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APPENDIX A: USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE This software is being distributed under the User- Supported Concept or Shareware. Individuals, clubs and other non-profit organizations are encouraged to copy this software and distribute it to members and friends, provided no price other than the cost of a diskette is charged, the receiver is informed of the User-Supported Software (Shareware) concept and encouraged to participate, and the program and documentation are not modified in any way. The printed documentation should not be copied or dis- tributed! If an individual finds the program of use, he is trusted to send in a $100 payment to: Edward H. Kidera IV OEDWARE P.O. Box 595 Columbia, MD 21045-0595 (301) 997-9333 If the software is not of use to you, you should discontinue its use, but please pass it along to friends for their evaluation. What constitutes "use" of a program is a good question. Trying the program to see what it does is not using the pro- gram. Creating drawings or other graphics is using the program. Even if you only use the program on weekends, or evenings, you are still using it and should register. Some people seem to think that they must use PC-KEY-DRAW every day to constitute "use", but this is not fair to me. Whether you use the program or not, please give a copy to someone else. It just may be exactly what they are looking for. If you have access to a Bul- letin Board System (BBS), please put PC-KEY-DRAW on the BBS so that others can use it. If you are a librarian, please add PC-KEY-DRAW to your library. If you are a distributor please include PC-KEY-DRAW USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE A-1 in the programs you distribute. Registered owners will receive periodic updates for a minimal charge and will receive a phone number for fast response to questions. I have many future improvements and companion programs planned. Please support my effort by registering. Updates to regis- tered users will never be more than $10.00 for the program disk, no matter how substantial the changes are. Shareware should be very popular with most PC users. It means that the software is not copy pro- tected making backup easy and use with a hard disk or RAM disk a snap. It also allows you to try before you buy to see if the program actually does what it says it does. Shareware will only continue if you the user does support it. Another advantage to Shareware is price. PC-KEY-DRAW is well worth the registration price. Many of its features can not be found for under $500 in commercial software and some cannot be touched for under $1500. The final advantage to Shareware is my commitment to expanding and improving the program. USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE A-2 Why pay for software you are already using? Registration provides many benefits to the user. If you register PC-KEY-DRAW you will receive: . Printed Users Manual in IBM size binder with information on getting the most out of PC-KEY- DRAW, (it looks nice on your shelf too). . Second library disk (see Appendix H) with 640+ fill patterns, several library pictures and many very useful macros. . Third library disk with 14 extra fonts and text oriented macros. . Fourth library disk with more fonts and flow chart symbols. . HP LaserJet printer support. . Registered version of the program with name in the program code. . Telephone or mail support when you need help, for one year after registration. Phone support is available from 8:00 am to 9:00 pm seven days a week. . Notification of updates and the ability to update for only $10 for the latest disk. Registration helps you in other ways: . You are supporting the shareware concept. 1. You can try the software before you buy it. 2. You pay a reasonable price for you software. 3. You avoid the frustration of copy protec- tion. 4. You encourage others to develop shareware. . You are also supporting new OEDWARE develop- ments. PC-KEY-DRAW is constantly being improved, your support is needed and appreci- ated. Like public television, shareware is supported by those who find it valuable. USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE A-3 INVOICE DATE OF ORDER ORDER NUMBER DATE OF INVOICE DATE OF SHIPMENT TO: ___________________________________________________ : QTY : DESCRIPTION : UNIT : EXTEN : :______:_______________________:_________:________: : : : : : : : PC-KEY-DRAW : $100.00 : : : : Version 3.31+ : : : : : : : : : 1 : 0% Discount : : : : 2-6 : 20% Discount : : : : 7-19 : 40% Discount : : : : 20+ : Call for Discount : : : : : : : : : : Extra Manual : 15.00 : : :______:_______________________:_________:________: SUB TOTAL MARYLAND RESIDENTS ADD 5% TAX Shipping (non-North America) $10 --------- TOTAL DUE Send Check or Money Order in US dollars to: Edward H. Kidera IV OEDWARE P.O. Box 595 Columbia, MD 21045-0595 USER-SUPPORTED SOFTWARE A-4 APPENDIX B: START UP Welcome to PC-KEY-DRAW. This info is provided to help the first time user get started. Questions on disk copying, DOS, formatting, BATch files, etc. are best answered by the DOS manual and/or local user group. Load DOS into your computer. PC-KEY-DRAW requires DOS 2.0 or later. DOS 3.1 or later is recommended. If your system has more than 256K of RAM memory available, set up a RAM disk of at least 40K for the program workspace. Use larger workspace for multiple page operation. You may want to add an AUTOEXEC.BAT file to load the RAM disk at start up. (RAM disk software is not included.) Insert program diskette in drive A:. Enter MENU at the A> prompt to display a menu with basic options. Start by making a back up copy or two using INSTALL.BAT. PC-KEY-DRAW is not copy protected. Place a formatted DS/DD diskette in drive B: and the original in drive A:. Copy the original dis- kette onto B: and store the original in a safe place. While you are at it, make a copy or two for f r i e n d s . Next trial users will want to print out the User Manual and Update sheet by selecting the appropri- ate menu item