What the Doctor Required - The Freshest December

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Sea Graphics Viewer V1.3 - Copyright (c)1995-97 Photodex Corporation. Portions licensed under U.S. patent #4,558,302 and foreign counterparts. Published by: Photodex Corporation Support: sea@photodex.com 1106 Clayton Lane #200W Sales: sales@photodex.com Austin, TX 78723 (U.S.A.) Fax: (512) 452-6825 Programming: H. De Laat & B.Wakkee. Artwork: R. Gortzen. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── _/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/ _/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ _/_/_/_/_/_/ Graphics & Animation Viewer. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── IN THIS DOCUMENT: 1. SHORT DESCRIPTION 2. FEATURES 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS 4. LEGAL 5. USER MANUAL 5.1 QUICK START 5.2 KEYS & FUNCTIONS 5.3 MENU 5.4 CONVERSION DIALOG 5.5 OPTIONS MENU 5.6 CATALOG OPTION 5.7 RESOLUTIONS DIALOG 6. TECHNICAL SUPPORT 7. NOTES 8. REGISTERING ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The package SEA.ZIP should contain the following files. -SEA.EXE [ Executable ] -DOS4GW.EXE [ Dos extender ] -SEA.DAT [ Datafile ] -SEA.DOC [ This Document ] -REGISTER.FRM [ Reg. Form ] -SEA.ICO [ Icon file ] -FARSY11.GIF [ Sample file ] And possibly a SEA.INI belonging to someone else (delete it). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 1. SHORT DESCRIPTION. ┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │ FASTEST VESA compatible mouse controlled viewer around. │ │ Views PNG, JPEG, TARGA, BMP & RLE, TIFF, PCX, GIF, PNM (PPM, PGM, PBM), │ │ PSD, CEL, LBM (IFF) and Dp2e-LBM, BBM & PCC pictures. │ │ Plays FLI, FLC and AVI animations. Offers conversion between all listed │ │ graphical formats. All combined in a Graphical User Interface. │ └───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 2. FEATURES. -Supports: JPG, TGA, BMP & RLE, TIFF, PCX, GIF, LBM (IFF), PSD, CEL, Dp2e-LBM, BBM & PCC, PNM (PBM, PGM, PPM) and PNG. -Faster displaying of these formats compared to ANY other viewer. -File conversion between all of these formats and all available colordepths. -Floyd Steinberg / Ordered / Error diffusion dithering (option). -User definable JPEG Quality [1 to 100%] for writing JPEG files. -FLI, FLC and AVI player in all resolutions. -FLI/FLC/AVI Preview in window. -Plays VOC and WAV files. -A nice Graphical User Interface (Mouse/Keyboard). -Interface resolution 800x600 or 640x480 -Full color preview in interface. (in 256 colors or hicolor mode) -Extremely fast color JPEG preview. -Detects all available VESA modes. -Resolution switching while viewing, no reloading. -Auto scale (option), Grayscale (option), Auto resolution (option). -Mouse panning through large pictures. -Slideshow option with user definable delay. -Catalog option to create index images. -Image manipulation, e.g. resample, invert, smoothen, blur, etc. -Commandline conversion. -Fully operational shareware version. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 3. SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS: A 386 with 4MB, a VESA compatible 1 MB VGAcard and a mouse (optional). To play sound, you need a Soundblaster compatible soundcard. SEA runs under DOS, but can be run from within Windows 3.x and Windows 95. SEA will not run under OS/2 (Warp) or Windows NT. SEA will only play sound under plain DOS. Note: SEA CAN be used as a commandline file conversion utillity, even under Windows NT or OS/2. VESA 2.0 is highly recommended for systems with a PCI graphics card. (because PCI owners can benefit from a dramatic speed increase by using vesa 2.0) ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 4. LEGAL THIS IS A LEGAL AGREEMENT ("Agreement") BETWEEN YOU AND PHOTODEX CORPORATION ("Photodex"). YOU HAVE SIGNIFIED YOUR AGREEMENT TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS USING THIS SOFTWARE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, REFRAIN FROM USING THIS SOFTWARE. 1. Photodex and/or its affiliates own all files included in this software (this "Software"). This Software is protected by United States copyright laws and international treaty provisions. You may use this Software only as stated in this Agreement. This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Texas. 