Copyright: (c) 1996-1997 ACD Systems, Ltd.


Overview

Congratulations on choosing PicaView 32 version 1.21  the fastest and easiest-to-use Explorer add-on for viewing images.

Features

•	displays thumbnail, format and dimensions of selected image in context menu

•	handles BMP, DCX, GIF, IFF-ILBM, JPEG, PCX, Photo-CD, SoftImage PIC, PNG, PhotoShop PSD, TGA, TIFF and WMF image formats

•	rapid decoding of full-size image with incremental display and zoom

•	auto enlarge or reduce image to fit screen

•	prints images

•	sets the desktop wallpaper

•	single or batch format conversion of images to BMP, PCX or JPEG (including progressive JPEG)

•	256 colour and high colour quantization/dithering modes for high quality output

•	includes installation and uninstallation software

Minimum System Requirements

•	Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0

•	Video display of at least 256 colours


Changes
Changes - What’s new in version 1.21?

+	New feature

o	Minor change

!!	Bug fix

Changes since version 1.2

+	print support for multi-page images (DCX and TIFF)

!!	context menu in view windows did not come up with right mouse button

!!	only the first line of a long file description was rendered during printing

Changes since version 1.12

+	batch format conversion

+	convert to PCX

+	JPEG conversion options

o	convert 1bpp images to JPEG

!!	fixed problem handling RLE encoded BMP files with delta escapes

!!	fixed support for 16/32 bpp BMP files using BI_BITFIELDS encoding

!!	worked around bug in Win95 that caused system resource leak when decoding WMF files

!!	changed PCX decoder to correctly decode badly encoded images: those where byte runs cross row boundaries and those with incorrect 256 colour palette markers

!!	fixed support for EGA PCX images

!!	updated Internet Explorer 4.0 extensions to work with IE 4.0 release

Changes since version 1.11

!!	bug could cause Explorer to crash when closing PicaView windows

!!	possible failure displaying large images in Windows 95

!!	worked around bug in Win32 that prevented Options dialog from displaying

!!	problem handling animated GIF images with missing GCE's

Changes since version 1.1

+	added support for SoftImage PIC format

+	added support for DCX format (multi-page PCX FAX)

+	added support for IFF HAM, HAM8 and EHB sub-formats

+	added support for JPEG-CMYK and PSD-CMYK

+	added German and French language support

o	reduced memory overhead for loading GIF images

!!	some interlaced animated GIF images were not decoded properly

!!	fixed bug which could cause Explorer to crash after closing certain images

!! wallpaper would not set correctly on Windows NT/97

!! round-off error could cause horiztonal lines to appear when decoding interlaced images at a high zoom level

!!	removed Internet Explorer 4.0 extensions, which no longer work with the IE 4.0 release version

Changes since version 1.0

+	added support for animated GIF, WMF, IFF and PSD formats

+	added zoom features

+	added configuration options

+	added SHIFT and CONTROL modifiers to temporarily disable/enable PicaView

+	added new print options

o	changed menu layout to use less space in primary menu

o	thumbnails now appear correctly on 256 colour displays (when Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 shell integration has been installed)

o	a selection rectangle is drawn around the thumbnail when selected, rather than inverting the thumbnail’s colours (when MSIE 4.0 shell integration has been installed)

!!	fixed bug which caused a “pure virtual function call” error when used with MSIE 4.0

!!	fixed bug which could cause PicaView to hang when decoding truncated IFF images


Using PicaView

PicaView installs into Windows Explorer.  There are several different areas in Explorer where PicaView is active:

•	Explorer windows

•	My Computer windows

•	Open/Save as dialog boxes

•	Find Files result windows

To access PicaView’s features, simply highlight an image file and click on it with the alternate (right) mouse button.  If you have a Microsoft keyboard, you can also press the Menu key.  If PicaView recognizes the image type, it will add items to the normal context menu.


Context Menu Commands

If PicaView recognizes the file you selected as an image, it will add two items to its context menu:

•	image thumbnail

•	image format and dimensions

The image format and dimensions item is actually a sub-menu containing the following items:

•	view command

•	print command

•	wallpaper commands

•	format conversion command

•	options command

•	about and help commands

If PicaView does not recognize the file you selected as an image, then no items will be added to its context menu.

If you selected more than one image file, PicaView will provide the following additional top-level menu item:

•	batch format conversion command

You can prevent PicaView from displaying a preview in the menu by holding down the SHIFT key when accessing the context menu.  If you hold down the CTRL key, PicaView is disabled and will not add any items at all to the context menu.