number. Registered users should print out the update sheet. To run the program select KD. KD.BAT is a BATch file that can be modified to your particular needs, such as running GRAPHICS.COM before loading the program for printing on an IBM or Epson printer. OEDLIN is ideal for creating and editing BATch files and is available from OEDWARE for $15 for full registration. START UP B-1 The first time PC-KEY-DRAW is run, the configura- tion screen will appear. Set the parameters to match your system. Use a RAM disk or hard disk for the workspace. Generally this configuration needs only to be done once, but it can be done when ever required by system changes, by selecting <Ctrl-s> for status from the CURSOR MODE. To move through the configuration screen use the <ENTER> key. Selecting a printer number switches to the zoom printer configuration screen. Store the configura- tion to disk with <Ctrl-s>. The program gives you the option of setting the horizontal screen dimension. This is useful for engineering drawings. For general pictures respond to the "set scale" question with a <n>o or <ENTER> for the default scale. <n> resets the scale to pixel scaling, while <ENTER> leaves the scale as it was. If you select <y>es then you will be asked to enter the horizontal screen dimension (example 40 ft. or 20 meters) and the scale used. Demo Programs: A library disk is included at no extra charge. A demonstration slide show is on the library disk along with many screens. To run the slide show get yourself a beer or soda, put the library disk in B: (or better yet on a RAM disk or hard disk). While in medium resolution select <Alt-k> and <r>un B:SCNSHOW. The screens can be used to add to your own drawings. From DOS simple enter SLIDEMO followed by the drive letter of the drive that contains Library Disk #1. A second demo program is included to act as a tutorial and demon- stration of what the program can do. Select <Alt-k> and <r>un A:DEMO.BAT or select DEMO from DOS. Sit back, watch the action, and enjoy the cool one. <Esc> can be used to exit the demo at anytime. Both demo programs are actually key macros created simply by drawing with the program. START UP B-2 The DRAWING TECHNIQUES section of the manual pro- vides several examples to help get you started, but first take a look at OPERATION THEORY. The program is easy and very fast, if you understand how it works. Don't let the numerous commands scare you. Start simple and experiment, learning as you go. Remember, PC-KEY-DRAW is very case sensitive. It uses the case of a letter (lower, upper, control, or alternate to) to determine exactly what it is to do. Be sure the Caps Lock and Num Lock are off. If a "C" is flashing on the prompt line it indi- cates that the Caps Lock is on and it should be off. If an "N" is flashing on the prompt line it indicates that the Num Lock is on and it should be turned off. You should also take a look at User-Supported Soft- ware for information about copying and distributing this program. START UP B-3 APPENDIX C: PROGRAM FILES The following list of files are needed for PC-KEY- DRAW. Check the disk in DOS by using the directory command (DIR) to see that all of the files are included. If you do not have a complete set the program may not operate to its fullest. The time indicated for the files KD*.* is the version number you have. Anyone distributing this program to friends, please be sure to include all files. AUTOEXEC.BAT Batch file to start the program on boot KD-DRAW EXE Main program for creating graph- ics. The version number is dis- played when the program is entered and exited. KD-DRAW TXT Menu text for KD-DRAW KD-DRAW HLP Help file for KD-DRAW. Remove this or rename it to run PC- KEY-DRAW in a demo mode, ie. to distribute the macros slide shows you create. KD-PAINT PIC Picture of possible colors to paint with. KD-PTRN PIC Fill pattern file. See library disk #2 for other pattern files. KD-FONT1 FNT Font file for large filled text. KD-FONT2 FNT Font file for large outlined text. See Library Disk#3 for more fonts. KD-MOUSE MSC Source code for Mouse Systems mouse driver. KD-MOUSE COM Mouse Systems mouse driver KD-MSMOS DEF Source code for Microsoft mouse driver. KD-MSMOS MNU Microsoft mouse driver KD-PRNT? TBL Printer table for zoom printing PROGRAM FILES C-1 KD-UPDAT TXT Updates to PC-KEY-DRAW not included in manual. KD-MENU TXT DOS menu text BASRUN EXE Required by KD-DRAW, DATEIT, KD- LASER for them to run. This file must not be copied except when included with the rest of P C - K E Y - D R A W . KD-TRANS EXE Translates MaCRo files into a form more easily edited with a text editor. KEYTBL DAT Translation data for KD-TRANS DATEIT EXE Replaces DOS date function DATEIT DAT Date file for DATEIT.EXE CAMERA COM Public domain capture program to grab screen images from other programs. H BAT Help file for information on using DOS menu system. I BAT Provides basic information on the program. KD BAT Batch file to run PC-KEY-DRAW. This file should be modified as needed for your individual use. DEMO BAT Loads KD-DRAW and runs itself as a macro to demonstrate some of PC-KEY-DRAW's features. SLIDEMO BAT Runs SCNSHOW.MCR on Library Disk #1. DOC BAT Prints the disk manual INSTALL BAT Batch file to copy disk to another or to install PC-KEY- DRAW on a hard disk. MENU BAT Displays DOS menu. Run this first!!! KD-DRAW DFT Program configuration parameters (this may or may not be present) KD-DRAW JMP Jump to file for Alt-0 to Alt-9 (this may or may not be present) PROGRAM FILES C-2 APPENDIX D: IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS The following list the more major changes. Numer- ous other minor changes have been made that are not listed. (in particular bug fixes, and speed increases) The following is arrange by version number. 3.1 adds the following over 3.0 1. Macros can be called from DOS on the command line when calling KD-DRAW. A>KD-DRAW A:SAMPLE will call and run the sample macro. 2. Space bar temporarily suspends continuous cur- sor drawing. 