2. Under this Agreement you may: (1) try this Software in an unlicensed form and for evaluation purposes only; (2) purchase a license to use this Software for other than evaluation purposes; and (3) make one copy of the Software for backup purposes only. 3. You may freely reproduce and share this unlicensed Software with others providing you comply with all the terms and conditions of this Agreement. YOU MAY NOT: (1) use, copy, modify, merge, and/or transfer copies of this Software except as provided in this Agreement; (2) reverse engineer, reverse assemble or reverse compile this Software or any component thereof; (3) sublicense, rent, lease, sell, or assign this Software; (4) distribute this Software in any incomplete or altered form; (5) distribute this Software for profit or fee in excess of duplication or transmission costs; or (6) incorporate this Software as part or all of a product to be sold to others for fees in excess of duplication or transmission costs without prior written permission from Photodex. 4. Under this Agreement, you may be given a licensed version of this Software by Photodex or authorized affiliate. Such licensed versions are unique to each individual or organization, and are matched with your name and phone number. YOU MAY NOT: disclose or transmit your licensed Software to any other party without prior permission from Photodex. Unauthorized distribution of your licensed version constitutes a federal copyright violation, and is punishable by fines of up to $100,000 per infraction and/or prison sentence. 5. LIMITED WARRANTY: THIS SOFTWARE IS LICENSED \"AS IS.\" THIS WARRANTY IS IN LIEU OF ALL OTHER WARRANTIES EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BY WAY OF EXAMPLE THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTIBILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties, so the above exclusions and limitations may not apply to you. 6. Photodex and its affiliates entire liability and your exclusive remedy under this Agreement is limited to no more than you paid for this Software. For any claim (including fundamental breach), in any form, related in any way to this Agreement, Photodex's liability will be for actual damages only and will be limited to the purchase price, if any, you paid for this Software. 7. Photodex and/or its affiliates will not be liable for any lost profits, lost savings, or any incidental damages or other economic consequential damages (including loss of information), even if Photodex or its affiliates have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Photodex will not be liable for any damages claimed by you based on any third party claim. This limitation of remedies also applies to any developer of Software supplied to Photodex. Photodex and the developer's limitation of remedies are not cumulative. Such developer is an intended beneficiary of this Section. This limitation of remedies also applies to any licensor of content supplied to Photodex. Photodex and the licensor's limitation of remedies are not cumulative. Such licensor is an intended beneficiary of this Section. If you have further questions regarding this Software, please contact: Photodex Corporation 1106 Clayton Lane #200W (512) 406-3020 - Voice Austin, TX 78723 (512) 452-6825 - Fax CompuServe: GO PHOTODEX (mail: 74774,3570) America On-line: Screen Name: Photodex Internet: info@photodex.com WWW: http://www.photodex.com FTP: ftp.photodex.com ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 5. USER MANUAL. ──────────────────────[ 5.1. QUICK START. ]────────────────────────────────── Make sure you have -enough free memory, -a mouse driver loaded, -a Vesa compatible VGAcard or vesa resident. run the file SEA.EXE Select a file with mouse or keyboard, <ENTER> or left mouse button to view. Press <ESC> to return to the menu. Press F1 for online help within the viewer. [ INITIALIZATION FILE. ] An initialization file will be created the first time you run SEA. This file will contain all the default values at first. All modifications of the options within the viewer will be stored in this file for future reference. If the program doesn't work on your system, it may be the case that you have received an initialization file belonging to someone else. In that case you may delete the file 'SEA.INI'. A new 'SEA.INI' will be created when you run the SEA. The original default