menu will pop up the File Selector (see Using the Path-Master(tm)
File Selector).  Cancelling the File Selector will cancel the load IFF
request.  Otherwise, after selecting a filename, the requested file will be
loaded into the current screen.

     During the load process, the mouse pointer changes to it's "Busy"
cloud image.  The WorkBench screen remains in view while the load proceeds,
in order to reduce load time and obnoxious disk drive noises when loading
HIRES images.

     As soon as the load completes, the new image will pop up on the
current PIXmate screen.  Note that loading a new image replaces the
previous image PIXmate was displaying, and if it is a different resolution,
will discard your Undo Buffer (see Undo Changes).  You should save your
current image or copy it to the Other Screen before loading a new image if
you wish to keep it.

     Of course, there are several possible errors that could occur when
loading an image file.  The file may not be an IFF file, or it may be
unreadable by PIXmate, or AmigaDOS may detect an error on the disk, or you
may not have enough RAM to load the image.  If a problem is detected and
PIXmate cannot load the selected IFF image, a PIXmate Requester will pop up
informing you of the exact cause of the error.  Your current screen will be
 left unchanged if possible.  Refer to Appendix B for an explanation of
messages and their meanings.

R1.2.2  SAVING IFF IMAGE FILES:

     Selecting "Save IFF" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-S) from the
Project Menu works much like loading IFF images.  The current PIXmate
screen is saved using the pathname and filename you specify with the File
Selector.  As with "Load IFF", the save operation can be cancelled from the
File Selector by clicking on "Cancel!".

     Many of the same possible problems mentioned in the section on loading
IFF images apply to saving images, in addition to the possibility of
getting a "Disk Write Protected" or "Disk Full!" message from the
WorkBench.  PIXmate will abort a save operation if a non-recoverable
problem develops, leaving any partially written file intact.  You can then
decide whether to use "Delete" from the Project Menu to remove the partial
file, or, in the case of a corrupted disk, change to a different disk
without further disruption of the offending disk.  See Appendix B for
possible error messages.

R1.2.3  IFF IMAGE FILE COMPRESSION:

     The "Compress..." Project Menu options allow you to turn on or off IFF
file compression when saving images in the IFF format. Normally, you would
want to leave compression set to it's default "On" selection.  This
typically reduces the size of your image files between 20 and 30 percent.
When you select "Off", no compression of image data is done, resulting in
larger files but faster load and save operations, since no
encoding/decoding time is necessary.  This is particularly noticeable when
working with files in RAM.

R1.3  USING OTHER FILE FORMATS

     In addition to loading and saving images as IFF files, PIXmate
supports several other file formats.  These are selected from submenu items
under the "Read..." and "Write..." sections of the Project Menu.  Read and
Write operations use the File Selector to prompt you for a filename, and
can be cancelled from within the File Selector.

     The same possible problems outlined in the previous sections on
loading and saving IFF files apply to using other file formats.  Refer to
Appendix B for details on applicable error messages.

R1.3.1  READING AND WRITING IFF PALETTES:

     The Read and Write Palette operations allow you to load or save just
the color information for an image in IFF format.  If you use Read Palette
on an IFF file, the current screen colors and color cycling information
will be replaced with the information from the selected file.  The Write
Palette option  will save the current color information in IFF format under
the filename you select.  You can then use Read Palette to use the same
color information later with other images.  Since only the color
information is saved, the files are very short and palette file operations
take only a moment to complete.

     For convenience, palettes are saved in a format compatible with other
programs that support brushes or similar images smaller than the screen.

R1.3.2  READING AND WRITING RAW IMAGE FORMATS:

     Raw format is a fast, simple way to store image and color data for
later use.  The file consists of an binary ascii dump of each bitplane in
the bitmap using a left to right, top to bottom scan, followed by the
current RGB color settings stored as 16 bit words.   Unlike IFF files, no
data is stored concerning the size of the bitmaps, graphics modes, or color
cycling settings.

     When reading raw format files, PIXmate uses your current screen to
determine these settings.  You can use the Display Control window to format
the screen and change the graphics modes to match different raw format
files before you load them, assuming you know what format they were saved
as.

     Using the Write Raw Format option will dump the current screen bitmap
and ColorMap using the selected filename.  It is recommended that you
follow some sort of naming convention that will remind you what format the
screen was in when you write a file in raw format.

     Using a combination of Read and Write Raw Format can be handy for
making quick backup copies of a screen into RAM, since saving even
HIRES-LACE images takes only a second or two.  Also, raw format may prove
more convenient for use in custom applications that do not require or
support the IFF standard.

R1.3.3  READING OLD-STYLE DIGI-VIEW IMAGE FILES:

     The earliest versions of NewTek's Digi-View(tm) digitizer software did
not support the IFF standard.  The LORES HAM images it  produced were saved
in a modified raw format.  The Read Old Digiview option allows you to load
and display files of this nature.  You can then save them as IFF files for
easier use. Note that this option is for backward compatibility with
existing image files, since later versions of the Digi-View software used
IFF format.

R1.3.4  READING ATARI NEOCHROME IMAGE FILES:

     The Read Neochrome option allows you to load and display files that
use the Atari Neochrome(tm) file format.  This may be useful if you have
access to image files created on the Atari 520ST or 1040ST computers, and
can transfer them to the Amiga. Note that the Atari currently has one color
graphics resolution, 320 by 200 pixels, with a maximum of 16 colors on
screen simultaneously out of a palette of 512 possible colors.  This
corresponds to the Amiga LORES graphics mode, using three bitplanes, and
with half as many monochrome shades of color as normal, i.e., only eight
possible intensities of red, green, and blue, instead of sixteen.

     PIXmate does not have a Write Neochrome option, since it is unlikely
that you would want to reduce the color capabilities of your Amiga or limit
yourself to a single image size when saving files.  However, if you must
transfer Amiga images to Neochrome format, PIXmate can help by formatting
the Amiga image to 320 by 200, selecting the best sixteen colors using Less
Colors, then using Save IFF to put the image in IFF format.  Public-domain
programs exist that convert IFF to Neochrome format.

R1.4  DELETING FILES

     Selecting "Delete" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-D) from the Project
Menu allows you to discard files selected with the File Selector.  As with
other operations involving the File Selector, you can abort the delete
operation by clicking "Cancel!" from within the File Selector.  If you do
select a file for deletion, a PIXmate Requester will pop up to confirm your
decision, giving you a last opportunity to preserve the file.

     Once a file has been deleted, it is usually impossible to get it back,
so caution is suggested when deleting files.  Note that if you are deleting
a file from a diskette, the diskette must not be write-protected in order
for the deletion to succeed. See Appendix B for other possible problems and
their diagnostics.

R1.5  USING MULTIPLE FILENAMES

     In addition to working with individual files, PIXmate allows you to
select several filenames for loading in batch mode.  You can specify these
filename from the WorkBench icon-based environment, or the AmigaDOS CLI
when you first load PIXmate, or by using the File Selector after PIXmate
has loaded.

R1.5.1  SPECIFYING MULTIPLE FILENAMES:

     When using the WorkBench to pass filenames to PIXmate when it loads,
you hold down the SHIFT key on the keyboard, then click once on each image
file icon you want to load, then double-click on the PIXmate icon (you can
let up on the SHIFT key now).  When PIXmate finishes loading, it will
display files associated with the icons you selected, and allow you to
easily switch from file to file.

     Selecting multiple filenames from the CLI environment gives you more
flexibility.  You can type "PIXmate" or "run PIXmate", followed by a
filename or series of filenames separated by spaces.  You can use wildcards
in your filenames (see the section on Wildcard Names) to select all the
files in a directory; for instance, typing "PIXmate *" will select all the
filenames in your current working directory for examination, while typing
"PIXmate DF1:Pictures/*" would select all the filenames in the directory
"Pictures" contained on disk drive "DF1:".  Note that when using  the CLI,
you must use full pathnames when referring to directories and
subdirectories.  If you specify a filename that cannot be found, PIXmate
will let you know with a Requester after it loads.

     To select several filenames with the File Selector, you enter a
wildcard name in the File String Gadget and press RETURN. Any filenames
that match the wildcard pattern will be selected. This technique can be
used with Load IFF, and any of the Read operations.  PIXmate will not allow
you to delete or save files using wildcard filenames.

     PIXmate only accepts images in IFF format when selecting files before
PIXmate has loaded, or when specifying several filenames in conjunction
with Load IFF.  Thus, PIXmate will automatically skip any files that are
not in IFF format, and eliminate them from the list of filenames you
specify.  This allows you to quickly scan a directory full of files for
viewable images without resorting to trial and error.  To scan for other
formats you can use the Read and Write options from the Project Menu after
PIXmate has loaded (see also "Using Other Image File Formats").

R1.5.2  WORKING WITH THE PREVIOUS FILE:

     Selecting the "Previous" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-P) file option
from the Project Menu loads the previous image file in the list of
filenames you specified.  If there is no previous file available in the
file list, the Screen Title Bar will alert you with the message "No
Previous File".

R1.5.3  WORKING WITH THE NEXT FILE:

     Selecting the "Next" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-N) file option
from the Project Menu will load the next available image file in the
current file list.  When there is no next file available, the Screen Title
Bar will flash the message "No Next File".

     By using a combination of "Previous" and "Next" with a list of files,
PIXmate can function as a simple slide show viewer. Or, you could use this
technique to work on a batch of files all related to a single project,
assuming that you named the files using a character sequence common to
other files in the project. In addition, since PIXmate remembers which
Project Menu option you selected to create the list, you can save a
collection of your favorite palettes in a directory, then later read them
in quick succession using Read Palette and a wildcard filename.

R1,6  QUITTING PIXMATE

     Selecting the "Quit" option (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-Q) from the
Project Menu tells PIXmate to unlock and de-allocate all the system
resources it has used and finish execution.  If you have made changes to
the image on either of the PIXmate screens and wish to keep a copy, you
should use Save IFF before you select Quit.

     An alternate way to quit PIXmate is to click on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget
of the small window titled "PIX" on the upper right of the WorkBench
screen.  This method is also useful if you want to shut down PIXmate in a
hurry, even in the middle of an lengthy operation or when using the File
Selector.

                            EDIT MENU

R2.1  OPERATIONS USING THE UNDO BUFFER

     Most operations in PIXmate that alter the current screen can be undone
by selecting the "Undo Changes" option (keyboard shortcut 'u') from the
Edit Menu.

R2.1.1  UNDO FEATURES AND LIMITATIONS:

     Whenever you perform an operation in PIXmate that modifies an existing
image, PIXmate automatically attempts to create an Undo Buffer and save the
current screen and colors.  When you select Undo Changes, the previous
image is exchanged with the current image.  By repeatedly selecting Undo,
you can toggle between the changed and unchanged versions of an image.
This is useful for deciding whether the last processing operation was an
improvement or a mistake.  Of course, you can quickly save your image at
intermediate steps and go back to them later if you want to try a different
technique.

     PIXmate may be unable to allocate enough CHIP RAM to create the Undo
Buffer in some circumstances.  You will receive a PIXmate Requester giving
you a choice as to whether you wish to disable the Undo feature
temporarily, or completely cancel the operation in progress.  Also, if you
replace the current screen by loading a new image with a different width or
height, or by formatting the image differently (see "The Display Control
Window" section), the Undo Buffer will be reallocated to match the current
screen dimensions.

R2.1.2  KILLING THE UNDO BUFFER:

     When you are low on available CHIP RAM, you may be unable to perform
an operation involving the Other screen.  You can free the RAM used by the
Undo Buffer by selecting "Kill Undo Buffer" from the Edit Menu.  This may
give you enough RAM to successfully perform an operation after a second
try.  PIXmate will automatically recreate the Undo Buffer when enough RAM
becomes available to allocate one, unless you disable the Undo feature.

R2.1.3  DISABLING THE UNDO FEATURE

     When you select the "Disable Undo" option from the Edit Menu, you kill
the existing Undo Buffer, if any, and prevent PIXmate from automatically
recreating the Undo Buffer the next time you perform an operation that
would change the image.  The Undo feature remains disabled until you select
"Undo Changes" or press the 'u' key.  This signals PIXmate that you wish to
start using the automatic Undo feature again.

     Note that some operations require the Undo Buffer for temporary use;
these operations have priority over the Disable Undo request.

R2.2  OPERATIONS INVOLVING THE CURRENT SCREEN

     PIXmate offers a variety of options under the Edit Menu that affect
the display and position of the Current screen.

R2.2.1  DISABLING THE SCREEN TITLE BAR:

     By selecting the "Toggle Title" (keyboard shortcut 't') option from
the Edit Menu, you can hide the Title Bar at the top of the screen,
revealing any parts of the image that may be obscured by it.  Selecting
Toggle Title again will bring the Title Bar back into view.

R2.2.2  DISABLING THE POINTER SPRITE:

     If you select "Toggle Sprite" (keyboard shortcut 's') from the Edit
Menu, you can hide the pointer crosshairs used by PIXmate for mouse
positioning.  This may be useful if you want to take photographs directly
from the monitor screen, or save your images to a video recorder without
having the pointer visible in the picture.  Selecting Toggle Sprite again
will restore the pointer to visibility.

R2.2.3  CLEARING THE SCREEN:

     Selecting "Clear Screen" (keyboard shortcut 'x') from the Edit Menu
will clear to screen to color zero, erasing any image that may have been
visible.  You can use Undo Changes to get back the image if you
accidentally clear the screen.

R2.2.4  CLEARING PART OF THE SCREEN:

     Choosing "Clear Area" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-X) from the Edit
Menu allows you to selectively clear a rectangular area (a "clip") of the
screen.  When Clear Area is selected, the pointer will change to a larger
set of crosshairs to let you know that you are in Clip Mode.  You position
the crosshairs at the upper left of the rectangle you wish to clear, then
click- hold the Left Mouse Button and drag the crosshairs to the bottom
right corner of area to be cleared.  When you release the Left Mouse
Button, the selected Clip will be filled with color zero.

     At any time before you release the Left Mouse Button, you can press
the SPACEBAR or press the Right Mouse Button to abort the clip operation.
After the Clear Area operation has completed, you can Undo Changes if you
are displeased by the results.

R2.2.5  MOVING AND CENTERING THE SCREEN:

     When working with overscanned images, it may be necessary to position
the image in the center of the screen.  The Edit Menu option "ReCenter"
(keyboard shortcut 'r') computes the exact center of an overscanned image,
and positions the screen so that the center of the image is in the center
of the screen. Selecting ReCenter again or pressing the Right Mouse Button
returns the image to its default screen position.

     The four cursor arrow keys can be used to smoothly move the image
about forty pixels in any direction, giving you manual control over image
positioning.

R2.2.6  MOVING THE IMAGE ON THE SCREEN

     The four cursor arrow keys in conjunction with the Right SHIFT key can
be used to push the image around the screen in a desired direction.
Holding the Right SHIFT key down and pressing an arrow key once will push
the image one pixel in the direction pointed to by the arrow.  Holding down
the combination of keys will auto-repeat the motion, moving four pixels at
a time.

     By pressing the Right ALT key in combination with an arrow key causes
the image to jump half its width or height in the direction pointed to by
the arrow key.  This is useful when you are working with half-sized or
quarter- sized image sections created using the Display Control window, and
want to move the sections around the screen quickly.

     Note that any parts of the image that fall off the edge of the screen
are permanently lost.  Due to the flexible, repetitive nature of this
operation, it is not possible to save the screen in the Undo  Buffer before
the screen is shifted.  You should save copies of your work before
attempting to move the image.

R2.3  OPERATIONS INVOLVING THE OTHER SCREEN

     PIXmate has two totally independent screens that you can use for
viewing and processing images.  The screens can have different sizes,
graphics modes, and color information, and some operations achieve special
effects by combining information from the two screens.  You can use the
Other screen as an extra Undo Buffer, and keep spare copies of an image
there.  References to the two screens are completely interchangeable; the
screen you are looking at is considered the Current screen, the screen you
cannot see is considered the Other screen for all operations.

R2.3.1  FLIPPING TO THE OTHER SCREEN:

     Selecting "Flip to Other" (keyboard shortcut 'f') from the Edit Menu
will exchange the Current screen with the Other screen. If no Other screen
exists, PIXmate attempts to create one using the same dimensions as the
Current screen, then performs the Flip to Other function if the allocation
succeeds.  The default Screen Title Bar for the new screen will read "Other
Screen" to remind you of its origin.  If the allocation fails due to lack
of CHIP RAM, you will get a PIXmate Requester explaining the difficulty.
You might have enough RAM if you "Disable Undo" from the Edit Menu before
you attempt to use the Other screen.

     By holding down the 'f' key, you can repeatedly flip back and  forth
between the two screens.  The exact speed is determined by the keyboard
auto- repeat speed you select using Preferences from the WorkBench disk.
Selecting a fast auto-repeat speed will permit you to flip screens at a
truly amazing rate.

     Note that using two screens and the Undo feature with HIRES LACE
images consumes an enormous amount of CHIP RAM.  Worst case occurs when
working with 640 by 400 pixel, 4-bitplane, 16 color images.  This requires
a minimum of 430,000 bytes of available CHIP RAM after PIXmate has loaded.
See the section "Working with Low RAM Conditions" for tips on maximizing
your available RAM.

R2.3.2  COPYING AN IMAGE TO THE OTHER SCREEN:

     Selecting the "Copy to Other" (keyboard shortcut 'c') from the Edit
Menu makes an exact copy of the Current screen to the Other screen.  Any
existing image on the Other screen will be replaced by the current image.
If the copy operation succeeds, the two screens will be indistinguishable
from each other.  If the copy fails (probably due to insufficient CHIP
RAM), a PIXmate Requester will pop up explaining the problem.