3. The prompt line has been rearranged for more information and cleaner look 4. <Alt-F10> provides temporary setting of back- ground color 5. Outline has been added to F2 to allow any object to be outlined in color. Use <F10> to set outline color and <Alt-F10> to set color to be outlined. Outline has many uses. Try it with text or use it when transferring from high resolution to medium resolution. 6. Direct coordinate entry has been added for all operations to speed input of objects. An <x> selected in cursor mode or when in a function allows the user to enter the scaled x and y coordinates. 7. The menu selection system for each function has been greatly expand to provide additional information and make learning PC-KEY-DRAW easier. Use by selecting the desired function, use cursor keys to display options, select dis- played option by hitting <ENTER> or use equiva- lent command. 1. 3.11 adds 5 different full screen loads for use in slide shows. Select <F8 Alt-o> for using the display loads. Select load 1-5.(see <h>elp from F8 for more information) 1. 3.13 adds direct partial screen load using <F7 O>. IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-1 2. Ability to turn off cursor during macro play- back if desired. 1. 3.15 removes bug in configuring the printer. 2. Allows absolute setting of resolution for macros with <Alt-r>. 3. Disable workspace update by setting the update frequency to 0. 4. Traps additional printer errors. 5. Provides scrolling of text in <F6 T>. 1. 3.16 provides music <Ctrl-p> capability using the PLAY command of BASICA 1. 2. Screen loads are 5 to 8 times faster. Great for full screen animation. 1. 3.17 adds the ability of reading text from any ASCII file. 2. HP LaserJet support is provided for registered users. KD-LASER.EXE is on Library Disk #2. It can be run interactively or run in a batch file by setting the appropriate parameters. Before running KD-LASER use the following to match the computer and printer: MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P MODE LPT1:=COM1 1. 3.18 adds improved mouse support by allowing menus to be called with < > or </> from Cursor Mode. 2. Last copied or erased area is no longer lost when <Esc> is used to exit 3. Text mode screens can be called up in a macro slide show from within FATBITS using <o> and entering name of screen to load. A "40C" extension is assumed for 40 column text and "80C" for 80 column text mode. 4. Second library disk of 500+ fill patterns, a third font, useful macros and library pictures are available to registered users. 5. A public domain program (CAMERA) is included on IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-2 the disk to capture screens from other pro- grams. See KD.BAT for additional information. 6. Bug in setting visual layers has been cor- rected. 1. 3.19 speeds up loading of partial screens (F7), loading of display screens, loading of pat- terns, and screen scrolling. 2. Grid lines and dots now work properly, indepen- dent of screen aspect ratio. 3. Full screen zoom has been refined. Macro avail- able to zoom one screen into 4 4. Use <Esc> to return to Cursor mode when prompted to Hit Any Key to Continue just before printing. 5. Default extensions used by PC-KEY-DRAW can be changed as desired. 1. 3.20 provides filled arrows using <F2 Alt-a> and provides 45 degree steps to for arrow posi- tion. 2. Filled boxes can be created automatically using <F2 Alt-r>. 3. Text can be put on the screen vertically using <F6 T u>p or <F6 T d>own. 4. Selected fill pattern screen is kept as the default screen. 1. 3.21's macro files are 30% smaller than earlier versions. 3.21 can run any other versions macros, but macros created with 3.21 can only be run with 3.21 or later. 2. You can ready move through the 8 main functions without first exiting a function. Simply select the desired function key. 1. 3.22 provides full access to all DOS drives A-Z for use with Networks or the SUBST command. 2. Select alternate method of indicating the amount of zoom. Select </> or < > when asked for scale factor to put in zoom factor. Scale factors greater than 1 shrink the screen or IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-3 object, while factors less than one expand the screen or object. Zoom factors greater than 1 expand the screen or object, while factors less than one shrink the screen or object. 3. Multiple arrows in the same direction can be Entered with <ENTER> after the first one is defined with <F2 Alt-a> or <F2 a>. 4. A sixth FONT has been added to the second library disk. (For registered users only.) 1. 3.23 improves then main menu for mouse selec- tion of functions. 2. Several minor speed improvements have been made. 3. Time and Date can be displayed on the screen for those who like to watch the clock or for use in demos and slide shows. (You asked for it!) 4. The top row of numbers can be programmed as screen positions. 5. <u>pdate of screen 1 and <U>pdate of screen 2 have been changed so that they no longer keep the help menu on the drawing if it is currently displayed. 1. 3.24 allows KD-DRAW to be used as a RUNTIME module for easier distribution of slide show macros that you create. If KD-DRAW.HLP (the help file) is not found on the disk KD-DRAW only allows macros to be run. Exiting or end- ing the macro automatically returns to DOS. Only KD-DRAW.EXE and KD-DRAW.TXT are needed, plus any files called by the macro of course. If KD-DRAW.DFT (the configuration file) is not found KD assumes that files are located on the program disk, help menu is off, and medium res- olution. Call macros from the DOS prompt as A>KD-DRAW SAMPLE. 2. A DOS based menu system has been added to the program to make using it for the first time a little easier. Enter MENU at the DOS prompt to display your options. Under general use KD.BAT IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-4 will be the only BATch file you use. You should modify KD.BAT to meet your needs for printing and a mouse. PC-KEY-DRAW can always be called from DOS with KD-DRAW. 1. 