values should work on all systems. [ MOUSE. ] Using the mouse in the interface is intuitive. For example, click on the path to change to another drive, click on filenames to select them and click on the 'buttons' in the status bar to select specific options. [ OPTIONS DIALOG. (F3) ] Use this dialog to configure the program to meet your own personal requirements. [ MENU. (TAB) ] Access the menu by pressing the TAB key, or by clicking on the menu icon. ────────────────────[ 5.2. KEYS & FUNCTIONS ]──────────────────────────────── INTERFACE KEYS: │ KEYS WHILE VIEWING AN IMAGE: ──────────────────────────────────────┼────────────────────────────────────── [ F1 ] Help screen. │ [ENTER ] Next image. [ F2 ] Convert selected file(s). │ [SPACE ] Select Image. [ F3 ] Options. │ [BACKSPACE] Previous image [ F4 ] Create catalog. │ [ESCAPE ] Return to interface. [ F5 ] Toggle scale. │ [ +/- ] Next/Previous resolution. [ F6 ] Toggle Grayscale. │ [ * ] Select resolution. [ F7 ] Toggle Autoresolution. │ [ F5 ] Toggle scale. [ F8 ] Toggle Preview. │ [ r/R ] Increase/Decrease red. [ F9 ] Run slideshow. │ [ g/G ] Increase/Decrease green. [ F10 ] Quit. │ [ b/B ] Increase/Decrease blue. [Alt-X] Quit. │ [Alt-X] Quit. [ TAB ] Menu │ [ENTER] View highlighted file. │ [CTRL-ENTER] View selected files. │ NOTE: Increase & decrease color [ * ] Select resolution. │ components in 256 color modes only. [ +/- ] Next/Previous resolution. │ [Alt + A-Z ] Change drive. │ [BACKSPACE ] Parent directory. │ [DELETE ] Delete selected file(s) │ [INSERT ] Copy selected file(s) │ [ / ] Select group of files │ [Alt-F10 ] About. │ [SPACE ] Tag/untag file. │ [Other keys] Speadsearch. │ ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── [ RESOLUTION SWITCHING. ] All available resolutions can be selected by pressing '*' from within the interface, or while viewing a picture. It is also possible to cycle through all resolutions by using the +/- Keys. [ PANNING. ] Use the mouse or cursor keys to scroll through a large picture. The faster your VGAcard, the better the result. [ SELECTING FILES. ] This option is necessary to mark specific files in a large group of files that need to be deleted, converted, catalogued, copied, or displayed in a slideshow. Mark and unmark a file by using the right mouse button or by pressing the SPACEBAR 'on' this file. Selected files will be highlighted, while unselected files will remain dark. Use the '/' key to select a group of files using wildcards. [ CHANGING COLOR PALETTE. ] While viewing an image in 256 color modes it is possible to change the RGB components of the display by pressing the r/R, g/G and b/B keys. Any subsequent screen update restores the palette. [ SPEEDSEARCH. ] By typing a filename, the cursor will automatically be positioned at this filename. Use this option to find a specific filename in a large directory. [ NETWORK DRIVES. ] On some LAN's the entry for the parent directory is not listed. In order to change to the parent directory (if any) press the backspace key. [ DELETING FILES. ] By pressing the <DELETE> key you will delete all the selected files. If no files are selected, the current file (highlighted by the cursor) will be marked for deletion. To confirm a delete operation press <enter>, to cancel the operation press <esc>. [ COPYING FILES. ] By pressing the <INSERT> key you can copy all the selected files. If no files are selected, the current file (highlighted by the cursor) will be copied. You are prompted for the destination path. Press <enter> to copy, or esc to cancel. If a file already exists in the destination directory, a confirmation dialog will pop up. [ FILE CONVERSION (F2). ] First select a file (or more files) to be converted. Then press F2 to access the conversion menu. If no files are selected, the current file (the file at the cursor) will be marked for conversion. Now select the format to wich the file (or files) needs to be converted, together with the number of colors and the dithering method. choose OK to start. There is an option to select the target directory. If no directory is specified, the file(s) will be written to the current directory. After conversion has been completed, the conversion results will be shown. [ CHANGING DRIVES. ] To change to another drive press ALT-Drivename (ie: ALT-B or ALT-C) You can also change to another drive by