R2.3.3  COPYING PART OF AN IMAGE TO THE OTHER SCREEN:

     Selecting "Clip to Other" (keyboard shortcut 'k') from the Edit Menu
allows you to copy a rectangular area of the Current screen to the Other
screen.  When selected, the pointer will change to a larger crosshair to
confirm that you are in Clip Mode.  You select an area to clip using the
same technique described previously in the "Clearing Part of the Screen"
section.  After an area has been selected, that section of the Current
screen is copied to the Other screen.  Note that the two screens must have
the same dimensions for Clip to Other to work. If the two screens have
different dimensions, or no Other screen exists, a new Other screen will be
created using the same colors and dimensions as the Current screen.  When
allocating a new screen, the same low CHIP RAM warnings as described in the
previous sections may apply.

R2.3.4  CUTTING PART OF AN IMAGE TO THE OTHER SCREEN:

     The "Cut to Other" (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-K) Edit Menu option
is a combination of the Clip to Other and the Clear Area operations
discussed in previous sections.  After selecting a clip, the area is copied
to the Other screen, and cleared from the Current screen in a single
operation.

R2.3.5  KILLING THE OTHER SCREEN:

     If you cannot perform an operation due to lack of CHIP RAM, you can
reclaim all memory space used by the Other screen by selecting "Kill Other
Scrn" from the Edit Menu.  Of course, if there is no Other screen in
existence, this option will have no effect.  See the section "Working with
Low RAM Conditions" for more tips.

R2.4  MULTITASKING WITH OTHER PROGRAMS

     Due to the multitasking capabilities of the Amiga and PIXmate's
efficient use of system resources, it is possible to run several PIXmates
at a time, or to use PIXmate and other programs interactively by running
them simultaneously.  Of course, available CHIP RAM may limit the number
programs you can run at the same time.  However, you should be able to run
four or five PIXmates using LORES images on an Amiga with one megabyte of
total memory and no external drive, without sacrificing much performance or
speed.

R2.4.1  GRABBING ANOTHER SCREEN:

     By selecting the "Grab Next Screen" option from the Edit Menu, you can
grab a "snapshot" of the next screen available in the Amiga operating
environment.  The Screen Title Bar will change to confirm that the image
you are looking at is a snapshot.

     If PIXmate is the only program running, then the only other screen
available is the WorkBench screen, and PIXmate will grab that.  If
possible, PIXmate will also copy the colors used by the next screen.

     PIXmate considers the next screen to be the first screen encountered
behind the Current PIXmate screen.  PIXmate ignores its own screens when
looking for the next screen, since you can copy information using Copy to
Other between PIXmate's own screens.

     Note that PIXmate does not format your screen to match the next
screen.  Instead, PIXmate grabs only as much of the next screen as will fit
on the Current screen.  You can use the Display Control window to alter the
screen dimensions and number of bitplanes to match another screen before
using Grab Next Screen.

R2.4.2  GRABBING DELUXE PAINT SCREENS:

     PIXmate has a special type of Grab Next Screen, labeled "Grab
DeluxePaint" on the Edit Menu.  When you select this option, PIXmate will
search the screens available in the system, ignoring non-DeluxePaint
screens.  If a DeluxePaint screen is found, the screen will be copied to
the Current screen as described in the previous section.  If no DeluxePaint
screens are found, a PIXmate Requester will alert you to the problem.

     This feature is handy for titling or retouching images in DeluxePaint,
then quickly importing the image into PIXmate.  Note that you will get an
exact copy of the current DeluxePaint screen, so you should press "F10" in
DeluxePaint before using Grab DeluxePaint if you do not wish to have the
DeluxePaint gadgets cluttering your screen.

     Unfortunately DeluxePaint has no handy "Grab PIXmate" feature, so to
send an image to DeluxePaint you must first save the image using Save IFF
from the PIXmate Project Menu, the load the file from DeluxePaint using the
"Load" option from the DeluxePaint Project Menu.

     DeluxePaint and DeluxePaint II are trademarks of Electronic Arts and
are written by the talented Dan Silva.  DeluxePaint II is currently the
premier paint program on the market for the Amiga, and is highly
recommended.

                           COLOR MENU

R3.1  COLOR OPERATIONS

     The Color Menu encompasses a broad range of ways to manipulate the
color information used by an image.  You can adjust individual colors,
cycle ranges of colors, extract and merge color information, force an image
to use less colors, convert 4096 color HAM images to 32 color and back,
match colors with another image, and much more.

R3.2  USING THE COLOR CYCLING FEATURE

     Selecting the "Cycle" option (keyboard shortcut TAB key) from the
Color Menu turns enables color cycling.  Selecting Cycle again will turn
off the cycling effect.  If no effect is noticed, probably no cycle ranges
are selected or the cycle speed is so slow that it seems to be not cycling.
You can adjust the color cycling effect using the Palette window controls.
Refer to "Adjusting Color Cycling" in the next section for more
information.

R3.3  THE PALETTE WINDOW

     < Figure R3.3  Anatomy of the Spectra-Plus(tm) Palette Window >

     PIXmate uses the Spectra-Plus(tm) Palette window, designed to be fast
and easy to use, while covering as little of your total image area as
possible.  Selected from the Color Menu under the "Palette" option
(keyboard shortcut 'p'), the Palette window allows you to perform a variety
of color editing functions and adjustments.  The Palette window is the
primary way you change individual colors used by an image, and is used to
change the color cycling information associated with an image.

     The Palette window has special operating conveniences that most
PIXmate windows provide.  Pressing the Right Mouse Button causes the
Palette window and Screen Title Bar to temporarily disappear, allowing you
to see the entire image.  When you release the mouse button, the Palette
window pops back into view. Pressing the 't' key turns the Screen Title Bar
on and off. Pressing the ESC key (i.e., the escape key) closes the Palette
window.  This is the equivalent of clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget with
the Left Mouse Button.  The Palette Title Bar can be used as a handle to
drag the window around the screen, and PIXmate will remember the position
you leave the window at and try to use that location next time the window
pops up.

     The Palette uses the darkest and brightest colors available from the
current ColorMap to render itself.  This insures that the Palette window
will always be easy to read, without affecting the image colors.  However,
if all the colors in the ColorMap are identical, the Palette window may
invisibly blend itself into the  background.  If this is the case, you can
press the SPACEBAR key to temporarily use the WorkBench colors.  When you
release the SPACEBAR, the image colors will be used.

     Figure R3.3 labels the areas of the Palette window discussed in the
following sections.

R3.3.1  HOW THE PALETTE COLORS ARE DISPLAYED:

     At the bottom of the Palette window is the Color Bar, which shows the
available colors in the current ColorMap.  The colors are arranged left to
right, with color zero being the leftmost color, color 1 to the right of
color zero, and so on.  Depending upon how many bitplanes the current image
uses, there may be as few as two colors shown in the Color Bar, or as many
as 32 colors for a five bitplane image.

     When using EXTRA_HALFBRITE graphics mode (on Amigas that support it),
the Color Bar grows in height and displays the EXTRA_HALFBRITE colors below
the primary colors they are related to.  In EXTRA_HALFBRITE mode, modifying
one of the primary colors in the top half of the Color Bar also affects its
half-bright relative directly below.  See the section "Changing the
ViewModes" for more information on EXTRA_HALFBRITE.

     In HAM mode, the Color Bar displays the 16 primary colors used by the
image.  HAM mode uses these 16 colors and modifies them to produce up to
4096 colors on the screen simultaneously. However, in HAM mode, merely
modifying one of the primary colors may not have much effect on the image,
since the colors used by the image may ignore the primary colors altogether
and use strictly modified color values.  For more details on the
limitations of HAM mode, refer to the section "How the Amiga Graphics Modes
Affect the Display".

R3.3.2  SELECTING AND ADJUSTING COLORS:

     The three slide gadgets in the upper left of the Palette window permit
you to modify the red, green, and blue values, as well as the hue,
saturation, and luminance of a selected color.

     You select a color to affect by clicking on the desired color in the
Color Bar with the Left Mouse Button.  If you click-hold inside the Color
Bar and slide the mouse from side to side, the Palette will follow the
pointer movements and continuously update your selection until you release
the Left Mouse Button.  In addition, you can click anywhere on the image
and the color selected will be the color of the pixel currently in the
center of the pointer crosshairs.

     The Palette gives you instant feedback on the current color selection
three ways.  First, a small marker appears at the top of the Color Bar,
directly above the color selected.  Second, the Color Box will be filled
with the selected color, and the Color Value will reflect the numeric RGB
value for that color.  Lastly, the Color Slide knobs will position
themselves to match the value of the current color selection.

     THE numeric RGB Color Value is a three digit hexadecimal
representation of the current color value.  The first digit is the red
value, the middle digit is the green value, and the last digit is blue.
The hexadecimal sequence ranges from '0' to 'F' (i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, A, B, C, D, E, F).  Since there are 16 possible values for each of
the three digits, there are a total of 4096 possible combinations.

     Once a color has been selected, you can click-hold with the Left Mouse
Button on any of the three Color Slide knobs, then drag the knob
horizontally while holding the mouse button down. The color and Color Value
are modified when you move the knob. By clicking inside a Color Slide but
to either side of the knob itself, you can move a slide knob one "notch" at
a time.

     By clicking on the RGB/HSV Gadget to the left of the Color Slides, you
can switch the color adjustment technique used by the Color Slide gadgets.

     In RGB mode, you have individual control over the Red, Green, and Blue
intensities for a selected color.  All 4096 color possibilities can be
accessed through combinations of red, green, and blue adjustments.

     In HSV mode, you adjust color Hue using the top Color Slide. The
middle slide is used to adjust Saturation.  The bottom slide is used to
adjust luminance or intensity. (Due to obscure historical reasons, labeled
'V' for value.)

     You are free to switch between RGB and HSV mode at any time. Note that
there is not always an exact equivalent for a particular RGB setting when
switching to HSV mode.  PIXmate uses the closest possible approximation  in
this situation.

R3.3.3  PALETTE EDITING GADGETS:

     The right-hand side of the Palette window contains the eight Edit
Gadgets.  These gadgets allow you to copy, exchange, swap, spread, and set
color ranges for cycling, as well as undoing any changes you have made.

     The Undo gadget undoes the last change made to the ColorMap. Clicking
Undo again brings back the last change.  The Reset gadget undoes all
changes made to the ColorMap during the Palette window session.  In
addition, when you are finished using the Palette, you can use Undo Changes
from the Edit Menu if you want the old image colors back.

     The Find gadget allows you to easily locate or select a color.  When
you click on the Find gadget with the Left Mouse Button, the Palette window
and Screen Title Bar will temporarily disappear, and the currently selected
color will flash.  Clicking anywhere on the screen using the Left Mouse
Button will select the color under the pointer.  Any pixels in the image
that share the currently selected color flash simultaneously, so you can
easily see when you find the color you want.  When you wish to exit Find
Mode, simply press the Right Mouse Button.  The Palette window will pop
back up, displaying your selected color.

     The remaining Edit Gadgets require two color selections. The first
selection is the currently selected color.  When you click on the Range,
Copy, Exchange, Swap, or Spread gadgets, the Palette Title Bar will prompt
you to select a second color to complete the operation.  You can cancel an
operation at this point by reselecting the gadget, or by clicking on a
different gadget.  Otherwise, the operation will be completed as soon as
you select a second color.

     The Range gadget allows you to adjust the range covered by the four
independent cycle ranges.  See the next section for details on color
cycling controls.

     The Copy gadget lets you copy one color in the ColorMap to another.
You select the color you want to copy, click on the Copy gadget, then
select the color you want to replace.

     The Exchange gadget, labeled "Exch" for brevity, allows you to
exchange two colors in the ColorMap.  You select the first color, click on
"Exch", then select the color to exchange with.

     The Swap gadget exchanges two colors, like Exchange, but also
exchanges the bitmap information in the image so that the image appears
unchanged despite the color change.  You select a color, click the "Swap"
gadget, then select the color to swap with.  By swapping a color with color
zero (the leftmost color in the Color Bar), you can change the border and
background color of the screen to any color you like, without affecting the
image.

     The Spread gadget, labeled "Sprd", lets you create a range of new
colors between two existing colors in the ColorMap.  You select the first
color in the spread, click "Sprd", then select the color to spread to.  The
colors that lie between the selected colors are mathematically interpolated
to produce a range of color values.  The primary use of this technique is
to produce different shades of a color.  For instance, suppose color zero
is set to black, and the last color in the ColorMap is set to white. If you
select black, click "Sprd", then select white, you will get a smooth range
of grays, organized darkest to lightest.

     Note that there must be more than two colors contained by the spread
range to create a spread.  The number of colors created by Spread is
related to the color difference between the two selected colors, and how
many colors the Amiga can display between the two selections.

R3.3.4  ADJUSTING COLOR CYCLING:

     Color cycling is a simple by effective technique for creating special
effects by dynamically changing the ColorMap. The Palette window gives you
control over color cycling effects, allowing you to select a range of
colors to cycle, adjust the speed at which colors are changed, and decide
the direction in which colors are cycled.  Images using IFF format save
information concerning color cycling so you can use the same settings
later, or with other programs.  You can turn color cycling on and off in
PIXmate at any time by pressing the TAB key.

     Color cycling works by rotating (also called barrel-shifting) a set of
colors in the ColorMap and displaying the image using the shifted colors.
After a time delay, the process is repeated.  The set of colors to be
shifted is called a cycle range, and the Palette has four independent cycle
ranges.

     Each range is cycled (i.e., shifted) at a certain rate; this rate can
be adjusted to be as short as 1/60th of a second or as long as several
minutes (about 4.5 minutes maximum).  You can control the direction that
colors are shifted in, either forwards or backwards, for each range.
Ranges can overlap each other to produce unusual effects.

     The Cycle Range Selection gadgets, numbered "1 2 3 4", allow you to
choose which cycle range to adjust.  The currently selected cycle range
number is highlighted, and you select a different cycle range by clicking
on one of the non-highlighted numbers with the Left Mouse Button.

     Below the Color Bar, the extent of the selected cycle range is shown
by a marker bar.  All colors above the marker in the Color Bar are part of
the current cycle range.

     You can change the size of a cycle range by selecting the color you
want the range to start with, clicking the Range gadget, and then selecting
the color to end the range.  The marker below the Color Bar will reflect
the new cycle range you selected.

     The Cycle Direction Gadget, directly below the Current Color Box in
the middle of the Palette window, is a three-way gadget that allows you to
control the cycling direction, or disable color cycling for a particular
range.  The label on the Cycle Direction gadget tells you what the current
direction setting is, either "OFF" for off, "FWD" for forward, or "REV",
for reverse. Clicking on the Cycle Direction gadget will change to the next
option.

     The Cycle Speed slide gadget allows you to adjust the time delay
between cycles.  The position of the slide knob is related to the speed at
which the colors cycle; when set all the way to the left of the container,
cycling never occurs.  When set at the rightmost position in the container,
cycling occurs a maximum 60 times per second.  There are 70 possible
positions you can set the slide knob at, either by click-holding on the
knob with the Left Mouse Button and dragging the knob horizontally, or by
clicking to either side of the knob inside the container.

     Occasionally, you may require finer control over the cycle speed than
possible by using the slide knob.  You can make small adjustments by
pressing the plus ('+') and minus ('-') keys. Holding down the SHIFT key in
conjunction with the plus and minus keys produces very small speed changes.
Thus, you have a choice of over 20,000 possible speed settings for each
cycle range.

     One thing to note about using very fast cycle speeds is that they
consume a great deal of the Amiga's processor time just to keep up with the
color changes.  Response time to other things, such as mouse movements, may
suffer somewhat as a result.  Also,  PIXmate allows faster color cycling
than other programs currently on the market.  You may not get the same
cycle speed you achieved with PIXmate when using another product.

     Also, there is apparently a bug in DeluxePaint II's color cycling
algorithm, which will cycle a range forward even if the range has been
turned "OFF".  This behavior is puzzling, since the first version of
DeluxePaint obeyed the IFF standard in this regard.  Therefore, to turn off
a cycle range that is unneeded you can either set its cycle speed to zero,
or select a cycle range that has only one color in it.

R3.4  THE COLOR BIAS WINDOW

             < Figure R3.4  The Color Bias Window >

     The Color Bias window gives you a wide range of  control over general
coloration of an image.  Selecting the "Color Bias" option (keyboard
shortcut 'b') from the Color Menu will pop up the Color Bias window. (Note:
there is a small delay while PIXmate analyzes the contrast level of the
current image.)  Like the Palette window, the Color Bias slide gadgets
allow you to manipulate the ColorMap used by an image.  However, while the
Palette gives you control over individual color values, the Color Bias
controls affect all the colors simultaneously.  The controls are similar to
those found on a color television or monitor.

     The Color Bias window has special conveniences.  The WorkBench colors
are used to make it easy to read.  Pressing the Right Mouse Button causes
the window and Screen Title Bar to temporarily disappear and changes the
colors to the ones used by the image.  Release the mouse button, and the
window pops back into view.  Pressing the 't' key turns the Screen Title
Bar on and off.  Pressing the ESC key closes the Color Bias window and
returns you to PIXmate.  This is the equivalent of clicking on the
CLOSEWINDOW gadget with the Left Mouse Button.  The Color Bias Title Bar
can be used as a handle to drag the window around the screen.  PIXmate will
remember the position you leave the window at and try to use that location
next time a window pops up.

     Figure R3.4 shows the Color Bias window and its controls.

R3.4.1  ADJUSTING CONTRAST, SATURATION, AND INTENSITY:

     The three slide gadgets on the left half of the Color Bias window,
labeled "C", "S", and "I", are the Contrast, Saturation, and Intensity
controls, respectively.  The controls are adjusted by click-holding on a
slide knob with the Left Mouse Button, and sliding the knob vertically.
Alternately, you can click inside the container above or below the slide
knob and move the knob one position at a time.