Image thumbnail

PicaView will add a small version (thumbnail) of the selected image to the context menu.  This is a convenient way of quickly viewing an image.

The thumbnail can be selected like any other menu item.  When it is invoked, PicaView will display the full size image in a new window.

You can prevent PicaView from adding the thumbnail by holding down SHIFT when you access the context menu.  (See also: Options).  The remaining menu items will still be added as before.  To disable PicaView completely, hold down the CTRL key when you access the context menu.

Note:  If you are running on a system with a 256 colour display, Internet Explorer 4.0 with Shell Integration is required for the thumbnail colours to correctly appear.  (In addition, IE 4.0 allows PicaView to display a selection rectangle around the thumbnail when selected rather than inverting the image colours)  The Internet Explorer 4.0 upgrade is available freely from Microsoft.


Image format and dimensions

PicaView will add the format, pixel dimensions and colour depth of the image to the context menu.  This is a useful summary of the image properties.

The information is displayed in the following form:

width x height x colours  format

For example, a JPEG format colour image that is 350 pixels wide by 632 pixels high would have the following information displayed:

350x532x16M jpeg

This format and dimensions menu item is actually a pop-up menu.  The following commands are available from this menu:

•	view command

•	print command

•	wallpaper commands

•	format conversion command

•	options command

•	about and help commands


View command

Invoking this command will cause the image to be viewed full-size in a new view window.


Print command

Invoking this command will cause the image to be printed.  PicaView will print the image so that it is the same size on the printed page as it would appear on your monitor.  However, if the display size is larger than the page size, the image will be shrunk to fit.


Wallpaper command
Wallpaper commands

These commands allow you to change your desktop wallpaper to the selected image.  You can do this with any image format – PicaView will automatically convert it to BMP format.  If the image is larger than the current screen size, it will be automatically shrunk to fit.  The following menu sub-items are the commands to control the wallpaper feature:

Tiled

This command will cause the selected image to be tiled (repeated) over the desktop to fill the entire space.

Centered

This command will cause the selected image to be placed in the center of the desktop.

Restore

This command will remove PicaView’s desktop wallpaper, restoring your normal wallpaper (if any).


Convert… command
Format conversion command

This command allow you to change the format of an image from any supported type to BMP, JPEG or PCX.  The converted file will be written to the same folder as the original and with the same file name, but with a new extension that corresponds to the image format you chose.

“Options” button

When you are converting to JPEG format, you can click on this button to fine tune compression parameters such as compression ratio and progressive encoding.

“Overwrite existing” option

In cases where the output file already exists, the following actions are taken based on the choice you have selected in the drop down list of conversion dialog box

Replace	The existing file is overwritten by the converted image file
Skip	The conversion is cancelled and the existing file is preserved
Rename	The file name of converted image file is altered as necessary so that it does not conflict with any other file in the same folder
Ask	You are prompted as to whether you want to overwrite the existing file or not.

See also: Batch format conversion command


Batch convert… command
Batch format conversion command

This command is available when you have selected more than one image.  It works just like the Format conversion command, except that all of the files are converted to the selected output format in one action.


Options

Selecting the Options command from the PicaView context menu will allow the following options to be configured:

Check files with these extensions

Normally, PicaView will attempt to read every file you access the context menu for in order to determine if it is an image.  This allows you to use PicaView with image files that do not have an appropriate extension.  However, this may slow down access to the context menu, especially on CD-ROM and floppy drives.  Therefore, it is possible to configure PicaView to only attempt to read files that have a recognized extension, such as .JPG.

Don’t add thumbnail to context menu

Checking this option will prevent PicaView from adding the thumbnail to the context menu.  You can bypass this option at any time by holding down the SHIFT key while bringing up the context menu.

Auto-zoom

When you click on the thumbnail for an image in the context menu, the image is opened in a window and shown at full size.  If you check the Shrink image to fit screen option, an image that is larger than the screen will be automatically reduced in size to fit within the screen.  If you check the Enlarge image to fit screen option, an image that is smaller than the screen will be automatically enlarged to fit the screen.  Note that whether or not you have these options checked, you can always use the * key on the numeric keypad to enlarge or reduce the image to fit the screen.


Full-size viewing windows

When you select the image preview item from the context menu for an image, it is displayed in full size in a view window.  You can have several view windows open simultaneously.

