PIXELplus 256 C14 Table of Contents General C13H171 Using the Mouse C13H003 Using Online Help Image Editor C13H167 Introduction C13H006 Menu Commands C13H004 Keyboard Commands C13H064 Drawing Tools C13H110 Palette Tools C13H102 Colour Palette C13H005 Screen Components C13H067 Special Effects C13H116 Animation Tester Screen Designer C13H168 Introduction C13H118 Menu Commands C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H170 Display Actions @ PIXELplus 256 C14 Index -A- C13 About... command C13H062 in Image Editor C13H165 in Screen Designer C13 Action menu C13H037 in Image Editor C13H145 in Screen Designer C13H049 Add... command C13H055 Add as Gradient command C13H087 Airbrush tool C13H157 AND command C13H010 Append... command C13H106 Arrow buttons -B- C13H092 Box tool C13H068 BRIGHT special effect C13H035 Brighter Shade command C13H098 Brush Size Selector -C- C13H150 Centre Horizontal command C13H151 Centre Vertical command C13H089 Circle/Ellipse tool C13H038 Clear command C13H039 Clear to Colour command C13H101 Clipboard Status Box C13H097 Colour Sampler tool C13 Contents command C13H058 in Image Editor C13H161 in Screen Designer C13H053 Convert to Mask... C13 Copy command C13H022 in Image Editor C13H132 in Screen Designer C13H111 COPY tool C13H054 Crop command C13H028 Cross-hair On command C13H096 Curve tool C13 Cut command C13H021 in Image Editor C13H131 in Screen Designer -D- C13H069 DARK special effect C13H036 Darker Shade command C13H134 Delete command C13H050 Delete... command C13H130 Deselect All command C13H170 Display actions C13H064 Drawing Tool icon buttons C13H052 Duplicate... command -E- C13H081 EDGE special effect C13H103 Edit Grid C13H143 Edit Images... command C13 Edit menu C13H019 in Image Editor C13H128 in Screen Designer C13H047 Effect:(current effect) C13H047 command C13H088 Eraser tool C13 Exit command C13H018 in Image Editor C13H127 in Screen Designer -F- C13H109 File Information C13 File menu C13H007 in Image Editor C13H119 in Screen Designer C13H093 Filled Box tool C13H090 Filled Circle/Ellipse tool C13H045 Flip Horizontal command C13H046 Flip Vertical command C13H082 Flood Fill tool C13H071 FUR special effect -G- C13H112 GRAD tool C13H094 Gradient Box tool C13H091 Gradient Circle/Ellipse tool C13H084 Gradient Fill tool C13H100 Gradient Status Box C13H078 GREY special effect C13 Grid On command C13H030 in Image Editor C13H139 in Screen Designer -H- C13 Help menu C13H057 in Image Editor C13H160 in Screen Designer C13H029 Highlight On command C13H140 Highlight Selected command C13H075 HOLLOW special effect -I- C13H031 Image as Tile command C13H107 Image Display C13 Image menu C13H048 in Image Editor C13H152 in Screen Designer C13H108 Image Selector C13 Index command C13H059 in Image Editor C13H162 in Screen Designer C13 Introduction C13H167 to Image Editor C13H168 to Screen Designer -K- C13 Keyboard command C13H060 in Image Editor C13H163 in Screen Designer C13 Keyboard commands C13H004 in Image Editor C13H117 in Screen Designer -L- C13H095 Line tool C13H013 Load Clipboard... command C13H126 Load Images... command C13H015 Load Palette... command -M- C13H141 Make Grid command C13H158 MASK command C13 Menu Bar C13H006 in Image Editor C13H118 in Screen Designer C13H072 MIX special effect -N- C13 New command C13H008 in Image Editor C13H120 in Screen Designer -O- C13 Open... command C13H009 in Image Editor C13H121 in Screen Designer C13H155 OR command -P- C13H085 Paintbrush tool C13H102 Palette Grid C13H110 Palette Tool buttons C13H032 Palette Tools command C13 Paste command C13H023 in Image Editor C13H133 in Screen Designer C13H025 Paste Behind command C13H066 Paste Brush tool C13H086 Pixel Pointer tool C13H137 Pointer On command C13H017 Print Index... command C13H154 PRESET command C13H153 PSET command -R- C13H113 RESET tool C13H051 Resize... command C13H115 RGB Controls C13H044 Rotate 90 command -S- C13 Save command C13H011 in Image Editor C13H122 in Screen Designer C13 Save As... command C13H012 in Image Editor C13H123 in Screen Designer C13 Save as DATA... command C13H169 in Image Editor C13H124 in Screen Designer C13H125 Save as Screen... command C13H014 Save Clipboard... command C13H016 Save Palette... command C13H114 SCAN tool C13H065 Scissors tool C13H005 Screen components C13H034 Screen Designer... command C13H041 Scroll Down command C13H042 Scroll Left command C13H043 Scroll Right command C13H040 Scroll Up command C13H129 Select All command C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C13H142 Set Step... command C13H147 Shift Down command C13H148 Shift Left command C13H149 Shift Right command C13H146 Shift Up command C13 Show All command C13H056 in Image Editor C13H159 in Screen Designer C13 Show Clipboard command C13H026 in Image Editor C13H135 in Screen Designer C13H144 Show Design command C13H138 Snap to Grid command C13H073 SOFT special effect C13H067 Special Effects Brush tool C13 Status Bar C13H063 in Image Editor C13H166 in Screen Designer C13H104 STORE button C13H080 SWAP special effect C13H079 SWEEP special effect -T- C13H033 Test Animation... command C13H076 TILE special effect C13H083 Tile Fill tool C13H070 TINT special effect C13H024 Transparency On command -U- C13H020 Undo command C13H074 UNZAG special effect C13 Using Help command C13H061 in Image Editor C13H164 in Screen Designer C13H003 Using Online Help C13H171 Using the Mouse -V- C13 View menu C13H027 in Image Editor C13H136 in Screen Designer -X- C13H156 XOR command C13H077 XOR special effect -Z- C13H105 Zoom buttons @ PIXELplus 256 C14 Using Online Help The online Help system provides information on all aspects of the PIXELplus 256 environment, including the Image Editor, Animation Tester and Screen Designer. To get help on any feature of PIXELplus 256, select Contents from the Help menu, or press F1. This will display the online Help Table of Contents, a categorized list of subjects for which help is available. Alternatively, select Index from the Help menu to display an alphabetical list of all Help topics. Next, click on a Help item (shown in magenta) to view help on that subject. Also, a list of related topics will often be shown within the help text; click on any of these items to view information on that topic. Many subjects provide more text than can be displayed on a single "page" so a scroll bar is provided (on the right side of the Help dialog box). The Table of Contents and Index can be viewed at any time by clicking on the appropriate button, at the bottom of the Help dialog box. Click on the CANCEL button or press ESCAPE to finish viewing the online Help. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Keyboard Commands The following keyboard commands are available while using the Image Editor: Press: To: C15 F1 View online Help C15 Table of Contents. C15 F2 Turn the Edit Grid C15 cross-hair cursor C15 on/off. C15 F3 Turn the Edit Grid C15 image section C15 highlight on/off. C15 F4 Turn the pixel C15 boundary grid C15 on/off. C15 SHIFT+F4 Change the pixel C15 boundary grid C15 colour. C15 F5 Turn image view as C15 tile on/off. C15 F6 Change between C15 Drawing Tools and C15 Palette Tools. C15 F7 Enter integrated C15 Animation Tester C15 utility. C15 F8 Invoke Screen C15 Designer utility. C15 F10 Show all images. C15 ALT+Q Cut Edit Grid C15 image section to C15 Clipboard. C15 ALT+A Copy Edit Grid C15 image section to C15 Clipboard. C15 ALT+Z Paste Clipboard to C15 Edit Grid image C15 section. C15 ALT+U Scroll Edit Grid C15 image section up. C15 ALT+D Scroll Edit Grid C15 image section C15 down. C15 ALT+L Scroll Edit Grid C15 image section C15 left. C15 ALT+R Scroll Edit Grid C15 image section C15 right. C15 ALT+C Clear Edit Grid C15 image section. C15 ALT+E Apply current C15 special effect to C15 Edit Grid image C15 section. C15 [ Select preceding C15 Palette Grid C15 colour. C15 ] Select next C15 Palette Grid C15 colour. C15 < Edit preceding C15 image. C15 > Edit next image. C15 HOME Edit first image. C15 END Edit last image. C15 Arrows Move the Edit Grid C15 image view one C15 "page" in the C15 specified C15 direction. C15 PAGE UP Select brighter C15 shade of Current C15 Colour. C15 PAGE DOWN Select darker C15 shade of Current C15 Colour. C15 TAB Swap priority of C15 the two Selected C15 Colour Boxes. C15 BACKSPACE Undo latest edit C15 to current image. C15 SPACE Toggle view of C15 current Drawing C15 Tool between C15 outline and true C15 view (only C15 available while C15 pointing on the C15 Edit Grid). @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Screen Components There are various on-screen objects that make up the Image Editor user interface. These are grouped into three distinct areas of the screen, in addition to the Menu Bar and Status Bar. See diagram below: C15 ---------------------------- C15 | Menu Bar | C15 ---------------------------- C15 | | | | C15 | | | | C15 | Tool/ | Edit | Image | C15 |Palette| Grid |Display| C15 | Panel | Panel | Panel | C15 | | | | C15 | | | | C15 ---------------------------- C15 | Status Bar | C15 ---------------------------- C14 Tool/Palette Panel This area of the screen is where all objects relating to the Drawing Tools, Palette Tools and colour palette are displayed. Note: Objects displayed in the Tool/Palette Panel will change to those required by the currently selected Drawing Tool etc. Only the Palette Grid will remain constantly visible. Tool/Palette Panel objects: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons C13H098 Brush Size Selector C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C13H100 Gradient Status Box C13H101 Clipboard Status Box C13H115 RGB Controls C13H102 Palette Grid C14 The Edit Grid Panel This area of the screen is where all objects and information relating to the Edit Grid - as well as the Edit Grid itself - are displayed. Edit Grid Panel objects: C13H103 Edit Grid C13H104 STORE Button C13H105 Zoom Buttons C13H106 Arrow Buttons C14 The Image Display Panel This area of the screen is where all objects and information relating to the current image file and current image is displayed. Image Display Panel objects: C13H107 Image Display C13H108 Image Selector C13H109 File Information See also: C13H006 Menu Bar C13H063 Status Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Menu Bar This is a row of menu names running along the top of the screen. Notice that the current image file name is displayed directly below it which will be shown as "Untitled" if it hasn't yet been saved to disk. Menu names: C13H007 File C13H019 Edit C13H027 View C13H037 Action C13H048 Image C13H057 Help C14 Selecting a Menu Command Using the mouse, there are two ways to open a menu and select a command from it: 1) Click on a menu name to open the menu, then click on the required menu command. To close the menu without choosing a command, click on the menu name a second time or click anywhere outside the menu. 2) Drag down from the menu name to highlight the required command, then release the mouse button. To close the menu without choosing a command, simply drag off the menu (so that no command is highlighted) then release the mouse button. Note: While a menu command is highlighted, a brief description of that command is given on the Status Bar. See: C13H063 Status Bar C14 Command Notes: 1) Commands that have an ellipsis (...) after them signify that further information must be supplied in order for the command to be carried out. 2) Dimmed commands are unavailable at that time. 3) Commands that have a check mark () to the left of them signify that the command is in effect. Selecting the command again removes the check mark and turns the command off. 4) Some commands have key combinations to the right of them. At any time, pressing the listed keys selects the command without having to open the menu. See: C13H004 Keyboard Commands @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The File Menu Mainly contains commands to manage the input (loading) and output (saving) of files between the Image Editor and the hard disk. File menu commands: C13H008 New C13H009 Open... C13H010 Append... C13H011 Save C13H012 Save As... C13H169 Save as DATA... C13H013 Load Clipboard... C13H014 Save Clipboard... C13H015 Load Palette... C13H016 Save Palette... C13H017 Print Index... C13H018 Exit @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 New C12 menu command Allows a new image file to be created from scratch: the current image file is removed from memory and an "untitled" one is created containing a single, blank image (100x100). The colour palette is also reset to the standard palette. You will be prompted to save the current image file if it has been altered since it was last saved. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Open... C12 menu command Selecting this command allows an existing image file to be loaded into the Image Editor, from disk. If the image file being opened uses a non-standard colour palette, it's associated palette file is also automatically loaded. The "Open Image File" dialog box is displayed containing a "File" input box, at the top, and a file list box below it. Use these to specify a file to open, as described below. Type a file name into the "File" input box and then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for image files (.PUT) is assumed. Alternatively, a file mask can be entered in order to list a specific group of files in the file list box. The default mask (*.PUT) is used initially to list all files with a .PUT extension. Simply double-clicking on a file name listed in the file list box is usually the easiest way to specify a file to open. Alternatively, highlight a listed file name by clicking on it, then click on the OK button. You can use the scroll bar provided to look through a list of files that's too long to display on a single "page". See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Append... C12 menu command Allows the images contained in another file to be added to the end of the current file. Note that the images are only copied to the current file - the file being appended remains unaltered. The "Append Image File" dialog box is displayed so that a file can be specified. The usual "File" input box and file list box are shown and are functionally identical to those used by the Open... command. For full details on how to use them, see: C13H009 Open... Note: If the images in the appended file were created using a different colour palette to that of the current image file, they may appear incorrectly coloured as it is assumed both files use a common palette. The current colour palette is always retained when appending an image file. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Save C12 menu command Use this command to write the current image file to disk, effectively updating it with any changes made since it was last saved. The colour palette is also saved (in a separate file) if it differs from the standard palette. If the current file has not been saved before, and so is "untitled", you will be asked to specify a name to save the file under, just as if you had selected the Save As... command. Tip: If you want to write a file to disk without overwriting the original version, you should save it under a different name by using the Save As... command. See: C13H012 Save As... See also: C13H169 Save as DATA... C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Save As... C12 menu command Allows the current image file to be written to disk under a new name, thus keeping the original file unaltered. The colour palette is also saved (in a separate file) if it differs from the standard palette. The "Save Image File As" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the new file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for image files (.PUT) is assumed. See also: C13H169 Save as DATA... C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Load Clipboard... C12 menu command Allows a previously saved Clipboard image to be loaded back onto the Clipboard, ready for use by the various tools and commands that use the Clipboard image. The "Load Clipboard" dialog box is displayed so that a file can be specified. The usual "File" input box and file list box are shown and are functionally identical to those used by the Open... command. For full details on how to use them, see: C13H009 Open... On the right, a preview box lets you view an actual image (along with the size) when it's file name is highlighted in the file list box. This feature can be disabled by unchecking the "Preview image" option. Doing so can speed up the use of the file list box on slower computer systems. Note: Clipboard images that were created using a different colour palette to the current one, may appear incorrectly coloured. To remove an unwanted Clipboard image file from disk, highlight it in the file list box and then click on the DELETE button. You will be asked to confirm your decision before the image is actually deleted. See also: C13H101 Clipboard Status Box C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Save Clipboard... C12 menu command Use this command to keep a useful Clipboard image for future use, by saving it to disk. The "Save Clipboard" dialog box is displayed showing the current Clipboard image and a single "File Name" input box. Type the file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for Clipboard images (.CLP) is assumed. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Load Palette... C12 menu command This command allows you to load a previously saved colour palette so that it can be used with the current image file. The "Load Palette" dialog box is displayed so that a file can be specified. The usual "File" input box and file list box are shown and are functionally identical to those used by the Open... command. For full details on how to use them, see: C13H009 Open... Tip: Palette files that belong to specific image files can also be loaded and used with the current image file. These files have a .APF extension and so can be viewed in the file list box by entering *.APF into the "File" input box. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Save Palette... C12 menu command This command saves the current colour palette to disk, making it available to use with any other image files. The "Save Palette" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for palette files (.PAL) is assumed. Note: The extension .APF should not be used as this is reserved for Associated Palette Files - colour palettes belonging to specific image files. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Print Index... C12 menu command If you have a printer connected to your system (on LPT1:), you can use this command to print out the current image file's image index - this is a list of BASIC array subscripts specifying where each image is stored. These values are needed in order to display any given image when using the PUT(graphics) statement in your own BASIC programs. For further details, consult the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual. The "Print Index" dialog box is displayed so that the required index listing can be detailed. C14 Print Range: Check the "Whole File" option to have an index printed for all the images in the current image file. Checking the "Select Range" option allows you to specify a contiguous range of images to print an index for. The "First" input box is activated so that the initial image of the range can be specified. Using only this input box would print an index for that one specified image. However, using the "Last" input box lets you specify the final image of the range. The image denoted by the currently active input box is displayed in the preview box, giving visual confirmation that the intended image has been selected. C14 Print Format: With the "Double Spacing" option checked, a blank line will be placed between the index items on the printout. This simply gives more room to write in comments/ descriptions and makes the listing easier to read, but uses more paper. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Exit C12 menu command Choose this command to leave the PIXELplus 256 Image Editor, and return to DOS. You will be prompted to save the current image file if it has been altered since it was last saved. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The Edit Menu Contains general editing commands, mainly concerned with use of the Clipboard. Edit menu commands: C13H020 Undo C13H021 Cut C13H022 Copy C13H023 Paste C13H024 Transparency On C13H025 Paste Behind C13H026 Show Clipboard @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Undo C12 menu command Using the Undo command removes the latest edit made to the current image, allowing mistakes to be corrected. Note that using Undo to remove a mistake made while using a Drawing Tool will remove ALL the changes made since the tool was selected. However, making use of the STORE button allows you to update the "Undo Image" at any time. See: C13H104 STORE Button Tip: You can use the Undo Eraser to selectively remove areas of a tool's effect. However, changes made with the Undo Eraser cannot themselves be undone. See: C13H088 Undo Eraser Tip: Using Undo repeatedly lets you switch between both the edited and unedited version of an image - a useful way of deciding whether to keep the changes made by a special effect etc. Note: Unlike Edit and Action menu commands, the effects of using Image menu commands cannot be reversed by using Undo. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Cut C12 menu command Removes the Edit Grid image section and places it onto the Clipboard, leaving the Edit Grid blank. Tip: To cut an area of image with more accuracy, use the Scissors tool. See: C13H065 Scissors See also: C13H022 Copy C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Copy C12 menu command Simply places a copy of the Edit Grid image section onto the Clipboard. Tip: To copy an area of image with more accuracy, use the Scissors tool. See: C13H065 Scissors See also: C13H021 Cut C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Paste C12 menu command Places the Clipboard image onto the Edit Grid image section. Note that the top, left of the Clipboard image will be located to the top, left of the Edit Grid. Thus, a Clipboard image that's wider and/or deeper than the Edit Grid will be cropped along the right and/or bottom edges. This makes the Paste command more useful when copying one image to another of the same size. Tip: To paste with more accuracy, use the Paste Brush tool. See: C13H066 Paste Brush Note: The current settings of the Transparency On and Paste Behind commands dictate how the Clipboard image will be applied to the Edit Grid. See: C13H024 Transparency On C13H025 Paste Behind See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Transparency On C12 menu command This command can be turned on or off, dictating how the Clipboard image will be used by tools and commands that apply it to the current image. When in effect, all black (colour 0) pixels in the Clipboard image are considered as transparent, allowing the corresponding parts of the current image to show through. See also: C13H025 Paste Behind C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Paste Behind C12 menu command This command can be turned on or off, dictating how the Clipboard image will be used by tools and commands that apply it to the current image. When in effect, only black (colour 0) pixels in the current image will be replaced with the corresponding Clipboard image pixels, giving the impression of placing the Clipboard behind existing image objects. See also: C13H024 Transparency On C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Show Clipboard C12 menu command Use this command to view the image currently held on the Clipboard. It's size is also displayed. Tip: A quick way to access the "Show Clipboard" dialog box is to right-click on the image shown in the Clipboard Status Box. See: C13H101 Clipboard Status Box See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The View Menu Mainly contains commands to specify which features of the Image Editor you want displayed or made active. View menu commands: C13H028 Cross-hair On C13H029 Highlight On C13H030 Grid On C13H031 Image as Tile C13H032 Palette Tools C13H033 Test Animation... C13H034 Screen Designer... C13H035 Brighter Shade C13H036 Darker Shade @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Cross-hair On C12 menu command Enable this command to have a cross-hair cursor displayed while pointing on the Edit Grid: a horizontal and vertical line span the Edit Grid, intersecting at the centre of the cursor. This is a useful aid for aligning objects etc. Tip: The cross-hair cursor is particularly useful when trying to accurately cut or copy an area of image using the Scissors tool. See: C13H065 Scissors See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Highlight On C12 menu command When enabled, the position of the Edit Grid image section (in relation to the current image) is highlighted on the Image Display. This allows you to see exactly the area of image currently visible on the Edit Grid. See also: C13H107 Image Display C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Grid On C12 menu command When this command is in effect, a pixel boundary grid is displayed on the Edit Grid. Each pixel is then instantly distinguishable from the pixels that surround it. As a further aid, the actual colour of the grid can be set to black, dark grey, light grey or white: press SHIFT+F4 repeatedly to cycle through the four available colours. Tip: The pixel boundary grid can be particularly useful when doing close-up, detailed work with the Pixel Pointer tool. See: C13H086 Pixel Pointer Note: The pixel boundary grid is not displayed when the Edit Grid is at 1x (actual size) zoom magnification. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Image as Tile C12 menu command When enabled, the Image Display area is tiled with as many copies of the current image as will fit, instead of the usual single copy. This is useful when creating images to be used as tiles - especially when you want the tile to appear seamless. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Palette Tools C12 menu command Choosing this command will initially replace the usual Drawing Tool icon buttons with a set of Palette Tool buttons. These can be used to make various alterations to the colours in the current palette. For details, see: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons Select the Palette Tools command a second time to uncheck it and so redisplay the Drawing Tools. See also: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Test Animation... C12 menu command Select this command to access the integrated Animation Tester. For full details, see: C13H116 Animation Tester See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Screen Designer... C12 menu command Select this command to exit the Image Editor and invoke the PIXELplus 256 Screen Designer. You will be prompted to save the current image file if it has been altered since it was last saved. It will then be loaded from within the Screen Designer, ready to use for designing screens. For full details, see: C13H168 The Screen Designer See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Brighter Shade C12 menu command Searches the palette for a colour that's a shade brighter than the Current Colour. If it finds such a colour, it is made the Current Colour. Note: Repeated use of this command will not necessarily provide you with a colour an equal shade above the one last found. This is because the NEAREST shade to the Current Colour is used, which will depend on the colours available in the current palette. See also: C13H036 Darker Shade C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Darker Shade C12 menu command Searches the palette for a colour that's a shade darker than the Current Colour. If it finds such a colour, it is made the Current Colour. Note: Repeated use of this command will not necessarily provide you with a colour an equal shade below the one last found. This is because the NEAREST shade to the Current Colour is used, which will depend on the colours available in the current palette. See also: C13H035 Brighter Shade C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The Action Menu Contains commands that affect or manipulate the Edit Grid image section. Tip: You can make Action menu commands affect the entire current image by left-clicking the Maximize button beforehand. See: C13H105 Zoom Buttons Action menu commands: C13H038 Clear C13H039 Clear to Colour C13H040 Scroll Up C13H041 Scroll Down C13H042 Scroll Left C13H043 Scroll Right C13H044 Rotate 90 C13H045 Flip Horizontal C13H046 Flip Vertical C13H047 Effect:(current effect) @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Clear C12 menu command Simply clears the Edit Grid image section by setting each pixel to black (colour 0). See also: C13H039 Clear to Colour C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Clear to Colour C12 menu command Clears the Edit Grid image section by setting each pixel to the Current Colour. See also: C13H038 Clear C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Scroll Up C12 menu command Shifts the Edit Grid image section up by one row of pixels. Pixels that scroll off the top wrap-around to form the bottom row. See also: C13H041 Scroll Down C13H042 Scroll Left C13H043 Scroll Right C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Scroll Down C12 menu command Shifts the Edit Grid image section down by one row of pixels. Pixels that scroll off the bottom wrap-around to form the top row. See also: C13H040 Scroll Up C13H042 Scroll Left C13H043 Scroll Right C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Scroll Left C12 menu command Shifts the Edit Grid image section left by one column of pixels. Pixels that scroll off the left side wrap-around to form the right edge. See also: C13H040 Scroll Up C13H041 Scroll Down C13H043 Scroll Right C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Scroll Right C12 menu command Shifts the Edit Grid image section right by one column of pixels. Pixels that scroll off the right side wrap-around to form the left edge. See also: C13H040 Scroll Up C13H041 Scroll Down C13H042 Scroll Left C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Rotate 90 C12 menu command Turns the Edit Grid image section clockwise through 90 degrees. Note: This command will not be available if the Edit Grid image section is not a square (of equal width and depth), unless the entire image is being rotated. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Flip Horizontal C12 menu command Flips the Edit Grid image section, left to right, resulting in a mirror image. See also: C13H046 Flip Vertical C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Flip Vertical C12 menu command Flips the Edit Grid image section upside down. See also: C13H045 Flip Horizontal C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Effect:(current effect) C12 menu command Applies the currently selected special effect to the entire Edit Grid image section. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The Image Menu Contains commands allowing the manipulation of existing images as well as the creation of new ones. Image menu commands: C13H049 Add... C13H050 Delete... C13H051 Resize... C13H052 Duplicate... C13H053 Convert to Mask... C13H054 Crop C13H055 Add as Gradient C13H056 Show All @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Add... C12 menu command Use this command to add one or more blank images, of a specified size, to the current image file. The "Add Image(s)" dialog box is displayed so that the required image(s) can be detailed. Specify the size for the new image(s) by setting the "Width" and "Depth" values. An example image is displayed in the preview box, on the right side of the dialog box, to show the actual screen size the image(s) will be. Set "Amount" to the total number of images you want created. Set "Position" to the place in the current image file where you wish to insert the new image(s). By default, this is set to place them after all existing images. If you alter this, the image currently at "Position" is displayed, giving visual confirmation that the new image(s) will be inserted at the desired position. There are three values displayed at the bottom of the dialog box which give useful status information: "Requires" shows the number of bytes needed to create the new image(s), using the current settings. "Space" shows the total number of free bytes currently available for images. "Result" shows the total number of bytes that will be available for images after creating the new image(s), using the current settings. If this is a negative value then there is insufficient memory (image space) to create the desired image(s). See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Delete... C12 menu command Use this command to remove one or more unwanted images from the current image file. Note: Be careful when using this command as deleted images cannot be retrieved by using the Edit/Undo command. It's a good idea to save the current image file before attempting any significant deletion. The "Delete Image(s)" dialog box is displayed so that you can specify the image(s) you want deleted. If you want to delete one image only, simply set "First" to the image you want to delete. When deleting two or more contiguous images, set "First" to the initial image of the range you want deleted. The "Last" input box is initially dimmed (inactive) and should only be activated and used when you want to delete two or more contiguous images, in which case, set it to the final image of the range to be deleted. The image denoted by the currently active input box is displayed in the preview box, giving visual confirmation that the intended image has been selected. Note: You can't delete every image in the current image file. At least one image must remain defined. There are four values displayed at the bottom of the dialog box which give useful status information: "Count" shows the total number of images that will be deleted, using the current settings. "Reclaims" shows the number of bytes that will be made available for images by deleting the specified image(s). "Space" shows the total number of free bytes currently available for images. "Result" shows the total number of bytes that will be available for images after deleting the specified image(s). See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Resize... C12 menu command This command allows the physical dimensions (width and depth) of an existing image to be reduced or increased. Note: Be careful when using this command as the effect of resizing an