     The Contrast slide control allows you to adjust the contrast of the
image.  When the knob is moved above the default center position, contrast
is increased by making the brighter colors brighter, and the darker colors
darker.  Moving the knob below the center position makes brighter colors
darker, and darker colors brighter.  The Contrast gadget has a wide dynamic
range; at the top of its travel an image will be almost black and white, at
the bottom, the image resembles a black and white negative. PIXmate
determines what is considered "dark" and "light" by sampling a large number
of pixels on the screen and calculating their average intensity.  Colors
brighter than average are considered bright, colors below the average
intensity are dark colors.  The median color itself is always left
unchanged.


     The Saturation slide control affects the purity and brilliance of the
colors in the ColorMap.  Moving the Saturation control above the center
position adds saturation, resulting in richer, more emphasized colors.
Setting the control below the center position reduces saturation, making
the colors appear more pastel or "washed out".  Totally removing saturation
from the ColorMap leaves a gray-scaled, black and white image.

     The Intensity control affects the brightness (luminance) of an image.
When moved above the center position, all the colors in the ColorMap are
made proportionally brighter.  When moved below the default position, the
image becomes darker.  You have a wide range of intensity control; at the
lowest setting the image will be completely black, at the highest setting
the image and screen will be completely white.

     The Undo gadget permits you to quickly center the controls.
Additionally, when you are finished using the Color Bias window, selecting
Undo Changes from the Edit Menu will restore the original image unchanged.

     Note that the slide gadgets have mutually exclusive effects. If you
adjust the contrast control, then attempt to alter any other control, the
contrast control will be reset.  This is done to prevent an "infinite
response" problem from developing while adjusting a slide control, and to
allow you to undo intermediate steps.  Clicking on the "Use" gadget causes
the Color Bias window to analyze the image based upon the current control
settings, and centers the slide controls for additional adjustments.  For
example, after adjusting the brightness of an image with the Intensity
control, you would click on "Use" when you were done. PIXmate would then
compute the new median intensity based upon the brighter image and center
the controls.  You could then adjust the contrast to bring more definition
to the image, click on Use, and so on indefinitely.

     The Color Bias controls have unpredictable effects when used with HAM
images; for other limitations related to HAM mode, see the section "How the
Amiga Graphics Modes Affect the Display".

R3.4.2  ADJUSTING RED, GREEN, AND BLUE BALANCE:

     The three slide gadgets on the right side of the Color Bias window,
labeled 'R', 'G', and 'B', adjust the red, green, and blue color balance of
an image.  By default the slide controls are set to the center position.
Moving a control above center adds more of that color to the image.  Moving
a control below the center position lessens the contribution of that color.
 For instance, moving the Red slide knob toward the top of the gadget
container will add more red to the image.  Moving the Red control toward
the bottom will remove red from the image, ultimately leaving only the
green and blue components.

R3.5  PACKING COLORS

     PIXmate offers a variety of ways to organize colors without visually
altering an image.  One of the most useful is the "Pack Colors" option from
the Color Menu.  When selected, Pack Colors performs three duties.  First,
it sorts the ColorMap by intensity, lowest intensity first.  Second, it
eliminates colors unused by the image.  Third, it insures that each color
is used only once.  For instance, a ColorMap may contain several identical
blacks, with some of the pixels using one of the blacks, and other pixels
using another.  After the Pack Colors operation, only one black is used by
all black pixels in the image.  Any unused colors will be replaced by the
brightest color value actually used by the image, and thus placed at the
end of the ColorMap.

     You can abort a Pack Colors operation before it finishes by pressing
the SPACEBAR.  After the process is finished, you can use Undo Changes to
get back the pre-packed image.

     The Pack Colors technique will often reduce the number of colors
needed by an image, thereby freeing other colors for use, and possibly
allowing you to reduce the number of bitplanes needed to display an image.

     It may be helpful to use the Palette window to observe the effect Pack
Colors has on a ColorMap, since the end result of Pack Colors affects only
the ColorMap.

     Pack Colors requires a certain quantity of CHIP RAM to perform its
operations; if there is insufficient RAM available, PIXmate will inform you
of the problem.  Refer to the section on low RAM conditions for more
information.

R3.6  SORTING COLORS

     It may be useful to organize the ColorMap used by an image in an
orderly fashion.  Using the "Sort Colors..." pair of options from the Color
Menu, you can quickly sort the ColorMap by intensity.

     Sort Colors has two submenu options.  The "Low to High" option sorts
by ascending color intensity, from darkest to brightest.  The "High to Low"
option sorts in descending order.

     Like most PIXmate operations that take more than a second, you can
abort the process by pressing the SPACEBAR before the operation is
completed.  The Undo Changes option returns the ColorMap to its unsorted
state.

     As with Pack Colors, the sort operation requires enough CHIP RAM for a
temporary buffer.  PIXmate will let you know if there is insufficient RAM
to complete the operation.  The section on low RAM conditions describes
potential solutions in detail.

R3.7  USING LESS COLORS

             < Figure R3.7  The Less Colors Window >

     PIXmate allows you to quickly reduce the number of colors used by an
image.  This can be the first step toward reducing the number of bitplanes
used by an image, or can be used to make room for additional colors in the
ColorMap.  Selecting the "Less Colors" option from the Color Menu causes
the Less Colors window to appear, as shown in Figure R3.7.

     Below the Less Colors Title Bar is a small string gadget that allows
you to enter the new number of colors you want used by the image.  The
number shown in the string gadget is the current number of colors used.
You erase the current number and type in a new number of colors, using
standard Intuition string gadget editing techniques (see "String Gadgets").
The new number you enter cannot be larger than the current number of
colors. The minimum number of colors you can specify is two.  After you
type a valid number and press RETURN, PIXmate will construct a new optimal
ColorMap using the reduced number colors requested.

     Clicking the gadget labeled "CANCEL!" with the Left Mouse Button (or
on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget) allows you to gracefully exit the Less Colors
request without doing anything.  In addition, you can abort the process by
pressing the SPACEBAR.  Of course, Undo Changes will allow you to restore
the original image.

     Less Colors requires some additional CHIP RAM to perform its
operations; if there is not enough to proceed PIXmate will warn you with a
PIXmate Request.

     Note that Less Colors has unpredictable results with HAM images.  You
can use the "HAM to 32" option to convert a HAM image to 32 colors, then
use Less Colors to further reduce the colors used if necessary.

R3.8  PERFORMING COLOR EXTRACTIONS

     You can use PIXmate to quickly extract red, green, blue, cyan,
magenta, yellow, and gray scale information from an image. The submenu
selections available under the "Extract..." Color Menu item allow you to
choose the type of separation you want to perform.  In addition, PIXmate
has two automatic extract and save operations that greatly simplify
performing three and four color separations.

     All color extractions share certain characteristics.  The ColorMap
used by the image will have 16 colors, evenly distributed from darkest
(always black) to lightest (the brightest shade of the color being
extracted).  Extracted images always use four bitplanes.  Extract
operations work on HAM images as well as other graphics modes.  The
extraction process is an essential step to successful color image
processing.

     The Extract operation requires sufficient CHIP RAM to allocate a
temporary buffer; PIXmate will post a complaint if the buffer cannot be
created.  See "Working with Low RAM Conditions" and Appendix B for relevant
information.

R3.8.1  AUTOMATIC EXTRACTIONS:

     Automatic extractions come in two flavors, selected by either the
"RGB" or the "CMY" submenu items under Extract in the Color Menu.  The
Extract RGB option performs red-green-blue separations and saves them in
IFF format.  The Extract CMY option produces and saves cyan-magenta-yellow
separations.

     In either case, the File Selector is used to prompt you for a
directory and a name to use as a prefix for the three filenames the color
extractions will use.  You can abort the extraction process by selecting
"Cancel!" from within the File Selector, or by pressing the SPACEBAR after
the extraction process has begun.

     If the Extract RGB option is used, PIXmate uses the following naming
convention when saving color extractions.  The name you selected with the
File Selector is used as a prefix or root name, and the suffix string
".RGB.xxx" is appended to the name, where "xxx" is one of "red", "grn", or
"blu".  The "RGB" part of the name identifies it as a file produced by the
Extract RGB option for PIXmate AutoMerge operations (see "Automatic RGB
Merges").  The final suffix identifies the color extracted.  The Extract
CMY option is similar to the RGB option, except that it appends ".cyan",
".magenta", or ".yellow" to the selected name.

     After all three extractions are completed, PIXmate will restore the
original image to the screen.

     Obviously, there are several problems that could develop during an
automatic extraction, such as insufficient RAM or a write-protected disk.
See Appendix B for possible error messages and their remedy.

R3.8.2  SPECIALIZED EXTRACTIONS:

     The submenu items in available from the "Extract..." Color Menu item
allow you to select a single color band to extract from the current image.
You can separate the "Red", "Green", "Blue", "Cyan", "Magenta", "Yellow",
or "Gray" components of an image by selecting the appropriate Extract
option.

     Pressing the SPACEBAR during an extraction operation will abort the
process.  The current image is saved in the Undo Buffer, so you can use
Undo Changes to restore the original image after an extraction has
completed.

     In particular, the Extract Gray option is useful for quickly
converting a color image to black and white.  You may wish to do this step
before performing other image processing functions, in order to eliminate
the overhead associated with full color processing.

R3.9  MERGING COLOR EXTRACTIONS

     Once an image has been separated into its red, green, and blue IFF
image files using the Extract options from Color Menu, PIXmate can combine
the resulting monochrome images to produce a new full color image.

     PIXmate features automatic and manual merge operations, for both ease
of use and maximum flexibility.  Both forms of the merge operation share
the following information.

     In LORES graphics mode, you can merge the three monochrome images into
a 4096 color HAM image, or elect to use a 32 color, five bitplane image for
the resulting image.  In HIRES mode, the images are merged to produce a 16
color, four bitplane image.

     Merge operations use the File Selector to fetch the directory and
filenames of the three monochrome images to be merged.  You can cancel a
merge by using the "Cancel!" gadget in the File Selector, or by pressing
the SPACEBAR after the merge has begun.

     The three monochrome images to be merged must all have the same width
and height, and must use 4 bitplanes.  Files produced by the Extract
options fulfill this requirement.

     Full color processing operations such as Merge require considerable
amounts of CHIP RAM to buffer the three images and produce a fourth.  HIRES
LACE images take more than 430K of CHIP RAM to succeed; if insufficient RAM
is available PIXmate will abort the operation and post a PIXmate Requester.
 Please read the section "Working with Low RAM Conditions" for ways to
maximize your available RAM.

R3.9.1  AUTOMATIC RGB MERGES:

     The "AutoMerge..." Color Menu options provide an easy way to combine
red, green, and blue IFF image files produced by the Extract RGB operation.
 When merging LORES images, you can select either the "32" color or the
"HAM" options from the AutoMerge submenu.  PIXmate will use your choice of
color modes to produce the merged image.  In HIRES, the "32" option should
be used. Refer to the section "How the Amiga Graphics Modes Affect the
Display" for details on the limitations and advantages of the four basic
Amiga graphics modes.

     When you select an AutoMerge operation, PIXmate pops up the File
Selector to prompt you for a filename.  The only entries displayed will be
files that match the "*.RGB.*" pattern that was used by Extract RGB to
produce the files (see "Wildcard Names" and "Using the Path-Master(tm) File
Selector").  If you select a filename, PIXmate will look for the other two
files necessary to complete the red-green-blue triplet, using the same
directory as the file you select.  For example, if you had used Extract RGB
to produce red, green, and blue separations using the name "Fred", Extract
will produce the following files:

          Fred.RGB.red
          Fred.RGB.grn
          Fred.RGB.blu

     By selecting any one of these files with the File Selector, for
instance "Fred.RGB.red", PIXmate will automatically look for the other two,
in this case "Fred.RGB.grn" and "Fred.RGB.blu".

     After selecting a filename, AutoMerge will load the three monochrome
images.  PIXmate then analyzes the color usage, and after a few moments
calculation, merges the images into a single full color image, using the
graphics mode you selected from the AutoMerge submenu.

     Note that AutoMerge requires all three monochrome images to actually
exist, residing in the same directory.  Please refer to the previous
section for more information on merging images.

     By using Extract RGB, followed by individual processing of the red,
green and blue images, then saving the processed monochrome images and
combining them using AutoMerge, you can create thousands of special color
processing effects.

R3.9.2  SPECIALIZED MERGES:

     In some cases, it may be preferable to have manual control over the
files that are used by a merge operation.  The "Merge RGB..." Color Menu
selections address this need, allowing you to individually select the three
monochrome images used.  The two Merge RGB submenu options, "32" and "HAM",
permit you to choose the graphics mode used by the resulting image.  Please
refer to the preceding two sections for other details concerning the merge
operation.

     Merge RGB uses the current image as one of the three needed to
complete a merge request.  Thus, you load the first image using the same
techniques outlined in "Loading IFF Image Files". After selecting the "32"
or "HAM" merge  option, PIXmate then prompts you for two additional
filenames using the File Selector. The three images must all use the same
resolution and number of bitmaps, as described under "Performing Color
Extractions" previously.

     Using this technique, you can mix and match various red, green, and
blue images produced by the Extract options.  PIXmate will automatically
sort out which image is which, allowing you to select the three images in
any order.

     Note that the three images to be merged do not necessarily have to be
red, green and blue extractions.  However, if you do not use the Extract
process to produce the files, or merge something other than a RGB
combination, Merge will assign a RGB significance to the images based on
the order you select them. Truly bizzare effects can be created by merging
RGB files from different images that have the same screen width and height
in common.

R3.10  COLOR MODE CONVERSIONS

     Two of the most popular color modes on the Amiga are the 4096 color
HAM mode, and the 32 color, five bitplane display. Each color mode has its
advantages and limitations, as described in the section "How the Amiga
Graphics Modes Affect the Display". PIXmate features the fastest, most
accurate conversions between these two color modes available on the market.
In addition, PIXmate lets you convert HAM images to the new EXTRA_HALFBRITE
graphics mode, which allows up to 64 colors on screen simultaneously
without the color smearing problems associated with HAM mode.

     Note that these conversions only make sense when using LORES images,
since current Amiga hardware does not support HAM or EXTRA_HALFBRITE mode
in combination with HIRES.

     Like most PIXmate operations, you can press the SPACEBAR to abort the
conversion process, leaving your original image untouched.

     As always, it is possible to run out of RAM when attempting any
processing operation; refer to the section on "Working with Low RAM
Conditions" and Appendix B for error messages.

R3.10.1  CONVERTING HAM 4096 COLOR IMAGES TO 32 COLORS:

     Selecting the "HAM to 32" option from the Color Menu will convert the
currently displayed HAM image to a five bitplane, 32 color image.  PIXmate
will choose the best possible 32 colors to use in the new ColorMap.  The
entire conversion process takes about 14 seconds for a LORES NOLACE image,
and about 21 seconds for a LORES LACE image.

     If you attempt to convert a non-HAM image to 32 colors, a PIXmate
Requester will remind you that you are in the wrong graphics mode.
However, you are given a manual override option in case you want to force
the operation, perhaps to create weird special effects.

R3.10.2  CONVERTING HAM 4096 COLOR IMAGES TO 64 COLORS:

     Later models of the Amiga 1000, and all Amiga model 500 and 2000
computers use a Revision 8 (or later) Denise graphics chip. This allows you
to use the new EXTRA_HALFBRITE graphics mode, which supports up to 64
colors in a ColorMap.  PIXmate allows you to convert 4096 color HAM images
to EXTRA_HALFBRITE, by selecting the "HAM to 64" option from the Color
Menu.  After a few seconds, the HAM image will converted to a 64 color
image.  The results of a HAM to 64 conversion are usually superior to those
achieved using the HAM to 32 option.

     There are two primary drawbacks to converting images from HAM to 64
colors.  First, not all Amiga 1000 computers support this graphics mode.
Second, PIXmate is the only product currently on the market that supports
EXTRA_HALFBRITE, making it rather difficult to use the 64 color images by
other less capable programs.  Both of these problems areas should improve
in the future, as more Amiga owners upgrade to the new graphics chip,and as
software manufacturers become accustomed to working with the new graphics
mode.

     See "How the Amiga Graphics Modes Affect the Display", and the
previous two sections for more details about the various graphics modes and
limitations.

R3.10.3  CONVERTING LOW RESOLUTION IMAGES TO HAM MODE:

     Occasionally, you may find it handy to convert a LORES image to HAM
mode.  Selecting the "32 to HAM" Color Menu option will convert the current
image to HAM mode.  The process typically takes less than 20 seconds.  As
usual, you can press the SPACEBAR to stop the conversion.  Please refer to
the previous sections for other general information pertaining to color
conversions. Note that PIXmate will warn you if the image is already in HAM
mode.

     A possible use for this process would be to quickly convert your LORES
images (or HIRES after formatting to LORES) to HAM mode, then saving the
result as an IFF file.  You can then use the new HAM image in paint
programs that support HAM mode.

R3.11  MATCHING COLORS WITH OTHER IMAGES

     Using the two "Match Palette..." options from the Color Menu, you can
re-color the current image to match the colors used by another image.  The
colors to be matched can come from the Other PIXmate screen, or from the
color information contained by an IFF image file.

     By using the same ColorMap for a group of images, you can combine the
images onto a single screen without conflicting color use.  This is great
for creating images for use by animation packages that require all the
graphic elements to share the same colors.

     This technique works with HAM images especially well, since HAM images
do not depend entirely on the ColorMap for color information.

     Please refer to the sections "Working with Low RAM Conditions", "How
the Amiga Graphics Modes Affect the Display", and Appendix B for relevant
information concerning potential problems.