3.25 eliminates the need for EGA.MCR when run- ning on an EGA equipped PC. 2. Page scrolling has been sped up considerably if no additions have been made to a particular page. (ie. no functions selected) 3. KD-TRANS.EXE is supplied to make editing macros much easier by translating them into text files with the key code replaced by the key name. Use any text editor to edit the file and then translate back to MaCRo form. KD-TRANS.EXE uses KEYTBL.DAT for its translation information. A TXT file extension is assumed for text files and a MCR for MaCRo files. 1. 3.26 adds a third library disk with extra fonts including modern, roman, old english, century, script, and several others. 2. The font handling has been significantly improved so that the user has full control over character and word spacing. Larger fonts can also be handled. 3. Another 120 fill patterns are also added. 1. 3.27 provides more information on the prompt line to make learning and using PC-KEY-DRAW easier. Caps Lock, Num Lock, <Q>uality, and <i>sometric status are displayed. PC-KEY-DRAW is designed to be very case sensitive. If a "C" or "N" is flashing the program may not operate properly. The line width is also dis- played as a number. When a macro is being recorded "k" is displayed. 2. When a directory is displayed for a drive it is temporarily retained as the default drive, mak- ing file selection easier. Hard Disk users should use DOS 3.* and the SUBST command for optimum operation. IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-5 3. Hot keys can now be defined for fast access to macros. Shft-F1 to Shft-F8, Ctrl-F1 to Ctrl-F10, and Alt-F1 to Alt-F9 can be set to call commonly used macros. The Hot key defini- tion file and instructions for its use are include on the font disk. 4. KD-LASER.EXE which prints to an HP LaserJet has been greatly improved. It is now possible to print several seperately saved screens by using a file name as "FILENUM1+FILENUM2" to print 2 screens consecutively. If used interactively the prograom will stop between each file and allow the parameters to be changed, while if called from the DOS command line the settings remain the same for all screens. KD-LASER can now also print the virtual screen called PAGE.0?? created by PC-KEY-DRAW allowing full page printing of graphics. Simply specify PAGE as the file name to print. 5. A fourth library disk has been added to the registration package and includes several more fonts. In addition many text related macros are now supplied to perform automatic bold, overlay, shadow and other special effects. Flow charting symbols are also included. 6. Several macros are now supplied to registered users that allow multiple pages to be shown as a single page making editing much easier for large drawings. 1. 3.28 speeds up <F5 s>trip by about 7X and <F5 S>hift by about 10X. <S>hift has also been added to the fill pattern selection screen, thus allowing any of the 640 patterns to be in any color combination. Both strip and shift are now also available in high resolution. 2. <F1 M>mirror screen <v>ertical line has been sped up as well by a factor of 8X earlier ver- sions. IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-6 1. 3.29 adds ability to REName files using <F8 K>. 2. A number of minor speed increases have been made. 1. 3.3 adds b-spline curves allowing freeform curves to be easily created from the keyboard. Select <F3 b> and <ENTER> the various points to be included. Selecting any function key (1-8) will turn the entered points into a curve. Width of the line is controlled by <w>idth. (I should have added this a long time ago. I makes drawing much easier.) 2. <F6 l>ine has been improved when using line width. Redraw of line is also much faster. 1. 3.31 improves menu structure, providing more information for arrow, text justify, box shade and key macro. 2. Help menu for novice mode can be shrunk for increased screen space by entering number >1 for Novice mode in Status screen. 3. Width of polygon and box shade is now effected by the <w>idth command. 4. <F2 R> works with width. 5. The TANDY 1000 keyboard is now supported for cursor movement from # pad. 6. The <h>elp screens have been improved with more info and much faster read from disk. 20 help screens are available. 7. The complete user manual is included on a sec- ond disk and may be included with the program disk. IMPROVEMENTS AND ADDITIONS D-7 APPENDIX E: HARDWARE PC-KEY-DRAW version 3 requires an IBM PC/XT/AT/ Jr/Portable/Convertible or most compatibles with 256K memory, one floppy drive, and standard color graphics card. A second disk drive or hard disk is preferred as is additional memory. PC-KEY-DRAW can use over 1.5 megs of RAM memory if it is available. The additional memory must be configured as a RAM disk. Computer: Almost any IBM compatible will run PC- KEY-DRAW version 3 if it has sufficient memory and the equivalent of the color graphics board. I have personally tested the program on dozens of differ- ent machines and my current users have a wide vari- ety of systems. PC-KEY-DRAW offers a feature use- ful for testing out compatible computers and com- paring their speeds. The key macro feature is ideal for doing timing runs of graphic functions. On a standard PC the SAMPLE demo runs slowly, but try it on an AT&T 6300 or IBM AT and things speed up significantly and try it on a COMPAQ 386 and watch the screens fly by. Its enough to make you crave a second system. Memory Allocation: The preferred method of oper- ation is to leave at least 320K of RAM for DOS and the program. The remaining memory should be parti- tioned into two RAM disks. One of the RAM disks will contain the drawing workspace and must be at least 45K and up to 1.2 megs. This memory can also be used for holding drawings to be called in a slide show. The other RAM disk can be used to hold the program files. This speeds access to fonts, help, patterns, etc. Such operation is also benefi- cial to many other programs. Everyone should have at least 2 megs in their machine. I strongly recom- mend the JRAM board for additional memory. If you don't have sufficient memory for a ramdisk you can use a hard disk or even a floppy to hold the