selecting 'Change drive' in the file-menu. [ QUIT. ] To exit the viewer, press ALT-X, F10, or click the closebutton in the top left corner of the screen. ────────────────────[ 5.3. MENU (TAB). ]──────────────────────────────────── Use the menu to access any of the following items: - File Conversion (F2) - Options (F3) - Catalog (F4) - Images manipulation: - Resize - Resample - Invert - Swap R/G/B - Flip - Mirror - Blur - Find edges - Contour - Enhance detail - Edge enhance - Edge enhance more - Sharpen - Smoothen - Smoothen more - Gamma correct. - File functions: - Copy. - Delete. - Select. - Change drive. - Make dir. - Slideshow (F9) - Resolution (* ) - Help (F1) - About (Alt-F10) - Quit (F10) ────────────────────[ 5.4. CONVERSION DIALOG (F2). ]─────────────────────── The following options can be specified: [ DESTINATION TYPE. ] BMP, CEL, GIF, ICO, JPG, LBM, PCX, PNG, PNM, TGA, TIFF or WPG [ OUTPUT COLORS. ] Auto, 2, 4, 16, 256, 32K/64K, 16M 24-bits, 16M 32-bits, Grayscale [ DITHER METHOD. ] None, Floyd/Steinberg, Ordered. [ PNG COMPRESSION LEVEL. ] Valid compression levels are between 1 and 100. Choose 1 for the fastest possible compression that will create somewhat larger PNG files. Choose 100 to obtain the smallest possible PNG files at the cost of some speed. (The default value is 80) [ DESTINATION PATH. ] Specify target directory for converted files. The default directory is the current directory. [ JPEG OPTIONS. ] Click this button to set advanced JPEG output options. NOTES ON CONVERSION: A converted file may overwrite an existing file with the same name without warning. Only valid combinations are possible, ie. you can not create 256 color JPG files. Floyd/Steinberg dithering is recommended to achieve best quality when converting to 256 colors. Advanced JPEG output options: [ PROGRESSIVE JPEG FILE ] Use this to create images for web-pages. This will allow web-browsers to gradually display the image while loading. [ BASE-LINE QUANTIZATION ] Use this option to ensure compatibility with programs that do not fully support the entire JPEG standard. [ JPEG QUALITY. ] In case of conversion to JPEG format, specify the quality between 1 and 100 (default 75). Quality 100 is the best available quality. Lower qualities will cause JPEG files to become smaller in size. The following options are for advanced users, use them only if you know what they mean. [ MULTIPLE SCAN FILE ] [ ENTROPY OPTIMIZATION ] [ SAMPLING FACTORS ] ──────────────────────[ 5.5. OPTIONS MENU (F3). ]──────────────────────────── [ INTERFACE COLORS. ] The default interface uses 256 colors for compatibility reasons. If however you own a VGAcard that supports hicolor modes (15 or 16 bit modes), you may select the option '32k/64k Colors' in the options menu. In 32k/64k color mode, the preview of a picture will look a lot better. [ ALT-X QUITS OPTION. ] select this if you want to be able to quit the program with Alt-X. However in some cases it is necessary to access a drive X:\ (ie a network drive) by using the Alt-X combination. In that case turn this option off. [ DIRECTORY OPTION. ] select 'All files' to see all the files in a directory, even the files that cannot be displayed. [ SCAN FILE INFO OPTION. ] All relevant files will be scanned for type and resolution. The process of file-scanning takes place in the background. This means that you can continue your work during this process. you can turn it off when using large directories on slow media like cd-roms, etc. However, when the file scan option is selected, you may always choose to interrupt the scanning of files by pressing the <ESC> key. [ READY BEEP AND ERROR BEEP. ] Select these to indicate whether or not you want a beep after loading a picture, or loading a faulty picture. [ DITHER METHOD. ] There are 3 options: -Ordered -Error Diffusion -Floyd Steinberg The dither method determines the patterns that make truecolor images look better on anything less than a 24bit display mode. Use 'Ordered' for cartoon-style pictures (single coloured fills). Use 'Error Diffusion' for photorealistic pictures. Use 'Floyd Steinberg' to achieve the best quality. (A bit slower.) When using the Floyd Steinberg method, the picture remains dithered in memory. This means that the image will remain dithered, even when switching to a truecolor mode, or when returning to the interface. The