R3.11.1  MATCHING COLORS WITH THE OTHER SCREEN:

     Selecting the "with Other" option from the Match Palette submenu re-
colors the Current image using the ColorMap from the Other screen.  PIXmate
will copy the ColorMap from the Other screen, then re-color the current
image using the best colors available from the Other screen.

     As usual, you can abort the conversion process by pressing the
SPACEBAR.  After the conversion is completed, you can use Undo Changes to
get back the original image.

R3.11.2  MATCHING COLORS WITH AN IFF IMAGE FILE

     Selecting the "with File" option from the Match Palette submenu allows
you to match the current image colors with those contained in an IFF image
file you select.  The File Selector is used to retrieve the desired
filename; as usual, you can cancel the operation from within the File
Selector.

     After a valid IFF image file has been selected to match colors with,
PIXmate reads the color information from the file and re-colors the current
image using the new colors.  You can press the SPACEBAR to abort the
process.

     This option works with any IFF image file that contains ColorMap
information, including palettes saved using the Write Palette option from
the Project Menu.

R3.12  ADDITIONAL COLOR MANIPULATIONS

     For greater flexibility, PIXmate provides a few additional editing and
special effect features that deal with the ColorMap.

R3.12.1  COPYING THE PALETTE TO THE OTHER SCREEN:

     By selecting the "Copy Palette" option from the Color Menu, you copy
the colors used by the Current screen to the Other screen.  It is similar
to the Copy to Other function from the Edit Menu, except only the ColorMap
of the Other screen is affected.

R3.12.2  EXCHANGING PALETTES WITH THE OTHER SCREEN:

     Select the "Swap Palettes" option from the Color Menu, and PIXmate
will exchange the colors used by the Current screen and the Other screen.

R3.12.3  COMPLEMENTING COLORS

     Selecting the "Complement" option from the Color Menu allows you to
quickly make a color negative of the current image.  Each value in the
ColorMap is replaced by its complementary color. Using this technique, you
can convert photographic color negatives that have been digitized to
positive color images without darkroom processing.

     Note that the feature has unpredictable results using HAM images.  You
can do the equivalent of the Complement operation for HAM images by using
the Image Processor window, as detailed in the logical operations section.

R3.12.4  PSEUDO-COLORING AN IMAGE:

     A standard image processing technique known as pseudo-coloring allows
you to arbitrarily re-color an image. Pseudo-coloring can often reveal
details in an image by presenting the color information differently.  Also,
it is an easy way to add a "solarized" look to your image, or create
strange color effects.

     You have a choice of two different coloring techniques in the "Pseudo
Color" Color Menu item.  The first option, named "Smooth", creates a
repeatable rainbow-like ColorMap.  The other option, "Random", creates a
different ColorMap every time it is selected.  Thousands of palettes can be
created this way, with no two palettes the same.

     You can use the Write Palette option from the Project Menu to save the
new ColorMaps you create.  Using the Read Palette option in batch mode, you
can select a collection of your favorite palettes for quick use.

                          EFFECTS MENU

R4.1  THE DISPLAY CONTROL WINDOW

     < Figure R4.1  Anatomy of the Display Control Window >

     Selecting the "Display" option (keyboard shortcut 'd') from the
Effects Menu brings up the Display Control window.  The Display Control
window allows you to interactively manipulate the bitmaps used by an image,
change any of the four graphics modes, format an image to a desired
resolution, magnify or reduce image dimensions, and invert or reverse an
image.

     Like most control windows in PIXmate, pressing the Right Mouse Button
hides the Display Control window and Screen Title Bar, and displays current
ColorMap used by the image.  Releasing the mouse button brings the Display
Control window back into view, and sets the display to use your default
WorkBench colors so the Display Control is always easy to read.  Pressing
the ESC key (escape) closes the Display Control window, the same as
clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW box.  The window's title bar is used to prompt
you for action in some situations, and can be used as a drag bar to
position the window on the image screen.  Pressing the 't' key turns the
Screen Title Bar on and off.

     The gadget labelled "UNDO!" in the lower left of the Display Control
allows you to undo the previous operation performed.  Due to the complex
nature of the operations, it is not possible undo the effects of "UNDO!" by
clicking on the gadget again.

     For some Display Control operations, additional CHIP RAM is needed for
temporary buffers.  If you are too low on RAM to perform a requested
operation, you will be alerted by a PIXmate Requester about the problem.
Refer to the section "Working with Low RAM Conditions" and Appendix B for
further information on these topics.

     The following sections describe each of the Display Control window
options in detail.  Figure R4.1 shows the Display Control window, and
pinpoints the areas discussed.

R4.1.1  CHANGING THE BITPLANES:

     The Bitplane gadgets in the upper left corner of the Display Control
window allow you to perform a variety of bitplane manipulations on an
image.

     There are six gadgets, numbered one through six, beneath the "PLANES"
label.  These gadgets correspond to the six possible bitplanes an image can
use.  For each bitplane that is currently used by the image, the
corresponding Bitplane gadget is highlighted; the other bitplanes are
currently unused.

     By clicking on a highlighted Bitplane gadget with the Left Mouse
Button, you can turn the equivalent image bitplane off. Clicking on the
gadget again will restore the bitplane.  For instance, when you first bring
the Display Control into use, the Bitplane gadget "1" is highlighted,
indicating that bitplane one is in use.  Clicking on the "1" gadget turns
the highlighting off, and removes bitplane one from the image.  You can
immediately see the result of dropping a bitplane that is used. Clicking
again on the "1" gadget highlights the gadget, and puts the old bitplane
back into the image.

     Clicking on non-highlighted Bitplane gadgets to the right of the
highlighted gadgets causes extra bitplanes to be allocated and appended to
the current image bitmap, assuming there are less than six bitplanes to
start with (four in HIRES mode).  For instance, if you currently have a
four bitplane LORES image, the Display Control window will initially
highlight Bitplane gadgets "1" through "4".  By clicking on the "5" or "6"
gadgets, you can add one or two additional bitplanes to the image.  Note
that selecting the "6" gadget automatically allocates bitplane five in the
process.  Bitplanes may also be permanently deallocated in a similar
fashion; see section R4.1.3, "Reformatting an Image" for details.

     Adding bitplanes does not affect how an image looks, since there is no
image data contained by the new bitplanes.  Reducing the number of
bitplanes may affect how an image looks, if the image actually uses all the
bitplanes for information.

     Note that in HIRES mode, a maximum of four bitplanes is permitted by
the Amiga hardware.  Clicking on the fifth and sixth Bitplane gadgets will
flash the screen to remind you that these planes are not available for use
in this mode.

     To the upper right of the six Bitplane gadgets is the Bitplane
Rotation gadget, labeled "Rotate".  Click on the Rotate gadget and all of
the bitplanes in an image shift places in a circular fashion, as shown in
Figure R4.1.1.  Successive clicks on the Rotate gadget will eventually
bring the bitplanes back to their initial positions.

     < Figure R4.1.1  The Rotate Bitplane Operation >

     Below the Rotate gadget is a gadget labeled "Swap".  The Swap gadget
allows you to exchange two bitplanes.  You click on the Swap gadget with
the Left Mouse Button to begin the exchange. The Display Control window
Title Bar will prompt you to click on the first of two Bitplane gadgets
needed to perform the exchange. You then click on one of the highlighted
Bitplane gadgets.  The window title bar will then prompt you to click on
the second Bitplane gadget to perform the exchange with.  Clicking on a
different highlighted Bitplane gadget than the first selection will
instantly swap the image information contained in the two bitplanes.  For
instance, by clicking on the Swap gadget, clicking on Bitplane gadget "1",
then clicking on Bitplane gadget "2", bitplanes one and two of the image
will be exchanged.  You can abort the exchange selection process by
clicking the Right Mouse Button, or by selecting a different operation, or
by clicking anywhere except for on a gadget with the Left MouseButton.

     Below the bitplane gadgets are two rectangles containing numbers,
labeled "X:" and "Y:".  The X number is the current bitmap width in pixels.
 The Y number is the current bitmap height in pixels.  If you click inside
of the X or Y rectangle with the Left Mouse Button, a cursor will appear,
allowing you to delete the old number and type in a new width or height.
When you press RETURN,  PIXmate will attempt to create a new bitmap using
the new size you entered.  PIXmate will not permit you to create bitmaps
smaller than 320 by 200 pixels, since the Display Control window and other
PIXmate windows need at least this much space to display themselves.  Also,
PIXmate will prevent you from entering values larger than 736 by 480
pixels, since bitmaps larger than this will certainly not fit on the screen
comfortably, and require excessive amounts of CHIP RAM to display.

     Please note that the width of a bitmap must be divisible by 16;
PIXmate will round your "X:" entries up to the next 16 pixel boundary.  For
instance, if you specify a width of 329 pixels, PIXmate will round this
number up to 336 (16 times 21) pixels. If you type in 337 for the new
width, PIXmate will round this value up to 352 (16 times 22).  This assures
that you will always get a new bitmap that is at least as wide as you
wanted, although it may be slightly wider than requested.

     If you type in a size for a new bitmap that is smaller than the
current one, the right edge or bottom edge of the image will be cropped to
match the new size.  Specifying a size that is larger than the current
bitmap allows you to create images that extend beyond the normal screen
borders.  If you are low on CHIP RAM and specify a new bitmap that is
drastically larger than the original, there is a chance that PIXmate will
be unable to create the new bitmap.  PIXmate will produce a warning
requester and attempt to restore the original bitmap.  If for some reason
the original bitmap cannot be restored, PIXmate may be forced to terminate.

R4.1.2  CHANGING THE VIEWMODES

     The middle column of four gadgets in the Display Control window permit
you to select any of the ten possible combinations of graphics modes (also
referred to as ViewModes) available on the Amiga.  The top two gadgets
control the resolution used for the display.  The bottom two gadgets
control the interpretation of color information in when using LORES mode.
The four ViewMode gadget labels indicate the current graphics modes
selected and in use by the image.  When you click on a ViewMode gadget, the
graphics mode and gadget label toggle to the opposite setting. The meaning
of the eight possible ViewMode gadget labels is as follows.

     The topmost ViewMode gadget may be labeled either "LORES" or "HIRES",
and controls the horizontal resolution of the screen. LORES images can use
up to six bitplanes, and can squeeze about 350 pixels on a line before
overscanning occurs.  Additionally, only LORES images may use the HAM or
EXTRA_HALFBRITE color modes. The other possible mode, HIRES, squeezes twice
as many pixels on a row, giving you more than 700 pixels per scan line
without overscan.  However, a maximum of four bitplanes can be used in
HIRES mode, and HAM and EXTRA_HALFBRITE are not available in this mode.

     The next ViewMode gadget down may be labeled either "NOLACE" or
"LACE", and describes the vertical resolution of the display. When set to
the NOLACE mode, up to 240 scan lines may be used without overscan.  When
set to LACE, the screen is displayed using interlace to produce twice as
much vertical resolution, doubling the effective number of rows you can
display.  However, LACE mode may cause a certain degree of image flicker
due to the reduced refresh rate used by the interlace technique.  Note that
these height estimates are for Amigas with NTSC video circuitry. PAL
versions can display more scan lines.

     The LORES/HIRES and NOLACE/LACE gadgets can be used in combination to
produce other graphics modes, such as HIRES NOLACE or LORES LACE.  Clicking
on either gadget will immediately change the graphics mode, and change the
gadget label to reflect the new mode.  PIXmate automatically adjusts any
other parameters, such as number of bitplanes, to match the new graphics
mode.

     Note that changing the graphics modes does NOT change the size of the
bitplanes used by a image; rather, the data in the bitplanes is simply
interpreted differently by the Amiga hardware.  To force PIXmate to
allocate new bitplanes, you use the "Reform" gadget describe in the next
section.

     Below the two ViewMode gadgets are the two ColorMode gadgets.  These
gadgets affect how the Amiga processes color information for display when
using LORES and five or more bitplanes.

     The top ColorMode gadget may read either "HAM ON" or "HAM OFF",
depending on whether HAM mode is currently on or off. Clicking on the
gadget toggles the HAM effect on or off.  Note that turning HAM mode on
will not have a visible effect until you press the Right Mouse Button to
observe the image, or exit the Display Control.  You must be in LORES mode
and have at least five bitplanes to engage HAM mode.

     The bottom ColorMode gadget is labeled either "EHB ON" or "EHB OFF",
reporting whether EXTRA_HALFBRITE mode is in use or not.  As with the HAM
gadget, clicking on the gadget turns EXTRA_HALFBRITE mode on or off.  As
previously noted, EXTRA_HALFBRITE can only be used in LORES mode, and
requires a minimum of six bitplanes.  You can add bitplanes in order to
turn on HAM or the EHB gadgets, as outlined in the previous section
"Changing the Bitplanes".

     Note that HAM and EXTRA_HALFBRITE modes are mutually exclusive.
Turning either one "ON" turns the other "OFF".

     The following examples outline potential situations that result as a
consequence of using LORES/HIRES and NOLACE/LACE gadgets.

     Suppose you load a 320 by 200 pixel 32 color image into PIXmate using
the Load IFF option from the Project Menu, then select the Display option.
The Display Control window will appear, with the Bitplane gadgets "1"
through "5" highlighted, and the ViewModes Gadgets set to "LORES",
"NOLACE".  If you click on "LORES", PIXmate will switch to HIRES and
refresh the gadget label to indicate the new graphics mode.  Everything
will be only half as wide now, leaving the right half of the screen unused.
In addition, PIXmate automatically turns off the fifth bitplane, since
HIRES mode allows a maximum of four bitplanes.  Clicking again on the
LORES/HIRES gadget returns you to LORES, and adds the fifth bitplane back
to the image.

     Suppose instead you load a 640 by 200 pixel 16 color image, then use
the Display Control window.  The Bitplane gadgets "1" though "4" will be
highlighted, the LORES/HIRES gadget will read "HIRES", and the NOLACE/LACE
gadget will read "NOLACE".  By clicking on the LORES/HIRES gadget, the
display will become twice as wide and the gadget label will change to read
"LORES".  The right half of the image will overscan past the right edge of
the screen, leaving only the left half visible.  No bitplanes are affected.
 By clicking the LORES/HIRES gadget again, HIRES mode is restored.

R4.1.3  REFORMATTING AN IMAGE:

     If you have reduced the number of bitplanes in an image using the
Bitplane gadgets, or have changed the resolution of the display using the
ViewMode gadgets, you must re-format the screen before the Display Control
window will allow you to exit.  You can accomplish this at any time by
clicking on the "Reform" gadget with the Left Mouse Button.  If necessary,
PIXmate will create a new screen and restore the image.  If no changes have
been made that require allocating a new screen, PIXmate will simply flash
the screen to let you know that Reform was not needed.

     Note that the Reform process is a permanent decision that cannot be
undone with the "UNDO!" gadget.  You can alter the display resolution using
the ViewModes gadgets as much as you like, but once you select Reform the
current screen format will be "locked in".  PIXmate will warn you with a
PIXmate Requester if the Reform operation will result in a possible loss of
bitplanes, or loss of overscanned portions of the image.  This allows you
to cancel the Reform operation and make further changes with the ViewModes
gadgets, if you wish.

     When you exit the Display Control window, either by pressing the ESC
key or clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget, you will be presented with a
PIXmate Requester if the image needs to be Reformed before exiting the
Display Control.  Clicking on the "Reformat and Exit" option will create
the new screen and finish your session with the Display Control window.
Choosing the "CANCEL!" option will return you to the Display Control.

     Note that the Reform operation may require more CHIP RAM than is
available.  You will get a PIXmate Requester describing the problem if
PIXmate is unable to allocate a new screen. Please refer to the section
"Working with Low RAM Conditions" and Appendix B for more details.

R4.1.4  RESIZING AN IMAGE:

     The gadgets on the right-hand side of the Display Control window allow
you to change the horizontal and vertical size of an image, produce a
mirror image, or turn an image upside-down.  By using combinations of these
effects, you can magnify an image to examine small areas in detail, or
reduce an image to permit other images to be placed on the same screen.

     The four Size gadgets, "Thinner", "Shorter", "Wider", and "Taller",
change the horizontal and vertical size of an image when clicked on with
the Left Mouse Button.  The current setting of the Size Factor gadgets,
labeled "2X" and "3X", determines how much the four Size gadgets reduce or
enlarge a particular dimension.  For instance, if the Size Factor is set to
"2X", clicking on the Thinner gadget will make the image half as wide.
Clicking on the Taller gadget will make the image twice as tall. If the
"3X" size factor is selected, the image will become a third as wide when
the Thinner gadget is used, and three times taller when the Taller gadget
is selected.  You can switch between the 2X and 3X modes by clicking with
the Left Mouse Button on the size factor desired.  The selected Size Factor
gadget will be highlighted.

     The Wider gadget duplicates or triplicates each vertical column of
pixels in the image, making the image two or three times wider.  The Taller
gadget works much the same, except each row of pixels is expanded to take
two or three rows.  The enlargement process always starts at the upper
left-hand corner of the screen.  If the current image already fills the
screen, selecting Wider or Taller will discard portions of the image that
will not fit after the enlargement process.  You can use the "UNDO!" gadget
immediately after an enlargement operation if you change your mind and want
the original image back.

     Using the Thinner and Shorter gadgets is much like using the Wider and
Taller gadgets, except data from the image is selectively discarded and the
image is compacted in the horizontal or vertical direction selected.

     When using the Thinner or Shorter gadgets, PIXmate offers you four
different techniques for reducing the image size.  You select which
technique you want to use with the Processing Mode gadget in the upper
right-hand corner of the Display Control window.  The possible choices are
"Even", "Odd", "Average", or "Color", and by clicking on the gadget with
the Left Mouse Button, you can switch through the possible modes.