work- space, but with a sacrifice in speed. HARDWARE E-1 Graphics Boards: Currently PC-KEY-DRAW is limited to operation on a standard color graphics card or any card that can emulate a standard card. However, you do not need a color monitor to make effective use of the program. Generally any incompatibility of PC-KEY-DRAW and a particular computer will be directly related to the graphics board. Version 3 will work with the PCJr graphics system, but does not support the extended capabilities of the graph- ics system. Version 3 will also work on the EGA, but does not support its extra capabilities. Some graphics boards may require some adjustment to operate properly. The need for adjustment is evi- dent by the location of the display on the screen. Use the <(> and <)> commands from the CURSOR MODE to properly show and center the display. An exter- nal macro can be written and called with the pro- gram to automatically set the display as desired. Version 3 does not work with the Hercules mono- chrome card, but may sometime in the future. Monitors: If you are looking for a color monitor to use with your PC for graphics I would strongly rec- ommend the Sears Total Video System, since it is not only a RGB monitor with 640X200 resolution, but a composite video monitor and high quality TV as well. The cost can't be beat either. General drawing will probably be done in the RGB mode, but the composite video mode has a lot to offer. In RGB, with a standard color card, colors are limited to 3 foreground and one background in a variety of palettes. PC-KEY-DRAW provides color mixing for 29 different colors in RGB, although the colors are obviously color mixes. In composite video 16 true colors are possible. Composite video signals can also be saved to video tape. HARDWARE E-2 Keyboard: PC-KEY-DRAW as its name implies is intended to be used from the keyboard. Version 3 also allows mouse input, if desired. The keyboard makes for a very effective graphics input device for a variety of reasons, especially if you are not an artist, but even artists can make effective use of the program. The actual keyboard you have may make some difference in how easy the program is to use. Since it is designed to be run from the func- tion keys they should be in a position that is easy to reach. I find having the function keys on the left side is the best. The cursor key arrangement is also important. The program is designed to make use of a 9 key cursor pad to not only allow hori- zontal and vertical movement, but 45 or 30/60 move- ment as well. Some compatible keyboards are less then ideal because of their non-standard layouts. They will work, but not as easily as a standard keyboard. Printers: Any printer that works with GRAPHICS.COM of DOS 2+ can be used with PC-KEY-DRAW for doing standard screen dumps. A zoom printing routine is also provided that can be used with any printer, even letter quality printers, since it includes a configuration routine as part of the program con- figuration. You will need your printer manual to set it up for your printer if not already on the disk. Please send me any printer configurations that you develop so that I may give them to others. The HP LaserJet is supported for printing graphics screens in 300DPI to 75DPI. KD-LASER.EXE is the file that runs the HP LaserJet and is located on Library Disk #2. BASRUN.EXE (from program disk) is needed for operation. KD-LASER.EXE can be used interactively or as part of a BATch file to print a series of screens. KD-LASER lets you print a single screen or the multiple screens of PC-KEY- DRAW's virtual page on one sheet. HARDWARE E-3 KD-LASER.EXE routes the printing to LPT1: so you must first set the COM port and redirect from DOS using the MODE command as follows: MODE COM1:9600,N,8,1,P MODE LPT1:=COM1 The multiple page capability of PC-KEY-DRAW is ideal for creating pictures of high resolution when printed by combining four pages onto one for 1280X400 resolution in the high resolution mode or 640X200 in the medium resolution mode. Starting with Version 3.27 KD-LASER.EXE can be used to print the multiple screen virtual page to a single page o n a n H P - L a s e r J e t . Many users have found other printing and page lay- out programs to work well with PC-KEY-DRAW. They use PC-KEY-DRAW to create the drawings and then insert the created graphics into text files for printing. Mice are supported by version 3 by using an exter- nal mouse driver. A mouse can be used with the novice mode to click and select, but this is slow. The keyboard is a much better input device. A mouse is handy for freehand drawing. The first mouse button should be set as the <ENTER> key and the second mouse button as the <SPACE BAR>. A mouse driver for use with the Mouse Systems Mouse is included on the disk as is one for the Microsoft mouse. Source code for both are provided so that the user can modify them as needed or to aid in creating mouse drivers for other brands of mice. If you have a mouse that is not supported directly at this time, you should be able to write a mouse driver yourself using the manual and software that come with the mouse. PC-KEY-DRAW uses external mouse drivers, ie mouse drivers that are simulating the key board. See your mouse manual on writing mouse drivers (menu systems) for a program without mouse support. Because PC-KEY-DRAW works in the HARDWARE E-4 graphics video mode the mouse menus can not be used. Plotters are not currently supported. Digitizers are not currently supported. Joysticks are not currently supported, but should be ready soon thanks to a local computer store for supplying OEDWARE with a game port card and joy- stick. Lightpens are not currently supported. If you cannot live without one of the unsupported hardware items, but would like to make use of the power of PC-KEY-DRAW I have a suggestion: Donate the appropriate hardware to OEDWARE and I will gladly write the interface, time permitting. Hardware vendors are welcome to distribute PC-KEY- DRAW with their products at no charge, provided a request in writing is received and approved