Scrolling

If the image is larger than the size of the view window, then you can scroll it by clicking within the window with the primary (left) mouse button and dragging in the direction you wish to move the image.  You can also scroll using the cursor keys.  Holding down the Control key and pressing one of the cursor keys will scroll one page in the corresponding direction.

Zooming

You can enlarge or reduce the view of the image by pressing the + and - keys on the numeric keypad, respectively.  The * key automatically sizes the image to fit your screen.  The / key will return the image to normal size

Context menu

You can click in the view window with the alternate (right) mouse button (or press the Menu key) to get a context menu of commands.  These commands allow you to print, set the desktop wallpaper, zoom, and reload the image.

You can close a view window by clicking on the close gadget in the right of the title bar, or by pressing the Esc key.


What is registration?

PicaView is "Shareware".  This means that we have made the software available to you for free evaluation.  You are entitled to evaluate the software for up to 30 days without obligation to pay.  After 30 days, if you decide to keep the software, you must register your copy with us for a small fee.

Shareware (non-registered) PicaView is a "full-featured" release.  This means that the same capabilities available in the registered software are present in the non-registered software.  This allows you to try out all the features in PicaView to confirm that they work to your satisfaction.  In fact, the non-registered software includes a bonus feature - the shareware nag box.  This is an added incentive for users to register the software rather than continue using it indefinitely without paying.

•	Why should I register?

•	How can I register?


Why should I register?

For many people, the most pressing reason to register is to get rid of the annoying nag box, which pops up at the most inconvenient times.

But besides this, registration entitles you free technical support and minor upgrades to the software.  Registration may also entitle you to discounts on new software releases from ACD Systems.  We will also send you information bulletins by email to let you know about what’s happening with ACD Systems’ shareware products.

Finally, by registering the software, you provide us with the resources and incentive to support the software with updates and to develop additional quality shareware products in the future.


How can I register?

The registration fee for PicaView32 is $26 US.  Registered users of PicaView for Windows 3.x are automatically registered for PicaView32.  If you are part of a business and wish to use several copies of PicaView within your company, greatly reduced site licensing rates are also available.

For your convenience and protection, we provide the following secure methods of registration:

•	Telephone

•	FAX

•	Internet

•	CompuServe

•	Postal mail

See also:

PicaView order form

How to unlock the software

Licensing agreement


Unlocking the software

One you have registered PicaView with ACD Systems, Ltd, you will receive a registration code that you can use to unlock the software:

1.	Bring up the Registration dialog box by first clicking on an image and then selecting Register PicaView from the context menu.

2.	Enter your name in the registration dialog.

3.	A pre-registration code appears.  This is a numerical encoding of your name.  ACD Systems may require you to state this number if you register by telephone.

4.	Enter your registration code in the box provided.

5.	Click on OK

If you entered your name and registration code correctly, you will be thanked and the software will unlock itself.  Otherwise you will have to try again.


Getting a multiple-user site license

If your company or institution is interested in licensing PicaView for several users, you can save a lot of money by purchasing a site license.  The program is licensed to your company for use at a single site with the agreed upon number of users.

The pricing schedule for site licenses can be found on the WWW at:

http://www.acdsystems.com

If you are interested in arranging a site license, please give us a call toll-free at 1-800-414-2237, fax 1-800-819-2207, or e-mail acdshare@acdsystems.com.


Order Form
PicaView 32 v1.21 Order Form

USA	Canada

ACD Systems, Inc.	ACD Systems, Ltd.

Suite 100, 2201 North Collins	PO Box 730

Arlington, TX  76011	Victoria, BC Canada V8W 2P9

North America	International

Phone: 	1 (800) 414 2237	Phone: 	1 (250) 382 4701

Fax: 	1 (800) 819 2207	Fax: 	1 (250) 382 7099

Date____________________________

Name__________________________________________________________________________________________

Company____________________________________________________	Phone___________________________

Street_______________________________________________________	FAX____________________________

City _________________________	State/Province______	Country____________________	 Zip/PC______________

Email______________________@__________________________________________________________________

All amounts are in United States dollars.  Prices will be honoured until June 30, 1997.

Please call about site licenses rates, special educational discounts and other offers.

Single user license	___@ $26.00	=__________

            (or)

Single user license + latest version on disk	___@ $30.00	=__________

Disk shipping and handling, if applicable

U.S. & Canada	___ @ $4.95	=__________

Other Areas	___ @ $11.00	=__________

Total  (US funds only)	=__________

Method of payment:  Cheque___	 Money order___	 MasterCard___	VISA___

Name exactly as on credit card_____________________________________________________________________

Card number____________________________________________________________________________________

Exp. Date_____________	Signature________________________________________________________________


Registering by telephone

To register by phone, call 1 (800) 414 2237.

