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Image Control Unregistered Version Copyright (C) Brightstar Consultants Ltd 1992 2 Paddock Road, Reading, RG4 0BX, UK Tel (0344) 775434 Int +44-344-775434 Written by Richard Hart Supported by Andrew Evans and Mark Richardson Welcome to Image Control - PC DOS based Image Processing and Editing -------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. What is Image Control ? Image Control is a full colour image editor. Image Control uses a Graphics User Interface with drop down menus. Image Control provides darkroom imaging facilities on a PC - single image processing and editing, combining several images, sizing and painting. Multiple images of any size are positioned on the workboard, and the screen window can be zoomed in or out to view any part of the workboard. The unregistered version of Image Control is the shareware starter in the suite of image processing products from Brightstar Consultants Ltd. Image Control is not public domain. You may use it for a limited period, copy it and give it to others. With the unregistered version of Image Control, you get : * Multi-image workboard * Up to 3 images on board at one time * Image cut and paste * Create montage image * Mask for process or cutting areas * Processing in zoom-out mode * Configurable screen save mode * Mouse nudge mode for image positioning * Painting tool * Image enhancement * Sharpen * Smooth * Noise removal * User defined enhancement filters * Photographic filters * Colour balance adjustment * Image geometry * Mirror or invert * Rotate * Histogram * Contrast increase and decrease * Pick colour * True colour 24 bit internal image format * Up to 64K colour mode supported * 256 colour display boards supported * Save as TIFF, BMP or TGA file formats * On-line help always available If you like this program, please register it. To register, printout the registration form (called imagectl.reg), fill it in and mail it to us, at the address above, enclosing payment of 75 pounds UK. You will get a hardcopy manual, extra features (as described below), and freedom from nag screens. In addition, we need your support. We request that if you give Image Control to anyone else, or post it onto a BBS, you do not alter any of it, and you include all the files as you received them. You should have received imagectl.exe The Image Control imagectl.hlp The help file imagectl.cnf The configuration file imagectl.mnu The menu control file imagectl.doc The file you are reading imagectl.man The manual for Image Control imagectl.reg The registration form 2. Requirements Image Control will run on any IBM AT Compatible 286 and above, although for good image processing and display speeds a 386 33Mhz is recommended. You also need to have : DOS 3.3 or later Microsoft compatible mouse Hard disk with 1MB free disk space SuperVGA or VGA card (see below) To get the best out of Image Control with good image quality you need an SVGA card that supports at least 640x480x256. Only the unregistered version of Image Control will run in standard VGA (320x200x256) mode, but without the histogram. This is the only standard VGA mode that allows full colour to be displayed, and has been provided to allow you to evaluate Image Control even if you do not have SuperVGA. Note that all of the other programs in the suite (including the registered version of Image Control) need a SuperVGA card to run, as the lowest display mode they can use is the 640x480x256 mode. We cannot hope to support all SVGA cards. We think we run on any cards with the following chipsets : Tseng ET3000 and ET4000 Trident TVGA8800 and TVGA8900 S3 Inc 86C911 family Avance Logic ALG2101 with or without Sierra Hicolor Ramdac. If you have a board we have problems with, and can arrange for us to receive one on loan, we will try to schedule coding for it. We can supply our SVGA board which is tested for colour quality and speed, giving 800x600 at 32K colours, or 1024x768x256, for an October 1992 price of 80 pounds excl VAT. Include 5 pounds for UK p&p. We do not currently recommend accelerator cards. Their strength is fast graphics - lines, blocks and text - not image display. 3. Facilities Image Control will load image files in most TIFF, TGA, BMP and GIF87a formats. Image Control will save images in all these formats except GIF. With Image Control you can : * have up to 3 images loaded at one time; * Save an image up to 640 x 480 in size; * Zoom out to see images larger than the workboard; * Copy, Mask (and so crop) and Save; * Resize an image; * Negative, Contrast, Brighten, Smooth and Sharpen images; * Mirror, Flip (invert), and Rotate by quarters; * Paint in solid or sprayed colours; * Convert colour to grey, and add colour to grey images; * specify and apply a colour Filter to an image; * display a three-colour Histogram (except in 320 mode); * Pick any image pixel for a colour reading (ditto). 4. Running Image Control Please keep all Image Control's files (files called imagectl.*) together in one sub-directory. You can run Image Control with no options by typing imagectl at the DOS prompt. Image Control will load with an empty workboard in 640x480x256 colour display mode. The options let you specify an image file name to be loaded at start up, and the display mode you want to use. For example, imagectl 640 32K myimage.tif will start Image Control in 640x480x32K colour mode, and the file myimage.tif will be loaded automatically. The three parameters must be separated with spaces, and note that there are no slashes. 320, 640, 800 or 1024 - the resolution you wish to use in columns. 32K - if you wish to use HiColor mode (this will invoke 64K colours in the case of the S3 chipset). filename.ext - the image you want to load at startup. Image Control wants 120K or so of DOS memory available after startup. If you start Image Control with 450K available you should be fine. Image Control's memory manager will use either XMS or EMS, (whichever there is more of at startup), but not both. If you have no XMS or EMS memory available, Image Control will work, but it will buffer every image to temporary disk, so processing and display will be slow. Image Control looks for the environment variables TMP or TEMP for a temporary disk space path, where it likes to find at least 1Mbyte of free space. For example, to set the directory d:\mytemp as temporary space use the DOS command set tmp=d:\mytemp or set temp=d:\mytemp 5. Using Image Control Menus drop down as you run the mouse along the top of the screen. Click in the Image Control logo button for "about" information, current screen mode and memory status. Left click on a menu item for action. A menu item with ">" lets you right click into a parameter window for that item. A menu item without ">" takes you to Help for that item when you right click. 