     In Even mode, only the even numbered rows or columns are preserved,
eliminating the odd numbered rows or columns.  Odd mode works the opposite
of Even mode, preserving the odd numbered rows or columns.  In Average
mode, adjacent pairs of pixels are replaced by a single pixel that is the
average of the pair.  In Color mode, the same averaging technique is
applied, but using color processing techniques.  The image is separated
into red, green, and blue components (see "Performing Color Extractions").
The three components are reduced in size, then combined to form a new full
color image.  Since this can be a rather lengthy operation, you may press
the SPACEBAR to abort the process.  Note that PIXmate will ignore the Color
mode selection if color processing is unnecessary.

     PIXmate automatically sets the Processing Mode gadget to a mode
appropriate for the current image.  For non-HAM images, Even mode is the
default.  Color mode is used for best results with HAM images.  You can
always change the processing mode manually. Often, it is worth trying
several different techniques to get the desired effect with a particular
image.  For instance, thin vertical details may be destroyed by using the
Thinner gadget in Even mode.  Using Odd or Average mode instead may
preserve more of the vertical details.  You can use the "UNDO!" gadget to
try again if the results are unsatisfactory.

     The bottom two gadgets, labelled "Flip X" and "Flip Y", allow you to
flip an image horizontally or vertically.  Using "Flip X" with HAM images,
you should use the "Color" processing mode discussed previously to avoid
color streaks.

R4.2  THE IMAGE PROCESSOR WINDOW

     < Figure R4.2A  Anatomy of the Image Processor Window >

     < Figure R4.2B  Image Processor Data Flow Diagram >

     Selecting "Image Process" (keyboard shortcut 'i') from the Effects
Menu brings up the Image Processor window.  The Image Processor allows you
to create thousands of special effects using simple control combinations.

     As with other PIXmate control windows, you can press the Right Mouse
Button and hide the window and Screen Title Bar for as long as the button
is held.  The 't' key turns the Screen Title Bar on and off.  Pressing the
ESC key closes the Image Processor window, just like clicking on the
CLOSEWINDOW gadget with the Left Mouse Button.  The Image Processor window
uses the default WorkBench colors for maximum readability.  You can drag
the Image  Processor window around using the window's Title Bar as a
handle.  PIXmate remembers the location you leave the window at when you
exit the Image Processor, and tries to use that location in the future for
window placement.

     Some image processing techniques can take several minutes to complete;
you can always press the SPACEBAR to stop a process before it completes.
The image will be restored from the Undo Buffer automatically.

     At the bottom left of the Image Processor are the three Action
Gadgets, labelled "UNDO", "LOAD", and "FLIP".  Clicking on the "UNDO"
gadget allows you to undo the previous operation (see "Operations using the
Undo Buffer").  The "LOAD" gadget will attempt to re-load the last image
loaded, using the filename shown by the Screen Title Bar.  This is handy
for making a fresh start on an image when experimenting with a new
technique.  The "Flip" gadget performs the same function as Flip to Other
from the Edit Menu; the Current screen is exchanged with the Other screen.
See the section "Flipping to the Other Screen" for more details.

     Operations performed by the Image Processor fall into three
categories: logical operations, pixel operations, and matrix operations.
Logical operations affect the entire image, and treat all pixels equally.
Pixel operations work by examining the image pixel by pixel, performing
computations, then replacing certain pixels based on the results of the
computations.  Matrix operations are similar to pixel operations, and apply
a matrix technique that allows you to select different orientations of
image details to affect.

     In addition, the Image Processor can combine image data from two
sources.  Data may come from the Current screen, the Other screen, or a
combination of the two.  The results are always displayed on the Current
screen (the destination).  The processed data normally replaces the current
image; however, you can also merge the new data with the old image for
special effects.

     Figure R4.2A details the areas of the Image Processor to be discussed.
 Figure R4.2B shows a data flow chart of the Image Processor control
interactions, which affect how image data is processed.

R4.2.1  LOGICAL OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

     Clicking the "LOGIC" gadget, located on the left side of the Image
Processor window, performs an immediate logical operation on the image
data.  The logical operation performed is determined by the current
settings of the six Logic Control gadgets below the "LOGIC" gadget.

     Logical operations can be used with a single image, however, they are
particularly useful in combination with an image on the Other screen.  You
can combine image data from the two screens in a variety of ways using the
Other screen and the Logic Control gadgets.  See the section "Operations
Using the Other Screen" and the section "Data Modes" for further
information on using the Other screen.

     The current setting of the Logic Control gadgets serve a dual purpose,
affecting pixel and matrix operations as well as operations involving the
"LOGIC" gadget.  Refer to Figure R4.2B and the next section for more
details on how the Logic Controls affect other operations.

     The gadget labelled "NOP" (short for No OPeration) is highlighted by
default.  This selection is provided for situations where no logical
operation is desired.  Clicking on the "LOGIC" gadget when the "NOP" logic
mode is selected will not change the image; pixels in the image are merely
copied directly on top of the old pixels without change.

     Clicking on the "AND" gadget selects the conjunctive logical
operation.  In AND mode, processed pixels from the source image are
logically AND'ed with the pixels in the Current screen.  The AND operation
acts like a filter; only pixels that are the same in both the source and
destination images remain after the AND operation.  Note that if the data
source is the Current screen, clicking on the "LOGIC" gadget in AND mode
will have no apparent effect, since all of the pixels in the source image
(the Current screen) are identical to the pixels in the original image
(also the Current screen).  When your data source is the Other screen (see
the section "Data Modes"), you can use AND mode with the "LOGIC" operation
to quickly remove all parts of the Current screen that do not match the
Other screen.

     The "OR" gadget selects the disjunctive logical operation. In OR mode,
processed pixels from the source image are logically OR'ed with the pixels
in the Current screen.  The OR operation is a type of data merge, where
either pixels from the source or from the destination will comprise the
final image.  Note that when the data source is the Current screen,
performing the "LOGIC" operation will have no apparent effect.  When using
the data source is the Other screen, clicking on the "LOGIC" gadget will
merge the image from the Other screen with the image on the Current screen.

     The "SUB" gadget selects a subtractive data operation between
processed source pixels and the original source pixels. When used in with
the "LOGIC" gadget, the effect is the same as described below for the EOR
operation.  When used with pixel or matrix operations, the "SUB" logic
mode calculates the difference between pixels from the processed source
image and pixels from the original image, then places the result on the
Current screen.

     Clicking the "EOR" gadget selects the exclusive-or logical operation,
abbreviated EOR for convenience.  The EOR operation takes processed source
pixels and exclusive-or's them with the original pixels to produce a
resulting image on the Current screen.  The EOR operation takes a bit of
explanation to understand.  Suppose you have a one bitplane image, with
black pixels using color zero, and white pixels using color one of the two
possible colors.  If we represent black pixels by the number "0" and white
pixels by the number "1", the EOR operation can be summarized using the
following truth table:

               PIXEL A   PIXEL B    RESULT OF EOR
               ----------------------------------
                    0         0            0
                    0         1            1
                    1         0            1
                    1         1            0

     When dealing with more than two colors, the EOR operation considers
the color numbers for the two pixels as binary numbers, and performs the
EOR operation on a bit by bit basis, resulting in a new color number.  For
example, suppose a pixel from the processed source image uses color 20, and
the original image pixel was color 15.  In binary, the number 20 is
represented as 10100.  The number 15 is 01111 in binary.  Performing an EOR
of 10100 with 01111 produces the binary number 11011, which corresponds to
color number 27.

     Note that EOR'ing a pixel with itself always produces a zero result.
Since this would result in a blank screen normally, PIXmate uses a modified
version of the EOR function when the "LOGIC" gadget is selected.  Using the
previous black and white example, the operation can be described by the
following truth table:

         PIXEL A   PIXEL B    RESULT OF EOR AND "LOGIC"
         ----------------------------------------------
            0         0                1
            0         1                1
            1         0                1
            1         1                0

     Using the "LOGIC" gadget in EOR mode will change all the black pixels
to white and vice-versa, resulting in a photographic negative of the
original.  For binary logic experts, the actual operation performed is the
equivalent of AND'ing the pixel color numbers together, the complementing
the result.

     The sixth Logic Control gadget, labeled "NOT", may be turned on or off
with a click of the Left Mouse Button.  It can be used with any of the
other five Logic Control selections. When the NOT flag is set, the
processed source pixels are complemented before passing them to the next
logical operation to produce the final resulting pixel.

     The NOT operation, like EOR, works on a bit by bit basis when dealing
with the color numbers greater than one.  In the simplest two color black
and white case, the black pixels are changed to white and vice-versa.  When
dealing with more than two colors, the NOT operation performs a one's
complement operation on the color number.  For example, color 15, which is
01111 in binary, would become binary 10000 (16) after the NOT operation.
Color 21, which is 10101 in binary, would become 01010, or color 10.  As
you can see, the NOT operation merely flips bits to the opposite of what
they were.  The net visual effect of this manipulation is the same as
creating a ColorMap that is backwards in order from the original (i.e., a
negative image).

     Note that the NOT operation works in combination with other Logic
Controls, such as the AND operation, to produce new logical operations,
such as NOT-AND (commonly abbreviated NAND), or the NOT-OR (NOR) operation.
 Certain combinations of logic may result in equivalent operations, or
result in a blank screen (logically tautologic operations).

R4.2.2  PIXEL OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

     The eight Pixel Processing gadgets, located to the right of the Logic
Controls, perform a variety of pixel operations on image data.  They work
in combination with the three slide controls and the Logic Control gadgets
to produce thousands of possible effects.  In addition, data used by pixel
operations can come  from either screen, and may be combined with or
replace data on the Current screen.

     Clicking on the "AVG" gadget performs an Average on source pixel color
numbers, resulting in a color number that most closely represents the
majority of the pixels in a small area. For each pixel in an image, PIXmate
looks at a three by three area of pixels surrounding a center pixel.
PIXmate adds the nine color numbers together, then divides by nine and
rounds the result to the nearest integer color number.  The center pixel in
the three by three array uses this new averaged color number. PIXmate then
moves on to the next pixel over, until all the pixels have been averaged.
The effect of pixel averaging is to smooth or blur small details or
imperfections in an image, resulting in a cleaner, less noisy image.

     Clicking the "RND" gadget applies a pixel Randomizing technique to the
source image data.  Randomizing works by examining a three by three array
of pixels, and replacing the center pixel in the array with one of the nine
pixels in the array, chosen at random.  This process is repeated for every
pixel in the image.  Randomizing causes an image to appear "grainy" or
diffuse.

     The gadgets labeled "MF1" and "MF2" use two versions of the Median
Filter process.  The median filter works much the same as the "AVG"
averaging technique, except the center pixel in an area is replaced by the
median color number instead of the average. "MF1" uses a three by three
array of pixels to determine a median.  "MF2" uses a five by five area to
calculate the median, and produces a stronger effect than the "MF1" filter.
 Median filtration is useful to remove small defects or noise in an image
without seriously blurring major features.  The median technique often
produces better results than using the "AVG" averaging process, however, it
is a slower process than pixel averaging. When full color processing HIRES
LACE images using the "MF2" operation, more than 650,000,000 computations
can be necessary!

     The "USM" gadget processes the source image using the UnSharp Masking
enhancement technique.  Abbreviated "USM", the unsharp masking algorithm
essentially subtracts a blurry version of the image (the "unsharp"
component) from the original image data, resulting in a sharper, more
detailed image.  PIXmate uses a five by five matrix of pixels when
performing its calculations for high quality results.  The unsharp masking
procedure is based on a form of Laplacian correlation; while implementation
details are beyond the scope of this manual, the interested reader is urged
to refer to the suggested reading list in the Technical Reference Section.

     The "LCE" gadget performs a technique known as Local Contrast
Enhancement, useful for emphasizing or amplifying small details or features
in an image.  Local contrast enhancement (LCE for short) examines a five by
five array of pixels and determines the average intensity of the 25 pixels
in the array.  This average is then compared to the center pixel in the
array.  If the center pixel is brighter than the surrounding average, LCE
will make that pixel even brighter.  If the pixel is darker than the local
average, the pixel is further reduced in intensity. The LCE technique is
similar to the USM operation, but may produce better results in some
circumstances.

     Clicking the "BIN" gadget applies a Binary decision process to each
pixel in the image.  The BIN operation produces a two color version of the
source image, using the first and last color available in the ColorMap for
the result.  For instance, if the first color is black and the last color
is white, the result of the BIN operation will be a strictly black and
white image.  The current setting of the Threshold slide control is used to
determine which pixels become black or white.  Pixels that have a lower
color number than the current Threshold will be replaced by color zero.
Pixels that have a higher color number than the Threshold value will be
replaced by the highest available color number.  This binary, high/low
operation is applied to each pixel in the image.

     Note that if the Threshold control is set to "0", none of the pixels
can have a lower color number, and the entire image will become the same
color.  Similarly, if the Threshold control is set to maximum; all of the
pixels will have a lower value than the threshold, so all of the pixels
will become color zero. Other threshold settings will selectively reduce
the image to two colors.  The BIN process can be used to prepare images for
desktop publishing applications, or as the first step in an image
classification or template- matching operation.

     The "THR" gadget, short for Threshold, is very similar to the Binary
process described for the BIN gadget.  The difference is that pixels whose
color numbers are greater than the current Threshold Control setting are
not affected, while pixels that fall below the Threshold level are changed
to color zero.  The THR operation is useful for selectively eliminating
darker regions of an image, such as unwanted background details that
surround a brighter central feature.

R4.2.3  MATRIX OPERATIONS IN DETAIL:

     PIXmate provides two specialized forms of pixel operations, called
matrix operations, that allow you to selectively enhance certain types of
image details.  You select the type of image detail by clicking on one of
the seven Kernal gadgets (see Figure R4.2A).  The current Kernal selection
is highlighted.  Clicking the "LAP" or "EDG" gadget performs either edge
enhancement or edge detection, using the Kernal selection to determine the
orientation of edges to be affected.

     The labels on the seven Kernal gadgets represent a miniature picture
of the kinds of edges the matrix operation will affect. For instance, the
Kernal gadget with the "+" label matches horizontal and vertical edges,
such as those in a grid.  The "X" kernal responds best to diagonal edges.
Edges that "go against the grain" of the current kernal selection will be
suppressed or ignored.

     The "LAP" gadget, short for Laplacian, uses a five by five Laplacian
correlation algorithm similar to the process used by the USM technique
described in the last section.  By selecting an appropriate Kernal gadget
before clicking on "LAP", you can emphasize different edges in an image.
In particular, using the "*" Kernal with "LAP" will perform a full-strength
enhancement process, exaggerating the smallest details.

     The "EDG" gadget, short for Edge, performs an optimized Sobel edge
detection process on an image, using the selected Kernal to determine which
edges respond most strongly to the process.  Edge detection is used to
remove everything but edges from an image, leaving a ghostly outline of
objects and details. This technique can be useful as the first step in an
automated image recognition process, or to detect small details and
imperfections in an image.

     Pixels that result from a matrix operation are also affected by the
Logic Control settings and the Slide Controls.  Refer to Figure R4.2B for a
diagram of how these controls are interrelated.

R4.2.4  THE SLIDE CONTROLS:

     The three slide controls allow you to fine-tune the effects created by
the pixel and matrix operations described in the preceding sections.  The
current settings are used by PIXmate on a pixel by pixel basis to determine
whether the processed or unprocessed result of an operation is used as the
final pixel result.  Figure R4.2B summarizes how data is modified by the
slide control settings.

     The Threshold control, labeled "Thresh", lets you adjust the
sensitivity of other processes.  Processed pixels are compared with the
original pixels; if the difference between the two pixels is greater than
the current Threshold setting, the processed pixel is used.  Otherwise, the
original source pixel is used.  When the Threshold control is set to zero,
all differences are considered significant and processed source pixels are
always used.  If the Threshold is set to maximum, the difference between
processed and unprocessed pixels will always be smaller than the Threshold;
thus, none of the processed pixels will be used.  Note that the
interpretation of the Threshold setting is slightly different when using
the BIN and THR gadgets, as described in the section on pixel operations.

     The Limit control lets you adjust the maximum permissible change
between a processed and unprocessed pixel.  If the difference between the
two pixels exceeds the Limit setting, the original pixel will be used
instead of the processed one.  At its maximum setting, the Limit filter
will let changes of any magnitude through.  When set to zero, any change
between processed and original pixels is greater than the limit; thus only
unprocessed pixels will result.  Note that the Limit and Threshold controls
are closely related.  If you set the Limit less than the Threshold,
processed pixels will never be used in the resulting image.

     The third slide control, labeled "Hits", lets you add a random element
to the selection process, allowing very fine control over the total image
processing effect.  The setting of Hits slide is expressed as a percent
probability that the processed pixel will be used.  When set to "100%",
processed pixels are used 100 percent of the time.  When set to "0%",
processed pixels are never used.  If "50%" is selected, processed pixels
will be used half the time, and unprocessed pixels the other half.  This is
similar to flipping a coin or rolling a die for each pixel after
processing, and deciding whether to use the processed result or the
original pixel based upon the random event.

     Combinations of settings for the three slide controls permit an almost
unlimited range of effect.  You can try different settings with a
particular process until you get the desired effect, clicking "UNDO"
between experiments to restore the original image.

R4.2.5  DATA MODES:

     PIXmate offers a choice of data sources, and allows you to control how
processed data from a source is placed on the Current screen.  The two Data
Mode gadgets allow you to select the four possible combinations.

     The top Data Mode gadget determines whether image data from the
Current screen or the Other screen is used.  Normally, the data source is
the Current screen image, and the source gadget will be labeled "Current"
to reflect this state.  Clicking on the gadget selects the Other screen as
your data source.  See the section "Using the Other Screen" for more
details about the features of the Other screen.