image cannot be reversed by using the Edit/Undo command. It's a good idea to save the current image file before attempting any significant resizing operation. The "Resize Image" dialog box is displayed so that the image and it's new size can be specified. Set "Image" to the image you want to resize. The selected image is displayed in the preview box, on the right of the dialog box, giving visual confirmation that the correct image has been selected. Specify the new size for the image by setting the "Width" and "Depth" values. An example of what the image will look like is displayed to ensure it is resized correctly. There are four values displayed at the bottom of the dialog box which give useful status information: "Original" shows the current size of the selected image. "Requires" shows the number of bytes needed to resize the specified image, using the current settings. A negative value here indicates bytes reclaimed. "Space" shows the total number of free bytes currently available for images. "Result" shows the total number of bytes that will be available for images after the specified image has been resized, using the current settings. If this is a negative value then there is insufficient memory (image space) to resize the selected image to the new size. See also: C13H054 Crop C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Duplicate... C12 menu command Use this command to create a new copy of one or more existing images. The "Duplicate Image(s)" dialog box is displayed so that the required image(s) can be specified. If you want to make a copy of one image only, set "First" to the image you want to duplicate. When duplicating two or more contiguous images, set "First" to the initial image of the range you want duplicated. The "Last" input box is initially dimmed (inactive) and should only be activated and used when you want to duplicate two or more contiguous images, in which case, set it to the final image of the range to be duplicated. The image denoted by the currently active input box is displayed in the preview box, giving visual confirmation that the intended image has been selected. There are four values displayed at the bottom of the dialog box which give useful status information: "Count" shows the total number of images that will be duplicated, using the current settings. "Requires" shows the number of bytes needed to create the duplicate image(s), using the current settings. "Space" shows the total number of free bytes currently available for images. "Result" shows the total number of bytes that will be available for images after duplicating the specified image(s). If this is a negative value then there is insufficient memory (image space) to duplicate the selected image(s). See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Convert to Mask... C12 menu command This command allows existing images to be converted to their equivalent masks: a special type of image required for displaying images over existing screen objects so that only the image's exact shape is displayed, allowing background objects to still be visible around it. This is an advanced technique which is discussed fully in the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual. Note: Be careful when using this command as the effect of converting an image cannot be reversed by using the Edit/Undo command. It's a good idea to save the current image file before attempting any significant conversion to masks. The "Convert to Mask" dialog box is displayed so that the required image conversion can be detailed. C14 Mask Type: Check the "Exact Mask" option to have the specified images converted to masks that correspond to their exact shape. Check the "Expanded Mask" option to have the specified images converted to expanded masks. Images displayed using this type of mask will have a black outline (one pixel thick) around them which helps to distinguish them from the background screen image. The mouse pointer uses this technique so that the white arrow is always visible, even when placed over an all-white area of screen. Note: Any image to be converted to an expanded mask must be of sufficient size to hold the enlarged mask shape - making sure the actual image shape doesn't touch any edge of the image will ensure there's enough room. C14 Conversion Range: Check the "Whole File" option to have all the images in the current image file converted to their mask equivalents. When doing so, it is assumed you intend to maintain two separate files: one containing the actual images and another containing the corresponding mask images. As such, you will be prompted to save the current image file before the images are converted, if it has altered since it was last saved. Note: After the images have been converted, it's important to remember to save the current image file (which now contains the masks) by choosing File/Save As..., and specify a different name. DO NOT select File/Save as this will overwrite the original image file. To clarify the whole process, consider this example: if you create an image file and save it as SPRITES.PUT, then convert the whole file to mask images and save it as SPRITES.MSK; you will now have two files: SPRITES.PUT containing the actual images and SPRITES.MSK containing the mask images. Checking the "Select Range" option allows you to specify a single image or a contiguous range of images to convert to masks. The "First" input box is activated so that the initial image of the range can be specified. Using only this input box lets you convert that one specified image. However, using the "Last" input box lets you specify the final image of the range. The image denoted by the currently active input box is displayed in the preview box, giving visual confirmation that the intended image has been selected. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Crop C12 menu command Allows the current image to be cut down in size so that only the Edit Grid image section is retained (the portion of image currently visible on the Edit Grid). Everything outside the Edit Grid is discarded. You will be asked to confirm your decision before the current image is actually cropped. Note: Be careful when using this command as the effect of cropping an image cannot be reversed by using the Edit/Undo command. It's a good idea to save the current image file before attempting any significant crop. See also: C13H051 Resize... C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Add as Gradient C12 menu command An advanced feature of the PIXELplus 256 Image Editor is the ability to design your own gradient styles - used by the various Drawing Tools that work using a colour gradient (Gradient Fill etc.) This is achieved by first designing the gradient style and then selecting this command to have it added to the user- defined group of gradient styles, which can be accessed by clicking on the Gradient Status Box. See: C13H100 Gradient Status Box The current image must conform to the following requirements in order for it to be used as a valid user- defined gradient style: 1) It must be a full-size (100x100) image. in size. 2) All eight colours, from 0 to 7, must be used in the design of the gradient style. Colours 0 and 7 should be used to represent what will be the Current Colour and Secondary Colour while colours 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 represent the intermediate colours used in the gradient. 3) No others colours may be used in the design of the gradient style. As a demonstration, open the file DEMOGRAD.PUT to see how a gradient style should be designed. You can then select Add as Gradient to have it added to the user- defined group of gradient styles. You could also produce a dithered version of the gradient style by applying several layers of the MIX or FUR special effect - depending on how severe you want the dithering. Evenly applying MIX, using the Special Effects Brush, generally produces the most effective results. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Show All C12 menu command Choose this command when you want to view all the images in the current file together. The "Show All" dialog box is displayed containing all the currently defined images (or as many as will fit) along with their assigned number. Use the scroll bar provided to view any images not able to fit in the supplied viewing area. Tip: You can point and click on an image to make it the current image. This is sometimes a quicker way of moving to a specific image in files that contain many. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 The Help Menu Contains commands to view PIXELplus 256 online Help and program information. Help menu commands: C13H058 Contents C13H059 Index C13H060 Keyboard C13H061 Using Help C13H062 About... @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Contents C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays the Table of Contents - a categorized list of Help subjects available. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Index C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays the Index - an alphabetical list of all Help topics available. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Keyboard C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays a summary of keyboard commands available in the Image Editor. See: C13H004 Keyboard Commands See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Using Help C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays information about how to use the online Help system itself. See: C13H003 Using Online Help See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 About... C12 menu command Displays a dialog box containing copyright and version information specific to the PIXELplus 256 Image Editor. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Status Bar This is a single line of text (running along the bottom of the screen) used to show relevant information such as available keyboard commands, mouse button functions, Drawing Tool set up information, menu command descriptions etc. Due to the limited space for displaying information on the Status Bar, two special symbols are used to denote the function of the mouse buttons: means click the LEFT mouse button. means click the RIGHT mouse button. For example, "Sample" on the Status Bar informs you that clicking the right mouse button will sample a colour, when pointing on the Edit Grid. See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons This block of eight icon buttons will be displayed at the top, left of the screen, except when the Palette Tools have been selected in which case they are replaced with the Palette Tool buttons. See: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons Note: Although there's only enough room on-screen to display eight Drawing Tool icon buttons at a time, there are in fact eighteen different tools available: If the required tool button isn't currently visible, left-click repeatedly on the appropriate button to cycle through any related tools available on that button position. For example, successive clicks on the Paintbrush button will reveal and select the Pixel Pointer tool, then the Airbrush tool and finally return to the Paintbrush tool button. Drawing Tools: C13H065 Scissors C13H066 Paste Brush C13H067 Special Effects Brush C13H082 Flood Fill C13H083 Tile Fill C13H084 Gradient Fill C13H085 Paintbrush C13H086 Pixel Pointer C13H087 Airbrush C13H088 Eraser C13H089 Circle/Ellipse C13H090 Filled Circle/Ellipse C13H091 Gradient Circle/Ellipse C13H092 Box C13H093 Filled Box C13H094 Gradient Box C13H095 Line C13H096 Curve C13H097 Colour Sampler C14 Tool Set Up As a further enhancement, some of the Drawing Tools can be set up to function in a particular way; for example, the Eraser can be set up to function as a Normal Eraser, a Colour Eraser or an Undo Eraser. Tip: If you're unsure how the current Drawing Tool has been set up, simply point on the Edit Grid and the function of the current Drawing Tool will be displayed on the Status Bar. C14 Changing a Tool's Set Up By right-clicking on a Drawing Tool icon button, a "Set Up" dialog box is displayed (if that tool has set up options) where various set up options can be set. The options available will depend on the tool being set up - full details are included in each tool's Help section. Note: Any alterations made to a tool's set up remain in effect until explicitly changed. This is true even when restarting the Image Editor as all tool set up information (among other things) is maintained in the file PP256_ED.SET. C14 Useful Things to Remember When using certain Drawing Tools that require an object to be positioned and/or sized (Paste Brush, Line etc.), it's possible to view the object either as a simple outline, or as a true view which shows exactly what will be produced by the tool. You can toggle between outline and true view by pressing SPACE, while pointing on the Edit Grid - even when in the middle of using a tool. Using the true view can be very useful when trying to use a tool with absolute accuracy. Note: You may have to stick with using the outline view if you are using a slower computer system. Many of the Drawing Tools - such as Line, Scissors etc. - involve setting the size of an object before the final effect of the tool is produced. When using such a tool, keep the following points in mind: 1) The object's size is displayed above the Edit Grid. 2) The object's origin can be moved by using the arrow keys. 3) Right-click or press ESCAPE to cancel the operation. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Scissors C12 drawing tool The main use of this tool is to allow a rectangular area of image to be moved from one place to another (cut then pasted). However, it can also be used to set the exact size and position of the Edit Grid, delete (clear) a section of image, or to copy a specific area of image onto the Clipboard. C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Scissors icon button to change the Scissors set up. The "Set Up: SCISSORS" dialog box is displayed. From here, altering either the "Transparency On" or "Paste Behind" options has exactly the same effect as using the Edit menu commands of the same name and are included here for convenience. See: C13H024 Transparency On C13H025 Paste Behind C14 How to Use Depending on which function you want to perform, the Scissors tool must be used in two or three steps: C14 Step One Select a rectangular area of image by clicking on one corner (the origin) and then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Tip: It's sometimes easier to accurately select an area with the cross-hair cursor on: check the View/Cross- hair On command. See: C13H028 Cross-hair On C14 Step Two Click to cut the selected area of image onto the Clipboard. Alternatively, the following keyboard commands are now available: C - Copy area to Clipboard. D - Delete area. G - Set Edit Grid to area. Note: A reminder of available keyboard commands is displayed on the Status Bar. C14 Step Three If you have chosen to cut or copy the selected image section onto the Clipboard, this is immediately made available to paste at a new position: using the mouse, position it as required then click to paste it there. See also: C13H021 Cut C13H022 Copy C13H023 Paste C13H066 Paste Brush C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Paste Brush C12 drawing tool This tool enables you to apply (paste) the Clipboard image onto the current image - in a number of different ways. The way the Clipboard image is pasted will depend on how the Paste Brush tool has been set up to function. The current Clipboard image is shown on the Clipboard Status Box which can be used to perform various Clipboard related operations. See: C13H101 Clipboard Status Box C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Paste Brush icon button to change the Paste Brush set up. The "Set Up: PASTE BRUSH" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can specify how you want the Paste Brush tool to function. Check the "Rubber Stamp" function to use the Paste Brush tool for accurately pasting copies of the Clipboard image. Check the "Resize" function to use the Paste Brush tool for pasting resized copies of the Clipboard image. The "Horizontal Skew" function allows you to slant the Clipboard image horizontally before pasting. The "Vertical Skew" function allows you to slant the Clipboard image vertically before pasting. Altering either the "Transparency On" or "Paste Behind" options has exactly the same effect as using the Edit menu commands of the same name and are included here for convenience. See: C13H024 Transparency On C13H025 Paste Behind C14 How to Use The way the Paste Brush tool must be used depends on how it has been set up to function. The four modes of operation are detailed in turn below. C14 Rubber Stamp Simply position the image cursor and click to paste. Drag the image cursor to use the Clipboard image as a brush for drawing. C14 Resize Click on one corner (the origin) then move the mouse to the opposite corner before clicking a second time to paste a resized copy of the Clipboard image. C14 Horizontal Skew Position the top edge of the image cursor then click. Move the mouse left or right to set the required amount of horizontal skew, then click to paste. C14 Vertical Skew Position the left edge of the image cursor then click. Move the mouse up