What PC? 1996 September/WPCSEP96.ISO/multi/xres/data.z/READ_ME.TXT

Text File | 1996-04-20 | 15.3 KB | 349 lines

xRES 2.0 ReadMe
April 1996


LATE BREAKING NEWS

There is so much good stuff in Macromedia(R) xRes(TM) 2.0, we just couldn't fit
it all into the User Guide in time. Included in this ReadMe is any last minute
information that you might need about third-party plug-in filters, file formats,
documentation corrections, and more!


USING THE ACCESS SHELL

When trying to run the xRes application from the xRes 2.0 Access Shell, it is
possible on some configurations to run out of RAM. If this should happen, try
closing other applications that may be open.


USING PLUG-IN FILTERS

To use plug-in filters, do the following: Make sure "Support Plug-ins" is checked
in the Preferences > General dialog. Access Preferences > Set Plug-In Folder,
locate your plug-in folder, and click Select at the bottom of the dialog. After
checking "Support Plug-ins" in the General Preferences and specifying the
location of your plug-in folder, relaunch xRes.

The following plug-ins have been successfully tested with Macromedia xRes:
*KPT 3.0(TM) (In Windows95 and Windows NT), by Meta Tools
*KPT 2.0(TM) (In Windows95 and Windows NT), by Meta Tools


USING PLUG-IN FILTERS

To use plug-in filters, do the following: Make sure "Support Plug-ins" is checked
in the Preferences > General dialog. Access Preferences > Set Plug-In Folder,
locate your plug-in folder, and click Select at the bottom of the dialog. After
checking "Support Plug-ins" in the General Preferences and specifying the
location of your plug-in folder, relaunch xRes.

The following plug-ins have been successfully tested with Macromedia xRes:
*KPT 3.0(TM) (In Windows95 and Windows NT), by Meta Tools
*KPT 2.0(TM) (In Windows95 and Windows NT), by Meta Tools


PLUG-IN TIPS

Correction to the documentation. Plug-ins are designed to work in the Direct Work
Mode and are disabled in the xRes Work Mode.

If you are using a plug-in that is not on the approved list, then try it on a dummy
file before using it in an important project.


USING KPT FILTERS

Take note of the following issues when using KPT filters:

The Gradients on Paths features of KPT 3.0 may not work on larger files.

The Angular Shapeburst of the KPT Gradient Designer will apply as a
Rectangular Shapeburst.

If you are working in the CMYK Mode, keep in mind that the filters in KPT 2.1
and 3.0 preview the effect as if it were applying in RGB Mode.

Macromedia is currently working on ensuring compatibility with other plug-in
vendors.


USING THE xRES PATH EXPORT XTRA

To export paths from Macromedia FreeHand to xRes, you need the Xtra called
xRes Path Export. Place this Xtra in your FreeHand Xtras folder. After installing
this Xtra, you can export paths in the xRes format from FreeHand. See the xRes
Path Export ReadMe file included on this CD for more information. See also
"Working with Paths," later in this ReadMe for more information specific to
paths.


WORKING WITH FILE FORMATS

Recommended File Format:
Macromedia recommends that, whenever possible, you use the TIFF file format
to go back and forth between xRes and other applications.

DCS
DCS 2.0 has no TIFF preview in this version of xRes.

JPEG Documentation Correction:
The xRes User Guide states that Progressive JPEG's are lossless. This is
incorrect. Progressive JPEG's, like all JPEG's, use a compression scheme that
may cause data loss in files. When you are saving JPEG files, a Quality slider
may be set between 1 and 100; a value of 100 generates a lossless JPEG file.

Photoshop 3.0 Files:
In order to open Photoshop 3.0 files in xRes, make sure that 2.5 Compatibility is
turned on in the Photoshop General Preferences. When exporting a PSD file for
use in xRes, you must have a background layer in the file. If you make the
background into a regular layer, then the file may cause problems in xRes.

Batch Conversion:
When batch converting, it is possible to batch convert files into unsupported file
types, such as CMYK PNG files. Unsupported file types may behave erratically.
Macromedia recommends that you batch convert into supported file types only.

If you use the Batch Convert utility to batch convert Grayscale or Indexed 256
documents, these documents may appear in the RGB color space after batch
conversion. To change the color mode back to Indexed 256 or Grayscale after
batch conversion, open the image in xRes and use the Modify > Color Mode
command.

If you are batch converting from PSD files, xRes uses the alpha channel as a
mask for the converted file. If you do not want the alpha channel to act as a
mask, then delete it before batch converting the file.