before distribution and PC-KEY-DRAW is distributed in its complete and unaltered form. HARDWARE E-5 APPENDIX F: CREATING 35mm SLIDES One of the primary uses of computer generated graphics is the creation of slides for use in pre- sentations. PC-KEY-DRAW is ideal for creating all types of slides. The following discusses the basics of slide creation, special features of PC- KEY-DRAW that speed and improve slide creation, and tips on getting the screens from the computer to film. Personal computers are an ideal tool for creating 35mm slides to use in product presentations, busi- ness meetings, professional conferences and more. Many programs are available to generate a variety of computer graphics, from charts to title slides, from company logos to product illustrations, but getting the graphics from the computer to a 35mm slide may at first seem harder than it actually is. The following tutorial describes a tried and true method of creating professional quality slides using your computer and any 35mm camera. Start by considering the basics of good slide pre- sentations. The four C's of slide presentations are consistency, color, composition, and collections. It is very important that the slides you are creat- ing be consistent in both color and composition. Remember, the message you are trying to convey to the audience has nothing to do with the number of different fonts the program is capable of produc- ing, or with the number of colors that can be dis- played simultaneously. All of the slides in a set should be done in a way that ties them all together. Keep colors simple and consistent. Slide presenta- tions based on only four colors can be very effec- tive. Too many colors can confuse and distort your intentions. Again you should be consistent with the colors, from one slide to the next. Start by choos- ing a suitable background color. Black is probably CREATING SLIDES F-1 best, but dark blue and other dark colors can also be effective. Bright backgrounds are hard on the eyes and not very pleasing to stare at for any length of time. Next choose a color palette that compliments the background and use it consistently. The foreground colors should be of sufficient con- trast so they stand out from the background. One particularly pleasing combination is a dark blue background with white letters for the main text and red for bullets and highlights. Perhaps your com- pany logo colors can be used. The basic text in each slide should be in the same color and high- light colors should also be consistent throughout. This lets the audience know what to focus their attention on. Composition of the slides is perhaps the most important. Try to keep the slides simple and bold. Each slide should be concise and to the point. Try- ing to cram in too much copy on a slide is a quick way to loose an audience. A single slide should be limited to 15 to 20 words tops. Text should be of sufficient size that it can easily be read by those in the back of the presentation room. The forty column text of most computers is about the smallest size that should be used in a slide. Try to use charts and graphs, rather than tables of facts and figures to convey your message. Remember it is generally better to use two simple slides than one complicated slide. A simple bullet slide is shown in Figure 8. Start your own library of commonly used symbols, titles, and pictures. One of the nicest features of computer generated graphics is the ability to save your graphics to disk for later retrieval and manipulation. Predefined collections of graphics may be nice at first, but soon your talk looks like everyone else's. Create your own collection and use it when its needed. Don't use pictures just to CREATING SLIDES F-2 be cute either. Be sure the picture has some bear- ing on what your message is. Again your own library collection is the best. Figure 9 shows a title slide created for a presentation I gave on how an electrical mechanical cable interacts with the various parts of a handling system. A vital feature to look for in any graphics program is the ability to shrink or enlarge a pixel image by any amount desired. For instance this would allow you to create the company logo once full size and to use it with your various title slides at a much reduced size. Once you have produced your slides on the computer it is time to produce hard copy. Begin by printing out the slide on a graphics printer. This serves two functions, first it makes it easier to spot errors and inconsistencies, and secondly, printed hard copy is ideal for organizing and practicing the slide show. For some presentations it may be easier to make view graphics from the printouts, but for a more powerful presentation use 35mm slides. There are several companies that sell equipment designed to aid you in taking slides from a com- puter. The equipment tends to be very expensive and the results are no better than what you can do without the expense. To make professional quality slides, all you need is a color computer monitor and a camera. Slides can be shot directly from the screen with fantastic results, if you know what you are doing. My photography experience has been rather limited. Up until I started shooting computer graphics, about all I had done was take typical vacation and family party pictures. After some experimentation I have developed the following method that just about everyone can use to take high quality 35mm slides of computer graphics. With your camera you will need the slide film, a tripod, and a telephoto CREATING SLIDES F-3 lens. Polariod's instant 35mm slide film is ideal for computer graphics because of the speed at which you can develop the pictures and have them in your hand. Presentations tend to get done at the last minute (at least by me). With the instant slide film you can shoot a roll and have it developed and the slides mounted in 1/2 hour to 45 minutes. Reg- ular slide film works equally as well, but be sure to use 64 ASA or slower. Print film can also be used if it is slow enough. Taking slides of com- puter graphics