picture will remain in the 256 color dithered format until it is reloaded from disk. [ SCALE, GRAYSCALE, AUTORES AND PREVIEW. ] are some of the most frequently used options and can also be controlled directly using function keys F5 to F8 or with the mouse in the main program screen. [ JPEG PREVIEW OPTIONS.] -Fullsize color : Loads entire picture into buffer: BEST FOR QUALITY. -Thumbnail color : *Very* fast jpeg preview : RECOMMENDED. [ ANIMATION PREVIEW OPTION.] -Entire Animation : Plays AVI/FLI/FLC in the preview window. -First Frames : Displays mosaic of 4 frames of the animation. -Default Image : Standard Picture indicating that it's a animation file. [ SLIDE SHOW DELAY TIME.] Specify the delay (in seconds) between two files when playing a slide show. [ OK, CANCEL, DEFAULTS. ] Choose OK to save the selected options, CANCEL to abort. Press the DEFAULTS button to restore all options to their 'factory settings'. ──────────────────────[ 5.6. CATALOG (F4). ]─────────────────────────────── Use this option to create screens containing small preview pictures. First, select the desired files by using the spacebar. Then select the catalog option (F4). You will be prompted to select one of the following resolutions: 640 x 480 [4x3 pictures]. 800 x 600 [5x4 pictures]. 1024 x 768 [6x5 pictures]. 1280 x 1024 [8x7 pictures]. For each option, the number of resulting index files will also be shown. [ GRAY CATALOG BACKGROUND OPTION. ] This option is turned on by default, so the background colour of index files will be gray. Turn this option off to get a black coloured background for your index files. [ FILENAME PREFIX.] You can type in the first 4 characters of the files that are to be created. By default, the files will be named, CAT0000, CAT0001 and onwards. After this you may specify the type, number of colors, dithering method and destination path of the catalog file(s). The catalog file(s) will now be created. Notes: Make sure you have enough free memory before creating large index files. Catalog screens are always handled internally as truecolor pictures. ──────────────────────[ 5.7. RESOLUTIONS DIALOG. ]───────────────────────── By pressing the '*' key, you will be presented a list of supported graphic modes. This dialog can be used to select the graphicsmode in which to view images. It can also be used to disable any unwanted graphics modes. It is important to prevent the use of modes that may damage your monitor. (It is often the case that a VGAcard can handle some modes that your monitor cannot). ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 6. TECHNICAL SUPPORT. Q: I get the message 'DOS/16M error: [40] not enough extended memory (xmin)'. A: This may occur on 2MB machines and some configurations with 4MB. On 2 MB machines you should remove any memory managers or disk caches. On 4 MB machines reducing the amount of extended memory used by ie. disk cache programs should work. Q: I get the message 'ERROR: No VESA driver found'. A: SEA needs a VESA compatible VGA card to work. You need to load the vesa driver that came with your particular VGA card or, even better, load univesa which works on all modern VGA cards. (most modern VGA cards have the VESA interface allready built into them). Q: Whenever I scroll or change resolutions I loose part of the picture. A: There obviously isn't enough extended memory to store the current picture in it's entirety. Therefore, whenever you 'scroll' or change the resolution, only that part of the picture that fits into memory can be updated. Try to view the picture in the highest resolution avialable or use scaling to avoid the need for panning. Q: What are those 'patterns' I see, when viewing truecolor pictures in 256 color modes and 256 color pictures in hicolor modes. They are not part of the original picture. A: Those are the Dithering patterns nessecary to make 24 BIT pictures look good on anything less than a 24 BIT displaying system. For example while viewing a JPEG file in a 256 color mode or while viewing a 256 color PNG file in a hicolor mode. Dithering patterns can be avoided by viewing files in their corresponding graphics mode ie, view a GIF file in 256 color mode and view JPEG files in truecolor modes. Q: My monitor display makes funny noises and the picture looks tweaked and/or is moving. A: You have selected a display mode that