Saving Files at Different Zoom Levels:
If you use the File > Save As command to save a file at a different zoom level,
such as 1:2, 1:4, 1:8, or 1:16, you must close and re-open the file for the file to
reflect the new size. The new file left on your screen will not reflect the new size
until you open it.


PERFORMANCE & COMPATIBILITY

Rendering Times:
The time it takes to render a file depends on the type of machine, the processor
and memory installed, the size of the image, the number of objects in the image,
and the commands applied to the image. Note that painting operations take
longer than others to render because xRes must play back each individual brush
stroke. Do not be disillusioned if you have done a lot of painting and the image
takes a long time to render; simple image editing operations will render in a
fraction of the time.

Updating:
In the current version of xRes, there are situations in which the application
updates without an Updating Composite slider appearing on the screen. The
program may appear frozen. In a few seconds the cursor will re-appear.

Importing files into Indexed 256 Mode Files
Importing Grayscale or Indexed files into Indexed files will cause problems
because this type of import yields two different color tables that are
incompatible. To bypass this situation, open the Grayscale or Indexed file you
wish to import, then change the color mode to RGB or CMYK using Modify >
Color Mode.

Low Disk Situations
Macromedia recommends that you have at least 50 MB free swap disk space at
all times. To view the amount of free swap disk space, access Window >
Inspectors > Info, and check the number next to Free Disk. xRes may operate at
a slower pace or may experience update problems in low swap disk situations. If
you are experiencing low swap disk problems, save your file as an MMI file
(other file formats may not save in low disk situations), exit xRes, free up swap
disk, then relaunch xRes.

Text at Large Sizes:
Some fonts are designed for use only up to a specific point size; after this size,
they will not appear in the rendered document. (A rendered document is a file
you have exported to any file format except MMI.) If you are using text at a point
size of 400, test it out in a dummy document before using it in an important
project.

Preview Box
The preview box will only work in True Color (24-bit) mode. It does not work in
16-or 8-bit mode.

Switching the Color Depth of the Monitor
If you are switching to or from an 8-bit display mode, quit xRes, switch modes,
then relaunch. Switching to 8-bit while running xRes may result in corrupted
floating panels.

Wacom Drivers in NT
Eraser support for the Art Pad II and Art Z II does not work in xRes in Windows
NT. For more of the latest information concerning xRes tablet support, see New
Pressure-Sensive Preference under Working with Brushes, Textures, &
Gradients below.


CUTTING, COPYING, & PASTING TO THE CLIPBOARD

The Cut and Copy commands are used to copy information to the clipboard. The
Cut command cuts the entire object from the document, even if there is a
selection. When you Paste after applying the Cut command, the entire object will
be pasted. The Copy command copies the image area inside of a selection.
When you Paste after applying the Copy command, only the image area inside
of the selection will be pasted.

When you paste an object into a document, that object appears in the top left
corner of the zoomed out view of the document. You may not see this object if
you are in a zoomed-in view; to see the object (and move it around), zoom out
until you can see the entire image within the image window.

To copy and paste between different applications (such as from xRes to
Photoshop(TM)), use the Cut or Copy commands from the Direct Mode of xRes.
The Direct Mode will copy the information to the system clipboard.


WORKING WITH OBJECTS

New Objects:
When you click on the New Object Icon in the Objects Window, a dialog allows
you to specify the size of the new object. For most new objects, you will want to
uncheck the Transparency box in this dialog; otherwise, the object will appear as
a clear sheet of acetate in the document.

Filling Transparencies:
In this version of xRes, you may not fill transparent objects with the Gradient
Tool, the Bucket Tool, or the Edit > Fill command.

Resize Error:
A checkbox called Maintain Size appears in the Resize Document dialog (Modify
> Resize > Document.) In some very large documents, xRes may generate an
error message when you attempt to type in a new height, width, or resolution. If
this error occurs, change the pop-up menus in the dialog to pixels before
checking this checkbox.

Rotate Commands:
The Modify > Rotate > CW 90 and Modify > Rotate > CCW 90 menu commands
rotate the entire document, not just the active object as documented. These
commands allow a fast and easy way to rotate multi-object documents. The
Modify > Rotate > Arbitrary command can be used to rotate the topmost active
object.


WORKING WITH BRUSHES, TEXTURES, & GRADIENTS

Line Tool:
If you are using the Line Tool with multi-tipped brushes, only one of these tips
will follow the line that you have drawn with the Line Tool.