Where international 800 service is unavailable, please call 1 (250) 382-4701.

Operators are standing by to take your order 24 hours a day, every day of the week.

Please have your VISA or MasterCard ready when you place your call.

You may also need to provide your Pre-registration code.  To obtain your Pre-registration code, bring up the Registration dialog box by selecting Register PicaView from Explorer’s context menu and enter your name in the box.  Your pre-registration code will appear in the box to the right.


Registering by FAX

1.	print out and complete the supplied order form

2.	FAX the completed form to 1 (800) 819 2207 [outside North America: 1 (250) 382-7099]

3.	we will send you your registration number via e-mail or post


Registering through CompuServe

If you are a member of the CompuServe Information Service, you may register via the Shareware Registration Database:

1.	log onto CompuServe

2.	enter GO SWREG

3.	follow the on-line instructions

4.	enter the title PicaView for the search criteria and then select Display Selected Titles

5.	select PicaView 32 for Windows 95/NT, click on Description and follow the on-line instructions

You can use the following list of numbers to locate this and other ACD Systems products that can be registered via SWREG:

PicaView 32	14209

PicaView NT	14208

PicaView 16	6115

ACDSee 16	4057

ACDSee 32	10146

Your registration information will be electronically mailed to your CompuServe account within a few business days.


Registering by postal mail

1.	print out and complete the supplied order form

2.	send completed order form with your US funds cheque or money order to one of the addresses listed at the top of the order form

Your registration information will be sent to you via e-mail or post.


Registering by Internet

If you have a credit card, you can register via the Internet from our web site:

http://www.acdsystems.com/acd/acdsee95.htm


Licensing details

1. Distribution

This shareware software may be freely distributed, provided that:

1.	Such distribution includes only the original archive supplied by ACD Systems, Ltd.  You may not alter, delete or add any files in the distribution archive.

2.	The distribution does not include a registration number.  In particular, you may not distribute a registered version of PicaView.

3.	No money is charged to the person receiving the software, beyond reasonable cost of packaging and other overhead.

For information about redistribution of PicaView...

WWW:	http://www.acdsystems.com

E-mail:	acdshare@acdsystems.com

Fax:	1 (800) 819 2207 (toll free)

2. License

By receiving and/or using ACD Systems software, you accept the following Evaluation and Registered User Agreement.  This agreement is a binding legal agreement between ACD Systems Ltd. and the purchasers, users or evaluators of ACD Systems' software and products.  If you do not intend to honor this agreement, remove all installed ACD Systems software from your computer now.

3. Evaluation (Unregistered) and Registered User Agreement

You may evaluate the Shareware program for maximum of thirty calendar days, after which you must register the program with ACD Systems Ltd. or remove the software from your computer.

You may allow other users to evaluate copies of the unregistered Shareware. All evaluation users are subject to the terms of this agreement.

The evaluator/user/buyer/owner is not allowed to attempt to reverse engineer, disassemble or decompile ACD Systems Software and products.

ACD Systems name and any logo or graphics file that represents our software may not be used in any way to promote products developed with our software.  All parts of ACD Systems software and products are copyright protected.  No program, code, part, image, video clip, audio sample, text or computer generated sequence of images may be copied or used in any way by the user except as intended within the bounds of the single user program.

The evaluator/user/buyer/owner of ACD Systems software will indemnify, hold harmless, and defend ACD Systems against lawsuits, claims, costs associated with defense or accusations that result from the use of ACD Systems software.

ACD Systems is not responsible for any damages whatsoever, including loss of information, interruption of business, personal injury and/or any damage or consequential damage without limitation, incurred before, during or after the use of our products.  Our entire liability, without exception, is limited to the customers' reimbursement of the purchase price of the software (maximum being the suggested retail price as listed by ACD Systems) in exchange for the return of the product, all copies, registration papers and manuals, and all materials that constitute a transfer of ownership from the customer back to ACD Systems.

Each registered copy of the ACD Systems software may be used in only one single location by one user.  Use of the software means that you have loaded the program and run it or have installed the program onto a computer.  If you install the software onto a multi-user platform or network, each and every individual user of the software must be registered separately.

You may make one copy of the registered software for backup purposes, providing you only have one copy installed on one computer being used by one person. If any person other than yourself uses ACD Systems' software registered in your name, regardless of whether it is at the same time or different times, then this agreement is being violated!