6. Image file formats We will load image files in most varieties of TIFF, TGA and BMP formats, and 87a GIF formats. We do not save files in GIF format. We do not support GIF animations - the image you get is the GIF screen with all sub-images drawn on it. Sub-images that have been overwritten stay overwritten. If you wish to use Image Control with formats that it does not support, we recommend the Image Alchemy file conversion and display package. If your BBS does not have Image Alchemy, contact Handmade Software, Inc. 15951 Los Gatos Blvd., Ste. 17 Los Gatos, CA 95032 Tel +1 408 358 1292 9. Registered version Please register your copy of Image Control. You get the benefit of all the extra features listed below, a hardcopy manual and freedom from the nag screens. In addition, we need your support. When you register your copy of Image Control, we will send you a new program on disk, together with a hardcopy manual. Note that to run the registered version of Image Control, you must have a SuperVGA card with one of the chipsets listed above. If you can run the unregistered version in any 640 column mode, you will be able to run the registered version. To register, print out the mailer (imagectl.reg), fill it in, enclose 75 pounds, and mail us. When you register you get : * Up to 12 images on the workboard at any time; * The ability to save any size of image; * A configurable screen saver; * Extra facilities : Equalize - image histogram Edge - make edge image Undo - to before last change Resize - auto aspect off Rotate - by degrees Stamp - one image on another Emboss - bas-relief image Border - added around image * Special effects : Mosaic Pin-cushion Barrel distortion Pinch Twist * Freedom from nagging delays. The registered version does really need a Maths coprocessor for resizing and rotation - it will work without, but you'll miss your train. 10. Image Control Pro Image Control Pro is our full package. It offers a comprehensive range of processes, macros, image-masks, pixel-editing and full gamma-curve histogram modification, with 64 images loadable at any time. Image Control Pro is a top end image processor. In addition to the facilities of the registered version of Image Control, you get more facilities and much more power : * Up to 64 images on the workboard at one time; * Create multiple copies of an image at one time; * Transparent display of current image, for lightbox effect, to allow precise registration, and mask assessment; * Image masks - use a greyscale image as a mask to "hold-off" a process from the underlying target image; * Dodging tool - to apply a process locally, with focus effect, through the mask if required; * Patterning tool - to apply lifted portions of one image to another, with variable focus; * Reveal process - to lift a lower image up into the top image, using the dodger if required; * Macro programming for repeatable processing, and the development of complex sequences, like : - Watercolour - Oil painting - Sharpen for large images - Pastel colour conversion - Training sessions - Wallpaper demonstration * Four point skew for parallax correction and distortion; * Colour separations : CMYK for printing, RGB for processing; * Conversion to IHS format for special plane processing; * Many monochrome and line enhancement processes; * Single pixel editing at variable magnification; * Powerful colour or greyscale map control for repeatable adjustment of response curves; * Proof printing to HPCL or EPS for inclusion in DTP output, direct to printer or to disk file; * User definable photographic colour filters; * User definable image filter matrices for special processing; * Dye process, that stamps image hue onto the underlying image; * Variable grid for precise positioning of images; * Specify layout for multiple loads, copies or separations; * Greylevel profile with peak count for growth estimation; * Perspective view of 3-D histogram; All dodging, patterning and masking facilities are immediate and intuitive - use these tools just as you would want to on an electronic workbench. These powerful features can be combined to solve the most challenging of tasks : * You can use the dodger to reveal the sky from one image into another but masked by the darkness in a third image; * You can use a black and white mask to restrict the focussed spray paint to specific parts of the image; * You can use the dodger to sharpen only those areas of the image that lie under the lighter parts of a mask made from the original image; * You can create your own graduated masks to modulate the strength of your own macro process sequences. To obtain Image Control Pro, print out the mailer (imagectl.reg), fill it in, enclose 475 pounds, and mail us. Image Control Pro is protected by a serial dongle, which can use the same port as the mouse (at least while the program is running). 11. Further development Our current development plans include move to an overlay structure (to allow further features to be added while still working in the DOS memory limit) and migrating to the OS/2 environment, retaining our unique feature of manipulating multiple images together on one workboard with transparent image masking. Our intention is to concentrate effort on high quality image editing, rather than moving directly to the moving video area. We are prepared to add support for more file formats, but we want to concentrate on high quality 24-bit colour images. We intend to include support for loading JPEG files, but not saving in this format. Repeated loading and saving using lossy compression accumulates. We will let your archiver do the conversion. We welcome suggestions or requests for further features or processes. 12. Notices and disclaimer TGA is a trademark of Truevision Inc. GIF is Copyright of Compuserve Ltd. Image Control is fully owned by Brightstar Consultants Ltd, and is not public domain. You may use Image Control for two weeks without registering. You may distribute it, but you may not charge other than a nominal distribution fee. If you distribute Image Control, you must include this file and all other Image Control files. You may not alter, hack or dissassemble Image Control. You may not incorporate it into any other product. You may not incorporate in any software any techniques, interface design or code you have gained as a result of using Image Control. Brightstar will accept no responsibility for any injury, damage or loss of data caused while Image Control is running or thereafter.