your VGA card is capable of, but your monitor cannot handle properly. ie: 1024x768, 1280x1024. Try not to view files in any modes that your monitor cannot handle. Use the menu option 'maximum screen x-res' to prevent the use of any such modes. Q: Why do I keep loosing part of the picture ? I have 4 MB memory. A: Remember that TRUECOLOR 24 bit pictures need three times the amount of memory compared to 256 color 8 bit images using the same resolution. It is therefore possible that some truecolor pictures might not fit into memory. Q: Scrolling through true-color images in 256 color modes is slow. A: This is caused by the real-time dithering in 256 color modes. If however, you select Floyd/Steinberg dithering, the image is only dithered once (during loading). This results in faster scrolling. Q: I get the message 'SEA.EXE failed CRC-Check' A: You have obtained an illegally modified version of the program. You can find the latest version on our www-page: www.photodex.com If you are still having problems, support is available via e-mail. Please e-mail all questions to sea@photodex.com. ────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── 7. NOTES. -For users with ONLY a 256 color VGAcard: Convert the supplied Jpeg files to PNG files using 256 COLORS and FLOYD-STEINBERG DITHERING. The resulting PNG files will really look a lot better in 256 color modes than the original Jpeg files. (This is because the convert option uses an adaptive palette.) Compare the resulting PNG file with the original Jpeg file in 256 color modes. -If you have a PCI-graphics card, we recommend that you use a vesa 2.0 driver. This may increase performance, ie. when panning through large images in high resolution modes. -If you have a lot of GIF files, you might want to convert them to the PNG format. PNG files take up less disk space. -On some VGA cards, the internal vesa bios lists some video modes that are not supported by the card itself. We experienced this on an old ET4000 card. (The bios reported 16 Bit modes, the card only supported upto 15 bit modes.) In cases like this, use univesa to specify the type of DAC that is really present. If however a modeswitch is made to a non supported mode, the viewer will automatically try to recognize this and switch to the closest available mode. In some cases this will not work. Try to avoid using these particular modes. -Command line options. Type 'SEA /?' to list the startup options. Starting the viewer with 'SEA /8' forces the viewer into 256 color interface mode. Typing SEA [FILENAME] will display this picture or animation immediately. Typing SEA @[LISTFILE] will perform a slideshow on all the pictures listed in the file LISTFILE. A list file might look like this: file1.jpg file2.lbm c:\graphics\file2.gif ..\file3.png The command line slideshow will use the parameters from the sea.ini file. ───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────── The zip file you received contains the fully operational shareware version of the SEA viewer. Registering your copy will enable us to further develop the program and to add more features. By registering the viewer, you will recieve unlimited Email support and a personal registration file which will suppress the <Press space to continue> messages. The registration file will be sent on a 3.5" disk within three to four weeks for international customers, often sooner. This file will work with future versions as well. Registering one copy is $29.95(US) plus $3.00 (US) for shipping and handling within the United States, or $8.00 outside the United States. TO REGISTER A PHOTODEX PRODUCT: Option A: Visit www.photodex.com and fill out the secure order form. Option B: Send the following information in an e-mail message to sales@photodex.com: Your Full Name Company (if any) Your Street Address, City, State, Country Your Phone Number Your E-Mail Address Credit Card Number & Expiration Date *** NOTE: You can also FAX this to 512/452-6825. Option C: Print out and complete the REGISTER.FRM file and mail it to the following address. Make sure to include a cashier's check, money order or personal check drawn on a US bank in US funds ONLY. Photodex will immediately return ANY foreign payments. Photodex Corporation 1106 Clayton Lane #200W Austin, TX 78723 SITE LICENSES AVAILABLE. Contact sales@photodex.com or call 512/406-3020.