ProfitPress Mega CDROM2 …eeware (MSDOS)(1992)(Eng)/ProfitPress-MegaCDROM2.B6I/WINDOWS/APPS/CLNDRMKR.ZIP/CMREAD.TXT

Text File | 1991-01-30 | 11.1 KB | 216 lines

January 14, 1991

Copyright (c) 1990 CE Software, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Welcome to CalendarMaker PC.

Since the user manual was written, some changes have been made
in the way CalendarMaker PC(tm) handles bitmap graphics.  (These graphics
can be used to add pictures to your calendars.)

  You can use COLOR bitmap (.BMP) picture files in your
  calendars.

  You can make and use INVERTED (negative image) monochrome bitmaps.

  You can change the colors and other styles of monochrome calendar
  pictures without losing the position or size of the framing rectangle
  or picture.

  You can vary the size of the framing rectangle and the area selected
  will stretch or shrink to fit the calendar picture area with minimal
  distortion.

  You can save an entire calendar as a color .BMP picture file in your
  choice of color formats.


Using color bitmaps:
--------------------


     CalendarMaker will accept standard color or monochrome picture files
("bitmaps") having a filename followed by a ".BMP" extension.  This is the
bitmap format created by the PaintBrush program supplied with Windows 3.0
and supported by most Windows application programs.  PaintBrush will convert
other bitmap formats to ".BMP" format, including old Microsoft Paint
files (having the ".MSP" extension).  To convert other picture files to
".BMP" format, follow the instructions provided with PaintBrush.  You can
then use the converted file in CalendarMaker - giving you a wide choice of
artwork for your calendars.  CalendarMaker will also accept OS/2 ".BMP"
format picture files without conversion.

     CalendarMaker supports all the color options available in PaintBrush,
including monochrome, 16 color, 256 color, and 24 bit color picture files.
You do not need to know the color option for a given file - CalendarMaker
will automatically adjust the bitmap to your screen and printer as it
reads the file.


Reversing monochrome bitmaps:
-----------------------------


     You can select whether the foreground or background dots are colored
in a monochrome bitmap.  The default is set to color foreground dots, which
results in a normal picture.  If you "reverse" the image by coloring the
background dots, the picture will resemble a photographic negative.  By
using this option, the intensity option described below, and selecting
different picture colors (as explained in the manual), many interesting
effects can be created on printers or screens capable of printing or
showing only one color.

     To reverse a monochrome bitmap or to return it to normal after
reversal, click on the "Design" option of the main menu bar, and select
"Colors..." from the drop-down menu.  The screen that will appear is
somewhat different than that shown in the manual.  Those items that are
related  specifically to monochrome bitmaps are boxed together in the
lower middle part of the "Colors..." dialog box.  At the lower right, you
will find "Image style:" with two selections, one marked "Normal" and the
other "Reversed".

     The default selection (chosen by CalendarMaker when you
first start the program) is "Normal", indicated by a black dot within a
larger circle.  To select "Reversed", click on the empty circle next to it
and the black dot will move to indicate your new selection.  To change back,
click next to "Normal".

     When you have completed your selection, click on
the "OK" button.  The "Colors..." dialog box will erase.  If you have
chosen the picture calendar style, and have loaded a monochrome
picture, that picture will be redrawn in the style ("Normal" or "Reversed")
you selected.  If you have selected the picture calendar style but not
yet loaded a monochrome picture, any future monochrome pictures you
load into CalendarMaker will be painted in the style you last selected.
Full color pictures, including any loaded at the time you changed
monochrome styles, will be unaffected.


Sizing and moving the framing rectangle:
----------------------------------------


     CalendarMaker offers enhanced flexibility in selecting and sizing the
area of a bitmap you want to use as your calendar picture.  You can
select a small detail from a bitmap and have it blown up to fill the
calendar picture, or shrink a larger bitmap into the calendar picture area.
CalendarMaker takes care of all the details - all you have to do is select
a bitmap and tell CalendarMaker what part of that bitmap you want as your
calendar.

    To do that, CalendarMaker first loads in the bitmap you
selected (as explained in the manual) and reduces it so that you can see
as much of it as possible in the picture window.  CalendarMaker provides
the "framing rectangle".  The framing rectangle encloses an area that
represents a one-to-one relationship between the area framed and the size
of the calendar picture area.  If you were to select the area within the
default framing rectangle as your calendar picture, that area would
exactly fill the calendar picture area without any stretching or
compressing.