or down to set the required amount of vertical skew, then click to paste. See also: C13H023 Paste C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Special Effects Brush C12 drawing tool The PIXELplus 256 Image Editor provides fourteen powerful special effects that can be applied to images, or selected areas of image, to alter their appearance in specific ways. Special Effects: C13H068 BRIGHT (variable) C13H069 DARK (variable) C13H070 TINT (variable) C13H071 FUR (variable) C13H072 MIX (variable) C13H073 SOFT C13H074 UNZAG C13H075 HOLLOW C13H076 TILE C13H077 XOR C13H078 GREY C13H079 SWEEP C13H080 SWAP C13H081 EDGE The Special Effects Brush allows the current special effect to be accurately applied to specific areas of image. The name of the current special effect is displayed on the Brush Size Selector box. To change the brush size, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector Note: The Special Effects Brush is only available in a square brush shape, regardless of the currently selected brush shape. C14 How to Use Click to apply the current special effect to the area of image at the brush cursor, or drag to continuously apply the effect. Note: A new layer of special effect is applied each time the left mouse button is pressed. Ensure the whole area you want to affect is visible on the Edit Grid when you want to apply an even layer of special effect. C14 Selecting a Special Effect Employ one of the following methods to select a new special effect to use: 1) Click on the Brush Size Selector box to reveal a menu, then click on the required special effect name. To close the menu without choosing a new special effect, click on the highlighted current special effect name (at the top of the menu) or click anywhere outside the menu. 2) Drag down from the Brush Size Selector box to highlight the required special effect name, then release the mouse button. To close the menu without choosing a new special effect, simply drag off the menu (so that no effect is highlighted) then release the mouse button. Note: While a special effect name is highlighted, a brief description of that effect is given on the Status Bar. C14 Variable Special Effects Five of the special effects are variable which means they have an individual "Strength" setting that dictates how severely the effect will work. The variable special effects are BRIGHT, DARK, TINT, FUR and MIX. C14 Changing the Strength C14 of an Effect Right-click on the Brush Size Selector box to display the "Effect Strength" dialog box where you can specify the current special effect's "Strength" directly. Valid settings range from 1 (weak) to 100 (strong). Note: Any alterations made to a special effect's "Strength" setting remain in effect until explicitly changed. This is true even when restarting the Image Editor as special effect "Strength" settings (among other things) are maintained in the file PP256_ED.SET. C14 Palette-dependent Effects Some of the special effects are palette-dependent, meaning that they rely heavily on the colours available in the current palette in order to produce the desired effect; for example, using the GREY special effect with a palette that contains few shades of grey will be unlikely to produce satisfactory results. The palette-dependent effects are BRIGHT, DARK, TINT, SOFT, UNZAG and GREY. See the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for details on improving results. See also: C13H047 Effect:(current effect) C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 BRIGHT C12 special effect The BRIGHT special effect can be used to increase the perceived brightness of affected areas of image by converting coloured pixels to ones of a brighter shade. Black areas of image are not affected because it is usually desirable to brighten actual image objects only, and not the background, which is normally black. The current "Strength" setting of the BRIGHT special effect dictates the severity of the effect produced. BRIGHT is a palette- dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 DARK C12 special effect The DARK special effect can be used to make affected areas of image appear darker by converting coloured pixels to ones of a darker shade. The current "Strength" setting of the DARK special effect dictates the severity of the effect produced. DARK is a palette-dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 TINT C12 special effect The TINT special effect gives the appearance of applying a tincture of colour (the Current Colour) to affected areas of image. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes This can sometimes give the impression of overlaying coloured glass. The current "Strength" setting of the TINT special effect dictates the severity of the effect produced. TINT is a palette-dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 FUR C12 special effect The FUR special effect can be used to fur up the edges of image objects, giving them an irregular appearance without distorting them beyond all recognition. The current "Strength" setting of the FUR special effect dictates the severity of the effect produced. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 MIX C12 special effect The MIX special effect can be used to mix up areas of image by randomly swapping the position of pixels. Only pixels within the bounds of the current brush size are swapped when using the Special Effects Brush - using Action/Effect:MIX causes pixels to be swapped within the bounds of the entire Edit Grid image section, resulting in a greater degree of disintegration. The current "Strength" setting of the MIX special effect dictates the severity of the effect produced. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 SOFT C12 special effect SOFT is a powerful special effect that uses a technique known as "anti-aliasing" to give all edges of image objects a softer, slightly blurred appearance. When used correctly, SOFT can greatly improve the appearance of images, giving them an almost digitized look. Use repeatedly to achieve a blurred, out of focus look. SOFT uses total anti- aliasing. For a milder form of anti-aliasing, see: C13H074 UNZAG SOFT is a palette-dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 UNZAG C12 special effect The UNZAG special effect uses an anti-aliasing technique to smooth the appearance of zigzag, jagged edges only. Straight edges remain unaltered resulting in a less-blurred appearance than the SOFT effect produces. See: C13H073 SOFT UNZAG is a palette-dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 HOLLOW C12 special effect The HOLLOW special effect can be used to hollow out solid areas of colour, converting them to outlines. It can be thought of as having the opposite effect to the Flood Fill tool. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 TILE C12 special effect The TILE special effect works by tiling affected areas of image with the current Clipboard image. Tiling is oriented to the top, left corner of the current image. Note: The current settings of Edit/Transparency On and Edit/Paste Behind dictate how the Clipboard image will be applied. See: C13H024 Transparency On C13H025 Paste Behind See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 XOR C12 special effect Applying the XOR special effect to an area of image changes the colour of affected pixels by performing a logical XOR (exclusive OR) between them and the Current Colour. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes Note: It's not the actual colour of pixels (the RGB values) but the colour number (attribute) of pixels that XOR operates on. Although using the XOR special effect can produce some unpredictable results (especially when applied to multicoloured areas of image), experimentation can achieve some interesting results. Tip: Using XOR on an area of image that was drawn using the Current Colour will invert the image. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 GREY C12 special effect When applied to coloured areas of image, the GREY special effect simply converts each pixel to it's grey scale equivalent, i.e. the affected area of image is converted to black and white. GREY is a palette-dependent special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 SWEEP C12 special effect The SWEEP special effect works by removing or filling in single, isolated pixels. It can be used to tidy up and clarify areas of image. Tip: SWEEP can be particularly useful for tidying up the effects of using the Airbrush or the MIX special effect. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 SWAP C12 special effect The SWAP special effect is used to replace the occurrence of one colour for another: pixels matching the Current Colour are swapped with ones of the Secondary Colour. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 EDGE C12 special effect The EDGE special effect can be used to add an outline (one pixel thick) to image objects. The outline produced will be of the Current Colour. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes Tip: Using EDGE repeatedly - changing the Current Colour each time - can produce some interesting effects. See also: C13H067 Special Effects Brush @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Flood Fill C12 drawing tool Use this tool to fill an enclosed area (containing a single colour) with a different colour. The colour used to fill with will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C14 How to Use Simply point the small, cross-hair cursor at the pixel where you want filling to start, and then click. Note: The fill will leak through any gap in the enclosed area - even one of just a single pixel. Also, the fill tools are the only tools that are able to affect areas of image outside the Edit Grid image section. See also: C13H083 Tile Fill C13H084 Gradient Fill C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Tile Fill C12 drawing tool Use this tool to fill an enclosed area (containing a single colour) with the current Clipboard image, used as a tile. The way the Clipboard image is tiled will depend on how the Tile Fill tool has been set up to function. The current Clipboard image is shown on the Clipboard Status Box which can be used to perform various Clipboard related operations. See: C13H101 Clipboard Status Box C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Tile Fill icon button to change the Tile Fill tool set up. The "Set Up: TILE FILL" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can specify how you want the Tile Fill tool to function. Check the "Tile from Cursor" function to orient the top, left corner of the tile to the fill point. Checking the "Tile from Corner" function will cause tiling to be oriented to the top, left corner of the current image. This will ensure tiles are always aligned, regardless of where you specify filling should start. Checking the "Scale to Fill Area" function will mean a single tile will be scaled to fit the entire fill area. Altering the "Transparency On" option has exactly the same effect as using the Edit menu command of the same name. See: C13H024 Transparency On C14 How to Use Simply point the small, cross-hair cursor at the pixel where you want filling to start, and then click. Note: The fill will leak through any gap in the enclosed area - even one of just a single pixel. Also, the fill tools are the only tools that are able to affect areas of image outside the Edit Grid image section. See also: C13H082 Flood Fill C13H084 Gradient Fill C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Gradient Fill C12 drawing tool Use this tool to fill an enclosed area (containing a single colour) with colours that gradually blend from one colour into another. The colours used will be a blend between the Current Colour and the Secondary Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The current gradient fill style will be used, as shown on the Gradient Status Box. To choose a new style, see: C13H100 Gradient Status Box C14 How to Use Simply point the small, cross-hair cursor at the pixel where you want filling to start, and then click. Note: The fill will leak through any gap in the enclosed area - even one of just a single pixel. Also, the fill tools are the only tools that are able to affect areas of image outside the Edit Grid image section. See also: C13H082 Flood Fill C13H083 Tile Fill C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Paintbrush C12 drawing tool Just like a real paintbrush, this tool allows you paint colour directly onto images. The colour used will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The Paintbrush operates using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use Click to dab the brush, or drag the brush cursor to draw a continuous, freehand line. See also: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Pixel Pointer C12 drawing tool The Pixel Pointer is a simple yet extremely useful tool for doing detailed, close-up work, such as touching-up images. It is used to set individual pixels to the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C14 How to Use Simply point the arrow cursor at a pixel and click to set it to the Current Colour. Drag the arrow cursor to continually set pixels; dragging quickly will produce a broken, freehand line. Tip: It can be useful to have the pixel boundary grid displayed when using the Pixel Pointer tool at higher zoom levels. See: C13H030 Grid On See also: C13H097 Colour Sampler C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Airbrush C12 drawing tool The Airbrush can be used to randomly apply spots of colour in the same way a real airbrush or aerosol can does: colour is continually sprayed and will result in a build-up of colour when directed at the same area of image for any length of time. The colour sprayed is the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes Although the Airbrush always sprays a circular shape - regardless of the current brush shape - the size of the area affected can be controlled by using the Brush Size Selector in the usual way. Also, the speed at which colour is sprayed can be altered by changing the spray "Strength" setting. For full details, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use The Airbrush continuously applies colour at the small, cross-hair cursor position while the left mouse button is held down. Consequently, the speed at which you drag the cursor will dictate the density of the colour sprayed. See also: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Eraser C12 drawing tool This tool allows unwanted areas of image to be accurately removed. The actual parts of an image that will be erased depends on how the Eraser tool has been set up to function. To change the brush size, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector Note: The Eraser is only available in a square brush shape, regardless of the currently selected brush shape. C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Eraser icon button to change the Eraser tool set up. The "Set Up: ERASER" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can specify how you want the Eraser tool to function. Check the "Normal Eraser" function to have the Eraser tool remove all parts of an image that it's applied to. See also: C13H065 Scissors C13H038 Clear Checking the "Colour Eraser" function will cause the Eraser tool to only remove areas of image that match the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes C13H080 SWAP Checking the "Undo Eraser" function allows the Eraser tool to be used to selectively remove the effects of the latest edit. For example, if while drawing a freehand line you accidentally slip, you can use the Undo Eraser to remove the mistake without erasing the whole line, which is what the Edit/Undo command would do. See: C13H020 Undo Note: Because of the way the Undo Eraser works, changes made to an image with it cannot themselves be undone. C14 How to Use Click to apply the Eraser at the brush cursor position, or drag to continuously apply the Eraser. See also: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Circle/Ellipse C12 drawing tool Using this tool allows a circle or ellipse to be drawn onto the current image. The colour used to draw the circle/ellipse will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The circle/ellipse will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use The Circle/Ellipse tool is used by specifying a rectangular area into which the shape will be inscribed. First, define the rectangular area of image by clicking on one corner (the origin) and then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Next, click a second time to draw the circle/ ellipse inside the specified area. See also: C13H090 Filled Circle/Ellipse C13H091 Gradient Circle/Ellipse C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Filled Circle/Ellipse C12 drawing tool Using this tool allows a solid circle or ellipse to be drawn onto the current image. The colour used to draw the actual circle/ellipse will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes However, the colour used to fill the shape depends on how the Filled Circle/ Ellipse tool has been set up to function. The actual circle/ellipse will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Filled Circle/Ellipse icon button to change the Filled Circle/ Ellipse tool set up. The "Set Up: FILLED CIRCLE/ ELLIPSE" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can