     You can use the "FLIP" gadget to preview the image on the Other screen
before performing an operation.  Note that if no Other screen exists,
selecting the "Other" mode will force the creation of the new screen.
Also, the Current screen and Other screen must be the same width and height
for dual screen processing operations.  You can use the Display Control to
format one of the images if the dimensions are different.

     The other Data Mode gadget selects whether processed data replaces
Current screen data, or is merged with the original image using an overlay
technique.  By default, "Replace" is selected.  Clicking on the gadget will
switch to "Merge" mode.

     Note that when processing data from the Other screen using the "LOGIC"
gadget, the two images are always merged as a convenience.  The Logic
Control settings give you a variety of ways to combine the two images.

     Using combinations of the four possible Data Mode selections allow a
wide range of special effects to be created.

R4.2.6  PROCESSING MODES:

     The Processing Mode gadgets are used to select the color processing
technique PIXmate uses, and to determine whether screen blanking is used to
reduce processing time.

     PIXmate automatically selects the most appropriate color processing
technique for a given image when the Image Processor is called into use.
Monochrome images, like those produced by PIXmate's extraction process (see
"Performing Color Extractions"), are normally processed in a one pass
operation referred to as "Mono Mode" on the gadget label.  Color images use
a three pass operation that individually processes the red-green-blue
components of the image, then combines the results to produce a new full
color image.  This is called "AutoColor" mode.  The third technique,
"AutoHAM", is used for 4096 color HAM images to produce greater color
accuracy.

     You can override the default color process used by clicking on the
gadget.  Repeated clicks on the gadget will cycle through the possible
processing modes.  PIXmate warns you if using AutoColor or AutoHAM
processing is not required, since full color processing takes about four
times longer than "Mono Mode".  Note that in HIRES, AutoHAM is not
available as an option.

     As cautioned by the section "Merging Color Extractions", full color
processing uses enormous amounts of CHIP RAM in HIRES and HIRES LACE modes;
refer to the section "Working with Low RAM Conditions" if you encounter
problems processing an image due to lack of RAM.

     The bottom Processing Mode gadget turns screen blanking mode on or
off.  The default setting, "Blank OFF", allows you to watch while PIXmate
processes the image.  Clicking the gadget selects "Blank ON" mode, which
enables automatic screen blanking during pixel and matrix operations.
Screen blanking disables the Amiga's graphics display while processing
takes place, then turns the display back on after the selected operation
has completed. When the screen is blanked, the microprocessor never has to
wait for a display refresh to complete, and thus can run at full speed.
With "Blank ON", total processing time can be cut in half when working with
HIRES LACE 16 color images.  The obvious disadvantage is that you cannot
see what the result of an operation will be until the process is completed.

R4.3  THE HISTOGRAPHIC EQUALIZER WINDOW

     < Figure R4.3  Anatomy of the HistoGraphic Equalizer Window >

     The PIXmate HistoGraphic Equalizer window shows you how color
information is distributed in an image, and allows you to adjust the
distribution in a quick, simple operation.  This adjustment process, known
as histogram specification, is a powerful technique for enhancing contrast
in images, especially those that have poor use of the available dynamic
range.  In addition, the specification technique can be used to reduce the
number of colors used by an image in a selective fashion.

     Selecting "Histograph EQ" (keyboard shortcut 'h') from the Effects
Menu starts the histogram process.  PIXmate counts the number of times each
color is used by the current image, and after a few moments, summarizes the
results in bar graph format. Figure R4.3 shows a typical histogram, and
points out the parts of the HistoGraphic Equalizer window to be discussed.

     You can cancel the histogram process during the initial pixel count by
pressing the SPACEBAR.  The HistoGraphic Equalizer window shares many of
the same features as other PIXmate windows. Pressing the Right Mouse Button
causes the window and Screen Title Bar to disappear; releasing the button
brings the window back.  Pressing the 't' key turns the Screen Title Bar on
and off.  The ESC key shuts the window and returns you to PIXmate, as does
clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget.  The window uses the two most
contrasting colors from the image's ColorMap to render itself; if for some
reason the window and gadgets are difficult to see, you can press the
SPACEBAR to temporarily use the WorkBench colors.

     The color bars are organized by ascending color number, with color
zero the leftmost bar.  The height of a color bar corresponds to the
percentage of the image that uses that color. The numeric values to the
left of the color bars provide an estimate of the probabilities involved,
using a standard 0.000 to 1.000 scale.  To convert to percentage, simply
multiply the probability value by 100.  More accurate data is available
using the "Count" feature (see section R5.3, "The Pixel Count Window"). You
can use the Pack, Sort, or Extract processes to organize the colors in a
consistent manner before using the HistoGraphic Equalizer or the Pixel
Count feature.

     By default, PIXmate samples all the pixels in an image when generating
the histogram.  You can limit the sample area to a rectangular region by
clicking on the "Clip" gadget, then selecting an area using the same
procedure described in the section "Clearing Part of the Screen".  After
selecting an area, PIXmate will count the pixels and display the new
statistics. The gadget label changes to read "UnClip", reminding you that a
Clip is still in use.  The Clip remains visible until you remove the Clip
by clicking the gadget again.  You can then clip another section of the
image.

     Note that due to the nature of HAM mode, the results of a histogram
can be unpredictable at best.  Therefore, PIXmate will not allow you adjust
the histogram in HAM mode.  You can use the HAM to 32 conversion or use the
Extract and Merge color processing techniques from the Color Menu to deal
with HAM images, if you must.

R4.3.1  ADJUSTING COLOR DISTRIBUTION WITH THE EQUALIZER:

     Once a histogram has been displayed, you can adjust the color
distribution using a histogram specification technique.  If you have ever
used a graphic equalizer to adjust the sound quality of a home or car audio
system, you will notice that the adjustment process is very similar.

     Clicking on the "Adjust" gadget turns the adjustment mode on.  At the
top of each color bar, a marker becomes visible, showing the default
equalizer settings.  To adjust the settings, you click anywhere in the
color bar area with the Left Mouse Button, and drag the pointer
horizontally or vertically while holding the button down.  The markers will
jump to the position the pointer is at as you move the mouse.  You can use
a free-hand drawing technique to quickly sketch the general shape of the
new histogram you desire, or make small adjustments to a single equalizer
setting this way.  Clicking the "Adjust" gadget again erases the equalizer
settings from the window.

     After you have specified the shape of the new histogram with the
equalizer, clicking on the "ReMap" gadget performs the actual image
translation.  You can abort the translation process by pressing the
SPACEBAR; PIXmate will restore the original image and histogram.  When the
translation process is finished, the window reappears and displays the new
histogram for the translated image.  Clicking the "Undo" gadget restores
the pre-equalized image and histogram, allowing you to quickly compare the
changes and/or make further adjustments.

     Histogram specification is a powerful technique with many uses, but is
especially useful to alter the contrast of monochrome images, such as those
produced by "Extract Gray".  The five most useful equalizer settings are
shown in Figure R4.3.1, along with a description of their typical effect on
an image. You merely sketch in the general shape for the equalizer settings
shown in the diagrams, then click on the "ReMap" gadget to perform the
effect.

     < Figure R4.3.1  Common HistoGraphic Equalizer Settings >

     Another useful technique is to use the Clip feature to histogram just
the area of the image you want to enhance.  By adjusting the equalizer
settings to a "flat" setting (i.e., the all the markers are set to the same
level) and clicking on the "ReMap" gadget, you can enhance areas of an
image that appear over or under-exposed.  Note that overall image contrast
may suffer at the expense of improving contrast in a specified Clip region.

     As previously mentioned, the histograph specification process is not
directly applicable to HAM images.  PIXmate will disable the "Adjust" and
"ReMap" options when displaying histograms for HAM images.

     When working with color images (i.e., images NOT produced using the
Extract process), adjusting the histogram and translating the image may not
produce the result you expect. This is due to the mathematical nature of
the histogram specification technique, which assumes that adjacent colors
in the ColorMap are different shades of the same color.  By experimenting
with the equalizer settings, using "ReMap", and liberal use of the "Undo"
feature, you can explore thousands of unusual color effects.

R4.4  AUTOMATICALLY REFORMATTING IMAGES

     For convenience, PIXmate offers the ability to automatically format an
image to match any of the four most common Amiga display modes.  The
"ReFormat As..." Effects Menu item has four submenu items that allow you to
select the desired format.  The possible selections are "320X200",
"320X400", "640X200", and "640X400".  The 320X200 selection is equivalent
to the LORES NOLACE mode.  320X400 uses LORES LACE mode.  640X200 uses
HIRES NOLACE, and 640X400 uses HIRES LACE mode, the highest resolution.

     After you select a format, PIXmate determines what changes (if any)
are necessary to perform the conversion, and carries them out
automatically.

     When converting a LORES image to HIRES (i.e., the 640X200 or 640X400
selections), PIXmate may have to reduce the number of colors used by the
image, since at most 16 colors are available in HIRES mode.  For instance,
when converting a 32 color or HAM image to HIRES, PIXmate will use the best
16 colors for the new image.  A PIXmate Requester will warn you if less
colors will be used, and allow you to either continue the automatic process
or cancel the operation.  During the color conversion process, the
operation may be aborted by pressing the SPACEBAR.

     You can duplicate the automatic process that PIXmate uses manually, by
reducing the number of colors using "HAM to 32" or "Less Colors" as
appropriate, then using the Display Control to re-size and format the image
as desired.

     Note that low RAM problems can develop when using HIRES, as described
in previous sections "The Display Control Window" and "Color Mode
Conversions".  See "Working with Low RAM Conditions" if you encounter
problems due to insufficient RAM.

                            INFO MENU

R5.1  MEMORY USAGE INFORMATION

     < Figure R5.1  The Memory Available Requester >

     Since PIXmate can require considerable amounts of memory to perform an
operation, PIXmate also offers an easy way to gauge the amount of RAM
(Random Access Memory) available on your Amiga. Selecting the "Memory"
option (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-m) from the Info Menu brings up a
standard PIXmate Requester, showing the current memory free for use by
PIXmate and other programs in the Amiga's multitasking environment (see
Figure R5.1).

     The memory information is divided into three categories: CHIP, FAST,
and Total RAM available. The number of bytes free (i.e., available), as
well as the size of the largest chunk available is shown.

     PIXmate internally monitors the amount of RAM available in the system,
and uses available memory as efficiently as possible. If PIXmate is unable
to perform a certain operation, it is probably due to lack of CHIP RAM.
PIXmate will report the problem with a requester or an alert, depending
upon the severity of the shortage.  You can use the "Memory" option to
check the amount of RAM free before starting an operation, or to estimate
how much RAM you lack if an operation failed.

     The significance of this information requires a description of how the
Amiga uses memory, and the differences between CHIP RAM and FAST RAM.

     The standard Amiga 1000 is shipped with 256,000 bytes (256K) of CHIP
RAM, and can be expanded to 512K of CHIP RAM, using a memory board that
fits inside the front of the Amiga 1000 case. The Amiga 500 and 2000 are
shipped with 512K of CHIP RAM standard.  All three models allow you to add
large amounts of FAST RAM to the system, using memory boards that fit into
the Expansion Bus, or internally.  The Amiga's operating system easily
supports 8,000,000 bytes of FAST RAM and more.

     For most purposes, the Amiga can use either CHIP or FAST RAM
interchangeably.  However, tasks that involve the Amiga's custom chips can
only use CHIP RAM.  This includes displaying images, controlling disk
drives, and producing sound.  PIXmate takes advantage of any FAST RAM you
have available, thereby leaving more CHIP RAM available to the custom
chips.

     CHIP RAM is the most valuable type of memory to PIXmate, since image
processing can require huge amounts of CHIP RAM to store and manipulate
image data.  For instance, a 640 by 400 pixel, four bitplane image requires
128K of CHIP RAM to display. Performing full color processing would take
over three times as much CHIP RAM; in this example requiring about 430K of
CHIP RAM to succeed.  Another consideration is that CHIP RAM for image
bitplanes must be contiguous chunks of memory.  In this example, each of
the four bitplanes would require separate 64K chunks of CHIP RAM.  In
addition, the Amiga operating system, the WorkBench, and other programs
(clocks, text editors, etc.) consume a certain amount of CHIP RAM.

     As you can see, it is fairly easy to run out of CHIP RAM, or worse,
have a worthless collection of memory chunks too small to be useful.  You
might have several million bytes of FAST RAM available, but still be unable
to perform an operation due to lack of CHIP RAM.  Unfortunately, the
current Amiga design limits you to a maximum of 512K of CHIP RAM. (This
could change in future Amiga hardware.  Pleading with Commodore might
help.)

R5.2  DISPLAY FORMAT INFORMATION

     < Figure R5.2  The Format Information Requester >

     Selecting the "Format" option (keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-f) from
the Info Menu brings up a PIXmate Requester containing information about
the dimensions and graphics modes associated with the current image.
Figure R5.2 shows a typical "Format" information requester.

     The title bar of the requester shows the filename of the last file
loaded.  The first line of text, labeled "BitMap:", describes the
dimensions of the image in terms of width, height, and depth.  Width and
height are measured in pixels, and depth refers to the number of bitplanes
used.  Next to the dimensions, the amount of CHIP RAM consumed by the image
data is given in bytes.  The second line of text, labeled "Colors:", shows
the number of colors possible using the current display graphics modes, as
well as the actual number of colors used by the image, if known.  The third
line of text, labeled "Modes:", describes the current graphics modes in
effect.

R5.3  THE PIXEL COUNT WINDOW

     < Figure R5.3  Anatomy of the Pixel Count Window >

     Selecting the "Count" option from the Info Menu (keyboard shortcut
Right Amiga-c) performs a pixel count and analysis by color value.  After a
few seconds while the counting process takes place, the Pixel Count window
appears, as shown in Figure R5.3.  The Pixel Count window provides exact
statistics on color usage in an image, and permits you to limit the sample
to any rectangular section of an image.

     The Pixel Count window has many of the conveniences offered by other
PIXmate windows.  Pushing the Right Mouse Button hides the Pixel Count
window for as long as the button is held down. Pressing the 't' key turns
the Screen Title Bar off and on. Pressing the SPACEBAR during the counting
process aborts the count;  after the counting process is over, pressing the
SPACEBAR allows you to temporarily use the WorkBench colors.  This is handy
when the Pixel Count window is difficult to see due to poor contrast in the
current ColorMap.  Pressing the ESC key closes the Pixel Count window, as
does clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget.

     Color usage statistics are given two ways.  Next to the "Percent:"
label, the percent usage for the currently selected color is printed, using
six decimal places of accuracy.  Below the percentage and next to the
"Number:" label, the usage count for the currently selected color and total
population figures are printed.  The first number gives you an exact count
of the number of pixels that use the currently selected color, the second
number indicates the total number of pixels in the sample area. The
percentage shown is directly related to these two numbers, using the
following simple formula:

           percentage = 100 ( count / sample size )

     Selecting a color is easy; merely click with the Left Mouse Button on
any portion of the screen that uses the color you want. The current color
selection is confirmed three ways.  First, the Color Box on the left of the
Pixel Count window will be filled with the selected color.  Second, the
Color Value in the Color Box will change to reflect the new red-green-blue
value.  Third, the small Color Bar Marker will be positioned above the
color currently selected.  This selection process is very similar to the
one described for the Palette window, in the section "Selecting and
Adjusting Colors".

     Initially, all the pixels in the image are counted.  You can sample a
rectangular region by clicking on the "Clip" gadget, then selecting an area
using the same procedure described in the section "Clearing Part of the
Screen".  After you have selected an area, PIXmate will count the pixels
and display the new statistics.  The gadget label changes to read "UnClip",
reminding you that a Clip is still in use.  The Clip remains visible on
screen until you remove the Clip by clicking the gadget again. You can then
clip another section of the image.

     The statistics used by the Pixel Count window can be used directly by
the HistoGraphic Equalizer.  Clicking on the "Histo" gadget switches to the
HistoGraphic Equalizer window and displays the histogram of the current
sample (see "The HistoGraphic Equalizer Window" section).  Clicking on the
"Count" gadget at the bottom right of the HistoGraphic Equalizer window
returns you to the Pixel Count window.  Thus, by switching between the two
windows, you can get general color usage information from the histogram,
then use the Pixel Count window for more exact statistics.

R5.4  THE COORDINATE DISPLAY WINDOW

     < Figure R5.4  The Coordinate Display Window >

     PIXmate offers a simple, versatile system for displaying the exact
position (coordinates) of the mouse pointer.  Selecting the "Coords" option
(keyboard shortcut Right Amiga-period) from the Info Menu turns on the
Coordinate Display window, as shown in Figure R5.4.  Selecting the option
again turns the display off, as does clicking on the CLOSEWINDOW gadget on
the left of the Coordinate Display window.

     The current position of the mouse pointer is shown inside the window,
using raster-scan XY format.  The number next to the "X:" label is the
horizontal position, the number after the "Y:" label is the vertical
position.  Note that raster-scan XY coordinates are different than the XY
coordinates used in mathematics; the Y-axis is reversed.  Thus, the upper
left corner of the screen has the raster-scan XY coordinates of (0, 0),
while the lower right corner of the screen has the maximum X and Y value.

     You can reset or "zero" the coordinates to a certain position by
pressing the '.' (period) key.  You can use this feature as a kind of tape-
measure, by moving the mouse pointer to beginning of a distance to measure,
pressing the period key, then sliding the pointer to the other end of the
distance to be measured.  The distance in pixels can then be read from the
Coordinate Display window.  The reset feature is also useful for marking a
point on the screen for easy reference later.