New Pressure-Sensitive Preference:
A new preference has been added to the General Preferences for customers
using pressure-sensitive tablets. The Tablet Pressure, accessed by File >
Preferences > Set Tablet Pressure, is now set on a scale of 0 to 255 to allow
more flexibility in setting the tablet pressure. "Set Tablet Pressure" refers to the
minimum pressure needed for xRes to register tablet input. Older tablets may
require higher values.

Multi-Tipped Brushes:
Some multi-tipped brushes, such as the Hav variant, Glass variant, and Nature
variant located in the Styles brush, may be slow on some systems due to the
randomization of tip spacing, which requires a lot of number crunching. Allocate
more RAM to the program to increase performance of these brushes, or use one
of the many other brushes, such as Felt Tip, Calligraphy, Chalk, Pencil, Soft, or
Hard.

Texture Icons:
The textures that appear in your version of xRes may be slightly different than
the textures that appear on the Quick Reference Card. And although the icons
appearing on your Tools Palette may be slightly different than the icons
appearing on the Tools Palette in the User Guide, the tools function as they are
documented.

Scaled and Non-Scaled Textures:
The Scale checkbox on the Textures palette is used to scale textures in xRes
Mode. A texture is scaled according to the current zoom level. For instance, if
you draw with a scaled textured brush and then zoom in or out, the view is
magnified or reduced, respectively. If the texture is not scaled, then the textured
brush strokes are played back at the screen size of each zoom level. In other
words, non-scaled textures appear differently depending on the current zoom
level.

Therefore, Macromedia recommends that you use scaled textures to ensure that
the textured brush strokes will reproduce accurately in the final rendered
document.

Default Gradient Set:
A new feature has been added to Gradient Options--a menu command called
"Default Gradient Set." You can access this command by the submenu on the
Gradient Options Inspector. When you access Default Gradient Set, xRes resets
the preset gradients to the shipping gradient set.

Adding New Gradients:
The list of gradients in the Gradient Options does not scroll at this time. If you
are working on a low-resolution monitor and wish to add new gradients, it may be
necessary to delete existing gradients to make space in the scroll-down list. To
delete a gradient, select one and then choose Delete from the Gradient
submenu.


WORKING WITH PATHS

Documentation Corrections:
To deselect all paths, click in the white space underneath the listed paths in the
Paths Palette. Clicking on a selected path will not deselect that path, as
documented.

When you create a new path, the User Guide states that xRes prompts you for
the name of the new path. This is incorrect. xRes automatically names the path;
to rename the path, double-click on the path's name within the Paths Window.


PREVIEWING FILTERS

One way to preview filters is to use the preview box, accessed by checking Use
Preview Box in the General Preferences. The preview box previews the image
as if you were applying the effect at the 1:1 zoom level. If you are working at a
zoom level such as 1:4 or 1:8, the effect appearing in the preview window will
not match the effect as applied to the image at the current zoom level. The
preview box does not work in CMYK Mode or Indexed 256 Mode.


CROP TOOL
The documentation states that a cropped area may be resized proportionately by
dragging out crop handles while holding down the Shift key. This is incorrect.
The Shift key may be used while dragging out the initial crop rectangle to
constrain this area to a square; however, the key cannot be used to
proportionately resize the crop area.


CROPPING OPTION

A new dialog has been added that appears when you have cropped an image,
applied alpha channels, and saved the file. This dialog only appears if you are
working with a one-object document and saving the file as a format other than
the MMI format. In this instance, a dialog allows you to either: a) keep the
cropped boundaries of the document but delete any extra channels, or b) return
the image to its uncropped size and keep the alpha channels.


KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS

Windows substitutions:
If you are reading the User Guide, make the following substitution for all
keyboard shortcuts:
*Use Alt instead of Option
*Use Ctrl instead of Command
*Ctrl-F4 is a reserved Windows(tm) shortcut used to close the current document.
*Ctrl-F6 is a reserved shortcut used to switch the active document.
*Ctrl-F may be used to toggle in and out of Full Screen Mode.
*Caps Lock (not Shift) turns all tool cursors into crosshairs.

Documentation Errors:
The keyboard shortcuts Ctrl+ and Ctrl- can be used to zoom either in or out. The
function keys F1 through F12 control brush sizes; F1 creates a very small brush,
while F12 creates a very large brush. The keyboard shortcuts Ctrl-13, Ctrl-14,
and Ctrl-15 do not exist, because these function keys are not present on the
Windows keyboard.


PATENT INFO

Macromedia has a license from the Unisys Corp. for the GIF compression used
in xRes. The compression scheme is licensed under U.S. Patent No. 4,558,302
and foreign counterparts.

(c)1996 Macromedia, Inc. All rights reserved.