The sale of and or distribution of registered copies of this software is strictly forbidden.  It is a violation of this agreement to loan, rent, lease, borrow, or transfer the use of registered copies of ACD Systems Software products.


Getting program updates

You may download PicaView 32 from the following sources:

Internet WWW

http://www.acdsystems.com

http://www.acdsys.com

http://www.acdvictoria.com

Internet FTP

ftp://ftp.servtech.com/pub/users/acdsys/PicaView/

ftp://ftp.islandnet.com/acd/PicaView/

ftp://ftp.island.net/pub/acdsys/PicaView/

ftp://ftp.coast.net/pub/SimTel/win95/graphics/

ftp://ftp.winsite.com/pub/pc/win95/desktop/

PicaView should also be available from any other mirror of the Winsite or SimTel, the Coast to Coast Software Repository (tm) Windows 95 archives.

Direct Modem Connection

(250)479-6253, N81, 9600-14.4k, log on as acdsys


Getting technical support and contributing feedback

Technical Support

Registered users are entitled to technical support, should the need arise.  Please contacts us by email at acdshare@acdsystems.com or 74404,2711 on CompuServe..  If you do not have e-mail access, you may telephone us at (250) 382-4701.  Our office hours are Monday to Friday, 12 noon to 10 PM (EST).

Feedback

If you have any comments or concerns about PicaView please direct them to acdshare@acdsystems.com or 74404,2711 on CompuServe.  Your feedback is important to us in order to get an idea of how to make PicaView a better product for you.  Many of PicaView’s features and significant portions of PicaView’s interface have been heavily influenced by comments from users.  So if you have an grand idea for a new feature, or a better way of doing something, please drop us a note.


Contacting ACD Systems

E-mail	acdshare@acdsystems.com

WEB	http://www.acdsystems.com

http://www.acdnet.com

http://www.acdsys.com

http://www.acdvictoria.com

FTP	ftp://ftp.acdsystems.com/pub

ftp://ftp.islandnet.com/acd

ftp://www.servtech.com/pub/users/acdsys

CompuServe	74404,2711

Telephone	Support	1 (250) 382 4701	9 AM to 5 PM PST, Monday to Friday

Orders only	1 (800) 414 2237	24 hours a day, 7 days a week

FAX	N. America	1 (800) 819 2207

International	1 (250) 382 7099

Post	USA	ACD Systems, Inc.

Suite 100, 2201 North Collins

Arlington, TX  76011

Canada	ACD Systems, Ltd.

PO Box 730

Victoria, BC, Canada V8W 2P9


Acknowledgments

The colour quantization/dithering features and JPEG decoder of PicaView were made possible through the use of code produced by the Independent JPEG Group.

PicaView’s TIFF support was made possible through the use of code in Sam Leffler's TIFF library, version 3.4 beta.

Thank you to all users who have contributed to PicaView by communicating problems, suggestions, designs and art work.


Enter your full name here (as it appears on your credit card, if you are registering by credit card).  It must contain at least 5 letters.


This is your pre-registration code.  It is generated from your name.  ACD Systems may ask you for this number if you register by telephone.


This is the product ID code.  ACD Systems may ask you for this number if you register by telephone.


Type in the registration code given to you by ACD Systems when you register.


Validates your registration information and unlocks the software


Closes the dialog box without validating your registration information.


Provides information on the registration process.


Connects to the ACD Systems web site using the default browser.


Prints the visible contents of the window only.


Prints the entire image.


Centers the image in the page.


Prints the image at the top of the page.


Prints the image’s file name.


Prints the image’s file description.


Prints the image’s resolution and format.


Prints one image per page.


Automatically sizes the image to fit the page.


Specifies that PicaView should only examine files with names ending in a recognized image extension. (BMP, DIB, RLE, GIF, IFF, LBM, ILBM, JPG, JPE, JPEG, JIF, JFIF, PCD, PCX, PNG, PSD, TGA, TIF, TIFF, WMF)  Using this setting will speed up access to the context menu for non-image files.


Specifies that PicaView should examine all files, including those with unrecognized file name extensions.


Automatically reduce large images to fit within the screen when displayed.


Automatically enlarge small images to fit the screen when displayed.


Automatically change the size of the image to fit in the window when it is resized.


Don’t add the thumbnail to the context menu.  You can bypass this option at any time by holding down the SHIFT key while bringing up the context menu.