     The Coordinate Display window works in conjunction with the other
PIXmate windows, and is especially useful when clipping portions of the
screen.  By remembering the coordinates of the beginning and end points of
a Clip, you can clip the same region of an image in a repeatable fashion.

     By default, the Coordinate Display window appears near the top right-
hand edge of the screen.  You can click inside of the window with the Left
Mouse Button, then drag the window while holding the button down.  This
allows you to position the window as you like, and PIXmate will try to use
that location for the window in the future.  Note that after dragging the
Coordinate Display to a new position, you must click on the screen with the
Left Mouse Button to activate the PIXmate screen again.

R5.5  THE CREDITS DISPLAY

     Selecting the last option in the Info Menu, labeled "Credits", brings
up a standard PIXmate Requester with information concerning the product
itself.  The version number, serial number, copyright notice, author, and
publisher of PIXmate is listed here.

R6.0  WORKING WITH LOW RAM CONDITIONS

     Many of the operations PIXmate performs require enormous amounts of
memory to succeed.  If an operation fails or you get a low RAM warning from
a PIXmate Requester, the cause is usually lack of CHIP RAM.  In extreme
cases, PIXmate may be unable to open a window or display a menu, much less
complain about lack of RAM.  Although every effort has been taken in
PIXmate to recover in limited RAM conditions, it is still possible to crash
the Amiga operating system by ignoring the warnings or operating very close
to the limit of available RAM.  For this reason, it is suggested you check
your available RAM before performing image processing by using the "Memory"
option from the Info Menu, as described in section R5.1.

     Section R5.1 goes into great detail on the memory requirements and
limitations imposed by the Amiga hardware, which will not be repeated here.
This section is devoted to helping you maximize the amount of RAM available
on your machine.

     The following is a list of suggestions that may help to increase the
amount of CHIP RAM available on your Amiga, or to work around a RAM
shortage.  Some of the suggestions may not be applicable to your situation,
or may seem painfully obvious; choose the parts that seem appropriate.

* Buy more RAM.  If you currently have 256K or 512K of memory, the addition
of a memory expansion board will make a world of difference.  There are
several memory expansion boards on the market at a variety of prices, so
you can easily add one or two megabytes of FAST RAM to your Amiga.    A RAM
expansion is a good investment (ask any owner!), since it increases the
performance and versatility of your Amiga.

* Close excess screens, windows.  This includes windows the WorkBench opens
when you double-click on disk or drawer icons. Windows and screens consume
CHIP RAM in proportion to their size and depth; if a window must stay open
(for instance, the AmigaDOS CLI window), it may help to re-size the window
as small as possible.

* Kill/stop/exit all other programs that may be running in the Amiga
multitasking environment.  This includes clocks, text-speedup routines,
mouse-accelerators, and other memory resident programs that you might have
called from your startup-sequence.

* Do not use the WorkBench icon environment.  The WorkBench consumes about
6K of CHIP RAM to display the disk icons and for other housekeeping
purposes.  By using the AmigaDOS CLI instead, this additional overhead is
eliminated.  To make the CLI environment the default, rather than the
WorkBench, you set "CLI ON" using the Preferences program from the 1.2
WorkBench disk. Make sure you do not have any "EndCLI" commands in your
startup-sequence, or the CLI will disappear when the machine re-boots.  For
more details on the CLI environment, see The AmigaDOS Users Manual.

* Avoid interlaced WorkBench screens.  Interlace devours about 38K more
CHIP RAM than non-interlaced WorkBench screens. Interlace is turned on or
off using the 1.2 WorkBench Preferences utility; make sure it is set to
"OFF" and re-boot the machine after saving the new Preference settings.

* Make sure you do not use the "AddBuffers" command in your
startup-sequence.  AddBuffers uses CHIP RAM for buffering disk information,
and thus subtracts from the CHIP RAM available for image processing.

* Disconnect external disk drives, such as DF1:, before turning on your
Amiga.  Each additional disk drive uses about 32K of valuable CHIP RAM for
track buffering.

* If you are using HIRES images, use PIXmate to convert your images to 320
by 200 or 320 by 400 before performing other operations.  This will greatly
reduce the amount of CHIP RAM needed by PIXmate for image display and
processing.

* If you cannot perform full color processing on an image, use the "Extract
Gray" option to produce a black and white image, and work with that.  Color
processing takes up to four times as much CHIP RAM as processing monochrome
images.  Monochrome images are much faster to process, and for many
applications, are preferable to color images.

* HAM images take more CHIP RAM than 32 color images, and are slower to
process.  Using PIXmate's "HAM to 32" option before doing other processing
may help.

R7.0  HOW THE AMIGA GRAPHICS MODES AFFECT THE DISPLAY

     PIXmate allows you to work with images in any format or graphics mode,
and permits you to easily convert images from one format to another.
However, there are advantages and limitations to each mode, so a firm
understanding of the Amiga graphics modes may help you choose the best mode
to use.  This section describes the four graphics modes and their
interactions in detail.

R7.1  THE FOUR BASIC GRAPHICS MODES:

     The Amiga computer has four basic graphics modes available for
displaying images.  These modes are similar to switches that can be turned
"ON" or "OFF", independent of each other.  Two of the modes, HIRES and
LACE, affect the horizontal and vertical resolution of the display.  The
other two, HAM and EXTRA_HALFBRITE, affect the Amiga's interpretation of
color information.  Modes can be combined to produce other modes, such as
HIRES LACE or HAM LACE.  Due to current Amiga hardware limitations, not all
combinations of modes are valid.

     For the purposes of this manual, we will refer to the "HIRES ON" mode
as simply HIRES, and the "HIRES OFF" mode as LORES. Similarly, "LACE ON" is
called LACE, and "LACE OFF" is referred to as NOLACE.

     Before we attack the subject of graphics modes, we need to discuss
ColorMaps and bitmaps.  ColorMaps are a way of organizing the palette of
colors used by an image.  The colors are stored as RGB color values, and
are indexed by color number (also called pen number).  These color numbers
correspond to the 32 Amiga hardware color registers.

     Bitmaps are a way of organizing pixels (picture elements) in a logical
fashion, and are used by most computers that deal with graphics.  Bitmaps
contain a stack of one or more bitplanes that store the pixels in a
left-to- right, top-to-bottom manner.  The Amiga hardware determines a
color number (also called a pen number) for each pixel in the bitmap, based
on the information contained in the stack of bitplanes.  This color number
is converted to an RGB color value, using the ColorMap as a look-up table.
This process is summarized by the diagram in Figure R7.0.

     Bitmaps may be of virtually any width or height, up to 1024 by 1024
pixels.  However, not all of the bitmapped image may fit on the screen,
depending on the graphics mode and monitor or television you are using.
This condition is known as overscan. Bitmaps have one or more bitplanes, up
to a possible eight.  The number of bitplanes a bitmap has (its depth)
determines the number of colors available in the ColorMap.  However,
current Amiga hardware uses a maximum of six bitplanes for color purposes.
Also, in HIRES mode, a maximum of four bitplanes may be used.

     Normally, the following combinations of bitmap size and graphics modes
are used:

       GRAPHICS MODE    BITMAP SIZE   MAXIMUM DEPTH
       -------------------------------------------
       LORES NOLACE      320x200           6
       LORES LACE        320x400           6
       HIRES NOLACE      640x200           4
       HIRES LACE        640x400           4

     Using bitmap sizes larger than the ones listed may result in overscan,
and consume more CHIP RAM.  Using bitmaps smaller than listed will result
in underscan (i.e., the screen borders will be larger).  Note that PIXmate
will prevent you from creating bitmaps smaller than 320 by 200 pixels,
since PIXmate needs at least this much to display menus and windows.

     The following paragraphs describe differences between the possible
graphics mode combinations.  Unless otherwise stated, normal bitmap sizes
are assumed.

LORES NOLACE:

     This is the lowest resolution mode available on the Amiga. It is also
the fastest to process, and requires the least amount of RAM and storage
space.  LORES allows you to use up to six bitplanes for color information.
Using five bitplanes, you can have up to 32 different colors in the image.
Six bitplanes are used by the HAM and EXTRA_HALFBRITE graphics modes to
further increase the number of colors available; these two modes are
discussed at the end of this section. LORES LACE:

     This may be the most useful graphics mode, since it provides
reasonable resolution while retaining many of the advantages of LORES
NOLACE.  In addition, the 320 by 400 pixel format is the closest
approximation to a one- to-one aspect ratio available on the Amiga.  This
is convenient in image processing because it results in nearly square
pixels.  However, the interlace technique used to double the vertical
resolution may produce unacceptable display flicker in some instances.
This is especially noticeable in images with narrow horizontal lines.

HIRES NOLACE:

     This is the graphics mode used by default for the WorkBench screen.
It produces a fairly high resolution display without flicker, and is
normally by text based applications since it allows 80 character by 25 line
text displays without overscan. However, current Amiga hardware will handle
a maximum of four bitplanes in HIRES mode, thus limiting you to a maximum
of 16 colors.

HIRES LACE:

     This mode provides the highest resolution display available on the
Amiga.  For serious image processing applications where small details are
important, this mode is recommended.  As with HIRES NOLACE, a maximum of
four bitplanes, 16 colors is imposed by the Amiga hardware.  HIRES LACE
images require huge amounts of RAM and storage space, and take almost eight
times longer to process than LORES NOLACE images.  In addition, the screen
flicker problems mentioned in reference to LORES LACE apply.

R7.2  HAM 4096 COLOR MODE:

     HAM mode (short for Hold And Modify) is a special graphics mode that
uses six bitplanes to produce up to 4096 colors. Normally, it would take 12
bitplanes to produce a 4096 color image; HAM mode uses information
contained in the fifth and sixth bitplanes to produce additional color
values.  In HAM mode, there are 16 primary colors available from the
ColorMap.  Additional colors are produced by modifying the current color
value of the pixel to the left of a given pixel, and using the modified
color value for that pixel.  Thus, the previous pixel's color value is
"held", then "modified" to produce the next pixel's color.

     While it is beyond the scope of this manual to explain the ingenious
method used to do this trick, some of the limitations of HAM mode need to
be discussed here.

     Since HAM mode requires six bitplanes, you cannot use HIRES and HAM
mode together.  Due to the nature of HAM mode, it is not possible to gain
complete control of the color of every pixel in an image; it may take up to
three pixels for a color to be modified from one value to another.  This
causes color smearing and false color effects in an image.  Changing the
color values in the ColorMap of a HAM image will have unpredictable
effects, since not all of the colors used come from the ColorMap.  HAMmode
is not well suited to image processing, since additional computations are
required to determine the color of a particular pixel.

R7.3  EXTRA_HALFBRITE 64 COLOR MODE:

     EXTRA_HALFBRITE mode (abbreviated EHB) uses six bitplanes to produce
up to 64 colors in an image, without the color smearing problems associated
with HAM mode.  The first five bitplanes are used to select one of the 32
primary colors from the ColorMap. The information in the sixth bitplane
determines whether a pixel uses the ColorMap color value, or a color value
"half-as- bright" as the one specified by the ColorMap.

     Note that early models of the Amiga 1000 computer did not feature EHB
mode.  You can use the following test procedure to determine if your
machine supports EHB mode:

     1.  Using "Load IFF" from the Project Menu, load the image named
"Lion.HAMLACE" from the "Demo_Images" directory of your PIXmate disk.  See
section R1.2.1, "Loading IFF Image Files" if you need help with this step.

     2.  Select "HAM to 64" from the Color Menu.  After about 20 seconds,
the image will be converted from HAM to EHB mode.

     3.  If the lion looks essentially unchanged, congratulations, your
machine supports EHB mode.  If the lion has lots of oddly bright-colored
areas in the facial region now, your machine does not support EHB graphics.
 You should contact your Amiga dealer for information on upgrading the
graphics chip in your machine if this bothers you.

     As with HAM mode, EHB only works in LORES.  Changing one of the 32
primary colors also affects its half-bright relative; thus modifying colors
using the Palette or Color Bias controls can have unpredictable results.
Image processing will produce bizarre results with EHB images, since the
color information is not organized in a natural sequence.  There are no
other programs known at this writing that support EHB graphics, so it may
be pointless to use EHB mode if you need to export your images. PIXmate
provides this mode for flexibility, and with the hope that more programmers
will take advantage of this graphics mode in future software products.

                           APPENDIX A

TIPS AND TECHNIQUES FOR IMAGE PROCESSING

     While there are thousands of possible ways you can use PIXmate to
process images, this section is devoted to detailing some of the more
useful techniques or "trick" operations.  You can use these techniques like
recipes from a cookbook, or as a source of inspiration when dealing with a
particular image processing problem.  Also, this section provides some
general advice on image processing.

1.  Image processing works best (i.e., gives the most reproducible results)
when the ColorMap is logically organized. The easiest way to do this with
non-HAM images is to use "Pack Colors" from the Color Menu before you use
other PIXmate features.  HAM images require special treatment; you can
either rely on PIXmate's automatic color processing, or manually perform
color processing using a combination of "Extract..." and "AutoMerge..."
from the Color Menu.  Often, individual processing of the red, green, and
blue images will yield better results, since you have greater control at
each step in the process.

2.  Full color processing takes much longer than processing monochrome
images; you can use "Extract Gray" from the Color Menu to produce a
monochrome version of a color image.  Work with the monochrome image until
you get the effect you want; then try it on the color image.

3.  Due to the oddities of HAM mode, working with HAM images can be slow
and inconvenient.  It often pays to first use the "HAM to 32" option from
the Color Menu before trying new processing techniques.  When you find a
technique that works, you can then use it on the original HAM image.

4.  Processing 640 by 400 pixel images can take up to eight times as long
as processing 320 by 200 pixel images, and requires huge amounts of memory.
 Use the "ReFormat As 320X200" from the Effects Menu on HIRES images before
experimenting with new effects.  This will give you the fastest results and
require the least memory.  Once you find a nice effect, you can apply it to
the original full resolution image.

5.  When reducing the number of colors used by an image, especially when
producing black and white images, there are four basic techniques PIXmate
offers:

     a. Select the Color Bias option from the Color Menu.  Slide the
Contrast control knob up to the top of the slide  container. The result
will be a nearly black and white image.  If the dark/light balance is
wrong, click "Undo", adjust the Intensity slide so that the image is
brighter or darker, click on "Use", then use the Contrast control.
Liberal use of the Undo feature combined with some experimentation should
produce the balance you desire.  Afterwards, you can use "Undo Changes" if
the Color Bias effects were unsatisfactory, or use "Less Colors" to further
reduce the number of colors used.

     b. Select "Image Process" from the Effect Menu.  Set the Threshold
slide control to the midpoint of its travel.  Select "Mono Mode" in the
Process control section.  Now click on the gadget labeled "BIN".  The
result will be a two color image, using the first and last colors in the
ColorMap.  By setting the Threshold to other positions, you can select the
dark/light balance.  The Palette can be used later to adjust the two colors
that result from the "BIN" operation.

     c. Select "Less Colors" from the Color Menu, BACKSPACE over the
numbers in the box, erasing them.  Press "2", then press RETURN.  PIXmate
will choose the two best color to use for the entire image, then re-color
the image using just those two colors.  Another trick is to "sneak up" on
the problem by reducing the number of colors used in stages.  For instance,
you may have a 32 color image you want to reduce to two colors.  You may
get different/better results by using "Less Colors" to reduce the number of
colors to 16, then 8, then four, then finally two.

     d. Select "HistoGraph EQ" from the Effects Menu.  When the
HistoGraphic Equalizer window appears, click the "Adjust" gadget. Set all
the equalizer settings at the bottom of their travel, then set the first
and last settings to maximum.  Now click on the "ReMap" gadget.  The result
will be a two color image using just the colors  you set to maximum with
the equalizer.

6.  The Image Processor has two primary techniques for enhancing edges and
sharpening images.  Select "Image Process" from the Effects Menu.  Now
click on either "USM" or "LCE".  Compare the two effects; one may work
better than the other for your application.

7.  To quickly produce a photographic negative of an image without changing
the ColorMap, bring up the Image Processor.  In the Logic Control section,
select the "EOR" gadget, then click on "LOGIC".  The image will be
complemented, resulting in a negative image.  This technique is especially
useful for HAM images.

8.  An interesting technique is "double-enhancement".  To perform this,
follow the steps outlined in Tip #6 and Tip #7.  This will produce a
negative image of the enhanced original.  Reset the Logic Control to "NOP"
mode.  Now perform Tips #6 and #7 again. This will enhance the negative,
and convert the negative back to positive, resulting in a greatly sharpened
image.

9.  When enhancing edges or sharpening images, it often helps to first use
the HistoGraphic Equalizer to improve the contrast of the image before
enhancement.  To do this, bring up the HistoGraphic Equalizer, select
"Adjust", then set all the equalizer settings to the same level.  Click on
"ReMap" to process.  Now perform the desired image processing functions
with the Image Processor, such as described in Tip #6.

10.  Although PIXmate 1.0 does not have a way of printing text on top of an
image built in, you can use the "Grab Next Screen" feature from the Edit
Menu along with an AmigaDOS CLI to do the job.  With PIXmate running, bring
the Workbench screen to the front and type in the text you want into the
CLI (or a word processor).  Switch back to the PIXmate screen, and load the
image you want to add text to.  Select "Kill Other Scrn", then "Flip to
Other" from the Edit Menu.  This will give you a fresh blank screen to put
text on.  Now select "Grab Next Screen" from the Edit Menu.  Anything
visible on the Workbench screen will be copied onto the PIXmate screen.
Now you can use "Match Palette With Other" from the Color Menu, and "Clip
to Other" to actually place the text on your image.  Many useful and
unusual effects can be created using this technique.