is no place for high speed film. A tripod is mandatory equipment for shooting graph- ics from a computer. Don't even attempt to take a picture without one. With the Polariod film I shoot at 1/4, 1/2, or 1 second exposure. To further help minimize motion use the shutter timer on your cam- era so that your hands are clear when the picture is shot. The main trick to taking high quality slides from a computer screen is the use of a telephoto lens. A standard lens will produce pictures with signifi- cant distortion. Boxes will look rounded and this is very annoying and unprofessional to say the least. I use a 135mm lens to produce slides with zero distortion. The quality is actually better than what is achievable with many of the high priced boxes used to shoot slides. The format of the camera/lens matches the screen size and shape rather closely. The only disadvantage of using a telephoto lens is that it requires you to be sev- eral feet away from the screen. The computer graphics should be fully prepared and saved on disk before setting up to shoot the slides with the camera. The slides are best shot in a dimly lit room, making sure that there are no reflections on the monitor. The first slide you bring up should be one with a border drawn around the screen. This might be one of the slides you are actually shooting or might just be a test pat- CREATING SLIDES F-4 tern you have created. The border makes it easy to align the camera. Set the camera/tripod in a posi- tion so that the border is perfectly framed through the view finder. Take your time in setting up, this is no place to hurry. Be sure the camera lens is perpendicular to the screen horizontally and verti- cally. Again the border on the screen is a signifi- cant help. If you have enough film and are using the instant Polariod film, take a picture of the border as your first slide to aid in the mounting. I use a Canon AE-1 with automatic aperture and built in light meter. On cameras without automatic aperture use a lightmeter and set the aperture. Note that the light meter will tend to fluctuate somewhat, so take an average reading. With an exposure of 1/2 second the f-stop will be about 4 for a typical monitor and 40 ASA film. You may want to experiment some with the various settings to find the best combination for your system. 1/25 of a second would be the fastest exposure speed you would want to use. Any faster and the screen refresh may be caught by the photo. Shoot the roll of film, develop it, mount the slides and you are ready for the presentation. Any- one can create an eye catching, effective slide presentation. You don't need a graphic design department, an art degree, or any more equipment than you probably already have to produce high quality slides at a very affordable cost. Go to it and good luck with the presentation. CREATING SLIDES F-5 WAIT - WHAT ABOUT VIEWGRAPHS? Standard viewgraphs can be easily created with PC- KEY-DRAW, printed on your dot mat, and then turned into a black and white viewgraph with appropriate viewgraph material and most copiers. How would you like to create color viewgraphs using your black and white printer and the local color xerox machine? Yes it can be done, although the price is a bit steep. To create a four color view- graph with a black and white printer you must used a technique of color separation. 1. Start with your color drawing and be sure it is saved to disk. 2. Update the workspace with <u> for screen 1 3. Use the <S>trip function of <F5> to remove all colors except color 1. 4. Print the resulting screen. 5. Retrieve the workspace with <F8 w> to restore the original picture. 6. Repeat the strip and retrieve operation for each of the other two colors. The results of such an operation are shown in Figures 10, 11 and 12. 7. Take the three printouts to a place with color copying capability. 8. Copy printout one to a viewgraph in the color of your choice. 9. Repeat with the other two printouts using dif- ferent colors. 10. Overlay the three viewgraphs and align them carefully. 11. Copy the three together on to a fourth view- graph and you have it, a three color viewgraph without a color printer. Sorry no color photos in this manual. A variation of the above technique combined with the slide information can be used to create color 35mm slides from a monochrome monitor. CREATING SLIDES F-6 APPENDIX G: DATEIT DATEIT is a utility program designed to replace the DOS DATE command for those without an on board clock calendar. It is not part of PC-KEY-DRAW, but compliments its use. DATEIT remembers the last date entered so that if you reboot or even turn the com- puter off for a while the date will be correct when the computer is powered back up. The next day you use it the day will be off, but the month and year will be correct, so just enter in the correct day and the correct date will be set for your machine. The first of the month will require the month and day to be entered and of course on January 1 you will have to enter the entire date. It is a good idea to always set the date on your computer since it makes it much easier to determine when a file was created. The best way to be sure the date is properly set is to include an AUTO- EXEC.BAT on the DOS disk you use to boot your sys- tem. Include DATEIT as one of the commands of the batch file and you will be sure to have your com- puter's date set. For more information on AUTO- EXEC.BAT and batch files in general consult your DOS manual, computer magazine, or local user group. Feel free to copy DATEIT to other disks. DATEIT G-1 APPENDIX H: LIBRARIES Several different file types may be found on the supplied library disks. These include files with the following extensions: BAS BASICA program file. Size is variable. Save BASICA subroutines with <F7 C>opy and specify a BAS extension. Retrieve in BASICA by MERGEing into your own programs. May also be a BASIC program file. Supple- ments PC-KEY-DRAW main program files. BAT BATch files used from DOS. DAT Scale and grid information for a scaled screen file (SCN). Created when a screen is