specify how you want the Filled Circle/Ellipse tool to function. Check the "Use Two Colours" option to have the Filled Circle/Ellipse tool draw circles and ellipses using two colours: the Current Colour will be used to draw the actual circle/ellipse and the Secondary Colour will be used to fill the shape. If the "Use Two Colours" option is left unchecked then the Current Colour will be used to both draw the actual circle/ellipse and to fill it. Note: Both the Filled Circle/Ellipse and Filled Box tools share the same "Use Two Colours" set up option so changing it will affect both tools. C14 How to Use The Filled Circle/Ellipse tool is used by specifying a rectangular area into which the shape will be inscribed. First, define the rectangular area of image by clicking on one corner (the origin) and then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Next, click a second time to draw the circle/ ellipse inside the specified area. See also: C13H089 Circle/Ellipse C13H091 Gradient Circle/Ellipse C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Gradient Circle/Ellipse C12 drawing tool Use this tool to draw a circle or ellipse filled with colours that gradually blend from one colour into another. The colours used will be a blend between the Current Colour and the Secondary Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The current gradient fill style will be used, as shown on the Gradient Status Box. To choose a new style, see: C13H100 Gradient Status Box C14 How to Use The Gradient Circle/Ellipse tool is used by specifying a rectangular area into which the shape will be inscribed. First, define the rectangular area of image by clicking on one corner (the origin) and then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Next, click a second time to draw the circle/ ellipse inside the specified area. See also: C13H089 Circle/Ellipse C13H090 Filled Circle/Ellipse C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Box C12 drawing tool Using this tool allows you to draw a simple rectangle or box shape onto the current image. The colour used to draw the box will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The box will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use Click once to set a corner (origin) of the box, then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Click a second time to draw the box shape. See also: C13H093 Filled Box C13H094 Gradient Box C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Filled Box C12 drawing tool This tool is used to draw a solid rectangle or box shape onto the current image. The colour used to draw the actual box will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes However, the colour used to fill the shape depends on how the Filled Box tool has been set up to function. The actual box will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 Set Up Options Right-click on the Filled Box icon button to change the Filled Box tool set up. The "Set Up: FILLED BOX" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can specify how you want the Filled Box tool to function. Check the "Use Two Colours" option to have the Filled Box tool draw boxes using two colours: the Current Colour will be used to draw the actual box and the Secondary Colour will be used to fill the shape. If the "Use Two Colours" option is left unchecked then the Current Colour will be used to both draw the actual box and to fill it. Note: Both the Filled Circle/Ellipse and Filled Box tools share the same "Use Two Colours" set up option so changing it will affect both tools. C14 How to Use Click once to set a corner (origin) of the box, then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Click a second time to draw the box shape. See also: C13H092 Box C13H094 Gradient Box C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Gradient Box C12 drawing tool Use this tool to draw a rectangle or box shape onto the current image, filled with colours that gradually blend from one colour into another. The colours used will be a blend between the Current Colour and the Secondary Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The current gradient fill style will be used, as shown on the Gradient Status Box. To choose a new style, see: C13H100 Gradient Status Box C14 How to Use Click once to set a corner (origin) of the box, then move the mouse to the opposite corner. Click a second time to draw the box shape. See also: C13H092 Box C13H093 Filled Box C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Line C12 drawing tool The Line tool is used to draw straight lines onto the current image. The colour used to draw the line will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The line will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use The Line tool is used by specifying two points between which the line will be drawn. Click once to set the start point (origin) of the line, then move the mouse to the end point. Click a second time to draw the line. See also: C13H096 Curve C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Curve C12 drawing tool The Curve tool is used to draw curved lines onto the current image. The colour used to draw the curve will be the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The curve will be drawn using the current brush shape, size and strength. To change any of these, see: C13H098 Brush Size Selector C14 How to Use The Curve tool is used by specifying two points between which the curve will be drawn. First, click on the start point (the origin), then move the mouse to the curve's end point and click a second time. Finally, position the curve's apex and click a third time to draw the curve. See also: C13H095 Line C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Colour Sampler C12 drawing tool This useful tool allows you to select colours directly from the current image (via the Edit Grid) instead of having to select them from the Palette Grid every time. This not only saves time, it also ensures that you select the correct colour when the current palette contains several similar shades. C14 How to Use The Colour Sampler is such a useful and often-used tool that it is always available (regardless of the currently selected Drawing Tool) and can be employed by using the right mouse button: right- click to select the colour at the current cursor position, or drag the small, cross-hair cursor to point at the desired colour. The sampled colour is then made the Current Colour. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes Tip: You can tell at a glance which colour the Colour Sampler will select as the colour being pointed at will be highlighted on the Palette Grid. See also: C13H103 Edit Grid C13H102 Palette Grid C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Brush Size Selector When appropriate, the Brush Size Selector will be made available - displayed on the left of the screen, directly below the Drawing Tool icon buttons. Clicking on the up/down arrow buttons lets you set the current tool's brush size (from 1 to 8). Next to the up/down arrow buttons is a box that shows the current brush and line size, except when the Special Effects Brush is selected in which case the current special effect is displayed on it. Left-clicking or right- clicking on this box allows you to change various brush settings, depending on what the current tool is, as follows: C14 Special Effects Brush Left-click on the Brush Size Selector box to choose a different special effect or right-click to alter the current special effect's "Strength" setting (if available). For full details, see: C13H067 Special Effects Brush C14 Airbrush Right-click on the Brush Size Selector box to set the spray "Strength". This dictates how rapidly colour is sprayed when using the Airbrush. The "Spray Strength" dialog box is displayed so that the "Strength" can be specified directly. Valid settings range from 1 (slow) to 100 (fast). Note: Any alteration made to the spray "Strength" setting will remain in effect until explicitly changed. This is true even when restarting the Image Editor as the spray "Strength" setting (among other things) is maintained in the file PP256_ED.SET. C14 All other tools C14 (Paintbrush, Line etc.) Left-click on the Brush Size Selector box when you want to select a different brush shape. The "Brush Shapes" dialog box is displayed containing all six available brush shapes. Click on the required brush shape to highlight it, then click on the OK button. Alternatively, simply double-click on the required brush shape. Right-click on the Brush Size Selector box to set the current brush "Strength". This dictates how strongly the brush will be applied by all tools that use the brush. The "Brush Strength" dialog box is displayed allowing the "Strength" to be specified directly. Valid settings range from 1 (very light) to 100 (opaque). Tip: Set the brush "Strength" to a value less than 100 (say 50) to give the effect of drawing with chalk or a crayon. Note: Any alteration made to the brush "Strength" setting will remain in effect until explicitly changed. This is true even when restarting the Image Editor as the brush "Strength" setting (among other things) is maintained in the file PP256_ED.SET. See also: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Selected Colour Boxes When required, a pair of colour selection boxes are displayed on the left of the screen, above the Palette Grid. They show the two currently selected colours along with their associated colour number (known as the attribute number). The box with the arrow pointing to it - which can be either box - holds the Current Colour; the other box holds the Secondary Colour. The Current Colour is used by tools and commands that work with one colour while the Secondary Colour is needed for tools that operate using two colours (Gradient Fill, SWAP special effect etc.). You can swap the priority of the two selected colours by left-clicking on the Secondary Colour box: the Secondary Colour becomes the Current Colour and vice- versa. Tip: Press TAB to swap the priority of the two selected colours, on-the-fly. Tip: Right-click on either of the Selected Colour Boxes to quickly change between the Drawing Tools and the Palette Tools. See: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons See also: C13H102 Palette Grid @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Gradient Status Box Located on the left of the screen, below the Drawing Tool icon buttons, this object is displayed for tools that use a colour gradient. It shows the current gradient style with colours that blend from the Current Colour into the Secondary Colour. Tip: If the colours blend in the wrong direction (e.g. red to black instead of black to red), simply click on the Secondary Colour box (or press TAB) to swap the priority of the two selected colours. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The value displayed to the right indicates the number of colours that will be used in the gradient (maximum of 8). Generally speaking, the greater the number of colours used in the gradient, the "smoother" the transition between the two selected colours will be. Click on the Gradient Status Box to choose a different gradient style. The "Gradient Styles" dialog box is displayed so that a gradient style can be selected. Check the "Standard" option to select a gradient style from the group of 32 standard styles that comprise 16 normal and 16 dithered styles. Checking the "User-defined" option allows a gradient style to be selected from any that have been created using the Image/Add as Gradient command. See: C13H055 Add as Gradient Unwanted user-defined gradient styles can be removed by clicking on the DELETE button. You will be asked to confirm your decision before the style is actually deleted. Click on the "Select" arrow buttons to view the available gradient styles in the preview box, then click the OK button, or press ENTER, to select the displayed style. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Clipboard Status Box The Clipboard Status Box is made available to all tools that use the Clipboard image (except the TILE Special Effects Brush). It appears on the left of the screen, directly below the Drawing Tool icon buttons. The left side shows the current Clipboard image which will be a scaled down version if it's too big to be displayed at full size. Tip: Left-clicking on the Clipboard image is a quick way to access the "Load Clipboard" dialog box. See: C13H013 Load Clipboard... Tip: Right-clicking on the Clipboard image is a quick way to access the "Show Clipboard" dialog box. See: C13H026 Show Clipboard On the right are three action buttons. Clicking on these will perform the indicated action on the Clipboard image. They are: FLIP-H - Flips the Clipboard image horizontally. FLIP-V - Flips the Clipboard image vertically. ROTATE - Turns the Clipboard image clockwise through 90. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Palette Grid The Palette Grid is located at the bottom, left of the screen. This 16x16 grid shows the complete set (palette) of 256 available colours. The Palette Grid is mainly used for selecting colours to use with Drawing Tools etc: left-click or right- click on a colour to select it and make it the Current Colour. This is then placed in one of the two Selected Colour Boxes (if visible), depending on which mouse button you click with - left-click to put the colour into the top box; right- click to put the colour into the bottom box. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes The Current Colour is highlighted on the Palette Grid, except when pointing on the Edit Grid in which case the colour of the pixel being pointed at is highlighted. You can also drag the highlight to select a colour from the Palette Grid. Notice that pointing on the Palette Grid changes the mouse cursor to show the colour number (attribute) being pointed at (0 to 255). See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons C13H015 Load Palette... C13H016 Save Palette... @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Edit Grid The Edit Grid is the area where all the main image editing is done and, consequently, is situated in the centre of the screen. This is where all the various Drawing Tools are used to directly edit the current image. See: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons The Edit Grid can be thought of as a window onto the current image that can be set to various degrees of magnification, making the detailed and accurate editing of images much easier. See: C13H105 Zoom Buttons The current size of the Edit Grid is displayed directly above it, except when using a Drawing Tool that involves setting the size of an object (Line, Scissors etc.) in which case the size of the object is displayed. Notice that by just pointing on the Edit Grid, two things happen: 1) The position coordinates of the mouse cursor are displayed on the panel below the Edit Grid. Two sets of coordinates are shown: "Grid" coordinates show the current position of the cursor relative to the top, left corner of the Edit Grid; "Image" coordinates show the current position of the cursor relative to the top, left corner of the current image. 2) The colour of the pixel at the current mouse cursor position is highlighted on the Palette Grid, allowing you to tell at a glance exactly what colour any given image pixel is. The highlighted colour can be made the Current Colour by clicking the right mouse button. See: C13H097 Colour Sampler C14 Using with the Palette Tools When the Palette Tools are selected, the function of the Edit Grid changes to allow colours to be selected in the same way as using the Palette Grid: left-click or right-click on a pixel to make it's colour the Current Colour. This is then placed in one of the two Selected Colour Boxes, depending on which button you click with - left-click to put the colour into the top box; right-click to put the colour into the bottom box. See: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes Notice that pointing on the Edit Grid changes the mouse cursor to show the colour number (attribute) of the pixel being pointed at (0 to 255). @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 STORE Button This button is situated in the centre section of the screen, above the right side of the Edit Grid. It's specialized function is related directly to the Edit/Undo command. See: C13H020 Undo Using Edit/Undo to remove a mistake made while using a Drawing Tool will remove ALL the changes made since the tool was selected. This isn't always desirable. Clicking the STORE button, after making any changes that you're sure you want to keep, will effectively store a copy of the current image (known as the "Undo Image"). Thus, any subsequent use of Edit/Undo will return the current image to the exact state it was when the STORE button was clicked. You can click the STORE button at any time to update the "Undo Image". Tip: Click the STORE button immediately before attempting to use a Drawing Tool to do a fiddly or experimental alteration to the current image. You can then simply select Edit/ Undo, should the alteration be undesirable. See also: C13H088 Undo Eraser @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Zoom Buttons This row of six buttons are located in the centre screen area, directly below the Edit Grid. Comprising five pre-set Zoom and a Maximize button, they are used to directly set the Edit Grid magnification level. Click on one of the pre-set Zoom buttons to change the Edit Grid magnification to the level shown on the button. Using a higher zoom level generally makes doing detailed, accurate work much easier. The Maximize (blue triangle) button has two functions, depending on which button you click on it with: left- click to view the entire current image on the Edit Grid, and at the highest possible zoom level; right- click to view the current Edit Grid image section only, at the highest possible zoom level - this will normally only be of use after altering the Edit Grid size, using the Arrow buttons. See: C13H106 Arrow Buttons Note: Since using the Maximize button causes the highest possible zoom level to be used, this may mean a non-standard zoom level gets used which will be indicated by the fact that none of the pre-set Zoom buttons will be set. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Arrow Buttons A set of four Arrow buttons are situated in the centre area of the screen, below the right side of the Edit Grid. They have dual functions, depending on which mouse button you click on them with: left-click to move the Edit Grid image view in the specified direction - this allows you to accurately position the Edit Grid view within the current image. Right-click to alter the Edit Grid size - the left and right arrows alter the width of the Edit Grid; up and down alters the depth. Tip: You can use the Image Display to directly set the Edit Grid size and position within the current image. See: C13H107 Image Display Notice that pointing on the Arrow buttons causes the Edit Grid image section to be highlighted on the Image Display. This helps clarify the effects of using the Arrow buttons. See also: C13H065 Scissors @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Image Display Located at the top, right of the main screen area, the Image Display shows the current image at it's true, actual size which is also displayed, directly above the Image Display. If the View/Image as Tile command has been checked, the Image Display area will be tiled with as many copies of the current image as will fit. See: C13H031 Image as Tile However, only the top, left tile is considered the active Display Image which is used to point and click on in the various ways detailed below. The Edit Grid image section will be highlighted when pointing on the Image Display or when the View/ Highlight On command has been checked. See: C13H029 Highlight On The Image Display can also be used to directly set the Edit Grid image section: using the right mouse button, click or drag the Edit Grid highlight to the required position. You can specify the Edit Grid image section exactly by defining a rectangular area of the Image Display: left-click on one corner (the origin) and then move the mouse to the opposite corner - note that the size of the defined area is now displayed above the Image Display and that you can press the arrow keys to move the origin. Left-click a second time to make the defined area the Edit Grid image section - displayed on the Edit Grid at the highest possible zoom level. This may mean a non-standard zoom level gets used which will be indicated by the fact that none of the pre-set Zoom buttons will be set. See: C13H105 Zoom Buttons See also: C13H106 Arrow Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Image Selector On the right side of the screen, directly below the Image Display, is the Image Selector input box. The Image Selector shows the current image number and can be used to select an image for editing: click on the +/- buttons to move through the available images - one at a time. Alternatively, click on the input box (between the +/- buttons) to make it active, then type the required image number and press ENTER. Tip: An image can also be selected for editing by choosing Image/Show All and then clicking on the required image. This can be a quicker way of moving to a specific image in files that contain many. See: C13H056 Show All See also: C13H004 Keyboard Commands @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 File Information This panel is located in the bottom, right corner of the screen and simply displays useful information about the current image file. The four File Information values displayed are as follows: "Total" shows the total number of images contained in the current image file. "Bytes" shows the size of the current image in bytes. "File" shows the size of the current image file in bytes. "Space" shows the total number of free bytes currently available for images. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Palette Tool Buttons By checking the View/Palette Tools menu command, this set of four buttons replace the usual Drawing Tool icon buttons at the top, left of the screen; below this, the RGB controls are displayed. Together, they comprise the Palette Tools which can be used to perform various operations on the 256 available colours, providing full control over the current colour palette. Palette Tools: C13H111 COPY C13H112 GRAD C13H113 RESET C13H114 SCAN C13H115 RGB Controls Note: The colour attributes 0 to 15 - which comprise the top row of the Palette Grid - are used extensively by PIXELplus 256 itself and so cannot be altered (i.e. have their RGB values changed), as this could cause the display to become unreadable. However, they can be freely used in images in the same way any of the other 240 colours can, and as they represent a good range of colours anyway, this shouldn't become too much of a restriction. See: C13H102 Palette Grid When the Palette Tools are being used, the function of the Edit Grid changes to allow colours to be selected in the same way as using the Palette Grid. See: C13H103 Edit Grid See also: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 COPY C12 palette tool The COPY tool can be used to quickly duplicate an existing colour by copying it's RGB values to another colour attribute. While there's not usually any point in having two identical colours in the same palette, COPY can be useful when you want to create a colour that's a shade brighter or darker than an existing colour: after copying the colour, you can then make the required alterations to it by using the RGB Controls. See: C13H115 RGB Controls COPY operates on the two selected colours by copying the Current Colour to the Secondary Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes So, to select the two colours involved correctly, first select the attribute you want to copy to by clicking on it with either mouse button, then select the actual colour you want to copy by clicking on it with the other mouse button. Note: While colour numbers 0 to 15 can be copied, they cannot be copied to as they are used extensively by PIXELplus 256 itself. See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 GRAD C12 palette tool Use this powerful tool to automatically create a colour gradient - a contiguous set of attributes whose colours gradually blend from one colour into another. Tip: Creating a good selection of colour gradients can vastly improve the output produced by the various gradient Drawing Tools. See: C13H084 Gradient Fill C13H091 Gradient Circle/Ellipse C13H094 Gradient Box This is also true of the palette-dependent special effects which rely heavily on the colours available in the current palette. See: C13H068 BRIGHT C13H069 DARK C13H070 TINT C13H073 SOFT C13H074 UNZAG C13H078 GREY GRAD works by creating a colour gradient that blends from the Current Colour to the Secondary Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes All attributes that come between the two selected colours will be used as part of the gradient. For example, if you have attributes 20 and 25 selected, the resulting colour gradient will comprise attributes 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25. As such, the more attributes that come between the two selected colours, the smoother the transition from the first colour to the last colour will be. Tip: Before using the GRAD tool, it's a good idea to make sure that it won't affect any attributes that are already used in existing images (unless you specifically want it to). This can be achieved by using the SCAN tool. See: C13H114 SCAN See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 RESET C12 palette tool Use the RESET tool to undo any unwanted changes you make to the current colour palette. If, for example, you use the GRAD tool to create a colour gradient that you then decide is wrong or that you don't need, using the RESET tool will return all the affected attributes to the colour they were before the GRAD tool was used. Note: The RESET tool must be used immediately after making any unwanted alterations to the current colour palette. See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 SCAN C12 palette tool Before making any changes to the current palette, it's often useful to know which of the 256 available colours (attributes) have not yet been used in images in the current image file. Directly or indirectly changing the RGB values of a colour attribute which has already been used will affect any images in which that colour attribute has been used. The SCAN tool searches through all the images in the current image file and marks the Palette Grid with a black and white dot, any colour attributes which have not yet been used. See: C13H102 Palette Grid These colours are then free to alter without fear of affecting existing images. See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 RGB Controls C12 palette tool Each colour in the palette is made up from a mix of the three primary colours - red, green and blue (RGB). The RGB Controls show the individual red, green and blue values that make up the Current Colour, as indicated on the Selected Colour Boxes. See: C13H099 Selected Colour Boxes These values can be altered by clicking on the appropriate +/- button. Valid settings range from 0 to 63. A brightness control (represented by a small sun symbol) is also provided which can be used to simply increase or decrease all three RGB values together, which gives the appearance of altering the brightness of the affected colour. Note: Trying to increase the brightness of a colour when any of the RGB values are at their maximum (63), or trying to decrease the brightness when any of the RGB values are at their minimum (0), will have no effect. This is because all three RGB values must be able to change by the same amount in order to maintain the integrity of the actual colour. Tip: Before using the RGB Controls, it's a good idea to make sure that it won't affect an attribute that's already used in existing images (unless you specifically want it to). This can be achieved by using the SCAN tool. See: C13H114 SCAN See also: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Animation Tester The Animation Tester is a simple utility that's integrated into the Image Editor so that, when creating images to be used as frames of animation, they can be viewed in sequence to test that the desired effect of animation is being achieved. C14 Using the Animation Tester When using the Image Editor, you can enter the integrated Animation Tester by choosing View/Test Animation..., or by pressing F7. The screen is cleared and the "Test Animation" dialog box is displayed. From here, you can detail the animation sequence that you want to view. Specify the frames (images) to be used in the animation sequence by setting "First" to the initial image of the animation sequence, and "Last" to the final image of the animation sequence. Note that this defines a contiguous range of images so, for example, setting "First" to 1 and "Last" to 4 will mean the animation will display images in the order 1, 2, 3, 4. The specified sequence will then be repeated continuously when the animation is played. When using the +/- buttons to set the "First" or "Last" values (or when either input box is active), the denoted image is displayed in the preview box, on the right side of the dialog box, giving visual confirmation that the correct image has been selected. The size of the displayed image is also shown and can be used to check the size of images - normally, every image in the animation should be the same size to ensure the animation will run properly. Set "Repeat" to the number of times you want each image to be displayed before moving on to the next in the sequence. The speed of the animation can be controlled by setting "Delay" to the number of "delay periods" to wait between each frame update. Note: This "delay period" involves synchronizing the frame update with the monitor in order to achieve smooth, flicker-free animation. However, in certain situations, flicker may still occur or the animation may only be partially displayed or even not visible at all. This is because your computer can't update each frame of the animation quickly enough to keep up with the monitor synchronization. Problems will only usually occur if you have a slow computer system and are trying to animate large images at high speed. Increasing the "Delay" or reducing the size of images will usually help alleviate any problems. For further details, consult the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual where the topic of animation is covered extensively. Set "Advance" to the number of pixels you want the animation to move around the screen by, in the specified direction (see below). Set this to 0 to show a static animation (one that stays still and doesn't move around) in the centre of the screen. At the bottom of the dialog box is a set of four check boxes under the heading "Direction:". Simply check one of these to have the animation move in the indicated manner. They are: "Left to Right" moves the animation across the screen, from left to right. "Right to Left" moves the animation across the screen, from right to left. "Top to Bottom" moves the animation down the screen. "Bottom to Top" moves the animation up the screen. Click on the PLAY button to clear the screen and play the animation as currently set up. When you have finished viewing the animation, click a mouse button or press any key to stop the animation and return to the "Test Animation" dialog box. Clicking on the HELP button is simply a quick way to view this Help information again. Click on the EXIT button to return to the Image Editor. @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Keyboard Commands The following keyboard commands are available while using the Screen Designer: Press: To: C15 F1 View online Help C15 Table of Contents. C15 F2 Turn the mouse C15 arrow cursor C15 on/off. C15 F3 Turn alignment C15 grid snapping C15 on/off. C15 F4 Turn the alignment C15 grid on/off. C15 F5 Turn selected item C15 highlights on/off. C15 F6 Make new alignment C15 grid. C15 SHIFT+F6 Set alignment grid C15 to the current C15 Mouse Image C15 position & size. C15 F7 Set the step rate C15 used by PAGE UP C15 and PAGE DOWN. C15 F8 Invoke the Image C15 Editor to edit the C15 currently loaded C15 image file. C15 F9 Show current C15 screen design. C15 F10 Show all images. C15 ALT+Q Cut selected items C15 to the Clipboard. C15 ALT+A Copy selected C15 items to the C15 Clipboard. C15 ALT+Z Paste Clipboard C15 items into the C15 current screen C15 design. C15 ALT+U Shift selected C15 items up. C15 ALT+D Shift selected C15 items down. C15 ALT+L Shift selected C15 items left. C15 ALT+R Shift selected C15 items right. C15 ALT+C Delete (clear) all C15 selected items. C15 ALT+S Select all design C15 items. C15 ALT+W Deselect all C15 design items. C15 ALT+"-" Delete all design C15 items that precede C15 the current design C15 item. C15 ALT+"+" Delete all design C15 items that succeed C15 the current design C15 item. C15 < Select preceding C15 image as Mouse C15 Image. C15 > Select next image C15 as Mouse Image. C15 1 Select PSET C15 display action. C15 2 Select PRESET C15 display action. C15 3 Select OR display C15 action. C15 4 Select XOR display C15 action. C15 5 Select AND display C15 action. C15 6 Select MASK C15 display action. C15 Up Select/Deselect C15 current item then C15 move to next C15 design item. C15 Down Select/Deselect C15 current item then C15 move to preceding C15 design item. C15 Left Move to preceding C15 design item. C15 Right Move to next C15 design item. C15 PAGE UP Step forwards C15 through design C15 items. C15 PAGE DOWN Step backwards C15 through design C15 items. C15 HOME Move to beginning C15 of design. C15 END Move to end of C15 design. C15 INSERT Select/Deselect C15 current design C15 item. C15 BACKSPACE Delete current C15 design item. C15 SPACE Show (flash) C15 current design C15 item. C15 ENTER/ Turn the Menu Bar C15 ESCAPE on/off. @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Menu Bar This is a row of menu names running along the top of the screen. Note: Due to the nature of the Screen Designer (i.e. the entire screen area must be available to place design items on), the Menu Bar and Status Bar are not permanently displayed and can be turned on and off by clicking the right mouse button, or by pressing ENTER or ESCAPE. When the Menu Bar is showing, notice that the current screen design file name is displayed directly below it which will be shown as "Untitled" if it hasn't yet been saved to disk. The