                           APPENDIX B

WARNINGS, ERROR MESSAGES, AND RECOVERY PROCEDURES

     PIXmate has extensive error checking and error recovery features.
PIXmate will automatically handle normal difficulties, however, some
problems may require your attention.  Problems can come from many sources;
you may be asking PIXmate to perform a nonsensical operation, or there may
be insufficient memory to carry out your command.  When working with files,
possible problems include: disk overflow, bad disks, files in the wrong
format, bad file names, and files that do not exist.

     Regardless of the cause, PIXmate will inform you of the problem using
a special window called a Requester.  Each PIXmate Requester has a title
that summarizes the problem, a short description of the problem, perhaps a
word of advice, and one or two options you can select to continue.  These
options appear as small labeled boxes at    the bottom of the Requester.
Figure B shows a typical PIXmate Requester.  You choose one of the options,
either by moving the mouse pointer over the option box and clicking the
Left Mouse Button, or by using the keyboard shortcut keystrokes.  To select
options with the keyboard, press the LeftAmiga-V keys together to select
the leftmost option; press the LeftAmiga-B combination to select the option
on the right of the requester.  Either way, PIXmate will stop and wait
until you make a selection before proceeding.

     PIXmate also uses these requesters to provide information, and to
confirm your selection of an operation that would erase an existing file.

     If you are severely low on memory, PIXmate may not be able to create a
requester.  In these situations, an Alert will be used to show the
information instead.  An Alert is easy to recognize; the text is printed in
red letters on a black background, and a flashing red border surrounds the
text.  If you get an Alert, you can still press the Left or Right Mouse
Buttons to make a selection and continue; PIXmate will recover if possible.
 See the section "Working with Low RAM Conditions" for more details.
Suffice to say, Alert-causing conditions are to be avoided, since they
indicate that the Amiga is dangerously close to running out of memory.  You
should quit PIXmate as soon as possible and try to make more memory
available.

                           APPENDIX C

SUGGESTED READING

     After using PIXmate awhile, you may wish to learn more about the
exciting field of image processing.  Below is a recommended reading list
that provide an easy-to-read introduction to computer graphics and image
processing.

Artwick, Bruce  Microcomputer Displays, Graphics, and Animation,
(previously published as Applied Concepts in Microcomputer Graphics),
Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1985.

Dawson, Benjamin  "Finding the Titanic", Peterborough, NH: BYTE
(McGraw-Hill), March 1986,

Dawson, Benjamin  "Introduction to Image Processing", Peterborough, NH:
BYTE (McGraw-Hill), March 1987,

Hall, Ernest L.  Computer Image Processing and Recognition, New York, NY:
Academic Press, 1979.

                           APPENDIX D

CUSTOMER SERVICE AND SUPPORT

     At Progressive Peripherals and Software, we have a commitment to
providing you not only excellent products, but also excellent support.  It
is vital that you fill out and return the PIXmate Registration Card
included with the PIXmate software and manual.  Unless we receive your
Registration Card, we will be unable to confirm that you are a registered
owner.  Only registered PIXmate owners are eligible for technical support
and software updates.

     We want to know about what you like and dislike about PIXmate.  If you
find PIXmate useful for an application, tell us about it!  If PIXmate is
missing a feature you think it needs, let us know and we will incorporate
the best suggestions in future updates or in a later version.  If you have
a specific application in mind, PIXmate can be easily customized to meet
your special needs; contact us for details.

     Nobody likes bugs, but experience suggests that any program of this
complexity is bound to have a few problems.  If you encounter a problem
using PIXmate that is not covered by the manual, try to remember what you
were doing when the problem occurred.  Try to recreate the exact
circumstance that caused the problem, and see if you can repeat the
problem.  If you can reproduce the problem, send us the steps you used,
using the Problem Report Sheet from the back of the manual.  We will try to
reproduce the problem on our machines, and if it is due to a defect in the
PIXmate software, issue an update that remedies the problem as soon as
possible.

PROGRESSIVE PERIPHERALS AND SOFTWARE
464 Kalamath Street
Denver, Colorado 80204
Customer Service
9am-5pm Business Days
[phone]

                  PIXMATE PROBLEM REPORT SHEET

Return to:  Progressive Peripherals & Software
            464 Kalamath Street
            Denver, Colorado 80204
            Attn: Customer Service

Please provide the following information:

Date:
Name:
Street:
City, State, Zip:
Phone Number:

Describe the hardware you are using.  Include any peripherals you might
have connected to the computer, such as hard drives or memory expansions:

Describe the steps used to produce the problem.  Be as concise and detailed
as possible.  Use additional sheets if necessary:

If the problem only occurs using a particular image, it would be especially
helpful to us if you could send a disk with a copy of the image file
causing you problems.

                        GLOSSARY OF TERMS
ALERT
     In the Amiga context, an Alert is a startling message generated by a
program or by the operating system.  Alerts are used in desperate
situations to communicate information to the user; they are printed in
ominous red letters on a black background, and have an unmistakable
flashing red border.  An common example of an Alert is the infamous Guru
Meditation Alert, which provides information on the cause of a major
software failure to the knowledgeable user.  PIXmate uses Alerts in
emergency situations where there is insufficient CHIP RAM to use a regular
window to display text.  To exit an Alert, simply press the Left or Right
Mouse Button, as prompted by the text at the bottom of the Alert.

AMIGADOS
     The operating system used by the Amiga to store and retrieve
information, and to run programs.  AmigaDOS is itself a collection of
programs that work together to control the Amiga. AmigaDOS also provides
the foundation for the CLI environment (see CLI).

BACKUP
     A computer slang term for making a copy of a file or disk. This copy
(the backup) is usually put in a safe place, in case the original file or
disk is destroyed.  Also, if you make frequent changes to a particular file
(perhaps an image file), you should make copies of the file between
changes.  Later, you can "back up" to the last version of the file, if for
some reason you want the old file back.

BINARY
     A way of representing any number using only zeros and ones. Computers
use binary numbers to store and process information in memory. The
computer's memory works like a collection  of on/off flags that represent
"0" or "1".  Each one of these on/off flags are called bits.  Eight of
these bits combine to make a byte, a standard measurement of memory size.

BITS
     See Binary.

BITMAP
     A bitmap is an organized way of storing image data in memory.  Most
computers, including the Amiga, use bitmapped graphics nowadays.  A bitmap
contains one or more bitplanes, and the number of bitplanes in a bitmap
determine the number of colors available for that image.

BITPLANE
     A bitplane is a rectangular area of image data that is stored in
binary format.  Each pixel that is "on" in the image has a corresponding
bit set to "1" in the bitplane, each blank space is represented by a "0" in
the bitplane.  Thus for strictly two-color images, only one bitplane is
needed to represent the on/off pixel values.  For more colors, more
bitplanes are necessary.  The Amiga hardware currently supports up to six
bitplanes of data.

BLITTER
     The Amiga has a high-performance graphics engine called the blitter
that can be used to move image data (pixels) much faster than using a
microprocessor.  Physically, the blitter is part of a large integrated
circuit (a custom chip) inside your Amiga. The blitter, like other custom
chips in the Amiga, can only access data in CHIP RAM.

BOOT
     The process of awakening a computer or loading a program for use,
e.g., turning on the power, inserting disks, typing magic words, etc.  The
process of turning on the power to the Amiga is referred to as a Cold Boot.
 By pressing the CTRL-LeftAmiga-RightAmiga key combination (on the Amiga
500 and 2000 the LeftAmiga key has been changed to the Commodore key), the
Amiga undergoes a complete reset process known as a Warm Boot.  This can be
used to reset the machine after a crash.

BUFFER
     A temporary storage area in memory that the computer can use as a
scratch pad for calculations, or as a place to put information until it is
used by the program.

BUG
     As applied to software, a failure or defect that decreases the
usefulness of a program.  Hopefully, PIXmate does not have any bugs, but
nobody is perfect.

BYTE
     See Binary.

CHIP
     A complex electronic component that combines the function of hundreds
or thousands of individual devices into a single package, commonly called
an integrated circuit (IC).  The Amiga hardware has several custom chips
that handle the display, sound, and other system needs.

CHIP RAM
     The Amiga has two types of memory, called CHIP RAM and FAST RAM.  The
current Amiga hardware allows you to have up to 512K of CHIP RAM, and up to
16 megabytes of FAST RAM.  CHIP RAM is the only memory that the custom
chips, inside the Amiga can use.

CLI
     Short for Command Line Interface, the CLI is the keyboard oriented way
to control the Amiga.  You type commands (a line of text on the screen),
then press RETURN and the command is performed.  The CLI environment is a
flexible alternative to the mouse and icon system used by the Workbench.

CLICKING
     The act of positioning the mouse pointer directly over a gadget or
icon, then pressing and releasing the Left Mouse Button.  This technique is
used to select icons, and to activate gadgets.

COLOR
     In the context of this manual, the term refers to a mixture of red,
green, and blue.  Note that 16 shades of gray are considered "color" by
this definition.

COLORMAP
     A ColorMap is an organized way of storing color values.  The Amiga
hardware currently supports 32 color registers, which are filled by the
program from the current ColorMap.  A ColorMap can be thought of as the
current palette of colors available for use.

CRASH
     A computer slang term used to describe a major software or hardware
failure.  A crash is usually accompanied by a Guru Meditation Alert (see
Alert), or in extreme cases, wild unpredictable phenomena.  A software
crash can be remedied by re-booting (see Boot) the computer.  A related
malady of the crash occurs when the computer enters a dead-end situation,
often referred to as "hung", "locked", or "frozen" to describe its
unresponsive state.  A reset is needed to remedy this situation.

DIRECTORY
     A place where files are stored, similar to a filing cabinet. Each
directory has a name associated with it.  From the Workbench environment,
directories appear as small icons that look like drawers from a filing
cabinet.  A directory may contain other directories, often referred to as
subdirectories.

DOUBLE-CLICKING
     The act of positioning the mouse pointer over a gadget or icon, then
pressing and releasing the Left Mouse Button twice in quick succession.

DRAG BAR
     The top edge of most screens and windows have a combination title bar
and drag bar.  By positioning the mouse pointer over the drag bar, then
pressing and holding the Left Mouse Button down, the drag bar is activated.
You can then drag the screen or window to a new position, releasing the
mouse button when you are ready to drop the window or screen.  See also
Title Bar.

DRAGGING
     The act of positioning the mouse pointer over an object (e.g., an icon
or drag bar), then holding down the Left Mouse Button.  While the button is
depressed, the object can be moved around by sliding the mouse in the
desired direction.  Releasing the button drops the object at its current
position.

EXTRA_HALFBRITE
     Abbreviated EHB, this is a new Amiga graphics mode that allows up to
64 colors to be displayed on the same screen.

FAST RAM
     One of the two types of RAM available on the Amiga. Additional FAST
RAM can be added to the Amiga, up to 16 megabytes.  See CHIP RAM.

FILE
     A file is a way to store computer information for later use. Each file
is identified by a name that is associated with it,called a filename.
Programs, like PIXmate, or data for use by programs are stored in files.
See also Directory.

GADGET
     A type of software control, usually with a rectangular border.
Gadgets often mimic familiar controls like pushbuttons or volume controls,
and usually contain printed or pictorial labels.  Gadgets are activated by
positioning the mouse pointer directly over the gadget, then pressing and
releasing the Left Mouse Button.  A special class of Gadgets, called String
Gadgets, allow you to enter text or numbers from the keyboard after being
activated.

HAM
     Short for Hold-And-Modify, HAM is a special graphics mode that allows
all 4096 colors in the Amiga palette to be displayed on the same screen.

Hardware
     The electronic and mechanical parts of a computer system. See
Software.

HIRES
     Short for HIgh-RESolution, HIRES is a graphics mode that doubles the
number of pixels that will fit on a horizontal line of the screen.

HISTOGRAM
     A bar-graph style chart, usually used to display relative values or
numeric totals.  The vertical height of the bars are directly proportional
to the values being represented.

ICON
     An icon is a small pictorial representation of an object, and are
related to gadgets.  The Workbench screen uses icons to represent disks,
drawers, files, and programs.  You can drag icons to new positions on the
screen using the mouse, and you can activate an icon by double-clicking on
it.

IMAGE
     In the context of this manual, the term applies any picture or part of
a picture that PIXmate can load and display.  Artwork created with a paint
program or pictures digitized with a camera are two examples of images.

INTERLACE
     A video technique used to double the number of lines on the screen,
thus doubling the vertical resolution.  Due to the nature of the interlace
technique, a "flickering" effect may result since the screen is re-drawn
only half as often using interlace.

INTUITION
     Intuition is the Amiga mouse and icon system designed to make control
and display consistent between different programs. The Workbench screen,
with its icons, menus, windows, and gadgets, is a good example of using
Intuition.  Intuition provides a variety of programming tools to help
programmers keep their programs friendly and  familiar to use.  Intuition
is also a program that is running on your Amiga; Intuition manages the
mouse and display. K

     Abbreviation used to represent 1000 bytes (one kilobyte). For
instance, 512,000 bytes is commonly referred to as 512K.

LACE
     See Interlace.

LOAD
     The process of reading a program or file into memory, usually from a
disk drive.

MENU
     On the Amiga, a menu is a standard Intuition control system that
offers the user a variety of labeled choices.  Intuition menus are part of
the screen, and communicate with the program they control using windows.
Most menus are of the drop-down variety; they "drop down" from the top of
the screen when you depress the Right Mouse Button and slide the mouse
pointer over a menu header on the Screen Title Bar.  The printed choices,
called menu items, appear inside the rectangle that drops down from the
menu header.

MONOCHROME
     In so far as PIXmate is concerned, monochrome refers to colors of the
same shade.  The Amiga hardware can produce 16 shades of red, green, or
blue, which when combined, produce 16 shades of gray.  A monochrome image
is one that uses only shades of the same color, for instance, a black and
white image.

MOUSE POINTER
     In PIXmate, the mouse pointer is a small, cross-hair shaped cursor
that can be moved about the screen using the mouse.  The pointer shows the
exact point the mouse is currently positioned at.  The default Workbench
mouse pointer is a small red arrow, but mouse pointers can come in almost
any shape or color.  One common variation is the "ZZ" busy cloud image that
appears when PIXmate or the Workbench are busy performing some operation.

MULTITASKING
     A feature of the Amiga operating system that permits several programs
to appear to run simultaneously.

OVERSCAN
     Technically, overscan refers to the parts of a television picture that
fall off the edges of the screen.  Often, people will incorrectly refer to
any image that completely fills the screen (i.e., no visible border
surrounding the image) as being overscanned.

PALETTE
     As applied to the Amiga, the palette is the range of available colors
that can be generated by the hardware.  Current Amiga hardware produces a
palette of 4096 different colors.  The term palette is also commonly used
to refer to the current ColorMap used by an image (see ColorMap).

PATH
     A path or pathname is a unique name specifying a particular file and
directory in the Amiga filing system.  Pathnames can be thought of as the
full name of a file, similar to the full name of a person.

PIXEL
     Short for "picture element", a pixel is the smallest dot that can be
displayed on the current display device, i.e., monitors, televisions, and
printers.  For instance, the standard Workbench screen is composed of an
array of 640 by 200 pixels, giving a total of 128,000 pixels.  Pixels may
be any one of 4096 possible colors on the Amiga.

POINTER
     See Mouse Pointer.

RAM
     Abbreviation for Random Access Memory.  This type of memory is
generally non-volatile, i.e., when you turn the computer off, any
information in RAM is permanently lost.

RAM DISK
     An alternative to floppy disk drives or hard disk drives, the RAM disk
is an imaginary disk drive simulated in the computer's memory.  RAM disks
are many times faster than their physical counterparts, but require more
computer memory to use. Also, any information stored in the RAM disk will
be lost when the power is turned off to the computer.

RASTER
     A video term used to describe the way information is organized in a
television image.  Raster images are composed of horizontal lines, called
scan lines, that are drawn left-to-right, top-to-bottom on the screen.
This drawing process is often referred to as raster scanning.

REGISTER
     Registers are special memory locations used by the computer to store
information that is needed often or without delay. Special registers in the
Amiga store the colors and type of display to use when generating images.

RESOLUTION
     This relates to the number of dots-per-inch possible on the display
(e.g., the number of pixels on the screen), and affects the sharpness of an
image.  Using high resolution (i.e., more pixels per inch) allows smaller
details in an image than low resolution will, since the pixels themselves
are smaller.

RUN
     A computer-related verb, running a program refers to the task a
program performs after loading into memory.  After the Amiga boots, several
programs are running.  "Run" is also an AmigaDOS command that allows you to
have several active programs running in an apparently simultaneous fashion.

SAVE
     The process of storing a program or file in the computer's memory to a
more permanent storage place, such as a disk drive.

SCREEN
     A screen is the basic Intuition display, that can contain graphics,
text, windows, and gadgets.  A screen usually has a title bar, that
displays text generated by programs.

SOFTWARE
     The programs and files (information) that control the hardware.
Without software, hardware is useless, since the software instructs the
hardware how to behave and interact with the real world.

STRING
     A string is a series of characters of indefinite length, usually a
line of text or a name.

TITLE BAR
     A title bar is a rectangular label area at the top of most screens and
windows.  A title bar is used to identify a particular screen or window,
and can be used by the program as a display area to print other
information.  Most title bars can also be used as drag bars to move a
screen or window with the mouse.

WINDOW
     A window is a rectangular area of the screen that can  be used to
display graphics and text, and acts as a communications medium between a
program and its user.  Most windows contain Gadgets that control operations
or allow the user to affect the action taken by a program.

WORKBENCH
     The Workbench is the Amiga's icon and mouse control system for
operating the Amiga.  The Workbench uses the basic Intuition tools (see
Intuition) to interact with the user and the Amiga. See also CLI.