     To select a different area of the bitmap for your calendar picture,
CalendarMaker has two movement options: moving the framing rectangle
between the borders of the picture window, or moving the bitmap itself
underneath the framing rectangle.  To move the framing rectangle once a
bitmap has been loaded, click and hold the right mouse button within the
borders of the existing rectangle.  Upon any mouse movement, the cursor
will become a grabber hand.  Move the framing rectangle to a new location
(you will be confined to the picture window area) and release the right
mouse button.  The cursor will go back to its normal shape.  Select "Preview"
from the File menu.  The preview window will show the new area as your
calendar picture.

     To move the bitmap underneath the framing rectangle, click and hold
the left mouse button anywhere in the picture window below its caption.
Upon any mouse movement, the cursor will become a four-pointed arrow.  Move
the mouse in any direction the distance you want the bitmap to move (it
will not move yet!).  Release the left mouse button, and the cursor will
return to normal.  The bitmap will be redrawn in its new location.  With
practice, and using the arrow points as guides, it becomes easy to make
precise adjustments to the bitmap placement.

     By combining the two movement methods, any part of the bitmap can be
selected as your calendar picture.  However, you are not limited to the
default framing rectangle size.  The framing rectangle can be made as small
as 4 pixels (dots that make up the picture image) tall by 7 pixels wide or
as large as the picture window will allow.  The relationship between the
height and the width (4 to 7) of the rectangle is maintained by
CalendarMaker to prevent distortions in the final calendar picture, and so
sizing the framing rectangle is quite simple.  Double-click the right mouse
button (or double-click the middle button if you have a three-button mouse).
The cursor will become a crosshair.  Move the crosshair to any of the four
corners you want to be the new framing rectangle.  Click and hold the left
mouse button and the cursor will become a small double-pointed arrow.  While
holding the left button down, move the mouse in the direction you want the
framing rectangle.  You will see the framing rectangle enlarge and shrink as
you move the mouse.  This effect (called "rubberbanding") will continue as
long as the right mouse button is held down and the mouse is moving.  When
the framing rectangle is the size you want, release the left mouse button.
The standard arrow cursor will return.  Remember that position of the framing
rectangle is not important since you can easily move it where you want it
after the size has been set.  There is no limit to the number of resizes or
moves that you can do.

     If the size of the framing rectangle is smaller than the 4 pixel by
7 pixel limit when you release the right mouse button, a dialog box will
appear.  You will be given the choice of restoring the default rectangle
or the last properly sized rectangle that was shown.  Simply click on the
selection you want from the choices given by the dialog box, and then
click on the "OK" button.

     Hint: You can use this feature to deliberately force a return to
the default rectangle at any time.  Simply double-click the right mouse
button, then click and release the left mouse button without moving the
mouse.  This will bring up the dialog box and allow you to choose the default
rectangle.

     By using the sizing and movement options, CalendarMaker makes it
possible to select virtually any size of any portion of a loaded bitmap as
your calendar picture.  To see the how the selected areas will look in your
finished calendar, use the "Preview" options as discussed previously and
in the printed manual.


Saving the calendar as a color bitmap
-------------------------------------


     To save your calendar as a .BMP picture file, select Print from
the File menu as described in the manual.  To save a calendar in full color,
set the "Send Colors" checkbox on (with an "X" in the center).
Set the "PaintBrush Bitmap" radio button on (with a dark center).  Click
the "OK" button.  A dialog box will appear allowing you to select the color
format for the saved picture file.  Generally speaking, we recommend 16
colors for saving, other color formats take more memory and disk space.
CalendarMaker will examine the calendar you wish to save and your display
capabilities for you, and will set the radio button for the appropriate
color format as a default.  Note: Depending on your available memory,
Windows setup options, other programs in memory, the size of the calendar,
and system limitations, you may get memory error messages in some color
formats.  If necessary, select a lower color format.  On some systems,
particularly when running in real mode, saving calendars as monochrome
bitmaps may be the only option available.  Saving a bitmap in a higher
color format does not increase the resolution or number of colors in the
bitmap - those are defined by the pictures or color options you selected
for the calendar and your system's display capabilities.


SPECIAL NOTE: If you create a calendar on the screen having colored text,
borders, pictures, or titles AND you use the "Print" menu selection to print
to the printer, metafiles, or PaintBrush bitmap format WITH THE "SEND COLORS"
BOX NOT CHECKED, some colors will drop out as Windows decides which colors
to make black in the output and which colors to make white.  Some colored
items may appear to disappear entirely.  Try printing with the colors box
checked (Windows will then make all colors black and leave white untouched).
If the output is still not acceptable, you will have to adjust your calendar
colors to produce the output you want.


CalendarMaker PC is a trademark of CE Software, Inc.  All other trademarks
are the property of their respective holders.

CE Software, Inc.
P.O. Box 65580
West Des Moines
Iowa  50265  U.S.A.
[phone]