total number of design items contained in the current screen design is also displayed here. Menu names: C13H119 File C13H128 Edit C13H136 View C13H145 Action C13H152 Image C13H160 Help C14 Selecting a Menu Command Using the mouse, there are two ways to open a menu and select a command from it: 1) Click on a menu name to open the menu, then click on the required menu command. To close the menu without choosing a command, click on the menu name a second time or click anywhere outside the menu. 2) Drag down from the menu name to highlight the required command, then release the mouse button. To close the menu without choosing a command, simply drag off the menu (so that no command is highlighted) then release the mouse button. Note: While a menu command is highlighted, a brief description of that command is given on the Status Bar. See: C13H166 Status Bar C14 Command Notes: 1) Commands that have an ellipsis (...) after them signify that further information must be supplied in order for the command to be carried out. 2) Dimmed commands are unavailable at that time. 3) Commands that have a check mark () to the left of them signify that the command is in effect. Selecting the command again removes the check mark and turns the command off. 4) Some commands have key combinations to the right of them. At any time, pressing the listed keys selects the command without having to open the menu. See: C13H117 Keyboard Commands @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The File Menu Mainly contains commands to manage the input (loading) and output (saving) of files between the Screen Designer and the hard disk. File menu commands: C13H120 New C13H121 Open... C13H122 Save C13H123 Save As... C13H124 Save as DATA... C13H125 Save as Screen... C13H126 Load Images... C13H127 Exit @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 New C12 menu command Allows a new screen design to be created from scratch: the current screen design file is removed from memory and an "untitled" one is created containing no items. You will be prompted to save the current screen design file if it has been altered since it was last saved. If you want to create your new screen design using a different set of images to those currently loaded, you can do so by choosing the Load Images... command. See: C13H126 Load Images... See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Open... C12 menu command Selecting this command allows an existing screen design file to be loaded into the Screen Designer, from disk. Note: The screen design file to be opened must be compatible with the currently loaded image file. For details, see: C13H168 Introduction To open a screen design file that uses a different image file, select New and then the Load Images... command beforehand. See: C13H120 New C13H126 Load Images... The "Open Screen Design" dialog box is displayed containing a "File" input box, at the top, and a file list box below it. Use these to specify a file to open, as described below. Type a file name into the "File" input box and then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for screen design files (.DES) is assumed. Alternatively, a file mask can be entered in order to list a specific group of files in the file list box. The default mask (*.DES) is used initially to list all files with a .DES extension. Simply double-clicking on a file name listed in the file list box is usually the easiest way to specify a file to open. Alternatively, highlight a listed file name by clicking on it, then click on the OK button. You can use the scroll bar provided to look through a list of files that's too long to display on a single "page". See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Save C12 menu command Use this command to write the current screen design file to disk, effectively updating it with any changes made since it was last saved. If the current file has not been saved before, and so is "untitled", you will be asked to specify a name to save the file under, just as if you had selected the Save As... command. Tip: If you want to write a file to disk without overwriting the original version, you should save it under a different name by using the Save As... command. See: C13H123 Save As... See also: C13H124 Save as DATA... C13H125 Save as Screen... C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Save As... C12 menu command Allows the current screen design file to be written to disk under a new name, thus keeping the original file unaltered. The "Save Design As" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the new file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for screen design files (.DES) is assumed. See also: C13H124 Save as DATA... C13H125 Save as Screen... C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Save as DATA... C12 menu command This command creates an ASCII text file containing a set of BASIC DATA statements that describe the current screen design. This type of DATA file can then be used to incorporate the screen design directly into your own BASIC programs. See the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for full details. The "Save Design As DATA" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for BASIC DATA files (.BAS) is assumed. Note: DATA files cannot be loaded into the Screen Designer for further editing. To save the current screen design in a format that can be opened by the Screen Designer, use the Save command. See: C13H122 Save See also: C13H125 Save as Screen... C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Save as Screen... C12 menu command Use this command to take a snapshot of the current screen design - a memory image file (BLOAD format) that contains a pixel-for- pixel copy of the current screen design image. This type of screen design file can then be loaded directly back to the screen from within your own BASIC programs. See the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for full details. The "Save Design As Screen" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for screen image files (.IMG) is assumed. Note: Screen image files cannot be loaded into the Screen Designer for further editing. To save the current screen design in a format that can be opened by the Screen Designer, use the Save command. See: C13H122 Save See also: C13H124 Save as DATA... C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Load Images... C12 menu command This command allows you to load a different image file (created with the Image Editor) to use with the current screen design. Note: The image file to be loaded must be compatible with the current screen design. For details, see: C13H168 Introduction If you want to use a different image file to create a new screen design from scratch, select the New command beforehand. See: C13H120 New The "Load Images" dialog box is displayed so that a file can be specified. The usual "File" input box and file list box are shown and are functionally identical to those used by the Open... command. For full details on how to use them, see: C13H121 Open... Tip: You can find out the name of the currently loaded image file and view all the images it contains by choosing the Image/Show All command. See: C13H159 Show All See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Exit C12 menu command Choose this command to leave the PIXELplus 256 Screen Designer, and return to DOS. You will be prompted to save the current screen design if it has been altered since it was last saved. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The Edit Menu Contains general editing commands, mainly concerned with use of the Clipboard and selected design items. Edit menu commands: C13H129 Select All C13H130 Deselect All C13H131 Cut C13H132 Copy C13H133 Paste C13H134 Delete C13H135 Show Clipboard @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Select All C12 menu command Choose this command to simply select every item in the current screen design. This ensures every item will be affected by any subsequent commands that operate on selected items, such as those in the Edit and Action menus. See: C13H128 Edit Menu C13H145 Action Menu See also: C13H130 Deselect All C13H140 Highlight Selected C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Deselect All C12 menu command Use this command to ensure no items in the current screen design are selected. You can then be sure that any subsequently selected items will be the only ones that will be affected by commands that operate on selected items, such as those in the Edit and Action menus. See: C13H128 Edit Menu C13H145 Action Menu See also: C13H129 Select All C13H140 Highlight Selected C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Cut C12 menu command This command simply removes all selected items in the current screen design and places them onto the Clipboard. Tip: Any design items you cut from the current screen design will be preserved on the Clipboard, even if you then open a different screen design file. See: C13H121 Open... This means you can cut design items from one screen design and then paste them into another. See: C13H133 Paste However, if you use File/ Load Images... to load a different image file, the Clipboard will be cleared if it is not compatible with the new images. See: C13H126 Load Images... C13H168 Introduction See also: C13H132 Copy C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Copy C12 menu command Simply places a copy of all selected items onto the Clipboard. This Clipboard design can then be pasted to one or more new positions in the current screen design. Tip: Any design items you copy from the current screen design will be preserved on the Clipboard, even if you then open a different screen design file. See: C13H121 Open... This means you can copy design items from one screen design and then paste them into another. See: C13H133 Paste However, if you use File/ Load Images... to load a different image file, the Clipboard will be cleared if it is not compatible with the new images. See: C13H126 Load Images... C13H168 Introduction See also: C13H131 Cut C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Paste C12 menu command This command inserts the Clipboard design into the current screen design. The pasted Clipboard items are inserted at the current position in the screen design, directly after the current item. Also, the newly pasted items are automatically made the only selected items in the current screen design; this makes them instantly available for manipulation using the Action menu commands etc. See: C13H145 Action Menu See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Delete C12 menu command This command simply removes (clears) every selected item from the current screen design. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Show Clipboard C12 menu command Use this command when you want to see exactly what's currently held on the Clipboard. The screen is cleared and the current Clipboard screen design is displayed. Click a mouse button or press a key when you have finished viewing the Clipboard design. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The View Menu Mainly contains commands to specify which features of the Screen Designer you want displayed or made active. View menu commands: C13H137 Pointer On C13H138 Snap to Grid C13H139 Grid On C13H140 Highlight Selected C13H141 Make Grid C13H142 Set Step... C13H143 Edit Images... C13H144 Show Design @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Pointer On C12 menu command Enable this command to make the arrow mouse pointer visible while editing a screen design. This will be displayed in addition to the Mouse Image. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Snap to Grid C12 menu command Enabling this command forces the Mouse Image to use the alignment grid: the top, left corner of the Mouse Image is automatically located (snapped) to the top, left corner of the nearest grid square. This makes it much easier to place design items in alignment. Note: The status of the Snap to Grid command also dictates the degree at which the Action/Shift commands operate. For details, see: C13H146 Shift Up C13H147 Shift Down C13H148 Shift Left C13H149 Shift Right See also: C13H141 Make Grid C13H139 Grid On C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Grid On C12 menu command When this command is in effect, the alignment grid is made visible. Note that the Mouse Image will only snap to the grid when the Snap to Grid command has been checked. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid Note: When visible, the alignment grid may affect the appearance of some items in the current design. Use the Show Design command or turn the alignment grid off to view the true design. See: C13H144 Show Design See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Highlight Selected C12 menu command This command should normally remain turned on (checked) as it causes selected items to be highlighted with a dotted, black and white outline. This is needed to distinguish any selected items from non-selected items. However, the highlights can be turned off if they get in the way of any operation you are trying to perform. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Make Grid C12 menu command Select this command to define a new alignment grid by specifying a rectangular area of screen to use as a single grid cell. Click on one corner (the origin) of the cell, then move the mouse to the opposite corner - note that the size of the defined area is now displayed at the top of the screen and that you can press the arrow keys to move the origin. Click a second time to set the grid cell; all other grid cells are then oriented around this. The Snap to Grid command is automatically enabled after successfully defining a new alignment grid. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid Tip: Alternatively, you can directly set the alignment grid to the current Mouse Image position and size by pressing SHIFT+F6. See also: C13H139 Grid On C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Set Step... C12 menu command Choose this command when you want to alter the number of design items to step through when pressing the PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN keys. See: C13H117 Keyboard Commands The "Set Step" dialog box is displayed so that a new "Step Rate" value can be specified directly. It is sometimes desirable to increase the "Step Rate" when working with a screen design that contains a great many items. Note: Any alteration made to the "Step Rate" setting will remain in effect until explicitly changed. This is true even when restarting the Screen Designer as the "Step Rate" setting (among other things) is maintained in the file PP256_SD.SET. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Edit Images... C12 menu command Select this command to exit the Screen Designer and invoke the PIXELplus 256 Image Editor. You will be prompted to save the current screen design if it has been altered since it was last saved. The currently loaded image file is automatically opened within the image Editor, ready for editing. For full details, see: C13H167 The Image Editor See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Show Design C12 menu command Choose this command when you want to view the current screen design without the hindrance of selected item highlights, the alignment grid, the Mouse Image etc. The screen is cleared and the current screen design is displayed. Click a mouse button or press a key when you have finished viewing the current screen design. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The Action Menu Contains commands that manipulate selected screen design items only. Tip: You can make Action menu commands affect the entire current screen design by selecting Edit/Select All beforehand. See: C13H129 Select All Action menu commands: C13H146 Shift Up C13H147 Shift Down C13H148 Shift Left C13H149 Shift Right C13H150 Centre Horizontal C13H151 Centre Vertical @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Shift Up C12 menu command Moves all selected design items up by one pixel, unless the View/Snap to Grid command is enabled in which case the items are shifted up by the depth of one alignment grid cell. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid See also: C13H147 Shift Down C13H148 Shift Left C13H149 Shift Right C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Shift Down C12 menu command Moves all selected design items down by one pixel, unless the View/Snap to Grid command is enabled in which case the items are shifted down by the depth of one alignment grid cell. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid See also: C13H146 Shift Up C13H148 Shift Left C13H149 Shift Right C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Shift Left C12 menu command Moves all selected design items left by one pixel, unless the View/Snap to Grid command is enabled in which case the items are shifted left by the width of one alignment grid cell. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid See also: C13H146 Shift Up C13H147 Shift Down C13H149 Shift Right C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Shift Right C12 menu command Moves all selected design items right by one pixel, unless the View/Snap to Grid command is enabled in which case the items are shifted right by the width of one alignment grid cell. See: C13H138 Snap to Grid See also: C13H146 Shift Up C13H147 Shift Down C13H148 Shift Left C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Centre Horizontal C12 menu command Using this command treats all selected design items as a single unit which is then centred horizontally on the screen. See also: C13H151 Centre Vertical C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Centre Vertical C12 menu command Using this command treats all selected design items as a single unit which is then centred vertically on the screen. See also: C13H150 Centre Horizontal C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The Image Menu Contains commands to set the current display action and view the images in the currently loaded image file. Image menu commands: C13H153 PSET C13H154 PRESET C13H155 OR C13H156 XOR C13H157 AND C13H158 MASK C13H159 Show All @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 PSET C12 menu command Sets PSET as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 PRESET C12 menu command Sets PRESET as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See: C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 OR C12 menu command Sets OR as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See: C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 XOR C12 menu command Sets XOR as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See: C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 AND C12 menu command Sets AND as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See: C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 MASK C12 menu command Sets MASK as the current display action which is used when placing new design items onto the screen. See: C13H170 Display Actions See also: C13H117 Keyboard Commands C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Show All C12 menu command Choose this command when you want to view all the images in the currently loaded image file together. The "Show All" dialog box is displayed with the name of the currently loaded image file shown at the top. All the images contained in the file (or as many as will fit) are displayed along with their assigned number. Use the scroll bar provided to view any images not able to fit in the supplied viewing area. Tip: You can point and click on an image to make it the current Mouse Image. This is sometimes a quicker way of selecting a specific image when the currently loaded file contains many. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 The Help Menu Contains commands to view PIXELplus 256 online Help and program information. Help menu commands: C13H161 Contents C13H162 Index C13H163 Keyboard C13H164 Using Help C13H165 About... @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Contents C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays the Table of Contents - a categorized list of Help subjects available. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Index C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays the Index - an alphabetical list of all Help topics available. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Keyboard C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays a summary of keyboard commands available in the Screen Designer. See: C13H117 Keyboard Commands See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Using Help C12 menu command Invokes online Help and displays information about how to use the online Help system itself. See: C13H003 Using Online Help See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 About... C12 menu command Displays a dialog box containing copyright and version information specific to the PIXELplus 256 Screen Designer. See also: C13H118 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Status Bar This is a single line of text (running along the bottom of the screen) used to show relevant information such as available keyboard commands, mouse button functions, menu command descriptions etc. Note: The Status Bar is only visible when the Menu Bar or a dialog box is displayed. For details, see: C13H118 Menu Bar Due to the limited space for displaying information on the Status Bar, two special symbols are used to denote the function of the mouse buttons: means click the LEFT mouse button. means click the RIGHT mouse button. For example, "Select image" on the Status Bar informs you that you can click the left mouse button to select an image, when using the Image/Show All command. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Introduction The PIXELplus 256 Image Editor makes it easy to create professional quality bitmapped graphics in 256 colours, such as sprites, icons, character sets, animations etc. These can then be used in your own BASIC programs that use the popular 320x200 VGA screen mode (SCREEN 13). Using the Image Editor is made simple due to it's friendly user interface: C13H171 Full Mouse Control C13H005 Graphical User Interface C13H006 Pull-down Menus C13H004 Simple Keyboard Commands The many powerful tools and features available make creating quality graphics easy: C13H064 18 Flexible Drawing Tools C13H067 14 Special Effects C13H110 Colour Palette Tools C13H116 Animation Tester C14 Getting Started When you first use the Image Editor, you are automatically supplied with an untitled image file containing a single, blank image. If necessary, this 100x100 image can then be resized by selecting the Image/Resize... command. See: C13H051 Resize... You can now start designing your first image by clicking on a Drawing Tool icon button - located at the top, left corner of the screen - and then use the selected tool on the Edit Grid, in the centre of the screen. If necessary, the magnification of the Edit Grid can be changed to a more manageable level by clicking on the Zoom buttons, situated directly below the Edit Grid. For details, See: C13H064 Drawing Tool Icon Buttons C13H103 Edit Grid C13H105 Zoom Buttons Tip: Clicking repeatedly on some Drawing Tool icon buttons will cause other related tools to become available. You can choose the colours you want to use by selecting them from the Palette Grid, located at the bottom, left corner of the screen. See: C13H102 Palette Grid Colours can also be altered by using the Palette Tools: simply select View/Palette Tools to have the Drawing Tools replaced with the Palette Tools. See: C13H110 Palette Tool Buttons Continue designing your image in this way, as well as utilizing the various menu and keyboard commands available. See: C13H006 Menu Commands C13H004 Keyboard Commands To create additional images, choose Image/Add... to create one or more new, blank images, or choose Image/Duplicate... to make a copy of one or more existing images. See: C13H049 Add... C13H052 Duplicate... When ready, your file of images can be saved to disk and incorporated into your own BASIC programs, in a number of different ways. Consult the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for full Image Editor details. @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Introduction The PIXELplus 256 Screen Designer makes it easy to compose screen layouts - game levels, title screens etc. - using images created with the Image Editor. This saves you having to work out the actual screen coordinates of where you want each and every design item (image) displayed. Using the Screen Designer is made simple due to it's friendly user interface: C13H171 Full Mouse Control C13H118 Pull-down Menus C13H117 Simple Keyboard Commands C14 Getting Started Before you can start designing a screen layout, you must first load the images you want to use. If you invoked the Screen Designer from within the Image Editor (by selecting View/Screen Designer...), then the image file you had open in the Image Editor is automatically loaded, otherwise you will be presented with the "Load Images" dialog box, where you can specify the image file that you want to use. For details, see: C13H126 Load Images... Next, choose Image/Show All to view all the available images, then point and click on the image you want to start designing with. See: C13H159 Show All The selected image (known as the Mouse Image) can then be positioned anywhere on the screen by moving the mouse and clicking it in place - images you add to your design are referred to as design items. You can also choose a display action to use when adding items to your design by selecting one from the Image menu. See: C13H152 Image Menu C13H170 Display Actions Tip: You can press the < and > keys to select a different Mouse Image, on-the-fly. Keys 1 through 6 can be used to select a different display action. Notice that the Menu Bar (and Status Bar) is removed to give access to the entire screen. Items can only be added to your design when the Menu Bar is not showing. Simply, click the right mouse button to show/hide the Menu Bar. Continue to build-up your screen design in this way as well as utilizing the various menu and keyboard commands available. See: C13H118 Menu Commands C13H117 Keyboard Commands You can move backwards and forwards through the "string" of screen design items by pressing the left and right arrow keys, or by pressing PAGE UP and PAGE DOWN to step quickly through the design items. This allows you to insert new items or access existing items that you want to affect in some way - delete, shift etc. When ready, your screen design can be saved to disk and incorporated into your own BASIC programs, in a number of different ways. Consult the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for full Screen Designer details. C14 File Association and C14 Compatibility When saving a screen design to disk, it's important to realize that no link or association is maintained between the screen design file and the image file that was used to design it. This gives you the freedom to load and use any image file with any compatible screen design file. For an image file and screen design file to be compatible, they must comply to the two following criteria: 1) The image file must at least contain the same number of images as used in the screen design, e.g. if the highest image number used in the screen design is 10 then the image file used must contain at least 10 images - a screen design can't display an image that doesn't exist. 2) Each and every design item (image) in the screen design must be fully displayable without going off the edge of the screen. Note: Given the above points on compatibility, it's advised that you do not make any significant alterations to any image file that you have used to create a screen design with, as this could cause the image file to become incompatible. In particular, deleting or resizing one or more images in such a file could cause problems. Tip: A simple way to remember which image file was used to create a screen design is to give the screen design file the same base name as the image file, when you save it to disk. For example, if you create a design using the GAMEOVER.PUT image file, save the screen design file as GAMEOVER.DES. @ IMAGE EDITOR C14 Save as DATA... C12 menu command This command creates an ASCII text file containing a set of BASIC DATA statements that describe the images in the current file. A further set of palette DATA statements are also included if the current image file uses a non-standard colour palette. This type of DATA file can then be used to incorporate the images directly into your own BASIC programs. See the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual for full details. The "Save Image File As DATA" dialog box is displayed containing a single "File Name" input box; simply type the file name here, then press ENTER. If no file name extension is specified, the default for BASIC DATA files (.BAS) is assumed. Note: DATA files cannot be loaded into the Image Editor for further editing. To save the current image file in a format that can be opened by the Image Editor, see: C13H011 Save See also: C13H006 Menu Bar @ SCREEN DESIGNER C14 Display Actions In your own BASIC programs, each design item (image) will be displayed on the screen using the PUT(graphics) statement which displays an image using one of five display actions - PSET, PRESET, OR, XOR, AND. Consequently, the Screen Designer itself allows you to select a display action to use when placing design items on the screen. See: C13H152 Image Menu A sixth option (MASK) is also provided which isn't a true display action but can be used in the Screen Designer to cause design items to be placed on-screen using an additional mask image. There now follows a complete description of the six display actions that can be used when placing design items on the screen in the Screen Designer. C14 PSET Causes a design item to be placed on the screen so that it completely overwrites any existing image. C14 PRESET Causes a design item to be logically inverted before being placed on the screen, overwriting any existing image. The colour number (attribute) of each pixel in the image is logically inverted which results in a different colour number being used when displaying the pixel. For example: Original colour number of image pixel: C15 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 = 15 Result: colour number of displayed pixel: C15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 = 240 C14 OR A logical OR operation is performed between the design item and the existing screen image. The colour number (attribute) of each pixel in the image is ORed with the corresponding screen pixel; the resulting value is the colour number used to display the pixel. For example: Colour number of image pixel: C15 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 = 170 OR Colour number of corresponding screen pixel: C15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 = 240 Result: colour number of displayed pixel: C15 1 1 1 1 1 0 1 0 = 250 C14 XOR A logical XOR (exclusive OR) operation is performed between the design item and the existing screen image. The colour number (attribute) of each pixel in the image is XORed with the corresponding screen pixel; the resulting value is the colour number used to display the pixel. For example: Colour number of image pixel: C15 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 = 170 XOR Colour number of corresponding screen pixel: C15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 = 240 Result: colour number of displayed pixel: C15 0 1 0 1 1 0 1 0 = 90 C14 AND A logical AND operation is performed between the design item and the existing screen image. The colour number (attribute) of each pixel in the image is ANDed with the corresponding screen pixel; the resulting value is the colour number used to display the pixel. For example: Colour number of image pixel: C15 1 0 1 0 1 0 1 0 = 170 AND Colour number of corresponding screen pixel: C15 1 1 1 1 0 0 0 0 = 240 Result: colour number of displayed pixel: C15 1 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 = 160 C14 MASK This is a special display action which causes a design item to be placed on the screen so that only the item's exact shape is displayed, allowing the background image to still be visible around it. In order to achieve this, an additional mask image is required: the image coming directly after the Mouse Image (in the currently loaded image file) is assumed to be the corresponding mask image - created using the Image Editor's Convert to Mask... command. For details, see: C13H053 Convert to Mask... For example, if you have image number 10 selected as the current Mouse Image, then image number 11 is assumed to be the corresponding mask image. When using the MASK display action, the mask image is first placed on the screen using the AND display action, then the actual Mouse Image is placed on top, using the OR display action. Note: Placing design items using the MASK display action actually causes two items to be placed at a time. Using MASK simply makes it easier to place design items using a mask image - the same effect could be achieved by first placing the mask image using the AND display action, and then placing the actual image on top of it using the OR display action. The use of mask images and the masking technique is discussed fully in the PIXELplus 256 User's Manual. @ PIXELplus 256 C14 Using the Mouse PIXELplus 256 requires the use of a mouse pointing device and makes extensive use of both the left and right mouse buttons. This makes using PIXELplus 256 easier and more intuitive than using just the keyboard. Terms used to describe how to use the mouse are detailed below: C14 Left-click (or just click) Quickly press and release the left mouse button. The term "click" on its own also refers to clicking using the left mouse button, e.g. "Click on the OK button" means point and click on the OK button, using the left mouse button. C14 Right-click Quickly press and release the right mouse button. C14 Double-click Press and release the left mouse button twice in rapid succession. The term "double-click" always refers to using the left mouse button as no operation in PIXELplus 256 requires you to double-click using the right mouse button. C14 Drag Press and hold down the mouse button while moving the mouse. Different dragging operations will require either the left or right mouse button to be used. The left mouse button should be used for dragging when no button is specified, e.g. "Drag down from the menu name". @