saved with <F8 s>ave. EXE Executable program file. Supplements PC- KEY-DRAW main program files. FIG Partial screen file. Size is variable. ASCII integer file with first number the horizontal size and the second number the vertical size of the array. Save with <F7 C>opy and specify a FIG extension. Retrieve with <F7 o>ld or <F7 O>ld place. FNT Font file. Size is generally 25 Kbytes. Save with <F7 C>opy and specify FNT exten- sion and the character to save under. Retrieve with <F6 Alt-t>ext font. HOT Hot key assignment file. JMP Jump file. MCR Macro file. Size is variable. Save with <Alt-k c>reate key macro. Retrieve with <Alt-k r>un key macro or from DOS with KD- DRAW filename, where filename is the name LIBRARIES H-1 of a file with a MCR extension. Many macros have explanations of their use in the first few lines. PIC Partial screen file. Size is variable. BLOAD/BSAVE binary file mapped to integer array. Save with <F7 C>opy. Retrieve with <F7 o>old or <F7 O>ld place. Pattern files also use PIC as the extension. SCN Full screen file. Size - 16512 bytes. BLOAD/BSAVE binary file mapped to video screen with 7 byte header. Save with <F8 s>ave. Retrieve with <F8 o>ld or <F8 O>ld sequential. TBL Printer table file. VCT Vector line file. Size is variable. File contains X and Y screen coordinates with scale, width, and color information. Save with <F6 E>nd when drawing with lines, parallel lines, spoke lines, and/or dots. Retrieve with <F6 o>ld 80C 80 column text mode file. 40C 40 column text mode file. LIBRARIES H-2 Library Disk #1: HOUSE SCN Simple house floor plan PANDM PIC Planet and moon OED PIC OEDWARE logo SOFTNOW PIC SOFTWARE NOW logo PCKEYDRW PIC PC-KEY-DRAW GIRL SCN Girl and sheep in meadow SUDSFISH SCN Submersible dye system SINE PIC Sine curve for pump SADDLE SCN Capture saddle for submersible ESCHER PIC Impossible 3-D outline GRAPH1 PIC Imported line graph GRAPH2 PIC Imported bar graph GRAPHT PIC Text to go with graphs COMET PIC Shades of Halley's SPACE2 SCN Space scene SPACE4 SCN Space scene JOES SCN Eat a Joes GPLANE PIC Geometric horizontal plane GPLANEV PIC Geometric vertical plane SAUCERS PIC Small flying saucer RECOVERY SCN Submersible recovery slide SAUCERL PIC Large flying saucer HANDLING SCN DESIGN2 PIC Oriental rug pattern SAUCERM PIC Medium size flying saucer COUCH VCT Vector symbol of couch PATTERNS PIC Sample of patterns SAUC PIC Flying saucer PUMP PIC IV pump design INVESTWD PIC Logo PLAN PIC PLANE MCR Macro to create GPLANE.PIC ESCHER1 MCR Recursive macro XMAS SCN Christmas scene GLASHOUS PIC Logo of building SUBURB SCN Small suburb PART3D PIC 3D part README Info about disk SCNSHOW MCR Macro to use most of the files on the disk and display it. LIBRARIES H-3 HEAD PIC Head of sheep for GIRL.SCN KEYDRW2 PIC BIRDS PIC Flying birds for GIRL.SCN HAT PIC Fluttering hat for GIRL.SCN LRTITLE SCN Title screen for talk MOUNTBAS SCN LRMC-18 mounting base design LIBRARIES H-4 Library Disk #2: READ ME Information about the disk KD-LASER EXE HP-LaserJet printer program. CONVMACR BAS Converts macros from pre version 3.2 to 3.2 format. SYMBOLS SCN Symbol screen from PC-PG GOLF SCN Golf ball in hole FACE PIC Alien being that stopped in one night for a chat. TREE PIC Christmas tree WREATH PIC Christmas wreath MAN1 PIC Simple stick figure MAN2 PIC Simple stick figure 2 BRIDGE PIC Suspension bridge CITY PIC Scene of city skyline with bridge DONDUCK PIC Needs work, but the beginnings of Mr. Donald Duck CLOWN PIC Clown face KD-PTRN2 PIC Pattern screen KD-PTRN3 PIC " KD-PTRN4 PIC " KD-PTRN5 PIC " KD-PTRN6 PIC " KD-PTRN7 PIC " KD-PTRN8 PIC " KD-PTRN9 PIC " KD-PTRNA PIC " FLOWER PIC Simple flower picture WRK MCR Macro to load wrkspace LOAD MCR Macro to load pages PATMAKE MCR Macro to make basic pattern screen that can then be filled in and saved. ROTSCN10 MCR Rotates screen in 10 degree increments and saves to PAGEs OVERLAY MCR Use to overlay one complex object onto another BOWLUP21 MCR Creates bowl effect upward with a factor of 2 and 10 steps BOWLRT21 MCR Creates bowl effect to right LIBRARIES H-5 BOWLUP22 MCR | BOWLUP41 MCR | Creates bowl effect in the BOWLRT41 MCR - | direction, power and step BOWLDN21 MCR | as indicated by name. BOWLDN41 MCR | BOWLDN22 MCR | ROTA10 MCR OVERLAY2 MCR Alternate overlay macro that works better for some objects than OVERLAY.MCR does. FLOWER MCR Macro to create FLOWER.PIC IRIS SCN Outline of IRIS IRIS MCR Macro to draw outline of IRIS and create IRIS.SCN IRIS2 MCR Macro that starts with IRIS.MCR and continues to complete draw- ing and create IRIS3.SCN IRIS3 SCN Completed IRIS drawing LIBRARIES H-6 Library Disk #3 KD-FONT3 FNT Font created by TYPEMAKE.MCR KD-FONT4 FNT Small font that gives 80 column text in the color mode. STICK FNT HELVOUTL FNT CENTURY FNT OLDENGLH FNT ROMAN FNT MODERN FNT SCRIPT FNT SMALL60 FNT OUTLINE FNT GDPFONT1 FNT Capital letters only GDPFONT2 FNT Capital letters only GDPFONT3 FNT Capital letters only TYPEMAKE MCR Macro to create KD-FONT3.FNT OUTLINE MCR Creates outlined text font from any standard font OVERLAY3 MCR OVERLAY4 MCR TXTOVER MCR | Use with any text font. TXTOVER2 MCR | Places text over complex back- TXTOVER3 MCR | ground. Each with slightly TXTOVER4 MCR | different results. BOLD MCR | Use with any text to create BOLD2 MCR | bold faced text. BOLD3 MCR | KD-DRAW HOT Hot key file. Use to call macro routines from function keys. SHADOW3 MCR SHADOW2 MCR SHADOW1 MCR UP-EXIT MCR Update both workspaces and exit LOADPAGE MCR LOADWORK MCR Load workspace 1 LOADWRK2 MCR Load both workspaces ZD4X1 MCR Zoom Down 4 vertical screens to 1 ZD2X2 MCR Zoom Down 2X2 screens to 1 ZD4X4 MCR Zoom Down 4X4 screens to 1 LIBRARIES H-7 Library Disk #4 COUNTDWN FNT DATA FNT HELVETIC FNT HELVETBD FNT ROMAN40 FNT HELVET40 FNT HELVET33 FNT ROMAN33 FNT INOUT VCT | Flow chart symbols DECISION VCT | MAGTAPE VCT | MAGDRUM VCT | OFFLINE VCT | ONLINE VCT | KEYING VCT | COLLATE VCT | SORT VCT | PUNCHTAP VCT | CARDFILE VCT | CARDDECK VCT | CARD VCT | DOCUMENT VCT | DISPLAY VCT | OFFPAGE VCT | MANUALIN VCT | MANUALOP VCT | PREPAR VCT | TERMINAL VCT | LIBRARIES H-8